With Danny Ings Walking It ! Who Is Your Runner Up For Player Of The Year.
Friday, 24th Jul 2020 11:08

It is clear that there will only be one contender for player of the year and that will be Danny Ings, but who is you choice as runner up, perhaps a more interesting contest than the main event. See who we think and then give your vote.

There can be no doubt that Danny ings will be the run away winner in any Saints player of the year poll, here we take a look at our contenders for the 2nd place spot and then you can vote i our poll and give your thoughts in the comments section below

Alex McCarthy - For me has done a reasonable job after replacing Angus Gunn, but not an oustanding one, still too many errors over the period.

Ryan Bertrand - Looked uninterested last season, but he got back to something like his old form this season.

Jan Bednarek - Probably our best central defender and gets in far more blocks than any of his colleagues in the back four, could be a top player with the right partner.

Jack Stephens - Much improved since the lockdown, but positional play lets him down.

James Ward-Prowse - Has continued his revival under Ralph Hasenhuttl and getting the Captaincy has given him even more confidence, a leading contender in my book.

Pierre Emile Hojbjerg - Steady performances throughout the season, could well have been in the running for runner up if he had not had his head turned by Spurs.

Oriol Romeu - Seems to have been overshadowed this season, but still played more games than you would think, not a contender but played a part in our revival in the restart.

Stuart Armstrong - Very strong after the restart, amazingly started less games than Romeu, but got some vital goals, not played enough games though to be runner up.

Shane Long - Always a good option for Saints always 100% and willing to get hurt for the cause, been a great buy for the club and loyal servant.

Nathan Redmond - Gets some unfair criticism from some quarters, hasn't scored as much as he should have but is a player that has an end product as shown by an assist in each of the last 3 games.

The Verdict

For me it has to be James Ward Prowse, assuming he starts on Sunday he will have started every Premier League game and more to the point completed each one too, next after that is Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond starting 31 so far, he has been the most consistent, has played the most positions, sometimes as many as 3 in one game to accommodate substitutions and with 5 goals and 3 assists he has end product

In most other seasons JWP would have been player of the year without question, but Danny Ings has truly been exceptional.

So who is your Runner Up, vote in our poll using the link below and give us your opinion in the comments section as to why you have made that choice.

https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/members//polls/2529/who-is-yo

Photo: Action Images

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dirk_doone added 11:44 - Jul 24

Jack Stephens is improving tremendously . He is the obvious leader of our defence, he shows outstanding anticipation for blocks and interceptions and he initiates a lot of our attacks with his forward runs and should certainly be on the short list. Ralph clearly intends to build our defence around him, long-term. These are his very impressive opta stats for his last 18 games:

clearances+interceptions+blocks: 95
errors leading to chances: 0
errors leading to goals: 0
tackle %: 66.7
pass %: 72

schatfield added 12:49 - Jul 24 For me, it's a close call between Nicks favourite, Jack Stephens and Armstrong. Jack just edges it though and really has done very well in the CB role. Surprised he wasnt listed in the daily echo top 3 vote.
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WestSussexSaint added 13:07 - Jul 24 JWP for me. Jack Stephens has improved massively in the second half of the season and like the others on Nicks list have shown good form in spells but JWP has been a constant throughout the season and deserves being named captain. He still has room to improve as well as a few more goals from open play would take him to the next level.
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NewburySaint added 14:56 - Jul 24

I disagree with Armstrong not being in the running behind Ings because he hasnâ€™t played enough games-look at Redmond who won the overall last season who was anonymous until Ralph joined and he won it over the more consistent Hojbjerg who had played well for most, if not all, of last season. Also look at McCarthy from the previous season as well.

Back to Armstrong for runner up this season-since Arsenal away he has offered us a genuine creativity & goal threat from midfield, all in 1 player, that Saints havenâ€™t had for a long time.

halftimeorange added 15:15 - Jul 24 No contest - has to be Armstrong. Saints always look better when he's on the pitch, just like Stephen Davis did.
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Saintaxidriver added 15:43 - Jul 24 Jack Stephens for me. Still not the best but makes the best of what he has got! After that MaCarthey!
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KilkennySaint added 16:47 - Jul 24

For me it has to be Armstrong, i think a very underrated player who in my opinion makes us a more attacking team when his plays. His the kind of player who wants to get forward and score goals. The Villa game away was when he got a consistent run in the side and i think its one of the main reason we improved as a team.

I've been impressed with Bednarek & Stephens as a partnership and will get even better next season.

I think your been generous to Hojbjerg & unfair to Romeu, Hojbjerg has just been ok this season and i think Romeu's performance since the restart have been better than Hojbjerg's all season.

Also a shout out to Bertrand, his performance since the restart reflect the Bertrand of old.

sandywelsh added 17:24 - Jul 24 It has to be Armstrong he has been brilliant this season.
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SanMarco added 19:34 - Jul 24

As soon as I saw the headline I knew that there would be a "let's wind up Nick by choosing Jack Stephens' contingent. It looks like one or two compadres actually think it is true and that he had been the second best player at the club.

What often happens is people perceive that Nick is being too critical, or indeed too complimentary about a certain player and then, in reaction, get pulled too far the other way. Jack is a good lad but first choice CB for a team hoping to do okay in this league? Sorry but no.

As with many others my first thought was Armstrong and then our best CB Bednerak but I reckon an unsung hero in our recovery has been the quiet and unspectactular return to form of Mr Bertrand. So I am going for him.

1teeminants added 21:23 - Jul 24 It has to be Armstrong . Energy ,creativeity, assists , goals he did the lot .whenever he played we did well , simple as that and some forget he was benched for many games and had to wait for his chance and boy he took it .
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underweststand added 08:46 - Jul 26

I 'd think that Jack Stephens would be the obvious candidate (for the many reasons posted above) , but that Armstrong's encouraging recent form also puts him in the frame.
Next season will be the real test of JWP's ability as a team captain, but if McCarthy is still first choice keeper next season he will deserve another shot at the award ..if Danny Ings doesn't get it again.