OK Fans - here we go - my vote for the Premier League's Best XI at the mid-point of the season....yes I know I'm a couple weeks late - but better late than never!!

  Goalkeeper - Joe Hart, Birmingham City (2nd in Fantasy Points by a GK with 89) - Hart has played in every league game except 1 for BC.  He has 8 clean sheets, only 1 behind Peter Cech's league leading 9.  He has only allowed 19 goals and is 4th in the league in saves with 77.  Birmingham City is tied for 3rd in goals allowed with 19 (ManU has also allowed only 19).  Chelsea and Aston Villa are tied for the league lead in goals allowed with 18 each.  Hart has been nothing short of phenomenal - and is the #1 reason why BC sits in 8th with 33 points after 21 games played.  As I have been saying for almost a year now - this is the kid that should be the starting GK for England in South Africa.

Honorable Mention:
Cech, Chelsea - absolutely scared to death if their is a free kick against him, so he can't be the guy
Friedel, Aston Villa - he could have been the one easily, but Birmingham is overachieving and Villa is right around where we all expected


  Defender - Richard Dunne, Aston Villa (leads all defenders with 109 Fantasy Points) - Dunne has been better than advertised for Villa.  Leads all defenders in fantasy points by 11.  He has scored 3 goals and also has 20 Bonus Points.  Is tied for 3rd in clean sheets by a defender with 9.  As stated earlier, Villa is tied for the league in goals allowed with 18.  Dunne has played every league game for Villa, except for 1.  And in those games - he played all 90 minutes.

  Defender - Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal (2nd in Fantasy Points by a Def with 98) - Tied for the league lead in goals by a defender with 5 - and has also chipped in with an assist.  He has been on the field for all 25 goals that the Gunners have conceded in league play - but the offensive threat he has become from out of the back helps get him into the Best XI.  He also sits just on the outside of the Top 10 for clean sheets by a defender.

  Defender - Patrice Evra, Manchester United (3rd in Fantasy Points by a Def with 95) - Evra has been huge for the Red Devils this season.  It seems like for a while, ManU was playing with their 8th, 9th & 10th string defenders because of injuries.  Heck, even Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick have had starts as a centre back.  But Evra has been a rock.  He has played in every league game for United and has only been subbed out 3 times.  He has added 4 assists while being tied withJohn Terry of Chelsea for the league lead in clean sheets by a defender with 10.

Honorable Mention:
John Terry, Chelsea
William Gallas, Arsenal



  Midfielder - Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal (Leads the EPL in Fantasy Points with 161) - I got nothin....okay....just kidding....this guy has been sick!  Fab has 11 goals and 13 assists in only 19 games played.  And in 19 of those games he has only played a full 90 minutes 14 times.  Cesc leads all midfielders in goals with 11 - and that tally is still good enough for 7th overall in the league.  He also leads the league in assists with 13.  He is also tied for the league lead in Bonus points with 32.  The next closest midfielder in Fantasy points is Lampard with 129.  The next closest midfielder in Bonus points is Aston Villa's James Milner with 19.  And doing all of this at the ripe young age of 22.  Can you name 5 better players in the world right now?  Didn't think so!

  Midfielder - Frank Lampard, Chelsea (2nd in Fantasy Points by a MF with 129) - Lampard is 2nd in goals by a midfielder with 8, 4th in assists by a MF with 8 & tied for 3rd in Bonus points by a MF with 18.  Raise your hand if you had before the season James Milner having more Bonus points than Lampard at the halfway point.  No one???  But since Carlo Ancelotti's arrival over the summer, it can easily be argued that this is now Didier Drogba's team, and without a doubt took some getting used to for him.  Frank had only scored 1 goal in his 1st 9 league games...but now really looks like he has settled in to Ancelotti's system...and because of this - you can see where Chelsea will make a strong push for the Premier League title when Drogba returns from the African Nations Cup.

  Midfielder - James Milner, Aston Villa (3rd in Fantasy Points by a MF with 106) - Milner has scored only 4 goals, but is tied for 4th in assists by a midfielder with 8.  He also has 19 bonus points which ties him for 5th in all of fantasy.  He has quickly passed Ashley Young as Villa's most dangerous midfielder.  The big question is - if Milner can continue his strong play - could he be a reserve for England in South Africa?

  Midfielder - Ryan Giggs, Manchester United (79 Fantasy Points) - This will definitely be called a "homer" call.  But hear me out.  I want the best on this team - and when Giggs plays - is he not one of the top 4 midfielders in the Premier League.  Giggs is tied for 2nd in the league with 10 assists.  Only 8 times has Ryan played a full 90 minutes.  Seven other times he was a sub or was subbed out.  And in 4 of those games he played 45 minutes or less.  The guy is a machine when he is on the field.  He has scored 10 goals, has 10 assists and 11 Bonus Points in the games he has played in.  A Legend!

Honorable Mention:
Clint Dempsey, Fulham
Antonio Valencia, Manchester United
Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool


  Forward - Wayne Rooney, Manchester United (Leads all forwards with 159 Fantasy Points) - Rooney leads the league with 19 goals (4 of them yesterday against a sad Hull City squad).  He is also tied with Fabregas with 32 Bonus points.  One year ago, if someone would have asked you the Red Devils can keep Rooney or Ronaldo - what would you have said?  99.9% of you would have said Ronaldo.  Well, Sir Alex continues to make decisions correctly.  Rooney means more to the Red Devils than any other player in the League does to his respective squad - except for maybe Fabregas at Arsenal.  Most importantly, Rooney needs to stay healthy and in great goal scoring form for England to have any hope in South Africa.

  Forward - Didier Drogba, Chelsea (3rd in Fantasy points overall with 130) - Drogba has been brilliant all year for Chelsea.  He has scored 14 goals, which is tied for 2nd in the league, and leads all forwards with 8 assists.  Didier is also tied for 3rd in Bonus points among all forwards with 19.  He has quickly become the best player for Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti.  Drogba also leads the league for the most dives, as well as, crying more than any player ever to play the beautiful game.  He is a physical presence and delivers punishment on a regular basis, but does not like it when others even touch him, no less tackle him.  Just play Didier!

  Forward - Darren Bent, Sunderland (4th in Fantasy Points by a Forward with 117) - Bent has been tremendous for Steve Bruce's squad.  He has scored 14 of Sunderland's 30 League goals - which comes out to 46% - that is unbelievable.  Bent has also chipped in with 4 assists.  Bent also scored one of the most unique goals in Premier League history...Liverpool fans - are you at the beach right now??  Do any of you remember that one?  Sunderland is sitting in 13th place with 23 points (4 points out of the relegation zone), but where would this team be if Darren wasn't there?  Would they be near Portsmouth?  Probably!

Honorable Mention:
Carlos Tevez, Manchester City
Jermaine Defoe, Tottenham

What do you think of our Best XI?  Have a better one or think we are way off?  Let us know in the comments below!