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Matt Taylor leads a trio of Bolton players in our special Christmas-themed team of the week.

HOW IT WORKS

We tot up the marks out of 10 awarded in five national newspapers - The Sun, The Mirror, The Mail, The Times and The Guardian - to create a total out of 50. The top player in each position will be rewarded with a spot in the team of the week, while the worst scorers will be named and shamed in our Flops XI.

CHRISTMAS CRACKERS OF THE WEEK

Players from the north-west of the country dominate the line-up for the Christmas week - but for once it's not Manchester that provides the stars. Instead, Bolton and Blackburn provide five players between them as both sides registered sound victories.

The weekend's highest-rated player was Bolton's Matthew Taylor , who scored in the first minute against his old club, Portsmouth, and set up another goal just two minutes later.

The man who received that gift-wrapped pass was team-mate Ricardo Gardner, who had a sparkling game on the left.

Making up the Wanderers' trio is right-back Gretar Steinsson, in a defence that is split between north-west - in the shape of Steinsson and Blackburn's Ryan Nelsen -and north-east, as Sunderland's Danny Collins and Newcastle's Sebastian Bassong show themselves to have been good little boys this week.

Behind the defence is Aston Villa's extraordinary Brad Friedel , who gave his entire side an early Christmas present by saving at least three seemingly certain goals against West Ham, who were constantly frustrated by his Scrooge-like miserliness.

Up front this week are Blackburn's Benni McCarthy, a double goalscorer and man-of-the-match in the 3-0 win over Stoke; and Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones, who is in the side for the second consecutive week after another good showing for the Black Cats.

Finally, in the centre of midfield we've got Charles N'Zogbia -who is in such good form he could probably play in goal and still shine - and Danny Murphy, who played Santa Claus to Fulham's industrious elves as he netted from the spot and set up the third goal of an emphatic win.

GK: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) - 41

LB: Danny Collins (Sunderland) - 33

CB: Sebastian Basson (Newcastle) - 37

CB: Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn) - 36

RB: Gretar Steinsson (Bolton) - 34

LM: Ricardo Gardner (Bolton) - 39

CM: Charles N'Zogbia (Newcastle) - 39

CM: Danny Murphy (Fulham) - 39

RM: Matthew Taylor (Bolton) - 42

FW: Benni McCarthy (Blackburn) - 40

FW: Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland) - 38

CHRISTMAS TURKEYS OF THE WEEK

Poor old Gareth Southgate. As he chews over his Christmas pudding in a few days' time he'll be able to ponder the fact that his midfield is stuffed with Christmas turkeys. Only Fulham's Zoltan Gera disturbs the Boro trio of Julio Arca, Mohammed Shawky and Stewart Downing in the middle of the park.

Also skating on thin ice this festive season is Manchester City boss Mark Hughes, whose big spending and big talking better start resulting in big points before too long - or otherwise 2009 will bring him nothing but a winter of discontent. Keeper Joe Hart and striker Darius Vassell are both in the flops side this week alongside defender Micah Richards, who took the spirit of giving a little too far when he gifted West Brom an injury-time winner.

Up front, Shola Ameobi was the day's biggest Christmas pudding. The Newcastle forward was woeful alongside Michael Owen, and the Magpies were lucky that supersub Damien Duff dropped down the chimney when he did to provide the winner against Spurs.

GK: Joe Hart (Manchester City) - 28

LB: Samuel Ricketts (Hull) - 25

CB: Ibrahima Sonko (Stoke) - 23

CB: Micah Richards (Manchester City) - 25

RB: Noe Pamarot (Portsmouth) - 25

LM: Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) - 25

CM: Mohammed Shawky (Middlesbrough) - 23

CM: Julio Arca (Middlesbrough) - 20

RM: Zoltan Gera (Fulham) - 23

FW: Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) - 23

FW: Darius Vassell (Manchester City) - 24

TEAM OF THE SEASON (Minimum nine starts)

Not much change in the stars of the year this week, with the only changes being Xabi Alonso getting back in the side by displacing Villa's misfiring captain Gareth Barry, and Hull's Brazilian Geovanni, who nips in to the team ahead of Wigan's Amr Zaki.

The three wise men at the back - Villa's Martin Laursen , Hull's Michael Turner and Newcastle's Shay Given -are still well clear of the competition in their respective spots, and Chelsea's midfield messiah Frank Lampard remains the top-ranked player in the league.

GK: Shay Given (Newcastle) - 34.17

LB: Patrice Evra (Manchester United) - 32.27

CM: Michael Turner (Hull) - 34.33

CM: Martin Laursen (Aston Villa) - 34.17

RB: Jose Bosginwa (Chelsea) - 33.47

LM: Ashley Young (Aston Villa) - 34.19

CM: Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - 35.35

CM: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) - 34.47 (rep Barry)

RM: Antonio Valencia (Wigan) - 33.94

FW: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - 34.00

FW: Geovanni (Hull) - 33.63 (repl Amr Zaki)

FLOPS OF THE SEASON (Minimum nine starts)

Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes might have turned his season round - but given where he started he'll need a lot more Friedel-esque performances if he's to give up his spot in the season's worst XI.

Manchester City's Tal Ben Haim drops out of the side due to lack of matches played, bringing the unfortunate West Brom centre-back Jonas Olsson into the side as the best of the worst.

Liverpool's Andrea Dossena is now on the minimum number of starts to qualify for inclusion, and there are a whole host of misfiring left-backs just waiting to take his place.

GK: Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham) - 28.92

LB: Andrea Dossena (Liverpool) - 25.78 (now on 9 starts)

CB: Younes Kaboul (Portsmouth) - 28.67

CB: Jonas Olsson (West Brom) - 29.13

RB: Andre Ooijer (Blackburn) - 28.54

LM: Julien Faubert (West Ham) - 27.93

CM: Amdy Faye (Stoke) - 26.67

CM: Christ Brunt (West Brom) - 27.50

RM: Papa Bouba Diop (Portsmouth) - 28.21

FW: Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham) - 26.52

FW: Dave Kitson (Stoke) - 26.89

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