Time to tell us who is the top man of United's up and down season.
Newcastle United's season has been far from a classic but when it comes to individual performances some players deserve plenty of credit.
There have only been a few sparkling moments in the campaign to date worthy of note.
There was the 1-0 away win in Palermo against the Serie A high fliers, while for many the 3-2 win at Spurs may just be the best away game of the season and what about James Milner's wonder strike against Manchester United at St James' Park.
But when it comes to Newcastle's top man this season - who would you pick?
Certainly at the top of the list for many of us will be Nicky Butt.
The Toon midfielder has been magnificent this season in a year that many of us thought we'd never see.
Farmed out to Birmingham last year, Butty looked odds on to leave in June when he returned to the club but with no takers, Glenn Roeder convinced him that it doesn't get much better than St James' Park and any potential move would be a step down.
The manager has gave Butt the skipper's armband on more than one occasion and the former England man has looked like the player we saw at Man United during a trophy laden era.
Ex-World Cup star Butt bagged two headers in the friendly against Villareal and to be fair he hasn't look back - if more of his team-mates had played with as much work-rate as him the truth is United could be further up the table.
Ironically another candidate that looked like he was on his way out of St James' Park is James Milner.
But his response after returning back from Aston Villa (twice as it turned out, after deadline day talks fell through at Villa Park in August) has been nothing short of sensational.
Milner had every right to feel he wasn't wanted at Newcastle, but instead got his head down and put in a string of sparkling displays.
The fans clearly love Milner and made their feelings known during the 1-0 defeat against Man City when the Toon Army chanted for the player to come on from the bench.
Milner, at 21, has also came out to face the music after defeats and spoke to the media to provide explanations to fans when more senior players have often headed for the back door.
The 2006-07 season is one that Milner should look back with a lot of pride.
Hopefully it will make Milner an even stronger player and with the best part of his career still very much in front of him Newcastle can benefit greatly from his presence.
Another player, and one who will be with Milner at the Under-21 Euro Champs in Holland this summer, is Steven Taylor.
Again as a young player, he's made mistakes.
But he's also one that is never afraid to own up to them.
Taylor has put in some gigantic performances this year and tamed Didier Drogba in his last game against Chelsea, which is no easy task.
And after finding his goal-den touch this season too, with strikes against Celta Vigo (some celebration!), Birmingham, Blackburn and a vital winner at Sheff United, surely he has underlined his position as the top defender at the club.
He might not be ready now, but before long John Terry and Rio Ferdinand could be looking over their shoulders.
Another member of the back four has also caught the eye at Newcastle this term.
But you wouldn't have expected it to be Nobby Solano.
The Peruvian nearly lost his life in Lima when his car flipped over in the streets of his native city but somehow he walked away with hardly a scratch.
This year he started in midfield but injuries to the squad meant that he ended up dropping back to right-back.
And what a job he's done.
Not only has Solano been a great guide for the club's youngsters such as Paul Huntington, Taylor and David Edgar at times, he's also been the crafty player of the squad.
He's always there.
And his double goal-line clearance against Arsenal perhaps typifies his contribution to the team this season.
As ever a real fans favourite.
But then you have Oba Martins.
Many have questioned his positioning and many have actually wondered if he is the man to wear the number 9 shirt.
Yet several factors make it a great season for Martins.
Football really boils down to goals and in his first season he has 17 of them,
He's came in to replace Alan Shearer which is a near impossible task but he has still been on target.
And with the player still young he has made the switch from a different League in Serie A to the Premiership with some admiration.
True, his African nation style of play is nothing like Shearer's contributions.
But nobody complained about unorthodox plays when Tino Asprilla was around and when you have players hitting the post from the corner quadrant like he did at Sheff United, one of his best games in a Toon top, there is never likely to be a dull moment.
If Martins can work on his game and develop something with Michael Owen next term, it might be the start of something beautiful!
These five players aside, there have also been notable contributions from Shay Given, as ever, despite his injuries while Steve Harper has also been an able deputy.
Surprise success of the season has probably been Antoine Sibierski and obviously there have been plenty of disappointments and frustrations.
But the question remains - who is your Toon player of the year?
Please leave your nomination in the box below and post.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »