Our top 20 players of the Premier League season

25 May 2015 07:01

Others may like to reveal their players of the season when there’s still a couple of months to go – but we’re old school. Now the last match has been played – we’re ready to show our hand.

We put together a panel of 15 people, made up of the Press Association’s staff of football reporters, as well as its sports editor and deputy editor, and got them each to nominate their top 10.

Those were then converted to points – with 10 for coming first, nine for second and so on. And here’s what the learned panel came up with…

19=. Kasper Schmeichel – Leicester (6 points)

Kasper Schmeiche celebrates during Leicester's win over Swansea
(Ryan Browne/PA)

Schmeichel isn’t quite as good as his famous dad yet, but he’s developed into an excellent Premier League goalkeeper. His role in Leicester’s survival has reportedly caught the attention of Arsenal, who are on the lookout for a new keeper next season.

19=. Hector Bellerin – Arsenal (6)

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin takes a throw-in
(Andrew Matthews/PA)

He’s notoriously fast, so it’s fitting that’s the former Barcelona youth player has made himself look at home in the Arsenal first team in no time at all. He’s overshadowed some of his senior team-mates this season. In fact, so impressive has he been that Barca reportedly want him back to replace Dani Alves.

18. Marouane Fellaini – Manchester United (7)

Manchester United's Marouane Fellaini celebrates scoring against Manchester City
(Jon Super/AP)

Fellaini’s comeback has been one of the more heart-warming stories of the Premier League season. The Belgium midfielder had become a bit of a figure of ridicule under David Moyes, but Louis van Gaal worked out how to get the best out of him, even playing him as a striker at times. Even people who hate United were happy for him. Well, a bit.

17. Santi Cazorla – Arsenal (8)

Santi Cazorla celebrates scoring against Manchester City
(Mike Egerton/EMPICS)

Cazorla has developed to the point where he’d look at home in pretty much any midfield in the world. He completed 154 passes in the draw against Sunderland – a season high in the Premier League – and totally bossed the Gunners’ victory over Manchester City back in January.

16. Charlie Austin – QPR (10)

QPR's Charlie Austin celebrates
Charlie Austin (Nick Potts/PA)

In a good season for English strikers, Austin might not have got the same hype as Harry Kane, Danny Ings or even Saido Berahino. But scoring nearly 20 goals for an at times woeful QPR side was a pretty impressive feat – and he was a popular call-up for England this month.

15. Christian Eriksen – Tottenham (12)

Christian Eriksen selebrates scoring for Tottenham against Hull
(Lynne Cameron/PA)

He’s been overshadowed by Harry Kane at times, but Eriksen has been just as big a success story – as big a success as Erik Lamela has been a failure. A midfield powerhouse with a knack for scoring important goals, Spurs will have to convince him they’re going to improve next season if they want to keep hold of him.

14. Branislav Ivanovic – Chelsea (15)

Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea celebrates scoring against Aston Villa
(David Davies/PA)

Ivanovic was selected by our Chelsea reporter Matt McGeehan as his player of the season. Matt said: “Not a conventional winner, perhaps, but the Serbia right-back is someone I’d want on my team. He has boundless energy, swift acceleration, an ability to go up and down the flank all day and a presence.”

12=. Esteban Cambiasso – Leicester (16)

Esteban Cambiasso playing for Leicester
(Richard Sellers/PA)

Midlands reporter Nick Mashiter chose Cambiasso as his number one. “The 34-year-old has oozed class all year and was one of the main driving forces behind Leicester’s stunning late form,” Nick said. “A humble man but a Rolls Royce of a player he managed to adapt to the Premier League quickly and his range of passing, leadership and composure has been crucial to the Foxes.”

12=. Yannick Bolasie – Crystal Palace (16)

Yannick Bolasie playing for Crystal Palace
(Alastair Grant/AP)

Alan Pardew reckons Bolasie is worth £40million – and he might just get it. We’re sure he’d rather keep the player, though – with pace, power and all the tricks, Bolasie is one player Palace own who can do genuine damage to the Premier League’s big boys. Just ask Liverpool – he made them look a bit silly in Steven Gerrard’s farewell game at Anfield.

11. Thibaut Courtois – Chelsea (20)

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois
(Scott Heppell/AP)

A keeper would obviously have to be a bit special to dislodge Petr Cech from the team, but even some Chelsea fans probably weren’t aware of just quite how good Courtois was until they spent a season watching him. He’s scarcely put a foot wrong all season.

10. Nemanja Matic – Chelsea (27)

Chelsea's Nemanja Matic is challenged by Manchester City's David Silva
(Jon Super/AP)

Matic is the midfielder Arsenal have been crying out for for years. Unfortunately for them, he’s playing for Chelsea. He’s the player of the season according to PA’s deputy sports editor Jamie Gardner, who said: “He is the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League bar none and key to the impressive campaigns for John Terry and Gary Cahill behind him.”

7=. Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool (34)

Philippe Coutinho celebrates scoring for Liverpool
(Jon Super/AP)

In a season bordering on disastrous for Liverpool, Coutinho has been the one unqualified success. It’s impressive the way he keeps adding strings to his bow and he’ll be an even bigger influence once Steven Gerrard moves on. The departing skipper recently described the Brazilian midfielder as the “next big thing”.

7=. Diego Costa – Chelsea (34)

Diego Costa celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Tottenham
(Mike Egerton/EMPICS)

Costa started with such a bang at Chelsea that the fact he finished nowhere near 30 goals for the season feels like a bit of a disappointment. Having a striker who actually scores goals has completely transformed Chelsea though, and they surely wouldn’t have won the league without him.

7=. Cesc Fabregas – Chelsea (34)

Cesc Fabregas celebrates scoring for Cheslea
(Andrew Matthews/PA)

Fabregas was chosen by Merseyside reporter Carl Markham as his player of the season. Carl said: “Team-mate Eden Hazard has gained most of the plaudits but Fabregas offered Chelsea creativity from a deeper position. In the first half of the campaign in particular it was his relationship with Diego Costa which allowed his fellow Spain international to get off to a flying start on the goals front and lay the foundations for their title victory.”

6. Sergio Aguero – Manchester City (37)

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring against QPR
(Mike Egerton/EMPICS)

Aguero’s had a fantastic season – but it feels a bit like nobody’s really noticed. He probably has his team-mates to thank for that – if they’d performed to his level, City would have been true title contenders and Aguero’s efforts as the league’s top scorer would have been shown off in a brighter light.

5. John Terry – Chelsea (68)

John Terry celebrates Chelsea's draw with Arsenal
(Nick Potts/PA)

London reporter Tom Allnutt put John Terry top of his list. Tom said: “Chelsea’s title triumph hinged less on their dominant displays early on than a series of disciplined, dogged and ruthless performances in the second half of the campaign. Terry was at the heart of those, not only with his leadership and will to win but his defending, which was unrivalled by any player in the Premier League all season.”

4. Alexis Sanchez – Arsenal (83)

Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring for Arsenal
(Adam Davy/EMPICS)

Sanchez gained one nod from our panel as the league’s best – unsurprisingly that came from Arsenal reporter Jim van Wijk. He said: “Few players settle so quickly into the hustle and bustle of the English top flight as Sanchez did. The Chile forward has shown a tenacious spirit which has lifted his team-mates over the second half of the season, into the Champions League places and FA Cup final. Deserves a summer off, but won’t get one while away at the Copa America.”

3. David de Gea – Manchester United (87)

David de Gea playing for Manchester United
(Phil Cole/EMPICS)

Reporters Phil Blanche and Andy Hampson both gave their votes to United keeper de Gea. Andy felt he “stood head and shoulders above his team-mates as Manchester United’s one truly outstanding player”. Phil said de Gea had taken “the art of goalkeeping to new heights” and was “almost single-handedly responsible for United’s return to the top-four and a Champions League place”. Too bad it looks like he won’t be playing in it with them next season.

2. Harry Kane – Tottenham (120)

Harry Kane celebrates scoring for Tottenham against Chelsea
(Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

Thirteen of our 15-strong panel had Kane in the top three – but only one, PA’s sports editor Ashley Broadley, had him at number one. Ashley said: “Not even a first choice for Spurs at the start of the season, he is now not only an England international, he is the answer to all our problems and the man who will win us the World Cup in 2018. Well, at the very least, he’s a 30-goal-a-season-plus striker who looks pretty bloody good.”

1. Eden Hazard – Chelsea (133)

Chelsea's Eden Hazard celebrates scoring
(Bogdan Maran/AP)

Like most awards panels this season, ours chose Hazard as their clear number one. Six of the 15 plumped for the Belgium international, including PA’s chief football writer Paul Hirst, who said: “This has been the season where Hazard has lived up to the hype that has followed him around since he was a boy. No player combines skill, balance, temperament and vision as well as him.” Simon Peach pointed out Hazard’s unique ability to “sustain excellence throughout the entire campaign”, while Mark Bryans described him as “untouchable”.

Damian Spellman said Hazard was “head and shoulders both the most exciting player to watch – and the most effective” in a season in which he, according to Phil Medlicott, “truly confirmed himself as one of the world’s leading talents”. In the words of Nick Purewal: “Perceptive, stealthy, creative, deadly and determined – Hazard has the lot.”

Source: SNAPPA