This makes no sense, or at least half of it doesn’t.
For the second year in a row, Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo was named the Premiership Player of the Year by his peers. He’s scored 38 goals in all competitions this season and is fully deserving of the award. If he didn’t win it unanimously, or at least very near unanimously, I would be surprised.
But somehow, some way, Cesc Fabregas won the Young Player of the Year award. Don’t get me wrong, the Arsenal midfielder has had a good, if not great, season. In any other year, he would’ve been the top candidate for this honor. However, he was up against Ronaldo (and others), and the Portuguese winger already won the more prestigious award.
So how did Fabregas, who was also nominated for Player of the Year, beat Ronaldo? I don’t get it.
Let me get this straight. According to the players, Ronaldo was the best player in the league. The BEST PLAYER, regardless of age. Yet Fabregas was the best young player, even when Ronaldo was also eligible???
It just doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s a regular occurrence for someone to be the Young Player of the Year but not the Player of the Year; that’s normal. I’ve rarely ever seen it go the other way, though, in any sport, and I question it when it does each and every time.
As it is, I don’t think either Fabregas or Ronaldo (or Torres or Ashley Young, for that matter) should’ve been up for the young player award in the first place. It’s a joke that these players were; first of all, they’re not “young” in age in soccer terms, and they each have more top-flight experience than players five or six years their senior.
I talked about this more when I wrote about the original nominees a few weeks ago, but I think the young player award should be limited to those 20 years of age at the start of the season and younger, and who also have appeared in 38 or less top-flight league games at the start of the season. That would rule out guys like Fabregas, who has played in 137 Premiership games for Arsenal.
That issue is for another time, though. Congratulations to both Fabregas and Ronaldo on their achievements this season. They’ve both had wonderful years for their respective clubs. I can’t say I agree with the players on naming Fabregas as the YPoY, but that’s just how it goes.
