MAHLATSE MPHAHLELE | Ronwen Williams must surely be crowned Footballer of the Season

It is that time of the year when discussions have reached fever pitch with excited football lovers picking players who have stood head and shoulders above the rest during the season.

It has been a DStv Premiership campaign that was dominated by Mamelodi Sundowns, who wrapped up their seventh league title with six matches to spare and broke a number of team and individual records along the way.

Under coach Steve Barker, Stellenbosch have also punched above their weight and they go to the last day of the season on Saturday still in contention to qualify for the Champions League next season. Then there is Orlando Pirates, whose lack of consistency throughout the campaign affected their ability to chase runaway champions Sundowns, but they could still qualify for the Champions League if they overtake Stellenbosch.

There were pretenders like Sekhukhune United, TS Galaxy, SuperSport United, Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs, who simply did not have enough in the tank to mount a serious title challenge.

Then there were players who shone during the season and with the PSL awards fast approaching, my pick for the footballer of the season is Ronwen Williams of Sundowns, for his consistency. 

I chose Williams ahead of the likes of Patick Maswanganyi and Tshegofatsho Mabasa of Orlando Pirates, Iqraam Rayners of Stellenbosch and Marcelo Allende and Lucas Ribeiro of Sundowns. The prestigious PSL Footballer of the Season award is voted for by the 16 PSL coaches, and I hope they agree with me that Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Williams has been the standout performer. 

I have chosen Williams because of his impeccable contribution to the team in all competitions in which the Brazilians reached MTN8 and Nedbank Cup finals and dominated the DStv Premiership. The only stain on an otherwise spotless Sundowns campaign is the Carling Knockout Cup, where they were dumped out in the last-16 stage by TS Galaxy in a match dominated by the horrible injury of Bernard Parker.

Football is still about general contributions of the players on the field but evolution of the sport due to advancement of technology means numbers matters and statistics fully back Williams. Williams is at the forefront of the new evolution of the sweeper-keeper role, where he becomes an extra defender at certain points of the game and acts as the eleventh outfield player.

Williams has shown maturity and increasing confidence as he is able to push high up the pitch to control the space behind his defence and he also takes a more active role in helping the team with attacks and maintaining possession.

When it comes to numbers, Williams is sitting comfortably on 15 clean sheets after 21 matches and this record may be improved in the remaining match against Cape Town City. Williams, who also had a good Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) and Africa Football League (AFL), contributed in cup competitions, keeping two clean sheets in four MTN8 matches and conceded two goals in as many matches in the Nedbank Cup.

There is another feather in the cap of Williams as he has excelled and performed consistently in his position despite the mammoth responsibility of being captain of this Sundowns team that has played in a staggering 55 matches this season. 

Williams will follow in the footsteps of Itumeleng Khune, who was named footballer of the season after the 2012-13 campaign in which he helped Kaizer Chiefs to the championship title.

There is a strong case for Maswanganyi but my feeling is that he only really started firing on all cylinders during the second round of the campaign — and the footballer of the season has to have been consistent right through.

There are those who have argued that Maswanganyi carried Pirates this season, but a closer look at the log table tells us that Sundowns lead Pirates by a whopping 24 points, with matches remaining 

‘Tito’, as Maswanganyi is affectionately known, is a flashy player with silky skills and has endeared himself to the fans, but a closer look at his statistics shows he should have done better when it comes to goals and assists. 

Five goals and as many assists in 26 matches is a scant return for a player who plays in an advanced number 10 attacking position and he has been found wanting when it comes to discipline, with  eight yellow cards so far. To put his poor goal return in perspective, he has the same number of goals as Linda Mntambo of Sekhukhune United, who has played only 13 matches as he started the season late due to injury.

In the MTN8, he failed to score in four matches, but contributed three assists and he has impressed in the Nedbank Cup where he helped Pirates to the final with three goals and three assists in four matches. 

The other issue in favour of Williams is that he captained Sundowns to the league title with six matches to spare, they broke the long-standing record for most points in the PSL era and they are on the cusp of going the entire season without defeat. There are those who have argued that Maswanganyi carried Pirates this season, but a closer look at the log table tells us that Sundowns lead Pirates by a whopping 24 points with matches remaining. 

Last season, SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt said a goalkeeper cannot win the Footballer of the Season award but that assertion is without merit as Williams has been outstanding this season.