The voting for Saints player of the year 2015/16 is likely to be between two main candidates, so lets take a look at them.
It looks like the bulk of the vote will be split between two candidates for the player of the year awards and neither of them would have been on many peoples lips at the start of the season.
I am of course talking about Shane Long and Virgil Van Dijk.
Back in August at the start of the season neither would have been tipped greatly for the award, Long was seen as a very good squad player but he was expected to be more of an impact player and not always first choice, whereas Van Dijk was not yet at the club and although his signing was seen as imminent the question was whether he could make the step up from Celtic in the Scottish Premier where tough games are few and far between.
So let's take a look at the case for both players.
Shane Long started the season well by scoring at Newcastle but has suffered periods out of the side through injury, he has started 21 games in the Premier League with a further 5 off the bench and scored 10 goals, although both Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle have the same total, both have had far more game time, meaning that in terms of goals per minute Long has the best ratio.
But the Irishman's game is far more than scoring goals, in fact it's possibly his secondary contribution, he makes far more than he scores.
Virtually every goal that Saints score has Long's hand in it somewhere, sometimes its only a small contribution, winning and moving the ball on deep in the pitch and at others it is a major contribution, harassing a defender into an error or laying a perfect pass forward.
Last season some Saints fans questioned long's signing, I wasnt one of them, I felt that £12 million was the going rate for a striker who would get you 10-12 goals a season and Long has contributed far more than just goals.
As last season went on Saints fans started to realise that and appreciate him more, but this season most have truly seen what he brings to the party.
Virgil Van Dijk arrived at the club shortly after the start of the season, Celtic insisting that he play in their Champions League qualifying campaign, that meant he was not at the club for Saints own European adventure and you have to surmise that if he had of been perhaps we would have gone a lot further in the Europa League.
In the Premier league he has so far played 32 games all in the starting line up and he has scored 3 goals.
Right from his first game it was clear that Van Dijk had class, although he is strong in the tackle and good in the air, his real strengths lie in his ability to read the game and cut out attacks before they have a chance to develop, this has helped Saints to the sixth meanest defence in the Premier League and given that we conceded 5 goals in our opening two games before he had arrived we could well have been in the top three and possibly better had Fraser Forster been available earlier.
But Virgil has quickly become a fans favourite leading comparisons with Toby Alderweireld, personally I think he has the ability to become a better player than the Belgium defender, the difference being his ability to carry the ball forward, I have lost count the number of times that VVW has cut out a pass and then carried the ball quickly forward turning defence into attack and that has been a big weapon in our armoury.
Add his own prowess in the opposition's box where he is always an attacking threat, not just wit his head, but with his feet as well and he has been a great signing for the club.
So will it be Shane or Virgil ? the voting is going to be tight and it is a very hard one to call, both have been very good and contributed in their own ways, if I have to choose I think my vote will go to Shane Long, the thing that tips it for me has been his ability to chase down lost causes as well as the fact that he has often been under rated by a large part of the support, he has not moaned when left out of the side both this season and last but just got on with the job and proved his doubters wrong.
For this reason I think Shane just about shades it for me although I think that Virgil will win the vote overall.
Spare a thought though for the man who will finish third, that man is Steven Davis, like Nick Holmes back in the 70's & 80's Davis is a player that puts in a tremendous amount of effort and makes the team tick, but often he is overshadowed by his colleagues in the midfield, whether its the attacking ability of Dusan Tadic taking the plaudits or the tackling of Victor Wanyama, they often overshadow Davis's own contribution.
But their contributions are not as consistent as Steven's he is the link between the defensive side of the midfield and the attacking side, he tidies up everything and then moves the ball along quickly and quietly as he has done for the last four years since his signing from Rangers.
Again a great contribution from the Northern Ireland Captain, but again it will be overshadowed by players who score the goals at one end or stop them at the other, but make no mistake, without Steven Davis Saints would not be half the team they have been during his time at the club.
Now Give Your Vote In The Ugly Inside Player Of The Year Poll using the link below
http://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/football/southampton/members//polls/1369/who-should