So the PFA Premiership Player’s Player Of The Year (nice) shortlist is out, and the list – as voted by Premiership players – will shock few:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
We can’t really argue with the three United players, who have been instrumental in taking Alex Ferguson’s side storming back to the top of the table. Didier Drogba is another no brainer for winning Chelsea plenty of matches this season almost single-handedly as well as cutting most of the embarassing playacting out of his game.
The two surprises, if you can call them that, are the inclusion of Fabregas and Gerrard. Both have had good seasons by your average player’s standards, but nothing special by their own. Arsenal and Liverpool also have found themselves closer to the teams below them than the teams above them, with both teams struggling to fire on all cylinders regularly. So it says a lot about both players’ reputations within the game (or the fact that their standards are so high) that, while the fans think they haven’t been spectacular, the players they face each week certainly do.
The fact that all six shortlisted players come from the “Big Clubs” will also be disconcerting to some, but then completely unsurprising to others. The shortlisted is voted by players and – despite the odd special performance from individuals at other clubs – it’s likely that the toughest opponents they face will be the Big Clubs and the players who represent them.
Oh, and that photo just popped up while searching for PFA player of the year award images. And it amused us.