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Garth Crooks’ Team of the Season

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With the Premier League season done for, BBC Pundit Garth Crooks has sat down and put together his ‘Team of the Season’, and it comes with no surprise that he has included four players from title-winners Manchester City.

Here you can see his full starting XI.

GOALKEEPER – Joe Hart (Manchester City)

“In the final analysis it’s Hart who wins my selection. After a poor start to the season and the witch-hunt that followed, he recovered magnificently and went on to produce some title-winning performances. It’s not how you start that defines your season but how you finish.”

DEFENDER – Seamus Coleman (Everton)

“No-one has impressed me more at right-back, or attacked with as much purpose, as Seamus Coleman. The full-back has had a superb season. I cannot mention Coleman without acknowledging the contribution made by Everton boss Roberto Martinez, whose style of play has had a significant effect on the defender’s development.”

DEFENDER – Per Mertesacker (Arsenal)

“He has played more games than any other Arsenal player this season and, without his resilience and consistency at the back, they might have been in all kinds of trouble. If he performs anything like he has this season when Germany arrive at the World Cup in Brazil, they might be one of the European sides to pose a real threat to the South American teams.”

DEFENDER – Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)

“We have seen frailties in his defending – notably the error against Liverpool, when many thought he had single-handedly thrown away the title. Regardless, Kompany never lost faith in his ability to lead his team to the title, and Pellegrini clearly never lost belief in his captain.”

DEFENDER – Leighton Baines (Everton)

“I think it is telling that both Everton’s full-backs make my team, and a further endorsement of the way their manager approached the season. The left-back has not just made his normal contribution to the Toffees’ goal tally, he has grown into a player worthy of the captain’s armband.”

MIDFIELDER – Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

“To think that a mere slip against Chelsea should rob Steven Gerrard – arguably the best player of his generation – of lifting the Premier League title seems outrageously unfair. He may not have enjoyed the dream finish to the season that Liverpool fans so desperately wanted, but he could not have given any more to the cause.”

MIDFIELDER – Adam Lallana (Southampton)

“What a season this lad has had. I must admit I had some difficulty leaving Raheem Sterling out of the line-up, but while the Liverpool winger did finish the season strongly, Lallana has been brilliant throughout. Some of his performances were so complete they reminded me of former Sheffield United and Leeds star Tony Currie.”

MIDFIELDER – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

“I thought the way Jose Mourinho singled out Eden Hazard for criticism after the defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League was strange. Was it not Mourinho who said that Hazard was the best young player in the world a few weeks earlier? Of course, that was when the Belgium international was practically beating teams on his own.”

MIDFIELDER – Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

“I said halfway through the season that the contest between Yaya Toure and Luis Suarez was so close that it would take the title to decide who got my vote for player of the season. Well, the title has gone to Manchester City, and Toure gets my vote.”

STRIKER – Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

“I can’t see a better striking combination in the world at the moment than Aguero and Suarez. How would they play? I’d let them work it out. Great players always do.”

STRIKER – Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

“Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him. Whatever your thoughts on the Uruguay international, Suarez has been breathtaking at times this season. There is no doubt in my mind that without Suarez, Liverpool would not have got anywhere near the title.”

So what are your thoughts on this team? Any noticeable absentees?

Aaron Ramsey? David Marshall? John Terry?

Comment below!

Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles

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