END OF SEASON MANAGER AWARDS

Well, Season 5 is over but the gameworld has only just begun, with Season 6 being the first full season for many managers, but before we commence the new season we need to finish with the Manager of the year awards (+ a small matter of a World Cup).

We will begin with Division 5 which saw the Grand Old Duke of York City (Jens Heyman) claim the title by 7 points. After a fierce battle with Grant Cameron’s Cambridge United, the pressure must’ve got to Cambridge as they then went on to lose in the playoff final to Edward Richmond’s Mansfield Town.

In 3^rd place for the Division 5 Manager of the Year is a 3 way tie between Grant Cameron of CAMBRIDGE UNITED, Gianni Cuccoli of MACCLESFIELD TOWN & Alessia Salsano of GATESHEAD with 3% each, in 2^nd place was the playoff hero, Edward Richmond of MANSFIELD TOWN with 14% and in 1^st place with a whopping 77% of the vote was Jens Heyman of YORK CITY.

The Division 4 title looked for a long time to be heading to Rotherham until Prince Vegeta went AWOL and only won 2 games in 10...the Rotherham chairman then took drastic action by bringing in Iain Fenwick who dragged The Millers through the playoffs. That made way for Port Vale to take the title and a couple of late surges from 2 very in form sides in Crewe & Scunthorpe (who made it on the final day down to GD) to take the final 2 automatic places.

In 3^rd place for the Division 4 Manager of the year is Torstein Norevik of SCUNTHORPE UNITED with 12% of the vote and unbelievably it’s a tie for 1^st place between Terry Lewis of PORT VALE & Mike Rafferty of CREWE ALEXANDRA with 38% each.

Division 3 was much more of a foregone conclusion as Bristol City romped home with a total of 105 points, winning the title by 19 points over 2^nd placed Peterborough United. There were then only 2 points between 3^rd-5^th in the playoffs, which were eventually won by Blackpool with a few inspirational signings. At the other end of the table, a few brave fights from Burton, Swindon & Notts County weren’t enough, as Brentford stayed up on GD & Shrewsbury by just 2 points.

In 3^rd place for the Division 3 Manager of the year is a 5 way tie between Mark Ramsay of COLCHESTER UNITED, Gareth Watson of PORTSMOUTH, The Doctor of PLYMOUTH ARGYLE, Mike T of STEVENAGE & Tony Lennox of BLACKPOOL, IN 2^nd place was Lee Reynolds of PETERBOROUGH UNITED with 15% & in 1^st place…no surprises, it’s Luke Bailey of BRISTOL CITY with 71% of the vote.

Division 2 was a fantastic title race all season long and looked as though it was going to be a 3 horse race between Blackburn, Derby & Leeds, with Blackburn having the best staying power, winning the league by 8 points. Derby looked to be down and out with 4 league defeats on the spin, but a great end to the season saw GK’s men cement their place in the top flight. JV’s Leeds had a poor end of the season and he will be disappointed not to have gone up in the playoffs, but they did win the English Shield, beating eventual SMFA Shield Winners, Swansea City in the final. The playoffs were won by Fulham, who seemingly went unnoticed, climbing through the playoff places. Also a special mention to Wolves, who lost the English Cup final to a very strong Chelsea side.

In 3^rd place for the Division 2 Manager of the year is John Vinicombe of LEEDS UNITED with 6& of the vote, in 2^nd place is Gordon ‘Gino’ Kinnear of DERBY COUNTY with 15% and with a huge 71% was the winner, Stephen Beddows of BLACKBURN ROVERS.

Division 1 once again was a great title race, mainly between Man United, Newcastle & Tranmere, but United had the staying power and eventually won the title by 8 points! The top 4 was then made up of Newcastle, Everton & Man City. Crystal Palace also but up a very brave fight, sitting bottom when Parfitt took over, they eventually lost the last 2 games, with only 3 points being required in the end to stay up. The English Cup won by Chelsea, who had a great cup run, smashing Tranmere in the semi, then Wolves in the final. Both Continental titles were won by English (Welsh) clubs, with Swansea City winning the SMFA Shield & Tranmere Rovers winning the SMFA Champions Cup!

In 3^rd place for the Division 1 Manager of the year is Aaron MC of EVERTON with 9%, in 2^nd place is Flip Sides of MANCHESTER UNITED  with 26% and in 1^st place in Frank Hirst of TRANMERE ROVERS with 49%.