Steven Gerrard and Romelu Lukaku are among the players to have suffered the biggest dip in form this season, writes WhoScored's Ali Tweedale.
The widespread feeling surrounding the decision, mutual or not, for Liverpool and Steven Gerrard to opt against extending their lifelong love affair was that there had been some degree of mistreatment.
The Reds' captain and last-gasp saviour on so many occasions over the years deserved better, they said. He deserved, on the basis of his extensive service and loyalty to the club, a contract extension for at least another year. He's Steven Gerrard, and we don't want to suffer the same fate that Chelsea did with Frank Lampard, do we?
But football has no time for sentiment any more. It is big business, though not a very good one, and money and success is paramount. There is no time for niceties, and players are readily cast aside.
The rumours were that Liverpool didn't jump at the chance to keep hold of their leader, and he wasn't sufficiently happy at the prospect of playing a mere bit-part role, so the club missed the boat.
Could it be, however, that Liverpool's hesitancy was warranted?
There has been a discernible drop off in both form and influence on Gerrard's part this season, with Brendan Rodgers attempting to find a place for him in a Liverpool side in seach of a new identity in the wake of Luis Suarez's departure to Barcelona.
It was apparent from an early stage that he is no longer adequate as a holding midfielder, neither breaking up play nor protecting the defence enough to be considered a viable option for the role. The Reds' defensive cracks that were equally pronounced last season were no longer being papered over by the unstoppable goalscoring efforts of Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.
Gerrard maintained his position in central midfield for a while, but it was increasingly obvious that Lucas was needed in there. As was Jordan Henderson's energy.
The captain has since appeared almost exclusively in an inside-right forward position. However, dropping deep in search of possession and naturally inclined to drift infield, he is not an obvious candidate to play in that position, and his impact is dwindling. He was withdrawn shortly after Tottenham equalised last week, before missing the weekend FA Cup win over Crystal Palace. The in-form Reds certainly haven't missed him.
He is scoring less frequently (a goal every 295 minutes this season compared to every 223 last), and his goals are barely ever coming from anything other than the penalty spot. Since the start of last season, Gerrard has scored just five goals excluding penalties.
He has also dropped off remarkably in terms of assists, with just one this season compared to 13 last term (though that was always going to fall with Suarez leaving), whilst he is making significantly fewer tackles (1.8 per game to 2.9) and interceptions (0.7 to 1.4). He is also being dribbled past almost twice as much (1.0 to 0.6).
The crux of the matter is that according to WhoScored's rating system, of players to make more than 10 starts both this season and last, Gerrard's decline has been the greatest in the whole Premier League. Worrying stuff indeed, but perhaps unsurprising to those in the hierarchy at Anfield who decided not to renew his contract.
The second worst offender in this regard is Aaron Ramsey, who could to some extent be excused for a drop in average rating of 0.78, with injury having once against disrupted his campaign. He clearly struggles to get back up to the pace of the Premier League without a run of games behind him, and injury has meant inconsistency in his performances.
A total of five goals and assists over 18 appearances so far this season isn't good enough for a player of his quality and in a team of Arsenal's talents, though his wonderful goal at Galatasaray in the Champions League suggests there is life in him yet.
Tim Sherwood certainly has a job on his hands at Aston Villa, and it will be a challenge turning Christian Benteke, who has a WhoScored rating of 6.50 this season, back into the striker who managed 7.26 last season or even 7.45 the year before.
Many have cited the impact Sherwood had on Emmanuel Adebayor last season, but this is a completely different set of circumstances, with Benteke playing consistently but struggling for form compared to Adebayor, who had simply been frozen out.
Villa's goalscoring deficiencies have long been well documented, and Benteke has not scored a league goal since before Christmas. An assist and man of the match award against Leicester in the cup on Sunday, however, with the Belgian's display vastly improved after Sherwood gave half-time team talk, could hint at better things to come.
Wojciech Szczesny's average rating has dropped from 7.04 last season to 6.46 this campaign, and it seems that more than his lighting up in the showers after defeat at Southampton was to blame for him losing his place in the Gunners' starting line-up.
Arsene Wenger has endured struggles trying to replace Jens Lehmann at the club, and is still in search of a reliable replacement. No player has made more errors leading to a goal this season than Szczesny (3) has in his 17 appearances. Comparatively, he made only two such errors over 37 Premier League matches last season. David Ospina certainly looks a better bet in the Arsenal goal.
Romelu Lukaku's assertion last week that he ultimately wants to end up at what he called a 'top club' didn't sit too well with some of the Everton fans that cheer his name on a weekly basis, and his performances don't truly suggest he is living up to his potential.
A great season last year in which he recorded an average rating of 7.31 earned him a £28million permanent move to Goodison Park, but he is struggling with the weight of that price tag on his shoulders, scoring, setting up goals, shooting, creating chances and dribbling less frequently. Seven goals from 69 shots and a rating of 6.75 certainly doesn't merit a move to any interpretation of a 'top club'.
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings. You can follow all the scores, statistics, live player and team ratings with the new free-to-download WhoScored iOS app.
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