Soccer

United and Gunners dominate PFA team

Soccer: The Professional Footballers' Association's Premier League Team of the Year is dominated by players from Manchester …

Mon Apr 18 2011 - 01:00

Soccer:The Professional Footballers' Association's Premier League Team of the Year is dominated by players from Manchester United and Arsenal.

Player of the Year Gareth Bale and Jack Wilshere, who picked up the Young Player award were both voted into the composite side by their fellow professionals.

Leaders and Champions League semi-finalists United are the most represented with four players in veteran goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, defender Nemanja Vidic, playmaker Nani and Premier League top scorer Dimitar Berbatov.

Defender Bacary Sagna, Player of the Year candidate Samir Nasri and Young Player of the Year Wilshere make up the Gunners contingent.

READ MORE

In a side made up entirely of players from the top five clubs, Manchester City have two representatives in Carlos Tevez and Vincent Kompany while Chelsea and Tottenham have one each in Ashley Cole and Bale respectively.

Championship leaders QPR have two players in the team for the second tier in goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and playmaker Adel Taarabt.

Kenny is one of three Irishmen in the team, with Reading's Ian Harte and Norwich City's Wes Hoolahan also included.

Like Norwich, promotion contenders Swansea have two players in the side.

Defender Ashley Williams, who was recently overlooked for the Wales captaincy, and Scott Sinclair have had fine seasons with the Swans, while Hoolahan and Grant Holt have impressed for the Canaries.

Leicester defender Kyle Naughton, on loan from Tottenham, makes his second appearance in the team after having been voted on while with Sheffield United two years ago.

Brighton, who secured promotion to the Championship this week, have three players in the League One team in Inigo Calderon, Gordon Greer and Elliott Bennett.

It is the runaway leaders' rivals challengers Southampton, however, who are the most represented with five players in Kelvin Davis, Dan Harding, Jose Fonte, Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

League Two leaders Chesterfield have three players in their division's team with Tommy Lee, Danny Whitaker and Craig Davies all voted in.

Teams of the year (in full):

Premier League:Van der Sar (Man Utd), Sagna (Arsenal), Cole (Chelsea), Vidic (Man Utd), Kompany (Man City), Nani (Man Utd), Nasri (Arsenal), Wilshere (Arsenal), Bale (Tottenham), Tevez (Man City), Berbatov (Man Utd).

Championship:Kenny (QPR), Naughton (Leicester), Harte (Reading), Williams (Swansea), Morgan (Nottm Forest), Taarabt (QPR), Sinclair (Swansea), King (Leicester), Hoolahan (Norwich), Graham (Watford), Holt (Norwich).

League One:Davis (Southampton), Calderon (Brighton), Harding (Southampton), Greer (Brighton), Fonte (Southampton), Pilkington (Huddersfield), Bennett (Brighton), Lallana (Southampton), Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton), Mackail-Smith (Peterborough), Wright-Phillips (Charlton).

League Two:Lee (Chesterfield), Batt (Oxford), Skarz (Bury), Sharps (Shrewsbury), Branston (Torquay), Whitaker (Chesterfield), Ainsworth (Wycombe), Ryan (Accrington), Lowe (Bury), Law (Rotherham), Davies (Chesterfield).