okay, Ill cut and paste the names...and their write ups
10. JI-SUNG PARK, Manchester United
There was once a school of thought that Ji-Sung Park is a vastly overrated player who was only signed by Manchester United to sell shirts in Asia.
Thankfully many pupils have graduated from said school during Park’s five years in English football, but while the semi-jingoistic sneering has subsided over the years, Park is still not fully given the credit he deserves.
We all know Park is hard-working, agile and athletic, but the South Korean is also extremely tactically astute - the reason Sir Alex Ferguson often calls him up for United’s big games in both the Premier League and Europe. Of Park’s 17 goals for United, over one third have come against either Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or in the Champions League.
9. SEBASTIAN LARSSON, Birmingham City
Once on the books at Arsenal, Sebastian Larsson boasts all the technical qualities and skill Arsene Wenger tends to look for in his players. The Swede is also an excellent dead-ball specialist.
Blues boss Alex McLeish is clearly a fan. "Seb doesn't have to beat a man. He can get the ball around an opponent with his terrific curl on the ball.”
When it comes to free-kicks and corners there are few better in the league than Larsson. Now in the final year of his contract, there will undoubtedly be several takers should the 25-year-old choose to leave St. Andrews on a Bosman.
We all know strikers love scoring goals. Watching a striker celebrate a goal is old hat. Watching a defender take genuine pleasure from the art of defending however is less common.
A classic moment from the early stages of the 2010/11 season watching Christopher Samba's reaction to clearing off the line for Blackburn against Manchester City. The big French-born defender then jumped up, roared, punched the air and beat his chest triumphantly, as if he had just scored a last minute winner in an FA Cup final.
Such committed, passionate defending is wonderful to see, and epitomises the wholehearted nature of Blackburn’s Congolese centre back. Shaky when he first joined from Hertha Berlin three years ago, Samba has developed into one of the league’s best central defenders, and was handed the club captaincy by Sam Allardyce as a reward.
7. ROGER JOHNSON, Birmingham City
Birmingham City are far from the most fashionable of teams in the Premier League, but their transition from new boys to an established, accomplished side within a year has been highly impressive.
Birmingham equalled an all-time club record in going unbeaten at home for over a year after the 0-0 draw with Wigan, and a large part of that is down to a stellar defence of which Roger Johnson is an integral part.
Johnson played in every single league game for Birmingham last season and contributed heavily to a defence that conceded less goals at home than champions Chelsea.
6. AARON HUGHES, Fulham
The very definition of an unfashionable defender, you are unlikely to see Fulham’s Aaron Hughes make the headlines too often. Such is his undistinguished nature that if the Northern Ireland international was caught drunk in a hot tub, surrounded by scantily clad cheerleaders an hour before kick-off, the story would probably not even make the local news.
Hughes’ low profile masks the fact that he is actually a very good centre back. His ability to read the game and speed are both stand-out qualities, and he is physically imposing without being too aggressive. Fulham got fantastic value for money in paying just £1 million for him. Vastly underrated
. JORDAN HENDERSON, Sunderland
Jordan Henderson burst onto the scene last season at Sunderland, where he was named Young Player of the Season after making 38 appearances in all competitions.
An exciting midfielder who can play through the centre or down the right, Henderson is a product of Sunderland’s Academy system, a young English player who disproves the theory that all the good young English talent is being swallowed up and denied opportunities by a stifling Premier League foreign contingent.
Highly rated on Wearside but curiously still not too well known outside the Northeast, at only 20-years-old Henderson is a player with a very bright future.
. MATTHEW ETHERINGTON, Stoke City
Statistically speaking, this former Spurs and West Ham man is one of the most creative players in the league. According to Opta, since the start of last season no player has assisted a higher percentage of a team’s Premier League goals than Etherington. Put simply, and given the rather agricultural way Tony Pulis likes to set up his teams, Matthew Etherington is fundamental to Stoke’s gameplan.
Week after week he bombs down the left, creating chances for his team-mates via impressive set piece delivery and pinpoint crossing. Despite this he rarely gets the plaudits - Rory Delap’s unconventional methods set far more chins wagging than Stoke’s number 26.
See, he doesn’t even get a decent squad number.
3. HUGO RODALLEGA, Wigan Athletic
The Colombian international has proven a good value signing for Wigan Athletic, particularly when you consider how much more than £4.5 million certain other clubs have paid for much less successful strikers than he.
Rodallega scored 10 league goals and also chipped in with seven assists for Wigan in his first full season, and his all-round lively, dynamic style marks him down as one of the Premier League’s better strikers. At only 25 there is also plenty of room for further improvement.
2. KEVIN DOYLE, Wolves
Though far from the most prolific of strikers, to judge Kevin Doyle on goals alone would be to ignore the many other facets of his game that make him the player he is.
An incredibly hard-working, resilient striker, Doyle is one of the league’s finest when it comes to leading the line and providing an outlet for team-mates in that 4-5-1 system. It’s a lonely role, but Doyle performs it selflessly. A stripped-down-but-no-less-functional iPod nano to the Ipad that is Didier Drogba, if you will.
A revelation at Reading after joining from Cork City for a mere £78,000, Doyle’s tireless running and incredibly selfless displays were central to Wolves escaping relegation last season. His 9 goals in 34 appearances were also a help, of course.
. CHUNG-YONG LEE, Bolton Wanderers
Gary Megson may not be remembered for much in Bolton, but fans at the Reebok Stadium do at least have something to thank the man they once nicknamed ‘Ginger Mourinho’ for and that is the signing of Chung-Yong Lee.
Lee was a revelation in his first season at the club, winning Bolton’s Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and best newcomer award, a remarkable feat for a player simultaneously adapting to life in an entirely new continent and culture.
Fleet of foot, skilful and pacy, Lee is also blessed with an intelligent football brain. He also fits the criteria required for inclusion here perfectly by being almost completely unheralded in the Premier League. We doubt Alan Shearer even knows who he is.
“Chung-Yong is developing all the time and I believe he is going to be a big, big star,” reckons Wanderers boss Owen Coyle of the 22-year-old. We don't disagree.
