Image courtesy of football365
Gareth Bale has been awarded the PFA Player of the Year Award, as well as The Young Player of the Year by his fellow Premier League professionals.
The Tottenham and Wales midfielder was one of the six nominees in with a shot at winning the main award, but fended off the competition to win his second PFA award, having done so in 2010-11 before.
It is a selection that has obviously divided opinion with the other two in the hunt being Luis Suarez and Robin Van Persie.
It is understandable as to why Bale has received so many votes, as he has scored 19 Premier League goals this season. That said, there has to be some questioning in regards to the system of voting, as it is made around three quarters of the way through the season rather than at the very end. Therefore, the form that a player is in at the time is very likely to effect the outcome of a vote — presumably, anyway.
Van Persie is arguably the most unfortunate of the main three who were suspected to win as he is the League’s top goal-scorer with 25, and has been one of the key differences in a title-winning side, which cannot be understated as a major achievement and a prime factor in judging a player’s campaign.
What is most bizarre, however, is that Manchester United‘s top goal scorer finished third behind Chelsea’s Juan Mata and Eden Hazard. Mata has had a fine season for Chelsea with 12 assists (the most in the League), but it is hard to argue that either had a better season that Van Persie.
This is especially true of Hazard, whose inclusion in the six was a little questionable anyway. He has had a good season but took a while to get going, where as Van Persie has been a major influence in United recapturing the title almost all season long.
For Luis Suarez second place is suitable. It is more than likely that his reputation and standing among the League’s players lost him a large number of votes, but his dominance of opposition defenses would have swayed some back in his favor.
It must be said that Bale has definitely deserved a high standing within the awards this year, but Van Persie’s low finish surprises me. There’s no doubt, however, that he will be more than happy with his Premier League winner’s medal, having won the PFA Award last year but vacated Arsenal in the hunt for silverware.
It will be very interesting to see if Bale can continue this form into next season; only then will we truly know where he stands among the recent greats.
Stowe Gregory is an English featured Soccer and Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him or tweet on Twitter @stowegregory. Or add to circles on Google +
