SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt feels Ronwen Williams should not be named the PSL Footballer of The Season (FOTS) because he’s a goalkeeper and revealed that his favourite would be Teboho Mokoena.
Williams has been outstanding in his Sundowns’ first campaign, equaling the record of the most clean sheets in the PSL when Sundowns beat Richards Bay 1-0 last month, matching Moeneb Josephs of 17 in the 2009/10 season with Orlando Pirates.
He has since made it 18 in the league, after Sundowns beat Marumo Gallants 2-0 at Peter Mokaba Stadium this past weekend.
But despite saying Williams had a “magnificent season”, Hunt, who gave Williams his PSL debut at SuperSport when he was 19 years, six months and 23 days old in a 1-1 draw against Free State Stars on 13 August 2011, feels Mokoena has edged the Bafana Bafana captain.
“Ronwen? I don’t think a goalkeeper should win the Player of the Year,” said Hunt during the club press media day, as they host Kaizer Chiefs at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Saturday in the penultimate game of the season.
“No chance. [If he does], that means your team has been struggling, defending. I think he has had a magnificent season. But I don’t think he should win the Player of the Year.
“But I think he has been brilliant. But that is not a good sign [to be brilliant at a team like Sundowns], isn’t it? If the goalkeeper is the Player of the Year?
“Based on the team that they [Sundowns] got, I think Mokoena has been the Player of the Year, for me.”
Statistically, only two goalkeepers in the PSL era have won the Footballer of the Year award, namely Andre Arendse, Hunt’s assistant coach, in the 2001/02 season at Santos after the People’s Team had won the league title and Itumeleng Khune with Kaizer Chiefs in the 2012/13 season.
DO YOU THINK WILLIAMS DESERVES TO BE NAMED PSL FOOTBALLER OF THE SEASON?
Story by Lorenz Kohler (@Lorenz_KO) and Robin-Duke Madlala (@duke_robin).
