Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll


By Matthew Jones
May 31 2010

Total Tranmere brings you the results of our Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season polls

Article Header - Breaking News

Two weeks ago, Total Tranmere opened voting for the Tranmere Rovers Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season, and when voting closed last night, it threw up an unexpected result.

The winner of the Player of the Season award was captain and the season's highest goalscorer Ian Thomas-Moore, who with 45% of the votes finished well clear of his nearest contenders Ian Goodison (18%) and Zoumana Bakayogo (14%) in second and third place.

Thomas-Moore started the season well, scoring against Gillingham and Grimsby in the first few weeks of the season, but after a dip in form for a couple of months, his performances eventually picked up, leading to the striker scoring some crucial goals and playing just like a leader should on the field.

Thomas-Moore Ian

He finished the season with 15 goals, his highest ever tally for one season, beating his previous best of 14 goals, achieved twice with Burnley.

The Tranmere number nine played in 48 games for his club this season, and an interesting statistic is that in every game he scored in (13), Tranmere were not beaten, winning 11 of the games, with Thomas-Moore scoring the winning goal on four occasions.

The Young Player of the Season award was also won by a clear margin, with 19-year old Ashton Taylor taking the award by a huge distance.

Tranmere's versatile number 12, who can play in midfield or defence, picking up 61% of the votes to finish in first place, 43% clear of his nearest contender, Shay Logan, in second place, who picked up 18% of the votes, whilst striker Craig Curran came third with 11%.

Taylor broke through into the Tranmere Rovers first team this season after making his debut last year on the final day of the season away at Scunthorpe.

He made 39 appearances over the course of the season and scored two goals, again both in games Tranmere won, away at Leyton Orient in the F.A. Cup and against Yeovil Town at Prenton Park in the League.

Taylor Ash

Taylor's form over the season was strong and consistent, as he cemented his place in the first team and earnt his first call-up to the Wales U-21 squad for their recent game against Austria, though he didn't play in the fixture.

Birkenhead born Taylor also recently signed a one-year contract extension, that will keep him at Prenton Park until 2012.

Total Tranmere would like to congratulate both players on winning the awards and wish them equally, if not more, successful seasons next year.

Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Total Tranmere (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 10:34

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Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Matthew the rover (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 10:55

Personally I voted for both these players and think they fully deserved to win their respective polls. Hopefully Ian will go on to score even more goals next year and Ash will continue to grow and grow

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 12:13

11% of voters in the young player poll are obviously idiots....

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Mikey (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 12:21

(Sm45)

http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac168/total-tranmere/goodison.jpg

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Matthew the rover (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 12:50

You still haven't justified your clear hatered for Curran. Has he done something to you?

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 14:28

I don't hate him - he's just a useless player.

He's a bit like Walcott for England who had one good game against Croatia and now plays every game doing nothing - it's the same with Curran but insert Brentford at home.

I don't understand how anyone could vote for him in the young player vote ahead of Taylor, Logan, Daniels etc

Yes he runs around a lot, but that doesn't make you a good footballer in fact if that's your only positive it makes you an awful footballer. Always be suspicious of players who's main characteristc is their "work rate". Work rate does not equal effectiveness.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Matthew the rover (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 14:47

Work rate does equal effectiveness. Of course it does. It's a huge assett. Doing lots of running puts defenders and attackers under pressure, it forces them in to mistakes, and it tires players out. Doing a lot of running creates openings for your own players and it creates chances.

Craig may not yet be a proven goal scorer, but he's shown he can take chances and shown he has an eye for goal. He's shown he's committed and passionate, and he's shown he will create chances for our players too from the flanks. To label him a useless player is crazy.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 15:11

Work rate does not equal effectiveness, if you do not have the positional and anticipatory skills to exploit it. Unfortunately Curran is often running 5 or 10 yards behind players rather than anticipating their movements and intercepting their passes.

Look at Inter Milan when they defend - they anticipate, they don't chase after people and run around a lot, they simply wait for the right moment.

Curran rarely forces mistakes - the only incident I can recall is Huddersfield away when he scored as a result. ITM is a much a better example of a player using his work rate effectively e.g. against Norwich. All Curran does is tire himself out so when he does get a chance he usually baloons it into row Z. I don't care if he's committed and passionate - everyone is, otherwise they wouldn't be professional footballers.

Work Rate is only a huge assett if you have other skills to compliment it - Curran does not. One of the reasons why England don't win World Cups is english fans and coaches place far too greater emphasis on "work rate" over skills such as first touch, composure, anticipation and positional sense. Curran fails in these key areas, yes he sometimes gets in the right position for a shot, but time after time he completely fluffs it as he doesn't have the composure to score or the anticipation as to how to hit the ball.

Curran had so much potential when he burst into the team - I even got his name on my shirt! But Ronnie Moore speant a season using him to wind down the clock, which ruined any chance of him developing his first touch etc. Then he got injured and as a consequence was "bulked up" by Les Parry, which has reduced his pace significantly. Now this last season he's been used as a glorified wing back so he no longer knows how to play as a striker or posess the skills this requires.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: @gony (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 19:43

not impressed by any one refering to those they disagree with as "idiots"

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: mattyj (IP Logged)
Date: 31/05/2010 20:58

SWA, you may some interesting observations about Curran, most of which i agree with. I think one of Ronnie's downfalls when he was here, was bringing the younger players through. I wouldn't say he ruined Curran, but he was used rarely when he should have been used more. His injury I think has gave him a massive loss in confidence and I think one of the reasons Parry used him was to try and get that up again. You can see he is a confidence player because as soon as he scores, he is a completely different player.

I wouldn't say he's useless as he does give his all but if he does sign then this season will be the making of him. If he continues along the same road then I agree that we are better getting rid but he is still young enough to turn it around and I'm convinced he can.

I just wish he hadn't got injured because him and Savage would have made a brilliant front two.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 01:47

I don't call people who disagree with me idiots - that's fine by me. It's the people who choose Curran instead! I voted for Shay Logan but i'm not calling those who voted for Daniels or Taylor idiots - both are resenable votes, unlike Curran.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: TT Admin (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 07:19

In your opinion it is - something you've failed to grasp it seems.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Matthew the rover (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 08:41

Why should their opinion be discounted though? I didn't vote for Craig, but I believe, as do many others it seems, that he does a very handy job for the team and he's much more than a "useless" player. Why should they be idiots? Their opinion is just as valid as yours.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: andm76 (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 09:19

everyone is entitled to there opinion, i wouldnt say craig is an awful player to be honest all he lacks is scoring more goals, he wins more headers then bas ever did.

at the end of the day if the manager picks the team then lets support them regardless of personal opinions

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 09:34

I'm just saying it's an idotic opinion to hold, a bit like Subs claim that Goodison is overrated - that's why he won player of the season(Sm162)

P.s I like how in usual Total Tranmere style you ignore my argument about how much of a bad player Curran is because you have been completely outdone on it Matthew - you just do a U-Turn and go back to another issue.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: Matthew the rover (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 10:07

I can't be bothered replying because I've set my arguement out to you on the Curran issue over several different threads in recent weeks/months and you've made it very clear that you have some sort of hatred for Craig.

But just for you my dear...

Work rate does go a HELL of a long way to making a good player. You can have all the ability in the world, but if you don't put the miles in you'll never be effective.

In my opinion it's much, much more important to be a hard worker than have ability. This doesn't mean I'm saying Craig has no ability and niether does it mean you don't need ability to be a footballer, because that would be stupid.

What I'm saying is to be a footballer, you can't be lazy. Look at players we've had in recent years who've all been accused of being lazy, the likes of Paul McLaren and Gareth Taylor, players who very often offered very little to a teams performance.

Of course both players have ability. Gareth was great in the air on his day, whilst Paul is a superb play maker. But they didn't put the effort in, so they didn't show their skill and ability, they didn't display or use their assetts.

Curran is very quick and is very prepared to do a lot of running. I would say that he runs more than any other player on our team.

He doesn't just do a job going forward though, he does a hugely important and argueably effective one in defence too, getting back and doubling up with the full-back, making it very hard for attackers to get down our right hand side.

This is something Chris Shuker was often very weak at, he just liked to do the fancy things going forward, and as such the likes of Stockdale, Shotton and this season Logan were left exposed when Shuker was in front of them.

For Curran this isn't the case, he'll get back and do the leg work in defence, put some tackles in and then he'll make the darting runs forward, pull a marker out the way and create more space for his fellow attackers, or he'll get a chance through on goal himself.

Craig is a striker, and naturally he wants to score goals. He's been labelled as a striker thanks to his magnificent progression through the youth teams, where he scored bags of goals, something he continued in his EARLY part as a first team player.

Unfortunately this season he's spent a lot of time out on the wing. From what I can remember of Craig as a youngster, he scored most of his goals from inside and around the six yard box. He was a poacher. He was never scoring 30-yard screamers, he just got himself in the right position in the middle and invariably had a chance.

With him playing out wide this season, he's not had that chance. Getting in the middle and scoring has either been the job of Thomas-Moore, Savage or Gornell. Curran has just been there to provide and create.

I would very strongly argue that if Curran was given a chance to play in his favoured position, as a striker, straight down the middle, then we'd see him score goals, see his confidence soar and see him flourish as a player. After all, how many times can we say Craig played as a true centre forward since he became a first team player?

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 11:50

Ok dear, nice to see you can write a few paragraphs of bone idle tosh. First of all McLaren got 17 assists in his 2nd season here so he obvuiously didn't put the effort in(Sm161) Secondly whilst Taylor was often ridiculed he did for a while display his assests and linked up the play very well. Just because a player isn't running around all the time with his legs in over drive like a cartoon character, it doesn't mean that he is not putting the effort in (another classic stupid fan stereotype you convey - i'm not saying your stupid just that saying a player is good because he runs around a lot is).

Now Curran is not a quick player anymore, he hasn't been since he got injured and "bulked up". Whilst I wont debate he runs around the most, he doesn't do it to much effect - he's like a dog chasing a ball around a garden. Why don't we just sign up some long distance runners if that is the criteria for a good player?

Tackles? Curran? Don't be silly. All he does is runs around 5 yeards behind players and when he does make "tackles" he ends up giving away free kicks.

I agree that Curran was a poacher, but even those skills seem to have deserted him. He's missed a DVD full of sitters this season, that he should be scoring. Which has led me to doubt his intial ability and whether it was simply a flash in the pan.

Whether Curran would flourish or not is debateable, I did think that at the start of the season. But his complete lack of just basic technique on the ball has led me to doubt this conclusion.

"You can have all the ability in the world, but if you don't put the miles in you'll never be effective."


The problem with Curran is he is the opposite - he put's in all the miles but has no ability so he'll never be effective either - thanks for coming up with an apt way of describing Curran!

P.s. I don't have a hatred for "Craig" unless your Steve McLaren it's general practise to refer to players with their last names unless your mates with them (Which could be a debate for another day). I don't hate him, I think it's disgusting you should say such a thing. I hate the likes of Sean Thornton, not Curran. Do not confuse my opinion that Curran is an awful player with hatred. Those kind of assumptions belong in the Daily Mail my dear.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: TT Admin (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 13:19

Nice to see a different winner to the Official Club Poll I suppose because it shows more than one player can get the deserved recognition.

Goodison (post-Barnes) was decent for us on the whole whilst Moore started and ended well with a dip in the middle of the season I felt.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 13:55

I think both players had similar seasons, Goodison played well until Barnes took him off against Franchise then played well again once Barnes left, whilst ITM didn't really start playing till November, when he then played his best football during his time here.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: TT Admin (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 14:17

Can't argue with the last comment! Certainly the best football of his second spell here without a doubt.

I just felt Goodison (like a lot of others) didn't perform under Barnes virtually from the off but the improvement from him and the rest of the squad from October onwards was vast I felt.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 15:22

Way Agreement on something(Sm137)

Just been on the PFA website and Curran is listed as avaliable for a free transfer.

[www.givemefootball.com]

About a third of the way down.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: SWA (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 15:29

P.s that link goes to left midfield for some reason!

Go to strikers, he's on there somewhere.

Re: Thomas-Moore wins Player of the Season poll
Posted by: his mum (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2010 17:28

well done ash am so proud ov u x x x

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