With an increasingly high number of people to thank for their unstinting loyalty and dedication to the Woodside Cause, Chairman, Pete Stone did remarkably well to whittle the newly-introduced Chairman’s Award down to a final three but, in the end, Club Shop Entrepreneur, Amanda Gibbs was the deserving recipient. After turning a corner/flap of the WFCSA Shed into, virtually, a small department store.
Special mentions were also reserved for Kitman extraordinaire, Stuuuuuu Evans alongside Youth & Academy Secretary and Head of Catering, Vic Sudds.
As Giuseppe’s served up a fine feast to the masses – while Vic and her Window Wonders, Linda, Mia, Holly, Toni and Sharon enjoyed a rare and well deserved night off – attention turned to the playing side of things.
All three of the debut-making age-group teams had solid campaigns and it was the Under-14’s who were first up; Fin Knight walked away with the Manager’s Player of The Year trophy, Lewis Thorn completing the double of both Coaches and Player’s Player, as proud Boss Julian Barnes linked-up with First Team Head, Adam Hinshelwood, to hand out the honours.
The equally-impressive Under-15’s declared Kiko Tanev most worthy of their outstanding Player accolade and momento’s from the Coach and Manager, went to Harry Margeson and Owen Spicer respectively. Margeson returned later during proceedings to claim the honour of top-scorer throughout the club, bagging an astonishing thirty-two times last term !
Under-16’s Head Honcho, Steve Hoare named Cameron Lineham as his Manager’s Player of The Season, after Josh Brooks had picked up the Coaches honour and Charlie Robinson, The Player’s.
All three of those last winners had also played their parts in The Under-18’s, who came agonisingly close to becoming Champions, though it was the non-stop energy and goals of Callum Chalmers that saw him announced as the Manager’s choice along with midfield general, Daz Goldsmith claiming the plaudits of his teammates.
Nathan Bowen made it a unanimous decision to give Owen Benfell The Academy Manger’s top player gong as Ty Mthunzi collected the player’s prize; just in time to prevent his rather snug-fitting headgear from cutting off the blood supply to the particular part of the anatomy it adorned.
Ladies’ Player-Manager, Hannah Helwlett proved to be the popular choice of her fellow Reddettes, by going home with the individual honours of the Dressing Room, before not actually going anywhere as she handed over her Gaffer’s choice as top contributor to Gemma Worsfold, who needed two more hands to collect her Goal of The Season gong for a stunning long-range, dipping volley.
Ricky Aguiar completed a clean sweep of the First Team awards, resplendent in a white T-Shirt that started rumours of Stuuuuuuu secretly running a home washing service on the side. Ollie Pearce being The Away Boy’s top dog and David Ajiboye ending the year as number one on the ever-popular RebelRebels Forum.
The final prize of the evening was presented, in the form of a framed club shirt, complete with the number eighty on the back, to long-serving and now retired doyen of coaching, Mr. Mick Fogden. Standing proudly with fellow Backroomers, Hinsh, Azza, Cam, the soon to be plus one, Nat and that bloke Evans again. (He gets everywhere, doesn’t he ?!)
We love U, Stuuuuuu !!