Premier League Centre-back of the Season: Gareth McAuley

Timeless McAuley – expressandstar.co.uk

They say age is just a number. While that is not strictly true, the affect old age has on a footballer’s development depends on other factors.

In the modern age, it is rare for a 16-year-old who starts training at Premier League level to sustain top performances through the whole of his career. In some cases, it can be an advantage if they started out playing at a lower intensity.

The most obvious example of this would be Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, but another less examined case is Gareth McAuley of West Bromwich Albion. He began his career as a semi-professional in Northern Ireland with Linfield, Crusaders and Coleraine. He impressed enough at those clubs to earn a move to Lincoln City, but even in League Two it took him a while to earn regular first team football.

His career has prospered at a steady rate, bringing not only the aforementioned physical advantages, but also psychological ones. He has the appreciation for his comfortable lifestyle, the maturity to handle respect and the leadership to help his side through times of adversity.

These qualities combined with consistent fitness have seen Tony Pulis pick him for all bar five of his 86 games in charge. Often partnered ably by compatriot Jonny Evans, McAuley has been key to West Brom’s fine defensive record this term and is their second top scorer with six goals.

He has been key to Pulis’ construction of arguably the best Baggies team since 1979 – the year McAuley was born.