Player of the Season 2011 / 12

[Christmas Tree 4725]

Who is your player of the season?

Edited May 16, 2012 by Christmas Tree

[Monkeys Fist 42459]

Guess

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

Gone for Colo as he's performed well over the whole season whereas Ba has only managed half a season of good form, and Cisse has only been here since Jan. 15 clean sheets is very nice. I also think Colo shows signs of good leadership from the back.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Kevin S. Assilleekunt

[StoneColdStephenIreland 74]

Krul. Pulled off so many saves that would have otherwise been goals if it was any other keeper. Looks to have matured a whole lot aswell this season as he was prone to rushing off his line too quickly and plays like a seasoned keeper already.

[toonotl 2980]

Went for Colo. Same reasons as KSA essentially.

[Barney 0]

Shane.

[Gene_Clark 12]

When asked who your player of the season is, I strongly urge every single one of you to state, without equivocation, “all of them.” The whole lot of them have been heroes for almost all the time; sure the level of form and fitness has dropped at times, with Colo and Tiote having stinkers home to WBA and Demba Ba’s season being bookended by frustrating inconsistency for instance, but the great and glorious thing about this current squad is that every single one of them have been prepared to pick up the baton when required. They have all rolled up their sleeves and grafted whenever it has been necessary and that is as great a compliment to them, to Alan Pardew, his coaching team and the genius Graham Carr, assisted by his squad of scouts, as I could possibly pay.

 

Of course, the irony is that this club had to touch bottom 3 years ago for such progress to have been made possible at all. Never mind the relegation at Villa Park, that was only the start of the problems; once dross like Viduka, Owen, Martins and the rest of the mercenary prima donnas had been cleared from the decks, it took the 6-1 savaging at Orient in July 2009 to finally make them stand up and be counted. What Hughton oversaw at Newcastle United should never be forgotten; the fabulous promotion season and some stunning, morally cleansing wins at SJP over Villa and the Mackems will stay with us all forever. However, and this isn’t a criticism, while he managed the club, he didn’t really lead us forward once we’d been promoted. We didn’t stagnate as such, but there wasn’t the momentum surrounding the squad that is easily discerned now.

 

It was a harsh decision and a sad day when Chris Hughton was let go, but hindsight shows us it was both necessary and beneficial for the greater good of Newcastle United. Alan Pardew arrived on Tyneside with an atrocious reputation and an utter lack of goodwill. However, and I speak as someone who found him initially to be a smarmy, glib egotist, he has proved 50,000 matchgoers and every single armchair fan across the nation, to be completely wrong. While Chris Hughton was the shop steward promoted from the ranks who embraced principles of democratic centralism to bring the club back from the precipice in a superb example of teamwork, Pardew is a tactical genius and above all, the boss; unequivocally so.

 

In short, the “group of lads” who played for us from 2009 to 2011worked for Chris Hughton as they admired him and didn’t want to let anyone down, whereas the current squad believe in Alan Pardew and have been inspired by him to strive to produce more and more quality in their performances. We can only speculate as to where this will lead us, but I’ve never felt this good about our team since the 5-1 thrashing we handed out to Blackburn (managed by Souness of course) in March 2003. I'll admit I’d never heard of any of the players we’ve brought in over the past couple of seasons, certainly since promotion. However, in Carr and in Pardew I trust; while we may see some leave, I truly believe we will see those of equal ability arrive. It is with this in mind and with full gratitude for all we’ve seen in 2011/2012 that I again urge you to nominate every single one of the first team squad as our player of the season.

[ewerk 30620]

Ba for me. Without the goals he gave us in the first half of the season we wouldn't have finished nearly as high as we did in the league so for me he's the player who has to take most of the credit for our season.

[Monkeys Fist 42459]

Good post that Gene.

[The Fish 10857]

Title suggests you're a bit ahead of yourself there CT.

 

I've gone for Krul, it's a massive burden for such a young 'keeper to be first choice and he's proven he's got the ability to stay there. He's not only one of the best performers at our club, he's one of the best in his position in the league. Battling it out with players who've commanded much larger fees or who've been in a position that traditionally doesn't see the best of a player until the latter stages of their career. Could be a massive massive player for us for quite a while.

[Dr Gloom 21924]

Colo, leads by example. A rock at the back, never hurried on the ball, an almost ever present in our tightest defence for years.

 

Krul and Tiote tied and close seconds. Krul for an an inspired first season as number 1 - he's won us countless points. The saves he's pulled off have been as good as goals. Tiote is the best defensive midfielder ive ever seen play for us - an absolute beast of a player that can boss the best midfields.

 

And with Ba and Cisse up top, I can't remember the last time the spine of our team was so solid. Vital we keep hold of these players.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Dr Gloom

[hostile_statue 0]

Colo. Has been our most consistent player. Kompany is the only CB who has been on the same level this season.

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Shola

[The Fish 10857]

Catts fer me lyke