Source: Eurosport
United dominate PFA nominations
One of Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo or Steven Gerrard will be the PFA Player of the Year.As voting took place before Manchester United's recent dip in form, it is perhaps no surprise the quintuple-chasing outfit provide five contenders - including Giggs, who has never won the prestigious award despite boasting a record 10 league titles.However, it could look a little strange if Liverpool or Chelsea, who have no-one in the list for either the senior or young player prize, go on to win the Premier League.Gerrard could benefit from a split vote for United players as David Ginola did during the 1999 treble-winning season, a fact which still irritates Sir Alex Ferguson.Aside from Giggs, Ferdinand and Van der Sar - who kept a record 14 consecutive clean sheets earlier in the season - are also nominated, along with Ronaldo, who could become the first player to win three times in succession.However, the favourite to lift the trophy at Grosvenor House on April 26 remains Vidic, another ever-present during United's record run of clean sheets.Apart from a dismal performance in the home defeat by Liverpool last month which culminated in a sending off and a two-match ban, Vidic has hardly put a foot wrong all season.United also have two contenders to be crowned young player of the year in Jonny Evans and Rafael Da Silva.Evans has enjoyed an outstanding season, stepping in for Ferdinand on a regular basis but arguably Rafael, an 18-year-old Brazilian, has made an even more startling impact.There is plenty of competition though, with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young both making the final six in recognition of Aston Villa's brilliant first half of the campaign.Tottenham's Aaron Lennon also caught the eye of his fellow professionals, although it could be argued Manchester City's Stephen Ireland has enjoyed the most consistent season and is most likely to succeed Cesc Fabregas.Ireland might have courted controversy earlier in his career but the youngster has put all that behind him this term with some stellar performances that have outshone Brazilian duo Robinho and Elano.[LNB]
