When the PFA, the soccer players' union, released its team of the season on Thursday  eyebrows were not just raised – they were rolled back inside most  fans' heads.

The starting XI contained not a single player from the team that won the Premier's Plate, Adelaide United. Nor could the nation's professional players even find a spot on the bench for one member of the side that will host the grand final on Sunday.

Adelaide smashed Melbourne City 4-1 in the semi-final a week earlier, and had beaten the high-profile Victorian team 2-0 on their own ground seven days earlier to clinch the plate.

Yet City had four players in the starting line-up of the PFA's side. Brisbane Roar, the team beaten in that other crazy semi-final by Western Sydney Wanderers, had three.

It just goes to show what a thankless task selecting a starting line-up is, and how it is fraught with danger for even the most experienced of participants.

Between them the two grand finalists had only one player in the professionals' first-choice team, Wanderers left-back Scott Jamieson,  and another on the bench, midfielder Mitch Nichols.

It also opens up the age-old debate about the worth of the collective against the value of outstanding individuals.

Melbourne City no doubt had two of the three best players of the season in striker Bruno Fornaroli — who for my money should clearly have won the Johnny Warren Medal earlier in the week ahead of Perth's Diego Castro — and Socceroo midfielder Aaron Mooy.

They also had two excellent players in combustible forward Harry Novillo and veteran goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

Adelaide, however, are a unit whose strength lies in their all-round quality and even nature.

They have some outstanding players and some excellent professionals in other areas. Goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic has long been regarded as the best in the A-League, Marcelo Carrusca, when in the mood, has few peers as a creative midfielder, while Craig Goodwin offers pace and versatility as a left-back or left midfielder. Their contingent of Spaniards provides quality and consistency and the often-maligned Bruce Djite has rediscovered his scoring touch and led the line well in the second half of the season.

The Reds are comprehensive proof of the adage that a champion team can usually beat a team of champions.

In that sense the grand final showdown between them and Western Sydney is an appropriate affair. The Wanderers have few superstars, either, but have gained from the all-round quality of their team.

Jamieson has had an excellent season, as has midfielder Nichols, a player whom one watches and always wonders what could have been had his application and discipline matched his talent. Wanderers, too, have relied on a solid Spanish core in midfield, and their professionalism and game smarts have helped coach Tony Popovic turn last year's also rans into this year's contenders.

My team of the year reflects the collective nature of Adelaide's efforts by including several of their players in the 16-man squad, rewards Wanderers Nichols with a starting place, finds room for four City stars and gives a promising Melbourne Victory youngster and a sharpshooting young Brisbane striker the encouragement of a place in the starting line-up.

Such decisions are always subjective and often revolve around the most basic philosophical question: should a team of the year reflect the best four defenders, best three midfielders and best three forwards, irrespective of their suitability to play in a 4-3-3 line-up, or should it try to achieve the semblance of reality by picking players in a hypothetical team that could at least try to play in a realistic tactical structure?

I have done the latter with my selection, partly because I wanted to give certain players a game. Hence my side will play in a classic 4-4-2 set up, albeit one that is heavily weighted towards attack.

In goal I would give the nod to Sorensen just ahead of Galekovic and Newcastle youngster Mark Birighitti. The big Dane produced a number of outstanding saves behind a defence that was flaky for much of the season.

At the back I have gone for Jason Geria, Victory's young full-back, ahead of Perth's Josh Risdon. The latter has had an excellent season but, like Risdon, Geria won a Socceroo call-up. He is athletic, quick, strong, gets forward and also has the height to play in the middle if needed.

Victory centre-back Matthieu Delpierre picks himself. Simply the best in the competition and now retired he will be sadly missed.

Jade North retains his pace and is a leader at the back, so gets the other nod, while I put Craig Goodwin just ahead of Jamieson because I think he can be more dynamic pushing on into attacking positions.

The midfield largely picks itself with Mooy and Castro in the centre. Although he is better going forward, in this line-up Mooy would be required to play a bit deeper as the pivot, setting up attacks and creating the team's tempo.

Kosta Barbarouses gets the berth wide right. There are few more dangerous attacking wide men than him and he is always an excellent contributor.

I have picked Nichols on the left of midfield in this set-up, largely because I wanted to fit both him and Jamie Maclaren in my starting line-up. Not really a winger, Nichols has the talent to play in a wide area and support the strikers.

Up front both Fornaroli and Maclaren play centrally: in a 4-3-3 it would have been difficult to select the pair, but in a 4-4-2 they might work together, especially given their mobility and ability to find space. Although neither is a traditional target man, Fornaroli's technical ability and ball control would allow him to play off Maclaren in tight spaces.