by Batman Sat Jan 17, 2009 1:35 am
Ade wrote: S4P wrote:I don't particularly like Ronaldo but he deserved the award more than Messi on the basis of last season/year (which I'm sure is what you're getting at). 42 goals, a Premiership, a Champions League and a Club World Cup winner versus what?
Calidad wrote:Is anyone even close to Messi this season so far?
Ribery, Ibrahimovic, Lampard? I haven't seen enough of the first 2 tbh.
Though Gerrard would be the one nominated, I have no doubt about that.
Why Nemanja Vidic is my player of the seasonIt is at this time of the season, just after the league has passed the halfway stage, that you start assessing potential candidates for the player of the season award. Who has been the outstanding performer in the first half of the season? It has caused some scratching of heads because so many of the expected candidates have either underperformed or been sporadic at best.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is in possession of both the PFA and the Football Writers' awards, was the blindingly obvious winner last year. But this season he has ticked along without ever really clicking. Chances have been missed, petulance has been shown and he is not destroying opponents like he was last season.
Frank Lampard was superb in early season but has tailed off as his team-mates began to struggle. Nicolas Anelka is the league's top-goal scorer but many of his goals have been scratchy and come only after opponents have already gone behind. Wayne Rooney has been explosive, but only in spurts. Fernando Torres has been injured, and in his absence Steven Gerrard has not dominated games with anywhere near his usual regularity.
There are some other credible candidates: Ashley Young has been excellent for Villa, Wilson Palacios is starting to get just recognition at Wigan while Geovanni was inspirational at times for Hull.
However, for me there has been one player who has been consistently outstanding all season: Nemanja Vidic. The big Serb is brutal in the challenge but refined on the ball and, as was demonstrated against Chelsea, likes a headed goal. United have the best defensive record in the league and I've lost count of the number of times Vidic has saved his team with a perfectly-timed last ditch intervention. Aside from a deserved red card against Liverpool, Vidic has a great disciplinary record in the Premier League and has only been booked once - impressive for an aggressive centre half.
What has been most impressive, though, has been has been his leadership in recent weeks. With Rio Ferdinand suffering from back spasms, Vidic has stepped up as the defensive organiser, coaxing the best out of the inexperienced Rafael and Jonny Evans. And get this: United have not conceded a league goal in over 14 hours. I think creative players should always be rewarded for what they do. They have the courage to try and make things happen. But with so few of them doing it consistently this season, and Vidic establishing himself as Europe's most effective central defender, I can look no further than Serbia's finest.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/duncanwhite/blog/2009/01/15/why_nemanja_vidic_is_my_player_of_the_season
Home