Cascarino Says PFA Award Was 'Nonsense'

Tony Cascarino, pundit for the New Football Pools says the PFA Awards were nonsense and that Gerrard should have won!

'The fact that Ryan Giggs has won the PFA Player of the Year award is absolute nonsense in my opinion. I`ve nothing against Ryan who has been a fantastic advocate for the game and his club but he has won purely on a sentiment vote.

Giggs has made less Premier League starts than in any of his previous seasons barring his debut season and scored just once in the league yet wins the award, how does that make sense?

Let`s be brutally honest, Steven Gerrard has been 10 times better than Giggs this season. Apart from one poor game against Chelsea in the Champions League he has been great this season. Steven has made 26 league starts and scored 13 goals in a great season for him personally. In fact, I`d put players who weren`t even in the nominations higher than Giggs this season. His team-mate Wayne Rooney has been good as has Frank Lampard who has continued to score from midfield. Therefore, this award must go down as a sentiment vote which totally devalues the award.

Even in my playing days I always regarded these awards as a bit of nonsense basically because players tend to vote stupidly. They go for names of players they rate rather than people that have played well over the course of the season. Just look at this year`s team of the year. Take into account the votes are made in January and that Fernando Torres is in the side. Now don`t get me wrong Torres is a top, top striker but he has missed a lot of the season and only scored 7 league goals by the end of January. He has only been at his best in the last few months so you have to take these votes into context.

Edwin van der Sar was a nominee for the overall award as well as named in the team of the year which I don`t agree with. For me, the Dutchman can`t kick a ball properly and tends to shank it all over the place. He is certainly not in the same class as the likes of Peter Schmeichel and David Seaman. If you had to pick a keeper I`d have gone for Aston Villa`s Brad Friedel or Liverpool`s Jose Reina who have both performed really well.

Votes should be cast at the end of the season which would help improve the awards but while players pick other players they like rather than those who deserve it, these strange decisions will continue.'

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