Newcastle United: 8 Best Players Of The Season So Far

8. Steven Taylor

It always feels premature to say Steven Taylor is playing well, because he's always on the cusp of some sort of spectacular implosion. He lives his life as a Newcastle player on a mill wheel, rising in bursts, and earning adulation before making a costly mistake that the fans seem to leap on more because of who he was (the Titus Bramble syndrome), before disappearing out of the first team picture again. During those strong periods, there's usually talk of England even, but it evaporates quickly, until he's given a chance by an injury as he was when Mike Williamson went down. Though Williamson is useful, he's not a Premier League player (or at least not a top half of the Premier League player), but Taylor is more mobile, better in the tackle, quicker and better in the air. His decision making is terrible, but at least he can recover, and he's willing and able to put his body on the line as he has for his two most impressive performances recently.