Player of the season

Tough one this year for the Premier League, no? There isn't really one or even two or three obvious candidates for the award. Few teams have played really well, and usually you can always get 1 or 2 candidates from the list of top scorers, but even that is full of under-performing stars or surprising new entries. The top scorer is Anelka, who has 15 rather uninspiring goals, a count which is padded by deflections or tap-ins against easy teams earlier in the season.

So who would you vote for? Some possibilities off the top of my head (roughly going club by club), because I genuinely have no idea who deserves it:


- Man. Utd. defender

- Gerrard (great when he's played, but missed a few games with injury)

- Barry perhaps, as a representative of Aston Villa's great season...or Agbonlahor would definitely have a chance if his form didn't tail off so badly in due to exhaustion in the past few weeks

- Bosingwa or Lampard are probably the only two possibilities from Chelsea...the latter has been decent but hardly great, probably gets in any England-based "Player of the year" list by default

- Hangeland for Fulham's defensive record this season?

- Jagielka for Everton


Can't really think of anyone else that would be a realistic candidate. How dull has the league been that most of the names I'm coming up with are defenders!!!

If pushed to vote right now, I'd probably end up going with Gerrard.

I think they do the award before the season ends, don't they? So voters wouldn't know who is the champion, and whether Villa got 4th place or not.

Discuss/argue away!

Hmm...

For me, its Van Der Saar so far. He had that mistake against Newcastle but aside from that he's been phenomenal.

If not him, the other names I would consider are Vidic, Carrick, Gerrard, Alonso, Lampard, Bosingwa, RVP and Young.

Gerrard will win this hands down. In fact it wouldn't suprise me to see him win WPOTY if he continues this form

When was the last time a defender won it?

1. Vidic
2. Gerrard
3. Lampard.

Tweedle wrote:Hmm...

For me, its Van Der Saar so far. He had that mistake against Newcastle but aside from that he's been phenomenal.

If not him, the other names I would consider are Vidic, Carrick, Gerrard, Alonso, Lampard, Bosingwa, RVP and Young.

Vidic - recent mistakes will make everyone think retrospectively about his near-misses, the stuff Pierre has been listing all season

Carrick - are you joking?

Alonso - good shout, but not enough goals/assists/glamour to make people actually vote for him

RVP - really? He gets rested every other game FFS

Young - possible, but he's disappointed somewhat compared to what we all expected...after Carew's injury/strip club adventures, Young's output hasn't been the same

The result will be

1) Gerrard

2) Vidic (assuming he recovers from the torres / gerrard destruction)

3) Giggs (sentimental vote encouraged by Andy Gray)

kas wrote:
I think they do the award before the season ends, don't they? So voters wouldn't know who is the champion, and whether Villa got 4th place or not.

Discuss/argue away!

It's usually in the last week of April when the awards are given out. I'm not so sure when the deadline is for the players to submit their votes.

I would still say Vidic, even John Terry made some mistakes in the season he won it. The football writers one will be interesting too, you have to wonder if they will have a pact to make Giggs the winner.

How many times has Giggs won the football writers one before?

Kuyt surely is up there

Gerrard or Lampard.

Tweedle wrote:Hmm...

For me, its Van Der Saar so far. He had that mistake against Newcastle but aside from that he's been phenomenal.

If not him, the other names I would consider are Vidic, Carrick, Gerrard, Alonso, Lampard, Bosingwa, RVP and Young.

You think a keeper that never actually does anything should be player of the season.

Kimbo wrote:

Tweedle wrote:Hmm...

For me, its Van Der Saar so far. He had that mistake against Newcastle but aside from that he's been phenomenal.

If not him, the other names I would consider are Vidic, Carrick, Gerrard, Alonso, Lampard, Bosingwa, RVP and Young.

You think a keeper that never actually does anything should be player of the season.

Kimbo wrote:Gerrard or Lampard.

Them two and Vidic (who would've been most people's call before Saturday) have been most consistent.

I'd probably go for Lampard as he's less of a diving, whinging bastard than Gerrard.

Most others have just been good in spells (e.g. Anelka, AYoung, RVP, Arteta), and tor been consistent over the season, but probably not gained enough attention/glamorous enough position (Alonso, Petrov, Jagielka, Carrick, Evra)

Tweedle wrote:How many times has Giggs won the football writers one before?

None.

If Giggs is a candidate then Torres should be too, they have probably played about as many minutes.

edit: just checked, Torres has played about 150 more minutes. Really would be a farce if Giggs gets it for 1 goal and 950 minutes.

Six wrote:If Giggs is a candidate then Torres should be too, they have probably played about as many minutes.

It's true. I looked at this when we were talking about it before and the difference was only about 90 mins. And Torres has had infinitely more impact.

The Giggs suggestions are crazy, frankly - the majority of games he has played have been against the likes of WBrom, Hull. Great player and all, but doesn't need a patronising lifetime achievement award disguised as player of the season.

They should just establish a Premier league hall of fame type thing and make him the first person in it.

Fuck Giggs, he gets plenty recognition.

Tweedle wrote:
For me, its Van Der Saar so far. He had that mistake against Newcastle but aside from that he's been phenomenal.

The mix up against Liverpool earlier in the season as well. Has he even had any stand out match winning performances this season?

Will end up going to one of Lampard and Gerrard I'd imagine, looked like it was going to be Vidic 3 league games ago when there defence was finally woken up.

To think, people thought it was going to be Deco at the start of the season.

Give it to Tuncay

borocooper wrote:To think, people thought it was going to be Deco at the start of the season.

Give it to Tuncay

Adam Johnson should get it.

Super Madrid wrote:

borocooper wrote:To think, people thought it was going to be Deco at the start of the season.

Give it to Tuncay

Adam Johnson should get it.

You knows it.

Kimbo wrote:

Tweedle wrote:Hmm...

For me, its Van Der Saar so far. He had that mistake against Newcastle but aside from that he's been phenomenal.

If not him, the other names I would consider are Vidic, Carrick, Gerrard, Alonso, Lampard, Bosingwa, RVP and Young.

You think a keeper that never actually does anything should be player of the season.

Kimbo wrote:Fuck Giggs, he gets plenty recognition.

Well said on both points

I'm a Giggs fan(only United player I've ever really liked) he shouldn't be a consideration.

I'd love to see Alonso win it. He for me was our best player for the first half of the season, when we topped the table for the vast majority of months.

As said, he isn't a glamorous type player who will steal all the headlines with goals or assists all the time. But he has been stilll mightly influential for us.

Between Gerrard, Lampard and Vidic. Gerrard to win it then

you laugh at the suggestion of VDS and Giggs and then suggest Gerrard and Alonso?

Hilarious.

May I also throw in Denilson and Andrey Arshavin?

Tweedle wrote:

you laugh at the suggestion of VDS and Giggs and then suggest Gerrard and Alonso?

Hilarious.

May I also throw in Denilson and Andrey Arshavin?

Why is it hilarious? All of those players except Arshavin would be better options for "player of the season" than Giggs, and both Liverpool players would come ahead of VDS IMO.

What exactly has Van der Sar done? Ok, he's part of a record breaking defense, but I think there's a stat pointing out he made just 15 saves in the 11 consecutive clean sheets they kept. That tells me it's more down to the defense than the goalkeeper. He's probably not even been the best goalkeeper in the league this season.

Of course he is not the best goalkeeper in the league this season, Schwarzer (sp) takes that honour.

I would of said Friediel myself.

On what Tweeds said, I think laughing at the suggestion of Gerrard is off the mark. However he is right to point out that some one laughing off vdS and Giggs and then suggesting Alonso is pretty biased.

Rosicky wrote:Of course he is not the best goalkeeper in the league this season, Schwarzer (sp) takes that honour.

Friedel?

@kas

When was the last time that the player of the year award went to a player that didn't win the league

Parks lives wrote:I would of said Friediel myself.

On what Tweeds said, I think laughing at the suggestion of Gerrard is off the mark. However he is right to point out that some one laughing off vdS and Giggs and then suggesting Alonso is pretty biased.

Why is it necessarily biased...Alonso has had a great season for Liverpool. Giggs, as someone posted above, has hardly even played. The only people who would vote for Giggs are those who agree with the media's stupid idea of making this year's award into a lifetime achievement prize for him.

Tweedle wrote:

Rosicky wrote:Of course he is not the best goalkeeper in the league this season, Schwarzer (sp) takes that honour.

Friedel?

@kas

When was the last time that the player of the year award went to a player that didn't win the league

I don't know

Even if it does have to go to a Man. Utd. player, VDS is hardly the best candidate. Ferdinand or Vidic in that case.