The best stories in any sport and any league don’t simply exist among the top five or six teams; this is a fact often lost on the pundits who cover English football.
The Best Premier League Unsung Heroes
For instance, what about a player who captained his country’s national team in the World Cup (where he scored a penalty to take the lead against the Netherlands) and led said team to an international trophy in a competitive tournament? It’s not Wayne Rooney, Eden Hazard or Alexis Sánchez, but Mile Jedinak of Crystal Palace.
Jedinak captained the Australian national team to their first Asian Cup title in a 2-1 extra time victory over traditional Asian power, South Korea. Back in England, Jedinak also has led Palace the last three seasons and was a vital cog in the team’s unlikely Premier League survival in the 2013-14 campaign.
A workman-like central midfielder who’s more defensively inclined, Jedinak actually found his position at Palace under threat while away on international duty to an equally interesting teammate: Jason Puncheon.
For all of Jedinak’s international achievements, Puncheon has an equal number of bizarre or somewhat amusing off-field incidents. This is including, but not limited to, accusing Neil Warnock of accepting bribes for playing time at QPR, entering the pitch late for the second half because he was using the bathroom with Southampton, and the most stunningly bad penalty miss you’ll ever see.
However, Puncheon was good enough at Palace for Tony Pulis to sign him permanently from a loan in 2014 and, in the 2015 calendar year, has been the club’s most dangerous creative threat since Alan Pardew took over as manager. He made the most happen from free-kicks, netting screamers against Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, and was second on the Palace team with six goals.
Another midfielder who was critical in a surprising second half push, albeit in a more defensive role, was Leicester City’s Esteban Cambiasso. Despite being on the wrong side of 30, there were some eyebrows raised when Leicester got the signature of Cambiasso.
After all, the Argentine had over a decade in the top flights of Spain and Italy, plus 52 caps with La Albiceleste on the national stage. However, Cambiasso and Leicester warmed 20th place for much of the season, and relegation looked quite certain. But, a torrid finish saw the Foxes win seven of their last nine matches (including five clean sheets) and secure safety from relegation with a game to play. Cambiasso’s yeoman-like defensive work was no small part of that finish and he has earned his place in club folklore.
An honourable mention also goes fellow Argentine, Leonardo Ulloa, who netted a team-high 11 goals for the Foxes.
Although he scored more goals than Ulloa, Charlie Austin’s 18 goals were not enough to save QPR from another embarrassing quick exit from the top flight. Austin, however, is blameless in the Rangers’ woes and scored one of the season’s best goals at Southampton.
There is virtually no chance a striker of Austin’s quality will be playing in the Championship with QPR in a few months, as Southampton, Aston Villa, Liverpool and others are rumoured to be interested parties in the striker. Wherever Austin ends up will be a far cry from the non-league football he was playing as recently as the 2008-09 season, with the likes of Poole Town, Hungerford Town and the Kintbury Rangers.
Another striker from a relegated club who will certainly be playing in the top flight for someone else this coming season is Burnley’s Danny Ings. The team-leading 11 goals from Ings weren’t enough to keep the Clarets in the division. However, they probably wouldn’t even have been promoted without Ings’ 21 goals in 2013-14, as Burnley were automatically promoted and experienced the financial boom of a (brief) stay in the Premier League. The large profit Burnley will earn from Ings’ impending sale to a bigger club will also help, especially considering he was bought for a relatively modest £1 million from Bournemouth.
West Ham’s new left-back Aaron Cresswell was also a revelation, starting all 38 Premier League fixtures and not looking outmatched by the level of competition, after signing from Championship side, Ipswich Town. Cresswell even won the club’s Hammer of the Year award at the end of the season.
Finally, the last player I will discuss isn’t simply on this list for his footballing achievements, even though those alone would have earned him a mention. Jonas Gutierrez, an Argentine midfielder for Newcastle, didn’t make his 2014-15 debut until late February after finishing treatment for testicular cancer he had diagnosed in October 2013.
While Gutierrez didn’t make many appearances for the Magpies, he assisted the first goal and scored the decisive second in a 2-0 win vs. West Ham, which guaranteed the team’s Premier League survival after an awful 2015 calendar year. It probably won’t help the already dim view the Geordies have of their chairman, Mike Ashley, that Gutierrez was released at the conclusion of this season.
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