Our 2 v 1 win over League Cup winners Birmingham City on Saturday finally confirmed what we have suspected for a while - we will be staying up comfortably.

You might think that it is slightly premature to write up a review player by player with two games remaining, but several of the players have insisted that they would look at renewing their contracts once we were officially safe - so the building starts now.

Goal Keepers

1. Steve Harper P18 Conceded 22

At 36 years of age, 'Harps' is not getting any younger. Fortunately we have a few excellent young goalkeepers waiting in the wings. Harper has put in some decent performances this season and has probably been our number one, but at times he has been slow to get down and has conceded a couple of goals because of this. He can also be FAR too relaxed - that is a good thing in terms of settling the back 4, but he is the only keeper I have ever seen shepherd the ball onto the inside of the post! I am not sure about Harper as the #1 next season.

SEASON RATING: 7

26. Tim Krul P18 Conceded 30

Keepers rarely develop until their mid 20's onwards, but Tim is doing well having only recently turned 23. Superb performances and clean sheets vs Arsenal away and Manchester United at home have been tempered by some howlers - such as his terrible kick that gifted Manchester City an early lead at our place. He also has a tendency to come flying off his line. If our coaches help him develop this (and his kicking - a weakness for all 3 of our top line keepers) then I am sure he will develop into a real top class keeper.

SEASON RATING: 7

21. Fraser Forster ON LOAN AT CELTIC P34 (SPL games) Conceded 22

Fraser is well regarded by many Celtic fans as he is by Norwich fans too following a loan spell at Carrow Road earlier on in his career. The giant keeper (6' 7") has kept an incredible number of clean sheets north of the border this season, but one or two Celtic fans are sometimes un-nerved by his kicking (which has improved as the season has progressed) and occasional inability to dominate his area despite his size. Forster is very agile for such a big fella. He, like Krul, is also 23 and has a big future ahead of him.

Central Defence

2. Fabricio Coloccini P33 2 goals

Colo has been very good this season. He is a battler and his all-in attitude has helped him to become a fan favourite. He scored a couple of excellent goals too - and his celebrations were phenomenal. Prone to the odd mistake (few CB's aren't), he has generally been very consistent. One of our players of the year in my opinion.

SEASON RATING: 8

5. Sol Campbell P4 (+ 3 sub appearances)

I don't think we will see 'BIG' Sol again. Probably one season too many for the big fella. It was ridiculous of Pardew to throw Campbell into the mix after so long with little action in our slaughter at the hands of Stoke - he was horribly exposed.

SEASON RATING: 1

6. Mike Williamson P28 (+ 1 sub appearance)

Williamson has a lot of support amongst the NUFC faithful, though I have to admit that I am not one of them. I don't think that Williamson is too bad a player, I just think he is way short of the standard that we need to become a top 8 team once more. Not a bad squad player to have though. He is too slow and very poor in the air for his size. He has put in some solid performances, but he has also been badly exposed once or twice and this is an area that we need to improve in.

SEASON RATING: 6

27. Steven Taylor P10 (+ 2 sub appearances) 1 goal

Constantly plagued by injuries - some muscular and others from the end of team mates fists (last season), Taylor has not had a long run in the team for a couple of years. Many of the supporters don't like Taylor - some because of what they see as an attitude and others who just don't rate him as a player. I think he is better than Williamson, but he can't be relied on. His winner against Birmingham at the weekend showed the 2 sides to him that cause the split in opinions. His goal was superb - a powerful header that ultimately won us the game. Then he ran off to celebrate by himself - an act that his manager was critical of after the match and it is these "Look at me, I'm Steve Taylor" acts that are partially responsible for what many think.

SEASON RATING: 5

Right Back

12. Danny Simpson P28

Danny, who proclaims himself as England class, is another player who puts a lot in but lacks quality. One moment he can be winning a strong tackle or whipping a good ball in, the next the ball is running out under his foot for an opposition throw. He is also far too quick to back off and not make a challenge. Having said all of that there is an obvious lack of established talent in that position in the Premier League - so he is probably one of the best!

SEASON RATING: 6.5

14. James Perch P9 (+ 4 sub appearances)

Unfortunately James has become a bit of a comedy figure. His excellent performance for Forest at SJP last season coupled with his old manager Colin Calderwood's view of him probably earned Perch his move, but he has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and is quite obviously not good enough. I will leave it there as I have said enough about him this season. Doubt he will be here next season - if anyone will take him.....

SEASON RATING: 2

16. Ryan Taylor P1 (+ 2 sub appearances)

A right back by trade, but his one start actually came on the right side of midfield and he was sent off! I thought we might see more of Raylor this season but injuries, lack of faith from the managers and his red card mean that he has barely featured.

SEASON RATING: 1 (he hardly featured, but when he did he was idiotic)

Left Back

3. Jose Enrique P34

Thanks Jose, it was (mostly) great whilst it lasted. After a very poor first season in the Premier League, Jose grew in stature during our Championship holiday and carried the great form into his third year at the club. His performances have attracted interest from some of Europe's biggest clubs and Liverpool - it is unlikely that he will be with us next season having repeatedly dodged questions on his future of late. His rampages down the left are legendary and his physical domination of wingers (see Walcott at The Emirates) has been a joy to watch. Ig he goes to the likes of AC Milan, then good luck to him.

SEASON RATING: 8

31. Shane Ferguson P1 (+ 4 sub appearances)

Shane looks like he could be a great talent, but with such little playing time behind him it is vital that we don't become to optimistic and pile too much pressure on him too soon. Before this season he was a winger not a full-back, so it might be a bit premature to place all of our faith in him as a possible replacement for Enrique. His cameo at home to West Ham was brilliant - especially his continual skinning of the hapless Ben Haim and if he had scored after that run v Stoke away it would have been one of the goals of the season. What a shame Pardew hasn't given him more playing time.

SEASON RATING: n/a (only because he has played so little)

Right Midfield

7. Joey Barton P30 4 goals

Yes I know he is a central midfielder, but he has spent most of this season out wide - and has been brilliant. When Carroll was at the club their link up was highly effective - Carroll's goal at Arsenal and his knock down for Nolan's goal at home to Liverpool were from angled, driven Barton passes. His supply has largely been wasted since Carroll left, but you really see the importance of Barton when he is not there. When injured or suspended the gap left in his absence is notable. Lets hope we can pick up a handy striker in the summer and see the return of Barton's great assists. He also deserves credit for his improved disciplinary record this season which has been (largely) great. Now when is he going to sign that contract.....
Player of the year in my humble opinion.....

SEASON RATING: 8.5

10. Wayne Routledge P10 (+ 7 sub appearances)

The little man is quite obviously a Championship level player. We should probably have kept him until the end of the season given our lack of players, but when he was here he didn't do a great deal.

SEASON RATING: 4

Left Midfield

18. Jonas Gutierrez P33 (+ 3 sub appearances) 1 goal

Jonas polarises opinion. Cards on the table, I am a Jonas fan! Yes of course he should score more and assist more - but he could never be questioned for the effort that he puts in and he has had more playing time than most of our squad this season. He can be very frustrating, but he can also be very entertaining. It would be nice to see some competition in that position though.

SEASON RATING: 6.5

37. Hatem Ben Arfa P3 (+ 1 sub appearance) 1 goal

Hatem's injury at the hands of De Jong was the worst thing that happened to us this season in terms of being denied entertainment. His goal against Everton was World class, though he was poor in the home defeat to Blackpool. Probably not a wide player when he returns (he kept drifting inside when asked to play out there), I think he could be lethal in an advanced midfield/ second forward position. I just hope that he returns somewhere near the player that he was - it was a HUGE risk signing a player for that fee when he almost lost a leg not too much earlier. Good luck in your comeback Hatem lad!

SEASON RATING: n/a

Central Midfield

4. Kevin Nolan P30 12 goals

Phenomenal season all round for the club Captain. 12 goals, Captain of a team who achieved their goal, key founder of team spirit and baby-sitter to an uncontrollable forward - well done Kev. He is the master of the late run and has scored goals at crucial times - as well as a hat-trick in the great Halloween massacre of 5under1and. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that KN would be signing a new contract "sometime within the next two weeks". Lets hope that news breaks soon and the others follow him in agreeing new deals.

SEASON RATING: 8.5

8. Danny Guthrie P10 (+ 3 sub appearances)

Another player who largely gets a bad press, it may be exaggerated in Danny's case. Not a Premier League star by any stretch of the imagination, he is a reasonable squad player. He had a nightmare in our loss to West Brom at the Hawthorns and many fans hoped to never see him play for us again - but he bounced back and put in a decent shift in what proved to be his final appearance of the season at home to Manchester United. He was linked with a loan move to Nottingham Forest earlier in the season which suggests he may not be here next year.

SEASON RATING: 5

15. Dan Gosling 1 sub appearance

Clearly brought back from major injury far too early and his season ended after only 1 sub appearance. Hopefully they will handle his recovery properly this time.

SEASON RATING: n/a

17. Alan Smith P7 (+ 3 sub appearances)

Smith has never really consistently performed for us and this season has not been much different. His serious injury whilst at Manchester United slowed him down, and he has never really recovered. This season was ended early in the derby game at the Village of the Damned following a horrible Richardson tackle. I think the club would like to ship him out of they could, but I don't think he will be in a hurry given his huge salary.

SEASON RATING: 2

22. Stephen Ireland 2 sub appearances.

This years Nacho Gonzalez.

SEASON RATING: n/a

24. Cheick Tio-tio-tio-te P24 1 goal 350 yellow cards

One of the Premier League signings of the season. Cheick is mint - he is hard, he can pass, he can tackle. He is a man that I would want in my corner. Tailor made for English football Tiote settled in right away and signed a new long term contract only months after making his debut. He does like a booking though and will probably miss the remainder of this season as a booking would see him ruled out for 3 games rolling over into next season. And what a goal (and celebration) vs Arsenal.

SEASON RATING: 8.5

Forwards

11. Peter Lovenkrands P16 (+ 7 sub appearances) 5 goals

Played so much due to our lack of options - I doubt he will get much playing time next season. Not as quick as he once was, he has struggled at times and goes missing all too often but has chipped in with a couple of decent goals. I bet he didn't expect to play so many games this season!

SEASON RATING: 6

19. Xisco 2 sub appearances

Came on, got an assist against Villa, then vanished again. Then again that is about how many assists Gareth 'greatest player of all time' Bale got this season.....

SEASON RATING: n/a

20. Leon Best P9 (+ 1 sub appearance) 6 goals

I was expecting nothing from Best when it became clear that he would be Carroll's replacement until the end of the season - but he proved me wrong in the first game he started with a treble against West Ham. Not a technically gifted player, what he does have is great positional sense and managed to be in the right place at the right time quite often. Another player whose season was cut short by injury - whatever are they doing in training?!

SEASON RATING: 6

23. Shola Ameobi P19 (+ 7 sub appearances) 6 goals

I will never understand wor Shola. Moments of brilliance but many more moments of walking around looking completely disinterested - near the touchline asking to be subbed in the case of Spurs at home. We need to keep the big soft lad and wheel him out exclusively for the derby games.

SEASON RATING: 6
SEASON RATING IN DERBY GAMES: 10

30. Nile Ranger P1 (+ 22 sub appearances)

The 'Danger, danger, Nile Ranger' song is proving to be quite ironic, it would appear that he couldn't hit a cows backside with a banjo. A spell out on loan would have helped him this season, but our lack of numbers meant that he has been regularly involved. The negatives are his supposedly poor professionalism and obvious lack of finishing ability. The positives are that he can have an impact - he changed the game when he came on at 1 v 1 v Liverpool at home. He harried the Liverpool back 4 into mistakes and our increased momentum won us 3 points.

SEASON RATING: 5

42. Shefki Kuqi 6 sub appearances

A pointless signing, Kuqi was rumoured to be on the verge of signing for Barrow when we came calling. In the reserves, local lad Phil Airey has been scoring goals for fun - I would sooner have seen Pardew give him 6 sub run-outs than give them to an old fella who was no good even at his prime.

SEASON RATING: n/a

So there we have it. A superb season for Barton, Nolan, Tiote, Colo and co. We have a lot of work to do in the summer in order to progress and I Chief Scout Carr has a few in the bag already! We need strengthening throughout.

Let me know who you would bring in.

You can catch me on Twitter @MarcSDuffy

Tweet

Follow ESPNsoccernet's Football Correspondents on Twitter