As the PFA player of the year nominations are announced I feel that once again only players from the top clubs have been considered and unfortunately players from the smaller clubs are not receiving the recognition they deserve.
Rio Ferdinand - Manchester United
Steven Gerrard - Liverpool
Ryan Giggs - Manchester United
Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United
Edwin van der Sar - Manchester United
Nemanja Vidic - Manchester United
All the above are good players and on their day maybe the best player in their position, bar one who I believe is not even in the top 5 Premiership Goalkeepers.
The two players who I feel deserve to be in this list are:
Steven Gerrard – what he does for Liverpool is just unbelievable, and where would Liverpool be if he had gone to Chelsea or if in fact he ever does leave his spiritual home that is Anfield. 13 goals and 7 assists don’t say enough about Gerrard. Just his presence this season strikes fear in any team playing against him and only one man has ever marked him successfully. That is someone who could win this award every year with ease and that is Michael Essien, but unfortunately for the footballing world he is out injured.
Nemanja Vidic – best no nonsense defender in the Premier League until the last couple of weeks but it is not his fault that he is playing for a team that has suddenly just run out of steam. What he lacks in speed he makes up for with his knowledge of where the ball is going to be.
These two players are the only ones I feel fully deserve a place in the PFA player of the year nominations.
If you are going to include a keeper in these awards the names that should be up for contention are Brad Friedel and Mark Schwarzer. Edwin Van Der Sar should not even be considered. The only reason that he has kept a record 15 clean sheets is that he has quality defenders in the form of Rio and Nemanja in front of him. In that period of 15 games Edwin was on average making 1.5 saves a match and if a keeper can’t save 2 shots a game then he shouldn’t call himself a keeper.
Brad Friedel & Mark Schwarzer – Both joined new clubs in the summer and these clubs are safe to say over achieving, while the two clubs they left are in the relegation battle. They can control their defence which do not include any superstars. With Schwarzer in net Fulham have the best defence outside of the top 3 of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Michael Carrick – The unsung hero of the Manchester United midfield, he allows the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs to get on with the job of scoring. I feel he should definitely be up for this award even more so than Ryan Giggs. Giggs on his day was one of the best attacking midfielders but I feel this is just a sentimental nomination to put his name in the frame this year. Carrick does and has done so much more work than Giggs and if England was not blessed with so many world class options in central midfield with the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Barry Carrick would be a starter in the national side.
Cristiano Ronaldo – Has let everybody down this season for a normal footballer his stats are good but we expect much more from him and he has definitely not had a good season and that’s what these awards are about. Instead he appears to be concentrating on how to spend his big signing and bonus that he is going to get from Real Madrid this summer and where the best beaches are located to enable him to work on his tan. Stephen Ireland and I don’t really dare to say it but for what Dirk Kuyt has done at Liverpool this season with his teamwork and crucial goals in big games.
Nicolas Anelka – This guy has the reputation of being a bad influence on a team but this season he has actually done what he is paid for and that is to score goals. The leading goal scorer in the premiership, his goals have kept Chelsea in the title race despite the on going events behind the scenes at Chelsea. Despite having Drogba, who is more temperamental then him, as his strike partner he has put his head down and got down to work
This player may be one that I am a bit biased towards, but Sébastien Bassong has to be up there in contention. You probably think how could a player in a team in the bottem 3 of the Barclays Premiership be considered for this award. However from starting out as player bought from a second division French team Metz for less than £1.5million he is now being touted as a £9 million fix for the Arsenal defensive problems from Gallas and Toure for over £9million. He never puts a foot wrong and if he had not been playing at the heart of Newcastle United’s defence the team would have been relegated a long time ago probably with less points than West Brom. He reads the game perfectly and I believe if he was playing in a better organised club he would be up for this award if not this year then definitely next year. Other defenders worthy of this award I feel are Fulham’s Hangeland and Everton’s duo in Jagielka and Lescott.
If injures had not ended their season early the likes of Mikel Arteta and Martin Laursen would certainly be a part of my top six PFA nominees for players of the year, and in Martin Laursen’s case its no surprise that Aston Villa’s early season form has begun to fade with their skipper and most important player missing from the team.
My Final Award Nominations would be:
Steven Gerrard – Liverpool
Nemanja Vidic - Manchester United
Mark Schwarzer – Fulham
Michael Carrick – Manchester United
Nicolas Anelka - Chelsea
Sébastien Bassong – Newcastle United
These awards should be decided on what a player has accomplished in the current season and what they have contributed to their team without just looking at who their team is. It should not just be a matter of looking at the top 4 teams and picking the best players from them, or even just considering players from the Manchester United team.
