Liverpool FC End of Season Awards: Player of the Year, Goal of the Season, More!

The end of another season is fast approaching, with Liverpool still fighting to claim a place in next season's Europa League at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur.

While Kenny Dalglish continues to work his magic in turning around the Reds' fortunes, we take a look back at the season as a whole and dish out the awards for the finest players, moments, goals and games of the season, as well as handing out a few less-than-wished-for awards.

The full list of no less than 22 awards comprises the following:

Best Signing of the Season

Worst Signing of the Season

Most Underrated Player of the Season

Most Improved Player of the Season

Best Individual Performance 

Best Substitute Performance

Best Team Performance

Worst Team Performance

Best Result of the Season

Worst Result of the Season

Most Forgettable Match of the Season

Goal of the Season

Breakthrough Player of the Season

Most Disappointing Player of the Season

Best Moment of the Season

Worst Moment of the Season

Season Landmark Achievement Award

Under 18's Player of the Season

Best Defensive Player of the Season

Best Attacking Player of the Season

Young Player of the Year

Player of the Year

Post below to share your thoughts and whether or not you agree with the selections!

Despite only joining the club in January, Luis Suarez has swerved and scored his way into the hearts of Liverpool fans already.

Right from his substitute debut appearance against Stoke, when he netted just 16 minutes after coming on, Suarez has terrorised Premier League defences with his trademark dribbling and clever off-the-ball movement, and he has claimed three goals and six assists in just 10 appearances in a Reds shirt.

No doubt there is plenty more to come from the Uruguayan next season, but despite his hefty £24 million price tag—a Liverpool record for about two hours until Andy Carroll joined from Newcastle on the same day —Suarez has proven himself to be a stellar purchase already, and if he continues in a similar vein over the next few seasons, he will surely be seen as a major bargain.

Mentions: Raul Meireles has performed well for the majority of the season despite being used in four different positions, while his goalscoring spree during January/February helped Liverpool on their road to recovery.

Andy Carroll, while not having been fully fit enough to take the title of Best Signing, has certainly already shown that he will be a huge asset to the club, and we look forward to seeing more of him next term.

Quite simply, Paul Konchesky was never good enough to play for Liverpool, as evidenced by his paltry 18 appearances before being shipped out on loan to Championship outfit Nottingham Forest.

Aside from the outrageous sum of £5 million that Roy Hodgson shelled out for him, two talented Academy players—Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic—were also given to Fulham to seal the deal, on the recommendation of former Reds scout Malcolm Elias.

Konchesky's poor fullback play was evidenced by the fact that Dalglish preferred to play Glen Johnson on the left rather than have the No. 3, a naturally left-sided player, in the team.

Mentions: Take your pick from the Roy Hodgson reign. Christian Poulsen will be a front-runner for many and deservedly so, while Joe Cole has failed to live up to his billing. Brad Jones was another who was never going to threaten for a first team place at the club.

Milan Jovanvovic, a Rafa Benitez signing, also flattered to deceive up until the new year, since when he has disappeared almost entirely from the Liverpool first team.

Soto Kyrgiakos came under a bit of stick at times this season and perhaps for good reason as he gave away a few penalties and generally had an air of "dodginess" about him for a spell.

However, he also put in a great performance or two along the way—most notably against the likes of Manchester United when drafted in as a substitute for the stricken Fabio Aurelio and Stoke City as part of a three-man defence, where he kept the usually threatening John Carew incredibly quiet.

As a perceived fourth-choice centre back, the Big Greek plays a lot of football for the club. He is just one shy of a half century of appearances in his two seasons in the team.

Kyrgiakos' aerial ability at both ends of the pitch has been a big asset for the Reds on many occasions, and his crunching tackling is another feature of his game which will be sorely missed once he moves on, be it this summer or later.

Mentions: Glen Johnson's switch from right to left back midway through the season was a stroke of genius from Dalglish, and the England international has been rejuvenated under the more attack-minded King Kenny.

Also, and perhaps more surprisingly, Steven Gerrard. The captain has been missing through injury for much of Dalglish's reign and the biggest compliment that the rest of the team can be paid is to say that Gerrard hasn't been overly missed—but in the first half of the season, it was again Gerrard who was dragging points and a few goals out of terrible performances.

Next season could see Stevie back to his best under Kenny.

A player who has divided opinion for a few seasons, Dirk Kuyt's great run of form of late casts a complete contrast to his awkward and peripheral performances of last season.

Back to his very best after he suffered with the team's sub-standard performances for the best part of a year-and-a-half, Kuyt has now scored in his last four games and totals eight goals in his last 11 games— his best goalscoring run in a Liverpool shirt.

Operating alternately as a forward and a right-sided player in the past few months, Dirk's versatility as much as his ability has seen him be one of the key performers under Dalglish, and he is fully deserving of his new contract.

Mentions: Glen Johnson for the reasons mentioned in the previous slide, David Ngog's early season form was noteworthy though he hasn't managed to keep it going for the whole season, and Jay Spearing has come on leaps and bounds in the past few months, proving that he is more than capable of holding his own in the top division.

Manchester United's defence could have been forgiven for smiling after Liverpool sold Fernando Torres. After all, he had terrorised Nemaja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and co. for several seasons.

However, Liverpool have a new weapon of Manc destruction these days: Luis Suarez.

His close control, dribbling, tenacity and pace was too much for the United side to bear, and he had a major hand in all three of Dirk Kuyt's goals on the day.

Suarez's mazy run for the opening goal was one which will live long in the memory of Reds' fans as he left player after player in his wake.

As much as his on-the-ball ability, Suarez's work rate and clever movement posed all sorts of problems for Manchester United and only a series of saves from Edwin van der Sar—duly converted by countryman Kuyt—prevented Luis from deservedly getting his name on the scoresheet.

Mentions: Both Lucas Leiva and Martin Kelly put in incredible performances against Chelsea at Anfield, while ex-Red Fernando Torres' goalscoring exploits in the same game should also be noted. 

Lucas and Jay Spearing have both been imperious in central midfield against Arsenal and Manchester City. Maxi Rodriguez's display against Aston Villa in December was also memorable.

From 1-0 down to 3-1 up; a hattrick in the final quarter of an hour of the game. Who else had the ability to drag Liverpool from defeat in that manner?

Roy Hodgson started Steven Gerrard on the bench for the game at Anfield but turned to his skipper at halftime as a replacement for Milan Jovanovic, and Captain Fantastic duly obliged with a late treble to help Liverpool on their way to top the group.

There was a determined tackle on the goalkeeper which ricocheted into the goal, a late penalty and there was still time for a cheeky chip over the 'keeper for his third.

Not bad for 45 minutes' work.

Mentions: Soto Kyrigakos' fine performance as an early replacement for Fabio Aurelio against Manchester United, Joe Cole's match winning cameo against Bolton on New Year's Day and Suarez's debut versus Stoke, which provided a tantalising glimpse of the future, but none can match Gerrard's European impact.

Liverpool's upward turn in fortunes this season can be clearly marked back to January when Kenny Dalglish returned in a caretaker manager capacity.

The gradual improvement in Liverpool's style of play, both in defence and attack, has been noticeable with every passing game, and against Manchester City at Anfield in mid-April, they played perhaps their finest game of all as the Reds completely outplayed, out-fought and out-thought the hugely more expensive Manchester City outfit, cannoning into a three-goal lead inside the opening half.

Fluid passing, excellent movement off the ball and a fiercely competitive midfield—epitomised by Lucas and Spearing's determination in particular—gave City no chance as the Reds took the three points in style.

Andy Carroll opened his account for the club with two extremely well taken goals, while Dirk Kuyt finished off a huge period of Liverpool pressure with another strike.

Mentions: The performances home and away in victory against Chelsea were exceptional in different ways, with a stern rearguard obviously key in the Stamford Bridge fixture.

Against Arsenal recently Liverpool were similarly resilient and reliant on a high octane performance in midfield, while the 3-1 Anfield victory over Manchester United also merited a mention.

However, the City match was the most complete in terms of dominating a big rival, a perfect defence with a clean sheet and a clinical edge in front of goal.

To this day I cannot fathom what good things Roy Hodgson, then manager, saw in this performance.

He used words like "utopia," "sterling effort" and even went as far as to say it was Liverpool's "best performance of the season." Admirable sentiments indeed, but he must have been watching a different game.

Liverpool were second best throughout—unacceptable in any game, let alone a Merseyside derby—and looked sluggish, lethargic and devoid of creativity and ideas.

Everton ran riot and deservedly won by two goals to nil, with little or no effort put in by many in a Red shirt.

It was far and away the worst derby display I have seen from Liverpool in my 22 years of watching them—I saw my first derby game in 1989—and underscored just how far Liverpool had fallen under Hodgson and how he was so far removed from the expectations and demands of managing a club like Liverpool.

The defeat left Liverpool in 19th place in the middle of October, only above bottom club West Ham on goal difference.

Mentions: Take your pick from several during the Hodgson regime.

The home defeats to Northampton, Blackpool and Wolves were all skin-peelingly bad, while even the victory over West Brom at Anfield was the product of facing a team worse at passing the ball than the Reds were at the time.

The 2-3 loss at Old Trafford sounds a lot closer than the game itself actually was, while a limp defeat at Stoke City was entirely in keeping with Roy's reign.

Not to be too one-sided, under Dalglish the Europa League games against Sparta Prague and Braga were hardly awe-inspiring, while the loss against West Ham showed how much remains to be done, but none can match the incredibly ineffective and heartless garbage served up in the derby.

Perhaps it seems odd that "Best Performance" and "Best Result" awards would go to different games, but I hope you can see the clear distinction I wanted to make.

The best performance could have been a 90-minute crushing of a mid-table team, but a last-minute winner in a Cup Final against a top-four team might have been a better result, see?

Kenny's first match back in charge was in the FA Cup against Manchester United, and though Liverpool performed better, the 1-0 defeat underlined that work was to be done, and there would be no magic wand-waving.

Fast forward about two months, and Dalglish had put his stamp on the team to such an extent that Liverpool played United off the park, largely thanks to some devilishly good play from Luis Suarez and an opportunist streak from Dirk Kuyt, who netted a hattrick from a grand total of about eight yards.

Liverpool were far better than their rivals on the day, and even a late consolation for the away side couldn't stem the feeling that the Reds were on the verge of something big under King Kenny.

Mentions: Again, home and away victories against Chelsea merited inclusion, perhaps especially defeating them at Stamford Bridge again, but the win over Manchester United was just too sweet to beat, especially coming so soon after they wrecked his homecoming.

In a similar vein to the Best Performance/Results being different games, so too were the Worst Performance and Results of the Season.

A defeat against Everton is never easy to stomach, but as they say, anything can happen in a derby match.

Playing at Anfield against newly promoted opposition, however, should be a three-point home banker any way you look at it.

Liverpool found themselves two goals down to lowly Blackpool inside the first half, and a Kyrgiakos header in the 53rd minute was not enough to salvage anything from this embarrassing defeat.

By the way, Blackpool didn't play in blue trousers. Those are match stewards you can see in the background. 'The Tangerines' wore their change strip of all white.

Mentions: Obviously the derby defeat runs it close, while home losses against Wolves (0-1) and lowly fourth-tier team Northampton (2-4 on penalties) were certainly wretched results.

Away against Blackpool, the Reds were defeated again (1-2), but losing at home to them is infinitely worse.

When people argue for reform of the Europa League, UEFA's second-most prestigious competition, it is hard to argue against them after watching some of the fare served up in Liverpool's matches this season.

Out of the 10 games the Reds played (not counting qualifiers), HALF of them ended up as goalless draws and not action-packed, free-flowing, goalkeeper-starring 0-0's either.

They were muddy, slow, turgid, dull affairs which got no better after the group stage.

Utrecht, Napoli, Utrecht again, Sparta Prague and finally Braga all contributed to the goalless draws against the Reds.

I'm a firm believer that we want to see European football at Anfield next season, even if it is the Europa League, but I'm also hoping to see better games than this term.

Mentions: I don't think any league encounter can match the Europa League for consistency, but the 0-0 with Birmingham at the beginning of the season and the 1-0 win over West Brom were both entirely feeble footballing affairs.

The League Cup third-round exit to Northampton was forgettable too but for different reasons.

Well, just take a look.

Always a fun award to look through the contenders in, Raul Meireles just about takes the award for this season (so far, of course!) for his perfect technique and control of a difficult volleyed chance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, en-route to a 3-0 away victory shortly after Dalglish took charge.

From Aurelio's searching pass forward, Kuyt challenged a defender and the ball dropped invitingly to Meireles about 25 yards out. His dipping volley arced over the 'keeper and into the top corner.

Sit back, press play, and appreciate a fine goal!

Mentions: Fernando Torres' second goal in the same game was the result of a 30-odd pass build-up involving just about every player in the Liverpool team, while his half-volleyed finish from Gerrard's sublimely chipped pass against Bolton and his second goal at home to Chelsea were also excellent goals.

And who could forget Kuyt's goal versus Sunderland after the whole bemusing free-kick routine from the away side?

Finally, both the new boys have netted fine goals already. Suarez's audacious effort against Sunderland and Carroll's first strike against Manchester City were both memorable.

In what has become a campaign as memorable for the emergence of several young Academy graduates for Liverpool as much as for anything else, one young player stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Martin Kelly made 11 Premiership appearances this season and was outstanding in every one of them, from the Anfield fixture against Chelsea where he marked Florent Malouda and Ashley Cole out of the game, through his run in the team under Dalglish, right up until the West Ham game where he was unfortunately injured.

His marauding runs down the right flank have quickly become a feature of his game, while his crossing is commendable, and his calmness on the ball infectious. Rarely does he waste a pass, and his pace and strength have seen him dispossess countless quality forwards already without showing the slightest amount of fear.

Next season will be a big one for Kelly as he bids to become the first-choice right back for the club, but if he continues his progression at this rate, he is surely destined for the very top with Liverpool.

Mentions: Jay Spearing made a late charge for this award with his tenacious and precise displays over the past two months against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City and has done well to earn himself a new contract and become part of the first team on a regular basis.

John Flanagan has also coped exceptionally well with the pressures of being suddenly thrust into the first team picture—ironically as a result of an injury to the winner of this category, Martin Kelly.

Hailed as a missing piece of the puzzle by Roy Hodgson and Christian Purslow, Joe Cole has looked woefully short of his full ability this season.

Hampered early on by suspension and a few niggling injuries, Cole was in and out of the team during the first half of the season and failed to find his rhythm at all.

When starting games, he has looked unfit and almost as if he is trying too hard to show what he is capable of every time he gets the ball, though lately he has not even had much chance to do that as he has been restricted to cameo appearances off the bench.

While others have certainly played worse during the course of the season, the expectation placed upon him, as well as the famous No. 10 shirt, means that Cole has been much the biggest let down of the playing squad this term.

Mentions: One must feel for Milan Jovanovic, who is already on his second manager at the club after less than a year in England—and he never even got to play for the man who signed him, Rafa Benitez.

Some promising early displays were not built upon, and he is way down the pecking order now behind the likes of Maxi, Cole, Meireles and Kuyt. Christian Poulsen has obviously been disappointing too, partly because he was the direct replacement for Javier Mascherano, and partly because, well, he's just been rubbish.

What else was it going to be?

In a season where Liverpool have not threatened to win any silverware, the return of the biggest legend of the club's history as manager, Kenny Dalglish, heralded the start of a new dawn for Liverpool.

Early results proved that much work had to be done as Kenny lost two and drew one of his first three matches, but equally, the past few months have shown what quality he has as a manager as the Reds have racked up seven victories in the past 11 league games, scoring 23 times in the process and keeping six clean sheets.

A permanent contract has yet to be finalised, but surely, it is only a matter of time.

Long live the King.

Mentions: The cynic might say the dismissal (or mutual agreement, if you must) of Roy Hodgson, while if it had been any other manager than Dalglish who replaced him, the moment of victory in court (and subsequent takeover by NESV, later FSG and FSM) over the tyranny and aimless stewardship of Tom Hicks and George Gillett would have comfortably won this award.

Breaking the club transfer record twice in a matter of hours for Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll should get a mention too.

Let's face it: it was never a good idea.

Roy Hodgson was way out of his depth; clueless and out of touch with a demanding and knowledgeable fan base, and the partnership was doomed from the moment he criticised the fans for not showing him enough support.

He led Liverpool to their worst league start in about a century and by October had the team languishing just one place off the bottom. His signings were dreadful, his style of play worse and his press-conference demeanour went rapidly from rambling to frankly delusional.

Oh, and there was the face rub.

Mentions: Fernando Torres handing in a transfer request, and his subsequent move to rivals Chelsea. Alright, it has worked out well for Liverpool in the end, but at the time, it was a horrid betrayal and difficult to take.

The entire boardroom fandango was horrible to watch being played out in the media, not least of all when Hicks claimed he had sacked the whole board and rejected NESV's bid, before taking the club to court.

Presuming Jamie Carragher features against Fulham on Monday evening, or at least one other game in what is left of this season, he will become Liverpool's second all-time record appearance holder, behind only club legend Ian Callaghan.

From his debut way back in early 1997, Carragher has chalked up 665 games for the Reds, level at present with Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence.

A staunch Red now after being a boyhood Blue, Carragher shows everything that is good about Liverpool on the pitch; a never-say-die attitude, a great competitor and a wonderful organiser of the defence. His tackling and commitment to the cause are fantastic and his experience vital for the younger generation breaking through.

I'm still not sure if Carra is extremely happy or fantastically angry in that photo.

Mentions: Pepe Reina clocked up his 100th league clean sheet for the club this season, a great achievement for any goalkeeper, while the likes of John Flanagan made his club debut, arguably just as poignant an achievement for the young fullback as Carra playing his 666th.

After all, every club legend has to make their debut first. Steven Gerrard also passed the 550 appearance mark this season and Reina played his 300th game for the club recently.

In what is shaping up as a fantastic season for the Under 18's team for Liverpool, in terms of both their own league placing and the progression of the young players within the team, Adam Morgan takes the award for his fantastic progression during the course of the year.

Always hailed as a goalscorer, Morgan has developed his link-up play and work rate fantastically this season and admits the influence of coach Rodolfo Borrell has made him improve immensely.

Until the U18 match against Everton in April, Morgan had plundered goals in no less than 14 consecutive games, an excellent achievement at any level, which included a goal for the Reserves as he bids to step up another level.

In addition, Morgan has now been selected for (and is currently away with) the England U17 squad for the European Championships in Serbia.

Mentions: Raheem Sterling and Conor Coady have won plaudits for their displays and have been rewarded with travelling and training with the first team. Coady actually got on the bench for the recent league match against Birmingham.

Left back Brad Smith has made huge strides this season while Michael Ngoo has shown his prowess in front of goal for both the Reserves and the Under 18's.

Much derided, often criticised, occasionally barracked, Lucas Leiva had it pretty hard during his first couple of seasons on Merseyside.

While plenty called for Brazilian midfielder to be sold during a succession of summers, bosses Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson and now Kenny Dalglish have all sworn by him—and how he is repaying King Kenny now.

Last season, Lucas' form was actually very good in amongst some terrible displays from Liverpool but his talent was overlooked as his style differed from that of Xabi Alonso, who was admittedly greatly missed last season.

In the early part of this term, Lucas dominated games from midfield, but as Liverpool were deemed too defensive and unadventurous, it was perhaps expected—and to a certain extent necessary—that he performed this way.

Under Kenny Dalglish now, with Liverpool playing delightful attacking and passing football, Lucas' true range of talents have really come to the fore as he stamps his authority over supposedly greater opposition, such as the midfields of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.

His tackling has improved, his distribution is regular and accurate and his phenomenal work rate sets the example to most of the team, as do the number of interceptions per game he racks up.

A terrific season from Lucas Levia and he is fully deserving of the accolades which come his way.

Mentions: Pepe Reina has been consistently strong; perhaps not his finest overall season and he has made the odd glaring error along the way, but he has still racked up 14 clean sheets in the league, the joint second highest.

Martin Kelly had a fine few months in the team while Jamie Carragher has filled in at several different positions and been his usual imperious self.

When Fernando Torres departed Anfield for the more plastic-themed climes of Stamford Bridge, it marked the end of an era for Liverpool's strikeforce.

For several seasons, the Reds had relied on him for goals and invention, but now the attack has been fully revitalised by the signings of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, with Dirk Kuyt, another figure fully reformed as a result of a more confident, flowing and attacking style of play.

Even though he has only been at the club a matter of months, Suarez has already proven himself as absolutely key in the new-look Liverpool side and has been the catalyst for a great run of form and increased goal-scoring feats throughout the side as the likes of Maxi Rodriguez and most especially Kuyt have benefited from Suarez's presence and ability in the final third.

Mentions: Dirk Kuyt can count himself unlucky not to have won this award especially considering his fine form of late, but in the way that a great organiser at the back can make a tough-tackling defender perform even better, so has Luis Suarez's scintillating form propelled Kuyt to greater exploits.

Kuyt is a key piece of the team at present on merit and is all set to be the Reds' top scorer over the course of a season for the first time since he arrived from Feyenoord.

Just 27 Liverpool appearances under his belt but Martin Kelly has already taken his first steps towards greatness.

Bold and confident defending matched with fantastic physical speed and power mean that Kelly has had little trouble in thwarting the likes of Ryan Giggs, Florent Malouda and Charles N'Zogbia, while his willingness to get forward has given the Reds a real threat down the right hand side.

After making his debut and intermittent appearances in the side under Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson used Kelly slightly more often in the Europa League and similar games. However, under Dalglish, he has burst onto the scene as almost an immediate first choice at right back and was certainly on the brink of an International call-up before his injury.

Kelly has suffered injuries in the past (he missed two years of Academy football due to a back problem) but has bounced back from them in style, and he will surely go on to be a cornerstone of Liverpool's defence in the seasons to come.

Mentions: As previously stated, Jay Spearing has had a good couple of months and looks the part of a Premiership player now, but Kelly has been a rock for Liverpool and deserves the award.

Liverpool supporters can now have nothing but huge respect for a player who was often deemed not good enough for the club.

Lucas Leiva has been a monster this season at the heart of Liverpool's midfield, bossing games all year long and even winning his place back in the Brazil national side.

His indefatigueable style and superb mentality have made him a stand-out player in both halves of Liverpool's season; the bad and the better.

It might have taken Lucas a couple of seasons to emerge from the shadow of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano, but he has shown himself big enough and good enough to take on their mantle and propel Liverpool forward from midfield in his own way.

A terrific campaign from the former Gremio man and, like Dirk Kuyt, he is fully deserving of the new contract he has recently signed.

Mentions: Dirk Kuyt was possibly the only other challenger to Lucas over the course of the whole season, while Luis Suarez has of course had an incredible impact since his January move.

However, Lucas in my mind has been a stand-out performer from the opening day against Arsenal right up to the recent thumping victories over Birmingham and Newcastle. A thoroughly deserved Player of the Year award.