Player of the year 23/24

Just a quick article to keep us ticking over troops. I say quick because for me, our POTY last season is a no brainer as I don’t really think there are many candidates but it will be interesting to hear everyone’s opinions. I’m not going through the whole squad, just the players I think would be in the running for POTY.

Both our keepers performed well at times but neither played the full season so that rules them out and none of our forwards make the Final Cut. Salah put his usual respectable numbers on the board but I doubt even his biggest fan (Stu) could make a case for him having a good second half of the season. Came back injured from AFCON and really struggled for form thereafter. The rest of our forwards blew hot and cold at best, with the exception of Jota who was excellent and comfortably our best forward this season. Alas, an all too familiar tale with Jota as he missed large chunks of the season with injury, which in my opinion has ruled him out as POTY. Had he stayed fit and maintained his form however, he’d have definitely been in with a shout.

Szoboszlai started the season on fire but injuries and loss of form derailed his season and he looked a shadow of himself in the second half of the season. Jones was another whose season was derailed by injuries after some promising displays. Elliot was very good at times but was basically reduced to a SuperSub role this season. Endo played well but it took him a few months to settle in and the rest played a bit part role.

TAA missed large chunks of the season and was inconsistent when he was playing. Bradley had his breakthrough season but was another who missed large chunks of the season, as did Robbo who performed consistently to his usual high standard but missed too many games and Konate had something of a season to forget. That brings us to the Final Cut and the only players I feel are even remotely in the running for POTY, which I’ll list from 4th to 1st place.

4) Quansah – A breakthrough season for the young CB and he looks a class act, with all the tools to become a world class CB. Exceeded expectations for the most part, however was not immune to mistakes and some of them costly – the square pass against United that cost us a goal springs immediately to mind but there were others. To that end, while he can be very proud of his season, I don’t think we could say the was our best player. Massive potential though and I expect him to be a first team regular moving forward.

3) Van Dijk – Our skipper looked close to being back to his imperious pre-injury best this season. Still the best CB in the world in my opinion, however as both the player responsible for marshalling our defence and club captain, he can’t be happy with how shambolic our defending was at times, or our incapacity to get a grip of conceding early goals almost every week. Good to see him looking more like himself though. Slot needs to get him on side moving into next season.

2) Gomez – A polarising figure at times however I thought Joe was excellent last season. Played right across our back four and the biggest compliment you can give him is that we never missed any of the players he was replacing and when you think the likes of Robbo and Van Dijk are widely regarded as the best in the world in their respective positions, the fact we were raving about Joe’s performers as opposed to moaning about the loss of key players, speaks volumes of his performance levels. Unlucky to finish 2nd in my list but a well deserved return to the national team will be massive confidence boost for him going into next season. Assuming he doesn’t get injured on England duty of course.

1) Mac Allister – For me this was an easy choice. First season at a massive club and he was tasked with playing as a sole DM for the first quarter of the season. Not a position he’s used to, or one that makes best use of his skillset but he performed admirably while we waited for Endo to get up to speed. Once that happened and he was deployed further forward though, we saw what he was truly capable of. Wonderful passing range, always composed and chipped in with plenty goals and assists, including a couple of absolute screamers. It’s no secret that I love a technical midfielder and he epitomises that. He has very little pace, he lacks the physical attributes that the likes of Szoboszlai and Gravenberch possess, yet was consistently the best player on the pitch. I likened him to Xavi at times in my post match articles and I stand by that. A diminutive player who can’t really run, yet absolutely runs the show when on song. Barely missed a game, great attitude and is only going to get better over the next 2-3 years. Absolute steal for what we paid for him and if I was Slot, I’d be looking to build my midfield around him as he has the potential to be one of the best in the world, if he’s not already.

That’s my picks then troops, let’s hear yours. Walk on!!