Category Archives: News

Footballer of the Year 2007

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Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United’s Portuguese star, is the 60th winner of the prestigious Footballer of the Year award. Ronaldo was a convincing winner in a heavy poll, with Chelsea’s Didier Drogba the runner up.

Ronaldo said “I’m thrilled and delighted to have won such a great award”. He was joined in the top four by Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in third and fourth place respectively.

The dinner where Ronaldo will be presented with his trophy is on May 17th at the Royal Lancaster Hotel London, in front of a sell out 700 audience.

Arsene Wenger Tribute

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Arsene Wenger became the latest recipient of the FWA Tribute Award when he was honoured at The Savoy on January 16th.

The Arsenal manager, pictured receiving his award from FWA Chairman Gerry Cox, joined a long line of football legends to have been honoured for their contribution to the game.

Wenger’s side went a whole season unbeaten in the Barclaycard Premiership during 2003/04, the first side to do so since Preston’s Invincibles in the 19th Century.

Wenger was also recognised for ushering in an era of unparalleled success at Highbury, winning the League and Cup double twice among a total of three Premiership titles and three FA Cups.

A packed house of over 400 guests including former winners Sir Bobby Robson, Sir Geoff Hurst, Gary Lineker, Pat Jennings and Sir Trevor Brooking, heard how Wenger had transformed Arsenal. His fellow Frenchman Gerard Houllier, raising a toast to the FWA, also spoke about how they had both been entranced by English football from the moment they walked into Anfield as young coaches.

And Gerry Cox added that Wenger had helped changed management in England, introducing a scientific approach and more methodical preparation. Wenger spoke of the pressures of management and asked “Who motivates the motivators?” before thanking the FWA for their tribute.

Hat-trick Henry The Greatest

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THIERRY HENRY is the greatest player in the history of English football awards after being voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association for the third time in four years.

The Arsenal and France striker was confirmed a clear winner ahead of runner-up John Terry of Chelsea and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, who finished third. Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard, the PFAs Player of the Year, finished fourth ahead of Joe Cole and last year’s winner Frank Lampard.

Henry was voted Footballer of the Year in 2003 and 2004, the first ever back-to-back winner, and the first overseas player to win the award twice. Now he has gone one better after shooting Arsenal into the Champions League final.

Paul Hetherington, Chairman of the FWA, said: “Henry is a deserving winner in a season when there have been several outstanding candidates, such as Terry, Rooney and Gerrard.

“Henry’s achievement ranks him up there as the greatest player in the 59-year history of the award.”

A delighted Henry said: “As I always say in football it is all about the team and without my team-mates I would not have won this award.

“What I am especially proud of, though, is that I am the first person to win the Footballer of the Year trophy three times.

“It’s always pleasing to be the first to achieve something – it’s a little piece of history.

“My hope now is that the team goes on to create history of their own by becoming the first ever Arsenal side to win the win the Champions League.

“I would like to thank all of the Football Writers’ Association members who voted for me. It’s a wonderful honour and I feel very privileged.”

Frank Lampard Sweeps to Footballer of the Year Award

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FRANK LAMPARD has beaten off the challenge of his Chelsea team-mate John Terry to win the Football Writers’ Association vote as Footballer of the Year.

The Chelsea and England midfielder becomes only the second Englishman since Alan Shearer in 1994 to win football’s oldest and most prestigious individual award – Teddy Sheringham was the other in 2001.

Lampard and Terry polled more than 90 per cent of the votes, with Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher finishing a distant third.

Gerry Cox, Chairman of the FWA, said: “It was a close-run thing between the two Chelsea team-mates until a fortnight ago, but Frank Lampard ended up winning by a substantial margin.

“John Terry has been a huge player for Chelsea in what has been a fantastic season for the Blues, but Lampard has clearly convinced our members that he is the best player in the country and right up there with the world’s leading players.

“His all-round game is superb, his fitness phenomenal and the fact that he has weighed in with 19 goals this season makes him something special for any team.”

Lampard was runner-up to Thierry Henry in last year’s Footballer of the year award, as well as coming second for two years running in the PFA’s Player of the Year, which was won by Terry last month.

He becomes only the second Chelsea player to win Footballer of the Year, after Gianfranco Zola in 1997.

Henry is Footballer of the Year

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THIERRY HENRY collected his Footballer of the Year trophy at the FWA’s annual award dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on May 15th.

The Arsenal striker became the 53rd player to receive the game’s oldest and most prestigious individual award and praised the FWA for their good judgement when he was presented with the trophy by FWA Chairman Gerry Cox.

“It’s a great honour. I have been so happy here in England, and the English game has given me something extra” he said.

Arsenal’s vice-chairman David Dein proposed a toast to the FWA and paid tribute to Henry, the player who was responsible for around half of his side’s goals last season.

“This award is a tremendous accolade,” he said. “Thierry scored 24 goals and contributed to 20 others of the 85 we scored this season.

“He is a tremendous asset to Arsenal and France. I have been going to Arsenal for 50 years and I genuinely believe he is the most amazing talent I have ever seen. He can do things on the pitch other players can only dream of.”

Gerry Cox paid his own tribute to Henry and introduced a memorable video of Henry’s finest moments compiled by Sky Sports, who sponsored the evening along with Barclaycard, the FWA’s title sponsors and leading supporters.

It was another highly successful evening in front of a sell-out crowd of around 700 football writers, players, managers and officials.

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Thierry Henry is first back-to-back Footballer of the Year

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THIERRY HENRY has made history by becoming the first player to win the Football Writers’ Association’s prestigious Footballer of the Year award for the second year running, and the Arsenal striker won by the largest margin for 34 years.

Henry won football’s oldest individual award for the first time last year when he pipped Ruud Van Nistelrooy to the post by a narrow margin.

But there was virtually no contest this year and when voting closed at noon on Sunday (9th) Henry was the runaway winner, with almost 90 per cent of the total vote, ahead of team-mate Patrick Vieira in third and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard, who was runner-up.

Since the award was introduced in 1947-48, no-one had previously won it in successive seasons and only six other players have won it twice – Sir Stanley Matthews, Sir Tom Finney, Danny Blanchflower, Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes and Gary Lineker.

Henry said: “It’s a real honour to receive this award for the second year running, but as I always say it would not have been possible without my team-mates and of course the manager.

“When I collected this award last season I would have swapped it for a team award, but thankfully this year we won the Barclaycard Premiership title so I can really enjoy it this time around.

“You know we have a special group of players here at Arsenal and an amazing team spirit. I love being part of this team and really believe we have a big future.”

Gerry Cox, Chairman of the Football Writers’ Association, said: “Last year it was a close contest and a somewhat controversial outcome, but this time Thierry Henry has been the runaway winner.

“His skill, athleticism, teamwork and goals have set new standards in the Barclaycard Premiership, but above all that it is about the way he plays the game that has captivated people throughout the country. While it bodes well for Arsenal’s future, one can only fear for England’s defenders in Euro 2004.”

Billy Bremner won by the largest margin when he polled 95 per cent of the votes in 1970.

Click below to see Thierry Henry collecting his award from FWA Chairman Gerry Cox:

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FWA Tribute to Jimmy Hill

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Jimmy Hill OBE became the latest recipient of the FWA’s tribute award when he was honoured at the Savoy in a star-studded evening in January 2004.

Few people can have had more impact on football at so many levels of the game – as a player, manager, chairman, PFA executive, television figure and visionary.

It was Jimmy who helped end the maximum wage for players, introduced the now universally concept of three points for a win, built the country’s first all-seated stadium and even wrote the lyrics for Coventry City and Arsenal songs.

A gala evening saw Alan Hansen speak about his early years in television with Jimmy, who received a cut-glass trophy from FWA Chairman Gerry Cox and then spoke movingly about his all-encompassing career.

FWA Tribute to Tony Adams a Success

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Tony Adams became the latest recipient of the Football Writers’ Association’s Tribute award during a star-spangled dinner at The Savoy on January 19th. Adams, the former Arsenal and England skipper, was presented with a special writing set and honoured for his contribution to English football over the past two decades.

In what was another very enjoyable evening at the Savoy, around 450 guests from the world of football and the media heard a number of speakers pay tribute to the Arsenal stalwart.

Terry Burton, now Watford’s assistant manager, was Tony’s first youth coach at Arsenal and told how he spotted the youngster’s leadership and playing qualities from an early age.

Chairman Gerry Cox praised Tony’s battle with his personal problems and introduced a video compilation of Tony’s career put together by the BBC, as well as thanking Ken Montgomery, FWA secretary, for his part in organising another first-class evening.

Tony accepted the award with grace and humility and spoke movingly about his life and times, thanking some of the assembled guests and apologising to others for some of his past behaviour.

Finally Alan Davies, the comedy actor and passionate Arsenal supporter, recounted the time he saw Tony make his debut, as well as other tales of life from the North Bank, during a highly entertaining speech.

Barclaycard, the FWA’s sponsors, were represented on the top table by Gary Hoffman, chief executive and his partner Nicola, and Sven Goran Eriksson was among the honoured guests.

The evening finished with dancing to the house band into the small hours.

Pires Crowned Footballer of the Year 2002

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Robert Pires has been named the Footballer Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in one of the tightest votes ever.

A record number of votes were received with Pires edging out Ruud Van Nistelrooy by just five votes. In total, 13 players received votes with David Beckham coming third followed by Thierry Henry and Sammi Hyypia.

It’s a triumph for the French winger and will help ease the pain of missing the rest of the season and the World Cup with a cruciate ligament injury.

Speaking from Strasbourg where he is undergoing further test on his knee before deciding on a date for surgery, Pires said : “I’m delighted to be given this honour. Obviously it’s a very difficult time for me but winning this award has given me something to smile about.

“I would like to thank the Football Writers’ Association for the honour and also my team-mates at Arsenal because I could not have achieved anything without them. There is a magnificent team spirit at Highbury and this is an award for us all, not just me.”

Arsene Wenger added: “I’m delighted for Robert because he is a wonderful person, not just a fantastic footballer. He has played a major part in our success this season and to be voted Footballer of the Year is a real recognition of his talents.

“Everybody at the club is happy for Robert because obviously he was very down after being injured. Now we just hope to have him back and fully fit before too long.”

FWA Chairman, Paul McCarthy, said: “It’s been an amazing season and the fact only a handful of votes separated the top three is an indication of the depth of quality in the Premiership. Robert is an outstanding player, he has provided the fantasy in Arsenal’s play and richly deserves the recognition.”

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