Last year, Chelsea’s player of the season was Thiago Silva.
But it was a bit like when an actor wins an Oscar for an average film because they missed out previously when they should have won it. It was a disaster season all round, and giving it to a much loved veteran was the most palatable solution from a campaign where nobody at the club, from top to bottom, covered themselves in glory.
This has been an up and down season, without doubt. But at least there have been some ups, and there’s no better evidence of that than the fact that this year there are actually a few genuine contenders for the player of the year award. We’ve made it to the final of one competition (Carabao Cup Final Tickets are still available), are still in the other and are keeping close enough to the top 7 in the Premier League that any good run could put us right back in to the European race.
So for all our disappointment about some of the dire showings we’ve seen this season, as well as the lack of progress, there are clearly some green shoots.
Conor Gallagher has been immense, as you’d expect. He’d make the podium for player of the season without question. What really plays to his benefit is that he also looks good even when the results are bad. When we’re losing to a team below us in the table, he’s often the only one left with any credit as he continues to run himself into the ground until the final whistle.
A recent addition to the list of contenders would be Malo Gusto. He has had some struggles with injury which have stopped him being more firmly in the mix, and it’s taken him a while to get up to speed, but his recent performances have been as good as anyone else in the squad, and if he plays like this until the end of the season, there’s no doubt he’ll be getting votes.
But of course, the clear front runner is Mr 21 Goal Contributions himself, Cole Palmer. He’s made the difference in front of goal, won us points, entertained the fans and looked like perhaps a contender for awards beyond just those in-house.
There’s a lot of season left to shake things up, but it’s hard to see anyone coming close to Cole if he carries on like this.
