I’m not a United fan so don’t read this and think that this is another biased, one-track thinking mind, ranting on in a twisted manner. But the PFA nominations for players of the season have just been released and I’m astonished that the player who I thought was in with a shout of winning, isn’t even nominated!
Edwin Van Der Sar has been unbelievable this season. To think that he is retiring at the end of the campaign is such a blow. Look what happened to United the last time their number 1 retired. They went through more goalkeepers than Danielle Lloyd and Jordan but together…
In all honesty, in the top half of the Premiership I don’t think anybody has been consistently fantastic other than Van Der Sar. I mean Bale had a great first half of the season but has been injured for months; Nasri likewise. For this reason I would probably award the prize to Scotty Parker above anybody else who is nominated. Charlie Adam is another shout for the gong, but if they go down then his efforts are all in vain and for that reason, he’s out.
I cannot argue with Young Player of the year’s nominees. Wilshire is probably most likely to win it, but I would go for Hernandez. I just think the way he has adapted to the league, the country, the team and the manager has been extraordinary (really, I’m not a United fan honest) given that he has come from a completely different continent. The Little Pea has done it on all platforms and is keeping the current top Premiership scorer, Berbatov, out of the team (who incidentally is also missing from the list).
For years goalkeepers and defenders get overlooked and undervalued when it comes to awards. Just look at the Ballon D’or. Van Der Sar has been superb this season and other than one game against Liverpool, I don’t think he’s put a glove wrong.
Simon Bourne