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To celebrate 30 years of the Premier League, Playmaker decided to do something a little different. Instead of highlighting the usual names, we decided to pick our own unique five-a-side team from the PL era.
Playmaker’s ‘Motley Crew 5-a-side’ series continues with the ‘One Season Wonder’ category… who is the main and most significant Premier League player to get on a hot-streak?
We'll run through 16 names and then cut the field down to a final four... then it's over to you!
Playmaker's 'One Season Wonder': The candidates
Saido Berahino
Michael Bridges
DJ Campbell
Andy Carroll
Papiss Cisse
Kevin Doyle
Asamoah Gyan
Michu
Benjani Mwaruwari
Dimitri Payet
Michael Ricketts
Mido
Robinho
Roque Santa Cruz
Marcus Stewart
Amr Zaki
For the purpose of this exercise, it's important to clarify the term ‘One Season Wonder’! So, we are looking at players who had just one anomalously strong season in the Premier League. For example, Dimitri Payet counts because, although he was excellent at Marseille, Lille and Saint-Etienne – that was all in Ligue 1.
Here we go…
In the summer of 2015, Tottenham Hotspur were continually linked with a big-money move for West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino. The Baggies, though, refused to part ways leading to Berahino protesting against the club and, after being left out by manager Tony Pulis, the former England youth international never regained his touch.
In his early 20s, Berahino had been discussed as a major prospect for the English national team. He even earned an England call-up in November 2014 for a friendly against Scotland. In the 2013/14 season, mainly as a substitute in the Premier League, he notched nine goals in all competitions, showing a glimpse of what could be to come.
The following season he scored 14 goals in the league and managed to hit the 20-goal mark across all competitions. However, as mentioned, the summer of 2015 harmed his future.
He was eventually sold to Stoke City in the summer of 2016 and he spoke quite openly about issues in his personal life and mental health that had surely impacted upon his game. Although given a second chance, the forward could never regain his early promise.
At Stoke, he scored no goals in 28 Premier League appearances before notching three in 23 in the Championship, following the Potters’ relegation. He moved to Zulte-Waregem, where he again failed to offer consistency or enough promise to be persevered with – even being loaned out to Charleroi in the middle of that three-year stay.
Last season he found something of a ‘touch’, though. The now Burundi international managed to score eight times for Sheffield Wednesday as they reached the League One playoff semi-finals. However, as Darren Moore looks to once again rebuild The Owls, he has been released this summer.
Playmaker verdict: There are several types of ‘one season wonders’. Some offer quite impressive potential and it is sad when it is not realised… unfortunately Berahino falls into that category.
19 goals in your first season as a top-flight finisher would usually have you remembered and set up to go and be a star for your country. Unfortunately, that was not the case for Michael Bridges.
At the age of just 21 years-old, North Shields-born Bridges was Leeds’ big-money replacement for Atletico Madrid-bound Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 1999. There was pressure and expectancy placed on the shoulders of the young attacker but he thrived at first.
Having managed just 16 goals in 79 appearances in the First Division for Sunderland previously, Bridges surpassed the high pressure and expectations by just missing out on the 20-goal mark in England’s top-flight.
However, unlike Berahino who was blighted with mental issues, Bridges’ difficulties came with physical problems. A serious injury sustained in a UEFA Champions League match against Besiktas began a long and unfortunate run of bad luck that meant he played less than 30 games in his next four seasons at Elland Road.
In the remaining 11 years of his career, he would go on to play for Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland again, Bristol City, Carlisle United, Hull City, Sydney, Carlisle again, Milton Keynes Dons, Newcastle Jets and Lambton Jaffas. He scored 45 goals in 209 appearances – 26 of those goals came in three different spells at Carlisle.
Playmaker verdict: We are heading towards the over-arching theme of this collection of players being sadness and a lack of fulfilment. Bridges’ plethora of injuries and short-lived heights surpass that of Berahino but share a similar story.
DJ Campbell may not be one of the first men that pop into the head when thinking about a ‘one season wonder’ because he seems like a lower league expert poacher… well, on the contrary.
Up until Campbell’s second season as a Premier League footballer in the 2010/11 season, at the age of 29, the Hammersmith-born forward had never managed to hit double figures in a season of league football. He had scored 65 goals in appearances across two seasons at Yeading in the Isthmian League in the mid-noughties.
Campbell managed nine in 23 for Brentford in League One, nine in 32 for Birmingham in the Championship, nine in 20 in his first loan spell at Blackpool and then eight in 15 in his second loan at The Seasiders.
However, that aforementioned 10/11 season is when he truly broke the mould, notching 13 in 31 for Ian Holloway’s carnival-like Tangerines. Blackpool were relegated that season but they had a lot of fun on their way back down to the second-tier after a short spell among England’s elite.
After that spell, he managed just one goal in 11 appearances at QPR in the Premier League before returning to the lower leagues. Ten in 17 at Ipswich in the 2012/13 season showed a flicker of what was there but that soon fizzled out.
Playmaker verdict: Campbell was a function of a manager and team that played a certain way and he played a certain role. It was an enjoyable but brief moment in time in which DJ rocked the Prem.
Now, this one may be a controversial one because the Geordie striker can often be labelled with ‘unplayable on his day’ and his technical attributes have been consistently overlooked and under-appreciated but, the truth is, Andy Carroll is a one-season wonder.
His 11 goals in 19 games in the first-half of the 2010/11 season was the only time he reached double figures in his career that was to be plagued by injuries. His ill-fated £35 million move to Liverpool preceded a better but still injury-ridden spell at West Ham United.
Carroll has since bounced around clubs and has offered some sort of imposing skillset but, the truth is, the towering forward peaked at his hometown club in their first season after promotion in 2010.
With an array of attributes that befit the classic cliché’s with regards to the ‘English game’, it is perhaps natural that Carroll has found himself struggling to keep up with the demands of an evolving style of play and urgency to that style.
That said, the famous ponytail has shone for both clubs and country during his almost now infamous career and the strike against Liverpool for Newcastle, FA Cup semi-final goal for Liverpool as well as screamers against Swansea and Crystal Palace for West Ham remain memorable… but it could have been more.
Playmaker verdict: The reported lifestyle of booze and late nights is something that Carroll has only himself to blame for not being more consistent but, the truth is, would he have had it any other way?
In the 2011/12 season, Newcastle United were absolutely outstanding. Under the management of Alan Pardew, they finished fifth in the Premier League and were challenging for the top four until the final day of the season.
In the first-half of the campaign, that was pinned on the excellent form of Senegalese forward Demba Ba. The soon-to-be Chelsea striker had led the line very well until the January transfer window when his compatriot, Papiss Cisse, stole the headlines.
Signing from Freiburg, the Dakar-born marksman managed 13 goals in 14 games for The Magpies before the end of the 11/12 season. Including that famous brace against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. However, he notched just 24 more goals in his next 103 Premier League appearances.
Since departing the north-east in 2016, he has played at Shandong Luneng, Alanyaspor and Fenerbahce before a fairly early retirement in 2021.
Cisse’s arrival did stunt the progress and quality of form of Demba Ba, as mentioned, and quite remarkably so. Before Cisse’s signing, Ba had managed 16 goals in 24 appearances. After that, he did not manage a single goal as he became the foil for his mate.
Playmaker verdict: The bizarre drying up of Ba’s goals when Cisse arrived is not something to be negatively levelled at the former Freiburg forward but it is curious – much like his entire spell on Tyneside. A wondrous six months, followed by a drift to the exit.
A player that can often be forgotten when discussing Premier League one-season wonders is the former Reading striker Kevin Doyle.
The former Republic of Ireland international forward had a stellar campaign in 2006/07 as the Royals achieved a shock top-half finish in their first season as a Premier League club. Doyle never reached his 06/07 heights again, though, and the Berkshire club were relegated the following season.
Under the management of Steve Coppell, Reading were a free-scoring and attack-minded side that pushed the boundaries of what a newly-promoted team could achieve. Doyle was at the centre of that and the County Wexford-born former Cork striker notched 13 goals in his first season in the Premier League.
He had arrived in England the summer before after promising exploits at Cork City. Doyle hit 18 in 45 Championship games, firing Reading to promotion before that 13-goal season. However, after the second season syndrome of scoring just six in 36 in the top-flight, he only reached double figures once more in his career and that was in Reading’s first season back in the second-tier in 08/09.
After leaving Reading, where he had scored 55 goals in 154 games, in 2009, Doyle managed just 53 goals in 247 league games across several clubs; Wolverhampton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers, Crystal Palace and the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer.
Playmaker verdict: As mentioned, a lot of ‘one-season wonders’ have injuries to blame for their short peak and Doyle can fall into that category. This one, again, is tinged with a bit of sadness.
A FIFA World Cup can often lead to certain top-flight clubs across Europe being quite naïve and daft, signing someone who was good in a specifically different context for a short amount of time and hoping they emulate that form across a league campaign.
However, in the case of Asamoah Gyan, that trope can be lazily attributed when, in actual fact, the Ghanaian had previously performed well in both Serie A with Udinese and then in Ligue 1 with Rennes.
Despite those fairly strong spells in two of Europe’s major leagues, Gyan really rose to prominence during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, performing extremely well as the Black Stars narrowly missed out on becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.
Gyan missed a 120th minute penalty in extra-time of his country’s quarter-final against Uruguay, after that famous Luis Suarez handball. He scored his penalty in the shootout just a few minutes later but the Ghanaians were cruelly defeated.
Well, despite that heartache, Steve Bruce decided he would be the man to form a fun, entertaining and effective first-half of the season front-three alongside on-loan Danny Welbeck and Aston Villa-bound Darren Bent as the Black Cats threatened a UEFA Europa League qualification challenge for much of the campaign.
Gyan scored ten goals in 31 games, often playing out-wide, for the Wearside club. However, he soon found the climate and financial possibilities of Al Ain in the UAE a more appetising prospect, moving in the summer of 2011.
Gyan scored 95 goals in 83 games in the UAE Pro League before moving to Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Super League in 2015. He returned to the UAE to play for Shabab Al-Ahli before finishing his career with two underwhelming seasons at Kayserispor.
Playmaker verdict: Although, as mentioned, Asamoah Gyan is not the classic ‘only signed because of a good summer tournament’ player, that is what he was to many Premier League watchers.
Now this is the archetypal social media ‘one-season wonder’. Michu is a Premier League cult-hero for his spell at Swansea City and rightly so.
Born in Oviedo in Asturias, the number nine began his career for his hometown club Real Oviedo before moving to Galicia and playing for Celta Vigo for a few years. After that, he moved to Rayo Vallecano where he scored 15 goals in 37 La Liga games from midfield.
Under the management of Michael Laudrup, he was integral as Swansea City won the League Cup in 2013 and the Spaniard, who signed for around £2 million, was an unexpected scoring sensation.
He backed up his 15 La Liga goals the season before by scoring 18 goals in 35 Premier League matches for the south-Wales club that were continuing their ‘Swansalona’ identity. This form earned him a call up to then World and European champions Spain, whereby he earned his one cap in 2013.
However, after the 2012/13 campaign, he never regained any sort of form. Two goals in 18 Premier League appearances in 14/15 was followed by an injury-ravaged loan at Napoli and he then decided to take a sudden step-back from the limelight.
He finished his career in 2017 after a season back at his hometown club Oviedo after one season in Spain’s Tercera Division with Langreo.
Playmaker verdict: He wasn’t necessarily just a one-season wonder elsewhere but he certainly was in the Premier League.
Benjani is another of the Premier League’s cult-heroes. From starring in Portsmouth’s 7-4 defeat of Reading in September 2008 to scoring on his Manchester City debut to win the derby at Old Trafford, just days after a controversial transfer that is still disputed about whether the paperwork was actually completed in time.
The Zimbabwean striker arrived in England in 2005, joining Portsmouth. He had previously played at Grasshoppers in Switzerland and Auxerre in France, after beginning his career in South Africa at Jomo Cosmos.
He struggled at the start of his Pompey career but eventually found a rhythm, notching 12 goals in 23 games in the first-half of the 07-08 season; before his aforementioned January move to Manchester City. He finished that Premiership season with 15 goals.
After that, he managed just four goals in his next 36 top-flight appearances for City, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers before moving back to Portsmouth who were in the Championship.
He never rediscovered his scoring touch and even struggled for form in the South African Premier Division, scoring just one goal in 24 appearances for Chippa United and the now defunct Bidvest Wits.
Playmaker verdict: Benjani is the ‘proper’ one-season wonder because, aside from a half-decent Ligue 1 campaign with Auxerre, there really wasn’t much either side of his 2007/08 season.
Mido eventually became the subject of ridicule and jokes regarding his weight gain in the late-noughties and early-2010s but there was a time when the Egyptian threatened to be a future star.
Beginning at Zamalek, he quickly found himself in Europe scoring goals for Gent. His excellent form in Belgium saw him picked up by the ever-diligent Ajax system and he continued to bag for fun in the Netherlands.
Ajax eventually saw an opportunity to cash in on their cheap investment and sold him on to La Liga in the January of 2002 when he scored four in eight for Celta Vigo. In the summer of 2003 he joined Marseille and carved out a super-sub role in Ligue 1, scoring seven in 22 before a bad move to 2001 Serie A champions Roma.
He failed to make any impact before the Italian capital city side sold him on to the English capital city. Tottenham didn’t see the best of him immediately but 11 goals in 27 games in the 2005/06 campaign had people believing Spurs may have re-ignited a potential forward fiend for the Premiership.
It didn’t work out, though. Mido was passed around Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic, Zamalek again, West Ham United, Middlesbrough again, Ajax again, Zamalek again and then eventually he made one Championship appearance for Barnsley in the 2012/13 campaign before retiring.
Playmaker verdict: This one is more a story of unfulfilled early promise, rather than a sudden overperformance. 11 in 27 for Spurs had been Mido’s story but he never found a home and quickly faded.
This is another one where you think ‘how can he possibly be a one-season wonder?’ but, in the Premier League, for various reasons, he very much was.
Dimitri Payet joined West Ham United in the summer of 2015 and Hammers fans were immediately excited by his excellent performances in pre-season. In the 15/16 season, West Ham challenged for a top four finish and did achieve UEFA Europa League qualification as their famous old ground Upton Park was demolished.
Payet, not just with his sensational set-piece ability, lit up the final year at the Boleyn Ground. The attacking midfielder born on the island of Reunion, scored just nine goals in his 30 Premier League appearances but all nine left a neutral’s mouth gaping wide or simply muttering the words ‘wow’ or ‘how’.
However, much like a few of these ‘one-season wonders’, Payet quickly became disgruntled. The Hammers’ move to the London 2012 Olympic Stadium did not bring immediate positivity and despite scoring one of the all-time great solo goals against Middlesbrough, Payet managed just one other goal in 18 games before he got his way and moved back to Marseille in January of 2017.
Payet’s first season at West Ham gave him a place in France’s UEFA Euro 2016 squad and he scored a stunning winner for France against Romania in the opening match of that tournament.
At Marseille, he is Jorge Sampaoli’s captain and he has been there for six seasons now. At the age of 35, he looks set to finish his career playing for Les Olympiens on the south coast.
Playmaker verdict: Dimitri Payet was and is one of the most technically talented players to have played in the Premier League for the last ten years – and, as the maverick that he is, he decided just how long he’d show his talents for.
It would be remiss to not comment on Robinho’s current situation because its importance and severity comes above all else.
The former Brazilian international is the subject of an international arrest warrant by the Ministry of Justice of Italy as a nine-year prison sentence, that has been upheld on appeal, was given to the now 38 year-old after being convicted of sexual assault in a Milan nightclub.
Robinho, like other Brazilian wonderkids Pele and Neymar, began his career at Santos and quickly shot to fame before a move to Real Madrid in 2005. At Madrid, he performed inconsistently but showed glimpses of elite level talent and ability.
After the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City in 2008, Robinho stunned the footballing world by moving to east Manchester on transfer deadline day in a move that saw him shun Chelsea. He scored 14 goals in 31 games in an impressive first season before off-field issues and on-field sulking saw him play just ten times in the 2009/10 season.
He has since had three spells back at Santos as well as time at Atletico Mineiro, Sivasspor, Guangzhou Evergrande and Istanbul Baseksehir. In four seasons at AC Milan, he once again started well with 14 goals in 34 Serie A games before quickly fading and eventually falling off a cliff.
Playmaker verdict: Robinho’s footballing credentials should now be consistently overlooked, in light of an actual court conviction and the failure of an appeal. Being able to use any opportunity to discuss his crimes, rather than his football, is a good thing, though.
There are shades of the Andy Carroll story in Michael Ricketts’ career. Hitting the ground running in the top-flight with a newly-promoted side before a further step up, too early on, hampers your natural progress.
In Carroll’s case, that step up was his £35 million move to Liverpool. For Michael Ricketts, it was being selected for England and becoming a ‘one-cap wonder’, as well as a one-season wonder.
After impressing at Walsall, Bolton Wanderers picked up Ricketts in the summer of 2000. He hit 19 goals in 39 games for The Trotters as they won the First Division playoffs against Lancashire rivals Preston North End.
Ricketts then began his first season in England’s top-flight exceptionally well. He scored a famous winner for Bolton at Old Trafford in October 2001, amid a run of 12 goals in his opening 21 matches of the season.
However, in February 2002, he was called up to England and played 45 minutes against the Netherlands in a 1-1 friendly draw. Ricketts finished the Premiership season on 12 goals, failing to score in any of his last 16 matches.
He left Bolton at the end of the 2002/03 season and signed for Middlesbrough where, again, he failed to re-ignite his pre-England career. He finished his career league tally with 78 goals in 349 appearances – he had scored 42 of those goals in 108 games in the three years before his one Three Lions cap.
Playmaker verdict: Another bizarre story and mystery. Michael Ricketts may never have been a consistent or regular top-flight scorer but we will never know the alternative history of him not being prematurely selected for his country.
No, believe it or not, Roque Santa Cruz was not actually a reliable goal scorer for a few seasons. In fact, quite surprisingly, the Paraguayan was a bit of a blip.
In 2007, Blackburn Rovers, under the management of Mark Hughes, signed Bayern Munich forward Roque Santa Cruz. The South American had been a bit-part player in Bavaria, scoring 31 goals in 155 Bundesliga appearances, mainly off the bench.
In his first season in English football, though, he managed 19 goals in 37 Premier League games. He finished fourth in the Golden Boot race behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Emmanuel Adebayor and Fernando Torres.
However, everything changed in the summer and the Autumn of 2008. Mark Hughes left Ewood for Eastlands a couple of months before the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City. Santa Cruz, when on international duty, was questioned about a ‘lack of ambition’ because he had stayed at Rovers and the Lancashire club never saw the best of him again.
He managed just four goals in 20 matches in the 2008/09 season. City had several bids rejected throughout the January transfer window and Hughes eventually got his man in the summer of 2009, for a fee of £17.5 million.
Three Premier League goals in 19 Premier League appearances later and Santa Cruz was set to be shipped out in 2010. An unhappy, goalless return on loan to Blackburn preceded half-decent spells at Real Betis and Malaga in La Liga.
Since departing Europe for good in 2016, Santa Cruz has been a reliable poacher into his late 30’s at Olimpia Asuncion – his first and boyhood club. At the age of 40 years-old, he has just signed for 22-time Paraguayan champions Libertad.
Playmaker verdict: Roque Santa Cruz and his one-season wonder at Blackburn Rovers remains a mystery. He came with little fanfare, became one of the best strikers in the league for a short spell and then left in much the same way as he arrived: the definition of a OSW.
Sunderland produced Michael Bridges before selling him on to Leeds United for around £4 million, just before the forward had his career best campaign. A couple of years later, they then bought Marcus Stewart for a similar fee and The Black Cats were once again the victim of timing as it came just after the forward had his career best campaign.
Starting out at Bristol Rovers, Stewart showed some very good signs before a move to Huddersfield Town where he hit the 20-goal mark in the 98/99 First Division season and then notched 14 in 29 in the 99/00 campaign before being sold on.
Those early seasons would suggest he was not a ‘one-season wonder’ but, unfortunately, he did not consistently perform in the top-flight of English football.
However, in his first full season at Portman Road, he did so. He managed 19 goals in 34 games as The Tractor Boys finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup – his career continued on its upward trajectory… but that was to be its peak.
Stewart continued to have strong seasons back in the second-tier with Sunderland, hitting 14 in 40 and then 16 in 43, after his fairly big money move to the north-east in their relegation season of 2002/03.
After leaving Sunderland in 2005, Stewart returned to the southwest with spells at Bristol City, Yeovil Town and Exeter City. Whilst he contributed something, he was never quite the same as he had been in the late-90’s and early-00’s.
Playmaker verdict: This is the story of a very strong and reliable poacher in the English second-tier that starred in an overperforming Premiership team once. There isn’t so much sadness or unfulfillment but quite the opposite; a maximisation of talent.
A lot of the players mentioned can fairly be described as having one peculiarly outstanding campaign and then fading into obscurity. Well, Amr Zaki did that all within the year.
The Egyptian forward signed for Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2008 on loan from Zamalek and those in the know of African football believed this would be a shrewd pick-up for The Latics as they looked to punch above their weight with players that didn’t have an established ceiling – ‘moneyball’ before they even knew it.
Zaki began his career in south Lancashire on fire and notched ten goals in his opening 15 matches, including a spectacular August brace against newly-promoted Hull City that caught the eye.
However, there were rumours of discontent throughout that bright start with Zaki on more than one occasion arriving back intentionally late from international duty with Egypt. Eventually those flickers of potential disaster were realised in the second-half of the season.
So, after hitting double figures in just 15 Premier League matches, the striker stayed put on ten goals for the remainder of the campaign, failing to score in 14 subsequent appearances.
After his loan spell at Wigan ended, he returned to Zamalek and joined Hull City on loan instead. Whilst at The Tigers, he failed to score in six games and then played just 19 more league matches in his career for six different clubs across six years.
He finished his career league tally with 94 goals in 224 games between 2001 and 2016 – 185 appearances and 91 goals coming in the first-half of his very bizarre career.
Playmaker verdict: This is one of the most fascinating one season wonders because it all happened so quickly and the reason for Zaki’s sudden and rapid, yet prolonged, decline remain a mystery.
The subject of a ‘one season wonder’ can often be overlooked as a comical and forgettable cult-hero. However, there is either a magical and unexpected peaking or sad and premature story behind the story… either way, they always leave their own mark on England’s elite league and narrowing it to four is a tough job
Tough jobs have do be done, though, so; here they are:
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