The Most Underrated Players in the Premier League - Part Two

If you missed Part One find it here.

So last week we revealed our top 10 to 6 of the most underrated Premier League players this season. We revealed that the likes of Wes Hoolahan, Stiliyan Petrov and others were having fantastic seasons without much recognition.

But today, we shall expose who we think has been the most underrated player of this season’s Premier League campaign.

Let’s get back to the countdown.

5.) Alex Song – Arsenal: Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey have really taken the spot light in Arsenal’s midfield this season. But Alex Song has been just as vital as the other two. Song’s fantastic protection of the back four and the midfield has helped Arsenal stay defensively solid. Indeed, Song has won the most tackles for Arsenal this season with 38 tackles. But what has been more impressive about Song’s game is his contribution going forward. One will recall it was Alex Song who floated the ball over to Van Persie for his exceptional volley versus Everton late last year. But this is just one of many examples. Song has been creating chances for Arsenal all season. Indeed, the Cameroonian International has created 23 chances, 3 less than Gervinho to put things into perspective. Furthermore, clear evidence of his offensive contribution is clear when one looks at how many times he has assisted for Arsenal this season in the Premier League. Song has assisted the joint most alongside Gervinho with 5 assists this season. Song’s defensive displays alongside his creativity have made him one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at the moment.

4.) Joe Allen – Swansea: Swansea have exceeded virtually everybody’s expectations. But Joe Allen has been indispensable to the Swans success this season. Allen’s tidiness on the ball typifies everything about Swansea’s keep ball philosophy. The Swansea midfielder has a passing accuracy of 90% this season and has made more accurate passes than Scott Parker, Alex Song and Charlie Adam. Allen’s creativity has been vital to Swansea this season. Allen has created 27 chances, the second highest for Swansea. Joe Allen’s role in Swansea’s midfield is invaluable, it’s clear he is the one who makes Swansea tick.

3.) Steven Fletcher – Wolves: Fletcher has been on fire this season. Especially on the road. Steven Fletcher has scored 9 goals this season. 6 of the 9 have come away from home this season. But more impressively he’s scored at Man United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool. His abilities in scoring away at the bigger sides deserves a lot of praise. When a struggling team go to a top side, many of the struggling team’s players turn off or find themselves utterly ineffective. But it’s been the opposite for Fletcher. He has thrived in the big matches. What impresses me most about Fletcher is how clinical and how effective he is as a goal poacher. This season, Fletcher has had 13 shots on target, 9 of those 13 have been goals. His goal scoring prowess has given Wolves a real chance of surviving this season. However, in the future, one can see him playing for a more competitive Premier League side, as his consistency in getting goals speaks volumes.

2.) Danny Murphy – Fulham: Now, Danny Murphy’s abilities are often highlighted when Fulham play. But his effectiveness and attacking influence on Fulham is often understated. Firstly, Murphy has made 52 key passes which is the third highest amount of key passes in the division so far. Murphy in fact has made more key passes than David Silva, Nani, Modric and Mata. Furthermore, Danny Murphy has also created 56 chances for Fulham this season, assisting 5 times. His assist record is the highest at Fulham this season. At 34 years of age, Danny Murphy is a vital component to Fulham. His attacking influence at 34, demonstrates with age, his effectiveness has not declined severely. Murphy’s renowned for his tidiness and his passing has been fantastic too. Murphy has made the 10^th most accurate passes in the Premier League this season, with 1078 accurate passes.

1.) Alejandro Faurlin - QPR: The 25 year old Argentine has been incredibly impressive this season without many of us recognising. Faurlin has been instrumental to QPR this season. The Argentine has made the most passes for QPR this season with 1147 passes and has a decent passing accuracy of 81%. Offensively Faurlin has shown great competency too. The 25 year old has created 28 chances, which is the second highest for QPR this term. But Faurlin’s defensive work has been genuine top quality this season. Faurlin has won 68 tackles. Making him the most successful tackler in the Premier League. Faurlin is quickly becoming a very complete box to box midfielder. It’s a shame Faurlin is out for the season, as he was progressing so rapidly in the Premier League. But more crucially, his injury is and will continue to hurt QPR too, as Faurlin offers great solidity in the middle of the park. If Faurlin can recover from his injury and prove he can recapture his great form, it’s only a matter of time till he will be interesting many big clubs across Europe.

And there we have it, indeed, some of you will agree with a few, some will disagree. But that’s the beauty of football. We all read the beautiful game differently. But here’s a list of players who just missed out on this list;

The One's That Got Away..

Raul Meireles (Chelsea), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Ryan Taylor (Newcastle) and Steve Morrison (Norwich City).

Part One

Statistics from EPL Index. (Stats taken on 26/01/12)