I have to admit it, I hate this time of the year as the season draws to a close and I know it is going to be a 3 month wait until we see any more football. The NBA Play Offs are drawing to a close too, and the NFL are still not quite sure if they will have a season at all this coming year, let alone in September.
Still, United have a big European Final to look forward to on Saturday and 3 months can fly by with various trips to the bars after work, watching all the posh people at Wimbledon for the tennis, and the Major League Baseball season hotting up.
One thing I have never understood about the Premier League is why they pick their Player of the Year and Team of the Year so early in the season? They say its something to do with making sure all the players vote, but surely they could open it up today and finish the voting in 10 days time and announce the winners in the first week of June.
Well I have the luxury of not being a player (luxury? Think I would rather have the hardship of earning £50,000 a week and voting in January in all honesty) and have created my Team of the Year below:
Goalkeeper
There were not many goalkeepers that really stood out for me this season, and my choice came down to Ali Al-Habsi of Wigan and Edwin Van der Sar at Manchester United. The first choice may surprise some people, but Al-Habsi displaced Chris Kirkland as the Number 1 at the DW Stadium during the season and has had some really good performances.
He did make a couple of mistakes, most notably in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City a couple of months ago, but generally Al-Habsi was solid and helped keep Wigan in the Premier League.
However, for consistency, Van der Sar surely has no rival and proved beyond doubt that he is still at the top of his game. The Dutchman will be hard to replace at Old Trafford, and I really hope he can go out in the same manner as Peter Schmeichel, holding the Champions League trophy aloft.
Right Back
Possibly one of the hardest positions to fill this season with very few outstanding players here. The player I have ended up picking is Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea. The Serbian is a consistent performer for the most part and has really made the right back position his own at Stamford Bridge.
He may favour the centre back position, but there really are not too many that provide his consistency at this position.
Left Back
The PFA Team of the Year picked Ashley Cole here, but I have gone with Leighton Baines of Everton. Defensively he has been sound, while his crossing and ability from a set piece has helped Everton no end this season. It is no surprise he has been linked away from Goodison Park this Summer and I think he has a genuine chance of fulfilling a full international career with Everton as Cole looks on the way down from his peak.
Another who deserves a mention is Jose Enrique of Newcastle. The Spaniard looked like a rabbit in the headlights in his debut season in the Premier League, but a year in the Championship strengthened him up and he has been brilliant all season. Enrique has pace, power, and is a threat going forward as well as defending superbly... He is another who looks set to move to a bigger club in the Summer.
Centre Backs
My first choice here was easy- Nemanja Vidic. With Rio Ferdinand missing chunks of the season, it was down to the new Manchester United skipper to lead by example and help Chris Smalling through games and he has been a real key foundation in the title winning side. Vidic has proven he is a leader, and he remains a tower of strength in the back 4 at Old Trafford. The next big step for the Serb will be to help the new goalkeeper bed in to the club.
The second choice comes from across Manchester in the form of Vincent Kompany. Kompany was expected to be one of Europe's top players in his time at Anderlecht, but it is at City this season that he has been the most consistent player in the backline. His pace allows him to help others out of trouble, and he has become a real leader in the absence of Kolo Toure. Kompany is still young and City have a solid foundation to build upon.
Right Wing
This is another easy choice for me to make- Nani. The Portuguese winger was sensational in the first few months of the seasons, scoring key goals and creating them too. He really has been playing well up until a few weeks ago coinciding with the return of Antonio Valencia. Nani has not been as effective on the left as he has on the right, and seems to be trying too hard at the moment.
If he can return to his form up until March, Nani can become a big performer at Old Trafford.
Left Wing
This is one of the tougher positions to pick a winner and it came down to Gareth Bale and Ashley Young. Bale was magnificent in the early part of the season, but injuries have really made his season a stop-start one, while it is arguable to say that his best performances have come in the Champions League.
I would also go a step further and say Bale was not so effective in games against Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City this season, although he did play well at the Emirates against Arsenal.
Ashley Young, on the other hand, has been incredibly consistent for most of the season in a team that has been struggling. He made an impact at international level and has been widely assumed to be the player that Manchester United came close to signing in the January window.
Young is bound for bigger and better things this Summer and I would still not be surprised if he was to walk through the doors at Old Trafford. His performances have been solid for most of the season and he deserves his spot.
Centre Midfield
Over the last few seasons, this category would have been dominated by the likes of Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Cesc Fabregas, but I none of those 4 players merit a place in this team.
Charlie Adam was an important piece of the puzzle at Blackpool and his 12 goals and ability from set pieces have to be respected. Jack Wilshire has had a solid first season in the middle for Arsenal and looks to provide the bite the midfield has been lacking for a few seasons.
The first player to get in to my team is Yaya Toure. Toure is a player I thought could have played a huge role at United with his defensive ability, but his move to Manchester City has shown there is a player with an eye for goal, as well as the ability to get box-to-box in games.
Toure's drive reminds me of Patrick Vieira in his pomp at Arsenal and he is young enough to provide some real steel to the City midfield for some time to come... Still dont think he is worth a reported £220,000 per week after tax though!!
I would partner Toure with Rafael Van der Vaart at Tottenham. It can be argued that he went through a period where he was not performing to a high standard, and was being brought off on a regular basis by Harry Redknapp, but Van der Vaart has scored plenty of goals and really helped add another dimension to the Tottenham attack.
The Dutchman had a solid first season in a new league and it will be interesting to know what his plans are now that Spurs are no longer competing in the Champions League.
Stikers
This is another category with the usual suspects- Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres- failed to fire, although one player has been consistent in his performances for the last few seasons, Carlos Tevez.
Tevez scored 20 goals in the League this season, and his influence at the City of Manchester Stadium surely was the key to the team winning the FA Cup and securing a Champions League place this season. The Argentine may already have played his last game for City, but it was yet another successful season on the pitch for him.
I had a couple of choices as to who to partner him with- Javier Hernandez has been a real revelation at Manchester United while Dimitar Berbatov finished as joint top scorer with Tevez. Peter Odemwingie's goals were inspirational in keeping West Brom in the Premier League, while Robin Van Persie had his best goal scoring year at Arsenal.
However, I decided to pick Darren Bent although the others all had strong cases. There has been a direct correlation with Sunderland's bad run of form and Aston Villa picking up form with the transfer of Bent from the former to the latter.
Bent has proved himself a more than capable scorer at this level and is likely to get more chances with England on the back of his performances. He scored against Manchester United, Arsenal , Manchester City and Liverpool this season for either Sunderland or Aston Villa which shows he is not merely a flat-track bully.
Player of the Year
I would have picked Nemanja Vidic for this award as he has been consistent and a real leader for Manchester United while being partnered by different players. All at Old Trafford should be proud of him as the Captain.
2nd- Carlos Tevez, 3rd- Nani
Manager of the Year
I have to give a lot of respect to the likes of Tony Pulis at Stoke, Owen Coyle at Bolton and Ian Holloway at Blackpool for the way they have performed this season. Holloway would have definitely made my top 3 if he had kept Blackpool in the Premier League, while both Pulis and Coyle have done fantastic jobs at unfashionable clubs.
However, the winner, and I may be biased, is Sir Alex Ferguson. He has guided perhaps the weakest Manchester United squad in recent years to a Premier League title and also a place in the showpiece Final of the Champions League against Barcelona.
The biggest compliment he can receive is that if he managed any of the sides that finished in the top 4, I believe they would have won the League, and to take this transitional team to title number 19 is an incredible achievement.
2nd- Tony Pulis, 3rd- Owen Coyle
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