  Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey may have recently offered compelling evidence to the contrary, but not all footballers fit the tired stereotype of being, well, less than bright
  Especially when it comes to their own profession.   The nominations for the PFA Player of the Year award highlight six of the Premier League's undoubted best performers in Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane, Manchester City trio Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva, and Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard
      But there was one name noticeably absent from the list.   Mohamed Salah was among the most popular winners of the PFA gong when romping home last year on the strength of his remarkable, goal-laden debut campaign for Liverpool
   So why hasn't he sufficiently impressed his peers this time?  As ever, it's about perception
 Because Salah hasn't matched his achievements of last year - and very few could - he has been, in comparative terms, a failure
   Video Loading  Video Unavailable  Click to play Tap to play   The video will start in 8Cancel  Play now   Yet there's a strong argument to suggest the Egyptian should have been included regardless
  Especially when compared to those who did make the cut.  There are few grumbles at Aguero's inclusion given his continued contribution to City's cause and previous curiously consistent omission from the PFA Team of the Year
  Salah, though, has matched the Argentina international's top-flight best 19 goals so far this campaign, while assisting only one goal fewer
   Indeed, the Egyptian has created the same as City's Bernardo Silva.  And Salah's overall goal involvements - goals and assists - surpass those of Sterling and, it must be said, team-mate Mane
  What didn't help is that, around the time players were starting to cast their votes, Salah was in the midst of an eight-game goal drought
  But the 26-year-old has netted three goals in his last four games including two world-class strikes against Southampton and Chelsea, as well as forcing a crucial own goal for a late winner against Tottenham Hotspur
     Then there were the tactical votes, Sterling notoriously voting for Tottenham's Harry Kane who didn't make the shortlist
  After winning the PFA award last year, Salah was a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or before his Champions League final was ended by Sergio Ramos and a shoulder injury that prevented him making an impact at the World Cup and allowed Luka Modric to claim the main award
  Does Salah - this week named in TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people - deserve to win a second successive PFA Player of the Year award? Probably not, with Van Dijk and Sterling the true standouts
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  And if you'd like to join our Blood Red podcast Facebook group, click HERE.      And Tottenham's Heung-min Son has every right to also feel aggrieved at being overlooked
  However, for Salah not to make the shortcut is a glaring and undeserved oversight
   
