Wayne Routledge for Goal of the Season

Bit late with this but whatevs

The Guardian and my beloved www.101greatgoals.com (and probably many other sports websites) have made lists of the greatest goals of the past 12 months. There have been a huge number of unbelievable goals - there always is - and because we all like to watch spectacular goals I'll link a few.

Some Greeks scored a goal that would have you celebrating for hours had you put it in on FIFA, a frankly outrageous rabona-bicycle kick combo. Absolute pure fantasy.

Mattie Burrows from little Glentoran made himself an over-night sensation with this ridiculous back-heel volley.

Paul Scholes looks a bit lame in comparison with this Hamit Altintop effort.

Obviously we have to have a few from Spurs, so tek a boo Gareth Bale and Tom Huddlestone. There's something unerring about that Huddleston strike; it just seems to stay hit.

This massively underrated Daniel Sturridge goal wasn't featured on either list. For shame, Guardian and 101gg. It's far from the most stunning goal, but look again. He has two defenders within a metre of him. He is stationary. He gets minimal backlift. And yet somehow he curls it into the far corner. From nothing: a goal. Remember that outrageous Ronaldinho vs. Chelsea goal a few years back where he scored from the edge of the 18-yard-box while stationary? It's like that, but better.

Now we come to, in my opinion, the best goal scored in the past year. Step forward former Spurs boys Adel Taarabt and Wayne Routledge. As with the Sturridge effort above this isn't anything like the fantasy football of them Greek boys from earlier (though the outside of the boot curled pass isn't bad); no, this is normal football executed to the highest possible degree. There's no sense of either going 'Oh fuck it, may as well', they both knew exactly what the needed to do to score, and they did it. Lots of commenters feel the pass is the best part of the goal, but it isn't, it's Routledge's first touch. Running at full speed with the keeper bearing down, Routledge still controlled it perfectly - and I mean perfectly, it could not have been any better - before slotting it home. There is absolutely no room for improvement. It might be unfair to say goals of the quality of those above could be better, but it's true. That bicycle kick hit the ground before going in - amateur! The same can't be said for Taarabt/Routledge. Absolute perfection.