Naughty or Nice: Who has been good in the Premier League this year and who hasn't?

NEWS NEWS BLOG SPORT looks at the heroes and villains of the Premier League season so far.

 

Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, Diego Costa and Louis van Gaal

Naughty

Diego Costa

From scoring 21 goals and guiding Chelsea to the Premier League title last season to netting just four goals and hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Costa has been a shadow of his former self.

The 27-year-old striker has had a season to forget with a bust-up with Arsenal’s Gabriel that resulted in him receiving a retrospective ban and a £10,000 fine, a spat with now former Blues boss Jose Mourinho which culminated in Costa throwing his bib at the 52-year-old and reaching a new level of childishness when he made suggestions that Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross had personal hygiene problems.

And we are only half way through the season...

 

Louis van Gaal

The 64-year-old Dutchman has had a difficult time this season at Manchester United with fans and former players venting their frustrations at his ‘boring’ style of football and rumours about his potential sacking intensify by the day.

His job security at Old Trafford is particularly fragile at the moment with United currently on a six-game winless streak, and in his press conference ahead of the Red Devils’ Boxing Day clash with Stoke he lost it with the media – dishing out a five-minute rant before storming out of the press conference.

It seems as if Van Gaal has lost all his patience with the Old Trafford faithful and he could soon be shown the exit door with Jose Mourinho waiting in the wings.

 

James McClean

McClean has always been a bit of a livewire on the pitch and is one of those players who is not scared of a putting in a crunching tackle.

But his love for hard tackles went a step too far in West Brom’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth as he lunged in late on Adam Smith with a studs-up tackle that could have been potentially career ending.

Rightfully, the 26-year-old midfielder was sent off and will now serve a three-match suspension alongside team-mate Solomon Rondon, who was also given his marching orders in the defeat at the Hawthorns.

 

Nice

Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy

Leicester have been by far the biggest surprise package of this season, tipped to go down at the start of the campaign but flying high at the top of the Premier League table at Christmas. Quite incredible.

And at the forefront of this success is the dynamic duo of Mahrez and Vardy, scoring 18 goals between them and propelling the Foxes into unchartered territory.

Vardy earned his England debut and is in contention to make the cut for Euro 2016, which has been aided by the 28-year-old breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s long-standing goal-scoring record – netting in 12 games in a row.

But Mahrez has equally shone by bagging 13 goals and making seven assists in 16 league games.

 

Mesut Ozil

Following Ozil’s £42million move from Real Madrid to Arsenal there were huge expectations placed upon the Germany international’s head.

However, in his first two seasons he struggled to deliver with injuries derailing his progress as well as finding it difficult to deal with and adjust to the physical side of the Premier League.

But this season he looks like the finished article, racking up an incredible 15 assists in the heart of the Gunners midfield and is well on his way to equalling Thierry Henry’s Premier League record of 20 assists in one season.

 

 

senal's Mesut Ozil has racked up 16 assists already this season

 

Steven Naismith

This one bucks the trend but seeing as it is Christmas why not spread the festive joy even more.

It has not been a season to remember for Naismith, often finding himself warming the Everton bench after making just four Premier League starts this season.

However, despite his lack of game time he has been putting in the hours to spread joy for those less fortunate than himself over the festive period.

The Scotland international has been helping feed the homeless for the last five years by sponsoring a Christmas lunch for Glasgow-based charity Loaves and Fishes.

He also helps out the homeless at the Whitechapel Centre in Liverpool. Good on you Steven!