English Premier League: A Starting XI of the Best Players Outside the Top 6

In a recent interview, Sir Alex Ferguson stated that he expected the title race to be a six-way scrap with Manchester City, Tottenham and all of the ex-big-four members (Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United) having a shot at winning the title.

These comments reflect positively on the competitiveness of the English Premier League, as opposed to La Liga, where only two clubs have any chance of winning the title.

However, an unfortunate side effect of comments like Sir Alex's is that people who don't watch the English Premier League regularly forget about or overlook the big talents available at clubs outside of the top six as well.

Thus, in this slideshow, we go through the 11 positions in a standard 4-4-2 formation and give credit to the best player in each position not playing at one of the top six clubs in the English Premier League.

I couldn't decide on what picture to put to open up the slide, so I decided to borrow an idea from one of my colleagues and include the best manager outside of the top six—David Moyes.

Goalkeeper: Tim Howard

Current Club: Everton

Honors: 2003-04 FA Cup, 2005-06 League Cup, 2003 Community Shield (all with Manchester United), 2007 Gold Cup, 2001 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, 2001 and 2002 MLS Best XI, 2003-04 PFA Premier League Team of the Year, 2008 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Glove, 2009 MLS All-Star Game MVP

Outside of the top six, there is no better goalkeeper than Tim Howard. 

Since moving to Everton on loan from Manchester United, Tim Howard has been consistent, reliable and ever-present in the team's starting 11. In fact, in five years with the club, Tim Howard has only ever missed four league games, and has played in every single league game in the last three seasons.

His clean sheet totals per year have been solid as well. Per year, they are 14, 14, 17, 11 and nine. Some may climb that the decrease in clean sheets is due to a drop in form, but the decrease has to do more with the increased competitiveness of the EPL and Everton's drop in quality than any drop in Howard's performance level.

Tim Howard has also had a very successful career as the goalkeeper of the USMNT, picking up 64 caps despite the many skilled and talented goalkeepers the United States has had over the last decade.

Left-Back: Leighton Baines

Club: Everton

Honors: 2002-03 Football League Second Division

In a season that started in a very rocky manner for Everton, Leighton Baines was the one light that shined bright throughout the entire campaign.

The attacking left-back scored five goals and recorded 10 assists in what would be his best season as a footballer.

Amazingly, Everton were undefeated in every game Baines scored in, and only lost in one of the nine games in which he picked up an assist.

But Baines' performance didn't come out of nowhere. Indeed, Baines has slowly improved his offense during his time at Everton.

Baines finished the 2007-08 season with nothing more than an assist in a losing effort for Everton, and was in and out of the starting lineup throughout the season. However, in the 2008-09 season he showed drastic improvement with a goal and seven assists, as he become the regular left-back start for Everton, and in the 2009-10 season improved even further by recording a goal and nine assists for the season.

Baines performances have even gotten him multiple call-ups to the England national team, and to date he has picked up five caps and recorded an assist in his most recent cap. 

Right-Back: Phil Bardsley

Club: Sunderland

Honors: 2003 FA Youth Cup, 2007 Community Shield (both Manchester United), 2011 Supporters' Player of the Season

This was one of the hardest spots to decide on, admittedly due to the lack of candidates outside of the top six. Phil Neville was an option, but I didn't want to include too many Everton players, and he didn't have as great as season as Bardsley did in my opinion anyway.

Prior to the 2010-11 season, Bardsley had a very mediocre career altogether.

Despite joining the Manchester United academy at the age of eight, Bardsley was never really given a chance to become a regular member of the Manchester United first team. In five seasons after being promoted to the first team of the club, Bardsley managed only eight league appearances and went on loan to five different clubs.

Bardsley finally ended his Manchester United nightmare by moving to Sunderland, but even there things didn't click into place from the get-go. In his first two seasons with the club, Bardsley was consistent enough, but had a poor disciplinary record, picking up 14 yellow cards in 39 league appearances.

Once Steve Bruce took over, he grew tired of Bardsley's over-aggressiveness, and decided to bench him in favor of Alan Hutton, who picked up many fewer bookings and was a better attacking option. Bardsley ended the season with 18 starts and eight substitute appearances, but still managed to pick up eight yellow cards.

In the 2010-11 season, however, Bardsley transformed his game. He picked up five yellow cards in 34 league appearances, giving him a 1:5 ratio of yellow cards to games, as opposed to the 1:3 ratio of yellow cards to games he averaged through his first two-and-a-half seasons at the club.

More importantly though, he added an offensive dimension to his game. He scored three goals for Sunderland, two of which came in wins over Aston Villa and Chelsea, and recorded two assists as well. For a player who had never before contributed to the offense at any of his clubs, this was a drastic change in Bardsley's game, and he was rewarded for it with the 2011 Supporters' Player of the Season.

Center-Back: Ryan Shawcross

Club: Stoke City

Honors: 2008 October Football League Championship Player of the Month, 2008 PFA Championship Team of the Year, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 Stoke City Young Player of the Season

The English Premier League is loaded with solid center-backs. Thus, it was very hard to pick just two center-backs out of the five or six that could've made the cut.

In the end though, I had to include Ryan Shawcross on this list.

The 2010-11 season was a great one on all fronts for Shawcross. At only the age of 22, he was named captain of the team by manager Tony Pulis, and the move paid off for both the manager and the player.

Stoke City not only finished comfortably in mid-table (13th place) for the third consecutive season, but were also able to get to the final of the FA Cup against Manchester City. Even though they would lose 1-0, Manchester City's third-place league finish meant that the European qualification spot from the FA Cup would be passed down to Stoke City, and that Stoke City would be competing in Europe for the first time ever in 2011-12.

For Shawcross, this season was especially successful as he managed to play in 44 competitive fixtures, about 12 more than he had averaged in the previous two seasons in the top flight with Stoke City. Stoke City also allowed the ninth-fewest goals in the league. 

Center-Back: Brede Hangeland

Club: Fulham

Honors: 2001 Norwegian Cup (with Viking FK), 2005-06 and 2006-07 Danish Superliga, 2005-06 Royal League (with FC Copenhagen)

At first I had Phil Jagielka in this spot, but after much consideration, I decided I couldn't leave Brede Hangeland out of the lineup.

The big Norwegian has had a very successful career at Fulham. Since moving to Fulham, Hangeland has missed only eight leagues games over about three-and-a-half seasons.

But Hangeland isn't only consistent, he's also very controlled. In three-and-a-half seasons with Fulham, Hangeland has picked up a total of only 12 yellow cards, despite the fact that he has become a better and more aggressive defender in his time at Fulham. Hangeland's smart tackling and lack of bookings played a major role in enabling Fulham to qualify for Europe for the 2011-12 Europa League last season through the Fair Play rankings.

Hangeland's biggest improvement however has been his scoring. In the 2010-11 season, Brede Hangeland scored six times in the league, and once in the FA Cup, to establish himself as regular goal threat for Fulham.

Just as Hangeland has been a rock for Fulham, he's been ever present in the Norwegian national team with 70 caps to his name. Considering he was born in Houston, Texas (where I lived for about eight years), it's sad to think of just how much good he could've done for the USMNT, which continues to struggle to find good center-backs... 

Left-Midfielder/Winger: Clint Dempsey

Club: Fulham

Honors: 2005 and 2007 Gold Cup, 2004 MLS Rookie of the Year Award, 2006 Honda Player of the Year, 2005 and 2006 MLS Best XI, 2007 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Bronze Ball

We go from one Texan who plays for Fulham to another Texan who plays for Fulham.

It's hard to explain just how important Dempsey has been to Fulham. In his first season at Fulham, Dempsey only scored one goal, but that goal proved to be the most important goal of the season as it gave Fulham a win over Liverpool and saved the club from relegation.

Since then, Dempsey has gone from strength to strength. He scored six goals the following season, and eight goals in the season after that, a season in which Fulham finished seventh, their best-ever finish in the Premier League, and qualified for the Europa League.

In the 2009-10 season, Dempsey continued his gradual improvement with nine goals, but entered Fulham folklore with an amazing goal vs. Juventus which gave Fulham the goal they needed to make it to the Europa League final.

And in the 2010-11 season, Dempsey still managed to improve further. He scored 13 goals in all competition, and 12 in the league, guiding Fulham to an eighth-place finish in the league.

Dempsey has been a beast on the international level as well. The list of memorable goals truly goes on and on. What USMNT fan can forget his goal vs. Egypt to secure the USMNT's passage into the semifinals of the Confederations Cup, or his clinching goal to give the USMNT a historic win over Spain and secure their passage into the Confederations Cup final, or his opening goal vs. Brazil in the Confederations Cup final?

And then of course, there is his goal against England in the 2010 World Cup...

Right-Midfielder/Winger: Charles N'Zogbia

Club: Wigan Athletic

Honors: None

It's truly amazing that a talented winger like Charles N'Zogbia has won zero team or individual honors in his career, but looking at the up-and-down nature of the winger's career, it's not so surprising.

In four-and-a-half years at Newcastle, Charles N'Zogbia never really shined as a player. He was given plenty of opportunities to show the talent that prompted Sir Bobby Robson to say "he was one of the most naturally gifted players of that age I'd ever seen" prior to signing him for Newcastle in 2004, but only showed glimpses of his talent in the 2005-06 season before fading back to mediocrity and even dropping out of the starting lineup.

Since his move to Wigan Athletic, however, N'Zogbia has been a player reborn. In his first full season at Wigan, N'Zogbia recorded seven goals and eight assists, and last season, N'Zogbia improved even further, recording 10 goals and 12 assists in all competitions.

At the age of 25, N'Zogbia is a bit of a late bloomer, but still has a long career ahead of him if he plays his cards right.

He looks set to leave Wigan, with chairman Dave Whelan admitting there isn't much of a chance of the club holding onto the player, and has been linked with a move to Aston Villa to replace the departed Stewart Downing.

Playmaker/Central Midfielder: Mikel Arteta

Club: Everton

Honors: 1999 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship, 1999 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup (with Spain), 2001 Intertoto Cup (with Paris Saint-Germain), 2002-03 Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup (with Rangers), 2005-06 & 2006-07 Everton Player of the Season, 2005-06 Everton Players' Player of the Season, 2006-07 Sky Sports Midfielder of the Year 

Following the numerous comments made calling for his inclusion, and reports of Scott Parker's move to Aston Villa being dead in the water, Mikel Arteta has replaced Scott Parker in the Outside-of-The-Top-Six Starting XI.

Throughout his career, Mikel Arteta has been a classy midfielder and a trophy winner, but only after his move to Everton in 2004-05 did Arteta transform his game and become one of the best playmakers in the world.

In his first full season at the club, Mikel Arteta picked up both the Everton Player of the Season award as well as the Everton Players' Player of the Season award, and recorded three goals and seven assists in all competitions. 

In his second full season, Mikel Arteta had by far his best season as a professional footballer, playing in 35/38 Premier League fixtures for Everton, and recording a nine goals and 12 assists in the process. His performances helped him pick up the Everton Player of the Season award for the second consecutive season. More impressively however, he was selected by Sky Sports voters as the 2006-07 Midfielder of the Year, ahead of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.

Although Mikel Arteta has continued to be a regular starter when fit for Everton, and remains an excellent playmaker, he has since been unable to hit the heights he hit in the 2006-07 season. At 29 years old though, Arteta has many years of productivity left in him, and remains a midfielder in demand.

Attacking/Central-Midfielder: Tim Cahill

Club: Everton

Honors: 2000-01 Football League Second Division (with Millwall), 2004 Oceania Footballer of the Year, 2008-09 Australian Professional Football Association Player of the Year, 2003-04 PFA First Division Team of the Year, 2004-05 Everton Player of the Season, 2004-05 Everton Players' Player of the Season

Tim Cahill's 2010-11 season wasn't spectacular by his standards, but statistically, Cahill still managed to get the job done, scoring nine goals and recording five assists.

Cahill started the season in red-hot form, scoring all nine of his goals prior to the halfway mark of the league, and recording three assists in the process. His performances single-handedly kept Everton afloat in the league, and in the games in which he didn't score prior to the 2011 Asian Cup, Everton slumped to four draws and three losses, indicating just how important he was to the team.

Despite performing decently enough in the Asian Cup and helping Australia to a second-place finish, Cahill's league form nosedived upon his return to Everton due to a foot injury he picked up while at the Asian Cup.

The injury limited him to making only eight more league appearances, five of which came as a substitute, with no goals and no assists.

There are only a handful of midfielders in the world who can boast the consistency in goal scoring that Cahill has produced over his seven seasons at Everton. Cahill has averaged more than nine goals per season at Everton, and never scored fewer than seven despite enduring two injury-shortened campaigns.

Striker: Darren Bent

Club: Aston Villa

Honors: 2007-08 Football League Cup (with Tottenham Hotspur)

For all the flak Darren Bent has received throughout his career, he's actually a very accomplished striker.

Darren Bent has scored 164 goals in 378 matches, a ratio of a goal for every 2.3 games. If you subtract his goals and appearances for Ipswich Town, then the ratio improves to a goal for every 2.2 games, and includes only goals scored in the Premier League.

Even more impressive, Bent has never scored fewer than 15 goals in any season since his second season at Ipswich, with the exception of his first season at Tottenham where played backup to the first-choice partnership of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.

Most of the frustration with Bent comes from his inability to replicate his club form with England. He has received only 10 caps with England, despite the national team's consistent lack of a effective goal-scoring partner to play along Wayne Rooney, and scored only three times, missing several guilt-edged chances along the way.

He has also been absent from England's 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads, despite having career years in both of the seasons prior to the World Cup. In 2006, he scored 22 goals in all competitions to save Charlton Athletic from relegation, and in 2010 scored 25 goals for Sunderland to help them finish in eighth place.

Now at Aston Villa, Darren Bent has already provided plenty of goals with nine in only 16 appearances since moving in the winter transfer window, and will likely provide plenty more in the coming season for Villa.

Striker: Peter Odemwingie

Club: West Bromwich Albion

Honors: September 2010 and April 2011 Premier League Player of the Month, English Premier League African Player of the Year

Peter Odemwingie enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career in 2010-11. His 15 goals and nine assists almost single-handedly steered West Bromwich Albion to a comfortable 11th-place finish.

Despite playing at a small club like West Brom, Odemwingie's efforts did not go unnoticed. He was chosen as Premier League Player of the Month on two separate occasions last season, and was selected as English Premier League African Player of the Year ahead of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Michael Essien and the many other established African stars of the EPL.

Peter Odemwingie has also been regularly involved in the Nigerian national team setup throughout his career. He was in the Nigeria squads that placed third in 2004, 2006 and 2010, and helped the Nigerian Olympic team finish second in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the only overaged member of the squad.

What Do You Think?

In making this slideshow, I had about three candidates to pick from for every position (except right-back, where I could only think of two). Therefore, I considered putting out a second starting lineup as "honorable mentions."

But in my opinion, doing so would greatly undercut the discussion on the primary starting lineup discussed in the slideshow. Thus, instead of posting an "honorable mention" lineup, I will leave it up to you guys, the readers, to tell what you guys think.

Who do you think is least deserving of a spot in this lineup? Who is most deserving? Who do you think got unfairly omitted?

Please do not hesitate to share your opinion and be critical (but not rude) if necessary. I look forward to reading and discussing your comments.