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| The Fans' "Team of the year" York City ready for their match against Barrow |
As promised, here are what you the Blue Square Bet Premier fans think are the highlights of the Conference Premier season 2011/2012.
There was an overall feeling in the survey that it was incredibly hard to choose who were the best players and teams and what were the best matches and goals scored. Here are the top 3 results from each category and the ones that were mentioned but missed out on the top spots
Team of the Season:
1) York City
A surprise result that York City came out on top of Fleetwood Town, but not surprising if you examine the success they have had this season. Finishing 4th in the league and securing a play-off spot, then beating Mansfield to reach the play-off finals at Wembley against Luton Town. Then to top it all off by winning the FA Trophy at Wembley by beating Newport County 2-0 made this a memorable season for the fans.
2) Fleetwood Town
The Cod Army had a superb season by winning the Blue Square Bet Premier title and gaining automatic promotion to the football league for the first time in their history. They fought off the competition of Wrexham who pushed them all season long and racked up an impressive 103 points in the league to win the title. Also had a successful run in the FA Cup, reaching the Third Round where they played an historic tie against Fylde Coast rivals Blackpool.
3) Wrexham
Fantastic home form from the Welsh side meant they were real contenders this season. Finishing second in the league was highly respectable despite not gaining promotion automatically or through the play-offs as their fans may feel they deserved. They will be hot favourites to lift next season's conference premier title.
Player of the Season:
1) Jamie Vardy - Fleetwood Town
No surprise that Jamie Vardy came out as player of the season as the Blue Square Bet Premier's Top Scorer of the season with 31 goals. Since joining Fleetwood he has been an unstoppable goal machine and attracted attention from Premier League and Championship clubs.
It seemed at most matches there were scouts that were watching his performances and he has just become the first Conference player to be signed for £1 million with his move to Championship side Leicester City. Almost every time I checked Fleetwood Town's results, Vardy would be on the score sheet.
2) Scott Kerr - York City
Many York City players were nominated for the top spots but fans think that midfielder Scott Kerr was the team's best player. He received York City's Clubman of the year award and was nominated because of his consistency, hard work and determination throughout the season.
3) Matty Blair - York City
Strong and solid performances from York's midfielder meant he had a fantastic season and was heavily involved in helping York gain cup and league success this campaign. He scored the crucial goal that put York City through to the play-off final by beating Mansfield Town in the sem-finals.
Match of the Season:
1) York 3-0 Luton
2) Southport 0-6 Fleetwood
3) Fleetwood 6-2 Ebbsfleet United
Goal of the Season:
1) Jason Walker - York City against Grimsby Town
This was the most overwhelming winner out of the categories and by far was the fans' favourite goal of the season. This beautiful overhead volley was scored by Jason Walker
Here is the magnificent goal itself:
2) Alan Marriott - Mansfield Town against Wrexham
Yes its a bit of a freak goal but it's always nice to see a Goalkeeper score from inside his own area! This stunner reminds me a lot of Tim Howard's goal for Everton scored against Bolton Wanderers earlier on this season in the Premier League. Fans agreed this was a memorable goal and sympathy most go to Wrexham's keeper... who couldn't really do much to stop the bounce of the ball .
3) Jamie Vardy - Fleetwood Town against Ebbsfleet United
This stunning goal came 3rd in the fans' survey and his 25th goal of the season was a stunning lob from the centre circle. This is the type of goal that has got him noticed by many football league and even premier league clubs who all wanted to sign Vardy throughout the second half of the season:
Result of the Season
1) York City 3-0 Luton Town
Even though the match was all the way back in August, this turned out to be significant as the two teams now face each other in the play off final to try and earn promotion to the football league. York City won with two goals from Ashley Chambers and a goal from Jason Walker and this moved City from 6th to 5th in the league, while Luton dropped from 1st to 6th in the league by losing away to York.
2) Barrow 4-0 Fleetwood Town
A massive victory for the Bluebirds back in August at the start of the season with a hat-trick from Andy Cook and an own goal scored by former Barrow defender Paul Edwards. It was a stunning performance where Barrow completely outplayed Fleetwood in every area on the pitch and was the start of several giant killing performances that were pulled off at the Furness Building Society Stadium this season.
3) Stockport 3-4 Darlington
Back in October, it was a competitive match between Stockport who were just adjusting to life in the Conference following relegation from League Two and BSBP strugglers Darlington. It was reportedly an end to end game which was clinched by Darlington after Greg Taylor's 84 minute goal.
Defensive Performance of the Season:
1) Fleetwood Town
Fans have voted for the Cod Army as having the best defensive record in the league. With 16 clean sheets in the league, a solid defence is what helped Fleetwood to success and winning the BSBP title.
2) Wrexham
On paper, Wrexham had the best defensive performance throughout the season and managed to keep 21 clean sheets. They narrowly lost out to Fleetwood in this fans' survey and the Cod Army probably just had the edge by making it that little be more difficult for teams to try and score past them.
3) Cambridge United
With an impressive 16 league clean sheets this season, United created a defence that was hard to break down for many teams in the BSBP. This allowed the team to have a late surge and climb to a credible 9th position in the league.
Special thanks to everyone who took part in the survey and thankyou for visiting again.
@amyscarisbrick
Contact the author: ascarisbrick@uclan.ac.uk
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