Who has been your surprise package of the season so far?

This season has been up and down so far, which seems strange to say considering that we are sat in ninth place with only nine games of the season remaining.

Most newly promoted (I hate that term) teams would surely love to be in our position, but as has been said before, we could have actually been a fair bit higher than what we are currently. Still, not to worry as survival was always the name of the game if I'm being honest, and we aren't even there yet so it would be folly to start talking of being disappointed at not being higher up the league.

There have been some belting games this season for us fans to mull over. The 4-4 with Arsenal, 5-1 against Sunderland, 6-0 against Aston Villa and the 5-0 against West Ham all instantly spring to mind when I think of the season. However, those results could not have been achieved without our players, some of which had huge question marks over their ability to cut it at Premier League level before the season kicked off.

On the whole I've been impressed with most of the players at NUFC this season. There is the odd exception to that of course, but I think a lot of those players with points to prove have gone some way to doing that during this campaign. So with that in mind I just wanted to know who you think has improved the most this season?

There are a few players who would get my vote to be honest. I had reservations over Danny Simpson, but has proved me wrong and fully deserves his place in the team. Mike Williamson has done alright without being spectacular as has Kevin Nolan who has been an important source of goals and leadership for us this term.

Those three have surprised me to be fair, but the winner for me has to be Cheik Tiote. We never really knew what to expect with him in the first place as he was just a newcomer with a modest reputation and a modest price tag. Both of those have gone out the window now as Tiote has far exceeded the expectations that any of us could have had for him.

Really though, it's an easy choice to make such has been the impact of the Ivory Coast international, but the impact, improvement and, in some cases, sheer surprise performances from other players should not be forgotten.

That's why I had to mention more than just Tiote. I could have quite easily (and to use an Ed'ism) waxed lyrically about the lad for this whole article, but the simple fact is that he isn't the only one who has turned out to be a surprise package this season.

The three I mentioned earlier get my own personal praise, but it could have quite easily gone to the likes of Joey Barton, Jose Enrique, Leon Best or Fabricio Coloccini, all of whom have been surprising in their own individual way that has benefited Newcastle so far.

So who has done it for you this term? Who has been the one that you had concerns about who has since allayed them? Who is the player you just simply didn't think would able to cut the mustard in the Premier League but has gone on to surprise you?

Let us know who you are nominating.