Newcastle United name Bruno Guimaraes as Player of the Year

Newcastle United haven't had the greatest of seasons overall, despite impressing in the Champions League and putting together another decent run in the Carabao Cup.

When it came to the Premier League, Newcastle were way below their expected standards, but there were a couple of players who managed to elevate themselves above the mire and come out of this season with some credibility.

Harvey Barnes scored plenty of important goals for the team this season, and with just one game left to go, he sits as the club's top scorer for this campaign, but while his goals were vital, even he didn't feel like a safe bet for the Player of the Year.

For us, it was between two players: Lewis Hall and Bruno Guimaraes. Those were the two players who seemed to give their all in every game and lifted those around them on the pitch. Hall would have got our vote, but it was the captain who took the plaudits.

Bruno Guimaraes is the Player of the Year

Bruno Guimaraes was announced as Newcastle United's Player of the Year in the matchday programme for Sunday's game against West Ham, and was confirmed today via the club's official site.

What seems bizarre is that this is the first time Guimaraes has won this award. Bruno is the club's top scorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals, which tells its own story.

Bruno missed 15 games through injury this season, and Newcastle really suffered in his absence, which shows just how important the Brazilian is to the team.

How do we prepare for life after Bruno?

Eddie Howe spoke about Kieran Trippier's leaving being the end of an era after Sunday's game, but when Bruno Guimaraes leaves, if we don't have a succession plan in place, that could be devastating to the club.

We hate to see Newcastle as a one-man team, but Bruno Guimaraes has made himself such a central figure to the team that before he picked up his hamstring injury this season, the Magpies hadn't won a league game in which Bruno hadn't featured.

Thankfully, that stat no longer applies, but the difference in the levels of performance with and without Bruno in the team highlights just how important he is to how Newcastle plays.

As much as Lewis Hall was my pick for Player of the Season, I have absolutely no complaints that it went to our fearless leader.