Roll Out The Red Carpet

It’s award season baby! The time has come where we look back at the last 10 months of Premier League football and reflect on some of the outstanding (as well as the quite shocking) performers over the season. I feel that with some of these awards, the names pick themselves, as we’ve witnessed some remarkable achievements from certain players. However, there are sure to be a few prizes that could have gone either way. With the usual preamble out of the way, let’s get straight into it.

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Player of the Season: Erling Haaland

This one was a no-brainer. I mean how can you not look past the big Norwegian? We’ve seen strikers (particularly from the Bundesliga) struggle in their first season in the English top-flight, but Haaland is no ordinary striker. What he accomplished this year was unbelievable. It’s as if he isn’t human, but rather AI that has been sent to England to dominate. His desire and hunger to score goals is what makes him elite, but at the same time, he’s not just been getting his; he’s a team player through and through. While City didn’t buy Haaland to win the Premier League, he ended up being exactly what they needed. City always create chances, but sometimes, they’ve lacked that killer, someone who would just hover around in the six-yard box and still the ball away. The 36 goals he scored for City is the most ever in a single campaign. The funny thing is, we’ve not seen the best of Haaland. Premier League defenders best be scared because he’s only going to get better.

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Young Player of the Season: Bukayo Saka

For this post, I’ve decided that a player can’t win two awards, so while Erling Haaland is still technically a young player, I’ve picked Saka for this one. He is one of, if not, the reason why Arsenal were challenging for the league title for so long. He’s by no means the most glamorous winger, but he’s been highly effective. His numbers were very good, 14 goals and 11 assists, but he’s so much more than just stats. His play embodies what Arsenal were all about – intensity, vibrancy, and determination. He didn’t finish the season too strongly (that penalty miss vs West Ham springs to mind), but unlike others, I’m not going to hold that against him. Sure, he was always getting the goals and assists, but his performances were still of high quality. In my mind, he’s one of the wingers where you put in him any system, there would be no or a very minimal drop-off. He’s recently signed a new long-term contract at the club and he’s part of that young crop at the Gunners that will be key for them moving forward.

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Manager of the Season: Eddie Howe

Again, this was another easy choice. No one truly believed that Newcastle would qualify for the Champions League this year. That’s exactly what Eddie Howe did in his first full season in the Northeast. I think what’s made the Magpies a popular club for the neutrals is the way they did it. When the new owners came in, we all assumed that they would go big on players and the manager, but they haven’t done that. They’ve been smart in all their decision-making. Eddie Howe was a good choice as the gaffer. He wasn’t the flashiest appointment that the club could have made, but the owners knew he was a man that the players would embrace, and the fans could really get behind. They’ve also been clever their signings, not just splashing the cash left, right, and centre but getting players that fit Newcastle’s style of play. The first half of the season, they were defensively solid but when the defence became a little leaky, he adapted, and they became more of an attacking team. His impact on that city has been undeniable, and this season, he got Newcastle fans dreaming once again.

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Best Signing: Manuel Akanji

The United fan in me wanted to give this award to Casemiro as without his contributions, I doubt United would have sniffed top 4. However, I want to show some love to another signing from the city of Manchester: Manuel Akanji. His £15m move from Dortmund was a steal, as these days, there is a serious lack of top-quality defenders on the market. From watching him, he’s been one of City’s most consistent performers. He possesses a unique combination of speed and strength and doesn’t seem too fazed not matter who he’s up against. What surprised me most was his versatility, and he’s been deployed by Pep at left-back, centre-back and right-back. Once more, he’s been very good in all three of those positions. He was pivotal towards the second half of the campaign, when Pep changed his approach and lined up with 4 orthodox centra-backs in the back line. I think this signing may be one of the best we’ve seen in recent memory.

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Worst Signing: Mykhailo Mudryk

I’m not one to be too critical of young, foreign players entering the Premier League and I don’t believe it’s entirely this player’s fault, but this is my worst signing of the season. Around the halfway point of the season, I picked Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but I can’t look past Mudryk. It’s crazy that he was bought for just under £90m and yet he had only played shy of 50 games of first-team football. He had an impressive cameo on his debut against Liverpool, but it went downhill from there. He managed only 2 assists and 0 goals in 15 games for Chelsea and specifically towards the end of the campaign, he looked like a player shot of confidence. It may have been a different story had he signed for the Gunners as he arrived at a club that was a mess both on and off the pitch. With all young players, time is their best friend as he has many years to improve his game. But for right now, in terms of cost vs production on the pitch, the Ukrainian must be my pick.

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This Week’s Hot Take

Similar to the 6th man of the year award in the NBA, I think the league should introduce a 12th man of the year award. For a lot of teams, it’s not necessarily just the starting XI that are impactful. It’s also those that come off the bench and produce moments that massively influence the outcome of matches. I also think it would be a chance to recognise some of the unsung heroes that don’t always get the love that they deserve.