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The Sandpit’s Player of the Year 2020/21 is… Sergio Suarez

 

The votes for this year’s Sandpit Player of the year award are in, they’ve been counted and verified and finally, we can reveal the winner of the coveted trophy (that doesn’t exist)…………..long pause……… and the winner is………………..Sergio Suarez. Taking the award for the second time (having previously won in 2018). It means the award has now been taken by Port’s Spanish duo of Rochela and Suarez in 4 of its 5 season in existence. So here’s a run throw of where the votes went.

 

Sergio Suarez 45%

The rise of Suarez has mirrored the rise of the club, arriving into the top tier in 2016 as somewhat of an unknown quantity the playmaker has beaten off numerous challengers to his place in the team to become the main creative force for Port and one of the marquee stars in the league. Quite simply Port look better with Suarez conducting the play.

 

Sergio (possibly) reacts to news of a second Sandpit POTY award

 

Bordin 26%

The temptation in seasons past has been to see Bordin as somewhat of a mercurial talent, the showman for Port, who will put the lesser teams to bed, turning a tight 1-0 lead into 3 or 4.  However this season Bordin stepped up to become a much more consistent performer, putting in great performances in tight games and when the pressure was on. Whilst his combination with Kevin is probably the best wide duo in Thailand.

 

Bordin now nearly unstoppable

 

Adisak (8%)

The battle for the third spot was the real contest this year. With Adisak getting the better of defending Sandpit POTY Nitipong by just a single vote. That AK9 did so whilst never having the sense that he was a first time regular and having arrived from the clubs crossed town rivals is quite an achievement. Throw in that most of his minutes were spent out wide rather than in his preferred central role and it seems even more bizarre. However, Adisak won the Port crowd over from day one by simply putting in a shift in (he took at least one MOTM this season for his commitment to tracking back) and scoring plenty. The striker would finish 3rd top Thai scorer in the league with 11 (with a better goal per minute ratio than those above him) and second only to Suarez for Port. They’ve always like a no-frills grafter at the PAT and in Adisak the Port faithful have a no-frills scorer who got the votes in to beat his rivals for the final place on the podium.

 

We saw this goal celebration enough times to cost a brewery.

 

Also on the shortlist were

 

Nitipong 7.5%

Kevin 7%

Go 5%

Boli 1%

Bonilla 0.5%

 

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The Sandpit’s 2020/21 Port FC Player of the Year Poll

 

The season that felt like it would never end finally did, and as such is time to look back and reflect on what it meant for Port. Over the coming days we’ll have reviews, a Goal of the Season vote and a couple of other awards to dish out.

Kicking things off though, is the biggie: the public vote for The Sandpit’s player of the season. The first three editions were won by the Port’s Spanish contingent; first Rochela scooped the prize in 2016 and 2017, before Sergio Suarez took over in 2018. Last season Nitipong scored the first domestic win. Now it’s up to you, the public, to decide who out of the shortlisted players takes the prize. Voting will close at 7pm Thai time on Sunday.

 

กรุณาโหวตนักเตะยอดเยี่ยมประจำปี 2020/21 ครับทุกคน

 

Vote for your 2020/21 Port FC Player of the Year
Vote

 

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The Sandpit Readers’ 2019 Port FC Player of the Year: Nitipong Selanon!

 

The votes have been counted and we’re delighted to reveal that, after wins for David Rochela (2016-17) and Sergio Suarez (2018), we have our first ever Thai winner of The Sandpit’s Player of the Year award – right-back Nitipong Selanon! Niti won by a big margin, getting 37% of the vote, with Go Seul-Ki second on 13%, & Suarez third on 12%.

In my opinion, no player deserves it more. Whenever we interview Port players/staff we ask them which player at the club is the hardest worker on the pitch and in training, and the answer is always ‘Nitipong!’. His progress in the last few years has been remarkable, going from second choice T2 right-back to FA Cup winner and Thai national team starter, and – at just 26 and with his level of dedication – his best is almost certainly yet to come. He never lets the team down, never has a bad game, and – unusually for a defender – rarely ever gets booked, such is his ability to read the game.

Congratulations Niti!

 

 

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The Sandpit’s Port FC Player of the Year 2017 is….David Rochela!

 

Last week we once again opened the polls for the Player of the Year competition, and voting was very lively with over 600 Port fans clicking on their favourite player. The last couple of days’ voting saw some rather suspicious voting patterns, with 36% of our site traffic coming from SPAIN, which possibly explains why it turned into a two-horse race between Port’s two Spaniards, with the rest of the candidates trailing in their wake.

Voting is now closed, and we can reveal the top 3…

 

1. David Rochela 38%

For the second year in a row, Port’s popular Spanish captain wins the award, though not with the landslide we saw in 2016. David has had another solid season at the PAT, leading by example, playing the game with honesty and respect, and even banging in 7 goals. The naysayers may point to Port’s poor defensive record this season, but it has to be said that without David, our Goals Against column would undoubtedly look even worse. As yet, we have no word as to whether the captain will lead Port in 2018 but our gut feeling says he will. Congratulations David, and hope you’re around to go for the hat-trick in November 2018!

 

 

2. Sergio Suarez 36%

You’d have got pretty long odds on this back in June, when many Port fans – myself included – were calling for Maranhao to take Suarez’ foreign player slot at Port, after the Spaniard had an inconsistent first half of the season. But in the second leg, Sergio was a different player and, had the vote been based solely on the last 5 months, he’d almost certainly have won outright. He’s been a lot more focused, given the proverbial 110% in every game, and weighed in with 14 goals – almost unheard of for a Port midfielder. As with Rochela, we don’t know if he’ll still be around next season but given his late-season form, we suspect he might.

 

 

3. Pakorn 6%

Thanks to the Spanish mafia monopolising the vote, the rest of the candidates are a loooooong way back, with the chasing pack led deservedly by the Midfield Monk himself, Pakorn. This was the season in which the Port winger finally realised his potential and added workrate and discipline to his undoubted talent to become Port’s most productive player with 6 goals and a staggering 18 assists. Sadly we are hearing very strong rumours that he may be returning to his old club Police Tero for next season, which would be bad news for Port and surely a backward step for a player who should be looking to get a national team place before long.

 

 

Thanks, or should I say gracias, to all who voted, congratulations again to David, and watch out for more Sandpit fan polls coming soon!

 

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