Many would argue there shouldn’t have been an award for Bradford City Player of the Year this season at all. But regardless of how good or bad the season is, Bantam.Online will always choose one (if anything it is just to keep our POTY page tidy). In a disappointing season with very few players that have stood out, choosing a winner this year really is just a case of being the best of a bad bunch. But the choice of Yann Songo’o as the Bantams.Online Player of the Year is mainly due to the undeniable fact that he has been one of the few players that have genuinely made an effort throughout the entirety of this season, regardless of how you rate his performances.
But when it comes to performances he stands at the top just about Paudie O’Connor. Even the Telegraph & Argus average ratings point to Songo’o as the most consistent of the two players, with Songo’o not having the benefit of being in his natural position for long periods of the season. This is another reason that Yann Songo’o deserves the award above the Bradford City club captain.
It is folly to suggest that it should have been more than a two horse race between Yann Songo’o and Paudie O’Connor because it is unfair to compare their performances to players who have played only a handful of matches. Why? Because the other players who’s names have been mentioned in relation to deserving the POTY award haven’t played enough games to have had the same opportunity to fuck up or have their performances fade. The two names being banded about are Dion Pereira and Charles Vernam, but if you are going to mention them, you might as well throw Lee Angol into contention as well. Personally I think consistency is the key to whether a footballer should be in contention for the Player of the Year award and although these players have done well in the matches they have featured in, we can’t say for sure that their performances wouldn’t have dropped in quality had they played as many matches as Paudie O’Connor or Yann Songo’o. For this reason it is totally unfair to compare the performances of the two sets, and for that reason Yann Songo’o gets my nod.