It’s a joy to watch players evolve in the Premier League and become world-class footballers. A few examples include Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Theo Walcott. But for every starlet, there are also shining stars who seem to get worse each week and fail to live up to the promises they showed earlier on in their career.

Here are top 7 Premier League players who used to be brilliant, but now they’re crap:

• Damien Duff (Newcastle United) - Under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Duff was a powerhouse down the left wing, cutting back and causing all sorts of havoc for defenders. Now the Irish winger is a shadow of himself at Newcastle.
• Kieron Dyer (West Ham United) – Once recognized as one of the most promising England international players when he was at Ipswich and Newcastle, Dyer’s career has plummeted from worse to worse and has been hampered with injuries galore. He was signed by West Ham for £6 million more than a year ago, but has only made two appearances for the East London club.
• Alan Smith (Newcastle United) – While at Leeds United, Smith played with a passion and energy that is rarely seen in the Premier League anymore. After Leeds were relegated, Smith’s career went from bad to worse at Manchester United and then Newcastle.
• Lee Bowyer (West Ham United) – When Bowyer joined Leeds from Charlton, he was a record signing for a British teenager at that time. He went on to become a key figure in Leeds United reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and UEFA Cup, and was voted player of the year by supporters for two years. But despite playing his best football for Leeds, his career has been riddled with court cases, injuries and even an on-field brawl with fellow Kieron Dyer.
• Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur) – Some would argue whether he was good in the first place, but the frustrating thing about the England midfielder is that he shows flashes of brilliance five percent of the time, but then is practically invisible the remaining portion of time.
• Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur) - At Ipswich and Charlton, Bent was a goalscoring machine knocking in 121 at the East Anglia club and 68 for Alan Curbishley’s side. At Charlton, he was the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League during the 2005/2006 season. But after joining Spurs for £16.5 million, his career has slumped and he’s only scored twice in the Premier League so far this season.
• Sami Hyypia (Liverpool) - Believe it or not, but there was a time when Hyypia was a rock in the centre of defense for Liverpool. In the 2000-2001 season, when he was co-captain, he helped lead the club to a historic treble, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup. And he played a key role in helping Liverpool win the Champions League trophy in 2005. Since then, his performances have suffered and whenever the Finland international plays for the Reds, he appears to be a liability for the club.

Which players are we missing that should be on the list? Click the comments link below and let us know.

Related posts:

1. Who Are The Premier League Players You Love To Hate The Most?
2. Recognizing Premier League’s Best of the Rest
3. Chelsea Players Play Blame Game and Other Premier League News

We thought it’d be fun to pick our all-star injury football team featuring those Premier League players that always seem to be injured. Thanks to the EPL Talk readers who participated in last weekend’s EPL Talk Chat for the idea.

1. Chris Kirkland
2. Gary Neville
3. Mikael Silvestre
4. Jonathan Woodgate
5. Ledley King
6. Owen Hargreaves
7. Kieron Dyer
8. Tim Cahill
9. Craig Bellamy
10. Michael Owen
11. Louis Saha

Subs:
Andy Johnson
Mark Viduka
Valeri Bojinov
Emile Heskey
Didier Drogba

What current players are missing that should be featured in this squad? Click the comments link below and let us know.

Related posts:

1. Join the 2009/2010 Fantasy Premier League
2. EPL Talk Readers Lead Worldwide Fantasy Premier League Table
3. Who Are Your Hidden Gems in Fantasy Premier League?