WHEN I considered who is my North West player of the year, three names came immediately to mind.

Firstly, Oldham's David Eyres, who has done remarkably well to still play in the Football League at the age of 40.

He's been a terrific servant to his club and to still be producing the goods at his age is worthy of admiration.

Then I thought of Ricardo Gardener from Bolton Wanderers. He's had a fantastic season and come on a great deal in the last 12 months.

A year ago he was defensively naéve and his passing wasn't of the best quality but he's been a revelation since then.

He came to Bolton as a winger and had to make the change to full-back. He wasn't helped by a knee injury at the end of last season but he came back and has now defensive acumen to add to his pace.

But there has been no-one better than Wayne Rooney. He's a class act all the way. He has deceptive pace, great skill and vision, and he's extremely hard to knock off the ball with his body strength.

We were talking about him winning the World Cup on his own before his injury. That's a lot of pressure on a young lad but he seems to be able to handle that on the field.

Rooney just has to be the best player around right now.

Follow the link below to see Bolton's player ratings, and find out how you could win a year's supply of Boddingtons. Tweet