Let me save you some trouble of voting, debating and generally wasting your time guessing who the PFA will pick as player (and young player) of the year.
Despite the fuck ups – no Michael Essien, no Frank Lampard, no Nemanja Vidic and no Ricardo Carvalho in a season all four have been far better than Cesc Fabregas or Steven Gerrard (and in the case of Vidic, better than Giggsy and Scholesy as well) – this one is a done deal.
The only real competition is between Didier Drogba (30 goals, 7 assists) and Cristiano Ronado (21 goals, 19 assists). On stats, Ronaldo wins – responsible for 40 goals vs Drogba’s 37. The fact that a winger has scored 21 (and could go on to hit 25) in a season is quite remarkable as well. Frank Lampard does it for his club on a regular basis and despite the criticism for him he has an enviable record (21 goals, 14 assists).
You have to remember that these nominations are made by footballers themselves – and as a result are not necessarily reflective of how good a player has been over the season but what their reputations are amongst players.
That’s the only reason I can think of that Vidic (United’s second best player after Ronaldo this season) and Lampard (with his goals and assists) is out of the reckoning, and Gerrard and Fabregas get picked instead.
Anyhow, back to the done deal – Ronaldo will win the Young Player of the Year, Drogba will win the 2007 Player of the Year.
It’s also possible that Ronaldo wins both, which for him would be true redemption and a full circle after the events of the 2006 World Cup.
Wayne Rooney is the only other reasonable candidate for the young player of the year (19 goals, 12 assists), but he wasn’t the best young player. Ronaldo was. Just as Drogba is not the best player of 2007. Ronaldo is.
Source: [Give Me Football & Sky Sports]
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