Premier League: 10 Great Players Who Can't Make Their Starting XIs

The top flight of English football is blessed with talent.

A committed core of home-grown talent intertwined with an injection of foreign imports results in a great product and great competition—both between the respective clubs and players within their own squads.

The depth of the squads are so great, many multimillion pound men are left warming the bench. On occasion, they aren't even required to delve outside their secluded gated communities.

Here's a selection of players who may (understandably) be feeling neglected.   

Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson is a really good player, not that you'd ever get the chance to watch him play.

An understudy to Stewart Downing at Middlesbrough, Johnson quickly turned heads after Downing departed for Aston Villa.

Johnson got his move last year but has seen limited opportunities as a member of Roberto Mancini's squad.

No doubt he's getting paid an inconceivable amount of money to sit on the bench, but surely he's got to look toward getting first-team football soon.    

James Milner

Speaking of talented English wide men who play for Manchester City...

Milner broke through at Leeds before swapping one historically significant, yet perennially underachieving club for another as he moved to Newcastle.

After a stint at Aston Villa, Milner succumbed to the promise of Champions League football and his very own Cheshire mansion when he joined Manchester City.

Since then, Milner has sporadically appeared both for club and country, and his career seems to have reached a stalemate of sorts.   

Steven Pienaar

It bemused me last year when the South African swapped a regular starting place at Everton for what Harry Redknapp openly admitted would be to add depth, or as I've put it, the "Nico Kranjcar role."

Since the move, Pienaar has struggled through injury problems, and we haven't really seen him in a Tottenham shirt at all.

Lucas

The 24-year-old  must be getting as tired of Liverpool as the Reds fans seem to be getting of him.

Last season it looked like a bit of a breakthrough for the Brazilian, as he won over some of the hard-nosed Liverpool fans.

So what did new boss Kenny Dalglish do to reward Lucas for his improvement?

Buy Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam to throw into competition for a spot in midfield, with Steven Gerrard still to return. 

Dimitar Berbatov

Less than 12 months ago, Berbatov was the top goal scorer in the Premier League and one of the first names on Sir Alex Ferguson's team sheet. 

Fast forward to the present day, and the Bulgarian is the fourth-choice striker at Old Trafford and was left out of the squad altogether for last season's Champions League final.

Ferguson revealed that he turned down bids for Berbatov over the summer, but before long he'll have no choice to free his disgruntled striker.

David Vaughan

Vaughan was one of three standout players for Blackpool last season, all of whom have retained their Premier League status' in the wake of Blackpool's relegation.

Now at Sunderland, Vaughan has gone from starting for one of the best teams to watch in the country to watching on from Steve Bruce's bench.

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge made a great career move by deciding to leave Manchester City in 2009 in search of first-team football.

However, he nullified this decision by moving to Chelsea—Sturridge must now be in a state of deja vu.

The young striker showed he could start for most Premier League teams while on loan at Bolton last season but has since reoccupied his role as the fourth, maybe even fifth-choice striker at Chelsea following the signing of Romelu Lukaku.

Marc Albrighton

Albrighton reminds me a lot of Adam Johnson.

He's young, wiry, fast and great with the ball at his feet.

With Stewart Downing and Ashley Young now playing elsewhere, hopefully more opportunities will open up for Albrighton.

Nicholas Anelka

It's like pouring petrol on a fire when you keep "Le Sulk" on your bench and Andre Villas-Boas will have a hard time keeping the temperamental Frenchman happy at Stamford Bridge.

Many thought Anelka would be on his way this summer. Surely if his lack of game time persists, Anelka won't be at Chelsea much longer. 

Connor Wickham

The teenager impressed greatly for Ipswich last season, and Sunderland won the race for the striker with an £8-million bid.

With no Darren Bent or Danny Welbeck at Sunderland, Wickham must expect first-team chances to be forthcoming.