Author's note: We organized the 45 players into four categories: Good, Average, Bad and Hard to Categorise.
We placed players in the 'Good' category if they either played the vast majority of matches for their sides or made good progress in their career - i.e Brad Smith at Liverpool. It does not mean they necessarily had an amazing season, just that they can be happy with how it panned out.
'Average' for players who were in and out of the starting XI and 'Bad' for players who fell out of favor and will probably be looking to move on.
It should be noted we have not taken into consideration the level of the league players were playing in. Five matches in the Premier League was not considered any better than 25 in the Championship. The criteria was based solely on their performances for their club this season
GOOD
Tom Rogic – Celtic
Made 37 appearances in all competitions scoring nine and setting up another six. Celtic won the Scottish title to no-one’s surprise. The only mark against Rogic’s name was not being able to play the full 90 minutes enough – he only did so six times this season.
Mathew Leckie – FC Ingolstadt
Started 27 matches scoring twice and played in all but in two of Ingolstadt’s Bundesliga matches. His side managed to navigate their first season in the top flight successfully and are currently 10th.
Tim Cahill - Hangzhou Greentown F.C
Played in all eight of Hangzhou’s matches scoring twice. However his side currently sits in 12th out of 16 teams.
Brad Smith – Liverpool
Nine appearances for one of England’s biggest clubs is impressive for the 22 year-old. While Smith is not a first team regular, his coach Jurgen Klopp has spoken positively of his contribution which includes one goal and two assists.
Apostolos Giannou – Guangzhou R&F
Scored 13 goals in 21 Greek Super League matches before transferring from Asteras Tripolis to Guangzhou. Since the move to China Giannou has played in seven of his side's first eight matches but has yet to find the back of the net. Guangzhou is currently in seventh on the table.
Massimo Luongo – QPR
On the long list for the Balon d’Or in the early part of the season, Luongo had to overcome a 10 game spell on the bench after falling out of favor. The midfielder found his way once again to make 26 starts including six assists. QPR finished the Championship mid-table in 12th.
Ryan McGowan – Henan Jianye
Played every minute in Dundee United’s first 22 matches before jumping ship from the relegation bound Scottish club to head to China. Since the move McGowan has started seven of the first eight matches with one goal to his name. His current team sits in fifth on the Chinese Super League table.
Mark Miligan – Baniyas FC
Started 21 out of 26 matches for the UAE side. Three goals and three assists is a decent return from the defensive midfielder. Baniyas sits 9th in the 14 team league.
Trent Sainsbury – JS Suning
After only starting half of PEC Zwolle’s first 19 matches in the Eredivisie, Sainsbury moved to China and joined Jiangsu Suning where he played every single minute of their first 15 matches. Suning are currently second in the Chinese Super League.
Bailey Wright – Preston North End
Started 37 out of 46 matches of Preston’s Championship campaign in which they will finish mid-table. Wright is a key contributor to the side's solid defense.
Matt Spiranovic - Hangzhou Greentown F.C
Captain of Hangzhou, Spiranovic has played the full 90 of the last six matches having missed the first two. Alongside team mate Tim Cahill, his side sits in 12th.
Mustafa Amini – Randers
32 appearances out of a possible 35 in which he scored once and set up five more. Randers is mid-table which is a slight drop on last season’s 4th placed finish.
James Meredith – Bradford City
Played in almost all of Bradford’s season, only missing a few matches due to Socceroos duty. At the heart of the second best defense in League One. Bradford have finished fifth and will compete in the play-offs for promotion to the Championship.
Ben Halloran - 1.FC Heidenheim
Has made 26 appearances out of a possible 37 and has scored three goals while also making three assists. Heidenheim sits mid-table with one game remaining in Germany’s second division.
James Holland – MSV Duisburg
Started 27 out of a possible 28 matches but his side is currently in a relegation battle and will probably have to win a play-off match to stay in Germany’s second division.
Brad Jones – NEC Nijmegen
Joined NEC in January and played every single minute since then as his side avoided relegation with a tenth place finish in their first season back in the top flight. He captained the side nine times in 17 matches and only conceded 23 goals.
Jackson Irvine – Ross County
32 starts, two goals and eight assists. Irvine was a key player as Ross County finished in eighth position.
Aziz Behich – Bursaspor
Started 23 out of 32 possible matches. Behich picked up a goal from left-back as Bursaspor finished in 12th.
Brett Holman – Emirates Club
Holman was instrumental helping his club survive with 18 starts, five goals and two assists as Emirates Club avoided relegation by a single point.
AVERAGE
Nathan Burns – FC Tokyo
A bit up and down. Playing in three of seven J-League matches and five of six ACL matches with two goals in those eight appearances. FC Tokyo are eighth out of 18.
Alex Gersbach – Rosenborg
Started twice in Rosenborg’s first nine league matches. he has also made two more appearances off the bench. Rosenborg are currently two points clear in first.
Chris Ikonomidis – Lazio
Spent the first half of the season either on the bench or not in the squad for Lazio and didn't see any time on the pitch. He was moved to the B team for the second half of the season where he made 13 appearances out of a possible 19, scoring once.
Mile Jedinak – Crystal Palace
Had a rough start to the season only making one starting appearance in Palace’s first 18 Premier League matches. The second half proved much more fruitful – starting 12 and coming off the bench three times. He also played 90 minutes in Palace’s FA Cup sixth round and semi-final matches and could lift football’s oldest trophy when Palace take on United at Wembley in the Final on May 22 – LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS
Mat Ryan – Valencia
21 appearances for one of Spain’s biggest clubs including eight in La Liga. He conceded 23 goals, although seven of them were against Barcelona in one match. Ryan also managed to keep seven clean sheets. After Gary Neville was fired, Ryan is clearly Valencia’s second choice behind Diego Alves. After flirting with relegation under Neville, Valencia will finish mid-table.
Jason Davidson – Huddersfield Town
30 starts out of a possible 45 for a Huddersfield side which has battled relegation most of the season. Safe now, Davidson had an up and down relationship with the fans who were especially critical mid-way through the season.
Kerem Bulut – Iraklis
19 appearances out of a possible 30 including 11 starts, one goal and two assists as his side finished safe from relegation in 12th place.
Rostyn Griffths – Roda JC
Played in 15 of Roda’s first 18 matches but injury saw him fall away and he hasn’t played 90 minutes since last year. Roda managed to survive and finish 14th.
Tomi Juric – Roda JC
Injury hampered a lot of Juric’s season but when he did play he did well. Juric finished the season with seven goals in 15 starts.
Ryan Edwards – Partick Thistle
One goal in 14 appearances, most of which came in the second half of the season as Thistle avoided relegation.
Richard Porta – Cerro
Injuries have hampered him, but he managed to score four goals in nine matches with Cerro currently sitting in fourth place.
BAD
Adam Federici – AFC Bournemouth
Sat on the bench most of the season. Played in four and a half Premier League matches and conceded 12 goals in the process. Played in three FA Cup matches conceding four goals and three League Cup matches where he conceded three goals.
Robbie Kruse – Bayer Leverkusen
Only started two Bundesliga matches this season, coming off the bench a further 10 times as injury ravaged his season. Not a single goal or assist in that limited time. Leverkusen will finish the season third.
Mitchell Langerak – VFB Stuttgart
Made his first Bundesliga appearance of the season this weekend and conceded three goals. Spent most of the season either injured or on the bench. Only other time he played was 90 minutes against Dortmund in the cup where he conceded another three. Stuttgart are facing relegation and will have to win against Wolfsburg this weekend and hope Eintracht Frankfurt can beat Werder Bremen. Even then they will face a play-off match against the third-place team in the second Bundesliga.
James Troisi – Liaoning FC
Joined the Chinese club in January and after failing to complete 90 minutes in the first two matches was relegated to the bench. Troisi has been out of the squad completely for the last five matches. Liaoning is just above relegation.
Neil Kilkenny – Preston North End
Only managed eight starts out of a possible 50. Did not manage to get any game time this year.
Chris Herd – Chesterfield FC
Played a decent amount in the first half of the season but fell out of favour as Chesterfield managed to survive relegation in his absence. Only managed to complete 90 minutes five times this season.
HARD TO CATEGORISE
Hard to categorize
Jimmy Jeggo – Stum Graz
Only arrived mid-season and is yet to play for the first team.
Bernie Ibini – Club Brugge
Spent the entire season out with a fractured tibia
Awer Mabil – FC Midtjylland
The 20 year-old joined from Adelaide at the start of the season and has made nine appearances off the bench, starting once. Midtjylland are currently fourth, just outside the Europa League spot.
Luke Brattan – Manchester City
Joined one of the biggest teams in the world before being loaned out to Bolton. He returned two months later without playing a minute and is yet to feature for either City’s first or reserve team.
Jordan Lyden – Aston Villa
Made his Premier League debut but Villa got relegated in what was a shameful season for a once great club. Played 18 times for the under-21s, scoring three and setting up one.
Mark Schwarzer – Leicester City
Didn’t play a single second in Leicester’s incredible Premier League triumph, but the lessons learned under Ranieri could prove priceless if he chooses a career in management. His second Premier League medal in two years, despite having not played a single Premier League match in that time.
Terry Antonis – PAOK
Missed most of the season through injury, starting only two matches.
Danny de Silva – Roda
Managed eight appearances, including one start, in Roda’s first 18 matches but a knee injury meant he missed the rest of the season.
