Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kanté has been named the Football Writer's Association footballer of the year, and deservedly so after an outstanding season in the middle for a Chelsea side that will soon be confirmed as champions.
Kanté also won the PFA POTY award ahead of his teammate Eden Hazard who was the most likely winner apart from the former Leicester City man, but as the accolade was confirmed, we noticed something extremely odd.
The list of every player that received a vote was published by footballwriters.co.uk, and it seems that among other odd votes, somebody voted for West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster.
Let that sink in for a moment. Someone who is a voting member of the football writer's association, who earns a living by commenting on football, believes that Ben Foster has been the best player in England this season.
Here is the full list of players who received votes this year, in alphabetical order...
Sergio Aguero
Toby Alderweireld
Dele Alli
Cesar Azpilicueta
Diego Costa
Philippe Coutinho
Jermain Defoe
Ben Foster
Eden Hazard
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Harry Kane
N'Golo Kante
Anthony Knockaert
David Luiz
Romelu Lukaku
Alexis Sanchez
Gylfi Sigurdsson
You could argue a case for the vast majority of players on that list, and while some are blatantly hipster shouts for players that won't win such as Cesar Azpilicueta and Gylfi Sigurdsson... Some people have genuinely taken the piss.
Ben Foster? How can you write that name down on your ballot and still sleep at night? It's nothing against the player, who has been good for West Brom this season in one of their best ever campaigns, but come on. Even Gareth McAuley would have been a more appropriate shout.
Anthony Knockaert, too. He's been outstanding in the Championship, and deservedly won the player of the year award for that league, but to suggest he's been better than the likes of Hazard, Kanté, Alli, and Kane, is just wild.
Again, if this was a fan vote, you'd understand, but these are professional football writers. What world are some of them living in? Foster's place in the top five goalkeepers in the league is extremely debatable, as the likes of David De Gea, Hugo Lloris, and even Sunderland's Jordan Pickford, have outperformed him over the course of the season.
The mind boggles.
