Argentine Takes Merit Marks Prize
By Craig Hope
JONAS Gutierrez has taken the nufc.co.uk Merit Marks star-player prize following his first season at St.James' Park.
The Argentine topped the table ahead of leading goalscorer Michael Owen and young defender Sebastien Bassong.
Gutierrez enjoyed a blistering start to his career on Tyneside and landed the man-of-the-match award during the opening-day draw at Manchester United.
The winger was a regular fixture in the top five of the nufc.co.uk man-of-the-match votes during the early part of the campaign and quickly raced to the top of our Merit Marks table.
Skipper Owen scored goals and subsequently Merit Marks points before Christmas but hit the back of the net just once from January onwards.
Parisian-born Bassong, meanwhile, came into his own after New Year and will arguably be many fans' choice for the official player-of-the-season award.
Here's how the Merit Marks table looks after all 42 games (Please note: This is NOT an official player-of-the-season award);
Following each game of the 2008/09 season we asked our readers to vote for their star player via the Quick Vote which is found to the right-hand side of all stories which appear on our official website.
After a few days we tallied up the votes with the top performer being awarded five points, second-placed player four points and so on until we reach the fifth most popular choice who wins one point.
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