An underrated football player can play for any team in the world. They do not have to play for a poor side and they're often household names that are simply overshadowed by a ridiculously well-built, Nike endorsed, Portuguese goal predators. But enough about Swansea City's Eder. Nowadays, footballers' performances are inspected by the media's meticulous magnifying glass every week and fans are now able to view almost every game (if you can work out the migrainously complicated logistics of having both Sky Sports and BT Sport). If you're playing in isolation (for instance the 12.45pm kick off on Saturday or an 8pm Monday Night Football spectacle in front of Neville and co) then your performance will be hung up like a punch bag and continuously poked, caressed, prodded and sometimes punched until the studio manager turns the fancy touch-screens off. This well-rounded analysis means that you're force-fed repetitive montages of Eden Hazard, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as Gary Lineker (Or Scott Minto) spoons goal statistics, records and Ballon d'Ors down your throat until you're choking on John Terry's four Premier League trophies. But, some players don't get included in the football endoscopy and despite their fabulously consistent performances they remain mere shadows in amongst a worldwide pool of less skilled, but more praised, football talent. Here, I pay testament to the forgotten stars, the criminally under-appreciated and the players who it's worth admiring now or you will have missed something special...
NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.
