Each Premiership Side's Biggest Bust of the 2011-12 Season

With little more than a month left to go in the English Premier League season, it's business time for all 20 clubs of the EPL.

Though they've finally put a healthy gap between themselves and Manchester City, United will need to keep winning to ensure City don't close the gap and reopen the title race.

Just below the Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea are all locked in the race to make the Champions League. At present, only five points separate third place Arsenal from sixth place Chelsea, and any slip-ups by any of the four teams are sure to be taken advantage of by the other three.

For seventh through 14th place, there is no race for a spot in the Champions League or Europa League, but all the teams will want to finish higher up the table to win their club more money and carry positive momentum into the offseason.

Furthermore, for clubs like Liverpool and Everton, it is imperative that they finish the season strong, so as to perform at their best in the FA Cup.

Finally, for 15th through 20th place, the relegation battle will have clubs fighting for their lives and financial stability over the next month.

Aston Villa are probably safe from relegation, and Wolverhampton Wanderers are almost sure to be relegated, but the late resurgence of Wigan, Bolton and Blackburn has made it unclear which of these teams will go down with Wolves and if QPR will be sent down as well.

While it is business time for all these clubs, it's also time for reflection. Over 30 EPL fixtures have passed, and we've had ample time to watch and analyze the individual players of each of the 20 EPL teams.

Some have overachieved; others have had mediocre seasons. And others, unfortunately, have been downright awful.

Here we will go club by club and "name-and-shame" these players. Some are bigger busts than others, but, for varying reasons, these guys just haven't come close to meeting the expectations set for them when the season started.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Roger Johnson

When Wolverhampton Wanderers are relegated this season, it won't be because of one bust or one player. It'll be because they did not have a good enough squad going into this season, and their players, overall, were of lesser quality than the players at the other 19 clubs in the EPL.

But that doesn't mean there isn't a player I can point to who has had a massive role in the crisis Wolves currently find themselves in. There is, and his name is Roger Johnson.

Johnson was Wolves' marquee signing of the summer, joining from Birmingham City for £7 million. That may not seem like much, but for Wolves, spending £7 million is the equivalent of Chelsea spending £30 million on a new signing. It's big money for a club with a very limited budget.

Johnson was supposed to be Wolves' messiah, guiding the club to the promised land, i.e mid-table mediocrity. He was immediately given the captain's armband and entrusted with marshaling a Wolves defense that allowed 66 goals in 38 EPL games last season.

Needless to say, Johnson has been a failure on multiple levels. With six games still to go, Wolves have already conceded 70 goals and are rooted to the bottom of the table.

As a captain, he's been a poor leader. In early March, he showed up drunk for practice. Later in March, he clashed with goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey during a must-win game vs. Bolton, which Wolves went on to lose.

And as a player, his form has been indifferent. The remarkable Johnson who kept Birmingham City's defense relatively secure has been replaced by a Johnson who looks just as uncertain and insecure as the defenders he's playing with.

All in all, the money spent on Johnson was not money well spent for Wolves. They put all their eggs in one basket by spending their entire summer transfer budget on him, and the move has not worked out for Johnson or Wolves.

Wigan Athletic: Hugo Rodallega

I considered Franco Di Santo for a short while, but in the context of his performances in past seasons, Di Santo actually overachieved this season. Hugo Rodallega, on the other hand, did not.

After following up on his successful 2009-10 season with another successful season in 2010-11, many expected this season to be Rodallega's final season with Wigan, as he left the relegation struggles of Wigan for the glory-chasing teams of the EPL, like Arsenal and Liverpool.

But if Rodallega and his agent indeed harbored hopes of him leaving Wigan this season for greener pastures, those hopes are probably gone now.

Rodallega has looked nothing like his former self this season, and he doesn't even have the usual excuse of injuries to fall back on. He's been fit for most of the season, but the spectacular form he showed in the last two seasons is gone.

There have been flashes of decent form—he scored twice in the month of January and assisted two goals on December 31st—but all in all, he's looked a shadow of his former self.

I still expect Rodallega to leave Wigan at the end of this season. When he leaves, however, he won't be leaving for the green pastures of the EPL's top clubs.

He'll either return to Mexico, where he first made his name, or move to another bottom-feeder EPL club who is willing to take a chance on a striker that has been completely out-of-sorts this season.

Blackburn Rovers: Gael Givet

It's a bit harsh for me to mention Gael Givet as Blackburn's biggest bust of the season, because in truth no single Blackburn player has performed that badly. If any individual should take the blame for how poor Blackburn's season has been, it's Steve Kean, their manager.

But for a guy who came through Monaco's famed youth system, played for Monaco for over six seasons, and played with Marseille under four seasons ago, Givet's performances have not met the standard expected of a player of his pedigree.

Whether played as a left back or center back, Givet has not looked confident in Blackburn's defense, and the team has paid the price as a result.

In addition, his horror-show performance against Arsenal, which saw him sent off in the 43rd minute, condemned his team to their most humiliating loss of the season.

Gael Givet has not played for Blackburn since then.

Queens Park Rangers: Shaun Wright-Phillips

At the end of the summer transfer window, I never imagined that Queens Park Rangers would find themselves anywhere near the bottom of the table near the end of the season.

With guys like Anton Ferdinand, Joey Barton, Armand Traore and Luka Young all joining the club in the summer, I was sure that QPR were set to firmly establish themselves this season with a mid-table finish.

From there, I expected that QPR would push up slowly into the top 10, with Tony Fernandes injecting funds into the club when neccessary.

But, unfortunately for the club, numerous players have underachieved.

Adel Taarabt has failed to come close to replicating his Championship form, Joey Barton has not replicated the form he showed with Newcastle last season, and Jay Bothroyd has not shown the touch in front of goal that convinced Fabio Capello to make him the first English call-up from the Championship in English history.

But none of these guys are QPR's biggest bust of the season. That "honor" belongs to Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Unlike Taarabt, Barton or Bothroyd, SWP actually cost QPR money: £4 million to be exact. That's a decent sum of money for a club to spend in its first season in the EPL, even if the club was bought by Tony Fernandes.

What has SWP given the club in return? Zero goals and five assists in 29 appearances. It's decent, but not what you want from a player of SWP's pedigree.

QPR's struggles this season are definitely not SWP's fault; the team has underachieved as a unit all season long and is suffering as a result. But of all the underachievers, SWP stands out because of his transfer fee and history.

Bolton Wanderers: David N'Gog

This one was a close call between Tuncay Sanli and David N'Gog. In the end, David N'Gog's significantly greater playing time meant I had to pick him.

When N'Gog first came through the ranks at Liverpool, there was genuine hope that he'd be a Champions League-quality striker that would lead Liverpool to success in Europe.

Now, there are heavy doubts that N'Gog is even a Premier League-quality striker.

To put it quite simply, N'Gog has not repaid the £4 million transfer fee Bolton paid to bring him to the club, nor has he repaid the faith of his manager, who has played him for over 2000 minutes this season in 32 games, only to be rewarded with three measly goals.

Unsurprisingly, when N'Gog scores, Bolton wins. Bolton have won both the league games and the FA Cup game in which N'Gog found the back of the net.

But his incompetence in front of goal has been a big reason why Bolton have found themselves mired in the relegation battle this season.

Bolton are a decent mid-table club with decent mid-table players, but N'Gog has hurt the team significantly by taking playing time from the team's other strikers and not producing at the level that a player of his background should perform.

Aston Villa: Charles N'Zogbia

When Charles N'Zogbia was bought from Wigan Athletic for £9.5 million this summer, it was hoped that he'd fill the big gap left by Ashley Young's departure for Manchester United.

He'd had an excellent season with Wigan in 2010-11, scoring nine goals and assisting 10 others, and if Aston Villa could get that kind of return from him again this season, then the money splurged on N'Zogbia would have been money well-spent.

Alas, N'Zogbia has not come close to hitting the heights he hit with Wigan last year. He failed to record anything more than an assist in his first 12 games and has only two goals this season through 25 league games.

Aston Villa's lack of quality on the wings without Stewart Downing and Ashley Young has been painfully obvious this season, and N'Zogbia's poor performances have caused his team to suffer a fall from where they've found themselves in the league table at end of the season over the last few years.

Swansea City: Josh McEachran

Swansea City have really overachieved this season. In the summer, many expected them to be a "one-and-done" EPL team; they'd spend one season in the EPL and be back in the Championship in the following season.

But they've performed admirably all season long and have pulled off some seriously unexpected wins, like their 3-2 home win vs. Arsenal or 1-0 home win over Manchester City.

All this has made it very hard to pick a flop for Swansea City this season, especially since they made only conservative summer purchases, and those purchases have performed well enough this season.

When it comes down to it, it may be harsh, and it may be unpopular, but the biggest Swansea City bust, if one must be selected, is Josh McEachran.

We always say it's unfair to blame a player for not getting playing time to prove his worth, but McEachran must be doing something wrong if Steven Caulker and Gylfi Sigurdsson, 20 and 22 respectively, managed to break into the starting lineup while McEachran couldn't.

Chelsea loaned McEachran to Swansea with the expectation that he'd demonstrate enough quality to become a starter or regular rotation player. He's become neither.

In just under three months with the club, McEachran has made three substitute appearances for Swansea and gotten two starts in all competitions out of 12 possible games. That's just not good enough.

It's harsh, but the bar is set high with an overachieving team like Swansea. If McEachran doesn't pick up a good amount of playing time before the end of the season, both he and Chelsea should see his loan spell as wasted time rather than a positive experience.

West Bromwich Albion: Gabriel Tamas

West Brom are another team where no one has really stood out in terms of underachieving. The club has had a decent season, is well-clear of the relegation zone, and is on course to finish comfortably in the middle of the table, which is where West Brom usually finishes in its best seasons.

The club's marquee signing, Shane Long, has performed well enough this season, and Odemwingie has recovered from his early season blues to be his team's leading scorer.

As such, my pick for biggest bust of the season may come as a bit of a surprise; it's Gabriel Tamas.

When Tamas was first signed by West Brom, he came to the club with an impressive resume. In fact, many were confused as to why a defender who'd played for Galatasaray, Dinamo Bucharesti, Spartak Moscow and Auxerre would want to join a club playing in the Championship.

But he did, and he helped the club earn promotion to the EPL. Last season, in West Brom's first season in the EPL, he was a regular member of West Brom's rotation, starting 22 matches.

But this season, after starting West Brom's first four games, Tamas was dropped and only re-selected 18 games later as a right back. Even in this new role, Tamas has seen limited playing time.

Again, like McEachran, I'd hardly label Tamas a "bust" the same way N'Gog, N'Zogbia and Rodallega have been busts for their respective teams. But this definitely has been a bad season for the defender.

Stoke City: Ricardo Fuller

It's not easy being a Stoke City striker these days. The team is stacked up front: Mamady Sidibe, Ricardo Fuller, Cameron Jerome, Kenwyne Jones, Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters all have to compete with one another for playing time up front.

That's why it's important as a player and a striker to capitalize on the playing time you're given and always work to impress your manager.

But apparently Ricardo Fuller missed that memo. In his first league start of the entire season, Fuller got himself sent off in the 25th minute, handing the match to Chelsea.

It was a moment of sheer stupidity for Fuller, one which prompted Tony Pulis to call Fuller's conduct "ridiculous."

For that stupidity, Fuller is Stoke City's biggest bust of the 2011-12 EPL season.

Sunderland: Connor Wickham

Don't get me wrong; I still believe in Connor Wickham's potential to succeed as a great striker for England in the future. But evaluating what we've seen here and now, Wickham simply has not delivered the goods.

And it's really Sunderland's fault. Splashing £12 million on a 19-year-old who was just starting to get comfortable with life as a striker in the Championship is almost as bad as spending £35 million on a striker with only half a season of Premier League experience.

It raises the pressure on the player and takes them out of a comfort zone they were just starting to adjust to.

Sunderland were lucky this season to be bailed out by a brilliant manager in Martin O'Neil, a decent striker in Nicklas Bendtner, and two very good wingers in Sebastian Larsson and James McClean.

If not for them, Sunderland's poor business in the transfer window could've seriously hurt the club.

Norwich City: James Vaughan

This was supposed to be James Vaughan's season.

After years of struggling with major injuries at Everton, Vaughan had finally completed a full, successful season with Crystal Palace in the Championship and was ready to build on his success with a good season in the EPL.

Norwich City provided him with the opportunity to start fresh with a new EPL club and made him one of their marquee signings. He didn't cost much, but he was the face of Norwich's battle to stay in the EPL, at least in the beginning of the summer.

Unfortunately for Vaughan, tragedy struck once again, and another knee injury has ruled him out for most of Norwich's season.

He's played in the reserves to get back into game shape and fitness since January, but he has not been able to step back onto the pitch of a league game. He played as a substitute against Leicester in the FA Cup in February but hasn't been seen since.

It's too bad, but it looks like 2011-12 will just be another lost season for Vaughan.

Fulham: Bryan Ruiz

When Martin Jol joined Fulham in the summer as their new manager, he made a number of personnel changes. The biggest of these changes was bringing in Bryan Ruiz for £10.6 million.

From the get-go, Ruiz looked like he wasn't going to adjust to life at Fulham. It didn't help that Jol selected him as a substitute for seven of his first eight games either.

By early December, Ruiz was miserable and wishing Tottenham had pursued him more than Fulham did.

Finally, in mid-December, Ruiz had his best game in a Fulham shirt, scoring one goal and assisting another in a 2-0 win over Bolton. But that was as good as it would get for Ruiz, before a broken foot ended his season prematurely against Bolton this past weekend.

Luckily for Ruiz, Cint Dempsey's excellent season and Pavel Pogrebynak's high-quality start to life in the EPL have taken the focus off his struggles. But that doesn't change the fact that Ruiz and his two EPL goals have not lived up to expectations this season.

Liverpool: Andy Carroll

Do I even need to justify selecting Andy Carroll as Liverpool's biggest flop this season?

Liverpool have been a team packed with underachievers this season. Dirk Kuyt has had a poor season, while Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson have failed miserably to live up to their transfer fee. Charlie Adam and Jose Enrique haven't exactly performed at the highest level either.

But despite all the team's underachievers, Andy Carroll has towered above them all. Had Carroll performed at the level of a £35 million striker, it's likely many of Liverpool's underachievers would've performed better than they have this season.

Of course, I do want to note that, as with Wickham, I blame Liverpool as a club more than I blame Carroll for his failure to live up to his transfer fee.

To expect a striker of Carroll's age to be able to cope with the media pressure that arises from a £35 million transfer fee is completely ridiculous, and the transfer itself was the mark of a desperate club looking for any solution to its problems rather than mapping out a clear plan for success.

Everton: Denis Stracqualursi

Just like last season, Everton's late season push has allowed them to put distance between themselves and the rest the EPL's mid-table teams.

The problem this season was a lack of firepower in the first half the season. In the second half of the season, Nikica Jelavic has scored key goals for Everton at the right time, but before his arrival, Everton struggled for goals.

One reason for this was Stacqualursi's poor performances. The young Argentinian arrived at Everton with so much promise, but 18 games later he has scored only once and contributed only insignificantly to Everton's success this season.

He may not have cost Everton much since he was a loan signing, but that doesn't change the fact that he underperformed for Everton as a Toffee.

Chelsea: Jose Bosingwa

Many people would label Fernando Torres Chelsea's biggest flop of the 2011-12 season, but I've seen enough good performances from him to be convinced that he still possesses the quality that made him a world-class superstar in the first place.

Bosingwa, on the other hand, hasn't shown the quality of a world-class right back at Chelsea. He's been error-prone for both Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo and has been responsible for a number of defensive mishaps for Chelsea.

Bosingwa's days at Chelsea are surely numbered, as RDM has started to trust Branislav Ivanovic more as a right back, which means Bosingwa's playing time will likely stay low until the end of the season.

Newcastle United: Gabriel Obertan

Few Newcastle fans will disagree that Gabriel Obertan deserves the "biggest underachiever" award for Newcastle United.

Obertan arrived at Newcastle United for a fee of £3.25 million this summer and quickly showed why Manchester United were uninterested in playing him regularly.

On a variety of occasions, Obertan has looked downright disgraceful. His passing has been poor, his crosses have found no targets in the box, and he's been unable to show the ability to get past defenders.

It may be in Obertan's best interest simply to go back to playing football in France, as spells with Manchester United and Newcastle have simply not panned out for him.

Tottenham Hotspur: Aaron Lennon

It's unfortunate that Aaron Lennon's overall seasonal performances makes him Tottenham's biggest bust of the 2011-12 season, because he's been an inspiration for Tottenham in a number of major games.

But all in all, Lennon's injuries have really troubled Tottenham, who sold or loaned all backups for Lennon out in the January transfer window.

There's still time for Tottenham to save their season by finishing in the top four, and Lennon can play a big role in this push if Tottenham get back to winning regularly and consistently.

Lennon may yet prove not to be Tottenham's biggest bust of 2011-12, but I wouldn't bet on it. Redknapp has learned that he must cope with playing without Lennon, and the lack of pressure on Lennon should make his job easier to do.

Arsenal: Marouane Chamakh

Although Arsenal's late season push has catapulted them into a relatively comfortable third place position, it's important to recognize the underachievers that Arsenal have overcome in their journey to get above Tottenham.

Marouane Chamakh has done practically nothing for Arsenal this season other than eat time at the end of games as a substitute. Chu-Young Park has seen even less playing time than Chamakh and has consequently done almost nothing for Arsenal.

In defense, Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci's performances in defense have been weak for Arsenal, and they allowed teams like Manchester United to wreak havoc on Arsenal's defense.

All in all though, Arsenal's Chamakh has been the club's biggest flop.  He's suffered one of the biggest losses of form in the EPL and has practically forgotten how to put the ball in the back of the net.

Manchester City: Owen Hargeaves

Although he scored on his dream debut vs. Birmingham City in September, Hargreaves' time with City has been largely a failure, according to Roberto Mancini himself.

Having made only four appearances all season long, it's become clear that Hargreaves has not been able to overcome the injury problems that plagued him at Manchester United.

This past January, Roberto Mancini brought in Claudio Pizarro to add the depth that Hargreaves was supposed to bring when he was signed in the summer. 

Hargreaves' days at City are numbered, and if he truly will never overcome his injury problems, it may just be in his best interest to retire now and save his dignity rather than start over with another club.

Manchester United: Anderson

Picking a "bust" of the season for Manchester United is very hard, as Sir Alex Ferguson's standards at the club ensures that almost everyone performs at a high level.

I'd initially picked Jonny Evans for this spot, but in truth, he's shown dramatic improvement in his game since the mid-point of the season, leading him to become one of United's regular starters at center-back.

So even though it's a bit harsh, I'm picking Anderson for this spot. Nani was another name suggested, but it'd be insane for me to put a winger who has scored eight goals and recorded 13 assists this season on the list.

This was the season Anderson was supposed to finally prove that he was good enough to bring the quality Manchester United has been lacking in midfield.

Early on, it looked like he and Tom Cleverley were on their way to doing this. They put in top-notch performances in a 3-0 win over Spurs and an 8-2 win over Arsenal, with Anderson recording a goal in the first and an assist in the latter.

Unfortunately for Anderson, disaster struck. Shortly after Manchester City' 6-1 mauling of United, Anderson's injury problems would flare up again, and he would only make two more league appearances as a substitute.

His most recent appearance came against Athletic Bilbao as a substitute at the start of March, but he hasn't been seen in the league since the start of January.