Pardew Named Manager Of The Season
Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has been named the Barclays Manager of the Season after a fantastic campaign.
Pardew has improved the Magpies' fortunes beyond all expectations during the Barclays Premier League season.
Newcastle are currently in fifth place in the league, and could well end the season with a Champions League spot depending on the results this weekend.
Led by Pardew, Newcastle are guaranteed a top-five place this season - the Club's highest Barclays Premier League position since 2003/04 when they finished the campaign in third under Sir Bobby Robson.
Pardew has also been responsible for a number of influential and highly successful signings, most notably Senegalese strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Cissé. The London-born boss also brought in Lille's Yohan Cabaye, who has developed a formidable partnership with Hatem Ben Arfa in Newcastle's midfield.
This is the first time a Newcastle manager has been awarded this accolade.
http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20120511/pardew-named-manager-of-the-season_2281670_2769755=============================================================
Manchester City captain Kompany wins Barclays Player of the Season award
The Belgian centre-back, who scored the winner against Manchester United in April, has been at the heart of the Blues team in what could be a Premier League-winning seasonMay 11, 2012 5:39:00 PM
By Miles Chambers
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has been awarded Barclays Player of the Season.
The Blues defender, 26, has been instrumental in the side's resurgence in form since their defeat at Arsenal in early April.
Since that 1-0 loss - which looked to have eliminated them from the title race due to an eight-point deficit from leaders Manchester United - Roberto Mancini’s men have been in fine form.
The club have conceded just once and scored 15 times in their current run of five straight wins.
The "noisy neighbours" started the season with a bang and led the league for large periods of the 2011-12 campaign despite limited success in European competitions.
A 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford led many to believe they were certain to become Premier League champions this season.
City ended April with a jubilant 1-0 win in the Manchester derby to complete the league double over Sir Alex Ferguson's men - the goal was scored by Kompany from a corner just before the half-time whistle.
The club need to win at home - a feat they have failed to accomplish only once this season - against QPR to secure their first Premier League title.
The Belgium international won the Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Year at the club's end-of-season award ceremony.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2012/05/11/3096045/manchester-city-captain-kompany-wins-barclays-player-of-the
