PFA Awards - Premier League

PFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The Professional Football Association has named their shortlist for both the Young Player of the Year, and most importantly the Player of the Year awards. Currently BBC have just solely concentrated on Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, stating his is “among” the nominees. Affectively making him the favourite, and with nothing against Wayne Rooney or Man United, but why are the BBC acting as if they other players already don’t matter... a technique used in covering the 2010 World Cup so far, as if with Rooney, and Rooney alone, England will win the biggest trophy in football, while standing no chance without him... Anyways that another argument for another day, but for now let’s look at the candidates, in which you can cast your vote of who you think should win on the right hand side:

PFA Player of the Year

Didier Drogba

Age: 31
Club: Chelsea
Nationality: Ivorian



In case you missed my special on the star striker earlier this year, then click here. The stats speak for themselves; one of the best strikers in the World, and a vital cog in the Chelsea machine seemingly charging towards their third Premiership title. Drogba has led Chelsea to the FA Cup final; facing relegated Portsmouth, while the blues are currently sitting atop of the league, 6 points clear.

Here are his stats for this season:
Played: 28
Scored: 25
Assists: 8

Cesc Fabregas

Age: 22
Club: Arsenal
Nationality: Spanish



The Spanish midfielder has had his best season for the Gunners so far this year, and has finally progressed into the game changing player he needs in order to be considered World Class. He dragged Arsenal back from the death against Barcelona and was undoubtedly missed for the 2nd leg. He is currently the second highest scoring midfielder in the Premier League, behind Frank Lampard, and is one ahead of the Chelsea player in the Assist rankings. The Arsenal number four’s season came to an abrupt end after he fractured his leg against Barcelona, but still had a significant enough impact to lead the Gunners to a Champions League spot and a top 3 finish in the Premiership.

Here are his stats for this season:
Played: 27
Scored: 15
Assists: 13

Wayne Rooney

Age: 24
Club: Manchester United
Nationality: English



The England striker has had his best ever season so far as a player, scoring a total of 34 goals in 41 games, with 29 coming in the league. Even though Manchester United only look to be collecting the Carling Cup this season, it’s clear he’s filled Cristiano Ronaldo’s boots since his departure to Real Madrid, and is now the key man at Old Trafford.

Here are his stats for this season:
Played: 29
Scored: 26
Assists: 3

Carlos Tevez

Age: 26
Club: Manchester City
Nationality: Argentinean



What can be said about the temperamental Argentinean? Sparked up rivalries between himself and Ferguson, the two sides of Manchester, himself and Gary Neville, and then his Man City “Team Bridge” against John Terry’s Chelsea! The man has been involved in everything this season. However to the most important matter regarding Tevez, his performances on the pitch. Brought in by Mark Hughes, he flourished under Roberto Mancini, scoring 22 goals in 30 games, with 7 assists; carry Man City’s charge to 4th and final Champions League place.

Here are his stats for this season:
Played: 30
Scored: 22
Assists: 7

PFA Young Player of the Year

Joe Hart

Age: 23
Club: Birmingham City (On loan from Manchester City)
Nationality: English



The third Englishman on the list, and currently one of the best goalkeepers in the league. According to ESPN.com Hart has played 32 Premier League games this season, making 118 saves and keeping 9 clean sheets. He already has one full international cap for England and is expected to compete for the number one spot in the near future.

Here are his stats for this season:
Played: 32
Clean Sheets: 9

James Milner

Age: 24
Club: Aston Villa
Nationality: English



Milner has been excellent for Aston Villa, helping his side reach the FA Cup semi final and the Carling Cup final. Also Villa were fighting a Champions league spot, but a Europa League spot looks a lot more realistic. Milner is also expected to be in the 23 man squad heading to South Africa later this year.

Here are his stats for this season:
Played: 31
Scored: 5
Assists: 12

Cesc Fabregas

Age: 22
Club: Arsenal
Nationality: Spanish



See above for more, but the 22 year old Arsenal Captain has been excellent for the Gunners this season.

Wayne Rooney

Age: 24
Club: Manchester United
Nationality: English



See above for more, but at the age of 24 can he still be considered young? Either or, he is up for both and deservedly so.

Who do you feel should win the awards? Click to vote on the right or leave a comment below

Chelsea: Still in the Title Race

With only from 14 points from the last 8 games, where 24 points were on offer, Chelsea lost the top spot from Manchester United and last weekend dropped out of the top 2 for the first time all season, but with Chelsea's 5-0 drubbing of Portsmouth last night, it seems Carlo Ancelotti's side have regained some kind of form in the run in for the title.

Here's the factors for why people believe Chelsea could pip Man Utd and Arsenal to the title.



Mental Strength

Chelsea have had all sorts of issues this season; On the field the likes of Jose Bosingwa, Branislav Ivanovic, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole all picked up medium to long term injuries, along with Cravalho and Joe Cole, who have recently recovered to add to the 1st team options. While off the field the scandal of John Terry saw him lose the England captaincy, while left back Ashley Cole's marriage fell apart in the public spotlight. However one thing we have learned about the West London side is that they extraordinary mental strength whereby they have the ability to churn out results time and time again, like a machine if you will, they may not be attractive, but its effective.

The Drogba Factor

Just like Rooney for Manchester United, Fabregas for Arsenal, Didier Drogba is a man who can change games. 24 goal in 26 games, with 7 assist, speaks for itself. Read more here.


Match Winners

Throughout the Chelsea team, there are indeed key players and match winners throughout. The likes of John Terry is a vital cog in the side, leading and organizing the team. Didier Drogba, as mentioned above, and Frank Lampard who has been a lot more solid in central midfield, although not as attacking as previous seasons, allowing the attacking mantel has been taken up by one of the star performers this season; Florent Malouda. The Frenchman has 11 goals, with 6 assist so far this season. With the loss of Essien, John Obi Mikel has done a good job considering the shoes he's had to fill, along with German Michael Ballack.


Desire and Hunger

With Chelsea seemingly having the "tougher" run in towards the end of the season, it seems that with it still in their own hands, playing the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham, it remains a seriously possibility Chelsea can win their 3rd Premier League Title. Should the Blues fail to achieve that aim, then they still have the prospect of a 6th FA Cup. However the growing pressure on Anclotti, from boss Roman Abramovich is undoubtedly going to be the underlying factor in the teams success this season, even begging the question will the Italian be in charge at the start of next season?

Do you think Chelsea can win the Premiership? Do you think Carlo Ancelotti will be at the club next season? Click Follow on the right hand side, sign up and leave a comment

The Excellence of Didier Drogba

The striker started his career as an apprentice and made his debut as an 18 year old for French side Le Mans. In his early career his was a player who was troubled by injury, and managed to sign his first professional contract with the French ligue 2 side Le Mans, at the relatively late age of 21. He spent 4 years with “MUC72” scoring 12 times in 64 appearances.

In the 2001/02 season Drogba joined Ligue 1 side Guingamp for a fee of £80,000 scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances, most notably an equaliser against giants Lyon in a historic 3-3 draw. Undoubtedly he managed to help the club avoid relegation in his first season. In his second season with the French side, the Ivorian showcased his potential scoring 17 goals in 34 games, which caught the eye of Europe’s big guns.

At the start of the 2003/04 season he was snapped up by “the club of his dreams” Olympic Marseille for a fee of £3.3million, and given the number 11 shirt to wear. This was the best season of his career so far, as he played Champions League football for the first time where he scored 5 goals in 6 matches despite Marseille only featuring in the group stages. In Ligue 1 he was the star player of the season, where he scored 19 goals in 35 matches, in which many of the finishes highlighted his brilliance up front and lead him to pick up several awards including; the Ligue 1 “goal of the year”, “Player of the Year” and a place in the Ligue 1 “Team of the Year”.


In this magical season his brilliance helped take Olympic Marseille to reach the UEFA Cup Final, helping himself to 6 goals in the process, scoring against the likes of Liverpool, Inter Milan and Newcastle. The French side lost to Valencia 2-0 in the final after their luck had seemingly ran out, and Drogba was unlucky to be on the losing side.

In 2004, at the age of 26, Didier Drogba left the Stade Velodrome for Stamford Bridge in a transfers saga that ended with a the striker joining Chelsea for a fee of £24million. He would end his career at Marseille with a record of 30 goals in 51 games. He was signed by Jose Mourinho and scored his first ever goal against Crystal Palace, wearing the number 15 shirt. In his first season he helped Chelsea to win the Premiership for the first time since it became so, and helped the Blues win the League Cup, scoring and beating Liverpool 3-2 in the final. Drogba also had trouble this season, being accused of diving and cheating with the use of hands in finishing goals in big games, something Drogba refutably denied.


The 2005/06 season was a year of progression for the striker, Drogba started with 2 goals in a 2-1 win against Arsenal in the Community Shield. He then helped Chelsea retain their second Premiership title scoring a total of 17 goals in all competitions and creating 11 assists.

In the summer of 2006, Drogba captained his country Ivory Coast to the World Cup in Germany. Drogba’s side face the “Group of Death” after being drawn against Holland, Argentina and Serbia and Montenegro. The Elephants lost to Argentina and Holland 2-1 in both games with Drogba scoring against the Argentineans in the 82nd minute. The one win wasn’t enough as the Ivory Coast finished third in the group but gave an excellent account of themselves.



The 2006/07 was an excellent season for Drogba, as he switched to the number 11 shirt and he managed 33 goals in 60 games played for Chelsea. He picked up the Premiership Golden Boot for the first time with 20 goals, and helped Chelsea win the FA Cup final over Manchester United and the League Cup Final over Arsenal. He also picked up the Ivorian player of the year award, African player of the year and runner up to Cristiano Ronaldo in the PFA Player of the Year awards.



In the 2007/08 season saw Chelsea lose Mourinho and Drogba felt the most frustration at his departure expressing his desire to indeed leave the club too. Inter, AC Milan, Barcelona and Real Madrid all circling Chelsea’s star player. However he did indeed stay at the bridge, whereby despite a season dogged by injury, he still reached the League Cup Final and Champions League Final, but losing to Tottenham and Manchester United respectively. Drogba was sent off in the Champions League Final. His tally for this season was 16 goals in 31 games.

The 2008/09 season saw Drogba score 16 goals in 42 games, and he took Chelsea to the final of the FA Cup, and the Blues beat to Everton 2-1 in the Final with Drogba scoring the first for Chelsea. The downside to the season was Drogba and Chelsea’s Champions League semi final defeat to Barcelona, where Andres Iniesta scored in the last minute, which furious protests from all the Chelsea players including Drogba; who confronted the referee and was seen swearing on Sky TV. The actions of the Ivorian saw him banned for 5 Champions League games.



In this current season Drogba the form of Didier Droga has been better than ever, he has taken Chelsea to the summit of the Premiership, continued tormenting teams, taking his tally of goals against Arsenal in his career to 12 goals in 12 games against Arsene Wenger’s side. He has helped his side to the knockout stages of the Champions’ League, Sixth round of the FA Cup and represented Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations. His tally so far for this season is 17 goals in 21 games, with 6 assists.



Blessed with strength, power, pace, finishing ability, great technique, skill and aerial ability, and despite being at the age of 31, Drogba is a world class player, and now considered the best and most complete striker in the world.

This is Real Talk Football’s tribute to the star