Awards season is upon us
Hi, hope you are all well.
With just a handful of games left this season. We have reached the stage where individual players will be receiving recognition for their efforts over the 2008/09 campaign through the various Player of the Year awards.
The most notable of these are those from the polls conducted by the Professional Footballers' Association and Football Writers' Association, which will be announced on the 26 April and 28 May respectively.
In these opinionated times that we live in, with so many fans now expressing their views on radio phone ins and internet message boards, I am sure they will provoke plenty of comment - not least because of the amount of Premier League football we all watch on television. It will be interesting to see whether the players the fans would single out for the top gongs are any different.
The players who make the biggest impression on me are often the ones who are the most understated and who, in terms of their work on and off the ball, can easily be taken for granted by supporters. These are the men who can be relied upon to give a solid display every week, and do a lot of the leg work that is required for the more apparently exciting players to flourish. While these players may not get the public acclaim afforded to some, they certainly get it from their own team mates, not to mention their opponents.
I have lost track of the number of end of season dinners I have attended where the Players' Player of the Year award goes to a player in this mould. Past examples include Richard Shaw at Coventry City, Michael Nelson at Hartlepool United and Adam Tann at Notts County. None of them were headline grabbers but all were respected for the contributions they made to the team.
Which player would win your "unsung hero award" in the Premier League this season?
I'll confine my nominations to League Two and they are (drum roll, please): Barry Roche (Morecambe), Stephen Dawson (Bury) and Jack Lester (Chesterfield).
You could argue that my selection of goalkeeper Barry Roche is somewhat biased, given that he is on my journalism course. If anything, this made it harder for me to choose him because I have had to endure him telling me how good he has been on a weekly basis for the whole season!
But, as much as it pains me to say it, he has been nothing short of magnificent this season. This is his first season at Morecambe, following his surprise departure from Chesterfield, and according to their manager, Sammy McIlroy, he has been their most influential player.
Unfortunately for Barry, one of his claims to fame is a howler he made while playing for Nottingham Forest at the start of his career. He was trying to clear a routine back pass when the ball hit a plastic cup and bobbled into the net. The big man won't thank me for bringing that up - in fact he will probably beat me up! - but if he keeps up the form that he has shown this season, that embarrassing moment will surely be totally forgotten.
My next choice, Bury's Stephen Dawson, is once again not one of the better known players in League Two but if you were to ask any other midfielder in the league who has played against him, they would certainly be aware of Stephen's attributes as a player.
Having joined the club in the summer from Mansfield following their relegation into the Blue Square Premier he has slotted into the Bury midfield very well, forming a good understanding in that department with Brian Barry Murphy. Stephen is a player I have always liked and without being disrespectful to Bury, I thought a team from a higher division might have been keen to secure his signature when it became clear he would be leaving Mansfield.
For those who have not seen him play, he is an aggressive midfielder with a high level of fitness which enables him to be effective all over the pitch. Having played against him this season, I can vouch for the fact that he is the type of player who never lets you have time on the ball while at the same time repeatedly tests your own stamina levels with forward runs. In short he is exactly the kind of team mate that you want.
The final name on my shortlist is veteran Chesterfield striker Jack Lester who despite his advancing years is still far too good to be playing in League Two.
I have played against Jack many times over the years and having witnessed him play this season it is clear he is still as sharp as ever. Having never been blessed with what could be described as lightning pace, he has compensated for this with his football intelligence. His link-up play is second to none and he is a midfielder's dream in that you know that when the ball goes up to him, he is not going to surrender possession easily. In fact you can already be planning your next pass, safe in the knowledge that he will find you with the ball. That is quite a rarity in the lower leagues.
I remember speaking to our central defenders following our 1-0 defeat at home to Chesterfield back in January. They told me that it was particularly difficult to play against Jack because of the positions that he took up. Unlike a lot of strikers who specialise in either running the channels or holding the ball up, Jack is good at both. In these previous instances the defenders can set their stall for either type of player, but a player who can do both makes life a lot harder for them.
Needless to say, after the frustrations I have had this season, I am not expecting a nomination for a Player of the Year award - at least not one of the orthodox kind.
The only category in which I think I have excelled has been that of impressive substitute warm-ups!
Hello, I'm Gavin Strachan. I describe myself as a "journeyman" player after 13 years in the game as a professional. I'm currently between clubs, having been released by Notts County. I'm also studying journalism and the aim of my blog is to provide an insight into the life of a footballer.
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Great blog as per usual gav
Tevez at united must do more running than any other premiership player??!!
having been at the game where barry roche did indeed kick the cup and not the ball, i still find it amusing. but we played rotheram away on the last game of the season before the play offs a few years ago and he was man of the match.
I believe i sat next to his sister. Because she was mortified when we came up with the song
'barry, barry roche..barry, barry roche'
you get the drift.....
glad to see he's doing well
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Dude, slightly off topic, but where were you during th crossbar challenge on Soccer AM last Saturday? I was looking forward to see how you fared but no luck!
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Barry Roache?!
What about Andy Warrington? or Reuben Reid or even Ian Sharps at Rotherham?
From a team that's gained more wins that anybody else in the League! :)
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Hey Gavin,
I was a bit hard on u last week I think, so just to say, despite all my criticisms there can be no argument that your blog comes from a unique viewpoint when compared to all the others & definitely offers readers something different.
As far as this weeks blog goes, although it's off the topic of the lower leagues, i'd really like your opinion on the number of calls for Ryan Giggs to be player of the year. I really can't understand it! Yes he's had a good season, but how many games have UTD won because he made the difference? He has not even been a regualr starter, but rather has played as part of a squad rotation system! Surely the criteria has to be the that winner is th player who has been THE BEST in the country across the season?
I'm not a UTD fan. Hate them, but I have a lot of respect for Ryan Giggs. Even taking that into account I can understand calls for Vidic or Ronaldo to take the award, but I can't help thinking that Giggs' age has prompted this swell of support for his nomination, kind of like a "lifetime achievement" award. That to me is a joke, as it's not what the award is about. It should be based on the season.
To me the best candidate has to be Steven Gerrard? I can't think of another player that has dominated games so consistintly, won games with important goals, nd who has simply looked in a different class to anyone else when you judge the season as a whole, even as good as the likes of Vidic and his UTD team mates have been.
What do you think to all this?
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Danny Murphy - without a doubt, Fulham have been a revelation this season and it is largely down to this man's hard work, Hangeland would also be close, I'm no Fulham fan but it would've been a nice variation to the OTT man utd leaning of the PFA noms to have seen Murphy listed.
If Hodgson doesn't receive a manager of the year mention then I would go as far as saying it's a travesty.
I also think Xabi Alonso and Phil Jagielka should've been involved in the awards this year.
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For me it would have to be Grant McCann who plays for Scunthorpe in League One. His workrate is excellent, he chases any loose ball, plays well all over the midfield and has a lethal left foot. Also still plays in international matches with Northern Ireland, which not many players from League One get to do.
Always enjoy reading your blogs Gavin, hope the journalism course is going well.
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At my club i think the three most underrated are luke young,, stilian petrov and james milner, have probably been our three most consistent players this season, allowing young, barry etc to grab the headlines by producing very good attacking play
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post 2. I had just done a running session for the lads who had not been playing recently. I could barely walk let alone smash a ball from the half way line. Poor excuse I know!.
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post 5. Have to agree with your mention of Xabi Alonso. He is one of my favourite players. His range of passing and the way he makes the art of passing look so easy is a joy to watch.
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Good to see Adam Tann get a mention. Was part of the Orient promotion side 2005/2006, good solid pro and great to see him battle back from his illness.
Cheers
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I remember when at Uni my Notts Forest supporting housemate telling me the story of Barry Roche kicking the cup, he said that the fans nicknamed him Kenco!
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post 4. Good to hear from you.Giggs never ceases to amaze me. He has won just about everything there is to win, obviously has no money worries - yet still has the hunger to perform the way he does.
I do agree with you that a lifetime achievement would be more appropriate and that it is difficult to look beyond Steven Gerrard for the award.
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Gavin, you have played the Scottish game before what do you think of the treatment of jimmy calderwood?
I'm a firm backer of tangoman but fan demonstrations after the game on saturday may dictate the managers outcome at the end of the day. Have you seen his tactics and from a professional point of view i was wondering what you make of the situation. We are still 4th slashed 6 million off the debt and aiming for europe however the standard of football has been dire at the best of times, and to make matters worse we can't afford our best player jamie smith anymore. What with the squad taken from 30+ to 18 plus youths i'm surprised at the situation regarding players wages etc. I'm in a real inbetween situation however i'd be very interested in your comments/thoughts on the situation we are facing.
Cheers
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post 3. All good choices. I did say I was a litle bit bias towards Barry!.
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Hi, Being a mansfield fan i can say you were spot on with stephen dawson. Unfourtunately he left as we all knew he would when we got relegated.
I was wondering gavin in your veiw how big the difference between the conference and league 2 was? Mansfield got relegated last season and we've had a roller coster first season in the non-league to say the least. Wrexham havent pulled up any trees either.
I was also wondering wether as a notts player you missed the mansfield notts derby game?
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For me I think it would be Dirk Kuyt at Liverpool. He works extremely hard for the team and the fact that he seems to be the first name on the team sheet every week (with the possible exception of Steven Gerrard) is a testament to his selfless work rate.
Growing up as a Leeds United fan David Batty is the first name to come to mind when discussing unsung heros. He never scored but his contributions to the team were priceless. He was a box to box ball winner who did the simple things expertly. I'm always curious to think how players such as these get noticed as kids. How do they stand out amongst great young goalkeepers, commanding defenders and natural goalscorers?
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Gavin, Really like your blogs, funny and informative in terms of playing and the lower leagues - nice change from ''Big 4 syndrome'' that the BBC seems to suffer from!
In terms of understated players, it hurts me to say Titus Bramble at Wigan, possibly because he was soooo bad previously and this season has excelled.
Stephen Ireland has played well in an inconsistent team and I think Everton could have a few contenders, Jagielka, Pienaar and Cahill (for playing so well out of position some of the season).
I think Gerrard is the one person who has the most influence over one team but he may have missed too much of the season to move Vidic off the top of the pile.
I think Giggs should get a Lifetime award also - doesn't warrant an individual award.
Keeep up the good work.
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Giggs is an obvious choice for some sort of award. He is clearly one of the true greats of my generation at least, one of (if not THE) most consistent players the premier league has ever seen. Tevez is a good shout at united, as is Ji sun Park. They both keep going and their energy and workfate is top notch. Kuyt is another. Every team would love to have someone who has his work rate and enthusiasm to propel the team. Cahill for everton is a good thought, perhaps Ashley young for villa. Hard to think of many Goalkeepers that have excelled in the premier league this year, other than Shay Given. Then he does that every year though.....
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Agree with #5
After last season's last gasp escape I had Fulham down as a firm contender for the drop this year. They've quietly got on with business week to week and look good for a top 10 finish (being biased as a Spurs fan prevents me from saying Fulham will grab 7th) but having seen how they've beaten Man U and pushed Liverpool all the way recently certainly makes me feel less bad that we haven't beaten Fulham this year.
As for div 2, I'd nominate any player from Luton FC, simply for having the motivation for turning up and slogging out 90 minutes week in week out knowing full well that the FA had basically condemned them to the Conference before a ball had been kicked this season.
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Why is there a full stop after 'With just a handful of games left this season'? Time to study a little harder, Gav!
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Agree with many others re the ludicrous inclusion of 1 goal Giggs in the awards this year.
Always wondered when exactly do you players submit your nominations and what is the process ?
Do you sit around one day and fill out of form or do you use the internet or txt in these days?
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"The only category in which I think I have excelled has been that of impressive substitute warm-ups!"
Like at half time in the Shrewsbury game at the New Meadow? You looked so distracted I wondered if you'd got a message to go somewhere - but then the manager was sent to the stands at some point during half time so maybe there was a reason.
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17 - funnily enough i'd agree with you on bramble. maybe not player of the year but has done very well considering his history
another player who's been brilliant this year and who hasnt stopped running until he got injured is valon behrami
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Hi Gav,
I really don't have anything to say with any discussional value, but I just had to point out that, in my opinion, your blog is without doubt, the most insightful, and most entertaining blog around, and I for one would just like to say thanks for the time and effort you put in every week, as it certainly brightens up my day reading it.
You also seem a genuinely nice and intelligent guy, and I wish you every success both now (even if you do play for County!), and in the future.
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IMO kuyt is just rubbish and if he didnt run around chasing every ball you wouldnt even notice him there, if liverpool have any real aspirations to challenge on more then one front a year they need to sell the kuyt, benayoun type players who just arnt world class.
sorry just had to say that, i know its mainly a lower league blog
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Maybe Matty Upson for West Ham.
Has played well all year abd has broke into the England squad as back up for the Terry / Ferdinand duo. I know others will disagree but West Ham have done well when there was a lot of talk of a fire sale and that we would go down. The atmosphere there at times must of been tense and for the players to work as they have for Zola is quite astonishing.
So yes Matty Upson would have to be there or there about. If not Beharmi, his OPTA stats are unbelievable before he got injured. He covered more ground than anyone else in the Premier League. He is like a middle distance runner for stamina on the pitch.
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This awards are just an Hollywoodesque clown's parade.How is it possible that Lampard,Rooney and L.Young are not in this list?And how you explain the inclusion of CRonaldo,Giggs and Van der Saar?
This list is just fiction and his not based in true facts.
But Gerrard is the player of the "season"(...of the year is wrong...).
Next seven seasons it will be Rooney.
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To 27. The shortlist (and I believe the awards) were all voted for in February or something equally ludicrous I believe. At that point in the season United were still going on their record breaking clean sheet run so everyone was hyping up their defence/keeper. Equally everyone was in love with Giggs (though I also don't understand what was so special about this season compared to the seasons when he still had some pace....)
Also at that time Chelsea had been average at best and Arsenal's entire team was injured.
The player of the year awards should actually be decided AFTER the end of the season really, seeing as the awards always seem to exclude the players who do well in the second half of the season when all the important games are played and the trophies are decided!
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I know this isn't a player in England but celtic's Marc Crosas has been fantastic this season. The way he is so comfortable on the ball and can pick out passes all the time. Have you saw much of him this season Gav?
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Comment 14
'I did say I was a litle bit bias towards Barry!.'.
Does the journalism course include grammar?
As 20 said - you must try harder.
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Gavin, these underrated players tend to be noticed by players rather than fans and managers and such which begs the question, has a player every been recommended to the manager to sign? Like the United players did when they played against Ronaldo. I think in the permier league there are few players that go under the radar, if you're good in an unconventional way, say like Mekelele or Scholes you're pointed out as underrated pretty much all the time, hell Mekelele has had a holding midfield role named after him for a while that's how not underrated he was! If there were to be underrated players, they definitely come from the bottom of the table, I think Elmander is a touch of class when i've watched him play and Kevin Davis is amazing and vastly underrated. Ryan Shawcross at Stoke has been very solid and is a tough and quality defender, it's just hard to earn plaudits when you play for a team that doesn't score much or that concede quite often so as a striker or defender for that time, you get little praise. Belhadj fits in that bracket at Portsmouth, Glen Johnson and Crouch get all the praise in that team.
My second question, which you can choose to ignore, is what do you plan to do next season? Are you staying at Notts despite not really making the team lately? Are you going to hang up your boots? I'm curious to know if you've made a decision.
Great blog.
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5 pidgeGULL
I agree - but I'd also add Mark Schwarzer from Fulham - easily been the best keeper this season, and players that contribute to keeping a relatively weak team at the top end are to me the best ones
compare that to blooming van der sar who has actually saved the least of all the top goalkeepers, showing it's mostly down to vidic and rio
I also think people like Tevez and Park were more deserving from United
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3 nomination for all divisions.
Premier League.
Phil Jagielka - Everton - Mr.Reliable for Everton Consistently excellent.
Stephen Ireland - Man City - Scores and creates ideal Centre Mid.
Ashley Young - A.Villa - Pace, Skill, Goals, Assist. Brilliant Wide man.
Championship.
Sean St. Ledger - Preston - Solid Centre back, does whats needed.
David McGoldrick - Southamton - Very good striker who stand out in a poor team.
Micheal Kightly - Wolves - Creative winger, a real bargain for Wolves, looking forward to seeing him in Prem next season.
League 1.
Matt Oakley - Leicester - Captain led by example all season.
Simon Cox - Swindon - Scored plenty of valuable goal for Swindon this season.
Grant McCann -Scunthorpe - Versatile and invaluable to Iron this Season, rounded off with a corker a Wembley.
League 2.
Myles Weston - Notts Co - Injured most of last season, excelled this time round very quick with a good snap shot, I hope county can keep him, i've enjoyed watching him.
Dany N'Guessan - Lincoln - Exciting player, but like Weston looks set to leave when is contract is up. Had a very good season and deserves a good move.
Elliot Bennett - Bury - Been on loan from wolves this season, but impressed at Gigg Lane with lighting pace and trickery, looks promising player.
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Another fantastic blog.
Remember guys, Player of the YEAR, as opposed to Player of the Season.
Thus, in my view the Premier League award must go to Nemanja Vidic. Steven Gerrard has been fine in '09 but not nearly as great in '08 (I'm a poet and I don't know it...ahhh I'll just get the coat, shall I?).
I'm probably biased but it's nothing short of a joke that Frank Lampard hasn't been nominated.
Underrated players from Chelsea. A hard one, a lot of our players are fairly overrated. I think Mikel has done a great job in Essien's absence so I'd go for him. Alex has also been good. A lot of people don't rate Ashley Cole anymore and he's had a good season.
Tim Cahill has got to be up there for underrated players. Behind Lampard and Gerrard, he's the top attacking midfielder in the Premiership. When Everton had no strikers, Tim slotted in seemlessly up front and was still finding the back of the net regularly.
Sun-Ji Park has been fantastic for United this season; I'd trade ten Maloudas for him.
Bolton's Matty Taylor is another one.
There's a couple a Sunderland that look good; their names slip my mind.
Re tarquin (32): Great shout on Mark Schwarzer, he should be 'keeper of the year. VDS will get it though.
Re suns66 (33): Ireland and Young are hardly underrated, are they?
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Another great read Gavin.
As a Grimsby Town fan i am intrigued to find out your opinion of our wonderkid centre half Ryan Bennett.
At just 19 years old he is our club captain (and has been for some time), has cemented himself in the England side for his age and has been watched by many a Premiership scout this season.
In what has been a horrible season for us Mariners, young Bennett, on many occasions has single handedly saved us from more defeats with his magnificent play and leadership.
Last season he picked up the League 2 Apprentice of the year (at just 17) and has gone from strength to strength. I just hope that if we avoid relegation to the Blue Square, our captain fantastic will still be sporting the black and white stripes. I am praying he is not snapped up for a fraction of his valuation and left to play reserve team football, as a certain John Bostock, formerly of Crystal Palace, is doing for Spurs.
I was wondering what his fellow League 2 players think of him and if, after playing against him, you believe he has what it takes to play at a much higher level. His talents are there for everyone to see.
Look forward to reading next week's blog.
Jack, Grimsby
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How about the Southampton keeper, Davies, our best player, likely to be poached and a stand out in an otherwise terrible season for us.
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I am a Liverpool fan but for me the unsung hero of this season has to be Breda Hangeland at Fulham he has been immense for Fulham. Going lower down the leagues I would say that Steve Jennings of Tranmere Rovers has to be in with a shout.
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The game football is much advance than mathematics,the reason why i say so is because,maths makes us of the hand and thinking facaulty, whereas football encompasses the brain,hand,eye,ear,head,body movement,thinking facaulty and the ultimate the leg which acts as the major character.
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#29 ..... you must be having a laugh, mark crosas haha, he has made 13 starts for celtic (or sellick) and 4 sub appearances and you are touting him as a candidate for player of the year, screw the nut mate. if thats the case lets also include donati (4 appearances) mizuno (2 appearances) flood (2 appearances). lets not stop there though also in with a shout are killen, mccourt, vinegar of castlemilk, sheridan, hutchison.
do us a favour mate an take yer green specs off, you wont be able to sign yer giro correctly otherwise
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Even the blind can see the hand writing on the wall,this all d goodies chanels 2 Sir Alex n His boys.For 1 to ve a world record of 150th appearance,you should know what it means. It all about dedication of service.
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What about the mighty Simon King for the Gills, he has been our rock. We cant defend without him, as shown when he missed our game at home to Aldershot, IT FINISHED 4-4!!!
He came back and we didnt concede from open play whilst he was playing for a whole 7 games(2 pens which he didnt concede and a goal when he went of injured)!!! In fact I think a tactic used by some opposing players is to injure his already weak ankle to get him off. Believe it or not the most nerve racking 15mins I have spent at a game this season was last Saturday at Wycombe. Kingy got a blow to the head and went of to get patched up and change shirt, somehow it took 15 mins for him to come back. All the talk in the away end in that time was when the hell is King gunna come back on. We didnt look at all solid when he was off although that may of had something to do with our huge-not exactly mobile- striker McCammon filling his position.
Another one is Simon Royce our keeper, from my most non-bias view possible I think he may be the best shot-stopper in the league. Although he can barely run and hardly kick due to his age. Also one to have a good joke around with the fans behind the goal.
Anyway another good blog.
How do you think the promotion race will turn out?
UTG!!!
ps. sorry for the essay
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Another good shot Gav. I din't want to come in, but I've noticed that there is no mention of the most underated player in the premier league: John 'Multipurpose' Oshea. This is a player who is always available to fill any vaccant position including goalkeeping. But when it comes to nominations for best player, nobody remembers Johnny. Had it been there was no Macheda I believe Fergie would have given him the stricking role one day.
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hey gav, yet another fantastic blog mate...been reading for weeks now and im hooked!!!being a spireites fan i can say i fully agree with your nomination and comments about jack lester, he has been completely indispensible for us this year. Alot of fans get frustrated with him, i stand on the kop on a weekly basis and listen to the moans when he doesn't release the ball as often as they would like. But jack is that kind of player, he can attempt a turn 20 times a match and 19 of them may not come off but that 20th time the ball is in the back of the net before you can blink. He's also the type of player that can do nothing for 89mins then produce a moment of pure magic to win the match!!!
Id also like to say that i agree with your nomination for barry roche, although he was never the best keeper for us and i cant say i was sad to see him leave, but it seems like he has found the club for him and has turned in a string of fine performances!!!
On another note Im so happy to see brentford doing well this year, they are a fantastic team and although we beat them away from home i have been most impressed with them out of any side iv seen this year. I feel that it would be a major injustice if wycombe beat rochdale or bury to that 3rd automatic spot, from what iv seen of wycombe this year both home and away matches against ourselves and on sky i cannot believe they are in the position they are, same goes with shrewsbury, if we dont get that final play off place i really hope shrewsbury dont get it all they know how to do is bully teams and unfortunately the referees in our league are not strong enough to punish them for it, thats why they are in the position they are in!!!i would much rather a good footballing team such as dagenham get that last spot....that is if they can take it from us!!!
Finally i also feel it would be a massive injustice if bournemouth were to follow luton out of the football league. It was bad enough for me to watch my team put luton out of the league after praying they would stay up all season, but if bournemouth were to follow i would be gutted. They play great football and it is beyond me how they are down there (other than the points deduction)!!!i think mike newell has done a great job at grimsby, they were dire beyond belief early season and now just seem to be turning it on at the right time.
I know you will all be getting bored of reading my note now but just on a very final note (i promise), i know we cant play the game without them but i have not seen a good referee at saltergate all season, the standard of the refs is getting worse along with their inability to be impartial. It is blatent to see every match that ref sets out his stall with a team and sticks to it all game, and i know many league 2 fans will agree with me.
Keep up the good work gav, your blog makes for great reading and keeps me glued to to bbc sport for the next installment!!!
GOOD LUCK TO ALL LEAGUE TWO TEAMS FOR THE REMAINING RUN IN GAMES!!!
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Also just to add to my above comment, what do u think to phil picken gav?i was so shocked to hear we had loaned him out especially as he has been our most consistent performer for going on 3 seasons now (he was having a bad patch and not getting the games but what footballer doesnt have them)!!!i've heard hes playing well down at county with you and the boys??
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I'm a Man U fan. If Tevez had enough games this season he might have had a decent chance of an award.
Only 1 candidate for me this year - Steven Gerrard has been outstanding. If only he was playing for a classy club - think of what else he might have achieved!
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I have been reading your blogs for a while, but never commented, so I'll try to fit in as best I can. I really enjoy reading your stuff! I love hearing what its like to play at the pro level. I would have to say that you definitely have to respect the guys who work hard over the guys who are flashy. However, it is much funner to watch the flashy guys, so you can't win. What do you think of the PFA nominees for the PL this year? Keep up the good work! ~~~ Mikothang
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What about Simon King?? I know Im biased being a Gillingham fan, but he is the rock in our defence and performs excellently every single week; he rarely has an off day. Despite not being a giant, hes only just about 6 feet tall, he rarely loses in the aerial battles, I cant remember anyone other than Grant Holt beating him in the air more than once or twice.
Its not just his individual play, either. Whenever he is unavailable, we look shaky and nervous, the best example of this was our 4-4 draw with Aldershot (he got injured for the last 10 minutes against Shrewsbury, and we went to pieces). But when he is available, hes the first name on the teamsheet, and calms averyone down.
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Reading your small section on Barry Roche made me smile due to the fact that he plays for Morecambe. I have to admit i totally agree with your statement that he is not mentioned as much as other players. During todays game against Nott county( 1-0 to morecambe i will add! :) ) he pulled off some outstanding saves. One imperticular a header which i was already ashumed was in the back of the net to make it 1-1 but somehow, i do not know , he saved it. Overall there are many i believe which have played brilliantly but just dont get the credit in which is deserved.
P:S good performance today , shame you got taken off quite early.
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Another good blog Gavin, thanks. On another matter, your readers might be interested in your future plans when your playing career comes to a close.
Every year a great many sportsmen and women issue 'autobiographies'. I am sure it must be fairly lucrative to be the ghostwriter of such books. As a professional footballer you are in a unique position to be both a good writer and have an inbuilt understanding of a footballers perspective. Have you, or would you, consider becoming a ghostwriter?
Personally I find it fascinating reading such autobiographies. Sometimes I can actually 'hear' the footballer or manager saying the words on the printed page. Most of the time I can see how the journalist has unraveled the spoken thoughts of the footballer and put them into meaningful paragraphs. I think that you would be very good at this, would be welcomed by footballers as their mouthpiece and could earn a good living from it.
At times I have had to turn off Football Focus when they have decided that interviews with footballers were a good idea. Nine times out of ten they are either laughable due to their banality, or incoherent due to Premiership player not having mastered English.
Such players will arrive on a conveyor belt needing a ghostwriter, if you can keep a straight face while interviewing them. Do you think ghostwriting offers you a career path in the future?
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RotherhamUtdTivoli - Reuben Read!? Really!?
When I think Grant Holt has score 10 of his 18 goals from the penalty spot and how selfish his style of play is it makes me laugh that he won the League 2 player of the year.
No strikers have contributed enough this season to be picked as the best player in League 2. Having only seen each team twice, with the exception of my team Wycombe, it's too difficult to call for me.
Certainly runner-up to Holt, Tommy Doherty, has to be a shout. From a biased Wycombe point of view however I believe our best player has been in the mould of Gavin's post; Craig Woodman, ever present in a defence that has kept 20 clean sheets. He hasn't had a bad game and has been picked in the League 2 team of the week 5 times. Of course, he has no chance of winning an award voted by fans that don't see all the teams week in week out. Just maybe the PFA see things differently..?
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Considering the treatment we have receieved from the FA this year I would consider the Entire Luton Town team for putting up a good fight with limited resources this season. Winning the JPT trophy was a major achievement.
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