Everyone has got an opinion on who they think has been their club’s Player of the Season; football is a game of opinions after all. You might be torn between one or two players, or you might disagree completely with the wider choice. Or your club might’ve had a torrid season and you think none of them deserve the accolade. Everyone’s got their own opinion.
So to discover who really are each club’s POTS’s I decided to get in touch with those who dedicate large parts of their lives to creating content on their beloved clubs. The fan-made content creators!
Now FanHub has a lot of content creators involved already, but we always want more. If you’re a content creator reading this then why not get involved? The application form is right here.
For those club’s that I struggled to get content creators on board for, then I’ve involved some pure, brilliant fans.
If you agree or disagree with these choices then let us know below!
Let’s go…
Barrow AFC- Joel Dixon
What a season in League Two for Barrow, their 21st place finish saw them retain their league status for another season – which was against all the odds. They will be looking forward to another season, but they’ll want to keep hold of their classy keeper too. Barrow AFC fan Liz (@lizablittxo) gives us a quick lowdown.
‘Joel Dixon was our player of the season. He was consistent throughout the season. He played out of his skin every game. Saving penalties and any shots possible.’
Bolton Wanderers – Matt Gilks
Bolton’s third place finish saw the Wanderers return to League One at the first time. It was a slow start to the season, but they ploughed through the season and finished only three points behind the champions. Liam from ‘Trotters Blog‘ gave me their different choice for the POTS.
‘There were a lot of contenders in my eyes for Bolton’s player of the season. Ricardo Santos officially got the award from the club, and whilst you can’t argue that selection, I personally would have picked Matt Gilks. Gilks came into the starting lineup following a number of mistakes from young keeper Billy Crellin, and Gilks never looked back after that.
He’s played 35 times and ended up with 16 clean sheets. It’s not just the stats either, but it’s his presence on the field. You can hear him shouting and constantly directing his defence. He’s been huge in turning our season around and has seemingly done enough to pen a new deal after originally coming into the club as GK coach.’
Bradford City – Paudie O’Connor
A huge club like Bradford City should not be finishing the season in 15th place in League Two. But that’s where they find themselves, in much need of their squad being strengthened over the summer. One player they’ll want to keep is this Paudie. Sam from the @BCAFC_breakdown Twitter page talks to us about the key man.
‘This season has been largely disappointing for Bradford city, other than mid-season run of form which saw us pick up 10 wins and four draws from 15. Paudie O’Connor was ever-present throughout this period (as well as most of the rest of the season) and held the responsibility of captaining the team for much of that time. Playing so consistently well through such a rollercoaster season, in which defence was one of the better areas, leads me to pick Paudie O’Connor as my player of the season.’
Cambridge United – Paul Mullin
A phenomenal season for Cambridge as they finished high in 2nd place. Largely thanks to their brilliant top scorer, but also a crafty midfielder, who the guys at ‘Under The Abbey Stand‘ podcast tells us about.
‘Why? Most U’s fans would give it to striker Paul Mullin, and with 34 goals to his name this season why not? But those goals have mostly been the product of the most talented player to ever don the Black & Amber shirt – Wes Hoolahan.
A magician at this level, Wes is familiar to most football fans for his time with Norwich, West Brom and the Republic of Ireland, when he pitched up at the Abbey in 2020 we didn’t know what we were getting, an aged journeyman just after one last payday? A super-sub able to give you twenty minutes at the end of each game? What we got was a complete midfielder – once we’d moved him in from the left wing to a free role at the tip of a diamond Wes showed us his class, scoring seven goals and creating even more. We’ve had some great players play for us over the years, but nothing like Wessi.’
Carlisle United – Callum Guy
Carlisle’s disappointing finish saw the early promotion fighters end the season in 10th. Only 7 points off the playoffs, they’ll be looking to push further for that next season. ‘Fox Analytics‘ – an in-depth statistical Carlisle blogger – tells us about their key man.
‘Not only did he make the most assists(14) in the division this season mainly through exceptional set piece delivery, his midfield battling was integral to Carlisle’s style of play winning the ball back high up the pitch. He ranked 5th across the whole division for number of interceptions and number of defensive duels (according to Wyscout).’
Cheltenham Town – Ben Tozer
A fantastic title winning season was unfortunately observed from afar by the Robins’ fans, but they will have enjoyed it all the same. Tom from ‘The Robins Report‘ podcast chose their star defender as his POTS.
‘Commonly known for his long-throw ability and touted as the League Two (now League One) Rory Delap, Toz’s presence in the team goes a lot deeper then that and his leadership has been vital in what the club has achieved this year. He’s featured in every game and has been the rock in what is a defence that at over the last couple of season is one of the best in the country. Whether it’s a goal line clearance against the Now Premier League champions or a friendly reminder to his fellow defensive partner in many crucial games to remain switched on and be the best of themselves. Toz has set the standard at the back for us and continues to show exactly why he is one of the players who makes the team click and be such a solid team to break down. Class act in many departments as well as a man. Throughly deserves the recognition he gets. What a player.’
Colchester United – Brendan Wiredu
A really tough year for the U’s saw them finish 20th in League Two. It’s not been great viewing for the south east side, but Max from the ‘Views On The U’s‘ podcast was able to choose his POTS.
‘My player of the season would be Brendan Wiredu which will have most U’s fans scratching their heads for two reasons. 1. Because he’s only been there since January and 2. The majority will of gone for Noah Chilvers. Wiredu has been the best player on the pitch almost every game he’s played, he offers so much from midfield – energy, vision, awareness to name a few. It’s been a poor season and for me he’s been the standout, Chilvers has been another standout as has played well in patches but Wiredu has been more consistent and the impact he had on the team was second to none.’
Crawley Town – Tom Nichols
An average, no thrills, season for Crawley as they finish exactly mid-table. If they had kept hold star striker Max Watters in January then the season might’ve ended quite differently. Pete tells us about their POTS strikers.
‘Part of me wants to give it to Max. 13 league goals in 15 appearances is insanely good. He certainly deserved his move to the Championship. In his place we had Tom Nichols. A player who always leaves 100% out on the pitch, and a player who can be even better than he is now. He hit 11 goals for us this season, which doesn’t compare to Max’s tally, but it is still a vital contribution.’
Exeter City – Matt Jay
Exeter’s 9th place finish will have disappointed the fans as they miss out on promotion yet again. Dan from ‘The Big Bank Theory Podcast‘ tells us about their next academy star.
‘There can be no other this season for Exeter than Matt Jay. An academy graduate who, in previous years hadn’t quite looked up to the task/wasn’t given enough of a chance (depending on who you ask), won all the end-of-season awards this year. With 20 goals and plenty of assists it was a coming-of-age season for Matt, finally displacing Nicky Law as the creative force and helping to keep us in the race for the playoff places up until the final day. Just hope he doesn’t leave now!’
Forest Green Rovers – Jamille Matt
FGR had a very positive season, finishing in 6th place. I spoke to Ollie from ‘The Pod on the Hill‘ podcast, as he discussed their classy striker.
‘Jamille Matt would be my Forest Green player of the season for sure. The striker is our top scorer this campaign with 16 goals and has been a big miss in the squad since his horrific hand injury against Bolton.
He’s added a new dimension to our team, providing a real plan b option to our typical playing style, with his presence and physicality up front.
The fact Matt was on the bench in the play-off semi final 1st leg last night at Newport was a massive surprise after Mark Cooper previously had ruled him out for the rest of the season. His hold up play was superb for the 20 minutes he was on the pitch though and hopefully he can feature again in the 2nd leg as Rovers try to overturn a 2-0 deficit.
He’s the closest player we’ve had since Christian Doidge in terms of a real talisman in attack and a reliable goal scorer. His impact on the team this year and his goal tally certainly exceeded my expectations.’
Grimsby Town – Jay Matete or Elliot Hewitt
It’s been a horrific year for the Grimsby faithful, so when Alex from the ‘DN35 Podcast‘ somehow chose two players of the season, I decided we’d allow both in!
‘Jay Matete was undoubtably the standout player in midfield – Fleetwood are lucky to have the guy. Dynamic, attacking always looking to go onto the front foot with an ability to turn over the ball. He was absolutely brilliant and a pleasure to have him.
From a town player perspective Elliot Hewitt was the standout player amongst those we actually owned had to end up playing centre back even though he was a right back and stood out head and shoulders above those who call that position their own comfortable confident able to play the ball as well as dictate the play the back he was a mainstay in our revival later on in the season and if you’d of been there sooner I would’ve imagined we stayed up.’
Harrogate Town – Jack Muldoon
A brilliant 17th place for Harrogate Town in the club’s first year in the English Football League. Powered by the goals of Jack Muldoon, the Yorkshire club will be hoping to strengthen again this summer in order to consolidate even more next season. Harrogate Town fan, and former Harrogate Railway Ladies player, Katherine (@katherine_swinn) tells us about their star striker.
‘Harrogate Town’s player of the season is Jack Muldoon. He’s a striker and was the top scorer with 15 goals in the club’s first ever season in the Football League. He also provided 5 assists too and played consistently well including helping the club to win their first FA Trophy and to finish 17th in the league which represented a fantastic achievement. Jack also played a key role in the clubs promotion from the National League during the 2019/2020 season.’
Leyton Orient – Lawrence Vigoroux
Another mid-table finish for Orient is a positive step as they consolidate themselves before a future promotion push. Paul from the ‘Orient Outlook‘ podcast tells us about their keeper.
‘Says a lot about a team when the player of the season is a goalkeeper rather than an attacking player. But this is the case at Leyton Orient and it is fully justified. “Loz” played a pivotal role in our season as he saved several penalties and made outstanding saves to keep us in games and at times earned us valuable points. He also kept an astonishing 19 clean sheets throughout the campaign. Additionally, he was also a quick thinker with distributing the ball to the front men which earned him an assist in the clubs official goal of the season. Never underestimate the value of a good goalkeeper!’
Mansfield Town – George Lapslie
A 16th place finish spells a disappointing season for Mansfield, who should be challenging much higher up the table. Sam, from ‘Mansfield Musings‘ gives us the lowdown on their midfielder.
‘The teams biggest goalscoring threat from midfield. The team suffered when he was out injured. Provides box to box energy, but operates best in behind the strikers. Had a big future.’
Morecambe – Carlos Mendes Gomes
A victory a Wembley saw the Shrimps promoted to League One for the first time. The campaign was fuelled by a hard-working ethic, but with Mendes Gomes on the wings, they also had the sprinkle of magic. Tessa tells us more.
‘My POTS has to be CMG. Carlos Mendes Gomes has been top drawer this season. He hit 16 league goals, which were vital to our promotion push. He destined for higher leagues, with his flare and trickery. He also scored the penalty in the playoff final to send us up. A hero!’
Newport County – Matt Dolan
A great season of chaos saw them battle it out in the playoffs this season, so it would’ve been a tricky choice for their POTS, but Rhys from the ‘1912 Exiles‘ Podcast gave us the key name.
‘Matt Dolan is our player of the year, his move from midfield to defence has been crucial to the change in our style of play this season. He is impervious to pressure both on the ball and when taking penalties. His Playoff semi-final goal was just the icing on the cake which so far has been a superb season.’
Oldham Athletic – Dylan Bahamboula
The Latics tread water once again this year, but one man did bring a lot of joy to those watching on iFollow, Matt from ‘The Boundary Park Alert System‘ podcast tells us more…
‘There’s no doubt that the player of the season this year for Oldham has been Dylan Bahamboula. The Congolese made his debut for his country off the back of some superb performances for the Latics, in his first season in England. The ball sticks to his feet, he’s always looking to take men on, creating goals, causing havoc and scoring some worldies himself. We only hope he stays long enough for us to see him play in the flesh next season!‘
Port Vale – Tom Conlon
A season of three thirds for the Vale as their super sharp form towards the end of the campaign was hampered by their dismal middle section. Jonny from the ‘Ale and Vale Podcast‘ gave me the lowdown on their star man.
‘Apart from a bad spell around February time, he has been consistent throughout. Managed 10 goals from CM in a team that at times didn’t look like hitting the target let alone scoring. He is left footed as well, which makes everything look at little better whenever he does something. And if you haven’t already seen it, then check out his goal vs Barrow away. He was given captaincy under Darrell Clarke and he has grown into a real leader on the pitch. Off the pitch, being born in Stoke-on-Trent he has set up a football academy with fellow Port Vale player Nathan Smith to show his commitment to the area.’
Salford City – Vaclav Hladky
Salford City missed out on the playoffs by a small margin, but it was their goalkeeper that got most of the headlines. Griff explains why.
‘POTS is a tough one because a lot of players did well this season. Hladky would be the pick of the bunch though. He’s a towering keeper who brings a presence between the sticks. He signed from St Mirren and he’s been so good for us. His distribution needs some work at times but he’s a brilliant shot stopper.’
Scunthorpe United – Mason O’Malley
Scunthorpe barely survived in League Two this season, but their youngster has hit some headlines. Fortunately, Matt from ‘IRON BRU‘ can see the funny side, as he lets us know about their POTS.
‘We haven’t had one! Ha. I would say Mason O’Malley. One of the very few positives of a dismal season. Broken into the first team and held down his position with a string of excellent performances. Lovely left foot. His call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad was well deserved and he should have a big future in the game.’
Southend United – ‘No One’
It’s not been a great time for the Seasiders. Back to back relegations see them drop to the National League and the guys at the ‘All At Sea FanZine‘ weren’t impressed.
‘We were dogsh*t this year.
To a man. Our (joint) top goal scorers got 3 goals. No one deserves singing out for blame or praise, I’m afraid.
It was a foregone conclusion. We have been so shit for so long now that, truly, expectations barely exist.’
Stevenage – Terence Vancooten
I spoke to Pete from the ‘BoroGuide‘, as he gave me the low down on a player I knew nothing about.
‘The name I’m giving is an easy one: Terence Vancooten.
I’ve been an admirer of his for a couple of seasons now; a classy defender who looks assured on the ball. But he really stepped it up this season. Luke Prosser and Scott Cuthbert was the preferred CB pairing. TVC forced his way in there, however; taking his opportunity and leaving the two seasoned pros battling it out to partner the Guayanese international. And our defensive record speaks for itself.’
Tranmere Rovers – James Vaughan
Tragedy in the play-off semi finals left Tranmere fans scratching their heads at the prospect of the second season in League Two. A second season should leave Tranmere in a better place for next season’s promotion push, but that won’t stop the frustrations of this season being felt. Paul from the ‘This is Tranmere‘ podcast was able to pick a player though!
‘Only goal threat we had. God knows how he scored so many when we created so few chances for him. Worked hard and found the net when few others contributed goals, so our key player for sure.’
Walsall – Liam Kinsella
Walsall survived a tough season as they finished 19th, only eight points off the relegated duo. They’ll need huge reinforcements for the upcoming season, but keeping hold of Kinsella needs to be a top priority. ‘VitalWalsall‘ tells us why.
‘My player of the season was Liam Kinsella. In a poor season, he was the only consistent member of the team. With Kins, you know he will cover every blade of grass, and he won the most amount of tackles in League Two this season, so he is a great ball winner. Kins was a steady player, who does the dirty work well. It sums up how poor the team was when a ball winning midfielder was the highlight. All fans agreed that he was the player of the season, and now we just hope we get a good team around him.’
There you go! A mix of content creators and fans’ player of the seasons, do you agree with your club’s choice? Would you have picked someone else? Let us know!
