2012 PFA Player of the Year Nominees: Who Will Win, Rooney or Van Persie?

The English Premier League is beginning to wind down. Though few teams are certain of their final place, there seems to be a distancing happening at the top of the table, with Manchester United set to win their second straight title, wresting it away from the sorry City fans a few miles east.

The teams that will be relegated are not yet firmly established, but are starting to take their unwelcomed seats, and the fight for fourth will be sorted out soon.

But one question still remains unanswered: Who is the better player, Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie?

Over the past few weeks, I have found myself vexed by the amount of wavering that surrounds the very question. What I find even more confounding is, why does it even matter? Both players are exceptional at the game and have been a major reason for the successes of their team.

But questions are not meant to go unanswered in society, even those which have none.

There is no answer is never an answer to the opaque question of “who is better” in sports. But there is room for debate. Philosophical ties are attached to your answer that you might have not recognized before, that speak as much to your character as sports fan as they do your allegiance to a particular team. Shades or red may be the only differences in opinions.

I am writing this article today to promote a debate amongst those who love the game. No consensus will be reached, as it truly will never hold up as unanimous. Whoever wins the EPL Player of the Year award will have equal amount of promoters and dissenters behind them.

Below, I will lay out the facts and figures, expressed in my own opinion of how I see they fit into the argument. Then, I want to see the argument come to life in a debate unrivaled on any other digital platform. Let’s see that if we cannot come to an agreement if, at the very least, we can all educate ourselves better to the others point of view.

The Stats

(All stats courtesy of whoscored.com)

I have never been a huge devourer of statistics. I find them helpful in beginning to understand a player or team, but ultimately fall apart under the immense variables that can affect a simple of a game as football.

With so many moving parts, it is nearly impossible to define one particular facet that holds up to epitomize all others. Goals and assists are what I find to be the most relevant, but even then, there can be a certain amount of action that is not accredited for, such as buildup play that creates the space for a forward or teammates missing chances that another creates. It will always be debatable.

 However, my stubbornness cannot ignore the strength numbers have in forming people’s opinions.

Wayne Rooney is have a career year as a Red Devil. His 24 goals is second in the league, but has only attributed four assists. Van Persie betters him in both categories by 27 goals and an incredible 10 assists, accounting for nearly half of Arsenal’s total scores.

However, this is the very spot where the numbers can become deceptive. Rooney has spent the season, flowing back and forth between a deep-lying striker and playing in tandem up top. In both respects, he has acted more as a playmaker this season than ever before.

In contrast, Van Persie is and has been the only lone striker Arsenal has used. He has been at the center of 50 percent of Gunners goals because he is always positioned to do that.

The numbers prove this further, as Rooney averages nearly double the amount of passes a game, showing his role has been more involved in the buildup than the finish. Furthermore, Rooney averages 5.6 accurate long passes a game as opposed to van Persie at 0.9.

None of this is meant to offset one another or show superiority, but rather, present that the numbers can be misleading. With van Persie up top, he finds himself in a position to be much more directly involved with a goal, as opposed to Rooney who may have made the first pass to start the attack, but his deep-lying role might see him behind the actual finish.

It is nearly impossible to separate the two based on the numbers alone. Even their average rating for the season in each game is identical at 7.85 out of 10.

The Team

The argument that has fallen most on the side of van Persie is the team he has around him as opposed to Rooney. Arsenal is clearly the inferior side to United, trailing them by 18 points and never really a threat to overtake them.

Despite that, Arsenal are having great year relative to their recent history, and United are not so bad themselves, getting ready to win their second straight title. The question becomes, who has more influence in their team’s success, Rooney or van Persie?

It is hard to argue that United would be where they are without Rooney, but he has gotten plenty of help. He may lead in goals by a good margin, but Javier Hernandez is putting on a good year with 10 of his own. Not to mention that Antonio Valencia, Nani, Ryan Giggs and Ashley Young have all combined for 36 assists, making the flanks the choice mode of attack for United.

But Rooney still figures prominently in this. It is highly unlikely that these wingers would have these numbers if it was not for Rooney sitting in the middle. Watch any United game and you will see the midfield forced to collapse in on him to not allow one of his cannon shots, leaving the flanks open for crosses. Rooney simply has to pivot and distribute, letting his reputation do all the work.

On the other hand, van Persie’s building of his reputation has been the catalyst for his rise. Everyone was aware of his abilities, but never have they been on such prominent display. You can look to one game to see how effective he has been for Arsenal this season when they took on Liverpool at Anfield.

It was a horrendous performance by the Gunners; they were outplayed for much of the match. Liverpool pressed hard and made the visitors sweat. Van Persie himself had a tough day, taking poor touches and not able to get on the ball enough as his side was dominated in the midfield.

However, what should have been a terrible day for Arsenal turned out to be a career highlight for van Persie. Taking no more than a handful of touches in the entire game, he managed to turn two of them into goals, giving his side the 2-1 shock win and catapulting them to this run that has then safely in third place.

It was more indicative of what van Persie brings to his team, the ability to find the net no matter how poor a day it is for Arsenal, something that always keeps them in the game. He is that very rare threat that as long as he is out there, your net is not safe and probably the only player to have anywhere near this kind of impact on the entire team.

Again, another stalemate is had, where one’s influence for their side does not blatantly overshadow the others. Arguments abound for both, and it is very likely neither team will be where they are if not for these two players.

The Results

It may be a bit contrived, but results are the only thing that I use to measure success in sports. It does not matter for me how a team gets its win or the quality of a player as long as at the end of the game, their heads are held high walking off the pitch.

Rooney is ready to lead United to their second straight EPL crown, while van Persie is going to wrap up another season without a trophy. But on that same note, van Persie helped guide Arsenal to a near shock Champions League quarterfinal appearance, and Rooney could not even get United out of the group stage.

It is obvious that there are glaring holes in both players’ resumes this season, but it seems likely that Rooney is the one who will end with a smile. Of course, this has as much to do with the quality of the team’s that surround them as it does with the player’s own abilities, but there is also the argument of players who simply know how to win.

While van Persie is a brilliant player, he has not been of the utmost consistency throughout the season. His struggles against Bolton, Tottenham, City, Fulham, Wolves and QPR have cost the Gunners valuable points. He may put in brilliant games more often than not, but these slip-ups have cost them any title hopes.

Rooney by no means has been perfect either, but his drops are less frequent, and against sides such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle and City, Rooney’s only truly terrible performance came a week ago and resulted in a loss to Wigan.

The true test of a player’s quality lies in the results they achieve. Given the circumstances and expectations of both teams, both Rooney and van Persie are performing up to that level. The results they are getting are acceptable, but another trophy-less season may be enough to give the edge to Rooney over van Persie.

Conclusion

For me, there is no way to separate the two from by any one means. I do not think individual awards hold much relevance to one’s quality. Football is a team game, and how a player plays has as much to do with the 10 other players on the field as it does with his own abilities.

But alas, I stand alone on this argument and see little point in trying to picket alone on the Internet for change. Instead, I will embrace the debate of narcissism and have attempted to wrangle it toward a view I am more comfortable with.

If you have read between the lines, you may be able to grasp that I think Rooney should be the EPL Player of the Year. But this has to do with my own prejudices more than anything. Not toward United or even his style of play, but rather, I put much more stock in “The Results” than any other category.

But this is me and perhaps not you. Understandably, the stats become a strong point of intrigued for many. Others may look at how much van Persie has done with so little around him as why he deserves the award. Even more will find another way to judge the players and form an opinion.

But what is important here is to form an opinion and defend it. That is what I am asking the readers to do. The Internet has given us all a voice, so do not be a spectator in this debate and use words to make that voice known. Please leave your comments below and let’s see if we cannot all find out together who deserves to the EPL Player of the Year.

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