EPL: What the PFA Team of the Year Really Should Have Looked Like

That Robin van Persie was named PFA Player of the Year shocked no one.

With 27 goals and countless saving performances for Arsenal this season, there really was no chance the Dutchman was ever going to miss out on the award, no matter what Match of the Day's Brendan Rogers believes.

(Rogers claimed that Manchester United's Wayne Rooney should have won instead of van Persie.)

No, the Dutchman was well deserving of that distinction.

Where critics will gather in force, however, is over the PFA's Team of the Season, which had some very questionable inclusions.

Here's how the official PFA Team of the Year looked:

Keeper: Joe Hart, Manchester City
Right Back: Kyle Walker, Tottenham Hotspur
Center Back: Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle United
Center Back: Vincent Kompany, Manchester City
Left Back: Leighton Baines, Everon
Central Midfielder: Scott Parker, Tottenham Hotspur
Central Midfielder: Yaya Toure, Manchester City
Right Midfielder: David Silva, Manchester City
Left Midfielder: Gareth Bale, Tottenham Hotspur
Striker: Wayne Rooney, Manchester United
Striker: Robin van Persie, Arsenal

All admirable choices, but in some circumstances, different players should have earned that distinction.

Here's what the team really should have looked like.

Keeper: Joe Hart

The young England No. 1 has been excellent between the sticks for Manchester City this season, posting a quite astounding 77.7 save percentage from 123 shots on goal.

Manchester City have had one of the best defenses in the Premiership this season, and with the likes of Vincent Kompany snuffing out danger in front of him, Hart was likely "saved" from making countless other stops.

But that doesn't take away from his prowess. Eighteen clean sheets (all competitions) says an awful lot.

His instincts are superb, his decision-making is assured. He earned this honor, and stays on the list.

Right Back: Kyle Walker

The calls for another young Englishman to be added to England's squad for the European Championships have grown in force this season, but Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker also deserves a hard look ahead of the trip to Poland and Ukraine.

Whether he was scoring winners against Arsenal (2-1 back in October), or stalling attacks with his impressive positioning, Walker was immense for Spurs this season. Despite their recent slide, his form has remained.

There's a reason he was named PFA Young Player of the Year. Many may have felt Sergio Aguero deserved the honor, but no one would have denied Walker a claim to the title.

Center Back: Laurent Koscielny

Fabricio Coloccini is a fine defender, but given that Newcastle sit just one spot ahead of Arsenal in the league's defensive rankings (42 goals conceded to the Gunners' 43), there's no reason to think that Laurent Koscielny wouldn't deserve inclusion on the PFA Team of the Year ahead of him.

The Frenchman has overcome that difficult debut season in 2010-11, and has been one of the most improved players in the entire league.

With defenders falling like flies at the Emirates due to various injuries, Koscielny has been a vital source of composure, and manager Arsene Wenger has to have taken heart that he could call on him so many times.

His pace is superior to Coloccini, and while he doesn't boast the same shock of hair, he is as good if not better in challenges.

Center Back: Vincent Kompany

The Belgian central defender with the regal air deserved every vote he got for the Team of the Year.

Perhaps his recent match against Arsenal best exemplified his season. In a campaign where Manchester City have endured so many scandals (see: Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez), the austere Kompany has been a source of calm amidst the storm.

He was near impeccable against the Gunners on April 8, containing Robin van Persie and snuffing out countless Arsenal attacks.

There was one instance where he allowed an attacker—it may have been Van Persie—a bit too much space on the edge of the area, but he quickly recovered and made a saving tackle. Mikel Arteta's winner came close to the edge of the area, but Kompany could hardly be blamed for that.

He was impressive as anyone else in the league, and that's the sort of play that wins a man awards.

Left Back: Leighton Baines

He has become the dark horse to start at left-back for England this summer; no small feat considering that Ashley Cole is standing in his way.

Baines is one of the most impressive defenders in the league, and his movement on the flanks has a penchant for being excellent.

There's a reason he's being linked to clubs such as United (see link). His star is beginning an inexorable rise.

Central Midfielder: Yohan Cabaye

So much for the supposed grace period many foreigners must go through when they first arrive in the Premier League.

Yohan Cabaye, signed from Lille last summer and the latest in what is becoming a healthy French infusion at the northern English club, wasted little time in acclimating himself to the rigorous pace and speed of the EPL.

He scored goals in any manner of ways: free kicks, well-timed finishes, etc., but his true worth for Newcastle, which have surprised many this season on the way to their current fourth-place standing came in his calm distribution in the middle of the park.

There's a reason he's supplanted some of the bigger names on the French national team, where he currently holds a starting role in midfield alongside Yann M'Vila.

Laurent Blanc, manager of Les Bleus, could care less about the name; he cares far more about that player's 'game', something he has continued to use as a philosophy since taking over from Raymond Domenech and that disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa, where stars led the French ship astray.

Not to dig at Scott Parker, but doesn't it defeat the purpose of labeling a player "underrated" when he's mentioned as frequently as the current Spurs mid?

Parker was great this season, but Cabaye was better.

Central Midfielder: Mikel Arteta

Yaya Toure has been excellent this season, but City did not begin that infamous nosedive in form when the Ivorian left for the African Cup of Nations in January.

He is a crucial component of Roberto Mancini's side, but City never looked as forlorn in midfield without him as Arsenal did this past weekend in their first game without Arteta, who had succumbed to a season-ending ankle injury against Wigan on April 16.

Arteta wasted little time in integrating himself into the side upon securing a transfer from Everton on deadline day last summer. No small feat, given as how the Gunners are renowned for playing a very particular brand of aesthetically pleasing football predicated upon passing and movement.

It spoke to the princely Spaniard's technical prowess that he immediately made himself an irreplaceable commodity in midfield. He manned the role alongside Alex Song with aplomb, moving about the middle of the park to bring teammates in on the play.

He even chipped in the odd wonder-goal every now and then (see: Manchester City winner on April 8).

Right Midfielder: Antonio Valencia

Wayne Rooney rightly earned mention alongside Robin van Persie as a possible candidate for the PFA Player of the Year Award—the Liverpudlian's 24 league goals are nothing short of sensational—but Antonio Valencia, the first choice at right wing for the Red Devils all season, failed to receive the same sort of praise from the awards committees.

That should be changed. The Ecuadorian has been in fine form for United all season, and became one of the most dangerous wide men in the league.

Four goals and 13 assists later, the 26-year-old has run rampant against most opposing sides. He missed about a month during February and March after suffering a hamstring injury in a Europa League match against Ajax, but it spoke to his proficiency and professionalism that in his first match back, a March 18 league tilt against Wolves, he provided a goal and two assists in a 5-0 rout.

Left Midfielder: David Silva

Before Christmas, I'd have said Manchester City midfielder David Silva was a lock for the Team of the Year, and perhaps even Player of the Year honors.

But for whatever reason—fatigue, jadedness, etc., the Spaniard has been nowhere near the same force in the past two months.

Awards are granted for an entire season's body of work, however, and few can rival the Spaniard's total output for City.

He was one of the main reasons the sky blue-clad side rocketed into first place in the initial portions of the season, pulling the strings in midfield and putting opposing defenses under pressure repeatedly with his excellent decision making and distribution.

Striker: Wayne Rooney

He will have been buoyed by the news that his father was cleared of all wrongdoing in a betting investigation that has dragged on since last year.

With that weight off his mind, just imagine how much more dangerous he'll be for opposing defenses in the final games of the season.

A brace against Aston Villa on April 15, another brace against Everton in that 4-4 thriller this weekend past. Maybe his success this season is all down to the hair.

When on form, there are few more fun to watch than Rooney. His 24 league goals have helped bolster Manchester United's title hopes, and while they have seen their sky blue neighbors launch a new assault on the top position in recent weeks (they have a revitalized Carlos Tevez to thank for that), should United grace the winner's podium in May, they'll have Rooney to thank first and foremost.

Striker: Robin Van Persie

Twenty-seven league goals, 10 assists, and one PFA Player of the Year award.

Not too shabby an output from the prolific Dutchman, who has almost single-handedly provided the saving grace for Arsenal's season.

There were spells—October to December, February to the end of March, where van Persie was on another planet, his form was so sublime.

How many times did he provide the winner for Arsenal? Too many to count. How many times was his class the deciding factor?

It didn't matter where the match took place—in the fiery cauldron of Anfield (his brace secured a 2-1 victory over Liverpool), or the comfortable confines of the Emirates (his excellent goals sealed 1-0 victories over both Everton and QPR in December), van Persie was at the top of his game.