Hello 2010! + POLL Results: Readers Split on Pichichi Winner 09/10

First off allow me to begin the first Just Football post of 2010 by saying a ‘Happy New Year’ to you all. Here’s hoping your year has got off to an infinitely better start than Gary Megson’s.

Now, the first issue that needs resolving on here is our Pichichi poll from the back end of last year. Back in December, after delving into the history of the Pichichi, we asked you to tell us who you thought would be the top goalscorer in Spain’s La Liga in 2009/2010. Well after weeks of voting can now reveal that the winner is…

…inconclusive. We have a tie. Here were the final results:

Who will win Spain’s Pichichi award?

1, David Villa (23%)
= Lionel Messi (23%)
3, Cristiano Ronaldo (21%)
4, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (11%)
= Other (11%)
6, Diego Forlan (4%)
= Sergio Aguero (4%)
8, Luis Fabiano (2%)

Now we could be all egalitarian and friendly here by announcing both Messi and Villa as joint winners. But that would be no fun. Our desire is for a definitive outcome, not some Charity Shield type sharing of honours. So, to determine a winner, we’re opening up another power poll and pitting the two players face to face. Whoever wins will officially be crowned the people’s choice for this year’s Pichichi award. This is chance for those who voted for someone other than Messi or Villa to change their vote, and for the Messi/Villa fanboys out there to represent in full force. Voting will remain open until the middle of next week.

Whoever wins will have the honour of being Just-Football.com’s official favourite for this year’s Pichichi and we will champion their cause relentlessly from now until the end of the season, no doubt adding extra potency to their already bountiful boots.

Just so you know, David Villa currently leads the Pichichi chart with 12 goals, while World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has 9 goals. The full, updated table can be found here.

Now for a public service announcement. With the African Cup of Nations 2010 a matter of days away most of our attention throughout January on Just Football will turn to events in Angola. There will still be the usual variety of articles, but the ACON will certainly be our main focus. We covered the 2008 African Cup of Nations fairly extensively two years ago and will be looking to follow suit again this year, so join us over the coming weeks as we turn our backs on the freezing cold weather and head to Africa (not for the first time this year) to revel in the continent’s latest festival of football. Personally I can’t wait for it.

And now finally, before we leave you, here are some articles that kept us entertained over the New Year:

The Offside chooses 10 Footballers who defined the decade 2000-2009.
The ever excellent Twohundredpercent describes 2009 as the year of ‘missing the point.’
Craven Cottage Newsround reflects on Roy Hodgson signing a new contract at Fulham.
Never Captain Nicky Butt draws our attention to an important story, that of Eric Frimpong.

Meanwhile we’ll be looking at the Australian A-League, the Bundesliga and the African Cup of Nations 2010 all very soon, so stay tuned and Happy New Year!

photo credit: someone by the name of martis

Announcements, David Villa, Lionel Messi, Pichichi, Polls, Spanish Primera Division