‘Complete joke’ - PFA Team of the Year outrage as Liverpool duo omitted from end of season awards

Liverpool fans and the wider footballing world are currently scratching their heads at the decision to omit both Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker from the PFA Team of the Season.

Whilst Jurgen Klopp’s side struggled overall last season, by their standards, there were strong campaigns from both Salah and Alisson who were able to hold their heads high after a difficult year.

The PFA end-of-season awards took place last night and saw Manchester City’s Erling Haaland take home the Player of the Season award, whilst Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka earned the young player of the season accolade.

Then the annual team of the season was revealed; it was a side that was heavily dominated by Manchester City and Arsenal players, but there were two notable omissions.

Why Alisson should have been picked

The Brazilian won Liverpool’s player of the season award after a brilliant campaign that saw him finish joint-second with Newcastle United’s Nick Pope, as well as Ramsdale on 14 clean sheets, and he was a huge reason why Liverpool finished fifth place.

In terms of direct head-to-head stats; Alisson recorded more saves per 90 (3) and recorded a higher save percentage (71.52%) and he also made zero errors leading to a goal, compared to Ramsdale’s two.

He also prevented 10.1 goals across the season, while Ramsdale recorded a -2 figure, showing he cost his side two goals which clearly pales in comparison to the Liverpool keeper.

He even trumped the England international with his passing, managing a far higher pass accuracy (83.37% - 63.38%) a superior long pass accuracy (45.58% - 29.24%) as well as managing one assist - Liverpool’s number one has every right to be disappointed with his exclusion.

Fans were bemused by his omission, with one explaining the situation perfectly: “Alisson not being in the PFA TOTY over Ramsdale is a complete joke. Without Alisson, we’d have probably struggled to have finished in the top half last season. He saved us so many times, but Ramsdale gets it as he was in a better team. Laughable really.”

Why Salah should have been picked

Salah continues to set the standards in the league and his 19 goals and 12 assists in a side that had real issues in midfield and defence is testament to his desire and overall quality. It also trumps the 14 goals and 11 assists that Saka managed.

It’s just unfortunate that his achievements have been buried under a trophyless season under Klopp, which is ultimately why he hasn’t been favoured here.

However, Saka inclusion is justified by the fact he won the Young Player of the Season award, which saw him rewarded for his excellent efforts often leading Arsenal to victory and, without him, they would simply have not had the same success.

One can argue who had a better season, but Saka’s overall influence on his side can’t be ignored.

There is an argument that he did fall away in the final 10 games - he managed just two goals as Arsenal’s title hopes faded away and there’s certainly case for either one to be in the final team.

One fan reacted passionately to the decision to leave out Salah: “This player awards are only a popularity contest at this stage. I stopped taking PFA awards seriously when Giggs got the PFA player of the season award in 08/09 when he hadn’t even started half of Utd’s games.”