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| Friday, 22 April 2011 15:16 |
Meireles voted Fans’ Player of the Year in EnglandLiverpool midfielder lands prestigious awardPortugal midfielder Raul Meireles has won the prestigious PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award for 2010/11.It may have been a far from glorious season for Premier League giants Liverpool, but Meireles has been a resounding success at Anfield. The former FC Porto player took time to adjust to English football, but his outstanding form since the turn of the year has been recognised with the trophy. Meireles’ upturn in form coincided with the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager, but the legend of the Merseyside club said he did nothing special to bring out the best in the player.
 “Raul always had the ability. Maybe he’s settled down a little bit and is more comfortable and confident because he is playing well but there’s been nothing drastic changed for any of the players really,” said Dalglish.“It’s fantastic to see Raul doing so well. He has always been a talented footballer, he’s always had what we are seeing now but it’s been trying to get it out and it is coming out now and he’s scoring goals.”
Meireles also won the February monthly award. He had to beat off competition from the likes of Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale, Scott Parker, Samir Nasri, Dimitar Berbatov and compatriot Nani to land the annual gong.
It is the third time a Portuguese footballer has won the award in the last five years, after Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the same prize in 2007 and 2008.
by Tom Kundert
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But player of the year? come on.
I did get to watch him quite a bit, and once Gerard went down, he really flourished. Dalglish has given him the freedom and trusts him in being able to track back and cover. Even after Gerard came back briefly, Meireles maintained his position/tactics.
I am a big Liverpool hater, and disliked Rafa (still do) just as much, I really enjoyed their collapse last season, and their early mess this season as well. I do admit that they're playing much better, and Suarez is going to be a huge pick up for them.
Yes, they overpaid for Carroll, but I think that they feel they can make that up in merchandising, especially if Carroll becomes a stalwart England Int'l.
Sorry for getting off track, but congrats for the recognition. Maybe it's not one of the most prestigeous awards, but you can't deny his quality.
As for people saying that Nani deserved it, they just haven't been watching. Sometimes stats don't tell the whole picture. I watch Man United a ton, and watching Nani could get frustrating. He had a wonderful start to the season, and actually carried Man United at times. The problem is that he just disapears much too much. It's almost as if he feels that a couple of quick cut backs and shots is enough. He has to realize that he is not CR7 or one of the best. He could be, but that will only come to him if he works and works and works...
Unfortunately he's still very inconsistant in his play.
So much so, that when Valencia came back, Nani had to move to the left. That can be looked at as a compliment since he could go there, but the fact is that he is much less effective on the left.
We had a new guy join our work this past year and he's grown up as a Liverpool supporter so I ended up following the them a bit more this year and he ended up following our Liga. As an EPL fan he knew of Benfica and Porto as the only creditable teams but now he has a better appreciation for how strong our mid-table teams can be (I think Braga knocking them out helped this out lol).
Anyways I got a bit side tracked on this post, at the end of the day Meireles helped keep Liverpool in the mid-table. I think if they didn't have him they would have finished in the lower half of the table this season which is a joke for a team like Liverpool.
I only found out Raul won this award by looking at this article!
The PFA Players Award went to Gareth Bale, which is voted for by fellow players and is seen as a lot more prestigious. Raul was voted for by the fans in an online poll, so unfortunately it seems to have slipped under the radar.
Also, the only players you could vote for in this award were a few selected players that received a Player of the Month award, so he was only up against 4 inconsistent players - Berbatov, Luiz, Nasri and Torres. The likes of Nani, Bale, van Persie, van der Vaart and Tevez were not even options in this poll!
He's a had a good season after a slow start and well done to him, but I think Nani deserved more acknowledgement for his outstanding season but unfortunately he was pipped in the Players Award and wasn't even an option in this less credible award.
Like Tony I had some complaints about Meireles but more because they wanted to use him as a DM and he is better suited up field with his high work rate just behind the 10.. as a DM he is not great and that has shown for Portugal of late when they have played him so deep it has cost us a few goals.
He should be pushed forward and allowed to roam near the opposing box were he is wins balls and scores wicked goals.
Congrats Raul great achievement for such a hard worker.
I admit that I was a big critic of his for the national team. I have no problem with being wrong when a player exceeds my expectations. Wish we had more players like Meireles who are proving the critics wrong.
I wish You further success, Raul!
Well done!!!
And remember - next year You have to lift the PL trophy!
:)
congratulations