The shortlist has been announced for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and it goes to show the strength of Leicester City’s season above all else.
Three of the six nominees play for the Foxes, and – with the exception of David De Gea – there arguably aren’t any players who missed out when they shouldn’t have done.
As we get towards the business end of the Premier League season, we have selected our best XIs.
But it’s a game of opinions, and we want you to tell us what we’re wrong about and why.
Tom Victor – @tomvictor
De Gea isn’t the only Manchester United player involved, which seems counter-intuitive given the club’s relatively miserable season, but Chris Smalling has finally become the player we thought he might back when he was making waves at Fulham.
They’re joined by five of the six nominees, and some creative positioning gives Dele Alli what might be considered a more defensive role than he has played in the second half of the campaign. Eric Dier runs him close, but I don’t trust anyone who includes two defensive midfielders in their team of the year.
Hector BellerÃn has, along with the unfortunate-to-miss-out Özil, been one of very few Arsenal players to have a better campaign this season than last, while Alderweireld and Fuchs have been close to faultless at the back while also contributing for their respective teams in attack.
Carl Anka – @Ankaman616
It’s an attacking line up, but as this season has proved, defending is overrated anyway. Fraser Forster may have had his season curtailed by injury, but he’s proven to be a strong presence at the back for Southampton, lending the defence an air of calm following a rocky start to the season.
As a back four, Wes Morgan and Toby Alderweireld have been making a mockery of the inflated transfer fees spent on centre backs in recent years. Toby cost Spurs £11.5m, which is peanuts considering what his long range passing has added to an already robust young team. Danny Rose and Hector Bellerin are patrolling the flanks to add widght to what may be a narrow attacking side.
The Premier League new boy trio of Payet, Alli and Kante pack out midfield, while Mahrez joins Vardy and Kane up top on what should be a team built for counter attacks. (Special mentions to De Gea, Sakho, Ozil & de Bruyne).
Simon Lloyd – @smnllyd5
Not only because he’s a bloody good ‘keeper, but (barring another dodgy fax machine episode) because I’ll almost certainly never get the chance again, I’m naming David De Gea as my first choice between the sticks.
His clubmate Chris Smalling has actually started to look like a centre half this year, a decent one at that, and so partners Robert Huth in the heart of defence. For all the hype surrounding Vardy, Mahrez and Kante (also included), Huth for me has been just as important in Leicester’s title push and it’s no fluke that Leicester’s upturn in fortunes at the back end of last season coincided with the German’s arrival at the King Power.
Resisting the urge to stick Dele Alli in my midfield, the deeper role seemed better suited to Spurs colleague Mousa Dembele, a player that has caught my eye every time I’ve seen him play.
The forward line speaks for its self although the way in which it’s been assembled might need a rethink.
Kevin Beirne – @KevBeirne
The hardest part of this team was finding a way to accommodate both Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane without shoving one of them out to the wing while still finding a way to fit in the other player of the year nominees in a way that makes sense.
Dele Alli will no doubt be massively upset to have missed out on this team, but it’s the team of the year, not a collection of 11 individuals of the year and the Tottenham youngster just doesn’t fit into the diamond formation that has served me so well in both Football Manager and FIFA over the years.
At the back, you may be surprised to see Arsenal provide both full-backs. But Nacho Monreal’s early season performances were excellent and earn him a berth, while Hector Bellerin makes the cut until someone can look me in the eye and tell me they honestly think that any other right back in the league was more consistently good.
In the centre of defence, Robert Huth’s key goals against Spurs and Man City mean he just edges out club captain Wes Morgan, while Toby Alderweireld has completely justified his summer fee. Although Hugo Lloris hasn’t made many spectacular saves, the way he has organised the Spurs defence means he hasn’t had to and so he sees off tough competition from David de Gea and Jack Butland.
Nooruddean Choudry – @BeardedGenius
I’ve gone for a 1-3-1-1-2-1-1 formation because basically, f**k the police. Watching Louis van Gaal go through fullbacks like a sailor on leave means I’m sick of them so I’ve ditched the position altogether and decided to play Hector Bellerin as an inverted inside-right.
Toby Alderweireld plays false sweeper, whilst N’Golo Kante and Eric Dier provide graphene-like protection in midfield. After that it’s largely a free-for-all of talented players. You can’t not include Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet, whilst Dele Alli also deserves a spot.
Perhaps controversially I’ve gone for Saoirse Ronan instead of Mesut Ozil as playmaker. The reasons for this are two-fold: a) to annoy Arsenal fans; b) her performance in Brooklyn was an absolute triumph; and c) she has nicer eyes. Sorry, three-fold.
Then you’ve got Kane because he’s been very good, and Vardy to the very, very far right.
So, there you have it. Have we overlooked anyone? Would Saoirse Ronan gen the nod from you? Let us know who you’d pick in your Premier League XI by hitting us up on our Facebook page, emailing us at Hello@JOE.co.uk or sending us a messenger pigeon.
