The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the player under the age of 23 who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football.[1]. The award has been presented since the 1973–74 season and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). The first winner of the award was Ipswich Town defender Kevin Beattie. The current holder is Ashley Young of Aston Villa. Although the award is open to players at all levels,[1] all winners to date have played in the highest division of the English football league system. As of 2008, only Ryan Giggs, Robbie Fowler and Wayne Rooney have won the award on more than one occasion. Only five players from outside the United Kingdom have won the trophy,[2] compared with nine winners of the main PFA Players' Player of the Year award. Although they have their own dedicated award, players under the age of 23 remain eligible to win the Players' Player of the Year award, and on two occasions the same player has won both awards for a season. A shortlist of nominees is published in April and the winner of the award, along with the winners of the PFA's other annual awards, is announced at a gala event in London a few days later.[3] The players themselves consider the award to be highly prestigious, due to the fact that the winner is chosen by his fellow professionals.[4][5] [edit] Winners The award has been presented on 35 occasions as of 2008, with 32 different winners.[6][7][8] The table also indicates where the winning player also won one or more of the other major "player of the year" awards in English football, namely the PFA Players' Player of the Year award (PPY),[9][10][11] the Football Writers' Association's Footballer of the Year award (FWA),[12] and the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY).[13]  Ryan Giggs was the first player to win the award twice.  Wayne Rooney was the third player to win the award in two consecutive seasons. | Year | | Player | Club | Also won | Notes | | 1973–74 | ENG  | Beattie, KevinKevin Beattie | Ipswich Town | | | | 1974–75 | ENG | Day, MervynMervyn Day | West Ham United | | [14] | | 1975–76 | ENG | Barnes, PeterPeter Barnes | Manchester City | | | | 1976–77 | SCO  | Gray, AndyAndy Gray | Aston Villa | PPY | [15] | | 1977–78 | ENG | Woodcock, TonyTony Woodcock | Nottingham Forest | | | | 1978–79 | ENG | Regis, CyrilleCyrille Regis | West Bromwich Albion | | [16] | | 1979–80 | ENG | Hoddle, GlennGlenn Hoddle | Tottenham Hotspur | | | | 1980–81 | ENG | Shaw, GaryGary Shaw | Aston Villa | | | | 1981–82 | ENG | Moran, SteveSteve Moran | Southampton | | | | 1982–83 | WAL  | Ian Rush | Liverpool | | | | 1983–84 | ENG | Walsh, PaulPaul Walsh | Luton Town | | | | 1984–85 | WAL | Hughes, MarkMark Hughes | Manchester United | | | | 1985–86 | ENG | Cottee, TonyTony Cottee | West Ham United | | | | 1986–87 | ENG | Adams, TonyTony Adams | Arsenal | | | | 1987–88 | ENG | Gascoigne, PaulPaul Gascoigne | Newcastle United | | | | 1988–89 | ENG | Merson, PaulPaul Merson | Arsenal | | | | 1989–90 | ENG | Le Tissier, MatthewMatthew Le Tissier | Southampton | | | | 1990–91 | ENG | Sharpe, LeeLee Sharpe | Manchester United | | | | 1991–92 | WAL | Giggs, RyanRyan Giggs | Manchester United | | | | 1992–93 | WAL | Giggs, RyanRyan Giggs | Manchester United | | [17] | | 1993–94 | ENG | Cole, AndyAndy Cole | Newcastle United | | | | 1994–95 | ENG | Fowler, RobbieRobbie Fowler | Liverpool | | | | 1995–96 | ENG | Fowler, RobbieRobbie Fowler | Liverpool | | | | 1996–97 | ENG | Beckham, DavidDavid Beckham | Manchester United | | | | 1997–98 | ENG | Owen, MichaelMichael Owen | Liverpool | | | | 1998–99 | FRA  | Anelka, NicolasNicolas Anelka | Arsenal | | [18] | | 1999–00 | AUS  | Kewell, HarryHarry Kewell | Leeds United | | | | 2000–01 | ENG | Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard | Liverpool | FPY | | | 2001–02 | WAL | Bellamy, CraigCraig Bellamy | Newcastle United | | | | 2002–03 | ENG | Jenas, JermaineJermaine Jenas | Newcastle United | | | | 2003–04 | ENG | Parker, ScottScott Parker | Charlton Athletic/Chelsea | | | | 2004–05 | ENG | Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney | Manchester United | | | | 2005–06 | ENG | Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney | Manchester United | FPY | | | 2006–07 | POR  | Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | PPY, FWA, FPY | [19] | | 2007–08 | ESP  | Fàbregas, CescCesc Fàbregas | Arsenal | | [20] | | 2008–09 | ENG | Young, AshleyAshley Young | Aston Villa | | [21] | [edit] Breakdown of winners [edit] Winners by country | Country | Number of wins | Winning years | | England | 26 | 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1995, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09 | | Wales | 5 | 1982–83, 1984–85, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2001–02 | | Australia | 1 | 1999–00 | | France | 1 | 1998–99 | | Portugal | 1 | 2006–07 | | Scotland | 1 | 1976–77 | | Spain | 1 | 2007–08 | [edit] Winners by club | Club | Number of wins | Winning years | | Manchester United | 8 | 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1996–97, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 | | Liverpool | 5 | 1982–83, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2000–01 | | Arsenal | 4 | 1986–87, 1988–89, 1998–99, 2007–08 | | Newcastle United | 4 | 1987–88, 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03 | | Aston Villa | 3 | 1976–77, 1980–81, 2008–09 | | Southampton | 2 | 1981–82, 1989–90 | | West Ham United | 2 | 1974–75, 1985–86 | | Chelsea | 1 | 2003–04 | | Ipswich Town | 1 | 1973–74 | | Leeds United | 1 | 1999–00 | | Luton Town | 1 | 1983–84 | | Manchester City | 1 | 1975–76 | | Nottingham Forest | 1 | 1977–78 | | Tottenham Hotspur | 1 | 1979–80 | | West Bromwich Albion | 1 | 1978–79 | [edit] References [edit] External links |
