Raheem Sterling and Eden Hazard Lead 2014 FSF Player of the Year Nominees
Raheem Sterling, Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero are among the six nominees for the 2014 Football Supporters' Federation Player of the Year award.
Branislav Ivanovic, Yaya Toure and Morgan Schneiderlin have also made the shortlist for the prize after "thousands of fans across the country" had their say, according to the Ben Nagle of MailOnline.
Kevin Miles, chief executive at the FSF, noted the importance of the supporters' opinion prior to the Dec. 1 ceremony, saying the awards "are a great way for fans to reward the best in the game," per Nagle. "Supporters are the bedrock of the professional game, so there's no higher accolade than getting the nod from the fans."
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
You can cast your vote here.
Performance, and not public reputation, is certainly key. Former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez won last season's award despite being majorly unpopular across the nation. Sterling, his ex-colleague, can undoubtedly be considered the breakout star of the year if he doesn't manage to pick up the main prize.
The rapid winger has responded excellently to Brendan Rodgers' decision to give him great responsibility in the Liverpool starting lineup. He is arguably the club's most important player with Suarez now in Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge injured, joining Steven Gerrard as a key figure behind any of the Reds' success.
Eden Hazard is further down a similar development line at Chelsea and recently won the PFA Young Player of the Year after scoring 14 goals and providing seven assists in 35 Premier League appearances last season, per WhoScored.com.
As noted by the penalty he won and converted during the recent 2-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, his direct dribbling ability often places Jose Mourinho's team on the front foot in tight matches. Like Sterling, Hazard may be ousted to the prize by Aguero or Toure, who are boosted by their Premier League title win.
The latter has been more important to City's success over the last year despite his recent poor form. Toure scored an impressive 20 goals and provided nine assists en route to lifting the trophy last season while offering Manuel Pellegrini an immovable force in midfield, per WhoScored.
Aguero suffered continuous injury problems but still managed to net 17 and provide six assists.
The Argentinian is City's most dangerous player when fit, but he and Toure may receive less votes after a poor run of form for the Etihad side, summed up by B/R UK's Rob Pollard after the recent loss to CSKA Moscow (which saw Toure score and be red-carded):
Ivanovic and Schneiderlin are undoubtedly the outside bets for the prize. Ivanovic has always offered tremendous attacking force from Chelsea's defence—whether moving forward from right-back or adding aerial prowess from corners—and has five goals in his last 46 Premier League appearances, noted by WhoScored.
He has improved defensively under Mourinho and summarises the powerful all-round ability of Chelsea's squad.
Schneiderlin has acted as the main anchor of Southampton's recent success. The Frenchman survived a summer cull (during which he asked to leave) and has only improved since. He is pivotal to Ronald Koeman's side, helping maintain its balance and allowing stars such as Dusan Tadic to creatively shine (much like he did with Adam Lallana).
The 24-year-old has already toppled last season's tally of goals with three in his first 10 appearances this campaign.
He is never far from a booking—picking up 11 in 43 displays, per WhoScored—but utilises his size and technical efficiency to dominate opponents. Schneiderlin is destined for a big-money move at some point should Southampton entertain the idea of selling their talisman.
Football analyst Jack Rathborn noted Schneiderlin's quality:
The FSF awards will play host to 11 different categories, including one which pits Sky Sports' Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher against each other in the Pundit of the Year section, per Nagle. A spread of 66 nominations have been made across the board, meaning a wide range of winners is possible.
As highlighted by the Player of the Year nominees, the fans' view recognises quality. Sterling's meteoric rise is likely to have the most impact on those voting and will be aided by his importance to club and country. Toure is perhaps the next deserving in the eyes of many but will need to up his performances in the coming games to underline his authority.
