Premier League Team of the Year

An intriguing Premier League season wrapped up yesterday in what feels like a transitional season to a potentially explosive one next year, given all of the changes that are coming at clubs throughout the table. There have been some excellent performances this year and this is my Premier League Team of the Season.

Team of the Year – Manchester United

United are the Champions and there can be no real argument that they deserved it. They may well not have been as strong as previous units but they won the league comfortably. They started the season scoring heavily, started to tighten up defensively at the turn of the year and from then on they surged away from City and Chelsea.

David De Gea – Man United

De Gea started the year with question marks over his head but ended it as the top keeper in the league. Even though Petr Cech had a decent season, it’s De Gea who showed himself to be the elite shot stopper in the division. This campaign he has also used his increased bulk to take command of his penalty box and now looks much less vulnerable under the high ball.

Rafael – Man United

Rafael has come of age this season. He was always a good attacking full back but there have been questions about his defensive capabilities. This season though, he answered those questions and showed that he can indeed be United’s right full back of the future. With the faltering form of all of United’s wide attackers, it was Rafael that gave them width and menace on the right flank on many occasions.

Rio Ferdinand – Man United

Ferdinand very much had a bounce back season. Over the last couple of years, there have been issues with injuries and loss of form but he got back to his best this year. It is no coincidence that the solidification of their defence came with Ferdinand playing every game again. His organisational skills were of particular use when partnered with Evans and he has helped the young stable of defenders to improve considerably.

Jan Vertonghen – Spurs

Vertonghen was head and shoulders above all other central defenders this season. He arrived from Ajax with comparisons to Thomas Vermaelen but has proved to be much better. He plays without fear and looks as if he has been playing in the Premier League for a decade. Calm on the ball when in possession, he is also the best tackler and interceptor of a ball in the league. He uses his brain rather than physical gifts to be in the right place at the right time and can only get better next year.

Leighton Baines – Everton

In some ways, Baines seems to get forgotten because of his consistency. Others float on and off the radar but when Baines is good it is a case of ‘well obviously, it is Leighton Baines after all’. But that’s precisely the point. Unlike near enough any other player in the league, when he makes an error it is deemed worthy of particular highlight. Even with his extraordinary goal scoring and goal making feats from left back, he could have had about 15 assists if Everton had a consistent striker. An amazing year once more.

Michael Carrick – Man United

Carrick has been receiving a lot of praise this season and rightly so, but his levels are always high. You don’t get to be the starter for a club like Man United for as long as he has without having something about you. He has always been a solid passer of the ball but what he has improved upon this season is his defensive work. He now looks like a battling, physical defensive midfielder. A proper anchor man rather than a passer who sits deep. For some reason, he can’t transfer that on to the International stage but for United he has been the epitome of consistent quality.

Steven Gerrard – Liverpool

Before his shoulder injury Gerrard had played every second of every Premier League game. What makes his season so impressive is that under Brendan Rodgers, he is playing in a new position. He used to play as the upfield dynamo but he is now sitting back as the conductor. Lucas plays the short passing game which gives Gerrard license to explore the full range of his passing. He has also been as strong a leader as ever, a firm hand at the rudder of a young Liverpool team which has bubbled with promise this year.

Juan Mata – Chelsea

Mata was really good in his debut season, but in this his second season, he has been phenomenal. He’s not big, he’s not especially quick and he doesn’t have a canon for a foot. But what he does have is unparalleled intelligence in the final third. He glides around the pitch in a permanent pocket of space, seemingly surrounded by an invisibility force field which makes him immune to the interest of defenders. He has created as many goals as last year but this time he has added goals, and lots of them. What a player.

Gareth Bale – Spurs

The PFA and Writers Player of the Year, Bale has at times been a one man wrecking crew for Spurs. Although it’s an empty argument because they do have him, imagine if they didn’t. The number of last minute goals, mostly from long range, that he has scored kept Spurs in the Champions League race. It’s not just the number of goals and assists he collected but the quality of them. He isn’t one for poking home from three yards. He has authored some special moments this year.

Santi Cazorla – Arsenal

It was close between Cazorla and his team mate Theo Walcott but the Spaniard wins this place for his overall play. Cazorla has played in all three positions behind the central striker in Arsenal’s 4-2-3-1 system and been effective at each stationing. A genuinely two footed player, he has been able to score and make so many goals for Arsenal this year that the prospect of what he is capable of next year is thrilling for Gunners fans. His debut season was more productive than Mata or Silva for example, both of whom went on to have spectacular second seasons.

Robin Van Persie – Man United

Top scorer and right up there in the assists race too. Van Persie has given United a consistent presence up front that they lacked last year. Rooney is streaky and capable of destructive phases but van Persie just ticked along all season, picking up important goals and making them for others. The ideal focal point for the United attack, he achieved of all this without much help from a revolving cast of underachieving attacking midfielders.