Top Ten: Players Outside the Premiership

English football is littered with some of the best players in the world, and believe it or not, some of them don’t reside inside the country's top league, The Premiership.

There is a huge strength in the lower leagues, even as far as League two, there are players whose abilities would certainly be just as well-equipped at a higher level.

This is why I have accumulated the top ten players from outside the untouchable Premiership.

All three divisions have standout players. I’ve done my best to stay away from players who have built their reputations in the Premiership and now play lower down, like Lee Carsley or Graham Kavanagh, but of course, there are some you can't ignore.

With every player that gets in this list, there are of course players who don’t and from the preliminary list of over 20 players I came up with, I very hastily cut it down to just ten.

Feel free to suggest your own players; more likely than not I would have considered them in the first place. Enjoy.


10. Scott Davies (Aldershot Town, On loan from Reading)

Seeing players in the flesh is the ultimate way to judge a player, and to see Scott Davies in action really is a sight.

The midfielder guided his side, Aldershot Town, to the Football League last season with 11 goals, but in League two he already has eight at the halfway stage.

He is the driving force behind the Shot's excellent unbeaten home form and has one hell of a strike on him.

He showed his prowess from long distance against Bradford in his first game as a football league player with a stunning strike to win the game for his side.

Davies is sure to be moving on from Reading soon to a club in League one who can afford the asking price for this promising midfielder.


9. Kieron Westwood (Coventry City)

Seeing players in the flesh is the ultimate way to judge a player, and to see Scott Davies in action really is a sight.

The midfielder guided his side, Aldershot Town, to the Football League last season with 11 goals, but in League two he already has eight at the halfway stage.

He is the driving force behind the Shot's excellent unbeaten home form and has one hell of a strike on him.

He showed his prowess from long distance against Bradford in his first game as a football league player with a stunning strike to win the game for his side.

Davies is sure to be moving on from Reading soon to a club in League one who can afford the asking price for this promising midfielder.


8. Steve Foster (Barnsley)

Where on earth would Barnsley be without this man?

Their Cup run last season summed-up what Foster is all about and he helped them along the way with two crucial goals, one of them coming in-front of the Kop.

After a great first season for the club ,he has kept his form going for the Yorkshire side. He's yet to take a move up the table either with his team or personally, and January could see him move on just 15 months after signing for the club.

After the departure of Brian Howard, Foster was rewarded with the captaincy, but with the side having not really improved this season and without the added bonus of a Cup run, a move could be tempting.

Either way, he is a brilliant defender who holds together a shaky Barnsley side.


7. Andy Bishop (Bury)

Sometimes in leagues one and two we see teams who have a talisman who everything good goes through. Andy Bishop is one of these.

His goals alone are enough to keep Bury going this season, even enough to see them enter the play-off picture.

A career average of a goal nearly every other game is amazing at any level, but Bishop has been doing it his entire career.

Nine goals have come this season as he endured a difficult start, but that soon ended with a string of goals to end the year in brilliant form.

Many teams have looked at Bishop and many believe his talent deserves better than league two, but could Bury realize his own ambition and get promoted?


6. Matty Fryatt (Leicester City)

I actually feel sorry for league one sides when they have to play against this lad; he just oozes class.

With 22 goals in 24 games this season, he has the best goal per game average of any player in the football league, and he's finding it far too easy this season, and you can bet there will be more.

He's been breaking records left, right, and center this season, scoring two hat-tricks in consecutive games and scoring 20 goals before Christmas. The first time the feats had been achieved in 83 and 42 years respectively.

Like the club he plays for, they are at least a league below where they should be and although they are on course for promotion, you shouldn't write off Fryatt going on towards the Premiership if the Foxes can't match his ambition and talent.

There's nothing this lad hasn't got, and soon enough England's elite will find out.


5. Rickie Lambert (Bristol Rovers)

As we enter the top five, we get to the players who would be well at home in the Premiership and we start with this sparkling forward from Bristol Rovers.

Many Rovers fans would freely admit that Richie Lambert helps carry their team and with the goal haul he produces, you can see why.

Just the 18 goals for him this season has contributed nearly half of all their league goals.

He's set to better his total of last season and is finally gaining the credit from higher leagues with Premiership clubs set to make a move for the player in January.

Rovers still flatter to deceive in the league, however, as they lie in 16th...not where Lambert would like to be.

If given the choice, he would surely move on, and I'm sure as many Rovers fans do believe, that his talent deserves better.


4. James McFadden (Birmingham City)

I almost wanted to put the Scot higher on this list, but the quality as we go up is so high even this international can't get in the top three.

He attempted to further his career by joining Birmingham last season. But he went down with the midlands club, to the shock of many including myself.

This season hasn't been his best I think many Birmingham fans would admit, and he has only shown flashes of his talent. Birmingham's stuttering second quarter has coincided with his disappointing form.

Over dead-balls he is potent, and he still proves a threat for the Scottish national team. Obviously, his Premiership pedigree makes him hot property in the Championship, and a return to form will reveal it all before us.


3. Ferrie Bodde (Swansea City)

This man has only played just over 50 games in English football and is already considered one of the hottest properties in the Championship.

A cruel injury is keeping the star out at the moment, but Bodde has made such an impact clubs will be queuing to take the player away from the Liberty Stadium.

He has a traction engine behind his right foot and has a few contenders for goal of the season in the Championship.

But his goals aren't the only thing in the player's artillery, as be boasts a high assist rate, and can act as a box-to-box midfielder.

His reputation when he came to England he was billed as the "Dutch Roy Keane."

Big boots to fill, but the way this man is going, he's on track to make a great impact.

With the strong foundations that Swansea have, they could make a strong break for the Premiership within 2-3 years, so staying with the Welsh club could be profitable for the talented player.

But could the club afford to turn down a £3 million plus offer?


2. Kevin Doyle (Reading)

THE potent finisher in the Championship. If there are goals about, Doyle isn't far behind, and he has been invaluable to the cause this season.

After turning down a reported move to Aston Villa, Doyle has got on with his business very quietly.

After a number of injury problems last season, it was no coincidence that Reading were relegated, but in the new season, 16 goals have come with defenses reeling from the sight of the Irish striker.

Keeping the front-man has proven crucial with a hat-trick against Crystal Palace along with a excellent goal at Birmingham a week ago proving his huge ability.

He's a Premiership striker, but if he doesn't gain promotion with the Royals this season, the new contract he's signed will count for nothing, no matter the asking price.


1. Michael Kightly (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

For me this guy has everything: pace, guile, vision, and a top finish...all the attributes of a class winger.

Kightly has all of these and the maturity far beyond his 22 years. If anyone is ready for the Premiership, it's this man, and to know where it all started would surprise to many even more.

He was a £20,000 move from Grays Athletic, but an injury in his first season meant his impact wasn't as he would like.

But this season, he's excelled, and been one of the shining lights in an All-Star Wolves side. He provides goals, seven of which this season but with 12 assists, it's obvious where his main influence lies.

He ticks all the boxes as a winger and sums up Wolves' attacking style.

Kightly deserves to go all the way with Wolves, but with the unpredictable play-offs as a possible finish for Kightly, a move to the Premiership might have to be his path, and in terms of bidders, they will be jostling for position.