This week the PFA sent out forms to their members asking them to nominate other professionals for awards such as player of the year, young player of the year and team of the year.

So I thought I’d put my two pennies worth in and let you know who I’d select in my English Premier League team of the year, had I been good at football, able to become professional and worthy of voting in such awards.

Before I give you my team. I will tell you my player of the year nomination would be Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, runner up would be Eden Hazard of Chelsea and in third place I would select Manchester City’s Yaya Toure.

For my young player of the year, I will use the PFA’s rules that it must be a player of twenty-three or younger from the start of the season. My first choice would be Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, followed by Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey and third spot would be Liverpool hitman Daniel Sturridge.

Now on to my team of the season. Again I’d prefer to have left this until the end of the season but the PFA don’t work that way. The team will be in a 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeeper: 

For me it has to be Chelsea keeper Petr Cech. The thirty-one year old may have had a bit of a disaster in Paris this midweek but in the EPL he has been consistent and dependable. You really can’t ask for more in a goalie. Having played in all of of Chelsea’s thirty-three league fixtures this season no one has conceded less than the Czech internationalist. He’s only let in twenty-four goals this term and that is five less than any other team. Might be coming to an end to his Stamford Bridge career but he’s managed a great record of fifteen clean-sheets in thirty-three outings in 2013/14.

Defenders:

At right-back I have plumped for Everton’s Seamus Coleman. Like many in the Toffee’s squad the Irish international has impressed under new boss Roberto Martinez. In his twenty-nine league appearances so far this term the full back has scored an impressive tally of six goals. The youngster has also done equally well in both attacking and defensive duties. His work rate has been exceptional. Talk of a big move to Man Utd in the summer shows that this player has had a great season.

The other full-back role for me goes to Coleman’s Everton teammate Leighton Baines. The Englishman has finally overthrown Ashley Cole as England’s preferred choice at left-back. His confident performances have also seen him out preform any other left sided defender in my opinion. A great player to have in your side as he works relentlessly well, has fantastic understanding with those ahead of him and has a good set-piece record. He has also helped his cause by scoring four times and assisting with two for others.

At centre-back, no one has been as good in the heart of defence as John Terry this campaign. As I mentioned earlier Chelsea have had a solid season at the back and Terry has been instrumental in that. He still throws himself in front of every shot, into every tackle and he is still an inspirational leader on the park. He has returned to his best playing under Jose Mourinho again and he has helped Gary Cahill improve as a defender too.

Beside Terry I have to select Liverpool’s tough man Martin Skrtel. The Slovakian has been a rock at the back for the title challengers and is one of the leagues best players at heading the ball (a trait that helps his side in both boxes). When he hasn’t played the Anfield side have missed his imposing defensive style. Also has a very credible six goals in the league including a brace against Arsenal.

Midfielders:

Yaya Toure has been outstanding in 2013/14, scoring an incredible eighteen goals from midfield. Many of his goals have been superb strikes. Man City’s box to box midfielder bosses midfields along with midfield partner Fernandinho. He has also helped the team with eight assists. Manchester City’s up turn in fortune as of late has been helped by Toure and David Silva combing and cutting teams open. The African fan favourite has scored in both games against rivals Man Utd much to City’s delight!

Like John Terry another player seems to have returned to his best this season. That player is Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. The influential midfield maestro looks to play a deeper role now for the ‘Reds’ but still has an eye for goal with eleven strikes to his name. The Liverpool strikers have also benefitted from having Gerrard playing deep and picking them out with some lovely passing. The England captain has directly created nine goals for his club colleagues. Working under Brendan Rodgers has given Stevie a new lease of life and the star could be set to win his first league title at the age of thirty-three.

Southampton have impressed this season and a lot of that is down to their English stars. For me the standout performer amongst them has to be captain Adam Lallana. The ‘Saints’ middleman has hit peak form just in time to force his way into Roy Hodgson’s World Cup plans. He is a delight to watch when he runs at defences with the ball at his feet. Those around him have benefitted with six assists and his return of nine goals has been a welcome surprise for those at St Mary’s. Plays with style and with a smile on his face, could be destined for bigger things in the summer.

Forwards:

I can’t see beyond Luis Suarez as the leagues best performer this term, so he has to be in this side. Missed the opening matches due to suspension but he hit the ground running when he did start this campaign. He’s the leagues top scorer with an incredible twenty-nine strikes in just twenty-seven appearances. That is nine more than any other EPL star. The Uruguayan striker has that wonderful ability of getting fans off their seats. The lethal hitman has been the catalyst in Liverpool’s title challenge and seems to pull the squad up by their squads at times this year. Opposing fans my love to hate Liverpool’s number seven but they can’t doubt his impact this season.

Jose Mourinho’s new revolution at Stamford Bridge needed a new creative superstar that could turn games. Belgian £32m man Eden Hazard turned out to be the genius that Jose was searching for. The forward thinking player has really developed his game this term and helps his side by tracking back more often this term. His tricks and passing ability have made him a marked man in the Premier League but he still manages to get through opposition defences. The gifted star is Chelsea’s leading scorer with fourteen league goals. The creative spark has also managed to gain seven assists for his side.

Finally up top I have decided you can’t overlook twenty goal man Daniel Sturridge. Often forgotten about as everyone fawns over Luis Suarez, Sturridge helped Liverpool when the Uruguayan was suspended early on in this campaign. In fact the England frontman netted four times in his sides opening five league ties. His partnership with Suarez has given centre-backs nightmares for most of the season and Sturridge also has seven assists. The forward has been great with his link-up play and makes very intelligent runs. The leagues second top scorer is much maglined after his stints at Man City and Chelsea but the prolific goalscorer seems ready for a big World Cup after impressing at Anfield.

(Please feel free to leave your teams of the season in the comments selection below.)

Posted on April 5th, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article