Blackpool and West Ham icons on shortlist
Gareth Bale, Samir Nasri, Carlos Tevez, Scott Parker, Nemanja Vidic and Charlie Adam are the six men on the shortlist for this season's PFA Player of the Year award, according to the Daily Mail.
We reported last month that West Ham midfielder Parker had received a reasonable amount of support in the Betfair market on who will be handed the prize - and that before starting for England against Wales - and his price has come in again since, with the former Charlton man now [8.6].
The clear favourite is Gareth Bale at [1.44] despite the fact that his two standout performances of the campaign came in the Champions League against Inter Milan. There's nothing to suggest that European form shouldn't come into consideration, though it's usually judged on domestic displays.
Sky Sports presenter David Jones has revealed on Twitter that a number of players that he has spoken to voted for the Welsh winger, whose closest challenger in the betting is Parker, followed by Nasri and Tevez at [12.0], followed by Vidic at [17.5] with Adam the big outsider at [40.0].
The reason the Blackpool captain is so unfancied, and that Parker is also unlikely to be given the honour, is that it's unheard of nowadays for someone representing a side at the bottom of the table to gain the recognition.
In fact, in all but one of the previous 18 Premier League seasons, the winner has come from one of the top four clubs in the division - with David Ginola for 11th-placed Tottenham in 1998-99 the sole exception.
That trend suggests that Bale is therefore far from certain to land the trophy and indicates that a couple of quid on each of Nasri, Tevez and Vidic at their current hefty odds could prove a shrewd investment.
Who deserves to be chosen? Who will be? Share your thoughts below...
Published: 5 Apr 2011
maxi (April 5, 2011 10:28 AM) said:
Vidic, what? Dirty bloody player that has spent half his season suspended...