Wally with a Brolly

Every team in the Premiership depends on their star players, be it Drogba and Essien at Chelsea or Kenwyne Jones at Stoke. It is a fact that all teams are dependent upon a certain nucleus of players.
Whilst the typical debates of "Best XI" do excite the team here at Wally with a Brolly, we are more interested in the lower-tier players who are also vital to their teams.
So here comes our first topical XI, that of the most under-rated players in the Prem!
Every player chosen has had at least a few seasons in the Prem and has been consistently good. This explains for the omission of players from Blackpool notably (even though Charlie Adam is one hell of a player in our book, notwithstanding his howler against Birmingham) and a few of the yo-yo clubs.
We hope you'll enjoy our choices, which are all open for debate. Let us know what you think!

Here is the team, with player profiles to follow:

                                                                Jaaskelainen


        Carr                             Hughes                               Distin                            Enrique


       Osman                          Neville                               Gardner                         Jarvis


                                            Doyle                                 Rodallega




Goalkeeper: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers)

Ever-reliable

Is this really a surprise? A unanimous decision by the team at Wally with a Brolly, Jussi Jaaskelainen has been ever-present and ever-reliable at Bolton since he joined them from Vaasan Palloseura in 1997. Incredibly loyal, despite performances linking him in the past with moves to Arsenal in particular, Jussi has been one of the Premiership's outstanding goalkeepers of the last decade. He has consistently helped Bolton avoid relegation with outstanding saves. Honours include being named Bolton's player of the year numerous times as well as being the first goalkeeper in Ruud van Nistelrooy's career to win a personal duel from the penalty spot. In our view, a worthy and indisputable choice as our number 1 goalkeeper!

Honourable mention for this position must also go to the following players: Paul Robinson, who has revived his career at Blackburn, Thomas Sorensen, Brad Friedel, Mark Schwarzer and Tim Howard.



Right-Back: Stevie Carr (Birmingham)

Mr.Consistency

After the traditional career-destroying stay at Newcastle, Stevie Carr had effectively given up on football. Struggling to find the form which had made him one of the most exciting and effective right-backs in the Premiership at Tottenham in the early 2000s,  Carr had decided to retire from a sport in which he found no more joy. After announcing his decision to end it all in December 2008, he was back doing what he did best in February 2009, after a frantic phone call from Alec McLeish had persuaded to give football one last go, albeit in the Championship. Two years later, Stephen Carr is a starter in the Premiership team going from strength to strength. Despite not having the legs he used to (he turned 34 in August), Carr is still a wily operator at right-back, providing great defensive cover as well as impeccable distribution. Whilst his 2010-2011 season started inauspiciously with a howler of a game in the opener against Sunderland, Carr has still (re)found his feet. Whilst Roger Johnson and Scott Dann took many of the plaudits for last season's rock-solid Birmingham defensive performances (and cocky Liam Ridgewell cheekily stating a claim for an England place), we at Wally with a Brolly believe that Stephen Carr has been a model of consistency and professionalism at right-back. Truly one of the most under-rated defenders in the league nowadays.

Honourable mentions: Gretar Steinsson, Phil Bardsley and Gonzalo Jara.


Central Defender: Aaron Hughes (Fulham)


Master of positioning

 After having been a more-than-able right-back for Newcastle at the start of the last decade (here's a sentence not normally associated with NUFC!), Aaron Hughes joined Aston Villa in a typically sensible transfer, for £1m, in 2005. After two honourable seasons there, and needing a change of scenery to ensure first-team football, the Northern Ireland captain (since 2003) joined Lawrie Sanchez's short-lived transformation of Fulham into the national side he used to manage. Despite a number of failures from this era (hello David Healy!) and mitigated performers (Chris Baird we salute you!), the main positive was the arrival of Aaron Hughes at Craven Cottage. Calm, composed and obviously a well-liked team-mate, Aaron Hughes has been a mainstay of one of the Premier League's strongest defence of the last few years. Whilst Brede Hangeland rightfully (in our mind) takes a lot of the plaudits for his outstanding play, we believe a centre-back is always as good as his partner (as Vidic has found out this season with young Jonny Evans), and these two mesh beautifully. Outstanding positioning and solid technique have been features of Hughes' play at Fulham, making him, in our view, one of the most under-rated CBs in the division.


Central Defender: Sylvain Distin (Everton)


Strength and power

 Standing taller than 6ft 3, Sylvain Distin has been one of the most consistently outstanding central defenders in the Premier League for clubs outside the top 4. After having joined Newcastle on loan in 2001, Distin stuck around, joining Man City in 2002. 5 great seasons ensued, with Distin eventually becoming club captain, a great honour for a foreign player. Growing tired of the uncertainty surrounding the club, the tal Frenchman joined the Harry Redknapp "revolution" (or in normal terms "living above one's means"), becoming a mainstay of a strong defence which culminated in a deserved FA Cup winner's medal in 2008. Once again, Distin left the club after becoming captain.
Since joining Everton in 2009, Sylvain has become a regular starter, providing great cover for Tim Howard with Phil Jagielka. Still prone to errors, and sometimes guilty of dodgy positioning, he is nevertheless one of the strongest players in the Premiership, also more than capable of bringing the ball out of defence. His status as captain in many of his clubs is also testament to his ability to inspire respect among his team-mates, as is the fact he has now played more than 300 Premier League games. For these reasons, and the belief he would combine well with Aaron Hughes, Sylvain Distin is our second under-rated CB to make it into the team.

Honourable mentions: Many great contenders for his position. Christopher Samba, as a cult hero and all-around nice guy, was on the cusp of making the team. Unfortunately his defensive abilities, whilst strong, pale in comparison to the players mentioned above. Same thing applies to Abdoulaye Faye. Jody Craddock must also be acknowledged for his revival at Wolves. Titus Bramble was also a serious contender for resurrecting his career from laughing-stock to outstanding defender at Sunderland. Others mentioned were the Johnson-Dann duo, James Collins, Robert Huth and Vincent Kompany.


Left-Back: José Enrique (Newcastle)

From laughing-stock to echoes of a left-sided Warren Barton (we're joking)

Right Midfielder: Leon Osman (Everton)

Skill and trickery

A one-club man, Leon Osman has epitomised the outstanding job David Moyles has undertaken in his eight and a half years at the helm of Everton. Blessed with pace and a good touch, Osman doesn't shy away from getting stuck in, and is the typical 7/10 player. He has been a regular in the Everton side since 2004, clocking up nearly 200 Premier League appearances and a few goals along the way. Despite the arrivals of players of the calibre of Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini and Bilyaletdinov, Osman has managed to continue to stake his claim effectively. The sort of player who will get you 5-6 goals and the same number of assists. An immensely valuable and under-rated player at Everton, he rightly deserves to be in our list.

Honourable mentions: Simon Davies, Clint Dempsey, Sebastian Larsson, Lee (Bolton) and Jordan Henderson (one for the future).


Central Midfielder: Phil Neville

Mr.Dependable


Widely derided as the bad footballing half of one of the most disliked couple of twins in Prem history, and never forgiven for his woeful tackle which eliminated an awful England squad at Euro 2000, Phil Neville has since then reinvented himself as the heart of an overachieving Everton team. Cast away by Fergie despite 11 years of good service and more than 250 Premier League games for Man Utd, the younger Neville quickly set about proving his doubters wrong. Whether it be as an effective full-back (such as when he marked Gareth Bale out of the recent game against Tottenham) or as a hard-working holding midfielder, Phil has proved to be an essential cog in the Everton machine, clocking up more than 150 appearances in 5 years at the club. He has also shown that players can still survive after leaving Man U. Would Fergie take him at the moment instead of the awful Carrick or the inexperienced Da Silva twins as cover? We believe so. And for this reason he has to be part of our under-rated XI.


Central Midfielder: Craig Gardner

Hard-worker

A product of the successful Aston Villa academy, Craig Gardner quickly set about establishing himself in the youthful squad created by Martin O'Neill. With other graduates such as Gabby Agbonlahor, he showed he was here to stick around, unlike the Isaiah Osbourne of this world (who and where is he now?). However, despite promising performances, he was continually in and out of the side, sometimes playing out of position at right-back. Tired of his treatment at the hands of the mercurial O'Neill, Gardner took the difficult and controversial decision of joining Villa's rivals, joining the team of grafters constructed by Alec McLeish on the other side of Birmingham. Since then, he has been one of Birmingham's outstanding players, currently their top scorer this season with 4 goals to his name. Not only does the young man score goals, but he is also a willing runner and tackler, consistently putting in a great shift. For his ability to be a true box-to-box midfielder, Craig Gardner makes it into our team.

Honourable mentions: like the position of CB, this was a close contest with other players. Barry Ferguson (most passes attempted in the Prem last season) could have replaced his team-mate as the epitomy of efficiency. Steven N'Zonzi also proved how valuable to Blackburn's survival hoopes he is with a few cracking goals, and David Dunn is one of the most under-rated creative players in the division. Similarly Charlie Adam has had a great start and Muamba and Etuhu are both consistent holding midfielders willing to do the dirty job efficiently. Others included were Joey Barton (scum but a good player), Glenn Whelan, Dean Whitehead, Youssuf Mulumbu (a major reason why West Brom are competitive), Mark Noble, Mohammed Diamé and David Jones (contender for goal of the season).


Left Midfielder: Matt Jarvis (Wolves)

Kevin McNaughton (Cardiff, left) prefers pretending to be blind rather than acknowledging embarrassment at the feet of Matt Jarvis. A recurrent sight this year in the Prem.

Here is a player we really like here at Wally with a Brolly. A young English player who served his apprenticeship in the lower leagues, first with Gillingham (more than 100 appearances before turning 21!) and now at Wolves. Pacy, direct, skillful, able to use both feet, Jarvis is a prime example that managers do not necessarily need to look abroad for quality wing play. He has adapted incredibly well to the Premiership, taking it by storm with his great delivery. Despite being right-footed, Jarvis has demonstrated great ability from the left, causing constant problems to opposition right-backs. Whilst we would like him to score more goals (3 in the Prem last season), he has shown improvement in that area, with last year's tally nearly matched already. Deserved calls for a call-up to the England squad, even if only as a reward for his great play.

Honourable mentions: Matthew Etherington has been a great performer for Stoke after a disappointing spell for West Ham. Insomnia (Charles N'Zogbia) is one of the two reasons (more to follow) why Wigan haven't found their way back to League 1. Chris Brunt has been West Brom's outstanding performer of the last 3 years and Damien Duff has enjoyed a revival at Fulham after the standard career-threatening time at St James' Park. Martin Petrov has slightly disappointed since joining Bolton but he can be credited with a change of culture at that club whilst Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Marc Albrighton are both relatively unproven yet exciting prospects.


Striker: Hugo Rodallega (Wigan)

A touch of class at the DW

Despite being over-rated, Roberto Martinez is a likeable and competent guy. This still doesn't get away from the fact that without two players he didn't sign himself Wigan would be bottom of League 1. The most important of these two is undoubtedly Hugo Rodallega. Since joining Dave Whelan's club in 2008, the Colombian has set about proving Premiership observers that he is one of the most under-rated players in the league. Capable of showing touches of utter class, Rodallega has been the mainstay of a poor side. His 10 goals last season in the league kept the club up, and he has started the season in the same vein of form, despite inexplicably being played out of position as a winger to enable Martinez to play the frightening (by his lack of ability) Mauro Boselli (no goals so far in the league, and missed a sitter a few weeks ago). Rodallega has continued to do his job without raising any concerns or behaving like a diva, and his goals generally tend to be winning ones (like against Tottenham this season). For being a good team-mate and a class player in a rubbish team, Rodallega deserves his place in our under-rated XI.


Striker: Kevin Doyle (Wolves)

Strength, pace and skill. The perfect package for struggling Premiership teams.

After breaking unto the scene as an unknown Irishman at Reading, Kevin Doyle has consistently shown he clearly has the ability to impact on games in the Premier League. 19 goals in two seasons at the Madejski, and then 18 back in the Championship prompted Mick McCarthy to spend £6.5m to bring Doyle to Wolves. Since then he has been Wolves' only chance of goals (before the arrival of Fletcher) and his 9 goals were incredibly valuable for a team who resorted to a 4-5-1 and only scored 32 goals in the league last year. 28 goals in 3 years for two teams battling relegation is testament to the Irishman's ability, but his contribution should not only be measured in goals. As a willing runner and a constant threat to back fours with a combination of pace and deceptive power, Kevin Doyle has shown he is Premiership class. Whilst reports of a bid being prepared by Arsenal in the summer did provide us with a bit of comic relief in a tepid summer transfer window, it is a wonder as to why better clubs such as Fulham, Everton, Stoke (who chose the wrong Reading player in Kitson) and West Ham (not better but bigger) haven't put in a cheeky bid. The ultimate under-rated Premiership striker.
                                                                                
Honourable mentions: John Carew (37 goals in 3 and a half seasons at Villa), Cameron Jerome (Heskey-like when Big Emile was at his Liverpool peak), Gabby Agbonlahor (45 goals in last 4 seasons), Nicola Kalinic (always creates chances), Johan Elmander, Louis Saha, Kenwyne Jones.

Any questions/comments? This list is obviously open to debate so please let us know what you think!