Well this season is just getting harder and harder to predict. Having just absorbed last week’s action Game Week 15 is here and no doubt will throw up plenty more surprises.

The Premier League weekend kicks off Saturday lunchtime at Villa Park. Two wounded team’s line up looking to bounce back from disappointing results. The majority of Villa’s midfield is currently residing in the treatment room. Step forward Barry Bannan and Stephen Ireland, Bannan (4.5) has performed well so far and Ireland (5.9) is eager to get his Aston Villa career up and running. Arsenal are still sitting pretty in third, despite apparently being in crisis, it’s a crisis that 17 other Premier League sides would be delighted to find themselves in. Robin Van Persie (9.5) will be looking to get his season up and running this weekend. Cesc Fabregas will be out for two weeks after picking up a hamstring injury against Braga. But Arsenal still have a wealth of talent to call upon in the absence of their inspirational skipper.

West Ham host Wigan in the basement battle of the weekend. It’s a must win game, both teams will be hoping their match winners will see them through a nervy encounter. Carlton Cole (5.8) has voiced his frustration at the lack of quality balls into the box. Now would be the ideal time to give the Hammers front man the service he craves. Wigan will miss star striker Hugo Rodellega (Suspension) but have the continually impressive Charles N’Zogbia (5.7).

Top of the table Chelsea are struggling too and face a long trip to St James Park this game week. The last time Chelsea lost two league games on the bounce everything was in black and white. They visit a Newcastle side who can’t quite decide whether to score five or concede five every week. My head say’s it all adds up to a dull no score draw But my heart is saying goals so get Andy Carroll (6.1) in your starting XI, John Terry is still absent from the Blues back line and the boy Carroll is guaranteed to give any defence a rough ride.

Sundays late game see’s Tottenham host Liverpool. Spurs cruised past Werder Bremen and into the last 16 of the Champions league Wednesday night. There can be no excuse of tiredness come Sunday, Harry Redknapp’s side had time to stop and feed the ducks on their midweek walk in the park. Jermain Defoe (8.6) is fit again and looks desperate to make up for lost time. If you have the funds available snap him up, he’ll be back in the goals sooner rather than later. Rafael Van Der Vaart (8.5) looks certain to feature after missing out in midweek. Liverpool are starting to turn the corner, but their form on the road is horrendous and they look likely to head home empty handed.

Final mention goes to Johan Elmander (6.3), Kevin Davies (6.5) and Chung-Yong Lee (5.3), I tipped them to be in the points last week and they didn’t disappoint. A home tie against Blackpool this weekend almost guarantees another return from them and hopefully, they will again keep my final shreds of credibility intact for a little while longer.

That’s your lot for this week. If you feel like joining in the fun then join the EPL League by visiting: http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ the code you need to join is 13413-5300

 While the injury to Theo Walcott would have slightly marred England’s excellent 3-1 win in Basel, it did give Manchester City winger Adam Johnson a chance to enhance his ever growing reputation. The former Middlesbrough man did just that with an confident display that saw him get his second England goal in as many games. 

The performance of Johnson summed up a year in which his only disappointment was failing to earn a surprise call-up in to the England World Cup squad. Capello’s decision to opt against taking Johnson to South Africa was another one  grave mistakes from the Italian that lead to the oh so disappointing tournament in South Africa.

Ever since Johnson’s move to Eastlands in January, the 23-year-old’s progress has been remarkable and he is now arguably the brightest young prospect for both club and country. His rise to prominence has been nothing short of spectacular. For years he played second fiddle to Stewart Downing at the Riverside but ever since Downing’s move to Aston Villa, Johnson hasn’t looked back.

In the Championship he showed his potential and class and Roberto Mancini soon took the plunge on the highly rated winger. In an era of big money transfers at Eastlands, it made a refreshing change to see them not only snap up an English prospect, but throw him straight in to the first-team.

It begs the question why nobody else took a punt with Johnson?  Compared to some young prospects he was relatively cheap, and although he achieved most of the success for Middlesbrough in the Championship he did have Premier League experience. I’d certainly rather have Johnson in my side then most, if not all of the young Premier League wingers.

But it was City that did and the result has been nothing sort of extraordinary as Johnson brushed aside the likes of Shaun Wright Phillips and Stephen Ireland to earn a regular starting place. Mancini opted to deploy Johnson on the right, which compensates for his lack of genuine pace allowing him to cut inside on to his deadly left foot.

The question is how good could Johnson be?  If he continues his rapid progression then his potential is endless and I bet the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are looking back with regret that they never took a chance on the future England star.

Along with the recent dip in form at Manchester City has come an unrest amongst the fans who have began to question as to why virtually the same team as the one that began the season so brightly currently appears to lack energy, creativity and flare. It seems as though one way or the other, the reasoning’s all revolve around the central midfield, the common consensus being that Mancini has brought with him the Italian obsession of defensive midfielders, breaking the link between the midfield and attack.

Take into account though that City have a positive goal difference of fifteen, scoring a total of forty eight goals and at the present time lying in fourth place in the Premier League and the argument seems to take a significant dent as a whole, but perhaps the problem is in the individuals. Gareth Barry, City’s summer signing from Aston Villa has not yet proved to be the box-to-box midfielder that his C.V may have suggested, although he has displayed a superb range of passing and the ability to dictate a game’s tempo. Lacking in pace, he perhaps is most destructive as a deep lying play-maker, similar to the role he adopts for his national side.

Patrick Vieira, recently signing from Serie A, still has to prove he has the ‘legs’ for the Premier League and is able to cope with the pace that demands such high fitness levels. Judging by his performances so far and the unnecessary lash out at Glen Whelan on Tuesday night, he still has a lot to prove to the City faithful. At six foot four he offers height and strength that potentially could bolster the midfield and if he is ninety percent of the player he was at Arsenal, then there is no reason as to why City’s midfield should lack an attacking side in the future. Complementing Barry and Vieira has been the Dutchman Nigel de Jong, a small but menacing holding midfield player, who’s job it is to break up opposition attacks and supply the flair players – the likes of Bellamy, Wright-Phillips and Tevez. Many state that he has been one of Manchester City’s most influential players this season, but often goes unnoticed patrolling in front of the back four.

This leaves Stephen Ireland, who undoubtedly was City’s star player last season, netting thirteen goals and picking up the Greater Manchester player of the year award. Unfortunately for the young Irishman, his performances this season have been short of average, not being helped with niggling injuries forcing him to miss sections of the season. Clearly, City miss his hunger to attack and his astonishing but still under-rated work ethic and creative instincts that formed him into one of the league’s best players last season.

Ireland appears to be the missing piece to the puzzle, someone who can play between the defensive midfielder/s and the strikers and with the likes of Barry and de Jong assisting him, it can only be a matter of time before the man from Cork finds his form once again.

Say what you will about the obscene amount of money being spent by Manchester City this summer, but you have to admit that there’s a certain perverse pleasure in watching someone build a real-life club lineup in much the same way that most regular joes would create their starting XI in a video game.

Okay, let’s take West Brom out and put Sealand FC into the Premier League. I’ll build a giant floating stadium in the North Sea for them. Awesome. Let’s drop Kaká in the middle here, and David Villa up front with Jozy Altidore… ooh, gotta bump his numbers up a bit… Cool. Hey, let’s make a Kevin Garnett character and put him in goal. He seems like he could have been good at that…

Man City manager Mark Hughes hasn’t gone quite that crazy, of course, but at first glance, he appears to be making the same mistake most novice video gamers might make when building a team: loading up on strikers. At some point, a gamer realizes that Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Kun Aguero and an injury-free Michael Owen — who seems to exist only in computers and preseasons — can’t all play together at once. Someone has to win the ball and control it in the midfield.

Of course, Hughes hasn’t forgotten this. That’s why he spent £17M on Nigel de Jong in January and another £12M on Gareth Barry this summer. Still, Manchester City has thrown a whopping £129M at forwards since being taken over by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan last August, and the projected front line of Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez alone cost more than £82M.

Throw Stephen Ireland in with Barry, de Jong and that forward trio, however, and Hughes’ plan begins to come into focus. Man City is attempting to emulate FC Barcelona.

And why not? Barcelona used their 4-1-2-3 formation to shatter opponents and win a convincing triple last year, so it’s practically destined to become imitated widely. It’s entirely possible that Sheikh Mansour, like the rest of us, watched Barca break down Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League Final and asked Hughes to build a side exactly like that. He’s also put Hughes in the unique position to do that with just about any players he wants.

The parallels are obvious. Adebayor is the big striker in the middle, a la Samuel Eto’o, while Robinho and Tevez are set wide like Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi. Barry and Ireland are there to control the midfield like Xavi and Iniesta and feed the forwards, while de Jong sits back and provides cover like Yaya Toure. Sort out the central defense, and Sparky could find himself managing a contender.

Plenty of questions remain, though. For starters, can Hughes rotate his strikers enough to keep everyone happy? Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz, Benjani, Valeri Bojinov, Felipe Caicedo and Ched Evans are all fighting for spots, too, and some of them won’t be satisfied playing just cup ties. Does Elano see any playing time in this midfield, which would suit his skills well, or is safe to assume he’ll be gone come August? And what happens to pure wingers like Shaun Wright-Phillips and Martin Petrov? Do they become square pegs in this triangular front six?

Ah, but that’s the fun thing about building a video game roster. When you’ve got the right players, you can experiment with just about any formation you want. Perhaps Hughes can revert back to the familiar 4-4-2 when the situation calls for it. It would be far more interesting, though, to see if that Barca-style 4-1-2-3 could succeed at Eastlands over a full season. In fact, I might just recreate that lineup myself in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 this weekend and see how well it works.

When Mark Hughes agreed to replace Sven Goran Eriksson last summer, no doubt he knew things would be interesting at Manchester City, it very rarely isn’t in the sky blue half of Manchester, but I doubt he’d have expected anything like the events that ultimately played out. What with the takeover and the crazy final day of the summer transfer window, with City making 10 bids of over £15 million for players, it was probably the maddest 24 hours the City faithful could remember in years.

After that, he’s coped remarkably well with the media speculation, both about transfer targets and his own future at the club, showing a calm and assured exterior throughout the season. Of course there have been hiccups along the way, the F.A. Cup defeat, losing 3-0 at home to Forest probably the lowest point along with the embarrassment of being kicked out of the League Cup at Brighton on penalties. Yet, this is a team still trying to find its feet and he has added some excellent signings along the way.

Shay Given is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, as hard as that signing was on the promising Joe Hart, Wayne Bridge a consistent and dependable left back. Vincent Kompany has long been touted as one of Europe’s most promising players as is Nigel De Jong and Stephen Ireland has been magnificent all season. Of course, question marks were raised over the signing of Craig Bellamy, but if anyone can get him playing to his full potential, it’s Hughes, their relationship built during his time as Wales and Blackburn manager.

Now the owner has laid down the aim for next season, a top 6 finish, which for a manager who took Blackburn to the UEFA Cup twice and had 3 top 10 finishes in a row, should be a piece of cake with the resources at his disposal. Mubarak’s statement released on Tuesday was a vindication for Hughes and the work in progress that Manchester City should be classed as. It seemed a reasoned and balanced indication of what the owner wants for Manchester City, regardless of the rubbish and speculation that you can read every day about them, such as this nonsense!

City have had some dreadful press this year, with so many lazy journalists writing rubbish about them because it fills space in empty papers. Here in the UK, we have a couple of papers who are renowned for being so far of the mark with transfer stories as to be laughable. Suffice to say, if you see a transfer story printed in either the Daily Express or the Daily Star, chances are it’ll never happen. Last season, they had a success rate of 8% for transfer stories, the lowest in England by some distance.

That’s not to say they’ve not been their own worst enemy at times, Chief Executive Gary Cook has said some eyebrow raising things during his time at Eastlands, the comments about Richard Dunne were especially unkind, “China and India are gagging for football content to watch and we’re going to tell them that City is their content. We need a superstar to get through that door. Richard Dunne doesn’t roll off the tongue in Beijing. Ronaldinho brings access to major sponsors and financial reward.”

Now that may be true but players like Richard Dunne win you titles by allowing the superstars to play and thankfully Cook has calmed his comments down over the last couple of months after the rather choice words used toward Kaka and A.C. Milan. He needs to deliver the players to move City up a level from where they’ve been the last couple of years. A consistent goal scorer is key, as is a fit and skilful left sided midfielder to add to four or five signings to strengthen the squad. Hughes will be looking to shift some dead wood out too as well as tie Stephen Ireland down to a new long term contract.

Hughes now knows his goals, no doubt his list of transfer targets already is on Gary Cooks desk and as soon as the season finishes on Sunday, City will begin the search to add some more quality to the potential they already have on their books. With Tottenham, Everton and Aston Villa all showing flashes this season, we could finally get a season to remember in 2009-2010 and not just the same 4 clubs sharing out the trophies once again.

As we near the end of what has been and still is an exciting season in the EPL, the various gongs and awards are being given out. As usual, they create plenty of controversy, particularly in the case of Ryan Giggs, who was named Footballer of the Year despite only starting 12 league games this season.

The fact is that these awards always go to those players who enjoy plenty of column inches. Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, has had a quiet season by his standards and I would be willing to bet he wouldn’t even be in most Man Utd fans’ top three for their player of the season. At most clubs, the marquee name often does not pick up the fans’ award. It’s the left back who’s been dependable all season, or the hard-working centre midfielder.

In the Premier League there are always players who have been excellent yet are never considered for the big awards because they play for a less fashionable club, or perhaps because of the belief that you must play for a team likely to win a trophy to be taken seriously. That is rubbish, of course, so in honour of these players, I present my No-Big-Four-Allowed EPL Team of the Season:

Goalkeeper: Shay Given – Man City

When people talk Newcastle it’s normally about strikers. Or Joey Barton. Or the behind the scenes shenanigans. But for years their best player was Shay. Not the biggest keeper you’ll ever see, but there aren’t many safer goalies around. Now he’s run away from the circus to join Man City where he’s being just as brilliant. Apologies to Mark Schwarzer and Tim Howard who just miss out.

Right Back: Glen Johnson – Portsmouth

An exceptional talent at West Ham and a decent start at Chelsea soon gave way to a few years of struggle for Johnson. This season he seems to have grown up. His performances have improved, he has played with greater responsibility and under Paul Hart he has shown willingness to adapt to a new role further up the pitch. The England right back slot was up for grabs a few months ago. Now he’s nailed it.

Left Back: Herita Ilunga – West Ham

The rumour was that when Alan Curbishley lost George McCartney to Sunderland his solution was to sign Ben Thatcher. Relations with his Board continued to dwindle. Ilunga came in on loan from Toulouse and has been superb all season for Zola, part of a defence that looks extremely tight, especially since the arrival of coach Steve Clarke.

Centre Back: Brede Hangeland – Fulham

The 27-year-old Norwegian cost Roy Hodgson just £2.5m this time last year. Arsene Wenger must be sick because this is exactly the sort of dominating giant he needs at the heart of his porous defence. Hangeland has been outstanding in a mean Fulham back five that has conceded just 28 goals in 34 games this season.

Centre Back: Phil Jagielka – Everton

Poor Jags. He had the stones to step up and take a crucial penalty against Man Utd in the FA Cup semi-final after missing one in a previous UEFA Cup tie. He scored. If anyone deserved that glory it was him. Always a solid player, now, like so many at Everton, Jagielka has progressed enormously under David Moyes. It was sad news to see that an injury will keep him out of the Cup Final.  Being in this prestigious team of the season will be little consolation.

Right Midfield: Antonio Valencia

You have to sympathise with Wigan. Every time they discover a decent player (Palacios, Chimbonda) or rediscover an underappreciated talent (Heskey) it’s only a matter of time before they’re nabbed by a bigger club. Or by Spurs. Wigan fans must be wondering what colour shirt Valencia will be wearing next season. Steve Bruce rates him almost as highly as Cristiano Ronaldo.

Left Midfield: Ashley Young – Aston Villa

Ash should, of course, have been given more of a chance in the England squad, although his form in the last third of the season has not been as electric as the first two-thirds. Reached a zenith in December with those two goals away at Everton in a thrilling game that resulted in Martin O’Neill branding him a genius.

Centre Midfield: Stephen Ireland – Man City

Now it starts becoming really difficult. There are great central midfielders all over the shop in the Premier League these days. But I really like Stephen Ireland. Limitless stamina, he manages to be unselfish yet still score plenty of goals himself (13 in all competitions this season). A real talent and only 22 years old.

Centre Midfield: Gareth Barry – Aston Villa

It’s an obvious one, I know, but he deserves it. The chaos surrounding his transfer to Liverpool last summer was upsetting for Villa fans, but eventually he stayed and had the professionalism to get on with his job. You couldn’t say that about every footballer in the land.

Striker: Carlton Cole – West Ham

It’s been a low scoring year for strikers in the Premier League. With a few games left, Ronaldo has scored the most with 17 and Anelka is the only other player to reach 15. Until his injury, however, Carlton Cole was in the form of his life, proving plenty of doubters wrong and helping Zola to turn around West Ham’s fortunes. He even grabbed himself an England cap. Next season will be a big one for him.

Striker: Djibril Cisse – Sunderland

This was a real struggle. I almost stuck Tim Cahill up front as he was excellent there for Everton and Robinho has a case too, but I think his overall form has been too patchy. Robbie Keane had a tough time at Liverpool, Defoe has been injured a lot, Benni McCarthy has blown hot and cold, I like Tuncay but he hasn’t scored enough goals and Agbonlahor’s form has fallen away at times. Old warhorse Kevin Davies has had a tremendous season, but for me Djibril Cisse just about gets the nod, if only to have some variety in hairstyles in the team.

So there we have it. My No-Big-Four-Allowed EPL Team of the Season. Would it challenge the top four? I’d like to think so. Take your pick from David Moyes or Martin O’Neill to lead them into battle and I think you’d see some silverware. Please feel free to let me know where I’ve gone horribly wrong…

If today’s PFA Player of the Year shortlist shows us anything, announcing the player of the year with almost 6 weeks of the season left looks a stupid decision. With only Steven Gerrard not from Manchester United on the six player shortlist, it just shows how quickly things in football can change. What if Frank Lampards goals fire Chelsea to a treble this season? What if Arsenal win the Champions League? Could Manchester United miss out on the Premiership, F.A. Cup and Champions League yet have a player win the PFA award?

Has Edwin Van Der Saar really been the best Premiership goalkeeper this season? Surely Mark Schwarzer’s contribution for Fulham has been more important between the sticks, as perhaps Shay Given at Newcastle and Manchester City this season can claim too. Manchester United could play a snowman in goal sometimes and no-one would notice.

Liverpool have now only got one chance of silverware after Wednesdays classic Champions League Quarter Final say Chelsea edge them out, with Lampard once again dragging the Blues through. Lampard has now scored 19 goals in all competitions, 2 less than Gerrard and Ronaldo but has set up more goals for his team mates than those two put together.Ferdinand has been superb all season, Vidic has seen his form drift away since February.

I don’t understand why the PFA awards have to be announced so soon and the voting to be concluded before all the major trophies are handed out. Last season, it was obvious that Ronaldo was head and shoulders ahead of anyone else, won all the domestic player awards and then failed to deliver once again for Portugal, spent all Summer flirting with Real Madrid and then missed the beginning of the season through injury and still won the World Player of  The Year Award.

This year, there is no stand out candidate, but for Lampard to be omitted is beyond a joke. During the final weeks of Scolari’s reign at Stamford Bridge, Lampard carried them single handed it seemed to try and keep them in as many competitions as possible, showing  guts and determination throughout the chaos that seemed to be going on all around him. Are professional players that daft that they couldn’t see that?

The Young Player of the Year award seems even more ludicrous, only 3 of the candidates have truly played well all season. Ireland, Rafael and Lennon have been head and shoulders above the other 3 candidates, with Ireland being the stand out nomination. Of the other 3, Agbonlahor has scored 3 goals since Christmas, has Jonny Evans been that good all season  and Ashley Young has been so inconsistent as to be almost laughable to be included in the final six.

How two Aston Villa players could be included when they’ve won 3 games out of their last 15 matches makes me think that the nominations must have been done on New Years Eve because Villa have fallen away so far and are in danger of finishing 6th when they had a good chance of finishing 3rd. Are there so few young players kicking around? Where’s Jack Rodwell? Mark Noble and Jack Collinson from West Ham have both had excellent seasons yet don’t feature at all.

Hopefully Ferdinand and Ireland will win the awards, but the nominations themselves just don’t make any sense at all. It’s time to move them to the end of the season when it actually matters.

Never mind the fact that I’ve been subjecting myself to the pain of following Manchester City for nigh on 12 years – Despite what I and every other City fan have been singing at the top of our lungs all season, I always knew deep down I wasn’t coming to Istanbul at the end of May.

(Not only do I live in the United States, but I’m also a college student and one who is studying to become a schoolteacher.  In other words, I live far, far away from the club I love, I’m skint enough that I can’t afford flights to Turkey on a month and a half’s notice and will likely continue to be so for my entire professional career.  So there you go, that’s my excuse.)

A lot of City fans probably began to feel that way after their team survived a penalty shootout against Aalborg in the UEFA Cup’s round of 16 – their second win on penalties in the competition this season, both coming against Danish opponents – and they were hardly rewarded for advancing further than any City team has in Europe in the last 30 years.

When Blues supporters braced themselves for whatever fate was about to dealt to them at the last-ever UEFA Cup draw last month in Switzerland, they received pretty much the worst news possible.  A European cup final was still possible, but they would have to get through essentially two two-legged cup finals against Hamburg and Werder Bremen, perhaps the two most dangerous teams remaining in the competition, if they were going to the actual final on May 20.

Things were looking good early at the HSH Nordbank Arena on Thursday, though, when Stephen Ireland’s back-and-forth with Robinho resulted in the Irishman giving the Blues a 1-0 lead and a vital away goal in the first minute of the match.  Unfortunately, Hamburg would then overturn the early deficit to take a 3-1 aggregate lead into the second leg in Manchester next week after having scored three unanswered, and anyone who watched the game would tell you it could have easily been closer to five or six.

The good news for City, however, is that one of the few things that the quarterfinal draw allowed them is still in play: Both in the league and (for the most part) in Europe, City have been miles better at the City of Manchester Stadium than they have been away from it, and they’ll have a chance to prove it once again next week.

They were completely outworked for 89 minutes in Hamburg, but Ireland’s goal in the first 35 seconds of the first leg means that a 2-0 win in the second would send the Blues through on away goals.  It’s much easier said than done, obviously, but if City can take their undoubted player of the year’s advice in his post-game interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, show their team’s quality and “be braver,” then a spot in the semifinals isn’t completely out of the question just yet.

Thursday night should have shown any myopic viewers that are solely in the tank for Premier League sides that the German Bundesliga is not to be ignored, with Hamburg and Werder Bremen taking English and Italian teams to task.  Werder Bremen has most likely already booked its passage into the semis with their own 3-1 win on Thursday, but the gap in talent between Bremen and Udinese is greater than that between Hamburg and Manchester City, and Hamburg manager Martin Jol’s men would do well to keep that in mind when they come to Eastlands next week.

Towards the end of this month, the Premiership team of the year will be announced along with the PFA players’ player of the year. In anticipation of this, I have decided to select my own best eleven of the season and invite you to do likewise. So here goes:

Goalkeeper:

Edwin Van Der Sar

It’s difficult to look beyond someone who didn’t concede a goal for over three months of the season. At the age of 38, he has defied his years, proving that he still has the ability to be considered one of the top keepers in world football and the desire to win medals. Although he does have a remarkable defence in front of him, it is partly his concentration levels that are so commendable. The fact that he spends the majority of games with nothing to do, only to be called into action late on and oblige with both routine and magnificent saves is why he is still a major attribute to Manchester United. His meticulous preparation, years of experience and composure in nervy situations provide the platform for young players like Jonny Evans to come straight into the first team and look like he’s been there for years.

Defence:

Phil Jagielka

A superb season has seen him rewarded with an England call up. Everton pride themselves on having a solid core and while others have taken the plaudits, Jagielka quietly goes about his business, keeping many a top class striker firmly at bay. His ability on the ball is infallible has been consistently good under pressure. He too has that urgency and desire to not lose a goal and in the mould of John Terry and Jamie Carragher, will throw himself in front of anything to ensure that his side do not concede.

Nemanja Vidic

Vidic has been absolutely outstanding for the majority of the season. It will be highlighted that he had a shocker against Liverpool recently but that should not take away from the fact that he has been world class yet again. He is not only vital to United in a defensive sense but his goal threat is sensational. Important ones against Chelsea and Inter Milan have seen him become very much a potent threat from set pieces while his no nonsense attitude at the back makes him a striker’s worst nightmare.

Brede Hangeland

What a find by Roy Hodgson. From leaking goals left, right and centre to being the clean sheet specialists in the Premiership, Hangeland is very much the heart and soul of Fulham’s team. They have built a solid unit around his old school style of defending as he provides a presence that the West London club severely lacked. It is likely that he will move on to a bigger club in the summer and it is clear for all to see as to why he is so coveted.

Joleon Lescott

Another consistent season for the versatile defender who still remains potent in front of goal. He has followed up on his two previous impressive seasons for the Toffees with yet another, this time being more of a feature at centre back than left back. Nonetheless, he still seems to be a key member of Everton’s team and at 26, must only be scraping the surface of his talents and has his best years ahead of him.

Midfield:

Frank Lampard

This man doesn’t know how to have a mediocre season, even when all around him are. His knack for not just scoring but doing so at crucial times never ceases to amaze. Despite the addition of yet another ‘world class’ midfielder in the form of Deco, Lampard continues to remain Chelsea’s only undroppable, unstoppable midfielder and Ballack and the aforementioned Portuguese playmaker could take a leaf out of his book.  Another aspect of Lampard’s game that deserves the utmost respect is the fact that he is always available for selection, regardless of the competition. Whether it’s the league cup third round at home to a lower league side to the champions’ league final, Lampard wants to play. For me Lampard is the main reason why Chelsea are still in the title race.

Xabi Alonso

For a player who was supposedly surplus to requirements last summer, he has more than proved his importance and class. It’s no coincidence that his best form for probably two years now has coincided with Liverpool mounting their most serious title challenge for years. Alonso’s range of passing is undoubtedly breathtaking at times, while this season he has also chipped in with some vital goals, something that has been severely lacking in his game in previous campaigns. Another factor that has been impressive about Alonso is that he appears to have more resilience about him, not going missing in games that aren’t going according to plan.

Stephen Ireland

Considering all Manchester City’s money and their foreign imports, it has been Stephen Ireland who has been their most consistent performer over the season. He has responded to the influx of talent that surrounds him and puts some of them to shame with his tireless performances week in week out. Goals have been the most notable addition to his game but his overall influence on the team has been superb. At home, Man City have looked great more often than not and Ireland slots in nicely with assists and general midfield play that is easy on the eye. But it has been away from home, where City have struggled, that Ireland has come into his own. 
Whereas some players have shied away from a scrap and a battle on unfamiliar turf, Ireland has dug in and led by example with a never say die attitude that is starting to look like it might pay dividends for City. His game has matured this season and he has certainly risen to the challenge of the investors that want to make City a massive club. Judging by his performances, if the good times are just around the corner, Ireland definitely wants to be a part of it.

Ashley Young

He has been one of, if not the most exciting player to watch this season. He is a breath of fresh air and doesn’t know when to quit. Take the game versus Everton just before Christmas as a perfect example. Just when it looked as though Everton had salvaged a point courtesy of a ninetieth minute equaliser, Young literally goes up the other end of the pitch and scores a crucial winner.
His pace is electric, his skills and technique are sublime and his finishing is getting better by the chance. He is also one of the top providers of goals and delivers a dangerous set piece that no defenders find easy to deal with. Villa have played with no fear this season and he has been the personification of this bold approach that Martin O’Neill has endorsed.

Forwards:

Wayne Rooney

Finally, some consistency and a solid goal return has seen Rooney take a massive stride towards becoming the player we all knew he could be. For years I believe Rooney to have been overrated but this year he has added regular goals to his game, an attribute which was sorely missing. Last year he was over shadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo (although who wasn’t?) but now Rooney is starting to show why he is most effective at the top end of the pitch, providing the kind of goal return of a striker (almost one in two in all competitions). And his desire to get in the box more hasn’t deterred his work rate defensively as he still goes chasing back seventy yards when losing the ball. Also his skill and long range passing is now proving to be more productive rather than for show. By far his best season and at 23 has much more to come.

Kevin Davies

A somewhat controversial choice but he has had his best season in front of goal and has always in my opinion been underrated. He does the same job for Bolton that Emile Heskey does but includes goals in his game as well. The only reason Davies never receives international recognition is because he has never played for a fashionable club.  He has scored four times the amount of goals Heskey has this season and has been Bolton’s catalyst for years now. Davies has been this season’s highest scoring English forward in the Premiership and although he isn’t most people’s cup of tea, he is very effective.

Why are they bothering having a Young Player Of The Year vote this season is beyond me as Stephen Ireland is head and shoulders above every other candidate playing in the Premiership this season.  Ireland has been in magnificent form since the season started and with everything going on at Manchester City on and off the pitch, has been a wonderfully consistent performer for the City.

Ireland has really begun to show the consistency his early appearances promised when he made his breakthrough back in the 2005-2006 season and this season he has been in exceptionally form in City’s midfield. It also seems that Ireland has managed to put his very ill advised lies of September 2007 behind him and begun to concentrate on playing football.

How the Republic Of Ireland must be wishing he would return from his self imposed exile to add his beautiful range of passing and eye for important goals to a lacklustre midfield. To say Trapattoni and Brady rate the young midfielder would be an understatement but he has so far refused any attempts to re-introduce him back into the international fold. It’s a situation I can’t really understand when a player simply refuses to play for his country at such a young age, but that shouldn’t detract from his performances this season.

I hope he does return to International football soon though, it would be a shame for such a footballing talent to not garner the international career and caps his talent deserves, but ultimately only Ireland can make the decision to wear the emerald shirt once more. Let’s hope that Shay Given joining Manchester City will perhaps lead Ireland to make himself available for the next international squad in June. When you’re in a qualifying group with Italy and Bulgaria, you need your best players available, Ireland easily finds himself at the top table quality wise for his country. Yet I don’t suppose Mark Hughes will be that sad to see him staying fresh for Manchester City, as they attempt to topple SV Hamburg in the UEFA Cup next week.

He’s been head and shoulders above any of his potential rivals for the Young Player Of The Year award and for me, one of the best midfielders regardless of age this season. It would have been easy for Ireland to hide this season as City got linked with virtually every player in Europe, but his game seems to have gone from strength to strength since Abu Dhabi United bought the club. The constant linking of his employers to top quality players seems to have become a driving force behind his play. He was always a great passer of the ball, but now he makes more bursts into the box and his eye for goal has really sharpened up. His set piece deliver is consistently dangerous, his link play, eye catching. For a man of 22, he sometimes shows dazzling maturity with the ball at his feet.

I can’t see any other young player coming close to him this season, Ashley Young has fallen away as has his team mate Gabriel Agbonlahor, Theo Walcott has missed too much of the season, Aaron Lennon whilst good, has yet to deliver consistent form over a seasons length.Ireland has been immense this season and deserves to be the first Irishman to win the Young Player of the Year award and the first Manchester City player to win it since Peter Barnes in 1975-1976. It’s richly deserved.