Publications
Partners
Mark Gleeson
Awards are always such a subjective subject that you are forced to empathise with those tasked with deciding deserving recipients.
But, according to the Premier Soccer League, there was total unanimity from each of the 16 club coaches when it came to voting for the Player of the Season.
Morgan Gould was an emphatic choice for his staring role in the defence of SuperSport United. It is an award that only carries a prize of R250 000, but is also the top accolade amid a myriad of another achievements which were recognised on Sunday night at the league’s annual gala.
Gould’s award was for performances across all of the season’s competitions, starting with the MTN8 and including the Nedbank Cup final, which concluded the campaign on Saturday. It seemed absurd then that Gould did not take the award as the best player of the league as well. A R150 000 prize goes to player who was best in league action only.
Gould did not play any cup games as he was injured in the last league game of the season. Instead that prize went to his team-mate Daine Klate.
The judges of the league award were a panel of journalists who had a tough job, but I know from some of them that what tipped it in the end, after much debate, in favour of Klate was his better disciplinary record. Gould had seven yellow cards in the season.
But really, if a defender does not collect a decent pile of cautions, he is hardly doing his job.
A third award is the Player’s Player of the Season. Each player competing in the league supposedly has a vote here and they went for Katlego Mphela.
The Sundowns striker also won more cash as the top goal scorer, but even he has admitted his contributed stagnated along with his club’s title aspirations after the January break.
An award from your peers is one to cherish, but how the players of the PSL valued Mphela’s role above that of Gould and Klate does not speak too highly of their analysis of the game they play.
It is, of course, rare for a defender to win a top individual awards as these usually go to a player with eye catching ability on the attack and a penchant for goals rather than in the art of stopping others from scoring.
There is merit in the argument that players who show the ability to win matches and create goals are more deserved than defenders. It is a harder skill.
But that is not to take away from Gould’s all-round strength, timing and a haul of six goals himself that helped SuperSport to win the championship yet again.
Sunday night’s function will have come as some consolation for his missing out on the Soccer World Cup, injury depriving him of a starting role in the back four.
Mark Gleeson is a respected television commentator and Editorial Director of Mzanzi Football.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
Awards are always such a subjective subject that you are forced to empathise with those tasked with deciding deserving recipients.
But, according to the Premier Soccer League, there was total unanimity from each of the 16 club coaches when it came to voting for the Player of the Season.
Morgan Gould was an emphatic choice for his staring role in the defence of SuperSport United. It is an award that only carries a prize of R250 000, but is also the top accolade amid a myriad of another achievements which were recognised on Sunday night at the league’s annual gala.
Gould’s award was for performances across all of the season’s competitions, starting with the MTN8 and including the Nedbank Cup final, which concluded the campaign on Saturday. It seemed absurd then that Gould did not take the award as the best player of the league as well. A R150 000 prize goes to player who was best in league action only.
Gould did not play any cup games as he was injured in the last league game of the season. Instead that prize went to his team-mate Daine Klate.
The judges of the league award were a panel of journalists who had a tough job, but I know from some of them that what tipped it in the end, after much debate, in favour of Klate was his better disciplinary record. Gould had seven yellow cards in the season.
But really, if a defender does not collect a decent pile of cautions, he is hardly doing his job.
A third award is the Player’s Player of the Season. Each player competing in the league supposedly has a vote here and they went for Katlego Mphela.
The Sundowns striker also won more cash as the top goal scorer, but even he has admitted his contributed stagnated along with his club’s title aspirations after the January break.
An award from your peers is one to cherish, but how the players of the PSL valued Mphela’s role above that of Gould and Klate does not speak too highly of their analysis of the game they play.
It is, of course, rare for a defender to win a top individual awards as these usually go to a player with eye catching ability on the attack and a penchant for goals rather than in the art of stopping others from scoring.
There is merit in the argument that players who show the ability to win matches and create goals are more deserved than defenders. It is a harder skill.
But that is not to take away from Gould’s all-round strength, timing and a haul of six goals himself that helped SuperSport to win the championship yet again.
Sunday night’s function will have come as some consolation for his missing out on the Soccer World Cup, injury depriving him of a starting role in the back four.
Mark Gleeson is a respected television commentator and Editorial Director of Mzanzi Football.
Disclaimer: Sport24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on Sport24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Sport24.
