PFA Team of the Year vs. CollinsBeans Team of the Year

Don’t worry, our traditional end of season awards haven’t come early, but with the PFA team of the year announced this week, we’re taking a look at who we think should have made the cut and come to the conclusion that maybe footballers know more about the game than we thought...

Well who said footballers were dumb ay? The PFA Teams of the year in all four divisions of English football were announced this week and *largely* it’s hard to argue, certainly in the Premier League’s case, with many of the selections. In past years I may have cringed at the choices that footballers made in their votes for their fellow pro’s but last year’s selection by the Football Writers of Scott Parker as player of the year means maybe footballers do deserve a bit more credit.


It was certainly a no brainer with the winner of the overall prize; Robin Van Persie taking the honour after an extraordinary campaign for the Dutchman on a personal level. 27 Premier League goals at time of writing is his highest yield for the club and I don’t think it’s too over the top to say that without him, Arsenal’s route into Europe would be far more likely to be through the Intertoto Cup than the Champions League. Staying for the whole season, RVP has been an apex predator amongst footballers, lethally clinical in front of goal, his technique backed up by an intense aggression and determination.

Alongside Van Persie in the PFA’s frontline, is another man who backs his technique up with aggression (sometimes too much of course) Wayne Rooney, and once again, I think that the Premier League’s players have made the right call. To me Rooney always seems to go through peaks and troughs in his season, goals coming in purple patches, but it’s hard to deny that his peaks are explosive. Like Van Persie, Rooney’s achievements this season have been to carry a team with limitations and if Manchester United do pick up their 20th League Title come May, then Rooney is one of the primary reasons why.

Other strikers have stood out, notably Demba Ba, Sergio Aguero and even Clint Dempsey whilst if the award was voted for from January onwards you have to think the likes of Papiss Cisse and Nikica Jelavic would have been in with a shout but Van Persie and Rooney deserve their spots for their consistency during the whole season.

Moving from the front to the back, England’s very own Joe Hart has managed to rise above the tag of being an ‘England Goalkeeper’ and secure himself the number one spot in the PFA’s team. Confident and commanding, Hart has been hugely impressive in his clubs title challenge but it’s two Dutchman who would have been competing for my vote. Swansea’s Michel Vorm and Newcastle United’s Tim Krul have both been immense presences in both their team’s excellent campaigns, with Krul shading things for me as being the league’s best keeper thus far. A word also for Wigan’s Ali El Habsi, left exposed so many times, but the star of the show in nearly every game I’ve seen him play.

The PFA Young Player of the Year is the team’s right back, and once again, you won’t find many arguing with the inclusion of Tottenham’s Kyle Walker. I saw Walker when he was starting out at Sheffield United and was always very impressed with a fullback, who while good going forward* (TM) also knew how to defend. Strangely his main rival for me would be a man who has long been accused of being the opposite; Micah Richards. For a long time this writer has not been a fan of the always physically imposing and sometime impressive but equally clueless and haphazard fullback but this season, Richards has added the defensive discipline and tactical nous to his game that was missing for far too long. In an international tournament year it’s quite nice to have two English players fighting over a position in a team of the year though isn’t it?

On the other side, another Englishman (don’t ever let it be said that the United Nations of the Premier League aren’t patriotic to the three lions) has been handed the left back slot; Everton’s Leighton Baines. Ashley Cole is still ahead of him in the national team pecking order, but Baines would also get my nod for another set of consistent and dynamic performances. His cross town rival Jose Enrique started well at Liverpool but his form has mirrored his clubs in nose diving since Christmas. Other impressive performers on the left side of defence have been Swansea’s Neil Taylor and Tottenham’s Benoit Assou Ekotto.

Moving to the middle of the team’s backline and once again I find myself in complete agreement with our fine footballers. Vincent Kompany has been a rock at the heart of Manchester City’s defence, and has arguably been the most in form centre back for the past 18 months. It’s no coincidence that City’s previously watertight defence became decidedly leaky when he missed several games through suspension. Like Kompany, Fabricio Coloccini has added a presence and charisma to his side that has helped built the platform for more attacking talents to thrive. When he first arrived on Tyneside with his Sideshow Bob hair, he was a comic figure, inconsistent and reckless. A season in the Championship when he became the cornerstone of Newcastle’s promotion campaign helped to turn things around he is now the captain of the divisions in form team. No arguments form me about the centre back incumbents.

The issue with the PFA awards has always been that players that are in form when the votes are cast are not always the same as when the award is announced, hence why arguments could be made to exclude the likes of David Silva and Gareth Bale – they haven’t done it all season long. However, certainly in Silva’s case that seems amazingly harsh. Up until the new year, the little Spaniard was the creative hub of Man City’s team, providing inspiration and fantasy. Since January the goals and assists have dried up, a sign of tiredness and that his performances were of such an exceptional level in the first half of the season that there was always going to be a drop. Furthermore there are signs in recent weeks that he has been coming right back into form and he would be an undoubted pick in my team as well.

Bale is a strange one, in that I should probably be applying the same formula and logic to him that I have for Silva, justifying his inclusion, however, for me, in some of the big games this season the Welshman has gone missing. Inconsistency seems the determining factor in excluding a number of players from one of the positions on the wing with the likes of Theo Walcott, Scott Sinclair, Hatem Ben Arfa and Juan Mata all having some exceptional moments. The choice for me that may come out of left field (or rather right wing) is Antonio Valencia. The Ecuadorian is a proper old fashioned winger who recognises his goal is to beat the full back, get to the byline and cross the ball for his strikers. With Valencia in the team, Wayne Rooney looks twice the player and the ex-Wigan man’s sensational form since Christmas gets him a nod.

Finally in the engine room of the midfield, the PFA choices were Yaya Toure and Scott Parker. Toure has been an immense presence in the centre for Manchester City, a beast of a man that has been pushing his team on all season. Both the breaker and instigator of attacks, his late runs to burst into the box are a vital part of the way his side play and it shows how much he was missed when he was away at the African Cup of Nations. Personally, Parker on the other hand would not get in the team. He’s been good for Spurs and his committed performances have provided the platform for the more creative elements of the White Hart Lane’s side to flourish but for me, he’s too limited and a far more impressive, all round performer has been Yohan Cabaye of Newcastle. The Frenchman is all action but crucially has the vision and ability to thread the ball through the preverbal eye of the needle. For that reason, he completes my side.

PFA Team of the Season

Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur)

Leighton Baines (Everton)

Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)

Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United)

David Silva (Manchester City)

Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)

Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur)

Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)



Matt Snelling’s CollinsBeans Team of the Season



Tim Krul (Newcastle United)

Micah Richards (Tottenham Hotspur)

Leighton Baines (Everton)

Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)

Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United)

David Silva (Manchester City)

Antonio Valencia (Manchester United)

Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United)

Yaya Toure (Manchester City)

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)