THE CONTENDERS

MONDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 2012

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THE FIVE PLAYERS IN CONTENTION FOR THE ENGLAND PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Cole, Gerrard, Hart, Johnson and Welbeck. It's your choice which star wins the 2012 England Player of the Year award.

The Three Lions played 13 games this year with 47 players featuring.

And, after an englandfans poll, our panel of experts from football and the media selected the top five to go to the fans' vote.

Now it's your chance to get involved and help decide who claims the prize at the inaugural FA England Awards in association with Vauxhall at St. George's Park on Sunday 3 February 2013.
To place your vote, go to the poll at the bottom of the page.

The Contenders
ASHLEY COLEClub Chelsea
Position Defender
2012 Caps 6 Goals 0
Total Caps 99 Goals 0
Ashley Cole won the England Player of the Year award in 2010 and is back in the frame after another solid year wearing the Three Lions. Having featured in six matches, the Chelsea man has been pushed for the left-back slot by Leighton Baines, impressive for both Everton and England. Cole will probably want to forget his saved shootout penalty against Italy at Euro 2012, but he was ever-present during the tournament and moved closer to his century of caps. One of England's most consistent performers since he made his debut against Albania in March 2001.

STEVEN GERRARDClub Liverpool
Position Midfielder
2012 Caps 11 Goals 0
Total Caps 100 Goals 19
Another former winner of the award, Steven Gerrard was certainly one of England's stand-out players this year. Roy Hodgson was quick to hand the England armband to the Liverpool captain soon after taking charge, and the 32-year-old led the Three Lions in ten out of his eleven games. Gerrard missed only two matches in 2012, the friendly against Italy and the World Cup Qualifier against San Marino. It did mean, however, that the Three Lions final game of the year away in Sweden was his 100th cap as he joined an elite band of England centurions.

JOE HARTClub Manchester City
Position Goalkeeper
2012 Caps 11 Goals 0
Total Caps 27 Goals 0
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has been one of the Three Lions most important players in recent seasons and 2012 has been another pretty good year for the 25-year-old. Though it started and ended with defeats against Holland and Sweden - statistically speaking, his only two for England - he became a Premier League champion with his club and kept five clean sheets in eleven outings for his country.

GLEN JOHNSONClub Liverpool
Position Defender
2012 Caps 9 Goals 0
Total Caps 44 Goals 1
The second Liverpool man on the shortlist, Glen Johnson deserves credit for his part in helping England keep four clean sheets in his nine appearances this year. Relatively unsung, his club manager Brendan Rodgers has been impressed with the 28-year-old who has operated at both right and left-back for the Reds. Unlucky not to have added a second goal to his international tally, especially against Ukraine at Wembley when cutting in from the right in trademark style only for his left foot strike to be saved.

DANNY WELBECKClub Manchester United
Position Forward
2012 Caps 11 Goals 5
Total Caps 14 Goals 5
It's easy to see why Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck is on the shortlist after scoring five goals in eleven games for the Three Lions this year. Who can forget the delightful, and rather cheeky, flick against Sweden at Euro 2012 that won the game for Roy Hodgson's men? Anyone who might have doubted if he meant it were silenced when the 22-year-old produced an almost carbon-copy in the World Cup Qualifier against San Marino in October.