8. Fabricio Coloccini
When Newcastle United paid Deportivo La Coruna close to £10 million for Argentinian centre-half Coloccini, the football world laughed a hearty laugh and shrugged their shoulders at the typical lunacy of the Geordies. And to a certain extent, the critics were immediately proved right: Coloccini looked out of place in the Premier League, out-paced, out-powered and out-played and his valuation looked a hundred miles from the reality of his ability. But since Newcastle's relegation in 2008/09, Coloccini, who is now the club captain, has endeared himself to Toon fans with some imperious displays, which made a mockery of that initial response to his signing. His composure has been a major bonus for a team perennially accused of defensive suicide, and the indication of his value came last season when personal circumstances threatened to see him leave the club, and had an obvious impact on his composure on the pitch. FM13 did value Coloccini reasonably highly - the majority of his defensive abilities are about right, especially in terms of his anticipation, tackling, and positioning, but the scouts have dramatically underrated other, important areas. A 12 for strength is plainly wrong - he's certainly closer to a 16 - and his dribbling, first touch and passing all deserve a boost of at least 2 or 3 points. Likewise bravery and decision making are wrong, and the suggestion that his off the ball work warrants only an 8 is ludicrous considering how highly rated his positional sense is. Coloccini rarely has to make last gasp tackles, or even win headers, because his anticipation and movement off the ball are such crucial parts of how he reads the game, and he genuinely deserves a boost in that area.
What Are The Chances? Slim. Newcastle's fortunes last season took a dramatic tumble, and though Coloccini played well individually, the performance of his team - especially seeing as though he is the captain - will likely reflect on his starting statistics, no matter how unlikely a repeat of last season's disaster might be.