"The title race is ... back on? The Premier League has three teams within four points of first. And the race for the Champions League places is ... bigger than ever? The gap between fifth and 13th is just seven points. There might be a relegation race, too, after two wins from two has 18th-place West Ham United five points clear of 19th-place Burnley and five points back of 16th-place Nottingham Forest. But we're not really worried about the bottom of the table today."
"Or, well, maybe we are? We're back with another edition of ESPN's Premier League Top 50, our ranking of the best players in the league. While it used to be a relatively easy exercise -- Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea players, mostly -- the league is more bunched up and more competitive than ever before. The top teams still have tons of talent, but the average Premier League team now has a roster equivalent to the average Champions League side."
"So this isn't just a list of all the most famous players in the league, we rank players using a combination of actual production -- guys who are actually playing Premier League minutes and contributing to Premier League teams -- and talent. If, for example, Marcos Senesi moved to Arsenal, he'd probably stop playing as many minutes and he'd probably fall off these rankings. But he's on Bournemouth, so he's playing a ton and he's performing at a super-high level, so he makes the list."
Three teams sit within four points of first, reintroducing a competitive title race. The gap between fifth and 13th is seven points, intensifying the battle for Champions League places. Eighteenth-place West Ham sits five points clear of 19th-place Burnley and five points behind 16th-place Nottingham Forest, creating potential relegation permutations. The Premier League has become more bunched and competitive, with average team rosters comparable to Champions League sides. Player rankings combine actual Premier League production and underlying talent, prioritizing those playing significant minutes. Some high-profile transfers have underperformed, making individual evaluation more art than science.
Read at ESPN.com
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