EPL: Kalou, Gyan, Dempsey, Nolan and 11 Others Enjoying Great Seasons
Everyone knows that Dimitar Berbatov is the leading scorer in the English Premiership. Everyone knows that Rafael Van Der Vaart and Gareth Bale are experiencing great seasons with Tottenham Hotspur. However, there are some other attacking players having great success across the league this season that many may not have noticed.
It is no secret that a lot of times players can have great career seasons but go quietly unnoticed because their club is having a rough year. That is the case for some of those mentioned, and others are here because they are having career years for themselves but are still flying under the radar.
So in the hopes of given out some praise for those that aren't the darlings of the media, here is a group of achievers in this year's competition.
Chris Brunt
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West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt has been having a great career year as far as assists are concerned for his club. In the Baggies' first year returned from a three-year stint in the English Championship, Brunt has compiled nine assists in 28 League appearances accounting for 30 percent of the team's total helpings. The most recent of his coming in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on the weekend.
His last few years saw him more as a goal scorer for the club, but this season has seen him take advantage of opportunities to allow his teammates and club to reap the benefits of his passing ability.
This is the highest total assists he has stacked up since the 2006-2007 Championship season, and he has also added two goals to the club's total of 38.
Despite his efforts, the Baggies languish only a point from the drop zone on 33 as West Ham and Wolves sit beneath them on 32 points but with better goal differentials.
Tim Cahill
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Everton's Australian vice-captain has put in one of his best seasons of late having put nine goals into the back of the net to be the team's leading scorer this campaign having 23 percent of the clubs total haul. He also has provided three assists to his teammates, and all in 23 League fixtures due to time away at the Asian Cup.
Those numbers show his best haul since the 2004-2005 season when he scored 11 goals and passed on four assists in a total of 33 League appearances.
With eight games left for the Toffees, Cahill still has time to make this his best season of his career in the Premier League. He won't be able to equal his scoring percentage from 04/05 which was at 22 percent, but his current rate of 16.5 percent is nothing to frown upon.
At 31 years old, Cahill has a few more good seasons in him and the Toffees will continue to need his production to stay in the top half of the league for those years to come.
Asamoah Gyan
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The Ghanaian has brought attacking prowess to Sunderland this season and Steve Bruce's Black Cats have needed his continued effort since the sale of Darren Bent. With a nine-goal tally for the Tyne and Wear club he has taken over as their leading scorer for the season.
His additional four assists also lead the team, making him the one of, if not the most, influential players in terms of Sunderland's statistical analysis for this season.
The nine goals have been 29 percent of the team's 31 League spoils. However, if you take away the eight goals scored by Darren Bent before his departure to Aston Villa, Gyan holds 39 percent of the team's total exploits. His four assists account for 22 percent of the team's total 18.
In his first Premier League campaign, after having joined from Stade Rennes in the summer transfer window, the 25-year-old has established a desire for success after having a great World Cup with Ghana during the summer.
Andrei Arshavin
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Despite being linked with an exit from the Emirates, Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin has had a great year as a build up player collecting 11 assists. He also has added a modest goal scoring account with six strikes on the season.
His six goals equal his total league goals scored in the Premier League in his first half season where he hit them in only 12 appearances as opposed to this season's 28. However, his assists total is greater than his first two years in England combined and has leading the Gunners in that category.
With so much speculation surrounding whether or not he will be leaving in the summer, I believe he will push hard collect as many goals or assists as possible to help raise his stock for a possible transfer if his relationship with Arsene Wenger is breaking down.
Salomon Kalou
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Now in his fifth season with the Blues and in the Premier League, the 25-year-old Ivory Coast forward Salomon Kalou continues to be an ever present threat for the Blues both in the starting XI and off the bench.
He has 24 total appearances for Chelsea equally split between starts and substitution run-outs. During this time, he has quietly collected 7 goals and 3 assists. Last season he collected five goals and three assists from 11 starts and 12 substitute appearances.
The seven goals this season in the league are the third largest tally on the squad. Nicolas Anelka has only managed six goals and has 23 starts for the club. His attacking edge just has not been there during the league this season.
Kalou continues to be one of the most consistent league contributors for the Blues over the past several seasons.
Peter Odemwingie
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Nigerian International Peter Odemwingie has quietly taken it to the defenses of the Barclays Premier League this season. The 29-year-old is experiencing a great first season in the top flight as he has scored 10 goals for West Brom this season en route to having the fourth highest goal account in the league and a 26% share of the Baggies goal total of 38 as a team.
Along with his goal tally, he has registered four assists which is tied for second on the team. His teammate Chris Brunt is the team leader as mentioned earlier in this post.
If the Baggies are going to stay up and not slip into the drop zone during the run-in, it will be important that Obemwingie continues to keep leading the line.
Kevin Nolan
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Newcastle skipper Kevin Nolan has been an inspiration for the Magpies since he arrived on a transfer from Bolton two seasons ago. He scored 17 goals in their promotion campaign in the Championship last season and has continued his assault on the goal by scoring 11 so far this season in the Premier League.
His total ties him for third in the EPL and is the highest this season to be scored by a midfielder. The departure of Andy Carroll to Liverpool has left Nolan the position of leading scorer for his team, and he has one of the highest shots-to-goals ratios in the league at a goal every 4.36 shots. With 20 shots on target out of his 48 that means he has a 55 percent chance of scoring from a shot on target.
With 26 appearances for his club, he has only amassed a grand total of one assist in the league, but his goal contribution has been invaluable as Newcastle are almost certain to remain in the premiership in their first season returned from Championship exile.
Leighton Baines
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Everton and England full back Leighton Baines has become possibly the most sought after English left back in the country. He is constantly being linked in the press as a transfer target of a major team, though he never really is in the spot light.
This season he has continued the form of the previous two seasons since breaking into the Toffee's first team as a then 23-year-old.
At 26, Baines continues to come into his own as one of the best attacking full backs in the game. His 11 assists in the league is tied for second, and he is on the only defender represented in the Premier Leagues Top 20 for Assists.
Everton have only amassed 28 assists in the League giving Baines a 39.3 percent stake. Which means that nearly 40 percent of the teams goals are set up by the 26-year-old attacking defender.
With two goals also to his name it is no wonder that he is a target of Liverpool and many other teams throughout Europe this summer.
Clint Dempsey
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Fulham's American midfielder has been in the form of his career this season at Craven Cottage. Recently profiled on the Bleacher Report, Dempsey became the first American to ever score 10 goals in a Premier League season.
His 10-goal haul represents 30 percent of the team's combined effort of 33 goals during the campaign. He has given them a boost also in the points earned when he scores department, because, in the eight games he has scored, the Cottagers have three wins, four draws, and only one loss earning 13 out of 24 points when Dempsey puts on in.
Demps has also earned three assists during his exploits. A further points boost can be added when you look at the results when he sets up a goal. With a win, a draw, and a loss they have taken four out of a possible nine points.
In total, if Dempsey either scores or he provides the magic for a teammate to score, the Cottagers are 4-5-2 taking 17 points from a possible 33. However, this shows that the Cottagers have an 81 percent chance of taking points from a match when Dempsey is on the stats sheet for an assist or a goal. Not too shabby for a player from a country deemed to not be known to produce footballers of quality.
Charlie Adam
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Blackpool skipper Charlie Adam has had a banner year for himself and has pushed his own stock up to be a highly-tracked Liverpool target as well as having been praised by Sir Alex Ferguson publicly. A nice gesture from his fellow Scotsman since he recently has been more renowned for criticism of others, especially match officials.
With that said Adam has produced quite an impressive season for the newly-promoted Seasiders. His nine goals are tied for the team lead with DJ Campbell. Both of them are tied for fifth in total and 11th overall in the Premier League stats table.
With six assists, as well, he is the team leader in both categories as he has helped to lift Ian Holloway's side to the top half on several occasions this season. Their recent dip in form has seen them only take a point from their last possible nine.
Nonetheless, if the Tangerines do end up relegated, Adam will almost most certainly move on and even if they stay up it will be a 70/30 percent chance, in my thoughts, that he still plies his trade at a bigger club come next August.
Johan Elmander
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The Swedish attacker has been in fine form with his partner Kevin Davies this season. Having his best campaign in England since joining the Wanderers in 2008, Elmander is leading the team in both goals and assists.
His nine strikes have him in the top scorers in the league, as well as his five assists providing opportunities to the rest of the club. He also has enjoyed an injury-free season after having multiple set backs last year, and his form could finally be living up to some of the hype of his arrival from Toulouse two years ago.
With eight games left, he will hope to break his goal tally into double figures as Bolton are sitting in seventh place and fighting for their best finish in the league since finishing seventh in the 2006/2007 Barclay's Premier League. Since then, they have not been able to break back into the Top 12 until this year under Owen Coyle.
Florent Malouda
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Equally having a great season along with Salomon Kalou is Chelsea attacking midfielder Florent Malouda. Malouda had statistically speaking his best season in England last year when he scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in the League.
This season, however, continues to be strange one for most teams as the closeness of teams is so much so, that week after week, it is exciting to see where teams will end up. The Blues' prolific scoring of last season's league-winning campaign has not been showing itself this year and the strike rate of the team have been way off.
Didier Drogba has had an off season, even though still leading the team in goals and assists, and Florent Malouda has stepped up to match him in the team lead with goals this season.
The efforts of the French international have helped the Blues stay in the hunt and their recent return to form has seen them be thankful for the increased production from players like Malouda and previously mentioned Salomon Kalou.
Joey Barton
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Experiencing a rather reformed year, the Newcastle bad boy has been in much better form and is back to producing for his team the way he did in his last season with Manchester City in the 2006/2007 season.
Having only appeared 34 times for the Magpies before this season due to either injury, jail time, or suspension, he has been able to keep his nose pretty much clean this year to achieve 24 league appearances for the Geordies.
In this time he has collected five goals and six assists. His assist total leads the team and accounts for 27% of the clubs set up production. The club has also collected five wins, two draws, and three losses whenever he is on the stat sheet earning 17 of 30 points in that time and also showing a 70 percent chance of points being earned if he gets a goal or assist.
Many of you will be saying that he is not statistically having as good of a year as many other in this list, but considering that he has finally taken a role to leadership and consistency on the pitch, almost warrants him being in the list along.
He has helped his team this season by providing his tenacious aggression and spirit to a club that recently lost their best goal scoring threat.
And don't forget, the mustache that he wore about for several weeks, that also should get anyone a spot in a Premiership article just for the sheer enjoyment it can bring.
Robin Van Persie
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Despite continued nagging injuries and red card controversy, the Dutch forward has had one of his best season's in years even with the limited time he has spent on the pitch. Van Persie has only made 16 appearances for the Gunners in the League but is tied for third in the Premier League with 11 goals.
His current chances of hitting the back of the net in any given game is at a rate of 68.8 percent whenever he is on the pitch.
Not only are his chances extremely likely that he will score for the Gunners just because he is in the game, he also has a remarkable shots-to-goals ratio. He currently scores at a rate of a goal every 4.54 shots, as he has a total of 50 shots in the League.
You can also take that even further and, if you take his goals to shots on target ratio, it is a goal every 2.18 shots as 24 of his 50 have been on target.
In considering those terms he has never had a season where he has been more deadly in front of the net in the Premier League.
He also has racked up five assists along the way for the fourth highest amount on the squad. When combined he has 11 goals and five assists and with only 16 appearances, it is nearly a lock that he will either score or set up a goal every game he plays a part in this season.
If only the Dutchman could stay healthy for a full season he could be possibly one of the most feared front men in the league.
Darren Bent
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Aston Villa's £24 million man has scored three times since joining the Villains. His arrival seemed to spark the belief that he was going to save their season under Gerard Houllier but that hasn't been the case.
Even with the arrival of one of the league's top goal scorers, counting 11 in total between Villa and Sunderland, the Birmingham club still sit just a point above the drop zone.
Bent has really no chance to catch his total of 24 goals last season, but he still has had a good year of scoring based on the overall league stats this year.
Perhaps his value was based on his goal scoring record from last year. I can't see his efforts being able to help them finish out of the bottom half this season.
Honorable Mention
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Didier Drogba (Chelsea): nine goals and nine assists to lead his team in both categories, but the prowess of the Ivorian, who scored 29 premier league goals last season, has been way off. He has seemed lost since the arrival of Fernando Torres and hasn't scored in over two months.
DJ Campbell (Blackpool): Another man on nine goals this season, Campbell has shared the largest burden of goal production with his skipper Charlie Adam. However, he has failed to provide a single assisting touch to his teammates.
Raul Merieles (Liverpool): The Portuguese International midfielder has been in scintillating form for Liverpool as of late. The latest to come across from Liga Portuguese to Liverpool has seen him collect five goals and three assists. All his goals and one assist have been under the guidance of Kenny Dalglish since his return to manager of the Reds.
Morten Gamst Pederson (Blackburn): The 29-year-old Norwegian midfielder has quietly helped to keep the Rovers out of the drop zone, though just a point above, with four goals and six assists.
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