360 Writers – Our Player of the Year

You’ve had your votes and now it’s our turn! Remember these opinions are our own, they’re neither right or wrong.

Huw (@HuwAreYa)- Juan Mata

For me, it was a tough call between Ramires and Juan Mata but I think I’d have to go with Juan Mata as my CFC Player of the Year 2012-13. Seems fitting after his match winning goal vs Man United today but Juan Mata has been exceptional all season and is well deserving of all the praise he is receiving from people all around the globe. The magician can win games with either a neat assist or a well taken finish. The lad has quality in abundance and a likable persona and more importantly bleeds blue. Oozing in class as he runs around defenders, picking eye of the needle passes on his left foot whilst stroking his magnificent beard. Even in bad performances, El Matador seems to be able to find that little bit of magic that’ll unlock a defence. Even with playing 60+ games this season, there seems to be no sign of fatigue in the little mans legs, only the desire to win. I run out of superlatives when it comes to this man, he’s exceptional and so very deserving of any praise he receives. It is an honour to have people like Juan at our club.

Tushar (@T_L_Kuzhi) – David Luiz

When I think about Chelsea’s POTY, its easy to see that Juan Mata is clearly the favourite. But it’s hard not to choose David Luiz, the lad has been like a lion for us, showing passion in every position that he was asked to play in. Just because he is a defender/defensive midfielder he won’t be expected to be seen with as much grace as Mata gets seen, but somehow, David has managed to be in the fans heartbeats too. His last gasp goals, driving performance, passion filled thirst, loyalty, and also over all, a desire to stand among the legends at the club really showed in each of his outings! And he has already scored three wonder goals in the season, which has made our chests broad with pride to boast around about. David Luiz is going to be that type of defender who is unlike any defender around, someone off the pack, unique and a beast on the pitch!

So, I’ll go a little off the line and say that David Luiz has been our POTY as per my view.

Fahmi (@FahmiCFC)- Juan Mata

The Spanish magician Juan Mata has been playing consistently since his debut season and he continued the brilliant performances this season even after taking part in the Euro 2012 and The Olympics. No complaints about fatigue, with our very much congested fixtures this season, it didn’t matter how many games he was asked to play, he still continued to deliver big time performances playing in weekends and mid-week Europa games. On top of that, He is one of the most professional footballers you will ever see on the pitch and above all else, his statics are a proof of how brilliant he is at his game. Mata has been involved in many of Chelsea goals this season and has 19 goals this season to date(the latest being the crucial winner against Man United at Old Trafford).  David Luiz, Ramires, Hazard & Lampard could come close but, any Chelsea fan along with all other of his team mates can admit that Juan Mata is well deservedly the best Chelsea player of the season!

Shaurya (@ShauryaCFC) – Juan Mata

This season there have been 3-4 Chelsea players who deserve to win the POTY. From Petr Cech’s heroic saves to Eden Hazard’s phenomenal performances to David Luiz’s  passion filled displays, one name stands out in my opinion and that name is Juan Mata. This man has simply been marvelous for us and many at times this season Chelsea just couldn’t win without Juan Mata featuring. He’s made 60 appearances for Chelsea this season scoring 19 goals and assisting 36 goals. Its not only about these marvelous stats, Juan Mata showed up for all our big games. His first touch is one of the best in the league and he’s been nothing but magical on the ball. He’s put in brilliant performances and has scored against all the big teams like Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United. That pass which led to Demba Ba’s goal against United in the FA Cup was simply sublime. He’s scored fantastic goals and has created goals for fun not only this season but from the very first day he joined Chelsea. Our Champions League, World and European Champion Juan Mata makes Chelsea tick and is more than worthy of winning the Chelsea POTY for the second time in a row.

Martin (@joseknowsbest) – Juan Mata

Despite Eden’s phenomenal first season in Chelsea (and my desire to go ‘YOLO’ on this year’s voting and vote for Hilario or Benayoun as POTY), I had to go with Juan Mata as Chelsea’s POTY. I couldn’t help it. The little magician has been there for us so many times. Take the United game that ended about an hour before I gave these few words to Shaurya – I could only catch the second half, but Mata was quite terrible – passing was awful, shots were awful…BUT SUDDENLY, out of nowhere, there he was at the end of that beautiful pass by Oscar, in the box, and BOOM – he scores to give us three of the most important points this season. He’s an amazing genius, fantastic player, been carrying the team on his back this and the previous season – well, I had to. The competition was tough again (last year it could’ve easily been Drogba as well), with Eden and David Luiz stepping up. But I think that no matter/Mata what, Juan has been something special. I’m not implying that Eden or Luiz aren’t – I’ll be damned if I say I didn’t consider voting for them. But Juan had to win my vote. 61 games, 19 goals, 34 assists – who the hell needs Xavi or Iniesta? That little guy, Juan, owns the midfield. Probably the best #10 in the world right now (and by #10 I don’t mean the number of his kit).

Ervin (@ZlatanDF) – Juan Mata

For me, there’s one man who is head and shoulders above everybody else (despite his height) – Juan Mata. Mata has been our best and most consistent player this season. Without Mata, we’ve struggled to create chances, to score goals, to win games, to play properly. He’s been our magic man this season. Mata has scored 19 goals this season and assisted 36 goals.

Mata has also been influential in big matches. Arsenal (A), Spurs (A) and United (A) among other matches. Let’s take a look at the match that has done it for us – Juan Mata vs Manchester United: 1 goal, 4 shots, 3 chances created, 91% (49/54) passing, fouled 3 times. At Arsenal, Juan Mata assisted Torres for the opener and then found the back of the net with the winning free kick. At Tottenham, Mata struck twice in brilliant fashion and assisted twice to win us the match.

This all being said, there can only be Juan and that’s Mata.

(BTW, honorable mentions – David Luiz and Petr Cech)

Sherry (@Shercasm) – Juan Mata

Looking at the precise definition of POTY or Player of the Year, it points towards the member of the team that has had the biggest impact throughout the year in the team’s fortunes. For Chelsea, there isn’t much doubt, one man clearly stands out. Juan Mata has been beyond terrific this season, as even god couldn’t conjure up enough adjectives to appreciate the amount of work and contribution he has put in. When the debate of the best play-maker in the league comes to mind, the little Spaniard is unmatched.

I won’t list any of his stats, as they speak for themselves. Chelsea needed a Gianfranco Zola again, and they have one in their hands right now. However, Chelsea’s nightmare of a season has had other heroes as well , who shouldn’t be forgotten. Luiz, Hazard and Cech would be runners up for me, but miles away from the Juan and only Mata.

Shayne (@CFCRants) – Juan Mata

Mata has been Chelsea’s player of the season. His incredible stats aside, he has been the one man who keeps Chelsea ticking. Without his ability to unlock a defence with his precise passing, Chelsea often fail to create chances. Whenever Chelsea have needed that little bit of a spark to get the ball rolling (figuratively), Mata is the man they turn to. His overall performances may have waned off as the season went by, but not his contribution to the cause.

Sahil (@drogboss) – Petr Cech

Been our saviour on several occasions this season where we’ve been defensively woeful. True champion.

Seth (@sethaadusei) – Juan Mata

Chelsea’s season has been an up, down and up, in a roller coaster form.The Player of the Season to me should be the one who has been in consistent top form. The stand out players to me are David Luiz, Petr Cech, Hazard and Mata. Hazard started the season in an unstoppable form which raised the bar for him in terms of expectation. And in the absence of Mata, who was hidden a break, Hazard was our driving force. The coming in of Mata made him shift from his favourite position from the middle to the wing yet he has shown his quality.For a player of his age and first time in the league, Hazard is near the top. Petr Cech has been immense this season he has put up stunning saves and has been an inspirational captain. His save against Hernandez was the save of the season off not for the decade. Luiz has been the most improved player this season. Both as centre back and midfield he has been brilliant. His free kicks and shots have been delirious and if not the magical Mata, Luiz should have been my player of the season for Chelsea. He plays his heart out and no wonder he has been tipped as future Chelsea captain. The magical Mata, his first season performance set the standard for him. Many believed he would be affected by second season syndrome like Silva but he has been the most consistent top performer in Chelsea and in the EPL. He deserved to have won the PFA award but they gave to a half season performer. He has been phenomenal and without him we have found it difficult to win. Juan Manuel Mata Garcia to me over deserves to be the Chelsea player of the season and I dove out my support to him.

Tom (@ForeverKTBFFH) – Eden Hazard

Now I know not picking Mata sounds crazy, but Eden should have his say too in this contest. He has ruled the left wing all season and when he’s on form, 95% of the time, nobody can stop him. He combines being one of the fastest players in the league with great skills to get past his marker. Our Belgian international has also got the edge to get crucial goals. He kept us going in the Europa League (against Sparta Prague) and the FA Cup (against Man Utd) with wonderful individual goals.
Another detail that deserves to be pointed out is the work he did on his physical condition  at the start of the season. Hazard has been working out a lot last summer and all season to strengthen up. This shows in his good work-rate and will to succeed! During his time at Lille, Eden was rather skinny but the Ligue 1 isn’t as strong as the PL. Congrats to Hazard for his hard work as there aren’t a lot of players who do that (mentioning no names, ahem-Oscar!).
This has been a great first season for Eden (except for the ball-boy “kicking” incident) with 13 assists and 13 goals to his credit. In my opinion these stats don’t fully reflect his influence during the games. Adapting to a new country and league, especially English football, is a hard task and Eden Hazard has done it so well that it seems this league was made for him. Chelsea fans get up from their seats when he’s got the ball: he can light up the game in every situation and it has been a joy to watch him and have him on board this season. Plus, we all know he’s got the ability to become the best in the world in 2 years’ time.
For his immense talent, great work ethic and fantastic personality I pick Eden Hazard for my Chelsea Player Of The Year 2012-2013.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading our views about our player of the year! We always enjoy hearing yours! Our twitter names are by all of our opinions so if you want to chat or listen to more of our views you can find us there! Keep the Blue Flag Flying High!