6 Players You'd Definitely Forgotten Had Been Nominated for PFA Player of the Year

The history of PFA Player of Year Award nominations are littered ​with world class superstars. 

From Thierry Henry to Cristiano Ronaldo, Gary Lineker to John Barnes, the winners and nominees of English football's most prestigious individual award are in esteemed company.

But occasionally there will be a curveball - a rogue entry who gets lost in the list of Premier League icons and global superstars.

Here are six that you will definitely have forgotten.


James Beattie (2003)

James Beattie

Beattie put a selection of injury-hit seasons behind him in 2003, when he finished as the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League.

The striker bagged 23 goals and helped ​Southampton to reach the FA Cup final for the first time in 23 years.

Thierry Henry was crowned the PFA Player of the Year that year, and would go on to win the Champions League with ​Barcelona, while Beattie went on to play for Stoke and Accrington Stanley.


Andy Johnson (2005)

Andy Johnson

Despite his ​​Crystal Palace side spending much of the season flirting with the bottom three - and ultimately being relegated on the final day -  Andy Johnson was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year in 2005.

Palace have never had a PFA Player of the Year winner, but Johnson's 21 Premier League goals earned him recognition alongside Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Thierry Henry.

John Terry ultimately won the award, and the Premier League, and the Premier League the following season, and represented England at the World Cup the following summer, while Johnson remained loyal to Palace, dropping to the Championship with the Eagles.


David James (2008)

David James

No goalkeeper has won the PFA Player of the Year since Peter Shilton back in 1978. That was one of a number of factors working against David James, but didn't prevent him getting nominated back in 2008.

He was also 37, and playing for Portsmouth at the time, making him the only nominee that year to represent a club outside of the top four.

​James had helped Pompey to the FA Cup, and earned himself an England recall. However, he was pipped to the award by ​Cristiano Ronaldo. But who came 12th in the 2019 series of Strictly Come Dancing? I think we all know who the real winner is.


Charlie Adam (2011)

Blackpool's Scottish midfielder Charlie

Blackpool were relegated in their single season in the Premier League, in one of the few instances where teams did actually require 40 points to stay up. 

Despite suffering the drop, Ian Holloway's men went about their business in style, with midfielder Adam pivotal in their 39-point haul. His passing range and vision were simply sublime, and his eye for a screamer even more so.

Gareth Bale claimed the 2011 PFA Player of the Year, and two years later he was playing for Real Madrid. Two years later, Adam was playing for Stoke.


Joe Hart (2012)

FBL-ENG-PR-MAN CITY-TOTTENHAM

It's easy to forget how good Joe Hart ​actually was. 

Hart was an integral part of ​Manchester City's inaugural Premier League title triumph, winning the golden glove in the process, and was tipped to be England's number one for years to come.

Then suddenly it's 2020, Pep Guardiola doesn't rate you and you're third-choice at Burnley.


Adam Lallana (2014)

Adam Lallana

Lallana was the only player from a club outside of the top three to receive recognition when he was nominated in 2014. 

The midfielder shone for Southampton, and earned himself a ​spot in England's World Cup squad that summer, despite only making his international debut six months earlier.

Luis Suarez would scoop the award that season, but thanks to his performances for the Saints, Lallana would be playing for Suarez's Liverpool the following season, although the Uruguayan had headed for Barcelona.



Source : 90min