When I did the first of these Player of the Month blog posts I set the rules that players had to play in all the Premiership matches that month in order to be eligible, but I was concerned that might be a bit harsh. I was trying to stop someone playing only a single, maybe a couple of games, getting some freak rating and topping the table unfairly.

However, in August and September there were only 3 Premiership fixtures each month, so this was fair enough. In October and November there were 4 fixtures and it’s entirely possible that there could be 5 in a month as the fixture calendar gets congested towards the end of the season. Although I haven’t checked this out, cancellations due to bad weather could easily cause this even if it isn’t currently scheduled that way.

Anyway, it didn’t seem fair to me to exclude players who had played well for 3 out of 4 games, but missed a game through a slight injury or suspension. Case in point during November; James Milner and Carlos Cuellar have both been brilliant, but missed the game against West Ham which would have unfairly excluded them this month.

I looked back at the previous months and found that the results would have been exactly the same if I had simply stipulated that players had to have played at least 3 games in a month in order to be eligible, but that rule makes a big difference to November.

So, on that basis, from November forward, players need to have played in at least 3 games in a month in order to be eligible for the Player of the Month award. I think it generates the fairest reflection of the month.

Player of the Month – November

• 1st – James Milner – 7.15
• 2nd – Carlos Cuellar – 7.04
• 3rd – Brad Friedel – 6.89

Previous Winners