Solid yet unspectacular Premier League players

204Red

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If we hadn't bought Fellaini he'd be a shoe in for this list... then again, when we bought him, we had stopped being a top side
 

sidsutton

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First names that came to me were Barry and Milner.

Currently - JWP, Mee, Bardsley, Noble, Coleman, Zaha, Dann and Cresswell.

Historically - Gary Speed, Batty, Les Ferdinand, Hangeland, Dempsey, Arteta, Cahill, Southgate, Shawcross, Distin, Southall. Anyone else who played enough at Everton under Moyes.
Harsh on Speed, Batty and Ferdinand.

Edit: and Southall. Top keeper in his prime.
 

Shark

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Obi Mikel? Seemed to do a few jobs for Chelsea but nobody really rated him.
 

slored1

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Palace have a whole bunch of these: Milivojevic, McArthur, McCarthy, Ward, Dann. It's basically their whole team.
 

No Love

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Roger Johnson
Lee Carsley
Stephen Carr
Stelios Giannakopoulos
Leon Osman

Always liked Nobby Solano, thought he was a good player. Not sure if he fits the bill, as he was very important to Newcastle’s play in the early 2000s.
 

Chipper

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Rufus Brevett, Steve Lomas, Linvoy Primus, Matt Elliott

(my standards are dropping with each post I make)
 

Kag

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I love these threads. James Milner gets pedalled several times in spite of playing the bulk of his top level career at City and Liverpool. Solid and unspectacular by definition but he’s clearly been more than good enough to be a major part of any well-balanced top level squad.

Anyway, Mark Noble is the first one that springs to mind. He’s had an incredibly rewarding career (West Ham stalwart, club captain, well over 400 PL appearances) but never anything other than solid.
 

snk123

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Mark Noble, Marc Albrighton, Gylfi Sigurrdson, Scott Mctominay, James Milner
 

SAFMUTD

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So basically any too good for a mid-lower table team but not good enough for a top team kind of player. Lanzini, Zaha, Boly, Tarkowski, spring to mind.
 

Renegade

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Who’s the equivalent to Viduka in the EPL this era? Special player.
Harry Kewell should have been much better than he ended up. Around 2003 I thought he’d be the next great winger in the league