We asked The Legends: Who has been your team’s star player of 2009?

MICKY HORSWILL: I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that Darren Bent is Sunderland’s player of the year. He has only been here since the summer but already he is on his way to becoming a bit of a legend on Wearside.

With all strikers your first few months with a new club are vital. The more games you go without getting your first goal then the more the pressure increases and people question why they paid so much money for you.

Darren had that to an extent when he was at Spurs but at Sunderland he has been an immediate hit. The fans love a player who regularly hits the back of the net.

And with Bent they also appreciate his work rate and his happy, positive attitude.

That can’t be said for some of the strikers who were playing for the club at the start of this year.

Without Bent Sunderland could have endured a pretty poor start this season but he is among the leading scorers in the Premier League and that has given the Sunderland fans something to be proud of.

The last time we had a player leading the scoring charts, Sunderland finished in seventh place. I’d be delighted if that happened again.

BERNIE SLAVEN: Nobody deserves to be named the Boro’s best player this season because in my opinion none of them have played to their full capabilities.

We’ve had the odd flash of quality from Adam Johnson and Stewie Downing before he left the club. But by and large they have all let themselves down.

No-one would be happier than me to sing their praises but I’d be lying if I picked someone out and said ‘he’s been top man, he deserves all of the plaudits’.

It’s a case of ‘must do better’ for all of them. They all need to up their game and show greater consistency. There are a lot with potential, the likes of David Wheater, Adam Johnson, Rhys Williams and I can only hope they all show us what they can do week in week out next year.

It’s been a symptom of a very disappointing year for Middlesbrough that I can’t name anyone who’s shone for us and I bet the supporters would struggle to come up with a name too.

MALCOLM MACDONALD: I may be in a minority here but I think that Jose Enrique has been as good as anyone this year, especially since the summer. I thought he was pretty solid last year although like all of the Newcastle team he never lived up to his potential.

I questioned his attitude and his commitment back then.

But I must say that he has really knuckled down in recent months and has started to show why Newcastle paid such a hefty fee for his services.

He is very assured in defence and is bright going forward.

If only his sometime partner on the left flank Jonas Gutierrez had similar awareness Newcastle would be tearing teams apart.

Jose Enrique has been something of a revelation and credit where it’s due, he deserves a pat on the back for convincing me he is worthy of wearing a black and white shirt. He is one of the few players in the team whom I think will really benefit from this season in the Championship.

If he carries on in this vein then I can see him being a very important player for the club when they are back playing Premier League football.

Young Nile Ranger has shown he has potential but other than that I’d be hardpressed to name anyone who’s impressed me more than Enrique.