The Alternative Premier League End of Season Awards
Looking at some of the players and moments that lit up this season's Premier League, including an alternative team of the season selection featuring just one player from every club.
Another season in the books. Glory for some, misery for most, VAR for all. Before football resets itself let’s hand out the only awards that really count in this slightly biased, extremely well-deserved and half-heartedly thought out Alternative End-of-Season Awards.
Player of the Season →
Mo Salah. Easy, right? Let’s move on.
Alternative Player of the Season →
22-years-old, 53 games in all competitions, double digit goals and assists, a handful in every single game and hugely impactful across the league and European games, and still, somewhat, a little underrated if you ask me. I’m going with Morgan Rogers.
Goal of the Season →
This was impossible to pin down. There were a lot of contenders, but I love this one from Bryan Mbeumo. In terms of degree of difficulty I think it’s right up there amongst the goals of the season, but it was a great season for great goals, including plenty of thunderbastards. Honourable mention to Kaoru Mitoma’s absolutely sumptuous touch and finish against Chelsea.
Alternative Goal of the Season →
Pure limbs.
Alternative Team of the Season →
The rule is I can only pick one player from each club…
GK | Jordan Pickford - Cop out number one — I have Pickford maybe fourth of fifth at best amongst goalkeepers this season, but by order of elimination, out of the clubs I had left, he gets the nod in goals.
DF | Daniel Munoz - Cop out number two — Munoz did his best work at right wing back, but I’ve selected him as my best Crystal Palace player in a flat back four. Eberechi Eze was also in contention but had a small dip in the middle part of the season that did him no favours versus the players I selected ahead of him in midfield. Munoz was excellent and super impactful throughout the season as a highly attacking wing back.
DF | Gabriel - I could easily have picked William Saliba here, or Declan Rice in midfield, but I think Gabriel had a great season and was absolutely hazardous in the opposition boxes for Arsenal’s set piece routines which became such a big part of their game, whilst offering plenty of solidity at the back.
DF | Dean Huijsen - Easy one here for the Bournemouth slot. So good he’s earned a move to Real Madrid. An absolute Rolls Royce of a defender.
DF | Josko Gvardiol - I had Antonee Robinson here in my first draft, but I feel he fell off a little bit in the second half of the season which is a shame as he was really good and offered a lot of quality going forward. But Manchester City had no outstanding markers this season, which is mad to say considering Erling Haaland hit over 20 goals, bar Gvardiol, who has been quality and likely their best player this season.
MF | Morgan Gibbs-White - Lots of contenders for the Nottingham Forest slot, but I’ve gone with Gibbs-White here. Superb player who’s likely earned a huge move up the pyramid after Forest’s amazing season. Honourable mention obviously to Chris Wood and also Mats Selz and Nikola Milenković.
MF | Moises Caicedo - Chelsea were mostly OK to fine throughout the season and Cole Palmer really was excellent, despite his barren patch over the last few months to end the season, so primacy bias is going against him. But having said that, for Chelsea’s slot, Caicedo was immense any time I’ve seen and living up to his huge fee as one of the best holding midfielders in the league.
MF | Morgan Rogers - Quality. One of my favourite players this season at any level. In terms of midfield honourable mentions I’d have to say Bruno Fernandes, who statistically had a fantastic season despite his club’s misfortunes, or Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.
FW | Mohamed Salah - Of course.
FW | Alexander Isak - Just an absolute gem of a striker. Some of his goals were tremendous, I’m thinking that strike against Liverpool where he turned Virgil van Dijk inside-out, but I don’t think there are many better number nines in football right now.
FW | Bryan Mbeumo - Cop out number three, as he strictly does the most of his work on the same side as Salah, whilst I have an honourable mention here to Matheus Cunha and Dejan Kulusevski, but Mbeumo for me had an outstanding season. Something that’s often overlooked over his goals and creativity is his work rate — one of the best all-rounders in the league right now.
Young Player of the Season →
Without this nonsense of picking players over the age of 21, there’s only one winner here - Dean Huijsen (20) with honourable mentions to Miles Lewis-Skelly (18) and Lewis Hall (19).
Most Improved Player of the Season →
If you were to tell me Ryan Gravenberch would be an integral cog of Liverpool winning the league title, becoming a contender for player of the season and suddenly looking like one of the most accomplished midfielders in all of football, well, I just wouldn’t have believed you. He dipped off towards the tail end of the season out of pure exhaustion having been relied upon so heavily the entire season. Really, I don’t know if Liverpool win as many games as they do in the first half of the season with someone else in this position. Honourable mentions to Forest’s Ola Aina here and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, one of West Ham’s few bright spots.
Alternative Manager of the Season →
Easy one here, with Arne Slot, but my alternative goes to Nuno Espirito Santo for keeping Nottingham Forest at the top end of the table for almost the entire season. It’d be a real shame not to see them in European competition next season given who will be in there.
Game of the Season →
With honourable mentions to Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City and the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, I’m going to go with Newcastle 3-3 Liverpool — which had all the ingredients of a league classic under lights, cracking goals and miracle comebacks, granted Liverpool were poor by their standards on the day it was one of the more enjoyable games to take in this season.
Jamie Vardy Here’s To You Moment of the Season →
When he grabbed the referee’s whistle whilst he was down injured and gave it a little toot. So long, we’ll miss you.
Worst Pundit of the Season →
Top of a very long list is Rio Ferdinand, an assault on all of the senses anytime he’s anywhere near football coverage. Don’t forget to read my lament on the state of football punditry, here:
Signing of the Season →
One of Nikola Milenković (£12m from Fiorentina) or Dean Huijsen (£15m from Juventus) for centre back domination here, but I think the long term answer will be Omar Marmoush who looks very good.
“Forgot He Was Signed” Player of the Season →
Several contenders here — Raheem Sterling’s loan to Arsenal, Chelsea taking Jadon Sancho, guys like Niclas Fullkrug, but I’m going to have to go with Joao Felix — who Chelsea parted nearly £50m for having already had him for a less than impressive loan spell a year prior, only to ship him off to AC Milan after 12 forgetful league games in the first half of the season.
Clownshow Award →
This culminated in the Europa League, funnily enough, with Ange Postecoglu’s Spurs seeing his second season prophecy come true and winning a trophy in the same week a journalist queried whether or not he’d be the hero or the clown, ahead of Ruben Amorim’s hapless Manchester United. So there can only be one winner for the club that exudes chaos at every level right now and that is United — with a simply crazy 18 league defeats this season.
The “Pep" Award for Living Rent Free →
When he hit Liverpool fans with a six gesture after City’s 2-nil defeat at Anfield, after enduring a tornado of “sacked in the morning” chants.
Over to you, I’d love to hear some of your favourite moments from this season…