Fonte by a country mile for me...lots of contenders for the second spot but plumped for Toby A. For most improved I would look at Yoshi who was great standing in for Toby when he was injured and Big Victor who has improved his passing and scored a couple
It's interesting that of all the new signings the popular leader so far is Bertrand. I bet not many would have predicted that at the start of the season, or even in October when Pellè's goals and Tadić's assists had us in the top 4 for weeks on end. Apart from the red card against Swansea he has been Mr. Consistency, and he would definitely be my third choice behind Fonte and Morgan.
Fonte +1 from Toby/Morgan/Clyne/Bert/Mane. Special mentions to Pelle/Tadic on first half season form, and Forster. Probably would have gone for Fonte and Forster had he kept another 5 clean sheets or whatever but with his injury went for Fonte and Bert
Yep. 1] Couldn't take it seriously, and then 2] When the pundits did I began to take it as an insult on Jose's behalf. I don't care if he's 30 or 31. He's in the peak of condition and able to play for years yet.
Hull were also sniffing about. José walking out with Ron at that presser, to announce a new three-year deal - was ace. Then JF spoke about how important Schneiderlin was and how he would do his best to talk some sense into him and get him to commit to Saints for the season.
I still think he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Last match he passed the ball to Schneiderlin before Morgan unselfishly left it to Pelle. And before that, twice he found Pelle in the penalty box. They have a great understanding and I believe part of the reason why Pelle's goals have dried up is because Tadić wasn't part of the first eleven for most part of this calendar year. He had a bit of a slum in form and was fairly anonymous some matches, but I always see him as the player who can unlock defences a moment of individual brilliance. That is, sometimes we're poor even with him in the team, but rarely or never are we good without him, as I see it. He's a player around which you build your team to allow him to thrive.
Agree in part with your assessment on Tadic. Had we seen consistency from him then I think we could of got closer to the top four. I have no doubt about his talent and you look at players like Coutinho who have slowly got to grips with the league and improved over time. I see no reason Tadic can't have a similar career trajectory
He should be starting every game on the left. It's frustrating that he doesn't . And koeman has wasted him far too often on the right
Good call, FLT. He is easy to spot, isn't he? Obviously confident of his ability to control the ball while looking for an option. If we can keep him happy, he could develop into a real star at SFC. My vote went for Jose and Morgan - no shocks then. Jose deserves every accolade going for his impressive captaincy alone. The relationship between a manager and his captain can be critical (Ramsey and Moore being the ultimate example in my view) and the fact that a manager of the pedigree as Koeman clearly rates Jose highly is good enough for me. Morgan we are about to lose, but he has already written himself into the legends list!
We have the best defence in the league, conceding 4 fewer goals than the probable leaders Chelsea. This has been the foundation of our season because even though our goals have dried up recently we are still in with a realistic chance of a European place. It's hard to say who has been the most integral part of that, I've gone for Fonte and Alderweireld but Bertrand, Schneiderlin, Forster all are in with a shout too. Mane has been too inconsistent, as have the rest of our attacking players in my opinion. Too inconsistent for Player Of The Season, just to reiterate.
Fonte all day. He clearly loves/is honoured to be captain of our club and leads by example. I had Wanyama as second - has had some poor(ish) games particularly against the lesser sides where he is not as needed, but I believe he has contributed to as many points as anyone this season by the amount of games he has dominated the midfield battle for us. His protection of the back four is imo the best in the league.
