|
WeAreBrighton.com End of Season Awards 2017/18
It was a case of job done for
Brighton and Hove Albion in the 2017-18 season as Chris
Hughton's side secured Premier League survival in their
first campaign in the top flight, ending the season in 15th
spot, some seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Many of you were keen to pay
your tributes to that achievement, and that made this our
most popular WeAreBrighton.com End of Season Awards ever.
Voting took place across 11
categories with two awards being contested for the first
time - Set Piece Marking of the Season and Comedy Moment of
the Season - and the coveted Own Goal of the Season award
being renamed in honour of Lewis Dunk for his efforts in
consistently beating Maty Ryan.
Thanks to everyone who took
the time to vote. Here are your winners in the
WeAreBrighton.com Awards 2018...
WeAreBrighton.com
Player of the Season:
Pascal Gross
(45.15% of the vote) |
|
From the moment
he started scoring for fun in pre-season, £3m
looked like a bargain for a player of Pascal
Gross' calibre. So it has proven, the German
playmaker marking his first campaign in England
with seven goals and eight assists to be hailed
by the pundits as one of the best Premier League
buys of the season. Maty Ryan in second spot
probably earned more points single handedly with
some of his saves, but with Gross creating and
finishing there is every chance we'd have faced
an immediate return to the Championship.
Previous
Winners: Anthony Knockaert (2017), Bruno (2016), Inigo Calderon (2015), Stephen Ward (2014), Liam Bridcutt (2013, 2012), Glenn Murray (2011), Andrew Crofts (2010) |
|
Goal
of the Season:
Jose Izquierdo v West Ham
United
(H) (43.68%) |
|
This award
could've been renamed the Jose Izquierdo Award,
given that the Colombian had half of the six
candidates. Two of those came against West Ham
United who must have been sick of the sight of
him by the time their 3-1 defeat at the Amex was
over. It was his goal in that game that was
enough to win the award, Izquierdo picking up a
deep corner way out on the left and sending a
looping shot goalwards that dipped perfectly
into the tightest of spots between the bar, post
and the outstretched hand of Adrian. Beautiful.
Previous
Winners: Steve Sidwell (2017) Jiri Skalak (2016), Rohan Ince (2015). Jake Forster-Caskey (2014), Craig Mackail-Smith (2013), Inigo Calderon (2012), Liam Bridcutt (2011) |
|
Lewis Dunk Award for Own
Goal of the Season:
Lewis Dunk v Man City (H) (40.93%) |
|
Having scored
for own goals last season, it was good to see
the Albion go one better this time around and
net five. One man excelled in this particular
area, with Lewis Dunk netting four for himself
before the end of February. One more would've
broken the Premier League record for most own
goal in a season, but unfortunately for Dunk he
couldn't quite get there. Still, something to
aim for next time around? His best was judged to
be the bullet header he sent through the legs of
Maty Ryan in the opening day defeat to
Manchester City.
Previous
Winners: Fikayo Tomori (2017), Tomasz Kuszczak (2014), Dean Hammond (2013) Lewis Dunk (2012) |
Set Piece Marking of the Season:
Crystal Palace (A) -
James Tomkins (36.66%) |
|
You'd need around
seven hands to count all the goals that the
Albion conceded from corners this season, which
allowed us to create this brand new award for
the worst Set Piece Marking of the Season. There
were plenty of candidates, but the undoubted
winner was the game of pinball that broke out in
the box in April's derby game at Crystal Palace.
An absolute comedy of errors saw Maty Ryan spill
the original ball in, flaying legs from three or
four Albion players attempting to clear but not
being able to all eventually led to James
Tomkins nutmegging Ryan as he fired home the
loose ball.
Previous
Winners: New category! |
Memorable
Moment of the Season:
Manchester United Home (29.29%) |
|
The final six
games of the season being against top seven
teams looked daunting when it came to securing
Premier League survival. That made it all the
more remarkable that the Albion did so with two
games to spare, and by beating Manchester United
at the Amex. Brighton were excellent in the 1-0
and for a county in which so many of us had to
put up with plastic United fans lording it over
us when we were at school, defeating them to
ensure survival was a particularly sweet way of
doing it.
Previous
Winners: Wigan Home (2017), Wednesday Home
(2016), Fulham Away (2015), Forest Away (2014),
Brighton 3-0 Palace (2013), Doncaster Home
(2012), Charlton A (2011) |
|
Comedy Moment of the Season:
Anthony
Knockaert face plants (54.49%) |
|
There were
plenty of funny moments of the course of
the season which has necessitated the
introduction of this brand new award.
One stood out in particular though,
largely because it was beamed into homes
up and down the nation when Brighton ran
out convincing 3-0 winners at West Ham
United. Jose Izquierdo had just scored
an absolute screamer to put the visitors
2-0 ahead and celebrated by producing
the perfect knee slide. Anthony
Knockaert tried to join him but only
succeeded in getting his knee stuck in
the ground and tumbling forward to end
up with a quite ridiculous face plant.
Previous
Winners: New category! |
|
|
Flair
Moment of the Season:
Anthony Knockaert
skill v Manchest United (43%) |
|
As if beating
the Premier League runners up at home wasn't
taking the piss enough, Anthony Knockaert rubbed
salt into the wounds with a quite brilliant
piece of skill that left Anthony Martial
completely bamboozled. Knockaert had picked the
ball up in the far right hand corner of the
pitch and there looked to be nothing on before
he produced a quite outrageous dragback and
nutmeg combination to leave Martial on another
planet before racing towards goal and delivering
a low cross.
Previous
Winners: Blowing the title (2017), Colin Calderwood (2016), Chris O'Grady (2015), Andrea Orlandi (2014), Liam Bridcutt (2013), Vicente (2012), Cristian Baz (2011) |
|
Villain
of the Season:
Crystal Palace fans
(28.57%) |
|
Shows how much
that you lot must hate Crystal Palace fans, that
they can win Villain of the Season ahead of the
racists from Burnley. Those poor residents of
Croydon had an interesting day in the league
meeting at the Amex, beginning by grafitting
over a mural of Bruno in Brighton city centre
before ticketless fans smashed their way into
the ground injuring stewards and leaving genuine
supporters with tickets stuck outside and then
proceeded to let off fireworks once inside.
Classy behaviour.
Previous
Winners: Alex Pritchard (2017), Mike Dean (2016), David Burke (2015), Nigel Adkins (2014, 2011), El Hadji Diuof (2013) Glenn Murray (2012), Dean Hammond (2010) |
|
Look-a-like of the Season:
Ezequiel Schelotto -
Jesus Christ (63.05%) |
|
Remarkably, Jesus
Christ wins the Look-a-like of the Season Award
for a second time and it comes from a different
player. In 2016, Inigo Calderon helped the Son
of God to claim the crown but its another
bearded latino right back who has bought the
title back to Nazareth. Ezequiel Schelotto is
even more of a ringer for Jesus than Calderon
was given that he has the long hair required to
play the role and that means that he has ended
up being our most convincing winner of the
awards with 63% of the vote.
Previous
Winners: Shirley from EastEnders (2017), Jesus of Nazareth (2016), Neil from The Inbetweeners (2015) |
Sexiest Player of the Season:
Maty Ryan (34.34%) |
|
It was quite the
debut season at Brighton for Maty Ryan. The
Australian number one finished second in our
Player of the Season poll, his goal celebrations
of sprinting the length of the pitch to join in
whenever we score at home saw him take runners
up spot in Flair Moment of the Season as well
and he tops things off by securing the Sexiest
Player award. While some might say he is too
short to be sexy, you clearly don't agree and it
isn't hard to see why he has won this for anyone
who has seen his Twitter profile picture.
Previous
Winners: Inigo Calderon (2016, 2015) Andrea Orlandi (2014, 2013), Vicente (2012) |
Best Bald Head of the Season:
Bruno (75.4%) |
|
For the sixth
year in succession, captain Bruno wins our Best
Bald Head of the Season award, continuing the
domination of a category that he has won in
every season since he arrived at the Amex from
Valencia. There was some genuine competition for
the first ever time this season though, Glenn
Murray's bizarre decision to shave all his hair
off for the FA Cup Quarter Final at Manchester
United in March ensuring that this was the
lowest share of the vote Bruno had received
since 2013, although the fact he still secured
75% tells you everything you need to know.
Previous
Winners: Bruno (2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013), Gordon Greer (2012) |
|
|
|