Premier League Team of the Season 2010/2011

As you may be aware I have spent the last week or so creating word maps out of 2010/2011 match reports for all of the clubs in the Premier League. I thought I’d use this data in order to create a team of the season. The rules are simple, the players with the most mentions during the 2010/2011 season in BBC match reports are included in the first XI. As you’d expect it’s goalkeepers and strikers who get the most mentions so I’ve obviously made sure that the most often featured midfielders are also included in the side.

I thought it would be interesting (for completeness) to display a list of the top goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards. The following graphics show the top six players in each position by mention in BBC match reports for the 2010/2011 season.

West Ham United and Birmingham City ended the season with relegation to the Championship so it’s perhaps unsurprising to see Green and Foster included, whilst Robinson’s Blackburn struggled. Blackpool alternated between Gilks and Kingson during the season so neither accumulated enough mentions to be featured. It’s perhaps surprising to see Joe Hart included as he plays for one of the top teams, perhaps slight BBC bias towards a young English player playing at the top of his game explains his inclusion.

If reading BBC match reports is anything to go by then playing in defence really is an unsung role. Out of all the positions it is easily the least mentioned. It’s interesting to see Stoke City’s Robert Huth featured in the list. This can be explained by his vital role in Stoke City set-plays.

It’s interesting that David Silva was the most mentioned midfielder in BBC match reports as his name is often one that’s quoted when journalists and fans mention underrated players in the Premier League. Less surprising is the inclusion of two of the main creative forces in the Arsenal and Manchester United midfield (Fabregas and Nani).

If any evidence were required for the importance of Carlos Tevez to Manchester City then this is it. No other player was mentioned in BBC match reports more than Tevez last season. I’m sure Fernando Torres won’t make many newspaper or bloggers’ team of the season, however he was a favourite subject for many BBC match report writers, finishing a close second to Tevez. An interesting inclusion is Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov who could well be on his way out of Old Trafford, I can confirm without checking the results too closely that he was mentioned more times than Michael Owen, who has recently been awarded a new one year contract at Manchester United.