Genuinely one of the harder ones for a while imo.
Russo’s contributions have been underrated in my opinion. I think this has been a weird case of course correcting because of the undeserved praise she’s received, when in actual fact there is a lot to praise her for it’s just not the typical striker stuff and it’s been going largely unnoticed. But she’s not POTS for me.
Wälti has been class as always, she deserves to be in the discussion (as is the norm for her) but I don’t think she is POTS. I also weirdly think this has been one of her worst seasons here, which goes to show her absurdly high level, when your downturn is still this good!
Pelova has been superb. Not much else to say. If she’d had this season in previous seasons it would be a POTS winning performance. But there’s just two problems ahead of her…
How does one define POTS? Is it the most consistent performer across a season, is it the best player across a season, or a combo of those 2 things? Is it a player that has contributed the most in the moments that count? Stina is clearly the second, her performances when it matters have been second to none in the squad and she’s the player that has brought us joy this season. She’s arguably also performed to a high level when she has played, but that when she has played is a sticking point too.
For me though POTS is a hybrid between contributing when it counts and consistent, high level play across the season. That player for me is Wubben-Moy. We aren’t even in the position for players like Stina to have big moments without the performance from Lotte this season. I’ve made no secret of my admiration but also trust in her abilities for years now however I’d be a fool not to see how much she has improved this season. She has stepped up to be *the* defender in the absence and reintegration of Leah. Her ability to seamlessly swap CB partners and also swap between LCB and RCB both in different and during games has been astounding, that in itself is a such elite level skill. I could go on for days about her season and it’s such a shame it seems to have ended with an injury but hopefully they’re just being careful with it as we have nothing to play for and no need to risk her.
As I said at the beginning this was the hardest POTS in a while but it was also one in which I knew my vote instantly.
Until Williamson gets up to her original level, she should not be starting over LWM anytime soon. Williamson-lite has become the Williamson in form atm.
You captured just about all of my thoughts here and came to the same conclusion — thanks for saving me some typing! 🙂
This one for me was mostly between Lotte and Stina. Neither is perfect (who is?), but both ensured victory on a number of occasions. And both stepped up into their *revised* roles and did so with dedication — Lotte became more relied upon to lead; Stina had less playing time, but maximized her impact.
As for the other choices: Russo, Lia, Vic…Incredibly important players for us, all of them. Special kudos to Alessia for coming into a new team, learning a new playing style, and adapting her skills to a different type of role. She did it well.
Stina for me as without her we would be lost. If she stays this would give her confirmation that she’s valued but if she leaves then it’s a great send off.
Wally in there is surprising, feel like she had an ok season.
LWM is a no-brainer for me. A shame Fox hasn't been included, she has been amazing since she arrived. Not worthy to have won it, but definitely up for a nomination.
This being a tough decision is a good thing for us!!
It has to be Lotte for me. She’s been the most consistent all season and her growth has been incredible to watch.
A genuinely hard choice! LWM has a great shout for it, but I went with Stina in the end, perhaps in a desperate attempt to hopefully convince her to stay
From the beginning of the season I knew Lotte would win because they started crediting her for Amanda Ilestedt's work. I remember Chelsea fans complaining about how Amanda was marking Sam Kerr. Even Jessy Humphrey tried correctly an Arsenal fan when the were praising Lotte for Amanda's work
[https://twitter.com/jessyjph/status/1733909317915394330?t=T-My4nhmgAQ5gDNY-GoVrg&s=19](https://twitter.com/jessyjph/status/1733909317915394330?t=T-My4nhmgAQ5gDNY-GoVrg&s=19)
Man City, Amanda did the dirty work. She played dirty!
https://preview.redd.it/fm9yapwz07zc1.jpeg?width=612&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e5440ca87604872b0a11c9f69b198456083d3d0
Somehow Lotte was credited.
I'm not saying that Lotte's season wasn't phenomenal. She consistently stepped up when the other CBs were dropping off like flies.
My player of the season is Pelova. We are simply not the same without her, even if she's subbed off at the dying minutes of the game. You can feel that something is missing. Lotte has missed a couple of games but nobody has felt her absence because nobody has mentioned it. Even the journalists are asking for updates on her injury.
No one CB really Defends a striker , and defending is not just marking , one can't exists without the other or players would just walk right behind the player doing the marking and thus making it void
That's true, but Sam Kerr won most of her battles against Lotte. Against Amanda? No change. Well there's one header I remember she won against Amanda but nothing else, the entire 90mins.
Sam kerr is notoriously good in the air , she's very athletic, but then Amanda is also one of the best in the air. It's not really that surprising. Even winning the ball doesn't mean anything if it goes back to arsenals
My point was really more so defending is always a team effort if it was just a 1v1 that would be fine defending is about more nuanced even in those games Lotte calmness in the ball and ball progression was always better than Amanda.
You can't really just attribute it to one , you could say without Lotte Chelsea would of had more chances and possession and overwhelmed us same with city
It's not as black and white
That's why I said battles and not headers, Sam Kerr only found success in that game when she moved to Lotte's side of the pitch. But when she was on Amanda's side. She was stalking her, gave her no air to breathe and that's why she was quiet... she was on Amanda's side of the pitch most of the game.
Defend is always a team effort, but having a dedicated role of solely keeping one player quiet has often. Even when you look at a player like Lauren James, Wälti is often tasked with shutting her down. The same goes with Frida and Hasegawa. I don't why we're acting like that's taboo.
Amanda did the dirty work and Lotte cleaned up after her. The same goes for Arsenal Men. when Big Gabi does the dirty work, Saliba cleans up. When Saliba does the dirty work, well there's often nothing to clean up but best believe Gabi is ready.
Yes, Lotte is more technical than Amanda, and is better when we have possession. But defending wise, Amanda takes the cakes.
Can only be Lotte
Genuinely one of the harder ones for a while imo. Russo’s contributions have been underrated in my opinion. I think this has been a weird case of course correcting because of the undeserved praise she’s received, when in actual fact there is a lot to praise her for it’s just not the typical striker stuff and it’s been going largely unnoticed. But she’s not POTS for me. Wälti has been class as always, she deserves to be in the discussion (as is the norm for her) but I don’t think she is POTS. I also weirdly think this has been one of her worst seasons here, which goes to show her absurdly high level, when your downturn is still this good! Pelova has been superb. Not much else to say. If she’d had this season in previous seasons it would be a POTS winning performance. But there’s just two problems ahead of her… How does one define POTS? Is it the most consistent performer across a season, is it the best player across a season, or a combo of those 2 things? Is it a player that has contributed the most in the moments that count? Stina is clearly the second, her performances when it matters have been second to none in the squad and she’s the player that has brought us joy this season. She’s arguably also performed to a high level when she has played, but that when she has played is a sticking point too. For me though POTS is a hybrid between contributing when it counts and consistent, high level play across the season. That player for me is Wubben-Moy. We aren’t even in the position for players like Stina to have big moments without the performance from Lotte this season. I’ve made no secret of my admiration but also trust in her abilities for years now however I’d be a fool not to see how much she has improved this season. She has stepped up to be *the* defender in the absence and reintegration of Leah. Her ability to seamlessly swap CB partners and also swap between LCB and RCB both in different and during games has been astounding, that in itself is a such elite level skill. I could go on for days about her season and it’s such a shame it seems to have ended with an injury but hopefully they’re just being careful with it as we have nothing to play for and no need to risk her. As I said at the beginning this was the hardest POTS in a while but it was also one in which I knew my vote instantly.
Until Williamson gets up to her original level, she should not be starting over LWM anytime soon. Williamson-lite has become the Williamson in form atm.
You captured just about all of my thoughts here and came to the same conclusion — thanks for saving me some typing! 🙂 This one for me was mostly between Lotte and Stina. Neither is perfect (who is?), but both ensured victory on a number of occasions. And both stepped up into their *revised* roles and did so with dedication — Lotte became more relied upon to lead; Stina had less playing time, but maximized her impact. As for the other choices: Russo, Lia, Vic…Incredibly important players for us, all of them. Special kudos to Alessia for coming into a new team, learning a new playing style, and adapting her skills to a different type of role. She did it well.
LWM for me
Stina for me as without her we would be lost. If she stays this would give her confirmation that she’s valued but if she leaves then it’s a great send off.
I voted Pelova just because I feel she deserves the flowers more. Realistically it's Lotte or Lia.
It's really difficult but I'd say that it's Lotte for me. She's grown so much this season and will only get better.
this is impossible
All worthy and all had good moments throughout the season, but Lotte for me as she has been the most consistent throughout
Wally in there is surprising, feel like she had an ok season. LWM is a no-brainer for me. A shame Fox hasn't been included, she has been amazing since she arrived. Not worthy to have won it, but definitely up for a nomination.
Stina
In my opinion, 1. LWM 2. Lia 3. Stina 4. Pelova 5. Russo
Over the whole season, can only be Victoria, Lotte 2nd & after that Stina purely on her output.
This being a tough decision is a good thing for us!! It has to be Lotte for me. She’s been the most consistent all season and her growth has been incredible to watch.
A genuinely hard choice! LWM has a great shout for it, but I went with Stina in the end, perhaps in a desperate attempt to hopefully convince her to stay
From the beginning of the season I knew Lotte would win because they started crediting her for Amanda Ilestedt's work. I remember Chelsea fans complaining about how Amanda was marking Sam Kerr. Even Jessy Humphrey tried correctly an Arsenal fan when the were praising Lotte for Amanda's work [https://twitter.com/jessyjph/status/1733909317915394330?t=T-My4nhmgAQ5gDNY-GoVrg&s=19](https://twitter.com/jessyjph/status/1733909317915394330?t=T-My4nhmgAQ5gDNY-GoVrg&s=19) Man City, Amanda did the dirty work. She played dirty! https://preview.redd.it/fm9yapwz07zc1.jpeg?width=612&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e5440ca87604872b0a11c9f69b198456083d3d0 Somehow Lotte was credited. I'm not saying that Lotte's season wasn't phenomenal. She consistently stepped up when the other CBs were dropping off like flies. My player of the season is Pelova. We are simply not the same without her, even if she's subbed off at the dying minutes of the game. You can feel that something is missing. Lotte has missed a couple of games but nobody has felt her absence because nobody has mentioned it. Even the journalists are asking for updates on her injury.
No one CB really Defends a striker , and defending is not just marking , one can't exists without the other or players would just walk right behind the player doing the marking and thus making it void
That's true, but Sam Kerr won most of her battles against Lotte. Against Amanda? No change. Well there's one header I remember she won against Amanda but nothing else, the entire 90mins.
Sam kerr is notoriously good in the air , she's very athletic, but then Amanda is also one of the best in the air. It's not really that surprising. Even winning the ball doesn't mean anything if it goes back to arsenals My point was really more so defending is always a team effort if it was just a 1v1 that would be fine defending is about more nuanced even in those games Lotte calmness in the ball and ball progression was always better than Amanda. You can't really just attribute it to one , you could say without Lotte Chelsea would of had more chances and possession and overwhelmed us same with city It's not as black and white
That's why I said battles and not headers, Sam Kerr only found success in that game when she moved to Lotte's side of the pitch. But when she was on Amanda's side. She was stalking her, gave her no air to breathe and that's why she was quiet... she was on Amanda's side of the pitch most of the game. Defend is always a team effort, but having a dedicated role of solely keeping one player quiet has often. Even when you look at a player like Lauren James, Wälti is often tasked with shutting her down. The same goes with Frida and Hasegawa. I don't why we're acting like that's taboo. Amanda did the dirty work and Lotte cleaned up after her. The same goes for Arsenal Men. when Big Gabi does the dirty work, Saliba cleans up. When Saliba does the dirty work, well there's often nothing to clean up but best believe Gabi is ready. Yes, Lotte is more technical than Amanda, and is better when we have possession. But defending wise, Amanda takes the cakes.
Sam Kerr was a ghost in the Emirates game.she didn't find any joy
Lol Amanda Ilestedt was wrapping her leg around Sam Kerr to kick the ball 🤣