This thread CRIMINALLY needs a bump
Premier League winners and losers - Football365
Winners
Toby Alderweireld
The odds for the PFA Player of the Year are indicative of our infatuation with attacking players and obsession with young, English talents. Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Mesut Ozil, Dimitri Payet and Harry Kane make up the predictable (but fully understandable) top five.
There are 15 players quoted with odds for the award, ranging in price from evens to 100/1, yet the Premier League’s best defender this season does not even merit a mention. Should Tottenham pip Leicester to the Premier League title, there is a strong case for Alderweireld winning the gong. And yet there is absolutely no chance of that happening.
Last season, Tottenham conceded 53 league goals. That was the highest number in the top half, the same as relegated Burnley and more than relegated Hull. Since then, the Premier League’s joint-14th best defence has become the best, and the only new member of the usual back five is Alderweireld. He was also part of a Southampton defence that conceded fewer goals than all but one team last season.
The statistic is startling. Since arriving in England, Alderweireld has started 56 matches and only conceded 46 goals in those games. He is the central defender Manchester United, Chelsea, Woolwich and Manchester City should have signed, and he’s leading Tottenham to places they have never been before.
Premier League winners and losers - Football365
Winners
Toby Alderweireld
The odds for the PFA Player of the Year are indicative of our infatuation with attacking players and obsession with young, English talents. Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Mesut Ozil, Dimitri Payet and Harry Kane make up the predictable (but fully understandable) top five.
There are 15 players quoted with odds for the award, ranging in price from evens to 100/1, yet the Premier League’s best defender this season does not even merit a mention. Should Tottenham pip Leicester to the Premier League title, there is a strong case for Alderweireld winning the gong. And yet there is absolutely no chance of that happening.
Last season, Tottenham conceded 53 league goals. That was the highest number in the top half, the same as relegated Burnley and more than relegated Hull. Since then, the Premier League’s joint-14th best defence has become the best, and the only new member of the usual back five is Alderweireld. He was also part of a Southampton defence that conceded fewer goals than all but one team last season.
The statistic is startling. Since arriving in England, Alderweireld has started 56 matches and only conceded 46 goals in those games. He is the central defender Manchester United, Chelsea, Woolwich and Manchester City should have signed, and he’s leading Tottenham to places they have never been before.