Arsenal - Petr Cech. Arsène Wenger may have only made one signing in the summer, but what a signing it was. If Arsenal do go on to win the league, it’s largely down to this man. The Gunners have been missing a top class keeper for several seasons now, but the Czech has solved that problem with constant Man of the Match performances. At least the Arsenal fans won’t have a problem choosing their ‘Signing of the Season’ come the end of the year.
Aston Villa - Micah Richards. Very tough to pick a player with the way they're performing this season, but he's been one of their most consistent performers in my eyes - even if that is consistently average - and when I saw him on ‘A League of Their Own’ the other week he came across as a great bloke, so that settles it.
Bournemouth - Harry Arter. A workhorse on the pitch and a stalwart in Bournemouth’s team throughout their League 1 and Championship campaigns. Amazing that he's still a regular. However, what really brought him to my attention was a few months ago when his baby daughter died and he played a couple of days later against Man Utd, getting Man of the Match in the process. Incase you haven't heard the story,
you can read about it here:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jan/29/harry-arter-bournemouth-interview-loss-daughter.
Chelsea - John Terry. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that he's an unbelievable defender and one of the reasons Chelsea have been so successful over the last decade. Also gave his all whenever he was in an England shirt (think of that tackle with his head against Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup). Ridiculous to think that Chelsea probably won’t be renewing his contract, I’d give him a two-year deal at West Ham in a heartbeat, we are his boyhood club after all…
Crystal Palace - Wilfried Zaha. Very underrated, can’t understand how he hasn't got more England caps. Oh wait, no, it’s because he's not playing for one of the ‘big’ clubs. If he was still playing for Man Utd, I guarantee he would have more than two international caps under his belt. Granted, he can be inconsistent, but when he's at his best, he can be one of the most dangerous wingers in the league.
Everton - Ross Barkley. He’s a great talent, he's young and he’s English. I personally rate him really highly and would love to see both him and Alli starting for England at the Euros this summer. Eleven goals and eight assists already this season and he's only going to get better. He’s got a great, humbling back story as well and who doesn't love a great back story?
Leicester - Kasper Schmeichel. Shock horror, not Vardy. Mahrez or even Kanté, but Schmeichel has been the league leaders unsung hero this season. Incredibly solid at the back, he’s made some outstanding saves this season replicating those of his Dad in his prime. Clean sheets have been hard to come by for Leicester, but they would have conceded a lot more goals if it wasn't for the Danish stopper between the sticks.
Liverpool - Daniel Sturridge. Hard to pick a Liverpool player if I’m being honest, there have been no real standouts recently. Can I not just choose Klopp? Sturridge has shown his class in the last two games since he came back from injury though, was very dangerous against West Ham in the FA Cup when he came on and then scored against Villa (then again, I could probably score against Villa). Downside is the constant injuries though and his seeming unwillingness to play unless he’s convinced he’s 100% fit.
Man City - Raheem Sterling. Young, English and incredibly talented. What more do you want? Obviously got a lot of stick during his final days at Liverpool, but I can’t blame him for wanting to move to a bigger and more successful club. Aside from the pitch, he comes across as a genuine top bloke from the interviews I’ve seen (he was in this YouTube video recently:
Chelsea - John Terry. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that he's an unbelievable defender and one of the reasons Chelsea have been so successful over the last decade. Also gave his all whenever he was in an England shirt (think of that tackle with his head against Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup). Ridiculous to think that Chelsea probably won’t be renewing his contract, I’d give him a two-year deal at West Ham in a heartbeat, we are his boyhood club after all…
Crystal Palace - Wilfried Zaha. Very underrated, can’t understand how he hasn't got more England caps. Oh wait, no, it’s because he's not playing for one of the ‘big’ clubs. If he was still playing for Man Utd, I guarantee he would have more than two international caps under his belt. Granted, he can be inconsistent, but when he's at his best, he can be one of the most dangerous wingers in the league.
Everton - Ross Barkley. He’s a great talent, he's young and he’s English. I personally rate him really highly and would love to see both him and Alli starting for England at the Euros this summer. Eleven goals and eight assists already this season and he's only going to get better. He’s got a great, humbling back story as well and who doesn't love a great back story?
Leicester - Kasper Schmeichel. Shock horror, not Vardy. Mahrez or even Kanté, but Schmeichel has been the league leaders unsung hero this season. Incredibly solid at the back, he’s made some outstanding saves this season replicating those of his Dad in his prime. Clean sheets have been hard to come by for Leicester, but they would have conceded a lot more goals if it wasn't for the Danish stopper between the sticks.
Liverpool - Daniel Sturridge. Hard to pick a Liverpool player if I’m being honest, there have been no real standouts recently. Can I not just choose Klopp? Sturridge has shown his class in the last two games since he came back from injury though, was very dangerous against West Ham in the FA Cup when he came on and then scored against Villa (then again, I could probably score against Villa). Downside is the constant injuries though and his seeming unwillingness to play unless he’s convinced he’s 100% fit.
Man City - Raheem Sterling. Young, English and incredibly talented. What more do you want? Obviously got a lot of stick during his final days at Liverpool, but I can’t blame him for wanting to move to a bigger and more successful club. Aside from the pitch, he comes across as a genuine top bloke from the interviews I’ve seen (he was in this YouTube video recently:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4aBqvbP_MM), shame the press like to only focus on the negatives.
Man Utd - Luke Shaw. A lot of people have probably forgotten about him, but he was playing top football before he broke his leg, finally beginning to show why the substantial fee was paid for him in the first place. Only 20 years old so surely destined to be England’s first choice left back for years to come, let’s just hope he recovers well from a nasty injury.
Newcastle - Jonjo Shelvey. Not much to choose from really, and even though he's not even been at the club for a month, I really rate him as a player. No idea why Swansea let him go, he’s only 23 years old and has an unbelievable passing range. If he continuously plays at his best he's definitely a contender for the England squad.
Norwich - Wes Hoolahan. The Ireland international has been a permanent fixture in Norwich’s team this season and oozes class a times. The Canaries set piece taker, he's been raking up the assists and if they do manage to survive the drop, he’ll be a key reason why.
Southampton - Fraser Forster. He’s just come back from almost a year on the sidelines with injury and immediately kept six clean sheets in a row. Quite possibly the reason the Saints haven't reached the heights of last season so far. Ridiculous to think that he's currently England’s third choice keeper behind Butland and Hart; I can see him working his way up that list very quickly at this rate though. In most other countries in the world I honestly think he'd be the number one choice.
Spurs - Dele Alli. Hard to pick a Spurs player being a West Ham fan, but how can you not love Dele Alli? Unbelievable talent, amazing that he's only 19, just a shame that he plays for the Spuds. Hopefully by now he's waved his way into Roy Hodgson’s starting XI for the Euros.
Stoke - Jack Butland. Another English goalkeeper and another amazing talent. He’s taken a while to establish himself in the first team considering the ongoing hype surrounding him, but that hype has well and truly been fulfilled - bare in mind that he's still only 22 as well. Very solid at the back for Stoke this season and perhaps the main reason they've got a great defensive record (last few weeks being an exception).
Sunderland - Adam Johnson…
Swansea - Gylfi Sigurðsson. Hasn’t quite lived up to the standards of last season when he seemed to be banging in goals week in week out, but he's begun to show that kind of form again since Guidolin took over. His goals have got them points against Palace, West Brom and Everton in the last month. If they do stay up - which I think they will - he could be crucial to it.
Watford - Odion Ighalo. Perhaps an obvious choice, but it’s hard not to choose him. He did it in the Championship and of course the questions came about whether he could replicate it in the Premier League, but his 14 goals so far this season have proved all the doubters wrong. It’s no wonder he's now being linked with a big money move to some of the bigger Premier League clubs.
West Brom - Saido Berahino. Controversial perhaps, but no one can deny his talent. Why Jeremy Peace doesn't just cash in on him I don't know. It’s a shame to see him wasting away on the bench, almost every club in the Premier League would happily have him in their squad - starting in most - and I'm sure he'd have improved some of West Brom’s results this season. Hopefully he’ll get the transfer he wants in the summer and be starting regularly again, then I don’t think it’ll be long before he’s in the England squad.
So there it is, some you'll agree with and some you'll disagree with I'm sure. It'd be great if you could give your own opinions in the comments below. Now back to my dissertation…
Man Utd - Luke Shaw. A lot of people have probably forgotten about him, but he was playing top football before he broke his leg, finally beginning to show why the substantial fee was paid for him in the first place. Only 20 years old so surely destined to be England’s first choice left back for years to come, let’s just hope he recovers well from a nasty injury.
Newcastle - Jonjo Shelvey. Not much to choose from really, and even though he's not even been at the club for a month, I really rate him as a player. No idea why Swansea let him go, he’s only 23 years old and has an unbelievable passing range. If he continuously plays at his best he's definitely a contender for the England squad.
Norwich - Wes Hoolahan. The Ireland international has been a permanent fixture in Norwich’s team this season and oozes class a times. The Canaries set piece taker, he's been raking up the assists and if they do manage to survive the drop, he’ll be a key reason why.
Southampton - Fraser Forster. He’s just come back from almost a year on the sidelines with injury and immediately kept six clean sheets in a row. Quite possibly the reason the Saints haven't reached the heights of last season so far. Ridiculous to think that he's currently England’s third choice keeper behind Butland and Hart; I can see him working his way up that list very quickly at this rate though. In most other countries in the world I honestly think he'd be the number one choice.
Spurs - Dele Alli. Hard to pick a Spurs player being a West Ham fan, but how can you not love Dele Alli? Unbelievable talent, amazing that he's only 19, just a shame that he plays for the Spuds. Hopefully by now he's waved his way into Roy Hodgson’s starting XI for the Euros.
Stoke - Jack Butland. Another English goalkeeper and another amazing talent. He’s taken a while to establish himself in the first team considering the ongoing hype surrounding him, but that hype has well and truly been fulfilled - bare in mind that he's still only 22 as well. Very solid at the back for Stoke this season and perhaps the main reason they've got a great defensive record (last few weeks being an exception).
Sunderland - Adam Johnson…
Swansea - Gylfi Sigurðsson. Hasn’t quite lived up to the standards of last season when he seemed to be banging in goals week in week out, but he's begun to show that kind of form again since Guidolin took over. His goals have got them points against Palace, West Brom and Everton in the last month. If they do stay up - which I think they will - he could be crucial to it.
Watford - Odion Ighalo. Perhaps an obvious choice, but it’s hard not to choose him. He did it in the Championship and of course the questions came about whether he could replicate it in the Premier League, but his 14 goals so far this season have proved all the doubters wrong. It’s no wonder he's now being linked with a big money move to some of the bigger Premier League clubs.
West Brom - Saido Berahino. Controversial perhaps, but no one can deny his talent. Why Jeremy Peace doesn't just cash in on him I don't know. It’s a shame to see him wasting away on the bench, almost every club in the Premier League would happily have him in their squad - starting in most - and I'm sure he'd have improved some of West Brom’s results this season. Hopefully he’ll get the transfer he wants in the summer and be starting regularly again, then I don’t think it’ll be long before he’s in the England squad.
So there it is, some you'll agree with and some you'll disagree with I'm sure. It'd be great if you could give your own opinions in the comments below. Now back to my dissertation…