FourFourTwo, with the help of Forza Football, have polled fans of all 20 Premier League clubs - the real experts, let's face it - to determine who has really been the key man for each side during the opening month of 2015.
Arsenal
1. Santi Cazorla
2. Alexis Sanchez
3. Olivier Giroud
4. David Ospina
5. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
The Gunners began 2015 disastrously with a 2-0 defeat at Southampton, but recovered to win all four of their remaining fixtures in January in all competitions. At the heart of that revival was diminutive schemer Cazorla, who grabbed a goal and four assists in as many matches – including one of each in the brilliant win at Manchester City, celebrated with a Vine-friendly wiggle. Gunners fans also recognised the continued excellence of Alexis Sanchez, with Olivier Giroud rounding off the top three.
Aston Villa
1. Christian Benteke
2. Jores Okore
3. Carlos Sanchez
4. Brad Guzan
5. Andreas Weimann
Few players can come away with any credit from a barren January, as Villa stretched their scoreless run with three Premier League blanks. Nevertheless, Villans voted bedraggled striker Christian Benteke as their top dog, despite the Belgian's failure to net in the Premier League since December 20 against Manchester United (Villa's last top-flight goal). The 24-year-old did at least spare Paul Lambert's blushes with a late FA Cup third-round winner against Blackpool. Danish stopper Jores Okore and Colombia international Carlos Sanchez made up a barrel-scraping podium.
Burnley
1. Danny Ings
2. Kieran Trippier
3. Ben Mee
4. Ashley Barnes
5. Michael Keane
Suffice to say, January was a fruitful month in front of goal for the Clarets. Seven net-ripplers were notched in games against Newcastle, QPR and Crystal Palace, with young striker Ings scoring in all three matches – a league first for the Liverpool-linked hitman. Right-back Kieran Trippier grabbed a second assist of the campaign for opposite full-back Ben Mee to profit from against Palace.
Chelsea
1. Eden Hazard
2. Diego Costa
3. Oscar
4. Cesc Fabregas
5. Nemanja Matic
A busy month for the Blues – eight games in all, including a double header against Liverpool in the League Cup, plus a table-topping clash against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho's men came out unscathed from those, but weren't so fortunate against Bradford in the FA Cup, nor on New Year's Day in that 5-3 humbling at White Hart Lane. Nonetheless, Eden Hazard was exceptional once again, scoring against Spurs and Liverpool before laying on Loic Remy's important opener against Man City. Diego Costa scooped second place after another productive month which included strikes against Spurs, Newcastle and Swansea (two).
Crystal Palace
1. Jason Puncheon
2. Wilfried Zaha
3. Dwight Gayle
4. Julian Speroni
5. Yaya Sanogo
Palace fans nominated Puncheon for his dazzling wing play and two goals as the team won four in six under new manager Alan Pardew. Also highly rated were Wilfried Zaha – now back at the club on a permanent deal – and four-goal Dwight Gayle, with newcomer Yaya Sanogo also applauded. However, the presence of stalwart goalkeeper Speroni shows it wasn't all attacking elan for the Eagles in January.
Everton
1. Romelu Lukaku
2. Muhamed Besic
3. Seamus Coleman
4. Steven Naismith
5. Leighton Baines
A second-minute winner at Palace swung the fans vote in favour of the Belgian frontman, who secured a first win in nine for the struggling Toffees. Lukaku struck three times in January, the other two dramatic late efforts against West Ham, to take top spot away from summer signing Besic and full-back double act Coleman and Baines. The latter might have notched himself in the month had he not ceded spot-kick taking responsibilities to Kevin Mirallas in a goalless draw against West Brom.
Hull City
1. Ahmed Elmohamady
2. Tom Huddlestone
3. Jake Livermore
4. Nikica Jelavic
5. Allan McGregor
Four defeats on the trot completed a miserable month for the Tigers, whose fans hailed Elmohamady as the best of a bad bunch despite his cheeky attempt to equalise against Newcastle with his hand. The Egyptian, along with fellow nominee Jelavic, scored the goals that saw off Everton 2-0 in Hull’s only January success, back on New Year’s Day. Goalkeeper McGregor sneaks into the top five, beaten on seven occasions in the month but making saves to ensure it was not even more.
Leicester City
1. David Nugent
2. Andrej Kramaric
3. Marcin Wasilewski
4. Leo Ulloa
5. Paul Konchesky
A standout four weeks for the Foxes who, having registered six straight defeats at the tail end of the year, won four times in January to keep their survival hopes alive. Nugent’s stunner at Anfield kicked things off on New Year’s Day as Leicester battled back to earn a 2-2 draw, and it’s the veteran goal-getter who tickles the fans’ fancy. Club record signing Kramaric nestles in behind after impressing in the cup at Spurs, with notable mentions for Wasilewski, Ulloa and Konchesky, who all found the net.
Liverpool
1. Philippe Coutinho
2. Raheem Sterling
3. Jordan Henderson
4. Steven Gerrard
5. Lazar Markovic
A string of top notch performances see Philippe Coutinho take the crown as the Reds' top player of the month. Fine displays in Brendan Rodgers' newly-rejigged tactical setup have helped the Brazilian shine, notably providing a sumptuous assist for Raheem Sterling in the recent 2-0 win over West Ham. A new contract until 2020 only sweetens the deal, with Coutinho edging out Sterling as number one, with Henderson, Gerrard and the improving Markovic trailing further behind.
Manchester City
1. David Silva
2. Sergio Aguero
3. Jesus Navas
4. Frank Lampard
5. Vincent Kompany
There weren't too many top performances to choose from for Manchester City in January, with only narrow wins against Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday to speak of (if you exclude a mid-season jaunt for a friendly against Hamburg) and painful defeats at home to Arsenal and Middlesbrough. David Silva takes the award if nothing else than for a crucial goal at Stamford Bridge in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea that ensured the Blues didn't sail off into the distance in the title race. For now, at least.
Manchester United
1. Wayne Rooney
2. Radamel Falcao
3. David de Gea
4. Robin van Persie
5. Angel Di Maria
Deployed in an unfamiliar central midfield role, Wayne Rooney still did enough to be voted player of the month. Falcao's gradual return to once again resembling a professional footballer continued, landing him in second place via goals against Stoke and Leicester, while David De Gea, arguably the club's best player so far this season, sits in third. Robin van Persie and Angel Di Maria make up the numbers, the latter presumably for the notable feat of scoring against Yeovil Town.
Newcastle United
1. Remy Cabella
2. Moussa Sissoko
3. Ayoze Perez
4. Jack Colback
5. Tim Krul
Remy Cabella didn't make the best of starts at Newcastle following his summer move from Montpellier, but a cracking strike in a 3-0 win at Hull contributed to him being named the Magpies' top player in January. Given this was Newcastle's only win over the course of the month, it's perhaps no surprise to see the it saw the Frenchman's performances stuck in Geordie minds. Moussa Sissoko, Ayoze Perez, Jack Colback and Tim Krul make the rest of the list with Sissoko's equaliser in a 3-3 draw on New Years' Day helping him to the runner-up spot.
Queens Park Rangers
1. Charlie Austin
2. Eduardo Vargas
3. Leroy Fer
4. Rob Green
5. Mauricio Isla
January was not a vintage month for QPR, bringing a return of just three goals and one point in the Premier League - not to mention a shameful FA Cup exit. Popular striker Charlie Austin (one goal) was perhaps an unsurprising fans' favourite for the month - quite possibly 'the best of a bad bunch'. Hard-working Leroy Fer, ever-busy Rob Green and Chilean duo Eduardo Vargas and Mauricio Isla made up the top five.
Southampton
1. Dusan Tadic
2. Graziano Pelle
3. Eljero Elia
4. Fraser Forster
5. Victor Wanyama
Dusan Tadic's historic winner at Manchester United was what made him the stand-out choice for Saints fans, rather than his general level of performance, which hasn't been as high as earlier in the season. Mind you, the same could be said of Graziano Pelle (2nd) and Fraser Forster (4th). Also in the top five are Victor Wanyama and new-boy Eljero Elia, who scored twice on his debut at Newcastle.
Stoke City
1. Asmir Begovic
2. Peter Crouch
3. Marko Arnautovic
4. Jon Walters
5. Bojan
Although he kept just one clean-sheet in January's six matches (in the 1-0 win at Leicester), Asmir Begovic was still deemed steady enough to be named the Potters' star man by those fans polled. Despite a hat-trick in the most recent game against QPR, Jon Walters came fourth, behind Peter Crouch and Marko Arnautovic. The now sadly injured Bojan came fifth.
Sunderland
1. Sebastian Larsson
2. Costel Pantilimon
3. Adam Johnson
4. John O'Shea
5. Connor Wickham
An assist at Manchester City and a superb free-kick at Tottenham helped Swede Seb Larsson win many a vote from Sunerland fans, while clean sheets against Leeds Burnley saw Costel Pantilimon finish second. Connor Wickham pipped fellow striker Jermain Defoe into a top five also occupied by defender John O'Shea and midfielder Adam Johnson.
Swansea City
1. Gylfi Sigurdsson
2. Lukasz Fabianski
3. Bafetimbi Gomis
4. Ashley Williams
5. Modou Barrow
Swansea’s disappointing January was dominated by the exit of Wilfried Bony, but the fans’ vote reveals they have faith in the club’s remaining sharp-end talents. Icelandic creative Sigurdsson got the most acclaim, while Gomis and Barrow offer hope for the Bonyless future. Fabianski merited applause, making 16 saves over the three league games, while skipper Williams is seldom less than excellent.
Tottenham Hotspur
1. Christian Eriksen
2. Harry Kane
3. Hugo Lloris
4. Nacer Chadli
5. Jan Verthongen
Slack hacks slaver over the fans’ vocal admiration for Harry Kane, but over a hectic nine-game January the fans decreed Eriksen of greater importance. Although Kane bagged five goals, the Dane’s four included a late winner against Sunderland and both crucial goals in the League Cup semi second leg at Sheffield United. Lloris, Chadli and Vertonghen round out a well-balanced five from an excellent month.
West Bromwich Albion
1. Saido Berahino
2. Ben Foster
3. Victor Anichebe
4. Joleon Lescott
5. Stephane Sessegnon
Of the Baggies’ 11 January goals, Berahino bagged six. No wonder he’s highly regarded in the stands and the boardroom. Fellow front-runner Anichebe scored three of the others, including a match-winning brace in the FA Cup derby at Birmingham. Not that it’s all been glamour: goalkeeper Foster has been on his toes – in their last four games, West Brom have faced 62 shots on goal, although only 12 have been accurate.
West Ham United
1. Andy Carroll
2. Enner Valencia
3. Stewart Downing
4. Adrian
5. Alex Song
We like to look up to people. Elections tend to be won by the taller candidate, while studies show extra height often means a bigger salary; psychologists think it’s something to do with primeval dispute-settling via strength. Which leads us to Andy Carroll, who scored a sizzler at Swansea and the opener at home to Hull. Then again, Enner Valencia (5ft 8.5in) and Stewart Downing (5ft 11in) also impressed the Irons fans, so maybe size doesn’t matter. We should ask 6ft 3in Big Sam...
