September has been a month of shocks and surprises in the Premier League but who have been the unsung heroes for some of the more unfancied top-flight teams?
Kenwyne Jones (Stoke City)
The Trinidad and Tobago international’s summer move from Sunderland to the Britannia Stadium was heralded as the final piece of the jigsaw by Potters boss Tony Pulis.
However, the transfer looked set to turn sour when the £8million man limped out of the 2-1 opening weekend loss at Wolves.
Jones appeared to be consigned to the treatment room for several months but returned to action within a fortnight and scored in four successive matches – against Aston Villa, West Ham United, Fulham and Newcastle United.
His goalscoring exploits have also been the catalyst to Stoke’s season – they lost their first three league matches but have taken ten points from the last 12 on offer as well as beating the Cottagers in the Carling Cup.
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Johan Elmander (Bolton Wanderers)
The Sweden international’s first two seasons at the Reebok Stadium were little short of disastrous, particularly as belittled former boss Gary Megson paid Toulouse £10million to secure his services.
A paltry return of five goals in the 2008-09 – and none in the second half of that season – was followed by a risible three goals last term.
Fast forward to this season and Elmander appears to have been revitalised by Owen Coyle’s arrival at the Reebok Stadium.
He grabbed two goals in the impressive 3-1 victory at West Ham before scoring Bolton’s consolation goal at Arsenal.
He also impressed against Manchester United last weekend and scored in the 1-1 draw at West Brom. Maybe after more than two years, he’s finally coming to terms with life in the Premier League.
Craig Gardner (Birmingham City)
A lack of goals was Birmingham’s problem last season so Alex McLeish was given the funds to bring the likes of Nikola Zigic, Jean Beausejour, Matt Derbyshire and Alex Hleb to St Andrew’s.
Imagine his surprise when one of his unheralded captures, a £3million signing in January, scored four times in his first six appearances of the campaign.
A red card against Wigan Athletic has blotted his copybook, but Gardner remains one of the stars of the opening weeks.
Peter Odemwingie (West Brom)
Little was expected of the 29-year-old Nigerian when Roberto di Matteo rescued Odemwingie from the racist taunts of the Lokomotiv Moscow fans last month.
However, just six weeks later, Odemwingie is being hailed as one of the best summer captures, scoring three crucial goals, against Sunderland, Arsenal and Birmingham City that have helped Albion make a flying start to the campaign.
