Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have gone through their picks for a variety of awards as the Premier League season nears its end – and they disagreed on many selections
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have selected drastically different teams of the season while going through their end of season awards. The Sky Sports pundits have made a tradition out of concluding the Premier League campaign by singling out players and managers for praise – and, as ever, they disagreed on plenty.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, after Liverpool were beaten 3-2 by Brighton, the pair began by reflecting on their pre-season predictions. Those were almost uniformly terrible, with neither going for Liverpool to take the title, or getting the rest of the top four correct.
Neither predicted the dreadful campaigns for Manchester United or Tottenham in the Premier League, but Neville did call the relegated sides perfectly, while Carragher went for Southampton and Leicester. The ex-Liverpool defender’s suggestion that West Ham could challenge for Europe proved miles off, too, with the Hammers struggling at the other end of the table.
Both pundits understandably opted for Erling Haaland as the Premier League’s top goal scorer, instead of Mohamed Salah, while the tips to watch out for Pedro Neto (Carragher) and Dominic Solanke (Neville) as impact signings weren’t quite on the mark.
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Moving onto their awards, they began with some agreements, before disagreeing on plenty else. Here is what they went for across all of the categories.
Best Player
Gary Neville: Mo Salah
“The goals and the assists always catch the eye – and it’s those players who win the trophies,” he said.
Jamie Carragher: Mo Salah
“It’s not just him being the top goal scorer – he’s having one of his best ever seasons in terms of numbers,” Carragher added.
Best Young Player
Gary Neville: Myles Lewis-Skelly
“That’s been a massive problem position for Arsenal – Tierney, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Tomiyasu, Timber have all played there – but he’s gone and made it his, like he’s always been there. That’s the biggest compliment you can give to a young player.”
Jamie Carragher: Myles Lewis-Skelly
“The reason I went for him is down to how well he’s played in big games that I’ve watched, against Man City, Liverpool and in the Bernabeu – it’s about five or six big performances.”
Best Signing
Gary Neville: Nikola Milenkovic
“With the season Forest have had, and his dominance within that team, the way they defend, he’s so critical to them.”
Jamie Carragher: Dean Huijsen
“He’s signed for £15m and he’s gone [to Real Madrid] for £50m within a season. Watching him play this season, wow.”
Best Newcomer
Gary Neville: Arne Slot
“What we all thought at the start of the season was ‘how can this guy take over from Jurgen Klopp?'”
Jamie Carragher: Nikola Milenkovic
“I could have had him and Huijsen the other way around.”
Most Improved Player
Gary Neville: Ryan Gravenberch
“I can’t believe the improvement in him this season.”
Jamie Carragher: Ryan Gravenberch
“I watched him last season and wasn’t quite sure about him. I wasn’t sure what he was and he lacked intensity. But he’s gone into holding midfield that Liverpool have been trying to sign someone for two or three seasons… and he’s nailed that No.6 position.”
Best Coach
Gary Neville: Nuno Espirito Santo
“You could say Slot, 100 per cent, but because I’ve put him in the newcomer category, I thought Nuno was worthy of a mention.”
Jamie Carragher: Arne Slot
Best Coaching Performance
Gary Neville: Eddie Howe (Carabao Cup final)
“It was an outstanding coaching performance. They controlled the game without the ball. I don’t think Salah had a shot.”
Jamie Carragher: Andoni Iraola (Newcastle vs Bournemouth)
“They had seven or eight players out and they absolutely battered Newcastle. To go there at that stage, it was a brilliant performance.”
Biggest Overachievers
Gary Neville: Nottingham Forest
Jamie Carragher: Nottingham Forest
Biggest Underachievers
Gary Neville: Manchester United
if they win the Europa League? “It’s a silver lining around a very dark cloud. To win a trophy should never be disrespected and it’ll be a brilliant achievement to win three trophies in three years – in an era where United have been really poor. But to be where they are in the league is incredible.”
Jamie Carragher: Manchester United
Goal of the Season
Gary Neville: Harry Wilson (Fulham vs Brentford)
Jamie Carragher: Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton vs Chelsea)
“You don’t see many goals like this, and he meant every part of it. It’s a lovely soft loop over the keeper’s head. I chose that for its uniqueness.”
Favourite Game
Gary Neville: League Cup final
Jamie Carragher: Everton 2-2 Liverpool
Teams of Season
Gary Neville: Sels; Munoz, Milenkovic, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Tielemans, Guimaraes; Salah, Isak, Mbeumo.
Jamie Carragher: Alisson; Munoz, Milenkovic, Van Dijk, Lewis-Skelly; Tonali, Rice, Mac Allister; Salah, Isak, Gibbs-White
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