I know, guys, I really haven't been on the ball when it comes to new Players in My Pocket. I've been a bit drained of inspiration. But worry not -- it's back! Soon you'll be treated to more information about random players than you ever wanted to know. For those unfamiliar with 7500 to Holte's PIMP series, we profile players who, for one reason or another, have caught our attention, but may have slipped by many Aston Villa fans. I like to do up-and-coming footballers, but there are really no requirements, so if you have a player you'd like to PIMP, get in touch!

Without further ado, here's a look back at players we wrote about last year, and where they are now...

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I know, I know, y'all are probably getting tired of me going around saying I met, or came close to meeting, some pretty big stars of football. Have I mentioned, also, that I got to see the adiPower Predator boot before almost anyone else? I didn't get to play in it (why don't they make a high-heeled boot, for goodness sake), but they've had a good response, and it meant I got to do things like attend the Predator launch event. Which featured Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Rodwell, Robin van Persie, Nani, and Kaka. And...Riccardo Montolivo:

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Thanks to the grand hospitality of Adidas, who just launched the latest version of their Predator boot, I was fortunate enough to attend the Chelsea match last Sunday at Stamford Bridge. Newcastle may have equalized in the last minute of stoppage time, but it was a pretty amazing time anyway--fed, watered, and coffeed by Chelsea hospitality, sitting in box seats...and getting to meet my second-ever Player In My Pocket, Salomon Kalou!

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Please welcome yet another guest writer putting a Player in her Pocket ... Layla Carlsson, who is so much like yours truly it's rather scary. Except for her team choices. You can find Layla writing about Real Madrid on Football United, and contributing to In Bed With Maradona. And talking all things Pocho and #hamsikporn related with me on Twitter.

A softspoken, perhaps shy 19 year old Dane, upholding the tradition of a classic Ajax number 10 and following in the footsteps of Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder. Attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen has rapidly built up a good reputation at the Amsterdam club after his debut for the first team in 2010; a reputation that took him to the World Cup on 2010 - at age 18 - to play in two matches for his country on the world's biggest football stage.

The likes of Barcelona, AC Milan and Chelsea flirted with young Eriksen, but Christian and his father considered Ajax to be "a fantastic chance to develop as a player." The Eredivisie has traditionally been a good next step for Scandinavian players; cultural adjustment is fairly easy, the language isn't hard to learn for Scandinavians, and the Dutch have a great football tradition and history with legendary clubs like Ajax and Feyenoord taking home national and international league titles.

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([Note by Kirsten Schlewitz, 04/24/11 8:39 AM PDT ] -- we've got another story for you from Liz Owen, who wrote a Player in my Pocket on Thomas Hitzlsperger a few weeks back. And now she's met her PIMP! Well...got an autograph, anyway.)

It's strange to think that this time about a week ago, I was looking forward to not only my first away game in London in the form of West Ham United versus Aston Villa, but to possibly meeting my favourite ever footballer and number one PIMP, Thomas Hitzlsperger. It's also strange to consider I didn't feel hugely excited about it, as I was fully expecting to be left disappointed (see opening day of the season for details). But so far this season I've managed to meet Barry Bannan (sorry Kirsten), Cheltenham Town midfielder Michael Pook, and Preston North End captain Sean St Ledger, so surely the omens were good for me to make it four out of four favourite PIMP encounters for 2010/11?

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(I don't really know that much about Aidan Gibson except that he writes about Arsenal for The Short Fuse, his twitter feed amuses me, and he loves Jack Wilshere.)

With the likelihood that Arsenal go trophyless again, perhaps the best thing from this season is the emergence of Jack Wilshere. For those of us who saw him dominate against Real Madrid in the Emirates Cup in 2008, as a 16 year old, it is no surprise to see young midfielder come through, but he still has been a revelation this season. And while he has picked up somewhat of a dodgy reputation (Jackie, while I condone abusing of Spurs fans, the fact that he's a taxi driver doesn't make it ok), you can't help but love him: He could fit into my pocket, and he's got a brilliant Twitter feed. He's committed to the club, and in short (no pun intended) he's everything you would want from a club captain (ahem Cesc).

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Welcome Ryan Rosenblatt to the Player in My Pocket series. Rosey writes over at Cartilage Free Captain, the SBN Tottenham Hotspur blog (surprise) and for SB Nation Soccer. Possibly some other things too, but really, it's his text messages that comprise his best work...except for this lovely ditty about Luka. Whom he hearts.

There are precious few players who can compare to Luka Modric and precious is a good word to use in describing the dazzling Croatian. Generously listed at 5'8'' and in need of a couple cheeseburgers, Modric has emerged as one of the top creative midfielders in the game, capable of spraying a ball anywhere on the field whenever he wants with aplomb. How incredible is Modric? I have personally heard three Arsenal fans admit begrudging admiration for the Tottenham Hotspur player.

Modric's skill takes a backseat to his all-around stupendousness (new word!) though. After all, how can you not love a little Croatian who runs surprisingly fast for someone with an awkward gait, whose long hair flows behind him as he runs, who has the smile if a five-year-old and needed help tying his tie when he had to put a suit on? If there is a single law in the world to be called most true (even more than gravity), it is that nobody can help but love little Luka.

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Aston Villa may not be playing this weekend, but Andreas Weimann has informed us all of some excellent news -- Barry Bannan has Twitter now!

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