Manchester City: Who’s in Contention for Player of the Season So Far?

David Silva

Few have ever had the long lasting success that midfielder David Silva’s had since arriving at Manchester City Football Club in the Summer of 2010.

Silva currently sits 8th on the all-time assist list in the EPL with 81 assists. That’s one ahead of David Beckham, and just 11 behind Steven Gerrard, two of the greatest midfielders to ever play in the Premier League.

Even now, in his age 33 season, Silva’s continued to maintain the level that he’s brought every year to the club.

Through 39 appearances so far this season across all competitions, Silva’s provided 9 goals and 12 assists. He’s just one goal and two assists off of his totals from last season, despite having played 300 fewer minutes and one less game.

His form rating on WhoScored.com, an statistical algorithm designed to measure the overall impact a player has on his side, stands at a 7.33 in the league thus far. That’s very good and puts him 40th best out of 1385 players in the world.

Nowhere has his impact been felt as much as it has in the UEFA Champions League. In his seven appearances so far in that competition, Silva’s provided 3 goals and 3 assists. His form rating in that competition stands at a 7.65, the best form rating he’s posted in any individual competition in his career.

As he’s always been, Silva has been one of, if not, the main creative force in the side.

Most often positioned the furthest forward of the three in midfield, Silva’s job is to help the team find ways through compact defenses who try to prevent City from attacking through the middle of the pitch as much as possible.

Even if he’s not directly providing goals or assists himself, his passing and positioning is crucial to the team’s build-up play. His interchanging runs, just behind the center forward, to his movements down the sides, help City create the overloads necessary to generating space for crossing, passing, or shot opportunities.

He’s also incredibly efficient with the ball, both in his passing and with it at his feet. Silva rarely makes a poor pass that sparks an opposing counter attack or puts himself in an isolated position where he can be tackled off the ball.

The only knock on him this season  is that his performances have been a bit inconsistent. Silva experienced a significant drop in form in December when City lost two crucial league games at Chelsea and at Leicester. Even in their major win against Liverpool on January 3rd, Silva was quite anonymous as his 6.07 form rating suggests.

Fortunately, Silva’s recovered his form quite nicely during this crucial stretch.

Next, we’ll take a look at another midfielder who’s come into his own thus far this year: Bernardo Silva.