I think redandwhite has a point. He wasn't "by far our best player" but he was very good and it was only after his injury at Bristol that he reverted to type if you like. There is no doubt that we weren't as good when he wasn't playing at his best.
He doesn't have a very accurate point then does he, if he wasn't "far and away our best player" in that period? We've all agreed he had a run if very good games and drove the team forward, but it was 6-8 games. The players Joe mentioned had a bigger impact over a longer period that season.