Ryan Giggs has not been one of the best six players in the Premier League this season

Ryan Giggs is a wonderful football player. He is still a joy to watch and he still has a part to play for Manchester United: an old head who has been there and done that as United seek to make history this season. But has he really been the best player in the league this season?

Cascarino: Forget United Stars, Gerrard Should Win PFA Award ‘Hands Down’

The PFA nominees were announced this week with some surprising names picked in my opinion. Edwin van der Sar may have broken clean-sheet records with Manchester United this season but if I was going to pick a keeper amongst the final 6 choices then it wouldn’t have been the Dutchman. Liverpool’s Jose Reina or Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel would have been ahead of him as they’ve performed far better than Van der Sar in my opinion.

It’s been a strange old season really in terms of big players not really performing as usual over the course of the campaign. There are no Chelsea players amongst the nominees and to be fair it’s hard to pick out anyone who has excelled consistently at the Bridge. Then there’s Arsenal, their usual candidates such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas have both struggled with injury. Therefore, it’s no surprise the final 6 are dominated by mainly Manchester United players.

PFA Player Of The Year Shortlist Disgrace: No Lampard? No Alonso?

The nominees for this season's PFA award were announced today and, much to my surprise, there is only one non-Manchester United player on the list: Steven Gerrard.

No doubt about it, he has had a great season and is deservedly there, but his fellow nominees leave a lot to be desired, to be honest.

I mean, who compiles these lists?

Steven Gerrard on shortlist for PFA Footballer of the Year

Steven Gerrard is the only non-Manchester United player in the running for the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year award.

The Liverpool captain is joined on the shortlist by United's Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edwin van der Sar.

LFC

John Aldridge: Be grateful the world's best player is at Anfield

I AM not in the least bit surprised that Steven Gerrard is receiving so much backing to win the PFA player of the year award because for me he is the number one candidate.

Of the leading contenders he is the one who really stands out because he brings so much to the team he plays for.

Steven is Liverpool's top scorer and is only a couple of goals behind Nicolas Anelka in the Premier League charts, he gives 100% in every single game, he is the talisman and the leader on the pitch.

It's common in cricket for players who can bat and bowl to be described as all rounders but Steven is football's all rounder because he can do everything to an extremely high standard.

I know that the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Ryan Giggs have received a lot of support for the PFA award but as well as they have done for Man United I just don't think they contribute as much to their team as Steven does to Liverpool.

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