FWA Footballer of the Year

Steven Gerrard won the award in 2009, becoming the first Liverpool player to do so for nineteen years.

The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football. The award has been presented since the 1947–48 season, when the inaugural winner was Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews. The latest winner of the award as of 2008-09 is Steven Gerrard of Liverpool. Eight players have won the award on more than one occasion, the most recent being Cristiano Ronaldo, who won his second award in the 2007–08 season.

The winner is selected by a vote amongst the members of the Football Writers' Association (FWA), which comprises around 400 football journalists based throughout England. The award was instigated at the suggestion of Charles Buchan, a former professional footballer turned journalist and one of the Association's founders.

Winners

The award has been presented on 62 occasions as of 2009, with 55 different winners. On one occasion two players shared the award for a season. 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 Professional Footballers' Association's Players' Player of the Year award (PPY), Fans' Player of the Year award (FPY), and Young Player of the Year award (YPY).

Neville Southall's 1985 win was the last time a goalkeeper received the award.

Jürgen Klinsmann won the award in 1995, his first season in the Premier League.

1996–97 winner Gianfranco Zola is the only Italian player to receive the award.

Thierry Henry was the first player to win the award in two consecutive seasons.

Cristiano Ronaldo also won the award consecutively, in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons.

Year		Player	Club	Also won	Notes
1947–48		Stanley Matthews	Blackpool
1948–49		Johnny Carey	Manchester United
1949–50		Joe Mercer	Arsenal
1950–51		Harry Johnston	Blackpool
1951–52		Billy Wright	Wolverhampton Wanderers
1952–53		Nat Lofthouse	Bolton Wanderers
1953–54		Tom Finney	Preston North End
1954–55		Don Revie	Manchester City
1955–56		Bert Trautmann	Manchester City
1956–57		Tom Finney	Preston North End
1957–58		Danny Blanchflower	Tottenham Hotspur
1958–59		Syd Owen	Luton Town
1959–60		Bill Slater	Wolverhampton Wanderers
1960–61		Danny Blanchflower	Tottenham Hotspur
1961–62		Jimmy Adamson	Burnley
1962–63		Stanley Matthews	Stoke City
1963–64		Bobby Moore	West Ham United
1964–65		Bobby Collins	Leeds United
1965–66		Bobby Charlton	Manchester United
1966–67		Jack Charlton	Leeds United
1967–68		George Best	Manchester United
1968–69		Tony Book (joint winner)	Manchester City
1968–69		Dave Mackay (joint winner)	Derby County
1969–70		Billy Bremner	Leeds United
1970–71		Frank McLintock	Arsenal
1971–72		Gordon Banks	Stoke City
1972–73		Pat Jennings	Tottenham Hotspur
1973–74		Ian Callaghan	Liverpool
1974–75		Alan Mullery	Fulham
1975–76		Kevin Keegan	Liverpool
1976–77		Emlyn Hughes	Liverpool
1977–78		Kenny Burns	Nottingham Forest
1978–79		Kenny Dalglish	Liverpool
1979–80		Terry McDermott	Liverpool	PPY
1980–81		Frans Thijssen	Ipswich Town
1981–82		Steve Perryman	Tottenham Hotspur
1982–83		Kenny Dalglish	Liverpool	PPY
1983–84		Ian Rush	Liverpool	PPY
1984–85		Neville Southall	Everton
1985–86		Gary Lineker	Everton	PPY
1986–87		Clive Allen	Tottenham Hotspur	PPY
1987–88		John Barnes	Liverpool	PPY
1988–89		Steve Nicol	Liverpool
1989–90		John Barnes	Liverpool
1990–91		Gordon Strachan	Leeds United
1991–92		Gary Lineker	Tottenham Hotspur
1992–93		Chris Waddle	Sheffield Wednesday
1993–94		Alan Shearer	Blackburn Rovers
1994–95		Jürgen Klinsmann	Tottenham Hotspur
1995–96		Eric Cantona	Manchester United
1996–97		Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea
1997–98		Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	PPY
1998–99		David Ginola	Tottenham Hotspur	PPY
1999–00		Roy Keane	Manchester United	PPY
2000–01		Teddy Sheringham	Manchester United	PPY
2001–02		Robert Pirès	Arsenal
2002–03		Thierry Henry	Arsenal	PPY, FPY
2003–04		Thierry Henry	Arsenal	PPY, FPY
2004–05		Frank Lampard	Chelsea	FPY
2005–06		Thierry Henry	Arsenal
2006–07		Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	PPY, FPY, YPY
2007–08		Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	PPY, FPY
2008–09		Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	FPY

Breakdown of winners

Winners by country

Country	Number of wins	Winning years
England	33	1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69 (one of two winners), 1971–72, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2008–09
Scotland	9	1964–65, 1968–69 (one of two winners), 1969–70, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1982–83, 1988–89, 1990–91
France	6	1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
Northern Ireland	4	1957–58, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1972–73
Republic of Ireland	2	1948–49, 1999–00
Netherlands	2	1980–81, 1997–98
Germany	2	1955–56, 1994–95
Wales	2	1983–84, 1984–85
Portugal	2	2006–07, 2007–08
Italy	1	1996–97

Winners by club

Club	Number of wins	Winning years
Liverpool	11	1973–74, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 2008–09
Tottenham Hotspur	8	1957–58, 1960–61, 1972–73, 1981–82, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1998–99
Manchester United	8	1948–49, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2006–07, 2007–08
Arsenal	7	1949–50, 1970–71, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06
Leeds United	4	1964–65, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1990–91
Manchester City	3	1954–55, 1955–56, 1968–69 (one of two winners)
Chelsea	2	1996–97, 2004–05
Everton	2	1984–85, 1985–86
Stoke City	2	1962–63, 1971–72
Wolverhampton Wanderers	2	1951–52, 1959–60
Preston North End	2	1953–54, 1956–57
Blackpool	2	1947–48, 1950–51
Blackburn Rovers	1	1993–94
Sheffield Wednesday	1	1992–93
Ipswich Town	1	1980–81
Nottingham Forest	1	1977–78
Fulham	1	1974–75
Derby County	1	1968–69 (one of two winners)
West Ham United	1	1963–64
Burnley	1	1961–62
Luton Town	1	1958–59
Bolton Wanderers	1	1952–53

See also

• PFA Players' Player of the Year
• SPFA Players' Player of the Year
• SFWA Footballer of the Year
• PFAI Players' Player of the Year

External links

• Football Writers' Association

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