The Tottenham Hotspur winger added another gong to his end-of-season collection after picking up both Player and Young Player of the Year at the PFA Awards bash last weekend.
Bale, who becomes the first Welshman to take the prize since Neville Southall in 1985, topped the poll with 53% of the vote.
He said: “This award has been won in the past by some of the greatest names in football and I consider it a privilege that the FWA have selected me to be named alongside them.”
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie was second with 43% while Chelsea’s Juan Mata was a distant third.
But there was no love from the writers for controversial Liverpool star Luis Suarez who received just two votes despite scoring 23 goals in the Premier League this season. The Uruguyan was considered a leading contender for the awards but lost massive support when he bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, a moment of madness that landed him with a 10-game ban from the FA.
Voting for the award closed at midday today with the result announced almost immediately by the FWA. The Association has approximately 400 members, with 91% casting a vote this year.
Leighton Baines, Pablo Zabaleta, Michu, Michael Carrick and Rickie Lambert were among those who also received votes.
Even Evra said he was not racist, not a racist comment, just a racist FA. This is simply a poster boy year. You telling me RVP not deserving either? When Man U played bad, and they did a lot this season, he stepped up to the plate and got the goals they needed, so any of this Bale carried Spurs is total crap. Football journalism in England is about sensationalism, nothing else.
Bale is a good player not a great player he has a lot to prove and to do that needs to move to a big club.Im a UTD fan and for Suarez to only get 2 votes makes a mockery of the whole thing he’s been the best player all year carrying a poor Pool team.Rvp had a quiet spell after Xmas Utds best player has been Carrick
Agreed Sean, Carrick was never going to win, not high profile enough. Nothing against Bale, it seems as if everything is being done for the wrong reasons this year. Suarez perhaps not deserving after his biting incident, but the biggest diver this year was Bale, that did not go against him. Or they buy into that crap, running so fast I have to anticipate the dive and go down to protect myself, was not used in the past by honest fast players. Michael Owen never dived and he was Fast!
Seriously? You are using Mr Dull as an example of someone who doesn’t dive? The same Mr Dull that admitted to diving against Argentina in two straight world cups? The same Mr. Dull who admitted to going down if he felt a touch regardless or whether it knocked him of balance.
So clearly this award is not about who the best footballer has been all season. 2 votes out of 400 for Suarez, these are the same people who call him a racist. Bunch of hypocrites.
If you look at the parameters of the award the journalists are instructed to vote by precept and by example. Therefore they are instructed to take a players behaviour into account. As the votes were due to be submitted in the week immediately following his bite on Ivanovic he didn’t really stand a chance.
Did Niall Quinn get many votes when he gave his testimonial money to charity 2002 or has behaviour only been a factor in voting this year? 2 out of 400 for a guy with more goals and assists than the eventual winner, who plays in a better side? Whatever the award is for its not football this year
It’s always been a factor since the first award went to Stanley Matthews on grounds of “precept and example”. Quinn didn’t win it because performance also comes into it and because most of the testimonials I’ve been to recently have had their receipts donated to charity, the players just do t want a bloody sainthood for it!!
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No he is a racist, that was proven! These people can call him a racist because he is one.
Even Evra said he was not racist, not a racist comment, just a racist FA. This is simply a poster boy year. You telling me RVP not deserving either? When Man U played bad, and they did a lot this season, he stepped up to the plate and got the goals they needed, so any of this Bale carried Spurs is total crap. Football journalism in England is about sensationalism, nothing else.
An FA disciplinary hearing is not a court of law. Nothing was PROVEN. Just one mans word taken over anothers.
Bale is a good player not a great player he has a lot to prove and to do that needs to move to a big club.Im a UTD fan and for Suarez to only get 2 votes makes a mockery of the whole thing he’s been the best player all year carrying a poor Pool team.Rvp had a quiet spell after Xmas Utds best player has been Carrick
Agreed Sean, Carrick was never going to win, not high profile enough. Nothing against Bale, it seems as if everything is being done for the wrong reasons this year. Suarez perhaps not deserving after his biting incident, but the biggest diver this year was Bale, that did not go against him. Or they buy into that crap, running so fast I have to anticipate the dive and go down to protect myself, was not used in the past by honest fast players. Michael Owen never dived and he was Fast!
Seriously? You are using Mr Dull as an example of someone who doesn’t dive? The same Mr Dull that admitted to diving against Argentina in two straight world cups? The same Mr. Dull who admitted to going down if he felt a touch regardless or whether it knocked him of balance.
The same mr.dull that perfected placing his foot as close to the goalkeepers diving body as possible to win penalties
So clearly this award is not about who the best footballer has been all season. 2 votes out of 400 for Suarez, these are the same people who call him a racist. Bunch of hypocrites.
If you look at the parameters of the award the journalists are instructed to vote by precept and by example. Therefore they are instructed to take a players behaviour into account. As the votes were due to be submitted in the week immediately following his bite on Ivanovic he didn’t really stand a chance.
Did Niall Quinn get many votes when he gave his testimonial money to charity 2002 or has behaviour only been a factor in voting this year? 2 out of 400 for a guy with more goals and assists than the eventual winner, who plays in a better side? Whatever the award is for its not football this year
It’s always been a factor since the first award went to Stanley Matthews on grounds of “precept and example”. Quinn didn’t win it because performance also comes into it and because most of the testimonials I’ve been to recently have had their receipts donated to charity, the players just do t want a bloody sainthood for it!!