Blackburn Rovers - Player of the Year 2009/10

The following players are all candidates for Blackburn's "Player of the Year" award for the 2009/10 season:

- Paul Robinson (GK)
- Chris Samba (CB)
- Ryan Nelsen (CB)
- Gael Givet (LB)
- David Dunn (CAM)
- Steven N'Zonzi (CDM)
- Martin Olsson

This is one of the toughest choices for this award in recent memory, but unfortunately this is not because these players have all had stunning seasons. In fact, I'm struggling to pick out any of these players for having performed well enough and consistently enough to deserve this award. Blackburn currently lies in 11th place with two games to go, and I predict they will finish in 12th. Not bad, not good. That's what what I would have expected at the beginning of the season. However, given some of our performances and some of our results I have to say it's a little disappointing.



Paul Robinson has played consistently well in goal, but except for a few occasions he hasn't been outstanding. His great saves were about equal to his poor misses, and I think it's fair to say he hasn't lost Rovers any games. By the same token, it's hard to say he's won them any. All-in-all he's performed in the manner you would expect from a high-quality, experienced EPL goalie. Given the nature of his performances it is in some ways understandable that he hasn't been recalled to the England squad ahead of the world cup.


Chris Samba is a very up and down player, this season. especially. Some days he'll play brilliantly winning every ball on the ground and in the air while pushing world class strikers out fo the game. Other days he'll be run ragged by mediocre players and make brainless decisions at the worst possible time. The best example of this is his sending off during the 2nd leg of Blackburn's Carling Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.


Ryan Nelsen has been a rock at the back ever since joining Blackburn in 2005, a quiet source of strength and confidence. His attitude and defensive play earned him the Captain's armband and for the most part he has been deserving of it. He has struggled at times with injury, and has seemed a step slower than usual. Never the fastest of defenders, his legs seem to have deserted him during the last stretch of the season. This was clear against Everton when he gave away a penalty and needed Phil Jones to bail him out on several occasions. It's very possible he's no longer able to be a full time starter and might be best used as a veteran substitute from now on.


Gael Givet was rescued from the basement of Marseille and brought to Blackburn, where he performed admirably during his six month loan. After the deal was made permanent his performances have been a little less consistent. Sometimes he'll play very well, closing down on the ball and covering runs with zeal. Other times he'll be caught out of position at inopportune moments or get beaten by wingers who are then able to provide dangerous service into the box.


David Dunn would win this award by a landslide if he was able to feature in more than half of Blackburn's matches. In 36 league matches this season he's played in 21 (three as a substitute) scoring 8 goals to become Blackburn's leading scorer. However, his inability to stay healthy has often left the squad without a capable goal-scorer. His absences displayed the need for a creative player to lead the attack and without him in the lineup Rovers often failed to break down determined defenses.


Steven N'Zonzi has been one of the buys of the season, playing in almost every match in the Premier League. For a player with no previous experience in English football, he performed admirably. However, it was very rare for any of his performances to jump out at you. He would turn in a decent shift but at the end of the match a person could be left wondering why they missed seeing him for long stretches at a time. I believe his youth and relative inexperience prevented him from stamping his authority down in most matches, and hopefully in a season or two he will be able to really stake a claim for this award.


Martin Olsson is another player who performed well after little first team experience for Blackburn. Pace is something that's been sorely lacing in the team, and he's provided it in abundance down the left wing. He has performed much better as a midfielder than as a defender, and hopefully Big Sam has taken notice of this. However, he has also failed to make a big impact in many matches, possibly due to his youth and inexperience. He is another player that should be doing big things in a few seasons.

As a Blackburn fan it's tough to admit that this is a tight race simply because none of the team's players have performed exceptionally well. That being said, someone's gotta win this thing, right? Therefore, with no further ado, drum roll please, my vote for Blackburn Rovers "Player of the Year" for the 2009/10 season goes to... David Dunn!


Even though he only played in half of the League matches this season no one else came close to scoring as many as Dunny, and with goals at a premium he's just about earned himself this award.