The 2015-16 football season has been an incredibly dramatic and thrilling one. Leicester City were crowned champions of England, an astonishing feat considering they were battling to stay stave off relegation last season whereas Barcelona and Juventus continued their dominance on the La Liga and Serie-A fronts.
Certain names such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet to name a few emerged as stars. Meanwhile, surprisingly there were certain established players who failed to play at their usually high standards and had really disappointing campaigns.
Here are 7 such players who are ‘too good’ to have another bad season next year:
#1 Eden Hazard
The PFA Player of the year last year had a sensational 2014-15 campaign leading Chelsea to the Premier league title. Jose Mourinho after the victory went as far as to say ‘Eden Hazard is better than Cristiano Ronaldo’ last season. Well, since that comment, Chelsea have capitulated dramatically and a lot of water has flowed under Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho is now unemployed and Eden Hazard finds himself in the worst form of his life, although he did score a couple of spectacular goals at the fag end of the season.
Hazard’s dip in form has been disastrous, culminating in Chelsea finishing 10th this season, the worst by any defending champion in the history of the Premier League . With six goals in 42 appearances, it has been a season to forget for the 25-year-old. But he has shown his class in the past and is too good a player to repeat 2015-16.
#2 Raheem Sterling
A ‘sterling’ 2013/14 campaign at Liverpool saw the emergence of Raheem Sterling as a household name. Whilst the Reds ‘slipped’ at the last moment in the race for the title, the pacy winger built up his reputation and by the end of the season was ranked as the most valuable player in Europe at 49 million euros in a professional study by Soccerex.
After receiving the Golden Boy award in 2014 a nasty divorce with Liverpool saw him landing up at Manchester City where a lot was expected when after Citizens had coughed up a whopping 49 million pounds to make him the most expensive English player.
However, an absolutely awful campaign followed, with Sterling not being effective at all. The 21-year-old has only managed a paltry return of 11 goals in 42 appearances in an injury hit spell and has been rated as one of the worst signings of the season. With time on his side, he is expected to put this behind him and perform at a level expected of him.
#3 Memphis Depay
The Dutchman was a sensation in the Eredivisie prior to his arrival at Manchester United. He was the league’s top scorer with 22 goals as he led PSV Eindhoven to the title for the first time since 2008. Depay was also named the “Best Young Player” in the world by France football and United fans were looking forward to the ‘New Ronaldo’.
What they got this season however, was nothing but disappointment as United new number 7 had a torrid debut campaign at Old Trafford. With just 7 goals in 45 appearances to boast of, it has been an underwhelming season for the energetic winger to say the least. Memphis, as he likes to be called, has been unable to light up the league as expected with Louis Van Gaal’s defensive tactics not helping either.
However, the 22-year-old has shown glimpses of his undeniable talent, most notably against Midtjylland and should be able to return better figures next term for sure as he gets acclamatised to the rigours of English football.
#4 James Rodriguez
The Colombian rocked the world, or the World Cup rather with his incredible form taking Colombia till the quarter-finals of the tournament in 2014. He was the top scorer of the competition with 6 goals, and also bagged the goal of the tournament as well as the Puskas award for the most ‘beautiful goal’ for his sensational strike against Uruguay.
Real Madrid soon came calling as an 80 million Euro transfer landed him at the Spanish capital, making him the most expensive Colombian player of all time ahead of compatriot Radamel Falcao. In his debut season, the South American recorded a brilliant season, scoring 17 goals under Ancelotti.
However, this season has been a different story as the 24-year-old has struggled for starts first under Rafa Benitez and the Zinedine Zidane. His stats have also suffered immensely with 32 appearances under his belt and a mere 9 goals to his name. The ex-Monaco man has not been in the best of form and is rumoured to be unhappy at the Spanish capital.
Zidane and president Florentino Perez are, however, determined to keep hold of James as they recognize his potential and want him to shape the future of the club. This campaign should be considered just a blip as he has shown us his quality time and time again. It won’t at all be surprising if the Colombian is back in top form by next season.
#5 John Stones
After the 2014-15 season, Everton centre-back John Stones was being linked with a possible 30 million pound move to Chelsea. The potential was there and he was touted as one for the future. But come 2015-16 and Stones has done nothing to enhance that reputation. Everton have been absolutely horrific in defence with Stones one of the main culprits.
Whilst Stones does possess a good passing game (pass accuracy of 89% for the Merseyside club), he gets caught out trying to do too much with the ball. He has started accumulating more cards as well and has looked shaky at the back with partner Phil Jagielka culminating in Everton having one of the worst defensive records in the Premier League this season.
The 21-year-old should get better though as he still has time on his side and England will have their hopes pinned on him at the European Championships in June this year.
#6 Mario Gotze
The scorer of the goal that won Germany the World Cup in 2014, Mario Gotze was destined to become the next big thing in football. The immensely talented 23-year-old is, who first took the footballing world by storm with Borussia Dortmund, has already showcased his playmaking and goal-scoring skills.
Touted as ‘one of the best talents Germany has ever had’, Mario was bought by Bayern Munich for 37 million Euros in 2013, the second most expensive German of all time behind Mesut Ozil. Since then, the mercurial youngster has had a couple of mixed seasons at the Allianz Arena, showing his breathtaking prowess in patches, but still helping the club win back to back Bundesliga titles.
But last season was not his best, as he struggled for a starting berth in the team with constant injuries plaguing the youngster. Having been described as the “German Messi” by legend Franz Beckenbauer for his success in the false 9 position, as well as the similarities in their playing style, one can definitely say Gotze possesses world class abilities and it is just a matter of time before he puts his injuries behind him and starts performing again.
#7 Marc-Andre Ter Stegen
The German shot-stopper was bought by all-conquering FC Barcelona in the summer of 2014 for a sum in the region of 12 million euros. Regarded as the future by the Germans after his brilliant performances for childhood club Borussia Monchengladbach, Ter Stegen’s time at Camp Nou didn;t go exactly as he planned. He was made goalkeeper for the Champions League and Copa Del Rey competitions whereas Chilean Claudio Bravo was employed between the sticks for La Liga.
Barcelona went on to record their second treble in just six years with Ter Stegen making some unbelievable saves, especially the one against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final being awarded the save of the season.
He was expected to take the mantle from Bravo this season, but has only been able to produce an underwhelming campaign, failing to establish himself as the no.1 keeper. He was caught out quite a few times, beginning with the UEFA Super Cup where he conceded 4 goals to Sevilla and most notably against Alessandro Florenzi when he scored a goal from the half way line against the 24-year-old.
His goalkeeping against Atletico in the quarter-final was disappointing as well, which eventually led to the defending champions being knocked out of the competition. However, the German international is still very young and the Catalans still have a lot of expectations from him yet.
