PFA Team of the Year 2017

Father Hernandez

What do we think of the team?

Personally, I'd have Alderweireld in over Cahill, Rose scrapes ahead of Alonso albeit Alonso is purely attacking.

Thought Sanchez could be ahead of Haz/Mane too.

GavRedKing

I'd have went

Courtois
Walker Luiz Azpilicueta Rose
Hazard Kante Alli Sanchez
Lukaku Kane

Honourable mentions to Lloris, Alderweirld, Cahill, Alonso, Eriksen, Mane, Ibra.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Would have had Azpi in for Luiz and Sanchez in for Mane but most the rest of the team is probably right. Tight call for GK, hasn't been a standout GK this year imo and could have easily went to Courtois, Heaton or Lloris either

Lord TSC

I say this as a United fan, so I really don't have that much to go on in terms of other keeper's preformances...

...but I felt DDG has had a very quiet year this year. Have no other keepers preformed better? I love DDG, rank him as one of the best in the world, but I've felt this year as if we've toned back the sheer number of world class saves from him through better outfield play, so was kind of surprised to see him rank top for the season.

Would have had Sanchez above Mane too.

MD1990

Sanchez has been missing in key moments for Arsenal not really scored many crucial goals.

Mane has been brillant against the top 6. Should have been in the POTY shortlist.

GavRedKing

MD1990 wrote: »

Sanchez has been missing in key moments for Arsenal not really scored many crucial goals.

Mane has been brillant against the top 6. Should have been in the POTY shortlist.

Sanchesz has been invovled in 10 more goals than Mane, only Lukaku has better stats.

I think Sanchez hasnt made the TOTY due him playing upfront for alot of the season.

Theres no way Mane should have dislodged Sanchez from the main POTY award.

Minderbinder

MD1990 wrote: »

Mane has been brillant against the top 6. Should have been in the POTY shortlist.

I think he has missed too many games for that. You can't go off to Africa for a month and miss the run in and expect to be contending for POTY.

Johner

I think you have to have a United defender in there as there defensive record is very good, I think De Gea is the wrong choice though, he hasn't been at his best this season so I'd have Valenica in who's had a very good season. My team would be,

Lloris
Valencia Luiz Alderweireld Alonso
Hazard Alli Kante Sanchez
Lukaku Kane

CSF

Sanchez's exclusion is bizarre. I'd have him instead of Mané. Valencia, Alderweireld and Azpilicueta ahead of Walker, Cahill and Rose. In the list of defenders mentioned above you'll notice one very common trend though.

CSF

Heaton might have been my selection in the GK spot too actually. Maybe.

Harry Palmr

4-4-2? Who the feck plays that?

MD1990

MD1990 wrote: »

Sanchez has been missing in key moments for Arsenal not really scored many crucial goals.

Mane has been brillant against the top 6. Should have been in the POTY shortlist.

Or to put it another way Sanchez has been brilliant against twice as many teams in twice as many games. Over the season. Which is what the awards are about. :pac:

Harry Palmr

Thats why 4-4-2 sucks in a 4-3-3 Mane and Sanchez could both be selected, god knows what Lukaku is doing on that list, or Cahill.

---

Lloris
Walker--Matip--Alderweireld-Rose

---

Kante

---

Hazard--Alli
---Mane---Kane--Sanchez

callaway92

Johner wrote: »

I think you have to have a United defender in there as there defensive record is very good, I think De Gea is the wrong choice though, he hasn't been at his best this season so I'd have Valenica in who's had a very good season. My team would be,

Lloris
Valencia Luiz Alderweireld Alonso
Hazard Alli Kante Sanchez
Lukaku Kane

How in God's name can you not include Walker? He's been one of the best players in the league this year, not just the best right back.

CSF

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Thats why 4-4-2 sucks in a 4-3-3 Mane and Sanchez could both be selected, god knows what Lukaku is doing on that list, or Cahill.

---

Lloris
Walker--Matip--Alderweireld-Rose

---

Kante

---

Hazard--Alli
---Mane---Kane--Sanchez

I'm here baffled as to whether you actually think Mané is more deserving of a place than Lukaku on this team or if I'm just missing a joke of some kind.

Giggsy11

CSF wrote: »

I'm here baffled as to whether you actually think Mané is more deserving of a place than Lukaku on this team or if I'm just missing a joke of some kind.

Or Matip when they have worst defensive record in top 7 teams.

irishman86

Everytime it seems that they will have a English lad if its any way close. It must have killed them putting Luiz in it. Id have Ibra ahead of Kane purely because hes been far more important, where would United have been without him. Id have Virgil Van Dijk ahead of Cahill. People complaining about Hazard making it when hes going to be Kantes closest challenger.

irishman86

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Thats why 4-4-2 sucks in a 4-3-3 Mane and Sanchez could both be selected, god knows what Lukaku is doing on that list, or Cahill.

---

Lloris
Walker--Matip--Alderweireld-Rose

---

Kante

---

Hazard--Alli
---Mane---Kane--Sanchez

Matip over Luiz, are you drunk sir

Harry Palmr

CSF wrote: »

I'm here baffled as to whether you actually think Man? is more deserving of a place than Lukaku on this team or if I'm just missing a joke of some kind.

Lukaku is a passenger against the top teams, Mane is a match winner.

Giggsy11 wrote: »

Or Matip when they have worst defensive record in top 7 teams.

Matip with Lovren - DWWDWWDWDDWDWW, imagine him paired with a Spurs CB!

bucketybuck

Harry Palmr wrote: »

god knows what Lukaku is doing on that list

You don't need to be a deity to know why the leagues top goalscorer and second highest assistor is there.

bucketybuck

irishman86 wrote: »

Id have Ibra ahead of Kane purely because hes been far more important, where would United have been without him.

Outside the top four?

Giggsy11

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Matip with Lovren - DWWDWWDWDDWDWW, imagine him paired with a Spurs CB!

That's not how it works.

Knex*

Alderweirald and Azpilicueta above Cahill, in that order. Not sure how he got in, tbh.

Sanchez probably unlucky to miss out, but he was poor for a few months since Jan.

On those questioning Mane, Liverpool couldn't score a goal without him when he went to the African Cup of Nations. He consistently performed and scored, especially against the top teams. His contribution per game played was enormous.

Was De Gea as good this year as in previous as well? Lloris or Courtois could well feel hard done by.

Harry Palmr

De Gea is in there for the Man Utd vote. Valencia or Bailly are probably better picks but that would mean dropping Luiz or Mane/Hazard in that stupid formation. It could end up like a Garth Crooks team of the week.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Knex. wrote: »

Alderweirald and Azpilicueta above Cahill, in that order. Not sure how he got in, tbh.

Sanchez probably unlucky to miss out, but he was poor for a few months since Jan.

On those questioning Mane, Liverpool couldn't score a goal without him when he went to the African Cup of Nations. He consistently performed and scored, especially against the top teams. His contribution per game played was enormous.

Was De Gea as good this year as in previous as well? Lloris or Courtois could well feel hard done by.

Because he's english.

Knex*

Yeah, here's Martin Keown talking about the process a few years ago

I was the PFA representative at Arsenal for five years but gathering the players’ nominations for the awards was always a nightmare.

People were not interested, couldn’t be bothered to sit down and write out their nominations and I spent far too much time trying to pin people down. Out of a squad of 22, you’d do well to get half that number of nominations. It used to amaze me how uninterested a lot of the players were.

To get people interested, I would eventually write up a shortlist of players in each position on a whiteboard and try to get people to choose. In most cases though, I’d pick my team and a lot of the others would just copy it. For some, I filled out their forms for them and they’d just sign at the bottom.

Some of them didn’t like the fact they couldn’t vote for team-mates, while others would make sure they didn’t put in a rival for a place in the team of the year.

The English players took most interest because they had grown up following it. Last season there were six Englishmen in the team of the season, a surprising amount.

The same lack of interest applied to the awards evening. There were lots of players from outside the top flight there but not from the Premier League. Arsenal sent people when Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp won but there wasn’t a huge presence in other years. Other clubs were the same although all players are invited.

The PFA do well to have these awards and do a lot of good work but there are improvements that can be made. The timing of it all is not great. The voting forms come out not long after Christmas, when there is too much football left to play. Usually the best players rise to the top at the key moments in the final weeks of the season.

I always based my vote on who played best against me, who gave me the most trouble. So I felt it was odd that players from all leagues were voting on the best player in the Premier League. How did they really know who the best player is? And why are they denied awards for players in their own league?

Players in the Championship should vote for a player and team of the year in their league and the same for League One and Two. It makes sense. Otherwise you end up with the Premier League player of the year being chosen mostly by players who haven’t faced him.

Skylinehead

Knex. wrote: »

Sanchez probably unlucky to miss out, but he was poor for a few months since Jan.

On those questioning Mane, Liverpool couldn't score a goal without him when he went to the African Cup of Nations. He consistently performed and scored, especially against the top teams. His contribution per game played was enormous.

Despite Sanchez being "poor" for the last 4 months, he has 1 less goal than Mane over their last 10 games, and far more goals/assists overall. There's no logic to have Mane there.

eh i dunno

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Thats why 4-4-2 sucks in a 4-3-3 Mane and Sanchez could both be selected, god knows what Lukaku is doing on that list, or Cahill.

---

Lloris
Walker--Matip--Alderweireld-Rose

---

Kante

---

Hazard--Alli
---Mane---Kane--Sanchez

The red tinted specs! Unbelievable.

GavRedKing

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Lukaku is a passenger against the top teams, Mane is a match winner.

Hasnt Lukaku scored the most goals against the top 7 sides this year?

eh i dunno

GavRedKing wrote: »

Hasnt Lukaku scored the most goals against the top 7 sides this year?

Liverpool fan. Wasting your time.

eagle eye

Well imo Jonny Evans should be in the team. He has been outstanding for West Brom all season.
They always go 4-4-2 so this would be my picks.

---

Courtois
Coleman Azpilicueta Evans Rose
Mane----Kante---Eriksen----Sanchez

---

Kane

---

Lukaku

Iused2likebusts

Put my team in the general pl thread but more suitable here.
Heaton
Valencia alderwereld luiz rose
Alli kante wijnaldum hazard
Kane lukaku
Heaton has been brilliant this season and is the main reason Burnley should stay up.

citytillidie

GavRedKing wrote: »

Hasnt Lukaku scored the most goals against the top 7 sides this year?

Lukaku has scored 3 V other top teams, Mane has scored 7

x43r0

GavRedKing wrote: »

Hasnt Lukaku scored the most goals against the top 7 sides this year?

I don't think so

Lukaku has something like 3 in 10 against the top sides. Mane has 7 in 12 (i think)


As top scorer in the league though Lukaku should absolutely be in that team

irishman86

bucketybuck wrote: »

Outside the top four?

A lot further down than that