Skysports.com reveals the stars of the season as voted for by the readers
Skysports.com decided to give you the chance to vote for your stars of the season after the Professional Footballers' Association dished out their annual awards.
We wanted to see if you agreed with their choice of players for Team of the Year and have been providing several options for each position over the past few weeks.
The feedback came flooding in and we can now compile the best side of the 2008/9 campaign as voted for by the supporters.
Only five members of the PFA's team have made our list, with official Player of the Year Ryan Giggs missing out.
In fact there is just one player from champions Manchester United, while there are four from Everton and a number of other surprises throughout the XI.
Goalkeeper - Edwin van der Sar
There is no disagreement in the No.1 position as Manchester United shot-stopper Van der Sar gets the nod ahead of our other candidates - Pepe Reina, Mark Schwarzer, Shay Given, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Robert Green and Chris Kirkland. The 38-year-old set a new Premier League record of 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal and United's watertight backline was undoubtedly a key factor behind their success.
Right-back - Glen Johnson
The Portsmouth player was named in the PFA XI and has also proved popular with readers, beating off competition from our other seven suggestions - Alvaro Arbeloa, Jose Bosingwa, Vedran Corluka, Mario Melchiot, John Pantsil, Bacary Sagna and Gretar Steinsson. Johnson enjoyed a superb campaign in an ordinary Pompey side, combining his attacking flair with much more consistent defending and his performances also caught the eye of England boss Fabio Capello.
Centre-back - Matthew Upson
Every good team needs a reliable centre-back pairing and we gave you 14 options to cover the two places, which were filled by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the PFA selection. You have opted for West Ham defender Upson in one spot after he helped Gianfranco Zola's men challenge for European qualification. The former Arsenal man turned in a series of fine displays and also established himself as an important member of the England squad.
Centre-back - Phil Jagielka
Jagielka's season finished in disappointing fashion as he suffered a serious knee injury and missed the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea. Everton will feel they would have had a better chance of claiming glory had Jagielka been fit, as the 26-year-old was one of their most assured performers of the year and can take a lot of credit for the Toffees' excellent defensive record.
Left-back - Leighton Baines
Patrice Evra secured the left-back berth for the PFA and was also in contention for this award along with Fabio Aurelio, Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy, Maynor Figueroa, Herita Ilunga and Paul Konchesky. But it is Baines who has gained the recognition of the readers after a stunning second season at Goodison Park. The former Wigan ace was extremely solid at the back and got forward well, providing a threat with his pace and crossing ability.
Right midfielder - Mikel Arteta
Cristiano Ronaldo looked a shoo-in for this position but Arteta has come out top in the poll, seeing off the Manchester United winger and other rivals Simon Davies, Dirk Kuyt, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Antonio Valencia and Theo Walcott. The Spanish schemer suffered a season-ending injury in February but had already made an enormous impact, bringing a different dimension to the Everton side with his vision, creativity and set-piece prowess.
Central midfielder - Steven Gerrard
Giggs may have been overlooked in one of our most competitive categories but Gerrard, who also figured in the PFA team, has proved impossible to ignore. The midfielder was inspirational in Liverpool's ultimately unsuccessful push for the title and delivered the kind of numbers any striker would be proud of, notching 16 goals and numerous other assists, to strengthen his claims to be called the best central midfielder in the world.
Central midfielder - Xabi Alonso
Joining Gerrard in the heart of midfield is his Liverpool colleague Alonso, who was widely tipped to leave Anfield before the start of the season. Rafa Benitez has made it clear the Spaniard will not be leaving now after he had arguably his best campaign with the club. The stylish 27-year-old can play passes that most players can only dream about and also appears to have added more steel to his game.
Left midfielder - Steven Pienaar
The selection of Pienaar will perhaps raise the most eyebrows after the South African received more votes than PFA favourite Ashley Young and our other six candidates - Chris Brunt, Clint Dempsey, Park Ji-sung, Florent Malouda, Samir Nasri and Matthew Taylor. Pienaar has steadily improved throughout the season, adding more goals and assists to his game, while he remains a tenacious character and a formidable opponent.
Striker - Fernando Torres
We offered up ten possible choices for the two positions up front and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Carlton Cole, Peter Crouch, Kevin Davies, Ricardo Fuller, Robinho, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie have fallen by the wayside. Torres takes our first place after continuing to bang in the goals in his second season at Anfield. The former Atletico Madrid star produced some breathtaking moments of magic and Liverpool fans must have been left wondering what could have been achieved if he had not had to deal with several niggling injuries.
Striker - Nicolas Anelka
Our strikers mirror those of the PFA as Anelka lines up alongside Torres in attack to give third-placed Chelsea their sole representative. The French striker finished as the leading scorer in the Premier League after demonstrating his deadly finishing skills on 19 occasions, while he was also willing to work hard for the team and sometimes operated away from his preferred central role.
Skysports.com decided to give you the chance to vote for your stars of the season after the Professional Footballers' Association dished out their annual awards.
We wanted to see if you agreed with their choice of players for Team of the Year and have been providing several options for each position over the past few weeks.
The feedback came flooding in and we can now compile the best side of the 2008/9 campaign as voted for by the supporters.
Only five members of the PFA's team have made our list, with official Player of the Year Ryan Giggs missing out.
In fact there is just one player from champions Manchester United, while there are four from Everton and a number of other surprises throughout the XI.
Goalkeeper - Edwin van der Sar
There is no disagreement in the No.1 position as Manchester United shot-stopper Van der Sar gets the nod ahead of our other candidates - Pepe Reina, Mark Schwarzer, Shay Given, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, Robert Green and Chris Kirkland. The 38-year-old set a new Premier League record of 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal and United's watertight backline was undoubtedly a key factor behind their success.
Right-back - Glen Johnson
The Portsmouth player was named in the PFA XI and has also proved popular with readers, beating off competition from our other seven suggestions - Alvaro Arbeloa, Jose Bosingwa, Vedran Corluka, Mario Melchiot, John Pantsil, Bacary Sagna and Gretar Steinsson. Johnson enjoyed a superb campaign in an ordinary Pompey side, combining his attacking flair with much more consistent defending and his performances also caught the eye of England boss Fabio Capello.
Centre-back - Matthew Upson
Every good team needs a reliable centre-back pairing and we gave you 14 options to cover the two places, which were filled by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the PFA selection. You have opted for West Ham defender Upson in one spot after he helped Gianfranco Zola's men challenge for European qualification. The former Arsenal man turned in a series of fine displays and also established himself as an important member of the England squad.
Centre-back - Phil Jagielka
Jagielka's season finished in disappointing fashion as he suffered a serious knee injury and missed the FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea. Everton will feel they would have had a better chance of claiming glory had Jagielka been fit, as the 26-year-old was one of their most assured performers of the year and can take a lot of credit for the Toffees' excellent defensive record.
Left-back - Leighton Baines
Patrice Evra secured the left-back berth for the PFA and was also in contention for this award along with Fabio Aurelio, Ashley Cole, Gael Clichy, Maynor Figueroa, Herita Ilunga and Paul Konchesky. But it is Baines who has gained the recognition of the readers after a stunning second season at Goodison Park. The former Wigan ace was extremely solid at the back and got forward well, providing a threat with his pace and crossing ability.
Right midfielder - Mikel Arteta
Cristiano Ronaldo looked a shoo-in for this position but Arteta has come out top in the poll, seeing off the Manchester United winger and other rivals Simon Davies, Dirk Kuyt, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Antonio Valencia and Theo Walcott. The Spanish schemer suffered a season-ending injury in February but had already made an enormous impact, bringing a different dimension to the Everton side with his vision, creativity and set-piece prowess.
Central midfielder - Steven Gerrard
Giggs may have been overlooked in one of our most competitive categories but Gerrard, who also figured in the PFA team, has proved impossible to ignore. The midfielder was inspirational in Liverpool's ultimately unsuccessful push for the title and delivered the kind of numbers any striker would be proud of, notching 16 goals and numerous other assists, to strengthen his claims to be called the best central midfielder in the world.
Central midfielder - Xabi Alonso
Joining Gerrard in the heart of midfield is his Liverpool colleague Alonso, who was widely tipped to leave Anfield before the start of the season. Rafa Benitez has made it clear the Spaniard will not be leaving now after he had arguably his best campaign with the club. The stylish 27-year-old can play passes that most players can only dream about and also appears to have added more steel to his game.
Left midfielder - Steven Pienaar
The selection of Pienaar will perhaps raise the most eyebrows after the South African received more votes than PFA favourite Ashley Young and our other six candidates - Chris Brunt, Clint Dempsey, Park Ji-sung, Florent Malouda, Samir Nasri and Matthew Taylor. Pienaar has steadily improved throughout the season, adding more goals and assists to his game, while he remains a tenacious character and a formidable opponent.
Striker - Fernando Torres
We offered up ten possible choices for the two positions up front and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Carlton Cole, Peter Crouch, Kevin Davies, Ricardo Fuller, Robinho, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie have fallen by the wayside. Torres takes our first place after continuing to bang in the goals in his second season at Anfield. The former Atletico Madrid star produced some breathtaking moments of magic and Liverpool fans must have been left wondering what could have been achieved if he had not had to deal with several niggling injuries.
Striker - Nicolas Anelka
Our strikers mirror those of the PFA as Anelka lines up alongside Torres in attack to give third-placed Chelsea their sole representative. The French striker finished as the leading scorer in the Premier League after demonstrating his deadly finishing skills on 19 occasions, while he was also willing to work hard for the team and sometimes operated away from his preferred central role.
