Sport

Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne would be a fitting Player of the Year

Kenny Archer

Kenny Archer

Kenny is the deputy sports editor and a Liverpool FC fan.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (right) might succeed Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk as PFA Players' Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season.
Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (right) might succeed Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk as PFA Players' Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (right) might succeed Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk as PFA Players' Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season.

THERE’LL no doubt be a certain amount of knicker-twisting if all, indeed any, of the various player of the year awards don’t go to someone from Liverpool FC.

The Reds have obviously been streets ahead of every other team in the Premier League, notwithstanding two comprehensive defeats at Watford and Manchester City.

Yet, as you may have guessed from that intro, this column won’t be bothered if individual awards go elsewhere.

The clue’s in the name.

Often the best player over a particular campaign does play for the eventual champions – but often he doesn’t.

Yes, even when one team disappears off into the distance the awards don’t necessarily go to one of its players.

Remember Manchester City’s ‘Centurions’ of two seasons ago, who collected 100 points, scoring 106 goals while conceding only 27?

Obviously one of their many stars collected all the baubles, yes?

Well, no. Liverpool’s Mo Salah cleaned up, being named PFA Players’ Player of the Year, Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year, and Premier League Player of the Season. The Egyptian was amazing, of course, scoring 32 goals in 36 league starts.

What about last year, when City held off the incredible challenge of the eventual European Champions?

Raheem Sterling did get the FWA accolade, although in part that was due to his laudable public anti-racist stance. The PFA and PL awards went to Virgil van Dijk – of Liverpool.

Indeed City have arguably been hard done by, with only Vincent Kompany in 2012 receiving the Premier League PotY trophy; even then, Robin van Persie of Arsenal received the PFA and FWA nods.

Indeed, there would be a certain symmetry about a City player getting it this season, given that in their three other title-winning campaigns after that breakthrough year the award went to a Liverpool player. Luis Suarez garnered all the individual accolades in 2014; somewhat surprisingly he even collected the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award.

That last one doesn’t carry much weight: last year’s winner was questionable enough – not from either City or Liverpool, although Chelsea’s Eden Hazard was still a brilliant performer. However, given that Raul Meireles (remember him?) – of, yes, Liverpool – won it in 2011 makes one doubt the selection process there.

Even the main PFA award, the Players’ Player of the Year, chosen by those who supposedly know the game best, has thrown up some dubious decisions over the decades.

Manchester United supporters will never forget the choice in their famous Treble season of 1999 – that’s right, David Ginola of Spurs.

A decade later, showing that there wasn’t an ABU attitude among the players, they decided to ‘give it to Giggsy’, in ‘True Grit’ fashion handing out their ‘Oscar’ to someone way past his best.

The Football Writers can be quirky too, of course, handing their prize in 2011 to… No. You tell me.

More often than not the Premier League Player of the Season comes from the champions – but not by much. That’s been the case on 15 of the 25 occasions that’s been awarded, 60 per cent. Kudos if you can recall who won in 1997 and 2000 (again, answers at the end). Clue: think of the north-east of England.

This time the only serious contender outside the Liverpool ranks is, obviously, Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne – but what a contender.

KdB is a modern-day great, producing the goods despite City’s slipshod defence, with 11 goals and 17 assists – as well as many of those ‘pre-assists’, those amazing passes which open up opposition rearguards and make his team-mates look great.

The Belgian would be a worthy winner, with his chances probably boosted by Liverpool having several runners in these races: van Dijk again, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sadio Mane – and Jordan Henderson.

The Reds’ captain offers those intangible unquantifiable qualities such as ‘importance’ and ‘influence’ – leadership, in other words, making his team play better.

Yet even his greatest admirer would hardly argue that he’s better individually than de Bruyne.

Henderson, above all players, won’t worry in the slightest if he isn’t invited up onto any of the major stages to receive an award for himself.

Nor should any Liverpool supporter cry ‘conspiracy’.

Liverpool have already had four Premier League Players of the Season, without winning it before this year – Michael Owen in 1998 along with Suarez, Salah, and van Dijk.

In that same timeframe the PFA award has gone to Liverpool players four times, with Steven Gerrard in 2006 as well as those three most recent winners; the Writers have recognised Reds three times, Gerrard in 2009, plus the aforementioned Suarez and Salah.

It used to be alleged that the PFA was biased against Liverpool, with not a single award to an Anfield player despite their dominance in the Seventies (although Terry McDermott did win in 1979-80), and only three winners over the next decade despite collecting six more titles.

Yet the, ahem, facts are that if any club has no cause for complaint about the Player of the Year awards allocations then it’s Liverpool.

ANSWERS:

1997 Premier League Player of the Season: Juninho (Middlesbrough)

2000 PL Player of the Season: Kevin Phillips (Sunderland).

2011: FWA Footballer of the Year Scott Parker (West Ham United).