Every Team’s Player of the Season (Pt. 1)
Courtesy of the Premier League
Matchweek 38 - 2022/23
As the 2022/23 Premier League season comes to a close, every player involved will take a collective deep breath. From record-breaking campaigns to overcoming injuries to jaw dropping goals to breakout stars and everything in between, each athlete who pulled on a kit this season had a part in their team’s accomplishments. No matter their level of success, every team had certain players who played a bigger role than others. Here are my picks for each team’s Player of the Season.
Arsenal: Martin Odegaard
After spending 248 days at the top of the table, Arsenal will be gutted that Manchester City overtook them when it mattered. But the Gunners’ season is far from a failure, and Martin Odegaard played a huge role in that success. The 23-year-old Odegaard was named club captain before the season started, and his dominant presence in midfield was hugely important to their title charge.
The Norwegian finished on 15 goals, tying with Gabriel Martinelli as the club’s leading goalscorer. Odegaard started nearly every game for the Gunners and stepped up with big performances in key games. He also provided the driving force behind their fierce mentality, constantly demanding more from his teammates and living up to the expectations of a captain. With such an influential role so early in his North London career, Odegaard is only going to become an increasingly important piece of Arsenal’s future trophy ambitions.
Aston Villa: Emiliano Martinez
Despite a rough start to the season that saw them hover in the bottom half of the table until mid-March, Villa’s big players including Ollie Watkins, Tyrone Mings, and Emiliano Martinez turned a potential relegation fight into European qualification. Martinez’s performance was the most significant of these, and his 11 clean sheets were crucial to helping the Villains grind out victories and climb up the table.
Villa also boasted the league’s fifth best goals against average at just 1.2 goals per game, a direct result of Martinez’s strong saves. The goalkeeper received criticism for his antics at the World Cup and weekly time-wasting, but Martinez regularly showed up for his team and played his part in Villa’s fifth-fewest goals conceded. His consistent shot stopping at the back allowed his teammates to take more risks up the field and find the goals they needed to turn their season around.
Bournemouth: Philip Billing
Early favorites to be relegated, the Cherries impressed during their first season back in the top flight and confirmed safety with two games left to play. Their path to a second year at the top was not easy though, including losing a 9-0 demolition to Liverpool and sacking manager Scott Parker only four games into the season. Before being let go, Parker called his team “under-equipped” to compete at the top level, and while Bournemouth certainly didn’t excel, they found a way to stay up. Midfielder Philip Billing was foundational as his team recovered their season under Parker’s replacement Gary O’Neil.
Billing was an important component of both Parker’s and O’Neil’s squad, highlighting his versatility and quality in many areas of the field. He also scored seven goals, without which could have cost the Cherries as many as 13 points. The Dane was integral to Bournemouth’s survival, and there’s a very good chance the seaside club would be playing in the Championship next season without his presence.
Brentford: Ben Mee
The Bees missed out on a European spot by just two points, and probably deserved more for their strong play throughout the season. Brentford’s strikers Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbuemo should receive credit for winning games at the top of the field, as the pair contributed to 42 of their side’s 58 goals, but the Bee’s backline, led by Ben Mee, is what kept them in contention for European qualification.
Mee’s unsung role in 12 clean sheets, tied for sixth in the league, is what allowed Brentford’s attackers to shine further up the field. He played 3,272 minutes, which was joint-17th of over 500 players across the top flight, and regularly put in strong defensive showings that earned the Bees a chance to fight for a European spot. In Brentford’s style of play, which typically centered around winning aerial duels and playing direct balls up to the forwards, Mee was also exceptional. He ranked first in the league for aerial duels won, 40th for total passes, and is in the top 20 for both clearances and headed clearances. The Englishman was vital to Brentford’s style, and these admirable statistics are proof of his irreplaceable role in the West London side.
Brighton: Pervis Estupinan
Brighton have enjoyed their best ever season under De Zerbi, and multiple players are responsible for the success. Leading goalscorer Alexis Mac Allister, dominant midfielder Moises Caicedo, and stalwart center back Lewis Dunk all played their part, but left back Pervis Estupinan narrowly edges them out for this award. After signing from Europa-League-winning Villareal last summer to fill Marc Cucurella’s absence at left-back, Estupinan has made himself a mainstay of Brighton’s backline in just his first season on the South Coast. The Ecuadorian was a destructive defensive presence and his impressive speed and endurance allowed him to consistently join the attack as well. His hard work at both ends of the field was rewarded with five assists, including contributions in big games. Estupinan assisted both goals in a 2-2 draw with Leicester, set up the only goal in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, found Kaoru Mitoma for the game-winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup, and even got a goal and an assist in Brighton’s 3-0 thumping of Arsenal, to name a few.
In truth, Brighton’s best player was not actually a player, but their manager. Roberto De Zerbi took over an already-strong Seagulls side in September and turned them into one of the league’s most dangerous attacking sides, and deserves massive credit for his knitting together of fresh and existing players into a new-look squad. However, among on-field players, Estupinan’s contribution was unmatched and before long he’ll have plenty of suitors looking for a pacy and tenacious attacking fullback.
Chelsea: Thiago Silva
Chelsea was one of the hardest clubs for which to pick a Player of the Season with over 35 players, all of whom played likely the worst seasons of their careers. However, Thiago Silva was Chelsea’s single solid performer throughout their mess of a campaign. Silva’s inclusion as Player of the Season doesn’t come as much from his on-field success (sadly marred by his team’s disappointing performances overall), but rather his off-the-field advocacy for improvement. Throughout the season, Silva voiced the need for better performances from his teammates, demanding the attention be put on them as much as the aimless owners. He also was extremely straightforward in urging Chelsea’s board to cut out the indecisive money-first approach and find an actual strategy that would get the Blues back to winning ways.
On the field, Silva showed up as well. Over 20 years of professional experience allowed him to remain a constant source of quality through Chelsea’s embarrassing season. Sadly, a knee injury took him out of eight games in the spring, and the squad felt his absence. As Chelsea get ready for a monumental squad rebuild, Silva should remain a cornerstone of the backline. His experience, leadership, world-class ability, and willingness to speak up will be key for Chelsea to find their form again.
Crystal Palace: Eberechi Eze
Just like Brighton, Crystal Palace’s most important figure this season was their manager, Roy Hodgson. He took over the struggling Eagles midseason and turned their season around with a comfortable 11th place finish, but central to Hodgson’s on-field success was Eberechi Eze. The Palace midfielder made a big difference both with his scoring and his form, and was one of the players who stepped up after Hodgson’s arrival to transform a sputtering Palace into a well-oiled machine. Eze also added five assists to complement his best ever ten goal total, which is twice as many as both his previous seasons combined.
Eze has had a rough Palace career, signed as a promising young winger three years ago but has never fully lived up to expectations. With newfound confidence, a manager who trusts him, and now the addition of goals to his game, Eze looks to have finally found his stride. For his sake, it’s heartwarming to see Eze earn the recognition and accolades his incredible talent deserves.
Everton: Dwight McNeil
For the second season in a row, Everton just barely avoided relegation, needing a win over Bournemouth on the final day to prevent their first-ever drop to the Championship. The club is in a desperate place, teetering over financial implosion and facing no shortage of fan unrest, but their players are narrowly keeping some hope of a better future alive. Sean Dyche’s side had a tough season with star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin missing significant games, and had to rely on players like Alex Iwobi, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and James Tarkowski to keep them out of trouble. Dwight McNeil was another of these standout performers, scoring two game winners in tight games and playing his part to scrape Everton out of the danger zone.
On a team of underachievers, it’s difficult for any individual to shine. But McNeil showed flashes of his quality throughout the year and hinted that if Everton are able to recover from their dismal current state, he could play a big role in bringing the Toffees success further up the table.
Fulham: Willian
After leaving Arsenal for Corinthians at age 33, it looked as though Willian’s time in the Premier League had come to a close. But when newly-promoted Fulham were looking for an experienced winger, Willian came back to England and helped Fulham to an unexpected top-half finish. While he didn’t match the goalscoring of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Willian’s maturity and technical quality were much-needed to balance out the rest of Fulham’s young team.
In his almost seven years at Chelsea, Willian won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, and plenty of individual awards including Chelsea’s 2016 Player of the Season. This wealth of experience gave the Brazilian plenty to draw from as he helped Fulham not only stay up, but pick up an admirable 52 points along the way. He provided a constant threat on the Cottager’s front line, allowing them to find momentum in games a newly-promoted side usually wouldn’t stand a chance in, and keep scores close against much bigger opponents. His work has been rewarded and Fulham are looking to extend his contract, eager for another year of the Brazilian’s services at Craven Cottage.
Leicester: James Maddison
The Foxes have plenty of talent on their roster and certainly should have done better, but a weak start, a manager switch with ten games to go, and underperforming players condemned them to relegation. It’s a huge fall from grace after winning the Premier League just seven years ago, and means multiple big names will have to be let go in order to support their damaged financial state. At the top of this list is midfielder James Maddison, one of Leicester’s only regular performers and someone who will attract lots of attention from other top clubs looking for his talent.
Conceding 68 times, fourth worst in the league behind two other relegated teams, means Leicester’s backline was far from their shining light. Instead, it was attackers like Maddison who kept the Foxes’ heads above water. Maddison looked out of place in the Leicester midfield all season, too good to be on a team who spent 18 matchweeks in the relegation zone. He found a way to create 19 goals and assists in a struggling side, and posed a consistent threat to teams trying to run Leicester over. While his team will play in the Championship next season, it’s likely Maddison will stay up and it’s nothing less than he deserves.
Continued in Part 2
Ian Katan
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