10 - Steven Taylor
While he's not exactly viewed as a world-beater away from St James' Park, Taylor is held in higher regard by those of us who don't have to watch him every week than is probably justified. It was mildly baffling to see the number of reports linking him with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool the last time his contract was being renegotiated, but it was hardly surprising that nobody snapped him up after Newcastle's relegation in 2009. It's also significant that United have done just fine with Taylor making only nine starts this season.
9 - Phil Neville
One might quite reasonably ask who rates Neville, never mind overrates him, but Neville is one of those players who suffers from the Makelele syndrome - when the underrated is talked about so much it becomes overrated. Sages will stroke their chins and say that Neville may be a meat and potatoes type but he does a vital job and is one of the most important men in Everton's side. While that is true to an extent, Neville's actual ability is often over-estimated. Special Everton mention to - on this season's form at least - Mikel Arteta as well.
8 - Sebastian Larsson
Like his fellow blonde-Gooner-turned-Bluenose Nic Bendtner, Larsson has a pretty high opinion of himself. And if he was to base that opinion purely on one of his beautifully crafted crosses, then it would be justified. However, there are a few more elements to football. Like, for example, consistency and not having a sulk every few minutes. Until those improve, the loftier ambitions of Larsson will have to wait.
7 - Morten Gamst Pedersen
You've heard the phrase 'Highlights Player,' yes? Well, if you wanted to save yourself some ink, you could just write 'Pedersen'.
6 - Jordan Henderson
As with a couple of other players on this list, it's easy to get a little bit over-excited about a player like Henderson. A strong, driving midfielder who can fair lash a shot and pick out a pinpoint pass - such attributes will always be leapt upon by a keen/desperate English football public. In truth, Henderson's excellent run of form peaked before his call-up to the England squad in November, and his slightly underwhelming debut against France was therefore not a massive surprise. There's talk about a big move some time soon, but for the moment this promising youngster is not quite of the world-beating standard some would have us believe.
5 - Shay Given
In all those years at Newcastle, commentators sympathised with Given having to play behind such a shambolic defence, and wondered why a 'big' club didn't pay whatever it took to tempt Newcastle into selling their supposedly world-beating keeper. Could it not be more likely that, though he is a fine shot-stopper, Given is simply not commanding enough to properly marshal a back four, and more to the point dominate a penalty area? It is significant that until Manchester City started firing cash around the place like one of those t-shirt guns at American sporting events, nobody ever did take the plunge with Given. A good keeper, sure, but deservedly second choice at Eastlands.
4 - Jack Rodwell
Some journalists have pet projects - subjects upon which they will drone on and on to anyone who will listen, and many that won't. For Henry Winter, The Daily Telegraph's pseud-in-chief, ever since Michael Owen ceased to be a realistic England option, Rodwell is that project. In Winter's (and, in the interests of balance, plenty others) world, Rodwell is the missing piece of the England jigsaw - the perfect holding midfielder to bring the best out of Frank Lampard, or Steven Gerrard, or Jack Wilshere, or whichever creative type is trendy that week. Indeed, as early as June 2009, Winter wrote a piece predicting the then-18-year-old Rodwell could be part of the England midfield in the 2010 World Cup.
Ridiculously premature, clearly, and while Rodwell might be a fine midfield destroyer one day, let's allow him to establish himself in the Everton team first, shall we? With Neville, Marouane Fellaini and even Johnny Heitinga jostling for a spot in David Moyes's midfield, Rodwell is often left on the bench. Until he's an automatic selection on Merseyside, he should be left alone and allowed to develop at his own pace.
3 - Charlie Adam
Again, overrating Adam is easy enough. Add his often eye-catching passes and vicious set-pieces to the natural urge to spot a diamond in the dog rough, plus the queue of reasonably well-respected figures who wanted to sign him in January, and you have some quite understandable hype. However, Adam's Hollywood balls quite often sail beyond their intended target, and he needlessly gifts possession to the opposition trying something outrageous at least once or twice a game. These excesses are tolerated at a small club with small expectations, with fans who know there's nobody else in their side with Adam's ability. However, will such profligate flamboyance be countenanced at Anfield or White Hart Lane? It should also be noted that the Blackpool Players' Player of the Year was announced over Easter, and the winner was not Adam, but little David Vaughan.
2 - Gareth Bale
And for 'neutrals', read 'Fabio Capello and those people who saw him play in the Champions League'. Capello seems to think Bale is the bees' knees, the cats' pyjamas and the dogs' bollocks, something that could be explained by the envy of Wales having a terrific left-footed winger and England being a little more lacking in that department. Of course, Bale is a terrific prospect who has had some unbelievably good games this season, but to rank him alongside the likes of Leo Messi - as some have done with entirely straight faces this season - is patently ludicrous.
1 - Adam Johnson
In the Judgement Day-esque debris of the World Cup, one of the most significant threads of post-mortem was a summary of bright young things. The hopes for the future. The young players who will rescue England in years to come. Adam Johnson was on many, if not all of those lists, based on his impressive flashes of form for both club and country over the preceding six months. The problem is that's exactly the sort of player Johnson is - excellent in flashes, painfully anonymous for the rest of the time. While some away from Manchester City might wonder why he's not an automatic first choice for Roberto Mancini, Eastlands regulars will realise there's a very good reason why 15 of Johnson's 25 league appearances have come from the bench.
Nick Miller
