The Gem in the Team Part 2

Manchester City: Edin Dzeko

He might not like it but Edin Dzeko is certainly a supersub now. Out of his six goals, five have been netted when he came on as a substitutes. His value to the team comes as 3 out of those 5 goals have proved decisive in giving City the win, as in the match against Tottenham. With his team mates unable to reach the lofty heights of last season, Dzeko has managed to ensure that City just about keep in touch with United.

Manchester United: Robin Van Persie

It is tempting to put United's own supersub Javier Hernandez on this list but it is honestly Van Persie that has produced the goods for United. With 11 goals for the team, he has provided a constant barrage of quality, something which his strike partner Rooney just cannot give. He has shown his clinical side and how he can turn games on their heads, with the 3-2 victory over Southampton being the best example. He has only been in the team for 2 months yet Rooney has already said that he is the team's talisman. He is just that good.

Newcastle: Demba Ba

This was a hard call to make, with the other contender being Ben Arfa. Eventually I plumped for Ba as Ben Arfa tends to overplay and cause his team golden opportunities to hit on the break. Capable of producing the outrageous such as the goal against Reading, Ba has solved the problem Luis Suarez has for Liverpool: goalscoring. With his partner Papiss Cisse unable to find his form this season, Ba has brought it upon himself to win games for the team. Remarkably, he has done most of it by coming off the bench and it is a surprise he has not cemented a place in the first eleven yet.

Norwich: Wes Hoolahan

It is hard to phanthom why Chris Hughton decided not to play Hoolahan behind Grant Holt at the start of the season. It was a combination that worked last year and Hughton did not get the results he desired by shaking things up. The return of Hoolahan has improved things though. With Holt not particularly the kind of player suited to creating chances, most of Norwich's attacks go through Hoolahan. Even though he has notched only one assist this term, he has created numerous chances for him team mates and added an impetus to the attack. Sometimes, the old combinations work best.

Queens Park Rangers: Adel Taarabt

Out of the raft of signings Mark Hughes has brought to the team, there has been a mixed bag of results, with more misses than hits in my opinion. It is the performances of one 'old boy' Adel Taarabat that have been the most eye catching though. Since his return to first team action, he has excelled. I read somewhere that he completed more dribbles in a match than his team combined for the whole season some weeks back and I won't be surprised if that was true. Capable of getting out of tight situations, he does need to improve his shots to goal ratio if he hopes to drag QPR off the foot of the table, which he is certainly capable of doing.

Reading: Kaspars Gorkss

The central defender is only one out of two players to have started every single Premier League game for Reading this year. With a team expected to struggle this season, Gorkss has performed amiably. Despite Reading's tendency to concede goals, none of them have come from the neglience or mistake of Gorkss. Indeed, he has even scored twice this season (both against QPR) and Reading will be in a much worse state have it not been for his marshalling of the defence.

Sunderland: Simon Mignolet

With just 7 goals scored this season, it is a huge surprise that Sunderland is out of the relegation zone having played a game less. This would not have been possible though without the heroics of Mignolet. Roy Keane was right in that a good goalkeeper would win a team many points when he broke the bank to sign Craig Gordon for the team, just that it was not the right player. Mignolet has since claimed his place in the team and his value to the team was best shown in the first game of the season, where he pulled off some amazing saves to make sure Arsenal did not score. Likewise in the Stoke game, Mignolet faced a tirade of shots yet stood strong. Without him, Sunderland will definitely be in the relegation zone by now and they will do well to hold on to their most valuable player in January.