Ryan Giggs’ winning of the PFA player’s player of the year award has been controversial. Many questioned even the Welshman’s presence in the shortlist of six for the prize, citing his limited involvement in Manchester United’s successful campaign.
One Manchester City fan took exception to the point where he got involved in an angry email exchange with PFA chairman Gordon Taylor, and the suggestion that there were more deserving recipients is hard to ignore.
Taylor’s assertion that the assembling of the shortlist was a democratic process reached through a ballot of the players themselves reveals how popular Giggs is. He might not have been the best player of the season, but his peers felt he deserved the recognition.
Giggs has not won the award before and his belated triumph can be seen as a cumulative award rather than just a prize for his limited involvement this season.
The presence of five other United players in the Premier League team of the year suggests the soon-to-be crowned champions have been by far the best team this year, but none of those players were streets ahead of Giggs. His defensive colleagues perhaps have the most valid claims to the award.
It’s a safe football bet that none of those players would grudge Giggs his moment of individual glory, which is further proof of Giggs’ popularity. He has played and scored in every Premier League season and perhaps his fellow players could not believe that he had not won the award before.
A touch of sentimentality is not the worst thing English football has to confront and perhaps those who criticise Giggs’ victory can choose to see it as a long-service award. If there is no outstanding candidate next season we might see Paul Scholes, another United stalwart who has not received PFA recognition, being honoured.