The Best 3 Central Midfielders of the 2008-09 Premier League Season

Below are my three nominees for central midfielder of the season…

Steven Gerrard

He was named fan’s player of the year but was controversially pipped by Giggs to the player’s player of the year. With 24 goals Gerrard has had another terrific year as Liverpool captain, and has once again proven how indispensable he is to the club. It has notably been a year of landmarks and firsts for Gerrard, after he scored his 100th Liverpool goal against PSV, played in his 100th European appearance against Real Madrid, scored for the first time ever at Old Trafford in March, scored his first ever hatrick in the Premier League against Aston Villa, and became the first Liverpool player in 19 years to win the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year. On top of all this France legend Zidane claimed that he was the best player in the world. Not a bad season then for the Liverpool captain.

As far as talent is concerned, Gerrard has continued his trademark ability to grab his team by the scruff of its neck and throw it into action. His pounding runs, tenacious tackles, thunderous shots, stunning passes, and overall beaming quality have all been there as he guided Liverpool to their first real title challenge in a decade. Gerrard has been a joy to watch in the Premier League this season and more than deserves his spot amongst the best central midfielders.

Frank Lampard

Lampard is another player who’s reached a couple of landmarks this season. In particular he scored his 100th Premier League goal against Sunderland and made his 400th appearance for Chelsea against Stoke. Also the new £39.2 million five year contract he signed at the start of the season made him the highest paid Premiership player.

For much of the season Lampard has been Chelsea’s one guaranteed consistent performer. When other Chelsea players were under performing, Lampard was always the one to carry the team to the finish, and over the course of the season he has pulled out some magical displays for the club. His eye for a pass has been as immaculate as always, his excellent shooting has helped him rack up yet another high scoring season, he’s been comitted, determined and always there when Chelsea needed him. All this makes it even stranger that he was not even considered for the PFA player of the year award. This revelation has angered many Chelsea fans, and when he’s finished the season with 19 goals and is amongst the top assisters in the Premier League it’s easy to see why.

Stephen Ireland

Ireland has accomplished this season what Lampard did all those years ago when Abramovich first took over at Chelsea. Suddenly his club comes into a huge amount of money and his starting position seems very much under threat. Instead of shrinking behind the billions however, Ireland has stuck his nose out and transformed with the circumstances just like Lampard did. In the course of a season he has gone from promising youngster to indispensable member of the first team, and his club even named the 22 year old Senior Player of the Year for his outstanding performances.

Ireland’s season has been packed with superb assists and memorable goals. As manager Mark Hughes has said, “He’s a very good player with good work rate, good vision and a good technical level.” If anything this has been an understatement of Ireland’s qualities this season, as Man City have looked to him again and again to provide that bit of inspiration to carry them forward. His exploits eventually led to a nomination for PFA young player of the year, and some believe that he should have won it instead of Ashley Young.