Who did Jamie Carragher pick for Player of the Season?

Jamie Carragher selected Mohamed Salah as his Player of the Season for the 2025-26 campaign. He praised the Liverpool star for carrying the emotional weight of the city during what appeared to be his final lap of honor at the club, rewarding his impressive numbers.

Why did Gary Neville choose Cole Palmer as Player of the Season?

Gary Neville selected Cole Palmer because he believed the young forward was the primary reason Chelsea managed to avoid finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table. Neville highlighted Palmer's incredible output of 18 goals and his crucial creative contributions to the team throughout the year.

Who was selected as the goalkeeper in Carragher's Team of the Season?

Jamie Carragher controversially chose Sunderland's 39-year-old goalkeeper Robin Ruiter to be the starting keeper for his Team of the Season. He justified the unexpected selection by pointing to Ruiter's impressive expected goals prevented statistics during Sunderland's highly successful and feel-good campaign.

Which players did Neville name as the most improved?

Gary Neville named Antoine Semenyo and Morgan Rogers as his choices for the most improved players of the season. He included both attackers in his selections to highlight their electric performances and consistent impact during the 2025-26 campaign, despite some questioning his choices.

What were the main disagreements during the MNF awards?

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher heavily debated the Player of the Season award, directly clashing over the merits of Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer. They also strongly disagreed on various Team of the Season selections, specifically arguing over the inclusion of Sunderland's veteran goalkeeper Robin Ruiter.

Neville and Carragher’s MNF awards were a total circus and I loved every second

The Monday Night Meltdown

Yesterday the Premier League season finally collapsed into the history books, and you know what that means. It’s time for the annual tradition of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher getting into a shouting match over who deserves a plastic trophy and a spot in an imaginary XI. The MNF awards show is the only time of year where two grown men, with more medals than I have functioning brain cells, turn into teenagers arguing over which Pokémon is better.

This year felt different. Maybe it’s because the title race actually went down to the final weekend, or maybe it’s just the fumes from whatever they’re burning in the Sky Sports canteen. But watching Neville try to justify his 'in-form' obsession while Carragher basically tried to nominate the entire city of Liverpool for sainthood was peak television. If you missed it, don't worry—I've sat through the whole hour of finger-wagging so you don't have to.

The Player of the Season Battle

Let’s start with the big one. The Player of the Season award is usually a straightforward coronation, but 2026 has been a weird one. Carragher went straight for the heartstrings, picking Mohamed Salah for what looks like his final iconic lap of honor. 'He’s not just scoring, he’s carrying the emotional weight of a city,' Carra said, sounding like he was auditioning for a role in a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s hard to argue with the numbers, but it’s also classic Carragher—if a player wears red, he’s automatically the best thing since sliced bread.

Neville, of course, had to be the contrarian. He went for Cole Palmer. Look, I love 'Cold' Palmer as much as the next guy who enjoys watching Chelsea's chaotic €1 billion experiment actually work for once, but Neville’s reasoning was hilarious. He argued that Palmer is the only reason Chelsea didn’t finish in the bottom half. While true, that’s basically like giving a man a trophy for being the only person who remembered to bring a bucket to a sinking ship. Palmer's 18 goals and creative output were monstrous, but Neville’s bias against anything involving Merseyside was glowing like a neon sign.

The Team of the Season Snubs

Then we got to the Team of the Season, and this is where the wheels truly came off the wagon. Jamie Carragher’s selection of Sunderland’s Robin Ruiter in goal was the moment I nearly threw my pint at the screen. Yes, Sunderland have been the feel-good story of the season, and yes, Ruiter has some insane 'xG prevented' stats that make him look like a prime Lev Yashin. But he’s 39 years old! Picking a veteran who was basically playing for vibes and clean sheets over Erling Haaland’s 3x Golden Boot dominance is the kind of hipster punditry that keeps Reddit alive.

Neville’s XI wasn’t much better. He insisted on including Antoine Semenyo and Morgan Rogers in his 'Most Improved' slots, which honestly felt like he was just trying to prove he watches the 3:00 PM kickoffs. Rogers has been electric, sure, but putting him in there while leaving out Bukayo Saka is a crime against footballing logic. Neville’s obsession with 'work rate' and 'electricity' is just code for 'I miss the 90s and I want everyone to run until their lungs explode.'

The Carrick Revolution and the Slot Machine

The manager debate was where the real venom came out. With Michael Carrick actually turning Manchester United into a team that doesn’t make me want to gouge my eyes out, Neville was basically doing backflips in the studio. He called the United resurgence a 'revelation,' which is a bit rich considering they still look like they’d lose to a stiff breeze in the Champions League. But for Gary, it’s all about the narrative. Carrick has brought that 'United DNA' back—which apparently just means they pass the ball forward occasionally now.

On the other side, we have Arne Slot. As Carragher pointed out in his earlier MNF analysis, Slot is finding it difficult to win over the Anfield faithful despite the results. It’s the classic 'you’re not Klopp' problem. Even if Slot delivered the trophy, the fans want heavy metal and he’s giving them a well-conducted orchestra. Carragher’s defense of Slot was awkward—it was the sound of a man trying to convince himself his new step-dad is actually pretty cool even though he doesn't let him play video games after 9:00 PM.

"He doesn't play football, he thinks it," Thierry Henry noted about Bruno Fernandes during the broadcast, and for once, the pundits actually agreed.

The Bruno Fernandes No. 10 role has been the tactical story of the year. He’s gone from being the league’s most annoying whinger to its most indispensable 'thinker.' Even Henry, who usually looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than a TV studio, couldn’t hide his admiration. It’s the one thing that kept the show from descending into a total shouting match.

The Bitter Reality

But let’s get critical for a second. The biggest problem with these awards is the absolute refusal to acknowledge the 'brittle' nature of the elite. Manchester City’s defensive wobbles were brushed under the rug because Josko Gvardiol is a 'generational talent.' Chelsea’s 'bizarre huddle' around referee Paul Tierney was laughed off as a joke rather than the sign of a club that has completely lost its moral compass. We’re so obsessed with the superstars that we forget the league is currently held together by duct tape and Saudi investment money.

Neville’s refusal to admit that Liverpool were actually the better team for 90% of the season was embarrassing. He’s clinging to this idea that the United rebuild is ahead of schedule when, in reality, they’re one injury to Bruno away from being a mid-table circus again. And Carragher’s Sunderland obsession? Give me a break. It’s a great story, but let’s not pretend Robin Ruiter is the second coming of Alisson Becker just because he had a good month in February.

Looking Ahead to the Big Finale

With the UCL Final only ten days away on May 28, and the World Cup looming like a giant, commercially-driven shadow in June, this MNF awards show felt like a final exhale before the madness starts again. We’ll see Haaland and Salah on the big stage soon enough, but for one night, it was just about two guys in suits arguing about Morgan Rogers.

In the end, the MNF awards aren't about who actually had the best season. They're about the theatre. They're about Gary Neville’s eyebrows reaching for the ceiling when he hears a take he hates. They're about Jamie Carragher’s voice hitting a frequency that only dogs can hear. It’s messy, it’s biased, and it’s occasionally nonsensical. But after a season this long, maybe that’s exactly what we deserve. If you want objective facts, go read a spreadsheet. If you want drama, stick with the boys on the touchline.