Quantcast
View from the Kop

Suarez leaves RVP and Bale trailing

|
Image for Suarez leaves RVP and Bale trailing

Suarez Liverpool FCNEVER mind the eventual outcome, the Premier League’s Player of the Year is crystal clear.

Right now it is a three way battle rather than the formality that it should be.

Despite Gareth Bale’s red hot form over the past two months making him the favourite for the award and Robin van Persie’s continued brilliance in front of goal for Manchester United, the best player in the Premier League this year is obvious, and a trophy is not needed to confirm what people surely already know but aren’t ready to acknowledge.

The award should, of course, always be given to the best player over the entire season and whichever way you dress it up, one man alone has been consistently producing performances worthy of such an accolade above all others. The problem and doubt occurs because these awards don’t always go to the players most deserving of them. There are always ulterior motives.

Ryan Giggs was voted player of the year in 2009 despite starting only 12 games and scoring once for Manchester United. Sure, it was a fitting gesture for a man whose career even back then was defying the boundaries of age, but taking the award at face value, Giggs’ win was little more than a farce. He was awarded the trophy based on sentimentality and as recognition for his longevity and professionalism, not because he was the best player in the Premier League.

The reason that this season’s outstanding player, Luis Suarez, is a distant third in the running for this year’s award right now has nothing to do with his performances on the pitch. It is down to his public persona. Suarez won’t win Player of the Year because people generally don’t like him. Sure, van Persie has been phenomenal for United and after a very good first 6 months of the season, Bale has finally gone into overdrive down at White Hart Lane, but neither have been as consistently enthralling or important as regularly as the Uruguayan this term. Suarez leads the goal scoring charts but that isn’t the half of it.

Suarez has bewildered defenders week in, week out and scored not only a great number of goals, but also a great number of great goals. He has played as a spearhead striker for most of the season, leading Liverpool’s forward line with little in the way of support around him.

Latterly, he has been deployed behind Daniel Sturridge and struck up, in a handful of games, the kind of telepathic partnership that usually requires months of practice to attain. He has even played on the left wing for Brendan Rodgers and still managed to excel. He is playing in a side that has little hope of attaining Champions League football and one that has included teenagers and underachievers as his main support acts for much of the season.
[ad_pod id=”unruly-video” align=”center”]
In Steven Gerrard’s mind he is the best player the Liverpool captain has ever played with. Think about that for a second. Michael Owen won the Ballon d’Or while playing with Gerrard. Wayne Rooney has featured for years alongside Gerrard for England. Fernando Torres was the best striker on the planet during his time alongside Liverpool’s skipper. Yet unequivocally, Gerrard rates Suarez higher than all of them. It’s little wonder.

Suarez’s superiority this season is no slight on the incredible contributions of Bale and van Persie who both produce wonderful moments at crucial times, which is indeed the hall mark of the world’s great players. However, while van Persie can stun opponents with one piece of cerebral movement and Bale can unleash an Exocet missile with an effortless swing of his elegant left foot, neither have been as influential as Suarez.

Wherever he is on the pitch, whoever the opponent, Suarez affects games with alarming regularity. It seems that no game in which he is participating in is ever more than a few seconds away from his involvement. Whether it’s leaving a defender eating the Anfield turf, killing a high ball with his chest and rounding Tim Krul to score one of the goals of the season or spraying one of the best passes you could wish to see to Daniel Sturridge at the Emirates, whatever the game, you can almost guarantee that Liverpool’s number 7 is on the verge of producing something special and stamping his authority on it.

This isn’t merely opinion, even the stats back up how influential Suarez has been this season in the Premier League. He has scored more goals than anyone else, he has taken more touches in the penalty area than any other player, he has played more key passes than any other forward in the league and he has also taken more shots than his peers. It’s a shame no one is counting nutmegs as Suarez has probably accrued more of them than the rest of the league combined.

For Liverpool he is essentially two players rolled into one. He is their goal scorer and also their best creator of chances. That is incredibly rare and it perfectly encapsulates his crucial involvement throughout the season. It is all the more remarkable when you consider that he is playing in a side that is a long way behind the likes of Manchester United or Tottenham.

Perhaps the best way to sum up Suarez’s dominance even over two outstanding talents like Bale and van Persie is that while those two players regularly produce moments that define games, Suarez has the propensity to dominate them from start to finish. His playing style is utterly unique. A blend of tireless work ethic, mercurial skill, inventiveness and lethal finishing, he is the most enthralling and entertaining player these shores have seen since Cristiano Ronaldo departed for Madrid.

It won’t be him, but regardless of who it is picking up the trophy, Luis Suarez is the Player of the Year.
[ad_pod id=’DFP-MPU’ align=’right’]
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com

Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook

Share this article

47 comments

  • Stoney says:

    Suarez is also the outstanding candidate for racist cheating scumbag of the year. Perhaps when the votes are cast that may influence people’s thinking. If he wasn’t such an abhorrent individual I might deem him worthy, but he’s not, he has an awful lot of improving as a humanbeing before he should be lauded.

    • Keep says:

      I see your thinking. It may rule him out of ‘humanbeing’ of the year but, luckily, we’re talking about FOOTBALLER of the year. I think the author already addressed the point you made so your comment is pretty irrelevant tbh

      • Stoney says:

        No he didn’t address it. He said ‘people generally don’t like him’. That’s a very meek reference and nothing more, and of course your feeble excuse. I was just elaborating on the author’s virtual disregard. And when the author is talking about Suarez to make a comment about him in reply is far from irrelevant. Footballer of the year should be judged by more than one criteria, and thankfully it is. Not just goals scored but by how well rounded as a player the individual is.

        • Keep says:

          And yet Giggs won this award in 2009 and Maradona is considered the greatest (arguably) player to have ever graced a football pitch. The Player of the year should be based on performances and consistency over the year/season. Suarez has comfortably excelled through that criteria.
          It is merely you and a couple of silly others who are assuming it to be based purely on his goals. His impact for Liverpool has consistently, throughout the season, has been more influential and important than any other individual player.

      • charlie says:

        no mention of Bale’s diving then? Bale has been booked more times for diving than Suarez this season and yet you completely ignore that fact. I guess it would be too much to expect an impartial view from you. And if you think Suarez is racist then you really are a complete moron. He seems to get on fine with Johnson, Sturridge, Sterling, Wisdom etc and Johnson has even come out publicly to say that he is in no way racist. But obviously you know him better from whatever tripe you’ve read in the tabloids…muppet

    • Patrick says:

      You are a moron Stoney. Suarez is not racist its more Evra is the racist . Wasn’t it Evra who called and I quote ” you south American” now to me that’s not being racist but in the eyes on our politically sensitive world it is as soon as you mention race or country. Suarez has black blood in his veins and has many black friends. That doesn’t make him a racist. Also it was his word against another, no proof, no witness, no tv footage unlike Terry and he was cleared in a legal court.

      Whether or not he is racist or not it shouldn’t determine if he wins the award or not.

    • StoneyKnowsNothing says:

      You might deem him worthy ? Im sorry have you scored over 20 goals in a season of one of the worlds top flight leagues aswell ? otherwise STFU

      • Stoney says:

        I’ll try and explain it for you another way. Now, pay attention this time. ‘Footballer of the Year’ not ‘Goalscorer’. The clue is in the title. Aren’t people quick to tell sports stars they are role models for the younger generations? You may be able to overlook his dark side, no pun intended, but I can’t and neither can a lot of other people. Perhaps you should STFU, as you put it, before you embarrass yourself further.

        • tottspur says:

          What a load of rubbish, only the red half of merseyside think he deserves it, no-one has had more impact on a team then Bale has had with Spurs, even opposing managers alter their tatics to combat his play, Suarez scores and plays well against lesser teams, whereas Bale scores against Lyon,Inter,Man Utd & Arsenal, so sorry mate this is a bias artical, after all its Bale that dominates headlines these days not Suarez & he’ll prove it on sunday when he scores the winner against yous

        • Keep says:

          I see its you who, again, misses the point. Read the article. It’s not about who has been the better human being or role model. Suarez has been the best and most influential player. Go back, read it again.

        • Matt says:

          Tottspur read again mate, Saurez is leading goalscorer has had more key passes than any other forward, has had more touches inside the penalty area, has had more shots on goal than any other player, its very clear he is the best. Ask any expert and they will say Saurez. Yeah Bale has scored against bigger teams and is very good player no doubt about it but no way near to the class of Saurez.
          Your Bale will shut down while Saurez will run riot.
          Come on you Reds. YNWA

        • vjm says:

          Stone… “Footballer of the year” do you mean football is only scoring goals, then what the hell are these defenders and midfielders were doing on the pitch. Do you mean defenders and mids can not receive that award. For this award def,mids and goalie all are in competition.

          For tottspur
          We are supporting our player and you are entitled to support yours. Its better you go and comment on spurs site.

          vjm

    • redrum says:

      Ignorant and dumb comment stones . Suarez is not a racist , even the FA and evra admitted that . And there are probably a hundred players who have dived in premier league.

      Tell u one thing for sure – Suarez hasn’t dived as many times as bale that’s fir sure

    • Stoneythe-empty says:

      Stoney watch futbol not when ur stoned. N it’s not a contest for best human being. Ur clearly so empty upstairs .

      • Stoneythe-empty says:

        By the way, mr empty upstairs the stats hasn’t included to rate the least injury suffered to indicate the strength n fitness of the player. Can anyone , of course not you Empty- tell me when Suarez was out injured ? Please. N do consider the fact that defenders are n will all be giving it to him n he has been getting so much attention from them n yet he is still out there on the field since the first time I know about this great player. Which player that gets such attention from opponents since two years hasn’t really got injured ? i can name one which is just what I see but not so sure – Jordan Henderson. But that’s coz he shy away from challenges n don’t get Suarez’s kind of attention. I won’t be surprised if Suarez isn’t given the award but everyone knows coz it’s not entirely based of what the awards requires… only footballing assesment n nothing else.

    • kendrick says:

      why are you even here stoney ? get lost you jerk

  • Andy says:

    Please also take into account that Suarez has played in nearly every single Liverpool match this season where both Van Persie and Bale have missed some through Injury or simply rotation…something Liverpool simply can’t afford to do.
    I do agree these three players are the best three at the moment but don’t think for one second that he is that good because Stevie G says so..Hes a great player and any team would enjoy having him but he is a disgrace, and just like Steve G a thug. Check his background from before Liverpool he got in as much trouble then as well..Just wasn’t the Premier League where he was going to be watched thoroughly week in week out..
    If he gets top goal scorer at the end and can do anything for Liverpool and that reputation they no longer have then great give him the award. Football isnt about being the nice guy but being a racist cheat isnt going to win you awards or friends.. Liverpool fans need to learn when to be humble about something rather than glorify it.

    • redrum says:

      Stevie G – a thug ? Kop on u moron . You don’t know what ur talking about.

      And Suarez is NOT a racist or a cheat . Yes he tried to wind evra up by calling him negr0 , and yes he has dived . In that case half the players in the world are cheats

      • Mark says:

        He is a racist and a cheat, he has already scored with his hand this season.

        • redrum says:

          Bale dives EVERY week

        • TaintlessRed says:

          The ball deflected off the keeper in an instant you idiot. Have ever played football? He was 1 foot from the goal. Name me a single player who wouldn’t have played on. No player would have stopped and said oops – it hit my hand. Not even de Canio.

  • David Jackson says:

    Dream on! Suarez may be a great striker but he definitely doesn’t stand a chance against Bale. I don’t think Suarez will stay with Liverpool because he must play in the champions league. He should join spurs and have a wonderful time combining with bale. That will be hot!!!

    • Keep says:

      Believe you had your chance before he came to us. Harry didn’t think he was good enough. Wheeler dealer

  • Mark says:

    Good to see you have a sense of humour with this tongue in cheek article.

  • Enemakwu says:

    Meaning?

  • Enemakwu says:

    Jackson, u r honourably senseless 4 now and 4eva.

  • jake says:

    suarez is a one man team, in fact, the reason that his statistics are so strong is because he is a big fish in a small pond. Take ManU’s squad, loaded with top class forward players (rooney, nani, welbeck), and RvP is excelling amongst quality. put suarez in a decent team and his statistics will drop massively. so he leads the league in goals, that wouldn’t be the case if wasn’t able to pull the trigger at the ratio he currently does.

    • Keep says:

      Yet he still excels with Uruguay. He’s done it wherever he’s been but deny his ability because he seems an unsavory character

    • Matt says:

      Check ya stats jake, utterly clueless u are. Did u see his goal scoring record at Ajax? I

  • Paul Selby says:

    If he was as brilliant and influential as you say, would Liverpool not be in the top 3?? Clearly he’s not doing that good a job. Where was he when you were losing and drawing so often? Yes he’s top scorer, yes he is quality, but he hasn’t won as many points for his team as RVP (21) and bale (15), he had won 12 for Liverpool last time I looked. Bale has scored 15 this season and most of them came from midfield, he wasn’t even a striker for the 1st half of the season! Would love to have Suarez at spurs, he’s ace, just not as good or as exciting to watch as bale : )

    • Matt says:

      Kop on Selby, it’s clear you are brainless.

    • TaintlessRed says:

      The reason we aren’t higher are the other mediocre players around him. Ronaldo plays wide but has total license to attack and hence scores more than when he, occasionally, played as a central striker. Bale scores nearly all his goals on the counter attack. Suarez is the only one of the 3 that controls and dictates games. Bale and van purse strings just produce the finishing touches.

  • Youngpac says:

    I wonda y ppl wl b calin suarez a cheat nd racist when we ar talkn about PFA of d year pls al suarez hater’s pls check webb record dos he dserv best ref b4 jurgen dis golden boy in EPL.

  • Fly Society* says:

    @stoney you’re a *idiot. this article is talking about the * dipsh* like you that are going rob Suarez of his deserved player of the year award. Anyone with a brain and a pair of eyes can see Suarez is – and no doubt – the best PLAYER in the premier league. Bar the dive against stoke, he is not a cheat, otherwise every bloody player in the premier league is a cheat. As for the whole “racism” row, he explained that but lets be honest…. Evra is a piece of *and only manc’s like him anyway. JOG ON.

  • Youngpac says:

    Maradona scored wt hand dey said is “hand of God” messi scored wt hand ‘SECOND MARADONA’ Point of correction suarez neva scored wt hand if ur talkn about zenit in europa den u watch foothball 4rm d mirrow.

  • Paul Selby says:

    Nope didn’t catch a word of that

  • Youngpac says:

    They shuld have gave you wako jackson instade of david jackson for insulting golden boy of our time in EPL presently.

  • Brad says:

    What a bunch of nitwits on here. Suarez is clearly the best all around footballer in the league. He is also a good family man and if you believe otherwise it just says that your jelly brain is susceptible to ridiculous gutter media attempts to villainise him.
    Think for yourself people!
    And “Stoney”…first comment (of course as your probably rooted to your couch doing nothing all day)..get a grip mate-Suarez is twice the man you will ever be.

  • MJ_Seomoni says:

    SUAREZ is the BEST… Love him or hate him, he always gets d job done! YNWA El Pistolero, ME LOVE YOU PLENTY!

  • jusreal.. says:

    The man to watch in EPL For the moment… Haters can hate for all i care…. King Suarez you are simply nothing but the best… give him a break…… YNWA…

  • Kelvin says:

    LFC fans are just wasting ur time on this spurs supporters, thought u guyz have better things to do with ur time, suarez is the best all round footballer in the league right now. If judging by what u do for ur team, then i think michu should be ahead of bale then, since his life as a human what has bale achieved? Just an ugly looking footballer- simply overhyped. Whoever says suarez scores against the weaker team do not watch football at all- probably chelsea, arsenal, newcastle, mancity(freekick), everton(double), probably the likes of southampton, aston villa, stoke city etc, are probably the bigger teams in epl, spurs fans grow up, even if u smell the champions league for 100 years to come, u will never smell one semi final lols. Bale rvp are all behind suarez and they both know.

  • Prince says:

    I am a chelsea fan but to be truthful, i would rather have a suarez in chelsea than a bale and RVP COMBINED, SUAREZ IS A BETTER FOOTBALLER THAN BOTH, BALE AND RVP ARE GUD SO DNT GET ME WRONG, BUT SUAREZ HAS GOT THE TECHNIQUE, FINESE, SKILLS, PACE, FINISHING, PASSION. HE IS A FIGHTER. BALE HAS GOT PACE ALONE WHILE RVP has the finishing touch alone. But suarez got both, everyone would admit lfc are struggling cause of change in philosophy, individual defensive errors made people not to see the points he has won for them this season. Against mancit, he scored the wining goal (freekick) but skretel gifted mancity a draw, against everton he got the wining goal, the ref wrongly denied them the 3points, against newcastle, he scored the stunning equalizer which bale and rvp will never score both combined, and yet set a chance for shelvey to score on a platter of gold only for him(shelvey) to blow it up, he scores stunning free kicks which both would look at in envy, gave them a point against chelsea, hence brought them back to the game. If diving is the criteria for not wining it, i think bale should never be mentioned in this list, even yesterday’s match against inter, bale was booked for diving, if it is all about position in the league, bale is not worth it yet again cause Rvp should be awarded it, if it is judged on key passes, then bale is also not deserving of the trpophy, if it is goal ratio, yet again bale is far from it. So what puts bale ahead of suarez? This thing should be judged on football on the pitch and not on sentimental base. As a chelsea fans, they are all good players which to have all of them in my team(chelsea) but suarez is above them all. Ans that is final.

    • charlie says:

      finally an impartial comment, thank you prince.

      I think you people need to be a little careful accusing people you have never met of being racist based on what you have read in the media and an FA verdict that had no tangible evidence to back it up whatsoever, especially when you consider the player in question’s grandfather is of African descent.

  • ooladele1 says:

    Saurez is a true warrior,never say die player,despite d fact d fact that he denied Ghana a place in semi final in SA,I aknowledge is skills,eye for goal,he does not tap d ball into net like chilarito or RVP,he engineer d attack,make moves in d box,dazzle n score great goal,now d king of dead balls,scored 3 free kicks in his last 2 games,watch his game againt zenith n u ve a rethink,LFC is not complementing his effort with result n league position but with d arrival of sturridge n coutiho dat will be sorted.I am an African,I love Suarez and blacks all over the world love Suarez even more than Evra. Man u claim 2 be discipline n alwaz over ferdinard’s attitude on pitch n rubbish on tweeter,ferdinand will
    Twit about everything even how he got laid

Comments are closed.