Misguided awards prove the early bird rarely gets the worm
The decision to hand Ryan Giggs the Player of the Year award, when he has made just 12 starts and scored precisely one goal on Sunday provided proof that, for all football’s alpha-male posturing, it can be a remarkably soppy business.
Few would question Giggs’ worthiness at receiving the PFA’s highest honour: equally, only a handful would argue that it should have been granted to him 10 years ago, when he was at the height of his considerable powers.
The Welshman remains a steadying influence at Old Trafford and his longevity is truly extraordinary, but there is surely a reason why even the doggedly loyal Alex Ferguson now prefers the fresher legs of Michael Carrick – arguably United’s most consistently impressive player this season – to anchor his midfield.
Yet Giggs’ nomination was not the only cause for raised eyebrows, as the Premier League team of the year also featured some startling names.
There was a place for Ashley Young, whose dramatic dip in form since the turn of the year has coincided with Aston Villa’s slide out of contention for Champions League qualification; Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka, prolific in the first four months of the season but goalless since February, also made the cut, while Giggs, inevitably, was paired alongside Steven Gerrard in midfield.
The more quizzical selections are partly due to a flawed voting system which sees players casting their ballots in early February, before the season has reached its sharp end, although that does not explain the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Only recently has he begun to creak back into the sort of form which saw him garlanded by football’s great and good last year.
Ronaldo’s inclusion was a classic case of recognition on the basis of name alone. The same could even be said of Fernando Torres. Only Portsmouth’s Glen Johnson, whose status as the season’s most improved player is likely to see him rewarded with a summer move to Liverpool, flies the flag for the relatively unexpected.
No selection of this kind can ever unify opinion, but more common ground might be found with this pick of the season’s less appreciated talents. Only two rules were applied: no players selected for the PFA’s XI and no more than two from a single club.
Formation: 4-1-3-2
GOALKEEPER: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham); One of the top flight’s most underrated performers for years, but finally receiving some long overdue recognition. His value is laid bare not just in Fulham’s remarkable ascent into European contention, but the struggles of Middlesbrough, the club he left last summer.
RIGHT-BACK: Phil Jagielka (Everton); Run close by his team-mate Joleon Lescott, but Lescott’s versatility – he has been equally impressive in his outings as a centre-back – gives him the edge. Should have had the chance to end a superb season with an appearance in the FA Cup final only for fate to cruelly intervene last weekend.
CENTRE-BACK: Martin Laursen (Aston Villa); There are many explanations for Villa’s late-season collapse but one of the most pertinent must surely be Laursen’s absence with the knee injury now threatening his career. On the evidence of his displays until March, Martin O’Neill will struggle to replace him.
CENTRE-BACK: Brede Hangeland (Fulham); Hangeland’s arrival at Craven Cottage last year was barely remarked upon, but the Norwegian is now the talk of the top flight. Commanding in the air and dependable on the floor, Hangeland has helped keep 14 league clean sheets: no wonder he is attracting admiring glances.
LEFT-BACK: Andy Dawson (Hull); The Tigers fairytale may have taken on a gloomy hue since the turn of the year, but the very fact Hull have a chance of survival is remarkable enough. Dawson is one of the few at the KC stadium who can claim their form did not head south in the spring. An exceptional debut year at this level.
HOLDING MIDFIELD: Michael Carrick (Man Utd); Players like Carrick are only truly appreciated in their absence. The United midfielder does not the score goals like Ronaldo or career around the pitch like Rooney but there is no better passer of the ball at Old Trafford or, for that matter, in the top flight.
LEFT-MIDFIELD: Stephen Ireland (Man City); A troubled campaign at Eastlands has been illuminated not by Robinho’s Samba swagger, but the more home-spun talents of Ireland. Scores goals, passes like a dream, runs forever...what a pity he chooses not to showcase those skills on the international stage.
CENTRE MIDFIELD: Xabi Alonso (Liverpool); Like all the best players, Alonso makes the supremely difficult look embarrassingly easy. Whether it’s sweeping 60-yard passes onto a team-mate’s instep or pinging a free-kick into the top corner, Alonso hardly breaks sweat. And to think Rafael Benitez was considering selling him to Arsenal last summer.
RIGHT MIDFIELD: Frank Lampard (Chelsea); For all the justifiable querying of Ryan Giggs’ triumph, the omission of Lampard from both the six-man shortlist and, even more incredibly, the team of the season beggared belief. The heartbeat of Chelsea and the only player at Stamford Bridge who simply cannot be dropped.
STRIKERS: Robin van Persie (Arsenal); Arsene Wenger has needed his senior players to puff out their chests and embrace responsibility this season and Van Persie has answered the call in style. Seventeen goals in all competitions is a fine return by any standards but it is the Dutchman’s new-found maturity which has really impressed.
Kevin Davies (Bolton); Has his critics, particularly among the sniffier members of the Premier League elite, but there is no finer target man in the top flight. His brutal dismantling of a Chelsea defence featuring John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho – where he set up three goals in less than 10 minutes – took the breath away.
SUBS: Chris Kirkland (Wigan), Titus Bramble (Wigan), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Glenn Whelan (Stoke), Danny Murphy (Fulham), Marouane Fellaini (Everton), Carlton Cole (West Ham)
MANAGER: Roy Hodgson (Fulham).
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