BEST MOMENT/ACHIEVEMENT OF 2012
ALAN ALGER –York City‘s FA Trophy and Blue Square Bet Premier Promotion Final DOUBLE!
STUART HAMMONDS – York boss Gary Mills sinking to his knees and raising his arms to the sky after completing a Wembley double inside eight days, the first manager to win both FA Trophy and Blue Square Bet Premier play-offs in the same season.
SAM ELLIOTT – York City’s magnificent Wembley double.
MATT BADCOCK – Dunston UTS’ Andrew Bulford scoring in the Vase final to create history by bagging in every single game of their run.
STEVEN CONEY – Chester coping with the pressure and winning the Evo-Stik NPL Premier.
CAROLINE BARKER– On a personal note has to be Chelmsford beating local rivals Colchester in the FA Cup – that aside the spirit shown by Truro’s players, especially captain Jake Ash when all was falling around them at their club takes some beating.
TEAM OF 2012
AA – Chester with just two league defeats in the calendar year!
SH – Newport County.
SE – Dartford. Held their nerve in the Blue Square Bet South play-off final, now very much holding their own in the Premier. Great team-spirit.
MB – Hyde: Not that long ago they were on the brink of extinction. Now holding their own in the BSBP.
SC – Hyde: Won the BSB North title and are now proving doubters wrong in the BSB Premier.
CB – Chester: Phenomenal year – promotion bound again, great spirit, club, manager and team.
PLAYER OF 2012
AA – Jamie Vardy (Fleetwood Town and now Leicester City).
SH – Damian Reeves (Altrincham).
SE– John Danby, Chester’s goalkeeper. Just two league defeats in 2012, a lot of that’s down to him.
MB – Andre Gray (Luton) – From Blue Square North with Hinckley to scoring at Wembley for Luton and now
a big part of England C.
SC – Damian Reeves (Altrincham) – continues to bang the goals in, what does he have to do to get a move into the Football League?
CB – Richard Jolly – is he still going??? Well only just… the man who creates many a memorable moment for Wealdstone can’t surely retire this season can he?
MANAGER OF 2012
AA – Neil Young (Chester).
SH – Tommy Lawson (Skelmersdale United)
SE – Jamie Day at Welling United. No trophy to show for it but 29 wins from 49 games in all competitions says it all.
MB – Steve Burr at Kidderminster Harriers – how he is not managing in the Football League is a constant source of amazement to me.
SC – Gary Mills (York City) – had York playing attractive football on their way to a Trophy and promotion – not a bad job.
CB –We asked a similar question on the show this week and got many a mention for Carl Macauley at Vauxhall Motors – who they say continues to work miracles on a shoe string budget – who am to argue with that!
GOAL YOU SAW 2012
AA – Andy Morrell’s goal for Wrexham in the FA Cup replay at home to Brighton.
SH – Jamie Taylor’s 35-yard lob for Lincoln City against Hereford in November. He’d just collected the BSBP player of the month for October and celebrated in the perfect way.
SE – Ryan Hayes’ thunderbolt for Dartford at home to Mansfield on October 26.
MB – Federico Angiulli’s curler for Italy against England C in February oozed class. Thankfully Adam Watkins got a late leveller.
SC – Andrew Bulford (Dunston UTS v West Auckland – FA Vase final). Delightful lob from 20-yards gave the Fed a lead they never relinquished.
CB – Not live! But Sam Corcaran’s free kick that went amiss for Chelmsford City becoming a YouTube sensation as Hayes and Yeading went on to score (new studs anyone?).
BEST GAME YOU SAW LIVE
AA – Fleetwood Town 2 v 2 Lincoln City.
SH – Macclesfield 1 Forest Green 2 on September 22. Rovers manager Dave Hockaday described it as being like a game of basketball afterwards, and he was right. It was so open with both teams going for it. Total football.
SE – Luton 2 – 2 Gateshead.
MB – Belgium Under-23 1 England C 2 on September 12 – outstanding from gun to tape.
SC – FA Vase semi-final first leg (Herne Bay 2-2 West Auckland). The type of end-to-end game you see only in the Vase.
CB – Does heard count? Listening to Chelmsford v Colchester while at work takes some beating… especially in an office of Premier League sports hacks.. seeing this Essex girl leap from her seat…
BEST FANS
AA – Any Non-League fan that travels away with their team regularly!
SH – Dartford fans raised the roof in their victories at home to Newport and away at Luton. The only
visiting fans I can recall making as much noise at Kenilworth Road were Wrexham’s in the 2010-11
play-offs.
SE – The handful of Dover fans that tackled the 780-mile round trip to Truro City on a Tuesday night in early December. I doff my cap.
MB – At their 1-1 FA Cup third round draw with Brighton & Hove Albion Wrexham fans shook the foundations of the new Amex Stadium. Guernsey FC’s away support deserves a mention too.
SC – Wrexham. They own the club and are always there in numbers to support their team.
CB – AFC Rushden and Diamond fans for the way they muck in week in and week out.
LOW OF 2012
AA, SH, SE, MB, SC, CB – Without question the death of Mitchell Cole at just 27, above, a player with so much potential and talent who leaves many happy memories for all who watched him.
HOPES FOR 2013
AA – That the Blue Square Bet Premier season goes right down to the wire and stays exciting.
SH– That the Football League allows 3G pitches in order that the Conference can then permit them. We’ve got international matches and Champions League games being played on them, so why not league fixtures above the seventh tier in England?
SE – No more rain.
MB – Football League clubs look to Non-League managers for their next appointment rather than the same old faces.
SC – The BSB Premier title race going down to the last day would be nice!
CB – Can we get through a year without losing a club to mismanagement?
FEAR FOR 2013
AA – Clubs getting into financial trouble in the worrying economic climate.
SH – That the League don’t allow 3G pitches, and more Non-League clubs are denied a potentially life-saving income stream from being able to play matches, train on them and open them to the community 365 days a year. Olympic legacy anyone?
SE – More rain.
MB – Fans will continue to lose their club because of unscrupulous owners.
SC – More Non-League clubs being forced to fold.
CB – Same as hope for the year! Time to get more fans on the board and better structures.
WHAT YOU’D CHANGE IN 2013
AA – Three up/three down between the BSBP and League Two!
SH – The rule that every player who receives treatment has to leave the field. More genuinely hurt players are affected by this, and subsequently their team, than those who feign injury.
SE – The FA digging very deep to fund a new-fangled pitch cover for every club.
MB – Play-off finals back to being played on Saturdays rather than Sundays
SC – Lower ticket prices if possible to entice more fans through the gates and into Non-League.
CB – 3G, 3G, 3G… surely time to look at it again? No one seriously wants a winter break, but how can we get more games on?
PLAYER TO WATCH 2013
AA – Jamille Matt (Kidderminster Harriers).
SH – Antoni Sarcevic (Chester).
SE – Jamille Matt. Could be his year.
MB – Duncan Watmore (Altrincham).
SC – Jamille Matt (Kidderminster) – proving he is one of Non-League’s hottest prospects by banging in the goals for Kiddy.
CB – There is a player, but his manager would have serious words with me should I mention him.. he’s quick.. he’s a winger and playing in the Blue Square Bet North.
