EPL, England, Europe, Features, Ian John, Leagues, Regions POSTS

The most improved player in the EPL?

Published by Ian John on November 15, 2009

If you look through the names of famous players currently plying their trade in the English Premier League, you can come up with a hearty selection of football’s great and good. Picking the top players has never been a difficult task but sometimes you have to doff your cap to the players who seldom get the big headlines or the massive contracts, who just get on with their job and work hard to improve themselves and who, given fair wind and fine form, suddenly transform from being one of the Premier League’s also rans or forgotten men, into a genuinely good player.

This season has seen a few of these players come to the fore. First up is Manchester City’s Craig Bellamy. As a youngster at Norwich, so much was expected of Bellamy. However his rather short temper and questionable attitude always seemed to count against him. His ‘dream move’ to Liverpool never really worked for him and he was shuttled off to West Ham and seemingly the Premiership background until Mark Hughes brought him back up North. Since then, Bellamy has regained his very best form. His individual performance against Manchester United was one of the finest in the Premier League this season. So much so that while many City fans may not shed a tear if Robinho left in the January window. I’m sure many would take that over Bellamy leaving, especially given his current form.

Another to come from the background and show his true value to his team is Man Utd’s Darren Fletcher. The Scot is sorely missed from United’s midfield when injured and it is noticeable that Fergie does tend to select him for the key games. One wonders if he was available for the Barcelona Champions League final, whether his energy and power would have played a role in breaking the Barcelona dominance of midfield. Fletcher is one of those players who pops up at crucial times, a key tackle here, a key block there, a key goal here. However he isn’t an eye catching player in the way Ronaldo is, or Rooney. However he is the kind of player that you really notice his absence when he is not playing.

Another to improve significantly this season is, Liverpool fans sit down, Lucas Leiva. I’ve given the Brazilian some stick in my time but even I must admit that his performances this season have been a vast improvement. Lucas biggest problem however is that he isn’t Steven Gerrard or Javier Mascherano. Thing is, Mascherano is Argentinian, so he is allowed to be a destructive midfielder, Gerrard is Liverpool’s saviour. Lucas is Brazilian and a central midfielder, therefore he has to be like Zico if he is to impress the Liverpool fans. He isn’t that kind of player at all and never has been, but he has been much better this season and as such, deserves mention in this list. Like Fletcher he is a player whose work goes unseen a lot of times by fans, but who his teammates and manager appreciate greatly I am sure.

Kudos also should go to the likes of Carlton Cole and Darren Bent, who have gone from having careers that promised so much, but were set to stagnate at their old club, into moving to pastures new and regaining their best form, so much so that they are pushing hard for inclusion in the England team. Gomes the Tottenham keeper too, who at one stage last season made Paul Robinson look like Lev Yashin, has found his form at the right time, particularly now that Carlo Cudicini seems to be intent on spending the final years of his career as soccer’s equivalent of Evel Knievel. David Dunn at Blackburn has found his best form once again and would surely have been close to the England squad had midfield not been the one area of the team where we are well blessed for cover.

Who do you think has bounced back this season? Let me know below…

Picture courtesy of ***Back Page Football*** at Flickr.com

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