The PFA player of the year is voted by the PFA members, so alternative explanations for the result are:

Trade union members, who do the job week in, week out, are the best judges of their peers’ efforts or;
the PFA vote is an exercise in back-scratching and log-rolling, with the biggest squads voting for a team-mate, hence the Sky4 ten-year stranglehold.

Discuss.

Interesting to compare it to the LMA award, which cold, hard logic suggests should go to whichever of the purple-nosed, gum-chewing, selectively-myopic, implausibly-goateed, preening denizen of the top four places has accumulated the most trinkets in a given season. Except Mr Moyes has lifted it twice, suggesting that his peers are applying some kind of co-efficient to their votes. Which suggests to me that if the PFA applied the same kind of co-efficient, Phil Jagielka would be a candidate, (taking being played out of position into account). So would Arteta (strong season cut short through no fault of his own). And Martin Turner (sterling performances for a team currently in freefall). And Scott Carson (shipping shedloads of goals, but making shedloads of saves behind a defence that’s been on holiday since September).

Anyone who gets to play football for a living, and whose weekly salary comes in five or six digits, and who worries about getting another trinket from his mates has self-esteem problems that Freud, Jung and Frazier Crane would run a mile from. Remind you of anyone? Those kind of problems could land a guy in court ...

Anthony, Nobody is blaming Jags for us playing hoofball, he?s not the only one who does it, but he is the most persistent offender by a country mile.

I?ve read a hundred post?s slaughtering Everton's hoofball tactics at Portsmouth, I can remember Jags putting his foot through the ball at least 4 times at Fratten Park, he was unmarked or unchallenged every time, on one occasion he even volleyed the ball from his own half straight out of play for a goal kick.

I know what the PFA player of the year award is, I also know Jags won't be getting it. My point is, it doesn't make sense for anyone to come on TW and declare their hatred for hoofball to then advocate Jags for such a prestigious award.

Some of the best centre-halves this country has ever seen hoof the ball up the field or even out of play sometimes. It?s called letting your team mates know they haven't made themselves available and therefore you?re playing safe by getting it out the way so you are not caught in possession. Jags has made one or two forays up the field as well as his ability to hoof it out of danger.

Having said that, I much prefer it when we play a passing game and we look a lot better for it but we are not the professionals they are and a centre-half's primary job is to keep the opposition from scoring. Something he has done extremely well this season and I for one put him head and shoulders above Vidic who has to resort to fouling people to get the better of them.

At last somebody who talks sense; take a bow, Dave Wilson. To understand what Dave means, just remember the last England game: Jags started and was taken off at half-time (we know the reason why). He?s a great stopper, but the other part of his game needs to improve if he is to play regularly for England.

Come on everybody... it's a no-brainer. It will be without any question the chief thug & top diver "Stevie Laar Mee"... (if only for the the way he kissed the camera picture of himself). Truth is while we hate him he has had a fantastic season & I wish he was Blue... The BASTARD.

Tom Pepper; if he were still a Blue, I’d be severely embarrassed.

Actually, make that utterly ashamed.

I?m sorry, why agree with Dave Wilson?! He?s a bloody defender, he?s not there to pass and create opportunities... he?s there to DEFEND... I'm sorry it?s just bloody common sense.

And another thing: if Jagielka played for a top 4 club, he would pass. Jagielka does not pass because he has no-one to pass forward to, the only thing he can do is pass across, pass back to goal or hoof it. If our midfielders created space for Jagielka, he?d pass it!!

Think of Utd? Carrick, Fletcher, Scholes and Anderson all do it for them! Think of the shite? Alonso and Mascherano! Think of Chelsea? Deco, Ballack, Mikel, Lampard! Think of Arsenal? Song, Denilson, Diaby, Fabregas (when fit!!)

The only player we have is Arteta, and at certain times Cahill, who could do this. It?s not Jagielka?s fault, it?s the midfielders who don?t allow space for the centre backs to pass it to them!

Now people who applaud Dave Wilson are not looking at this properly; surely people see that Lescott, Yobo or Jagielka when playing centre back have no choice but to hoof it?! There?s no link between centre back and centre mid since Arteta left!!

Ben Jones
I understand the reason why we play hoofball. I wrote a whole bloody article on the subject on this site last year, saying exactly what you are saying now, I think I even entitled it "Hoofball"

But it's you my friend who doesn't understand the situation: even when we did get the ball down and play in the middle of this season, Jags struggled to come to terms with it. Baines Lescot and even Hibbert embraced it, but you would still see Arteta occasionally beat his sides in frustration when Jags launched one over his head.

The Jag is a brilliant defender, he?s very quick, very strong and very brave, but it takes a different sort of bravery to hold on to the ball that split-second longer when you're the last line of defence, that split-second sometimes makes the difference between a nice easy pass or aimlessly hoofing the ball up the park. playing football, or hoofball.

Phil tried to play a couple of times early in the season, unfortunately he got his fingers burnt. He seems to have been scarred by that but, until he finds the confidence to hold on to the ball a split-second longer, he will never be considered a ball-playing defender. Now, if your happy to think "he?s not there to pass" ? fine, that's your opinion... but don't then complain when we play "hoofball".

One more thing, Ben. I was with a mate from Southsea on Saturday, I sat in that pokey little stand to the left of our fans, the first time the Jag launched it, Pienaar was in acres of space calling for the ball and when the Jag volleyed it straight for a goalkick, Pienaar was jumping up and down screaming for it; the Pompey supporters around me fell about laughing.

Yes, you're correct, the midfield players DO need to make themselves available, but it's a two-way thing and defenders have to trust their own ability to find them.

A little off topic but still with the thrust of the topic, substitute jags with Hibbert’s name and you have what I have been arguing for about two seasons. He is there to defend so judge him on his defensive skills, just like Jags. He won’t win it but he is still a cracking player and is ours so fuck what the uppity voters say.

Sorry to seem a bit agressive there, Dave Wilson, you seem quite a knowledgable person, but I still disagree with you. Lescott and Hibbert are similar to Jagielka in the hoofball situation. I can’t see how you think Jagielka is solely to blame, as I blame all the defense and the midfielder rather than just poor Jagielka.

You still did not respond to my post with the top 4 situation, I reckon most of the defenders in the top 4 (probably expect Ferdinand and Vidic) would do exactly the same as Jags if they played for Everton. There’s never a midfielder looking for space for them, and we need to work on that.

And by the way, I do complain about hoofball as much as everyone does, but I blame the management rather than players, because the players know they can pass the ball, just the management are obviously not training them well enough to pass from defense to midfield.

Ben

I disagree about the top four too, Chelsea play hoofball everytime Drogba plays, Hypia and Carragher are happy to give it the big boot too, Liverpool?s keeper has four assists in the last two matches alone, in fact when Alonso isn't playing they are worse than us for knocking it long.

The pace of the EPL does not afford central defenders the luxury of developing their ball playing skills thats why England have struggled, people like Carragher, John Terry, and dare I say it, the Jag are terrific defenders but top international football requires slightly more, thats why England will always get found out, no matter how many Rooneys or Gerrards are in the team.

With the exceptions of Arsenal, Man United and WBA, every team in in the Prem plays hoofball to varying degrees, of course it helps when you have players of the calibre of Scholes or Carrick looking to take responsibility from their defenders and I?d like to see how Man U would cope with them two out injured, especially the much vaunted Rio.

Anyway like most Evertonians, I only care about Everton and let's be honest, we do launch it more than neccesary. I didn't seek to single Jags out, but the article is actually about him.

Tony Hibbert is a solid defender, but gets absolutely slated on here because of his ball distribution.
Why then should Jags be exempt from criticism for his woeful distribution?

With 3 Everton players being,in and around the England set up,their play will improve,especially with an Italian coach (they like to keep the ball,keep possesion).If for any reason they continue to play ’hoofball’ after training with the international team,then my worse fears are that Moyes is telling them to play this way-wait and see!

Marco.. Dont? get upset ?? I never said I want him to win it.. I detest him. But you certainly will not get any worthwhile odds against him doing so... And I find it difficult to accept that you or any other Evertonian would be even remotely embarresed if he was playing for us... Be honest ? he would be an idol... He is a very good all-round footballer (though it appears an absolute arrogent shit of a person).