Steven Gerrard-bOOTroom Player Of The Year 08/09

In what was the most closely contested edition of this site's annual Player Of The Year Award, Steven Gerrard pipped Xabi Alonso to the title. It was clear from the outset that it would be a two-horse race with most voters voting for one of the two players as their top choice and the other as their 2nd choice.

Gerrard's 24 goals this season are a career best and he was often inspirational in some of the best performances of the team this season. He also scored a couple of outstanding goals and bagged his first ever EPL hat-trick. All this was enough to convince voters that he deserved the award ahead of a resurgent Xabi Alonso. The Spanish midfielder seemed to be on the way out from Anfield last summer but stayed when a deal for Gareth Barry collapsed. Few people expected Xabi to react in such a stunning manner and 1yr later all Liverpool fans are happy that he is still an integral part of our first team.

Dirk Kuyt's excellent season sees him deservedly place 3rd. Last year's winner, Fernando Torres, had a torrid time with injuries this season but his form when fit was still enough to make him place 4th ahead of Yossi Benayoun.

This is the 2nd time that Gerrard has won this award. He first won it in 05/06.

Results

1st Steven Gerrard 132.5pts
2nd Xabi Alonso 127.5pts
3rd Dirk Kuyt 78pts
4th Fernando Torres 48.5pts
5th Yossi Benayoun 44.5pts
6th Pepe Reina 31pts
7th Javier Mascherano 10pts
8th Alvaro Arbeloa 5pts
9th Jamie Carragher 3pts

Hall Of Fame

04/05 Jamie Carragher
05/06 Steven Gerrard
06/07 Pepe Reina
07/08 Fernando Torres
08/09 Steven Gerrard