It’s also time for various awards and accolades such as Player of the Year, Goal of the Season and so on to be decided. It’s all much of a muchness though so I’d like to take an entirely different route. How about; Most Under-appreciated Player of the Year?
We have all had, at some point, a player that we have appreciated only for other fans to deride. The player that nobody notices but helps to get the job done basically. In my time we’ve had Darren Peacock – the only one that seemed to like defending in the Keegan team of the 90’s, David Batty – no frills but we missed him no end when he was unavailable, and Gary Speed – another player you only really miss when they’ve gone.
I’ve always been a fan of the underdog, the one that no-one wanted to succeed. It’s probably why I ended up supporting Newcastle! When looking at the current crop of players we are not exactly blessed with the players that we once were. The Ginola’s, Shearer’s and Beardsley’s are long gone, but what we have got left is a good squad of honest hard working lads.
Due to the lack of inspirational quality and the hard-working nature of our side and the once in a lifetime relatively stress free end to the season, I thought that this would the perfect time to do an under-appreciated Player of the Year award.
To start with I’d like to give an honourable mention to two players who didn’t quite make my top five. Sol Campbell was brought in as cover and unfortunately proved that he was exactly that. I do believe however that his presence has not gone unnoticed and that he has helped us to look far more solid at the back with his experience on the training ground this campaign.
Secondly to Jonas Gutierrez. Can’t cross a ball to save his life but plays with a smile on his face and wins countless free kicks with his ‘European’ style of play. Now down to the all important top five.
5 – Danny Guthrie: Many people think that he is useless and brings nothing to the side but for me he is a consummate pro, never complains and is an incredibly tidy footballer. The boy can pass a ball and has shown this when given a run in the side. He has generally had the unenviable task of replacing the seemingly irreplaceable Cheik Tiote. He’ll never be a star, but he is a very handy squad player.
4 – Joey Barton: Barton has always shown himself to be an able and intelligent player on the pitch, but for me it’s his improvements off the field that has catapulted him into the top five. He has became tea-total, settled down with his missus, and has also played the best football of his career supplying most of the balls early on for Andy Carroll’s goals. His maturing off the field has allowed him to grow on the field, and he is growing with every game into a real leader. His attitude more than ability is what I feel has been under-appreciated.
3 – Mike Williamson: A Championship centre-half at best? Can’t get in the Portsmouth team? Not on his showing this season! Aside from games against Liverpool and Bolton (both times the whole side were poor) he has shown himself to be a real class act. I believe that his ability has allowed Fabricio Coloccini to flourish and look like a real top draw centre-half. Calls for Steven Taylor always echo when we lose but when Williamson has been missing I have felt we’ve really missed him. Under-appreciated? I think so.
2 – Kevin Nolan: What can I say? The man epitomises leadership. I like everything about Nolan, his attitude, organising team bonding events, his desire to become a legend on Tyneside. Even his day care centre in January was successful for a while!
Without his knack of being in the right place at the right time who knows where we would be this season. The one question I do wonder when watching Nolan is… Why has he always played midfield? A couple of pounds lighter and he’d be an exceptional front man. The role he played in holding the side together through the sacking of one boss and sale of Andy Carroll must not be under-appreciated.
1 -Danny Simpson: And finally we’ve reached what you’ve all been waiting for… Newcastle’s most under-appreciated player of the year… Danny Simpson. At the start of the season I felt our two main areas of weakness would be scoring goals and our right-back. Simpson seemed to me to be a decent full-back who had looked steady in the Championship but had also struggled in the Premier League previously.
I’ll admit that he’s still improving and has some flaws in his game (backing away from attackers) but if you’d said to me that there would be disappointment from fans and the player himself that he hadn’t received an England call-up I would have laughed in your face. I think this just shows how far the lad has come. He improves week on week and will only get better. He is, for me, the most under-appreciated player of this season.
As I said at the start of the article, the great thing about under-appreciation is that every fan can see player in a different way. Many will say that I’m an idiot for choosing such players, some will agree, but the beauty is that we all have an opinion and not one of us is really right when it comes to things like this.
I just hope that every year we can continue to have a list of players that have surprised us or done a job well enough that some of us can recognise it.
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @Rorycn.
Note from Toonsy: Thank you to regular reader Rorycn for writing this article and giving us something to have a chat about.
Peter Lovenkrands for me. Ireland was seemingly the only player capable of picking out his runs (although Barton and Guthrie got it right occasionally when playing centrally), so it’s a shame Ireland didn’t work out.
Runs tirelessly and, although not a great finisher, has a better shot on him than Ranger or Ameobi. Plus his pace makes space for other players. Unfortunately I just don’t think we have the players currently to accommodate Petey completely.
From that list, though? Barton or Simpson. I think a big problem for Simpson is that he doesn’t enjoy the kind of cover Enrique gets from Gutierrez.
blip(Quote)
Ryan Taylor! enough said…. 😆
On a more serious note, I think Williamson should definitely win the award. He has been pretty solid throughout the season and will provide good competition for the CB position.
sunlounger(Quote)
Good article Rory.
I’d agree that Simpson is the most unsung hero for most of the fans, including me.
I’d say though for the deluded bunch who think we should be top six etc etc that Nolan is.
dan4toon(Quote)
Great read Rory, agree on all the players you listed.
Just read on .org we’re all lonely old men on here 😆
Anways lets hope we sign this player Pardew said we were close to singing to kick start the transfer window! 🙂
AndrewNUFC(Quote)
Where is Leon Best ? Without his goals! Ohhh
mithun_toon(Quote)
well sorry too upset yas jonas all the way 🙂
batty(Quote)
“Just read on .org we’re all lonely old men on here”…..speak for yersel Andrew, me, batty, Ice and Dave are in our youthful prime….Toonsy fits the description though 😉 😆
richietoon(Quote)
oh and I agree with batty 😉
richietoon(Quote)
Leon Best for sure. Loved reading the online reactions of the naysayers when he put in his first, second and third goals against W-ham!
DevonMag(Quote)
http://www.nufc.com/
Looks like we may have signed Mehdi Abeid.
Moreno(Quote)
rich @8 your startin too worry me by keep agreeing with me ,are you after a sub or sumit oot of me winnings 😆 😆 😆
batty(Quote)
Moreno, yeah I seen that.
It’s good that were not just looking at first team players over there! I bet him and Moyo will be good mates as well.
dan4toon(Quote)
Could do with one mate, just been robbed of airline cos have to fly to Toon for a couple of days this week, budget airlines my **** 👿
richietoon(Quote)
RICHIE 😆 😆 😆
rich for flights try this;sky scanner.com
it might help mate
icedog(Quote)
Ice…aye I tried that one cheers, the days of last minute flights being cheaper are long gone I think mate 🙁
richietoon(Quote)
I can’t believe R.Taylor or P Lovenkrands even T Krul, J Perch, L Best arn’t in the top 5! Joey Barton? Is he under-appreciated!
And Simpson, he is vastly over-rated, can’t defend (J Perch can to an extent, you could have put him at number 5) will never improve if he stays for the next 10 years IMHO. Please Pardew sign a replacement in the summer.
DJG(Quote)
That explains the disappearance of Yven Moyo, too!
…I was quite excited when we signed him, if only because it’s another body in the wing positions =P.
blip(Quote)
Good read! I don’t think you can include Barton in there; he’s got an army of supporters who kiss his **** whether deserved not; I hope he doesn’t feel undervalued! Even the pundits are openly praising him. About time too.
I’d agree on Jonas, though, although it’s only our own supporters that seem to give him stick – the pundits always like the guy. People seem to stick to outdated opinions for a while, and for me his crossing started to come good about halfway through the season, and he’s set up some important goals with that end product that people still claim doesn’t exist. Also, I don’t think his ability to make ground an take on multiple players is really appreciated.
Likewise Simpson: no, he’s not Jose. End of down-side as far as I’m concerned; has performed well beyond his cost and expectations. Huge and ongoing improvement; professional attitude and realy gutsy play regardless of the opposition. Had Ashley Cole firmly pocketed.
Ok, so here’s an incendiary one: Wayne Routledge! He provided speed, guile and the ability to take on defenders. Unfortunately he obviously provided Pardew with a good reason to hate him, so he was off. Next year I have a nasty feeling he’ll stick a couple past us just to prove him wrong. So – in terms of the gulf between performance and treatment as a result… I’m voting for Wayne!
Whumpie(Quote)
Leon Best is my hero. He is mint.
Moreno(Quote)
Mine would have been :-
5. J. Perch
4. M. Williamson
3. P. Lovenkrands
2. L. Best
1. D. Guthrie
DJG(Quote)
Ah! I left out the obvious one!
SHOOOOLLLLAAAAAA!!!
Our 2nd-highest scorer. Gets more stick than a junior nazi at a Max Mosley party. Disproportionate.
Whumpie(Quote)
Whumpie
Posted May 23, 2011 at 12:49 PM
Good god, man! Routledge? The reason Pardew let him go is because he just isn’t up to it in the PL. How many more clubs is he going to fail at in the PL before people admit it?
Unsung hero – easy – Lovenkrands. He’s not really good enough but he runs all day and never seems to complain.
Although I’ll be dissapointed if he’s still here next season.
Stuart79(Quote)
6. J Guttierez
7. R Taylor
DJG(Quote)
Ok, Stu – I admit there was a certain level of irony in that suggestion. And I agree with you on Loven. Crept up to 7 goals in the end, and always gives it full beans. Good call.
Whumpie(Quote)
But Stu – I meant it about Routledge coming good next season for QPR. Not sure why; just think it’ll happen.
Whumpie(Quote)
RICHIE aye mate but it all depends on time of year,i booked easy-jet for son to malta 3wks ago,checked y/day and there 40 quid less now :evil:,best way is to go to airport when booking desk opens,if there is any seats left you get them cheap but its risky like if there full and you need to fly that day,know a few army lads have done that but didnt care where they were going,just get cheap flight anywhere,when on r/r
icedog(Quote)
Whumpie
Shola was getting the ‘Oh Shola Ameobi’ song and ‘Shola give us a wave’ yesterday, so for that reason i’ve left him out. 🙂
DJG(Quote)
Whumpie – Tenth time lucky then… 🙂
Stuart79(Quote)
Mine would be:-
5) Lovenkrands
4) Guthrie
3) Simpson
2) Willo
1) Best
As for Joey and Jonas, I reckon they aren’t ‘unsung’ and regarding Shola, I expect him to do better, he has it in him.
Moreno(Quote)
If you add on the points that we threw away in the last 2 minutes of a game, we would be in 8th. 😥
DJG(Quote)
DJG and if you consider we had a chance to win all our games this season, we would have won the league 🙂
Moreno(Quote)
And if you consider only the first half of every game, Blackburn are in the Champions League!
blip(Quote)
blip – mental little stat that one!
Moreno(Quote)
Probably would say Nolan, theres plenty more talented footballers around but he has that leadership that when without it-as in yesterday-show’s us to be alarmingly hollow. People slag him off for being slow but bear in mind he’s had this ankle injury from what, January or something? And kept playing regardless. Finally all the goals to actually keep us up 😀
Guthrie hasn’t featured enough imo, but he’s not sh1te like everyone claims, he’s a decent squad player. I guess Williamson, Best and Simpson are the other close runners up for me.
NewkieBrown(Quote)
If you add on all the points we lost by not scoring more goals than the opposition we’d be champions.
Unsung player of the season: Best
Most entertaining lonely old man: Batty and richietoon
Best blogger: Toonsy
Bigest gripe: apostrophes
Brisvegas(Quote)
Willo has surprised me the most. Feared the quick forwards like RVP at St James would crucify him but he passed expectations. Behind Saylor now in the pecking order but played most of this season and the boy done good
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Guthrie is a mixed bag for me. When he has the intent to go forward like times in the first half yesterday he is excellent. It is when he drops deep does that silly scott parker half turn and passes the ball back from where it came from. Pointless.
We are top heavy in our squad with midfielders and the first person in the door is a midfielder so how many opportunities he will get next season must be a worry to him.
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Ice…going for a funeral mate so risking the empty seats bit not really an option 🙁
richietoon(Quote)
NewkieBrown totally agree about Nolan, I’ve read over the last couple weeks people say ‘take Nolan’s goals away and he offers nothing to the team’. Suffice to say I don’t take that kind of mind-numbingly moronic and redundant statement seriously, but it’s indicative of the kind of crazy abuse some of our players get…
DevonMag(Quote)
Toonsy – I know you’ll want to drop what happened on .org but I’ve just read last nights to see what went on and Worky has posted again.
It seems that they are now trying to rewrite history.
The chronilogical order of events imo are. (Dates etc kept out to keep this short)
1 – Money Raised
2 – Money Taken (deduced from 3)
3 – Toonsy Confronts Worky Re Donations and Leaves Site – Worky admits at this time he took money.
4 – A time after event Hugh Rejoins site – Worky seeks Hughs counsel, Hugh now appears to believe he gave him permission to spend money which is not true as he wasn’t back involved in the site at the time it was taken
Conclucsion
Looks like Workys taken Hugh in and treating him as he does everyone – like a mug. Feel sorry for Hugh, it leaves him exposed – he is a good bloke
Stardust(Quote)
I actually pity the guy, he just can’t stop himself. It goes quiet and simmers down then he re-ignites it with an abusive throwaway comment. Then he plays the card that everyone is bullying him and ganging up so he is the victim. It’s like being on a schoolyard sometimes tbh.
Moreno(Quote)
I don’t really think under-appreciated is the right way to put it. I don’t think Danny Simpson is particularly great, and I think we should be signing a new right back, but I fully appreciate what he has contributed this season. Lots of effort and all that, but still don’t think he’s very good. Does more running backwards away from wingers than he does up the pitch supporting the attack.
Joey Barton is not under-appreciated, everyone loves him. I’m on the fence about Nolan too, he’s given a lot to the cause, but goes missing in a few too many games.
Fully agree with Danny Guthrie, and Jonas, Best and Lovenkrands though, they get a lot of **** for giving just as much as some of the goldenboys.
And as for Wayne Routledge, how much worse could he have been than playing Danny Simpson at right midfield? Think we should have given the lad more of a chance.
Same with Xisco.
Pete(Quote)
Pete,
Xisco is a total enigma for me. How could he be so bad that no manager has even given him a look in? Agree about Routledge, as much as Danny Simpson has improved, he is no right winger.
Moreno(Quote)
I find it hard to believe some of you would sell Best.
Of all the strikers at the club at present he’s the best. (pardon the pun).
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
any 1 know who the footy player with the gagging order is ❓
batty(Quote)
bobby are you worried aboot this transfer window cos i am ❓
batty(Quote)
batty,
I heard it was Gareth Barry, he’s been smashing Ryan Giggs back doors in 😀
Moreno(Quote)
moreno has he been shaggin giggs missus ❓
batty(Quote)
batty, I thought that it was Barry shagging that Imogen and Giggs has been wrongly linked ❓
To be honest, I have no idea, just speculating what I have heard on twitter 🙄 😳
Moreno(Quote)
….I have just had a call from Barry’s lawyers and would like to apologise to his family.
Can anyone donate a few quid to cover my legal fees?
Moreno(Quote)
cheers m 🙂
batty(Quote)
who sits in the gallagate end at st james??? i was there yesterday and there were a group of lads there absolutely pi**ed swearing on teln people 2 f*** off and there were loads of kids around!! ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING!!! they were very close 2 getin a gud hiding off a few lads
Army69(Quote)
Army I’m surprise the Hitler youth (stewards) didn’t deal with that 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Army – shame to hear that. I hate to encourage snitching, but a word with the stewards may be the only way. When you’ve got kids with you and you’re paying a month’s spare cash on 90 minutes of footie with them, the last thing you want is idiots like that. Happily it’s comparatively rare these days.
Those who say it’s part of the game can go get stuffed. It’s like justifying muggings by saying they’re part of living in cities.
Whumpie(Quote)
OOH! Just thought of an unsung hero we’d all missed!!
Whoever torched Judas’s Range-Rooney! 😆
Whumpie(Quote)
i best tell me daughter and missus not too swear at the next match 😆
batty(Quote)
Stardust – Let him get on with it. I know what you’re saying about dates and I agree entirely.
Anyway, nice to see worky playing the martyr by inferring he will tell my employers that I’ve been asking people to click buttons on the internet. If he knew my employers then he’d know he’d look like a bigger **** if he pulled that one 😆
Anyway, I’ve offered a truce. Once again he is showing his true colours by slagging off everyone who donated. Funnily enough he wasn’t saying that whilst they were handing over the cash.
I suspect he us back on the pop again. Shame really, but being an alcoholic is a hard cycle to break so I’m not surprised someone as weak willed has succmbed to the demon drink again 😉
toonsy(Quote)
I believe it all kicked off on .Org last night. Why don’t you lot poor Worky alone? It’s not his fault he has some kind of deficiency.
Stuart79(Quote)
click click,whoops sorry 😆
icedog(Quote)
And while I’m Carroll-bashing, here’s a stat for you.
Compare Stephen Taylor with Any Carroll since he left:
Carroll Taylor
Position: Striker Defender
Appearences: 11 7
Goals 2 3
Goals per app: 0.9 0.4
Transfer fee: £35m £0
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
Whumpie(Quote)
Re-post with decent formatting and better maths:
———————-Carroll – Taylor
Position: ——–Striker – Defender
Appearences: —-11 ——– 7
Goals:—————- 2 ——— 3
Goals per app:– 0.2 ——– 0.4
Transfer fee: —–£35m —- £0
Great value for money, that Judas.
Whumpie(Quote)
Anyway, like I’ve said on .org, sniping over from me. I can’t stop you guys from doing it but I won’t be taking part.
Although its nice to see Hugh pop up earlier. Shame he isn’t as vocal with worky as he was with me when he was sending me e mails threatening violence on behalf of .org x 😀
toonsy(Quote)
Quick Question,which are those promoted clubs? ❓
QPR,Norwich and who?..or the final not yet started?
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
I think Krul has to be mentioned as one of the unsung heros as he has twice stepped into the team for a run of games and performed well with no earlier experience of the premiership . He has made mistakes and is a long way off being the finished article but i would give the lad 8 out of 10 for the way he has handled himself and performed .
Axel(Quote)
Toonsy, I was it calling it as I see it in an attempt to explain matters, without any attempt to aggravate or insult anyone. Apologies if it didn’t come over that way.
Stardust, just as a point of correction re your ‘timeline’ – I was talking to Worky via email long before I rejoined .org as a poster. Sorry but that’s the truth.
Hugh de Payen(Quote)
Hugh-
Off topic, but I’ve always been meaning to ask: are you a big fan of the Knights Templar or summit?
OHurley(Quote)
Angel-the final hasn’t started yet-Swansea play Reading, on the 30th I think
NewkieBrown(Quote)
OH….Ice was one of the knights Templar 😆
richietoon(Quote)
OH, not what I’s call a huge fan. My nickname is ‘Hugh’ but I did add the ‘de Payen’ as a Knights Templar reference just because the ID of just ‘Hugh’ is often taken on forums, blogs and whatnot. I sometimes use other things after the ‘Hugh’ for variety.
Hugh de Payen(Quote)
@NewkieBrown: thanks.
I hope Swansea comes up,i heard they are wales club? ❓
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
hugh – I just think its time for it all to stop, but it appears your little rose petal thinks otherwise 😉
toonsy(Quote)
RICHIE git
icedog(Quote)
Ice,
REALLY?! Dude, that’s awesome! You must be OLD!! 😉
OHurley(Quote)
Hugh-
Cool, I like it. I’ve studied a lot about the KT.
OHurley(Quote)
Anybody got any more info regarding Mehdi Abeid? I need to do some research about him…
OHurley(Quote)