Underated Brits
I'd like to start this blog by saying rest in peace to former Barcalona boss Tito Vilanova who tragically died of cancer on Friday. Thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Today though I thought we could look at some underrated British players from this season. We will also be looking at England's world cup outsiders. So here are some of my underrated British players from this season and why....
Steve Sidwell FULHAM
Okay, He plays for a club who are near the foot of the Premier League. But Fulham's dynamic center midfielder has popped up on numerous occasions with vital goals. He has also formed a sturdy partnership with Scott Parker in the middle of that Fulham midfield. Sidwell has experienced Premier relegation battles before during his time at Reading where he caught a few peoples eyes. Since then things have gone downhill for the midfielder with unsuccessful spells at Chelsea and Aston Villa. This season he has managed to turn things around and has shown the kind of form that got him so highly praised at Reading. He regained that form by scoring 7 vital goals for Fulham this season in the Premier League including this cracker against Crystal Palace.
Gareth Barry EVERTON (on loan from Manchester City)
I think most people knew that Gareth Barry was a good player during his time at Aston Villa. I think though this season Martinez summed up the Barry's influence on the side by saying " Gareth has been very influential and it seems he has been at Everton for a long time - that is how comfortable he looks with the team". At the start of the season looking at the Everton side, Barry is exactly the sort of player they needed. It has also done a massive favor for his England hopes for Rio 2015.
The role Barry has taken on within the team is a interesting one with him really taking on the holding midfield role alongside young James McCarthy who has also had a marvelous season in Everton colours and with Ross Barkley providing the creativity ahead of them. Barry provides the vital experience that Everton require and has become a key cog in the Everton gears this season. How will Everton cope when he departs back to Manchester this summer? or will a permanent deal be in the pipeline?
''He just comes in and gets the job done on a daily basis. You can hang your hat on Gareth Barry " - Mark Hughes
Robert Snodgrass NORWICH
One of the big influx of players from Leeds to Norwich in 2012 was a highly rated Scotsman who has been one of the few positives in Norwich's season. Since arriving in 2012 Snodgrass has put in some scintillating performances for Norwich. The flying Scotsman has popped up with a solid 6 goals and 3 assists this season and undoubtedly will be a key factor in whether Norwich can avoid the drop this season. He has also been a regular feature for the Scottish national team where he has also impressed scoring 3 goals World Cup qualifying.
Snodgrass is quickly becoming one of the most feared wingers in the Premier League with his pace, power, strength and set piece ability all being key in another successful season for the 26 year old. However criticism of Snodgrass is the consistency of the Scotsman as like a few of his Norwich teammates he has gone missing at times during the season. With just a few games left for Norwich though they certainly can't afford for him to go missing again. Below are some of the cracking free-kicks Snodgrass has scored over the years.
Kieran Gibbs ARSENAL
Although frequently injured, I still think that Gibbs is one of the best left backs in the Premier League and has been for the last 2-3 seasons. Since Gael Clichy left Arsenal for Manchester City the left back role at Arsenal was quite a fragile case. Over the years he has also had to battle for his position with Andre "Amateur" Santos and Nacho Monreal . Gibbs though has really grown into the role and has really embedded himself as a key figure in the Arsenal back four that has been so consistent. Well up until March anyway.
"He has improved a lot, has put his personality into the games, which was sometimes a bit of a problem for him" - Arsene Wenger on Kieran Gibbs
People usually mention three English left backs that could possibly go to the World Cup.These are Luke Shaw, Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole. Why is Gibbs not in the mix? Possibly because of his chequered injury past. I think that Gibbs deserves to go the Rio along with Leighton Baines covering England's left back positions. Taking Shaw would be a risk due to his age and defensive vunrabillity. Cole simply isn't playing. Gibbs offers you a balence of defensive and offensive play and would be ideal for some of the tough games in Rio such as Italy and Uruguay. A surprise choice for Woy?
Gary Cahill & John Terry CHELSEA
What most England fans woldn't give to have this pairing at this years World Cup...
Okay, I couldn't really decide between these two as they both look fragile next to David Luiz but as a partnership they look very good so I thought why not have both? That's in the rules right?.
Cahill has been immense this season for Chelsea and has well established himself as one of both Chelsea and Englands vital figures if they are to succeed. He couldn't ask for a better mentor in the form of Chelsea and England legend John Terry. The pair currently have 16 clean sheets in the league from when they have played together. They are also at the heart of the Chelsea "Park the Bus" tactics. They are undoubtedly the best centre back pairing in the Premier League this season. Possibly one of the best in the World.
Cahill has also rightly earned his place at the World Cup. Although it wasn't so long ago during his tenure at Aston Villa he looked like another young talent going to waste but manage to engineer a move to Bolton where he blosomed and was soon snapped up by big spending Chelsea and has never looked back. He really compliments Terry and forms the ideal partnership by offering pace, power and good reading of the game as well as being strong other aspects of his play that have come along massively. As Terry offers organisation and English bravery which is vital in Chelsea's back four and could well be needed at this years World Cup for England. I would definately take him ahead of Phil Jagielka. Give him a call Woy?
There you have it. Those are my top 5 underated players/partnership this season. There are so many players that I have missed out such as Fabian Delph, Callum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse, Jordan Henderson, Shane Long as well as many others but these were just 5 stand out performers for me. I may do another blog on the others in the future. MAY. It's not that other top players are not great but I just think that they may have already been well praised this season or maybe they are just unlucky.
Do you agree with my choices/reasons? Let me know!
Is there a specific topic you'd like me to tackle in one of my blogs? Let me know!
Twitter - +ChippKG
Thanks for reading.
ChippKG
Today though I thought we could look at some underrated British players from this season. We will also be looking at England's world cup outsiders. So here are some of my underrated British players from this season and why....
Steve Sidwell FULHAM
Okay, He plays for a club who are near the foot of the Premier League. But Fulham's dynamic center midfielder has popped up on numerous occasions with vital goals. He has also formed a sturdy partnership with Scott Parker in the middle of that Fulham midfield. Sidwell has experienced Premier relegation battles before during his time at Reading where he caught a few peoples eyes. Since then things have gone downhill for the midfielder with unsuccessful spells at Chelsea and Aston Villa. This season he has managed to turn things around and has shown the kind of form that got him so highly praised at Reading. He regained that form by scoring 7 vital goals for Fulham this season in the Premier League including this cracker against Crystal Palace.
Gareth Barry EVERTON (on loan from Manchester City)
I think most people knew that Gareth Barry was a good player during his time at Aston Villa. I think though this season Martinez summed up the Barry's influence on the side by saying " Gareth has been very influential and it seems he has been at Everton for a long time - that is how comfortable he looks with the team". At the start of the season looking at the Everton side, Barry is exactly the sort of player they needed. It has also done a massive favor for his England hopes for Rio 2015.
The role Barry has taken on within the team is a interesting one with him really taking on the holding midfield role alongside young James McCarthy who has also had a marvelous season in Everton colours and with Ross Barkley providing the creativity ahead of them. Barry provides the vital experience that Everton require and has become a key cog in the Everton gears this season. How will Everton cope when he departs back to Manchester this summer? or will a permanent deal be in the pipeline?
''He just comes in and gets the job done on a daily basis. You can hang your hat on Gareth Barry " - Mark Hughes
Robert Snodgrass NORWICH
One of the big influx of players from Leeds to Norwich in 2012 was a highly rated Scotsman who has been one of the few positives in Norwich's season. Since arriving in 2012 Snodgrass has put in some scintillating performances for Norwich. The flying Scotsman has popped up with a solid 6 goals and 3 assists this season and undoubtedly will be a key factor in whether Norwich can avoid the drop this season. He has also been a regular feature for the Scottish national team where he has also impressed scoring 3 goals World Cup qualifying.
Snodgrass is quickly becoming one of the most feared wingers in the Premier League with his pace, power, strength and set piece ability all being key in another successful season for the 26 year old. However criticism of Snodgrass is the consistency of the Scotsman as like a few of his Norwich teammates he has gone missing at times during the season. With just a few games left for Norwich though they certainly can't afford for him to go missing again. Below are some of the cracking free-kicks Snodgrass has scored over the years.
Kieran Gibbs ARSENAL
Although frequently injured, I still think that Gibbs is one of the best left backs in the Premier League and has been for the last 2-3 seasons. Since Gael Clichy left Arsenal for Manchester City the left back role at Arsenal was quite a fragile case. Over the years he has also had to battle for his position with Andre "Amateur" Santos and Nacho Monreal . Gibbs though has really grown into the role and has really embedded himself as a key figure in the Arsenal back four that has been so consistent. Well up until March anyway.
"He has improved a lot, has put his personality into the games, which was sometimes a bit of a problem for him" - Arsene Wenger on Kieran Gibbs
People usually mention three English left backs that could possibly go to the World Cup.These are Luke Shaw, Leighton Baines, Ashley Cole. Why is Gibbs not in the mix? Possibly because of his chequered injury past. I think that Gibbs deserves to go the Rio along with Leighton Baines covering England's left back positions. Taking Shaw would be a risk due to his age and defensive vunrabillity. Cole simply isn't playing. Gibbs offers you a balence of defensive and offensive play and would be ideal for some of the tough games in Rio such as Italy and Uruguay. A surprise choice for Woy?
Gary Cahill & John Terry CHELSEA
What most England fans woldn't give to have this pairing at this years World Cup...
Okay, I couldn't really decide between these two as they both look fragile next to David Luiz but as a partnership they look very good so I thought why not have both? That's in the rules right?.
Cahill has been immense this season for Chelsea and has well established himself as one of both Chelsea and Englands vital figures if they are to succeed. He couldn't ask for a better mentor in the form of Chelsea and England legend John Terry. The pair currently have 16 clean sheets in the league from when they have played together. They are also at the heart of the Chelsea "Park the Bus" tactics. They are undoubtedly the best centre back pairing in the Premier League this season. Possibly one of the best in the World.
Cahill has also rightly earned his place at the World Cup. Although it wasn't so long ago during his tenure at Aston Villa he looked like another young talent going to waste but manage to engineer a move to Bolton where he blosomed and was soon snapped up by big spending Chelsea and has never looked back. He really compliments Terry and forms the ideal partnership by offering pace, power and good reading of the game as well as being strong other aspects of his play that have come along massively. As Terry offers organisation and English bravery which is vital in Chelsea's back four and could well be needed at this years World Cup for England. I would definately take him ahead of Phil Jagielka. Give him a call Woy?
There you have it. Those are my top 5 underated players/partnership this season. There are so many players that I have missed out such as Fabian Delph, Callum Chambers, James Ward-Prowse, Jordan Henderson, Shane Long as well as many others but these were just 5 stand out performers for me. I may do another blog on the others in the future. MAY. It's not that other top players are not great but I just think that they may have already been well praised this season or maybe they are just unlucky.
Do you agree with my choices/reasons? Let me know!
Is there a specific topic you'd like me to tackle in one of my blogs? Let me know!
Twitter - +ChippKG
Thanks for reading.
ChippKG
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