Dependability is a subjective aspect in football. How do you define it? Is a player dependable because he scores goals? Or maybe if he saves them?
We’ll go with a different definition here. This list contains ever-dependable Premier League players who have played the most minutes for their respective clubs over the past five years. Come rain or shine (or even injuries), these players have always given it their all for the shirt.
Data courtesy of CIES
10) Laurent Koscielny – Arsenal: 12,492 minutes
Arsenal pretty much had a revolving door installed at the club in the post-Highbury era, what with players coming in and leaving on a consistent basis. But one diamond in the rough Arsene Wenger unearthed in France and has persevered with at the Emirates is Laurent Koscielny who joined the club back in 2010.
In spite of a forgetful debut against Liverpool where he was stretchered off, returned to the game and then saw two yellow cards to get sent off, Koscielny has slowly but surely established himself as one of the finest defenders playing in the Premier League – even claiming the captain’s armband in the absence of Per Mertesacker.
His importance was highlighted by one damning statistic in the two Champions League Round of 16 legs against Bayern Munich where Arsenal were in actually the lead on aggregate if you consider only the time he was on the pitch. An injury in one leg and a controversial dismissal in the other saw the Gunners eventually capitulate in alarming fashion.
If there’s one player that eventually decided the tie, it was Koscielny.
9) John O’Shea – Sunderland: 12,975 minutes
Once the versatile player Manchester United treasured (he even kept in goal on one occasion), O’Shea won it all before his move to Sunderland in 2011 at the age of 30. But the Irish defender may have aged beyond his years during his time at the Stadium of Light.
Relegation is a sword that perennially hangs above the Black Cats and the club’s vice-captain has seen it all every season. Escaping relegation by the skin of their teeth is a speciality but it does look like they will go down this season as they sit rock bottom.
O’Shea has primarily been deployed as a centre-back but has taken up the role of a defensive midfielder on a couple of of occasions this season. At 35, it looks more and more likely that this could be his final season as a starter – at least in the top flight.
8) Seamus Coleman – Everton: 13,087 minutes
Yet another Republic of Ireland defender who seems to have been around for ages is Seamus Coleman. The Everton right-back has averaged 30 league games a season and plays a pivotal role not only in defence but also in attack.
Once a dream signing for Fantasy Premier League players, Coleman has the knack for finding the back of the net on occasions. He has already scored four times this season apart from grabbing three assists.
However, topping his 2013/14 season will be a challenge he will look forward to when he scored seven goals in all competitions and was even voted to the PFA Team of the Year. That season also saw him pick up the club’s two Player of the Year awards – one voted for by the players and the other voted for by the fans.
7) Joe Hart – Manchester City: 13,640 minutes
England goalkeeper Joe Hart could not impress Pep Guardiola to cement a starting spot at Manchester City this season but he still makes this list in seventh place. Now at Torino in the Italian Serie A, Hart has impressed the club enough to warrant a permanent deal while the less said about his replacement the better.
Claudio Bravo has been quite an unpopular signing at the Etihad and has invited criticism for even the most basic things such as stopping shots. The Chilean goalkeeper was supposed to be Guardiola’s key player to initiate attacks from the back but has looked like a deer in headlights on many occasions, easily conceding possession and inviting pressure.
Many have clamoured for Hart to return to the Etihad and take his rightful place between the sticks. He had won the Golden Glove four times in the Premier League – a competition he won twice and impressed in under former managers. Will Guardiola be convinced, though?
6) Branislav Ivanovic – Chelsea: 13,734 minutes
Branislav Ivanovic is no longer in the Premier League following his move to Zenit St. Petersburg but he is still Chelsea’s most dependable player over the last five years having played 13,734 minutes.
The Serbian defender who could play as a centre-back or at right-back even made 59 appearances across all competitions in the 2012/13 season – the highlight of which was the injury-time winner in the Europa League final. Ivanovic had a keen eye for goal that season with a career-best eight goals in that campaign.
In the seven seasons between 2009 and 2016, Ivanovic averaged nearly 48 games in a season (33 games in the Premier League) – a superb stat that paints a picture of his incredible fitness and dependability. But his lack of pace showed in his final season and once Antonio Conte arrived, he was benched before his move to Russia in the winter transfer window.
5) Ashley Williams – Swansea City: 13,930 minutes
In fifth place is a player who is no longer at employed by the club that made him a Premier League defender worth chanting for. Welsh defender Ashley Williams was a rock at the back for the Swans in the years after they were promoted under Brendan Rodgers, even taking the time to learn Spanish so he could converse with new signings and ensure that communication on the pitch was never going to be a problem.
But after a successful Euro 2016, he finally left Swansea City after two years of mismanagement had ruined the club. Having had enough of off-field controversies ruining the club, Williams gladly left for Everton while the Swans struggled near the relegation zone for most of the season before the appointment of Paul Clement.
Also read: Charting the slow and painful decline of Swansea City
4) Hugo Lloris – Tottenham Hotspur: 14,169 minutes
Another goalkeeper who joins De Gea at the top is Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris. Currently, in his fifth season with the north London club, the France international has signed one contract extension after another in spite of interest from top clubs in Europe (especially back home in France).
But he has felt right at home in the Premier League and has spent more than 14,000 minutes on the pitch in that time. There was a time when he was still getting his feet wet in the league where many questioned whether he should be the first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Michel Vorm but a string of fine performances and Vorm's drop in form soon saw those doubts erased as Lloris made the position his own.
3) Ryan Shawcross – Stoke City: 14,301 minutes
Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross is yet another defender who has constantly averaged more than 30 games a season. In spite of playing only 20 games last season due to a recurring back injury that required surgery, the English defender has marshalled Mark Hughes’ back-line ever since he took the captain’s armband in 2010.
Infamous for the tackle that almost ended Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey’s career, Shawcross bounced back from the criticism and vitriol that was directed at him. However, he never managed to get an England call-up after his debut against Sweden – the game where Zlatan Ibrahimovic effectively ended Shawcross’ international career with a sublime hat-trick.
With Stoke, however, Shawcross has managed to keep them in the Premier League ever since their promotion but they always seem to be stuck in the league’s doldrums no matter who they sign.
2) Gareth McAuely – West Bromwich Albion: 14,561 minutes
Second on the list is Gareth McAuley – West Bromwich Albion’s veteran defender who has a knack for scoring goals with six goals in the 2016/17 season so far – with 14,561 minutes.
To put things into perspective, he has scored more goals this season than his previous three seasons combined! The Northern Irishman is currently in his sixth (and possibly final) season with the Baggies and at least five goals have been crucial to their rise up the table to eighth in the league.
1) David De Gea – Manchester United: 15,554 minutes
It comes as no surprise that Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea tops the Premier League charts having played more than 15,500 minutes in the past five years. Ever since joining the club as a 20-year-old, the Spaniard found it tough to cement his place in Sir Alex Ferguson’s lineup.
The physicality of the league had also seen him suffer and he was benched before Ferguson had no choice but to bring him back. Eventually, De Gea managed to improve his performances year-on-year and as the club struggled post-Fergie’s departure, it was De Gea who scooped up the Player of the Year award every single season.
The botched transfer deal with Real Madrid in 2015 came as a blessing in disguise for the Red Devils as the Spanish shot-stopper renewed his commitment to the English club and signed a new contract that will make it very tough for the Liga giants to prise him away from Old Trafford.
