The Transfer Tavern opens its doors on a daily basis to hundreds of passionate football supporters, all of which have differing opinions on the beautiful game.
Whilst there is never any trouble for the security men to deal with between the four walls of the Tavern, we regularly find fans holding discussions on certain players. Who is decent, who is not. Who has scored the best goal ever? What is the greatest game ever? The debates roll on and on.
Just lately a group of the landlord’s pals have been discussing what makes a player overrated and what makes the underrated, which has made for an intriguing discussion.
This got Lee Clarke thinking and he sat down to take us through his Premier League’s most overrated players XI. Do you agree with him? Let us know below…..
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE OVERRATED XI!
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Thibaut Courtois
If you were to rate all of the Premier League’s first-choice goalkeepers this season, I don’t think you could put the Belgian stopper in the top ten.
Courtois has been unconvincing between the posts for Chelsea during the current campaign and it would not surprise me at all if the Blues were to sell him during the summer.
Real Madrid are reportedly looking to offer a world record £79 million for the stopper, which is an absolute no brainer for the Blues in my eyes.
Kyle Walker
People are tipping the ex-Sheffield United right-back to oust Nathaniel Clyne of Liverpool and win a place in the stating eleven for England at the Euros this summer.
Despite Tottenham’s good form in the Premier League this season I remain sceptical about Walker’s ability to defend against a top class winger.
Should Gareth Bale line up against Walker when England play Wales in France this summer, it could be a long afternoon for those of an English persuasion. Just the thought of such a scenario scares me to death!
John Stones
I have very little doubt that ex-Barnsley defender Stones will go on to be a top defender one day, but right now he is some way off being just that.
Stones’ downfall was all too clear during England’s 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands on Wednesday night, with his hesitation at the back robbing the Three Lions of a draw.
I am all for ball-playing defenders being part of modern day football but Stones isn’t yet a Rio Ferdinand type player capable of doing that, and if he is to fulfil his potential he needs to improve fast.
Laurent Koscielny
Speak to Arsenal fans and they will tell you that one of the most overrated players in their squad is the French central defender.
It says a lot when it used to be Per Mertesacker attracting all the bad press with his erratic defending, but the German has been ten times better than his defensive partner this season.
The Gunners probably need to sign a central defender in the summer and it could well be that whoever comes in, replaces the underachieving Koscielny.
Leighton Baines
The Everton left-back has made a decent career out of playing football, first for Wigan Athletic and later on for the Toffees, but his performances for England in the 2014 World Cup highlighted just how distinctly average he actually is.
Known for his thunderbolt free-kicks, Baines was found sadly wanting as England crashed out of the group stages and looked out of sorts against tough Italy and Uruguay sides.
Fail to see Roy Hodgson’s fascination with continuing to utilise him ahead of the European Championships in France this summer, and England should be looking towards the future instead.
Raheem Sterling
If Raheem Sterling is deemed to be worth £50 million, then I shudder at the thought of what Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane must be valued at.
Sterling was inspirational as Liverpool very nearly secured their first Premier League title two seasons ago, but since then he has struggled to fulfil his potential.
Sterling has managed just six Premier League goals during his maiden season at the Etihad Stadium and his performances have been lacklustre and borderline lazy at times, during the campaign.
Currently out injured, Sterling will need to improve his club form drastically in order to make it £50 million well spent.
Jordan Henderson
The Liverpool central midfielder was named captain of the club when Steven Gerrard opted to jet of to Los Angeles, but in hindsight he isn’t fit to lace Stevie G’s boots!
The ex-Sunderland man cost Liverpool a mammoth £25 million and although he occasionally throws in a month’s worth of decent displays, they are all too sporadic for him to be considered a good player.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Reds boss Jurgen Klopp opted to send him packing in the summer and with Spurs reportedly keen on the player, Liverpool could choose to cash in.
Nemanja Matic
Last season you would probably say that Matic was one of the standout performers in Chelsea’s title winning side, but this season he has done nothing to suggest that he is anything other than a one-season wonder.
The Serbian has already been sold by the Blues once and with Antonio Conte set to arrive in the summer, it would be easy to imagine him being shipped out once more.
During the current campaign he has been kept on the sidelines by Jon Obi Mikel, the man who couldn’t buy a game at Chelsea last season, which says it all about the defensive midfielder’s form during the first quarter of the campaign.
Eden Hazard
Another Chelsea player who has failed to scale the heights of last season is Belgian forward Eden Hazard.
The 25-year-old was voted the PFA Player of the Year for his performances during last season as Chelsea secured the Premier League title, yet this time around he hasn’t managed a single goal in the league all season.
At times Hazard as looked as though he simply cannot be bothered, whilst he also appears to be carrying a bit of extra weight.
Some have suggested his head may have been turned by interest from Paris Saint-Germain, which could force the club to move the player on during the summer.
Marcus Rashford
First of all let me start by saying that the Manchester United youngster has done superbly well to burst onto the scene and net important goals against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Let’s just calm down a second though!
Had Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial not been missing for a period through injury, Rashford probably wouldn’t have even made his first-team debut yet, but the English media being the English media, we simply have to overhype him.
Whilst he has taken the goals he has scored well, they are goals you would expect run of the mill strikers to net nine times out of ten.
Saido Berahino
The West Bromwich Albion striker has scored 23 goals in 92 appearances for the Baggies, with just six of those coming this season.
I am yet to see anything from the 22-year-old to suggest that he is worth anything like the £30 million that Spurs were reportedly set to pay for him 18 months ago.
As with lots of young players there have been glimpses of something special but being able to turn the glimpses into regular occurrences is a completely different thing altogether.
The Burundi-born player would be better served deleting his Twitter account and focusing on his football in the future.
