1999-00

The highlights (for those who don't want to read much)

WINNER: Sami Hyypia

Runners-up: 2nd Steven Gerrard, 3rd Stephane Henchoz

Wooden Spoon: Steve Staunton

Most Controversial Player: Jamie Redknapp

Nicest Bastard: Tony Henshall

Nastiest Bastard: Andy Philip

Player ratings

 

10 - world class

No-one (not quite).

 

9 - excellent season

1. Sami Hyypia
Av. 9.44, Hi 10, Lo 8 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
No surprise here then. Almost everyone gave a 10 or a 9, the only dissenting voice being Tony Becker who gave an 8 on the basis that Hyypia did the job he was bought for. Almost half the list considered Sami to be world class and I suspect most would like to see him made permanent captain. He was on schedule to beat the highest ever mark (the 9.5 recorded by Owen in 1998) but hardly any of the late voters gave him 10.

 

8 - good season

2. Steven Gerrard
Av. 8.47, Hi 10, Lo 7 (1999: 5th with 7.16; 1998: n/a)
I expected him to come second but in the end it wasn't until the very last votes received that he finally outstripped Henchoz. There is no doubt that despite his potential he was the surprise success for most people (although only a minor surprise) and expectations are high for the future. The only 10 came from the otherwise highly critical Andy Philip; the only 7 from Andy Nix.

3. Stephane Henchoz
Av. 8.46, Hi 9, Lo 7 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
Several people worried that he was not getting the credit he deserved and that he was under-rated, but no evidence of that here and he was clear second for most of the voting. All 8s and 9s except for a 7 from Tony Becker. Perhaps surprising that no-one gave him a 10.

4=. Titi Camara
Av. 7.56, Hi 9, Lo 6 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
Just finished level with Berger in the end, but I'll put him ahead as his range of votes is lower, meaning that three of the top four places are filled by Houllier's summer buys (and all four have made their debut under Houllier). His unpredictably was criticised by some, but held up as a virtue by others and this is reflected in his scores - no less than six 9s but four people could award no more than 6. I certainly agree with the opinion that Heskey's arrival has unsettled him.

4=. Patrik Berger
Av. 7.56, Hi 9, Lo 5 (1999: 3rd= with 7.80; 1998: 20th with 4.18)
Although several commented that this was his best season so far, his rating fell, presumably because many have started to question his tendency to drift out of games, although his goal-scoring from midfield was an undoubted boon. He picked up as many 9s as Camara, but Andy Philip was his harshest critic, awarding just 5.

 

7 - on balance, a successful season

6. Sander Westerveld
Av. 7.37, Hi 9, Lo 6 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
Houllier's fourth purchase in the top six. Nearly everyone gave 7s and 8s, with the general feelings that a few mistakes were largely due to acclimatisation and that next season should see an improvement, but still a few worried brows. Only Mike Taylor felt able to award a 9, but three doubting Thomases only awarded 6.

7. Dominic Matteo
Av. 6.90, Hi 9, Lo 5 (1999: 10th with 6.24; 1998: 13th with 5.61)
All in all, a slightly higher rating than I expected, given the stick he still gets at times. Two main schools of thought really - those who felt he had overcome adversity and risen to the challenge despite being given little credit (exemplified by 9s from Sam Johnstone and Andrew Davidson) and those who thought that his ability to hold onto the leftback was a poor reflection on our strength in depth (exemplified by 5s by Geraint Copp and Terje Johnsen).

8. David Thompson
Av. 6.84, Hi 9, Lo 5 (1999: 6th with 6.96; 1998: 8th with 6.45)
It's official, Davy Thompson is the new Steve Harkness - Alex Brown was the only one to award a 9. Several 8s though from people who are still impressed and feel he is underused, but several other comments that he seemed to has reached his peak and is destined to be a squad player and no more, with three people just awarding 5. Certainly his ratings show no improvement over the years, although he is one of just three players in the first XI in each of the last three years.

9. Dietmar Hamann
Av. 6.79, Hi 8, Lo 4 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
Central midfield is our problem zone, without a doubt. After the failure of list members to agree on the merits of Thomas, Redknapp and Ince the latest recruit has become instantly controversial. He is the sort of player who courts controversy in my opinion, a player who work off the ball and for whom economy of effort is (potentially) a virtue (if it is productive). So seven people awarded him an 8 and yet Andy Philip gave just 4 and several others who awarded 5 and 6 did so with obvious reluctance. Hi position is unquestionably important in Houllier's style however, so someone must take up the cudgels if it is not Hamann.

10. Michael Owen
Av. 6.56, Hi 9, Lo 4 (1999: 1st with 8.54; 1998: 1st with 9.50)
The Owen backlash is here. Although injuries undoubtedly affected his rating, a few have pointed out that Owen is not half the player without pace and with dodgy hamstrings his pace is questionable. I've always said I'd rather have Fowler fully fit than Owen. For a long time it seemed no-one dared to give him less than 7 but eventually Stephen Farnsworth awarded a 9 and Geraint Copp gave an 8 but Tony Becker and Andy Nix only gave 5 and Alex Brown only awarded a 4.

11. Jamie Carragher
Av. 6.50, Hi 8 Lo 5 (1999: 3rd= with 7.80; 1998: 5th with 6.90)
I have noticed a tendency on the list to be rather suspicious of versatility and so Carragher's ability to slot into three positions this season has counted against him - almost as much as two own goals for the Scum. We have better central defenders, he isn't attacking enough to be a permanent rightback in my opinion and he has not impressed when's he gone back into midfield so his future looks less rosy than last year, but he get son with his job and doesn't complain so he deserves some credit. Anyway no less than five voters were still impressed enough to award an 8 while five gave 5, so the knives aren't out (yet?).

 

6 - a qualified success, good in parts

12. Emile Heskey
Av. 6.21, Hi 8 Lo 1 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
Rarely can a high-profile new arrival been so controversial. Some fans, although only Chris Khalil awarded an 8, but even some of the fans voiced doubts and while Andy Pearson seemed harsh with a 4, Phil Andrew really layed in giving just 1. There is no doubt that doubts about why we bought him are as important as doubts about ability. Yes, the Scum rotate 4 strikers, but they have a definite first choice pairing. We know have 3 players competing for the first choice pairing and I'd choose a fit Owen and Fowler ahead of Heskey any day.

13. Danny Murphy
Av. 5.86, Hi 7, Lo 4 (1999: 13th with 5.33; 1998: 6th with 6.90)
Generally liked, but with a few exceptions Old Trafford two years ago is still mentioned as his finest hour. No-one warded more than 7 (eight people) but Andy Philip is least impressed, giving the only 4.

14. Robbie Fowler
Av 5.64, Hi 7, Lo 4 (1999: 7th with 6.84; 1998: 14th with 5.55)
There is no doubt that persistent injuries affected many ratings this year, but this is the third successive year that Robbie's rating has been injury-affected. Will we ever get the chance to vote on a fully-fit Fowler. Four kind souls still felt able to award a 7 but four people could only award a 4, although even his harshest critics tended to be apologetic.

15. Rigobert Song
Av. 5.57, Hi 8, Lo 1 (1999: 8th with 6.46; 1998: n/a)
Never seems to be here, but has become a controversial player. A few strong supporters, especially Chris Khalil who awarded an 8 but several critics, none harsher than Steve Batt who gave a 1. Will the real Rigo please stand up.

 

5 - pretty average (or nothing more than squad players)

16. Vegard Heggem
Av. 5.39, Hi 6.5, Lo 4 (1999: 2nd with 8.28; 1998: n/a)
A premature rating, I said last season, and unfortunately I've been proved right. Most people still like him, hence the narrow range of ratings, but some seem convinced he'll be on his way soon. Personally I feel that he could have an important role to play as an attacking full-back giving us an extra option as I'm unconvinced that playing another converted centre-back there (Babbel) will be the answer.

17. Jamie Redknapp
Av. 5.11, Hi 7.5, Lo 0 (1999: 9th with 6.34; 1998: 4th with 7.18)
Officially the most controversial player at the club (we needed a poll to find that out didn't we?), but only just as four players had a range of 7. Stephen Farnsworth was the only player to give a mark as high as 7.5, but Colin Watt and Andy Philip are bombarding any Spurs message boards on the net telling everyone how good Redknapp would be at White Hart Lane.

18. Eric Meijer
Av 4.99, Hi 8, Lo 1 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
Ah, Mad Eric. Almost everyone loves him, but some want him to be able to play football as well. His backers praised his motivation and attitude, often admitting to have upped their vote to reflect this and Ian Fletcher and Sam Johnstone even gave him 8, but lots of people gave him low marks, with 1s from Andrew Davidson, Andy Pearson and Steve Batt. I wonder what people would think if he had taken that chance at Villa and scored from Gerrard's wonderpass against Spurs.

19. Vladimir Smicer
Av 4.93, Hi 6.5, Lo 0 (1999: n/a; 1998: n/a)
I thought he had done enough in his few fully fit games (e.g Bradford at home) to persuade people that he has something to offer, but he was harshly treated with a 6.5 from Tony Mackenzie the highest and a 0 from Andy Nix. Will we see a new player next year?

 

4 - rather poor

20. Steve Staunton
Av. 4.06, Hi 7, Lo 0 (1999: 21st with 4.04; 1998: n/a)
His goalkeeping won him more marks than his outfield play (!). Andy Pearson obviously feels poor old Stan is rather hard done by, awarding him 7, but not even his goalkeeping impresses Andrew Davidson who awarded 0.