Top 50 Players of the Season: 40-31 – Southampton trio impress, plus Tottenham and Manchester City No.1’s

At the Offside Rule Podcast, we’ve been voting for our Top 50 Players of the Premier League season since the latest campaign wrapped up just over a week ago. Over 20 people nominated 25 players, first place gaining 25 points, right down to 25th place getting a solitary 1 point and slowly the whole thing came together.

Here’s the players that just did enough to make it between 31 and 40…

40. Graziano PELLE (Southampton)
Points: 51

Given the job of replacing Southampton legend and goalscorer Rickie Lambert at the start of the season, Pelle was one of many new signings who did more than enough to prove he was capable of replacing the English players that left last summer.

As Ronald Koeman preferred to replace home-grown stars such as Lambert, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and co with players from Eredivisie in Holland, his tactics worked. Pelle was a beast up front, regularly scoring goals and bullying defenders and Koeman will hope he goes from strength to strength next season.

 

39. OSCAR (Chelsea)
Points: 51

Whilst he didn’t perform as well as he has done during Chelsea’s successful campaign, and was often the fall guy in the big games where Jose Mourinho preferred a solid midfield three including either Ramires, John Obi Mikel or even Kurt Zouma, the Brazilian did shine earlier in the season, scoring a wonderful goal that earned him Chelsea’s goal of the season award.

If he can fight his way back into a regular starting spot, Oscar showed during his first season in England the talent he had, forcing Juan Mata out of the centre and eventually out of Stamford Bridge completely. But he knows he can do better.

 

38. Fabian DELPH (Aston Villa)
Points: 54

One of the breakout young stars of the season. Delph hadn’t really lived up to the potential he showed as a youngster at Leeds, but this year he received his first England call-up after superb form for Aston Villa.

Whilst Delph was one of a few who continued to impress under Paul Lambert, he really came out of his shell under Tim Sherwood, scoring and starring in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool. A new contract should ensure Villa fend off any interest from top clubs this summer.

 

37. Jose FONTE (Southampton)
Points: 57

Once again the rock solid wall at the heart of Southampton’s defence. Picked up for a small fee and a complete unknown several years ago, Fonte has been consistent alongside whichever partner he has been given.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Fonte forged a superb understanding with Dejan Lovren, but it was the Croatian who got a big money move last summer. He managed to form an even better partnership with the on loan Toby Alderweireld, but again it is the Belgian who is being linked with the top clubs this summer. Given Fonte’s superb form, that won’t bother current boss Ronald Koeman one bit.

 

36. Cesar AZPILICUETA (Chelsea)
Points: 58

One of Chelsea’s unsung heroes and probably why he finds himself so far down the order compared to his peers. He doesn’t do anything too noticeable, he’s not a full-back who chips in with goals or regular assists, but he works hard and does the job Jose Mourinho requires of him.

He has been a mainstay of a defence that provided the foundation for Chelsea to go on and claim their first Premier League title since 2010, and whilst others will take the plaudits, Azpilicueta has been, and will continue to be, as important as anyone.

 

35. Mesut OZIL (Arsenal)
Points: 65

Like many of Germany’s World Cup winners last summer, Ozil experienced a difficult couple of months when the Premier League restarted last August. Whilst he failed to deliver during his first season, Ozil clearly bulked up during the summer and has seen the rewards.

After returning to the centre of midfield, Arsenal’s form picked up after a disastrous start to the season. Ozil was probably the best player on the pitch in the recent FA Cup final, and whilst the rest of the world might be waiting for him to chip in with more goals, Gunners’ supporters are more than happy with the classy German’s current contribution.

 

34. Fraser FORSTER (Southampton)
Points: 69

Certainly one of the most impressive goalkeepers of the season, particularly when you look at Southampton’s defensive record compared to their competitors. Whilst he had some difficult moments where coming off his line was concerned at the start of the campaign, Forster has begun to put real pressure on Joe Hart for England’s number one jersey and will continue to do so if his form carries on after injury.

Forster will miss the start of next season after being ruled out for up to a year with a serious knee injury picked up in March. A huge blow for a promising goalkeeper and everyone hopes his form will recover upon his return.

 

33. Yaya TOURE (Manchester City)
Points: 70

Whilst he endured one of his tougher seasons at the Etihad during different stages of the campaign, his quality was shown in his absence. City’s form went to pieces when Toure was missing at the Africa Cup of Nations for a month in January, and immediately picked up when the midfielder returned.

He’s now confirmed he will stay and despite a dodgy temperament and a craving for birthday cake, he’s clearly still a quality player and one Pellegrini will need to launch an assault on the Premier League title next season.

 

32. Joe HART (Manchester City)
Points: 76

Didn’t quite do enough to displace Tottenham’s number one but Hart had an impressive end to the season himself. Pellegrini’s faith in him was questioned when Willy Caballero arrived at the start of the campaign, and Hart found himself dropped several times after errors began to creep into his game.

But as City’s form picked up all round after Christmas, Hart was as good as anyone, bar a few hairy moments here and there, culminating in one of the saves of the season against Swansea towards the end of May. You feel he still has another level to go before he’s considered world class though.

 

31. Hugo LLORIS (Tottenham Hotspur)
Points: 78

Will he be the number one at White Hart Lane for much longer? Whilst it would be difficult to claim he’s in the same bracket as Courtois and De Gea, Lloris had another impressive and solid season as Spurs moved above Liverpool into 5th place.

A string of excellent saves and performances have led to him being mooted to replace David De Gea at Old Trafford this summer, should the latter depart from sunnier scenery before August. Whilst he still has assets to improve on, nobody could argue he doesn’t deserve such a move.

 

You can view our picks from 50 down to 41 here.