The Behind The Goal Awards: World Cup 2014

As the 2014 FIFA World Cup draws to a conclusion with the final between Germany and Argentina, and  before that the third place play-off featuring Brazil and the Netherlands, I take an early look back at the best and worst of the tournament with a World Cup edition of the BTG Awards.

Player of the Tournament:

The World Cup was all about which of the game's genuine superstars would announce to the world that they were the best. Cristiano Ronaldo flattered to decieve in a disappointing Portugal side. Neymar threatened to take it by storm before his injury ended Brazil's hopes of letting him. Lionel Messi has the chance to become an all-time legend of the game with a win in the final, but he hasn't taken Argentina there single handedly. Which leads us to the player without whom his nation would have looked far weaker, especially one already missing another world class player in Radamel Falcao. My player of the tournament scored six goals, and was only stopped in the quarter final by some rough tactics by Brazil. The winner is Colombia's James Rodriguez.

Goal of the Tournament:

'Ham-ess' also wins this award, for this...

Biggest disappointment (player):

While the game's world class players proved why they are just that by scoring goals, influencing games or producing brilliant pieces of skill, another's World Cup participation will only be remembered for a moment of madness. Uruguay's Luis Suarez's bite of Giorgio Chiellini of Italy cost his country their realistic tournament challenge and himself a four month ban from football. After a phenomenal season for Liverpool, I thought his previous misdemeanours were things of the past. All eyes will be on the striker when he returns to action, probably at Barcelona.

Biggest disappointment (team):

While few in my country expected our team to win the competition, or even reach the business end, elimination in the group stage fell far below the standard required. Granted, England were in a difficult group, and their two defeats came against teams higher than them in the FIFA rankings, but what was difficult to accept is that while Roy Hodgson's side were never outclassed, they were never clinical enough in the key areas to win those games. The final game against shock quarter finalists Costa Rica was one of the biggest non-events in the history of English football. I don't think Hodgson should pay with his job, and it looks like he won't, but we will expect far better in the next European Championship if he and this group are given two more years to gel together.

Best game:

Round of 16
Brazil 1-1 Chile (Brazil won 3-2 on penalties)

Worst game:

Group stage
Iran 0-0 Nigeria

Boob of the Tournament:

My pre-tournament prediction that the Netherlands would fail to make it past the group stage. I was very relieved that Argentina knocked them out in the semi final. I would never have lived it down if the Oranje had won it all!

The Behind The Goal Awards 2014

What a season it has been in the Barclays Premier League. One of the closest title races for years has gone all the way to the final week of the campaign, and while it should be won by Manchester City now following Liverpool's dramatic collapse at Crystal Palace, you cannot take it for granted the way it has gone in recent weeks. At the bottom, Cardiff City have been relegated after just a single season in the top flight, along with Fulham and almost certainly Norwich City. Sunderland's upturn in form has come at exactly the right time, and Gus Poyet has got the Black Cats over the line for another year in the Premier League.

Leicester City and Burnley will join the elite next season after romping to the automatic promotion positions in the Sky Bet Championship; the latter defying this blog's prediction of an 18th-place finish. Derby County and Queens Park Rangers' play-off positions were nailed on for most of the season, but Wigan Athletic and Brighton and Hove Albion were made to sweat for theirs; the Seagulls not securing a top-six finish until stoppage time at Nottingham Forest on the last day. We await the play-offs with excitement once again.

It's also been another enjoyable year on a personal level as I have continued Behind The Goal for a second season. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my work and supporting the page.

Here are the 2nd annual Behind The Goal Awards. If you agree or disagree with any nominations or winners, let me know either on this page or on Twitter @adamgray50.

Player Of The Year:

Nominations: Wilfried Bony, Steven Gerrard, Eden Hazard, Daniel Sturridge, Luis Suarez, Yaya Toure.

He has won the PFA and the Football Writers' awards, and now he has the hat trick. To score 30 goals in a season is not to be sniffed at, and the way in which he has rebuilt his reputation a year after the incident with Branislav Ivanovic is commendable.

The winner is Luis Suarez.

Goal Of The Season:

Nominations:

Christian Benteke (Aston Villa v Norwich at Villa Park)

Graham Dorrans (WBA v Man City at the Etihad)
Pajtim Kasami (Fulham v Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park)
Pablo Osvaldo (Southampton v Man City at St Mary’s)
Wayne Rooney (Man Utd v West Ham at Upton Park)
Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal v Tottenham at White Hart Lane)
Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea v Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium)
Luis Suarez (1st goal, Liverpool v Norwich at Anfield)
Alexander Tettey (Norwich v Sunderland at Carrow Road)
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal v Norwich at the Emirates)

All types of goals in this list, and any could have won, but the winner is this beauty from an early season London derby.

Best signing of the season:

Nominations: Wilfried Bony,Fernandinho, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Jason Puncheon, Willian.

This award goes to a player whose team would have been in serious relegation trouble without his signing. To come into the Premier League and score 15 goals for a mediocre side is no mean feat, and Swansea must be praised for taking a punt on a striker from Dutch football.

The winner is Wilfried Bony.

Manager Of The Year:

Nominations: Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Roberto Martinez, Manuel Pellegrini, Gus Poyet, Tony Pulis, Brendan Rodgers.

It is difficult not to give the award to Brendan Rodgers, considering how close he has taken Liverpool to the title, but the winner has taken his Crystal Palace team to a scarcely believable 11th place at the time of writing. I think people forget how bad they were under their sacked former manager Ian Holloway. They looked embarrassingly out of their depth at this level, yet they now have the potential to establish themselves as a tough-to beat, mid-table outfit.

The winner is Tony Pulis.

Premier League Rookie Of The Year:

Presented to the player playing his debut season in the top flight.

Nominations: Wilfried Bony, Gerard Deulofeu, Christian Eriksen, Fernandinho, Adnan Januzaj, David Marshall.

Any player that can adapt to the speed of the English game and instantly fit in will impress me, and it is no surprise that the likes of Borussia Dortmund are reportedly interested in his services, so for the same reasons as Christian Benteke won it last year I shall award it to one of the best, if still slightly underrated strikers in the league.

The winner is Wilfried Bony.

The Jose Bosingwa Award for Flop Of The Year:

Named in honour of its first winner, whose season was so bad it deserves permanent recognition.

Nominations: Jozy Altidore, Andreas Cornelius, Marouane Fellaini, Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Ricky van Wolfswinkel.

These players have either flattered to decieve (Altidore), failed to live up to a big price tag or reputation (Lamela, Soldado), sent back to their former club (Cornelius), or just been plain rubbish (van Wolfswinkel). But the winner sums up his team's dreadful season on and off the pitch. There's no way he's good enough to play for Manchester United.

The winner is Marouane Fellaini.

Boob of the Year:

Nominations:

Manchester United appointing David Moyes

Tottenham wasting the Gareth Bale money
Cardiff sacking Malky Mackay to appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Arsenal signing an injured Kim Kallstrom and not a striker in January
Andre Marriner sending off Kieran Gibbs instead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Chelsea

The winner is Manchester United appointing David Moyes. Little explanation necessary.

 

The Behind The Goal Awards 2013

Another season of English football is nearly over, and what a year it has been. Manchester United won their 13th Barclays Premier League title, and 20th championship overall, in Sir Alex Ferguson's final year as Old Trafford boss. Wigan Athletic stunned Manchester City to win the FA Cup, yet were relegated just three days later, and the car crash that has been Queen's Park Rangers' season has kept us watching, sometimes through our fingers, as their campaign went from bad to worse. In the Football League, Cardiff City proved that red really is a lucky colour by romping to the Championship title, and the ups and downs went right down to the wire, nowhere more so than at Griffin Park, Brentford, where Doncaster Rovers won League One in spectacular circumstances.

It has also been the debut season of Behind The Goal. It has been enjoyable to write my thoughts and feelings of the season's big moments, and I have read your comments, some I have agreed with, some not so much, but they are all appreciated and your support means a lot.  I thought I would end the season with what I hope will become my annual BTG Awards. You may or may not agree with the winners but I would love to hear why. Send a message at the bottom of the page or Tweet me @adamgray50.

Player Of The Year
Nominations: Robin van Persie, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez, Michu, Christian Benteke, Juan Mata.

I know Bale won the PFA awards, but for me my winner has been the difference between his team winning and losing the league title. At the start of the season there may have been doubts as to whether he was the right signing for his team, but there never was for me. The winner is Robin van Persie.

Signing Of The Season
Nominations: Robin van Persie, Michu, Christian Benteke, Eden Hazard, Dimitar Berbatov, Philipe Coutinho

For the same reasons as above, this signing practically won the league by itself, as I predicted it would in August. The winner is Robin van Persie.

Premier League Rookie Of The Year
Presented to the player playing his first season in the top flight.
Nominations: Christian Benteke, Michu, Eden Hazard, Rickie Lambert, Matthew Lowton, Morgan Schneiderlin.

No doubt all of these players have been excellent additions to the Premier League. many players struggle to adapt to the speed and the relentlessness of the English game, especially strikers, which is why the award has gone where it has. This man broke his team's single-season goals record, and has put himself in the shop window for a summer move to a bigger club potentially. The winner is Christian Benteke.

Goal Of The Season
Nominations: Matthew Lowton (Aston Villa v Stoke), Robin van Persie (Man Utd v Aston Villa), Loic Remy (QPR v Wigan), Gareth Bale (Tottenham v West Ham), Luis Suarez (Liverpool v Newcastle)

For pure technique, and the largely forgotten assist by Wayne Rooney which was one of the most accurate you will ever see, the winner is Robin van Persie's volley against Aston Villa in the game which secured United's title.

Manager Of The Year
Nominations: Andre Villas-Boas, David Moyes, Michael Laudrup, Rafael Benitez, Sam Allardyce, Sir Alex Ferguson

All of these managers have done wonders for their teams in differing circumstances, but there's only one winner I could name. This man has taken what some percieve to be a poor Manchester United team to another title. He has won everything possible, but now he has a BTG award to his name before his well-deserved retirement. The winner is Sir Alex Ferguson.

Flop Of The Year
Nominations: Jose Bosingwa, Esteban Granero, Chris Samba, Joe Allen, Scott Sinclair, Pavel Pogrebnyak

For every good signing, there are always a few bad ones. The fact that three of my nominees play for the same club sums up how wrong it is possible to get transfers. QPR's relegation is not down to just one player, but the winner of this award is the one man which sums up what went wrong at Loftus Road this season the most. So bad in fact, that I may even rename the award in his honour next year. The winner is Jose Bosingwa.

OMG! Moment Of The Year (sponsored by Joey Barton)
Nominations: Suarez's bite on Ivanovic, Brentford v Doncaster, Watford v Leicester, Ben Watson's Cup final winner, Bayern beating Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate.

I would like to think I have seen it all in football, but the winner of this award genuinely left me speechless watching Sky's Gillette Soccer Saturday coverage. For sheer unbelievablity of the situation, the winner is the last minute of Brentford v Doncaster Rovers. You all know what happened, but here it is again! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKyR4f9ylEY