5 most underutilised players of 2016
‘A player is only as good as the manager and the system he plays in.’
Players are often signed by clubs without the consent of the manager which end up as a disaster more often than not. Players also often lose prime playing time of their career playing for the wrong managers unable to bring the best out of them. Even a change of manager can spell doom for players performing well under the previous manager. History is littered with examples of these instances.
We look at 5 players who were constantly overlooked by their managers and their playing time did no justice to their talents:
#5 Asmir Begovic
Asmir Begovic had built his reputation playing for Stoke City for five and a half seasons. The Bosnian goalkeeper was considered one of the finest and underrated keepers in the league for a few seasons until his move to Chelsea for £8 million.
Begovic knew what he was getting into when he signed for the Blues. Courtois had just replaced Cech as the No. 1 keeper in the team and that was quite a feat in itself. The Bosnian had to be content being the second choice at the start of the season. However, as the season progressed, Courtois suffered from horrific form, suspensions and injuries, and this meant Begovic got his chances to prove his worth.
While the rest of the Chelsea squad struggled, Begovic was one of the most consistent performers for them. Filling the void left by Courtois’ injury perfectly, he saved Chelsea from humiliating defeats on multiple occasions.
However, he was dropped abruptly after Mourinho’s sacking and Courtois took the charge again. While Courtois slowly returned to form, Begovic’s dependable performances went under the radar.
The 29-year-old keeper has only made 5 league appearances in the last year and with Courtois returning to form, he may have to look elsewhere for regular game time that he deserves.