Roman Pavlyuchenko is enduring a torrid time at White Hart Lane. The Spurs frontman can’t get into the team and boss Harry Redknapp seems hesitant to sell him until the summer despite interest from Russia. It seems certain he will go down as a ‘flop’ in England, but he is by no means the worst of the bunch. Here are my top five Premier League striking flops.
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Popularity: 17% [?]

Chelsea football club have confirmed left-back Ashley Cole will be sidelines for ‘approximately three months’ after sustaining a fractured ankle in the recent league defeat against Everton.

He also faces a battle to be fit in time for Chelsea’s final league fixture of the season against Wigan. This essentially puts a major question mark over Ashley Cole’s involvement in the World Cup. England boss Fabio Capello has already said he will only take fit players with him to South Africa, and this gives Cole little time to prove himself to the Italian tactician.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

Manchester United and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves has been out of action for around a year and a half now with a knee injury. There have been hopes he could return, Hargreaves was pencilled in for a November return before the season kicked off, needless to say that didn’t happen.

When November came and went Hargreaves was apparently in line for a January return to action, again that didn’t happen. He has now been withdrawn from Manchester United’s Champions League squad and there are real fears he may not play again this season.
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Popularity: 11% [?]

Angry Queens Park Rangers fans started protesting because of all that’s been going on in the club for the past two years. Since the new owners, Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone arrived, many things have changed at Loftus Road stadium in the West London, but the most important thing didn’t – the club are still without results.

After losing to Scunthorpe United at home this weekend (0:1), angry fans surrounded Briatore and Ecclestone demanding the explanation for the club’s terrible policy and complete discontinuity on the manager’s bench, as well as in the transfer policy. Fourth defeat in the last six league games saw experienced manager Paul hart sacked after only 28 days on the bench and this is only the tip of the ice berg of problems in popular Hoops squad.
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Popularity: 10% [?]

Everton manager David Moyes is perhaps one of the best managers in the league and his hard work at Goodison Park often goes unnoticed. Despite a relatively small budget Moyes regularly ensures European football at Everton but this season they struggled at the beginning and some were even suggesting they could be involved in the relegation scrap.

Injuries have had a big part to play in Everton’s under-performing but the squad is starting to return to full fitness. Spanish midfield star Mikel Arteta returned as a late substitute in their win over Sunderland on Wednesday and his return could be vital. Arteta, as far as I’m concerned, is the best player in the Everton line-up and his absence has really been felt in the blue half of Merseyside – his return could well prove vital for Moyes’ hopes for the season.
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Popularity: 11% [?]

Bolton’s new boss Owen Coyle could hardly have been handed a trickier first fixture with his new club – a home tie against an in-form Arsenal side. The Gunners ran out deserved 2-0 winners but there were some encouraging signs to take away from the home side’s display.

Under previous boss Gary Megson Bolton offered very little in attack and were a very one-dimensional side. The Wanderers played route-one football, set-pieces seemed to be the only way they knew how to score (16 of 26 goals so far from dead ball situations) but against Arsenal there were plenty of chances from open play. Indeed, if Matt Taylor or Ivan Klasnic had been a little more clinical the score-line could have been very different.
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Popularity: 12% [?]