It’s fair to say 2021/22 has not been a stellar one for football in the Midlands. Well, unless you’re a Nottingham Forest fan of course.
As far as the Premier League is concerned, Leicester City and Aston Villa have had seasons to forget, while the boos that accompanied Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 3-0 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday were an understandable response to three successive top-flight defeats.
But it’s not all bad. The pinpoint passing of Ruben Neves continues to put smiles on Molineux faces. As does James Maddison’s fizzing free-kicks at Leicester. Ollie Watkins’ formidable work ethic, a blur of claret-and-blue.
There’s no John McGinn, Youri Tielemans or Tyrone Mings in our XI. And that alone is a testament to how many talented footballers call the Midlands their home.
Who makes our Midlands Team of the Season?
Jose Sa – Wolves
Jose Sa had big boots – or should that be gloves? – to fill when stepping into a Rui Patricio-shaped void at Molineux. It’s fair to say few would have imagined that the former Olympiacos stopper would adapt so brilliantly to the hustle and bustle of English football.
Few ‘keepers in the Premier League can command their penalty area better than the 6ft 4ins colossus. What’s more, only Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than Wolves.
Matty Cash – Aston Villa
If Gareth Southgate didn’t have a veritable treasure trove of rampaging right-backs at his disposal, Poland surely wouldn’t have had such an easy task convincing Cash to change his international allegiance. The former Nottingham Forest winger continues to go from strength to strength in a more defensive role, producing three goals and three assists in just his second top-flight campaign.
Max Kilman – Wolves
Has there been a better English centre-half than Kilman this season? Kilman’s futsal past, coupled with his expert positional sense, makes one of 2021/22’s most improved players a defender of colossus potential. Injury might have brought a premature end to Kilman’s season but, if he can pick up where he left off after the summer, a seat on the plane to Qatar may be within his grasp.
Conor Coady – Wolves
Wolves’ captain, leader… legend? The long-serving skipper has played all but 13 minutes of Wolves’ 34 league games this campaign and remains one of English football’s most committed, consistent players.
Coady has even scored three goals this term. More than he managed in his previous six Wolverhampton Wanderers seasons combined.
Timothy Castagne – Leicester
The archetypal 7/10 footballer, Castagne is hardly the most glamorous player in Brendan Rodgers’ XI but he is one of the most reliable. Whether at right-back or left-back, the Belgium international continues to go about his business with the minimum of fuss. It’s no coincidence that Leicester have lost just one of the last eight Premier League games that Castagne has started.
Jacob Ramsey – Aston Villa
Later this month, Ramsey will celebrate his 21st birthday. If the Birmingham-born dynamo can change games all on his own at this age, just imagine how formidable he’ll be when he adds experience to his exhilarating exuberance.
A wonderfully efficient finisher and capable of turning defence into attack with one of those trademark marauding runs, Ramsey’s emergence keeps Youri Tielemans and Villa team-mate John McGinn out of our XI.
Ruben Neves – Wolves
Wolves’ Portuguese playmaker fell someway short of his usually impeccable standards during Nuno Espirito Santo’s final season at the helm but it’s fair to say he’s made up for lost time in 2021/22. One of the best passers in the whole of European football, Neves will not be easily replaced with The Athletic reporting that the former Porto captain is in talks over a summer move to Barcelona.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – Leicester
Fittingly for a man with a name like a wedding venue, Dewsbury-Hall and Brendan Rodgers are proving to be a match made in heaven at the King Power Stadium. Like Ramsey at Aston Villa, the homegrown midfielder has risen through the ranks to become almost undroppable, his drive, determination and vastly underrated technical ability making Dewsbury-Hall – rather than the much-coveted Tielemans – the most influential member of the Leicester midfield.
James Maddison – Leicester
Maddison is just one goal away from making 2021/22 the most prolific campaign of his Premier League career. Given his form since the turn of the year, it would be a surprise if Leicester’s talismanic number ten failed to do just that, with few players in the division capable of matching Maddison’s laser-like precision from in and around the penalty area.
Ademola Lookman – Leicester
It’s a testament to Lookman’s form since arriving at Leicester from RB Leipzig that Harvey Barnes – one of the Prem’s most feared forwards not so long ago – is not even guaranteed a place in Rodgers’ starting XI these days. So often the man who makes things happen Foxes blue, Lookman has bounced back in style from an inconsistent spell at Fulham and looks certain to secure a permanent move to the 2021 FA Cup winners in the summer.
Ollie Watkins – Aston Villa
Aston Villa’s £28 million frontman has found goals harder to come by this time around but, at his best, Watkins is the sort of irrepressible number nine that gives opposition defenders nightmares. His performance in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Norwich City summed up everything good about a man who has pace to burn and more energy than a lifetime’s supply of Duracell.
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