The Cannon End of Season Awards 2010/11 31 May, 2011

Hello, I’m back again and it’s that time of year for my end of season awards. I’d like to say these award winners were picked by you, the readers but I’m far too lazy for that, these are my picks of the season, let me know if you agree or disagree. It’s been one hell of a season with ups and many more downs but there are still imaginary awards to give out. My one and only rule is that it’s one award per player, some might’ve overlapped but lets give the others a chance… ay Jack.

Player of the Season

So my player of the year is young Jack Wilshere. What a season it’s been for him and only his first as a first team member. There was some competition for this prize, I’ve got down here Nasri, van Persie and Sagna as his rivals but no one can touch Jack in terms of consistent good performance through the season; Robin might’ve taken this one if he has remained fit but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

He was Arsenal.com’s player of the season too and he’s obviously become somewhat of a fan favourite. He is probably not our most technically gifted player but he is definitely up there – his ball control is incredible, he has great vision for a guy who has just got into this team and without a doubt he is our hardest worker. I’m a sucker for anyone who gives their all for Arsenal and that’s exactly why I love Jack so much. There is so much more promised to come from this guy, which makes it pretty exciting to be an Arsenal fan. I wouldn’t be surprised if I make him my 2011/12 player of the year again next season.

Young Player of the Season

Well if weren’t for him winning my main prize then obviously Jack Wilshere would be taking this one as well. Surprisingly there aren’t that many other condensers for young Gun of the season but my stand out man is Roy Szczesny. It’s been a great season for the young Pole as he has all but established himself as our no.1 thanks to Almunia’s poor performances and Fabianksi’s injury. Ever since returning from his loan at Brentford the fans have been calling for him to pull the gloves on for the first team and since being given his chance you can’t say he’s let us down.

He hasn’t been perfect, but he looks a solid ‘keeper capable of making great saves and I expect him to improve with games. Next season will be a vital one for him, next pre-season he will be expected to outperform fellow countryman Fabianski for the no.1 spot but I’m expecting Roy to be the next Polish sensation since Mr.Sheen.

Worst Player of the Season

I think this is a prize that many fans would wish we had a few replicas of to dish out but I have to pick just one. My shortlist includes Almunia – for his costly errors, Squillaci – for the same reasons, Denilson – for his lack of footballing ability, Rosicky – for his total drop in form and Eboue – for being a totally deluded idiot. Well I have to pick one and personally I’m going for Denilson. As far as I’m concerned I’ve totally had it and I’ll be gob-smacked it Wenger doesn’t cut his losses with this one in the summer. He had an okay season a couple of years ago but being dropped has done him no good whatsoever, he can’t even fucking pass a ball anymore and seeing him live, in action, fucking up everything he had to do at The Hawthorns this season was the final straw for me. Denilson, in the politest possible way, fuck off please.

Most Improved Player

Again, this is an award with Wilshere’s name all over it, or failing that Szczesny but thanks to my stupid ruling neither of them can have it. Instead it’s a chance for Djourou, Nasri or Fabianksi to take the imaginary stage and read out their imaginary speech. Samir Nasri had a great start to the season, he was our best player back then but unfortunately it was exactly that – back then. He went through that great run of form that faded out very quickly which was a big disappointment. I really hoped he’d get back to his best but it didn’t really happen so hopefully next year he can sort that out. I’ve been really impressed with Djourou this season actually, after missing the whole of the previous season through injury I didn’t think he’d prove so influential in the campaign just gone but it was great to see, more next year please Johan.

However my award for most improved player though goes to Lukasz Fabianksi. As his nickname, ‘Flappy’ suggest he hasn’t really been the best of ‘keepers we’ve had at the club, until this season. After Arsene decided enough was enough with Almunia he gave Fabianski the chance to step up and for a little while we all saw what the manager was talking about. He really was great; it was like we were seeing a completely different player. Unfortunately for him though, he injured his finger in a pre-match warm up and that was the last we saw of him. He’ll be back this summer though, eager to earn that place back.

Most Disappointing Player

My biggest disappointment has to be Thomas Vermaelen. It’s an odd choice for this award as his performances were not lacking – it was his attendance. I’ve picked him though because I believe his injury and resulting months of absence were a massive downfall in our season. It’s been a year of bad defending and maybe some of that might’ve been helped with Tom in the side. To say I’m looking forward to a full campaign from him next season is an understatement.

Best Summer Signing

The nominees for this award are Chamakh, Koscielny and Squillaci. I think we can rule out the latter there but you have to say that all in all the other two had decent debut seasons. Marouane kicked off his Arsenal career really well and got bags of goals in the opening few months but eventually he got a bit tired and that form died off but I was still impressed with his contribution and effort in the latter stages of the season. However for his all round performance it has to go to Laurent Koscielny. I know some Gooners aren’t his biggest fans but he has done remarkably well for his first season in the Premiership and despite a few silly mistakes he’s made some fantastic tackles and great headers. It’s a hard task to come to a new club, a new division and be expected to play nearly every game and play it well so he’s done really well when you consider the circumstances. I believe in Laurent and I think next season will be a much improved one on his part.

Un-Sung Hero

I was tempted to give this one to Chamakh because people started giving him a bit of stick towards the end of the season but it’s easy to forget his vital contribution at the start and also to not notice his commitment despite lack of goal towards the end. However this award is made for Bacary Sagna, he’s one of our best players but being in the position he is in he will never get the praise he deserves. He’s started to get a bit more appreciation to be honest and most people do notice the job he does but as a right back he’ll have to do something special to be player of the season. Just keep it up Bacary, you’re doing a great job.

Biggest Cunt of the Season

This is one of the new awards for this season and there were plenty of nominees. You’ve got your usual lot in there, Spurs, Chelsea, Stoke, Birmingham, Nani and the expression ‘Mental Strength’. However my winner of the ugliest award in football goes to the referee at the Nou Camp, Massimo Busacca for that red card awarded to van Persie. It was a total joke of a decision and I will never understand the rationale behind it. It completely ruined a great game and you never know what might’ve happened if we’d remained with 11 men. Massimove Cunt Busacca, you are a massive cunt.

Hero of the season

Not to be confused with the Un-Sung Hero award, this is almost the Sung Hero Award if you like; which goes to the man who was most heroic this season and stopped us from being ever shitererer. I’ve gone for Robin van Persie who went on an incredible goal scoring run since he returned back from his traditional yearly injury. He’s broken the record for consecutive goals scored away from home and has been our outright source of goals the second half of the season. He single-handedly kept this team in it at times and if it weren’t for him then we probably wouldn’t have even qualified for the Champions League. Keep it up Robin, just try bloody not get injured! With him fit for a full season I reckon he might get near those amazing goal rates of Thierry Henry.

Goal of the Season

For this award I personally like to weigh up the quality of the goal quite heavily with the importance of it. There have been some brilliant strikes this year but the one that springs most to mind for me is Arshavin vs. Barcelona (2-1). It was a brilliant counter-attacking move, the passing and vision in the build up was exquisite and the finish was so cool and so calculated. Most players in Arshavin’s position would’ve blasted it, probably high and wide but he curled it expertly low into the far corner but you have to credit Nasri with a great assist also. It was also an indescribable feeling seeing that goal in and to go 2-1 up on Barcelona. For these reasons it’s my goal of the season and I’m sure none of you will pass up the opportunity to watch it one more time:

Low Point of the Season

Unfortunately, I’ve got a long list of contenders for this one. There was some really awful results this season including the 3-2 vs. Spurs and the 4-4 vs. Newcastle. However from my long list the one that stands out the most is the Carling Cup Final defeat and the resulting collapse of our season. It is not a big trophy, we all know that but it was hyped up to be the ‘stepping stone to greater things’ and propel this side into the one we all know it’s capable of being. Obviously, that didn’t happen and it ended up being the ‘stepping in cow shit in your best shoes’ and totally destroyed our season. We won a grand total of two league games following the cup final loss and I think was the biggest factor in our title collapse.

The manner of defeat was just awful too, although we hadn’t played our very, very best we we’re looking like we would beat Birmingham in extra time then WHOOPS a big fat mix up between Szeczesny and Koscielny and we’ve allowed Martins to score into an empty net in the last minute. It was one of the most disappointing matches I’ve ever had the displeasure of attending and there’s nothing more you could really say at the time apart from a series of expletives.

Highlight of the Season

So it turns out the highlight of the season was that Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona home win. To beat the European champions was indescribable and I’m just glad I was lucky enough to be there. I know we didn’t win the tie as a whole but we have to take what positives we can from this season and to beat them was just brilliant. I hate Barcelona, with a passion and for us to get one over on those fucking cheating, Cesc-stealing, ridiculous diving, paella-eating wankers was brilliant. It showed just what we were capable of on our day and left us all hoping we could do it. In the end it didn’t happen but it’s still nice knowing we beat the eventual winners.

Word of the Season

Disappointing
[dis-uh-point-ing]
1. To fail to fulfill the expectations or wishes of.
2. To defeat the fulfillment of (hopes, plans, etc.); thwart; frustrate.
3. To bring or cause disappointment.

And that’s pretty much what it has been like to be an Arsenal fan this season. Roll on the next one.