Player of the Year Nominations are a Joke.

The season is quickly drawing to a close. Am I the first person to say that? The evenings are getting longer and Luton have been relegated. Leicster are going up, Wolves have already secured a play-off place and are on the cusp of automatic promotion. It has all happened quite quickly and in a few weeks time we will be all sitting around bored out of our trees waiting for pre-season friendlies and the provisional rounds of the UEFA Cup to kick off.

First of all the annual Player of the Year Awards have to be decided. I was talking to Dave about this just last night. We were wondering who would be nominated in a year when there haven't really been too many outstanding performers. I was saying that maybe guys like Hangeland and Fellaini would be in with a shout, just for being outstanding performers this season. I can understand the list being dominated by the top four most years but has anyone REALLY stood out this year?

I would have thought that Martin Laursen would have been a shoe in if it wasn't for the fact that he got injured and Villa's season subsequently fell. His exclusion is understandable. Say what you like about the guy but Kevin Davies has simply been one of the most effective players in the Premier League this season. He has 12 league goals already this season and comparing his attitude to how the Berb, Martins or Zaki approach games, then if the powers that be are serious about cleaning up the game maybe they should start with Davies when it comes to giving out awards.

Other players I thought might be in the running from outside the top four are Shay Given (not that I agree with giving it to goalkeepers), Stephen Ireland, maybe even someone like Matt Upson. There might be a few more but like I say, so far at least it's been a season where outstanding individual performances have been thin on the ground.

It just so happens that the nominations were announced today. To me at least they are baffling. Three of the Manchester United back five have been nominated. They went on a good run and they should be applauded for that but that run has now ended so spectacularly as to kind of render it irrelevant.

It is crazy that Edwin Van Der Saar has been nominated. He been far from infallible this season and indeed it was his mistake at Newcastle which brought their record breaking run to an end. He is still a good goalkeeper but he is a weakness in the United team and one of the top six players in the league he most certainly is not.

Vidic has been touted as player of the year for much of this season. I don't like the idea of giving it to a defender because let's face it, their job is much easier than strikers. Strikers put their reputation on the line every time they play, defenders simply put their bodies there. Anyone can do that. In a season short on quality Vidic's inclusion would have been justified had it not been his performance against Liverpool at Old Trafford. The player of the Year doesn't perform like that in the biggest game of the year. The Player of the Year is supposed to play more like Fernando Torres did that day.

If I absolutely had to give it to a defender, Rio Ferdinand would be deserving. He has been at his consistent brilliant best for most of this season and he might well end up taking the award. He has been injured recently though and this is the business end of the season.

Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs complete the only quintet United are likely to win this season. Will it be accepted as an error if United end up only with the Carling Cup to show for their efforts this season? I can just about stomach Giggs getting the nod even if it does smack of giving a old man a watch upon his retirement. Giggs has played well this season though and if there was greater realism to the rest of the list, I might be able to look upon his inclusion without such cynicism.

I'm not so sure about Ronaldo. He has missed a chunk of the season with injury but so has Torres and he was left out. Ronaldo has rescued United on a number of occasions, not least against the Villa a couple of weeks ago but he has more often been missing. A player's character should also be a consideration when being considered for these awards. Ronaldo is a diver and he constantly tries to gain an advantage by getting a player booked or sent off. That's all very well and by doing so he runs the risk of being booked himself but it's not the sort of thing which should be rewarded when coupled with mainly average performances this season.

Steven Gerrard is the only non-United player to be nominated though I'm sure if he had his way, he would be playing for United. Gerrard has been his usual undisciplined self this season, giving the ball away a lot and running around after it trying to get it back. He is another who has been inauspicious in big games, not least last week against Chelsea last week in the Champions League. Gerrard has not been in the same class as Alonso, Mascherano or Torres this season and spectacular last minute goals alone do not good players make but it's obviously enough to be considered a great player.

Frank Lampard should get an honourable mention. He deserves to be on that list ahead of Gerrard, Ronaldo or Giggs. He offers a lot more than just Gerrard's goals and the "Fat Frank" jibes aside, he has never been fully gotten the attention he deserved. He probably doesn't help himself by being such a media whore. It's like everything he does off the pitch is part of an interview with "Hello" magazine. Get a grip Frank, in fairness.

In the Young Player category, the stand out nominee for me is Selfish Stephen Ireland. It beggars belief that this Rafael guy from United was nominated. Aaron Lennon is also in the running. Lennon has potential but I think he's more of a Jermaine Pennant than David Ginola. The Villa pair of Young and Agbonlahor have let their performance levels drop too far in my opinion while Johnny Evans has been good and deserves it in so far as defenders deserve to be there at all. I'm just shocked that Fellaini has been over looked. The guy is top class unlike most of the players on these lists.

These are the PFA Player of the Year awards which apparently the players start voting on in September and the voting for nominations closed on March 14th which was actually before the Manchester United- Liverpool game. If that's the way they are going to select the candidates, they really shouldn't bother.