The PFA Awards are greatly misleading

When the PFA Awards were announced earlier this week, they were met with reaction as is usual: scepticism and disagreement. Of course, those reactions are often swayed by the allegiance of the person in question. A Manchester United fan would want Robin Van Persie to have won Player of The Year, while a Kopite would’ve thought the same for Luis Suarez, and so on. However, a retrospective look at the results from a purely neutral stand-point would point to opinions that would differ from the final vote.

First off, the nominations were biased to a great extent, with the so-called big clubs clearly being favoured over others. It was admittedly baffling to see Eden Hazard in the top six shortlist for the Player of The Year Award as well as the Young Player of The Year. Given, he has struck the eye on quite a few occasions, but it is hard to see what Michu, the £2m Swansea forward, did wrong to have Hazard edge ahead of him. Not only was Hazard signed for sixteen times that money, but he is also surrounded by team-mates far more talented and prolific than Michu, who has to make do with distinctly average company. His contributions too are greater, both statistically and on the field. Michu has nearly carried the Swansea attack, whereas Hazard has had his load lifted by Juan Mata, Oscar, Lampard, and at times by Fernando Torres (yes, him) and Demba Ba. After Michu stands in line Arsenal‘s Santi Cazorla, who has enjoyed a truly remarkable debut season in the Premier League. His return of 12 goals and 9 assists, and metronomic passing have kept Arsenal’s morbid season alive, and he has made players far lesser than him seem like real talents. And he too was a cheaper and shrewder signing than Eden Hazard. And what of Christain Benteke? The signing of the season must surely be either Michu or him. A completely new Aston Villa squad, with little or no top-level experience and a new manager operating on a shoestring budget were his working environment, and England striker Darren Bent his direct competition. To have overcome all of that and scored 22 goals in 35 games is no mean feat. The likes of Leighton Baines and Pablo Zabaleta must feel aggrieved too to have not made the final shortlist, given that they have been the standout full-backs in the League, and their exclusion targets the biased nature of the selections which choose attacking achievement over defensive. But even then, Baines’ 7 goals and 5 assists are healthy by any standards, let alone for a left full-back, and though Zabaleta doesn’t match up in terms of pure numbers, he epitomises (along with Carrick perhaps) the fallacy of numbers in football. His lung-bursting runs up and down the right channel, and continuous crosses and dribbles have been the only positive constant in a negative season for the blue side of Manchester.

Goalkeepers too must shrug at their misfortune. Simon Mignolet and Asmir Begovic, of Sunderland and Stoke respectively, have stood tall in the face of porous defences and tumultuous seasons. Their exclusion over David De Gea is also eyebrow raising, no matter how much the young Spaniard has performed. The PFA clearly does not have a vast range of factors taken into account when they vote, thus the narrow-minded and fairly obvious inclusions in the Team of The Year as well. Has Rio Ferdinand really been better than Ashley Williams and Branislav Ivanovic over the season? Heck, the latter even took a bite to his shoulder the other day! It is also noteworthy giving players like Romelu Lukaku (WBA), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) a nod for the nominations, though their achievements would stand diminished in comparison to their exalted companionship.

The PFA Young Player of The Year Award is another which clearly needs to expand its horizons. Though Gareth Bale may be a deserving victor, it is again the nominations which are far too lop-sided to be fair. Again, Christian Benteke warrants recognition, not just because of his age and goal tally, but for the measly sum he was signed for. And above all, he has definitely done more than Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck this season. The former is clearly prodigious, the latter is just a strange one on the list, given he has scored two goals all season, and his shifts on the left flank for United haven’t been of significant note to render him more potent than Benteke. Romelu Lukaku too has shown genuine signs of being “the next Drogba” as he was touted during his transfer. The Belgian has been essential in a stellar season for Steve Clarke’s West Brom. More glaring exclusions include Manchester City‘s Matija Nastasic, who has displaced previous regular Jolean Lescott at the heart of the City defence, at a ripe 21 years of age. Chelsea right-back Cesar Azpilicueta has settled into English football and Chelsea faster than people have taken to pronouncing his surname. Southampton’s left-back, Luke Shaw has been linked with everyone from Chelsea to United, and Arsenal and Real Madrid; such has been his impact at the club. And also to be taken into account is the fact that he is yet to reach adulthood. Wigan Athletic’s Callum McManaman and James McCarthy too must feel victimised about having been sidelined for the fact that they play for a club which has to battle against relegation year after year.