Vote! Vote! Vote!

Friends, Romans, non-Romans... in fact anyone that cares to listen... Some People Are On The Pitch has been nominated for 'Best British Blog' (that is to say 'best blog about British football') in the Soccerlens Awards 2008.

Being the narcissistic types, we crave a bit of recognition for all our hard work writing for you throughout the year. It's not much to ask - we enjoy writing about football, we love interacting with all you splendid folk and we're paid not a penny for our efforts. We do it out of the sheer love for what we do, but a little adulation would be nice.

We therefore ask, nay BEG you to make your humble football-writing servants feel genuinely loved and cared about. Simply visit the 'Best British Blog' page on the Soccerlens website and vote for 'Some People Are On The Pitch'.

It costs nothing and it could stop us feeling downright miserable this Christmas. Thank you.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

What a terrible thing vanity is. Just when you think you're not bothered by trinkets and gold, someone offers you a sparkling gem and it consumes your very existence.

That's the situation we found ourselves in when a nice man at Soccerlens.com contacted us yesterday to say that Some People Are On The Pitch had been nominated for three of its Readers Choice awards.

Apparently we've been shortlisted in the following categories:

- Best Overall Blog
- Best Design
- Best Blog Name

...which made us feel suitably self-satisfied and not a little big-headed, if we're honest. And now of course we wait and see if we actually win any of these awards, but therein we have a problem.

You see to win an award, we need to receive as many votes as possible from good, honest, kind people like yourself who selflessly head over to Soccerlens.com with no other motive than to make us feel loved and wanted.

So if you feel the need to, put a metaphorical tick in the box for Some People Are On The Pitch on any of the above voting pages and tell the world that you're part of something special - a blogsite that loves you as much as you love it.

Thank you to each and every one of you from the very heart of our bottom.

The SPAOTP Awards 2007 : Disappointment of the Season

There were several contenders for this award, but we've decided to give it to the brutal challenge made by Ben Thatcher (then of Manchester City) on Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes back in August 2006.

For those that don't remember, Thatcher and Mendes were running for a loose ball during the 0-0 draw at the City of Manchester Stadium when Thatcher inexplicably elbowed Mendes in the face while running at full speed. Despite leaving the Portuguese international concussed (causing a seizure later) and needing oxygen treatment, Thatcher walked away from the incident claiming he hadn't done anything wrong.



A slow-motion replay of the incident proved he couldn't have been further from the truth. Ben Thatcher was given a yellow card while Pedro Mendes headed for an overnight stay in hospital.

Manchester City saw fit to ban him for six games while the FA instigated its own eight-game ban. Thatcher later sent a written apology to Mendes who, two weeks later, returned to the game under medical supervision.

We think it's despicable that one player should want to impart so much pain on a fellow professional. A bad tackle is one thing, but to leave another player needing hospital treatment is totally uncalled for. To see what amounts to a physical assault during a game of football is something no-one would ever want to witness. It was without question our low-point of the season - one that we hope is never repeated.

The SPAOTP Awards 2007 : Player of the Season

Time now for us to give you our verdict on who the best player in the Premiership has been during the 2006/07 season.

Once again, we'll give you the results in reverse order, thus maintaining a reasonable degree of excitement which admittedly could be undermined by a liberal use of the scroll bar...

3rd: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
The 2007 African Footballer of the Year is currently top scorer in the Premiership with 19 goals and continues to pay back the £24 million that Chelsea paid out for him.

For a while this season we thought he'd sorted out that diving problem he once had, but recent weeks have seen him revert to his old ways. He still scores some cracking goals though, so it's 3rd place for the Chelsea number 11.

2nd: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
A surprising choice to some, but Liverpool's vice-captain has been so diligent in his defensive duties that we feel he deserves great credit.

Carragher is part of a Liverpool defence which has conceded the second least number of goals (24) to Chelsea and which has let in just five goals at home all season.

Reliable and competent in what he does, we can at least be assured that there's one England player who'll give us hope for the future. The best defender in the country this season, bar none.

1st: Cristiano Ronaldo
Predictable perhaps, but with good reason. Starting out as a player whose repertoire of ball skills ran to just one - the much over-used stepover - Ronaldo has blossomed into a multi-faceted midfielder par excellence.

As we're probably all aware by now, he can raise the pulse of any spectator whenever he receives the ball. What he chooses to do with it is at the heart of the expectation that Ronaldo brings.

Swift runs, incisive passes, goal-bound free-kicks - hell, even a trick that's not a stepover, if you're lucky - it's always good to watch, even if a little painful should he be playing against your team.

That said, Ronaldo's not perfect. Like Drogba, he's capable of the odd unsavoury indiscretion like that first seen in the Euro 2004 incident with Wayne Rooney. Luckily, his good points outweigh the bad and this has been acknowledged by the Professional Footballers Association who recently honoured him with their Player of the Year award and Young Player of the Year Award for 2007.

We realise he's not everyone's cup of tea. You might think he's a show-off, a cheat, a narcissistic coathanger, whatever... at the heart of it all, he's a player who scores lots of goals, makes things happen and poses a threat to any team playing against him. That's why we've made him our Player of the Season.

The SPAOTP Awards 2007 : Goal of the Season

It's that time again: 'Goal of the Season' time!

Everybody loves a great goal and we at SPAOTP are no different. We've picked our three (yes three - how lucky are you?!?!?) favourite goals of the season.

The criteria were simple:

a - It had to be a goal...
b - from this season...
c - scored by a Premiership team in ANY competition, and
d - it made us soil our under-garments.

So without further ado, here are our choices presented in a 'Miss World' reverse-order style...

GOAL 3: Matt Taylor (for Portsmouth v Everton)

So there you are in the midst of a Premiership match, around the centre circle, when the ball bounces your way. Obviously, your first instinct is to volley it goalwards... isn't it?

Well it is if your name is Matt Taylor, the Portsmouth left-sided player who loves to score spectacular goals - and this is no exception...


GOAL 2: Dimitar Berbatov (for Tottenham, away to Besiktas)

This goal just oozes quality and gets better with every viewing.

Robbie Keane shows great vision and skill with a flicked pass, then it's all down to Berbatov to open his legs and show us his class.

Dont try this at home...



GOAL 1: Michael Essien (for Chelsea v Arsenal)

A fabulous goal.

Not just for its technique (striking the ball with the outside of the foot as it's coming across you), but also for the circumstances. Chelsea are a goal down to title-challenging rivals (yes, Arsenal) and its the 85th minute. Then Essien comes up with this...



So there you have it - our Top 3 goals of the 2007 season.

That's our verdict, but as always we'd love to hear yours so leave us a comment and tell us which goals you liked best!