PSL awards picks get up some fans’ noses
THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) says the rigorous debate that has accompanied its player awards nomination list is a healthy and necessary one.
Social media has been up in arms since the nominations were announced on Monday afternoon and eyebrows were raised‚ especially in the goalkeeper and defender categories‚ where the inclusion of Cape Town City veteran Shu-aib Walters alongside Wits defender Buhle Mkhwanazi’s absence were furiously questioned.
PSL spokesman Lux September said yesterday the awards nominations always ignite debate and differing opinions on who the best players were during a season are not a bad thing.
“Every time we make an announcement for the awards and there’s a debate‚ that means people are listening and they are interested‚” said September.
“I think it’s a case of people not understanding the whole process because the process itself is waterproof. There will always be a difference of opinion.
“[On Monday] I was on Metro FM explaining the nomination process and we never get tired of explaining the nomination process.”
Another debatable point is the Nedbank Cup player of the tournament category where backto-back champions SuperSport United are only represented by midfielder Teboho Mokoena while their seasonal daily bread Orlando Pirates are represented by Mpho Makola and Abbubaker Mobara.
SuperSport wiped the floor with the hapless Buccaneers on Saturday and their 4-1 routing of the Sea Robbers did not do justice to their overall dominance.
September said Saturday’s final would have been the incorrect yardstick to measure a player’s performance throughout the sixmatch route to the final.
“If there are seven games in a tournament‚ why would you use one game as a yardstick for everything?
“Are those the kind of judges that we want‚ the ones who look at one game as the basis for the whole tournament?
“I don’t think so and I don’t want a situation where one game makes up our mind in regards with a tournament‚” said September. — TMG