The Final Outcome: Supporters Team of the Year, Bostik North Division

The votes are in, and they’ve been counted, checked and checked again. They’ve created debate, as well as bringing praise and- occasionally- derision. They’ve seen some of our supporters greatly favour their own team, but they’ve also seen partisan views put to one side as people focus on choosing the best players even if they play for a local rival.

We’ve been a little fluid about the formations, mainly because you tended to favour centre-backs and sometimes struggled to draw a line between who was a midfielder and who was a forward. The players who feature are those who had the most votes- alter the formation in your head accordingly, as on this occasion we seem to be playing 5-3-2!

OK, here- just for fun- is the final outcome. We bring you our Supporters Team of the Year for the Bostik North Division.

Goalkeeper:

Andy Wilton (Bowers and Pitsea)

When a team concedes only twenty five goals in an entire season, it should surprise nobody that their goalkeeper is highly regarded by supporters across the league. Andy Wilton made forty seven appearances as Bowers powered to promotion, and kept twenty four clean sheets- a record which would be phenomenal at any level.

Defence:

Toib Adeyemi (Heybridge Swfts)

As Heybridge Swifts charged to Playoff success it would be easy to pick out a number of their flair players for praise, as after all there was much flair to admire. But every success is built on solid foundations, and although Toib isn’t short of flair his reputation amongst opposition supporters was cemented by the number of times he stopped their sides from scoring. After starting the season with Bishop’s Stortford, his arrival at Scraley Road in the autumn coincided with an upturn in Swifts’ fortunes. Some may say that was a coincidence, but you know differently!

Billy Roast (Maldon and Tiptree)

We’ve got two Maldon & Tiptree defenders in our back five, and the fact that even Heybridge Swifts supporters picked them out demonstrates just how good they were! First up is Billy Roast, who didn’t join the club from Dartford until the autumn but was then an ever-present in a side which finished the season in third place before losing the Playoff Final on penalties. Billy made thirty six appearances, and chipped in with a couple of goals, too.

Tyler Corlett (Witham Town/ Coggeshall Town)

Tyler is nominated for his performances for Coggeshall Town, although he also has the distinction of playing against the Seed Growers three times last season, with one draw and two defeats. Perhaps he adopted the old adage of “if you can’t beat them, join them?!” Witham certainly missed him after his departure, and Coggeshall were grateful recipients of his talents as they marched into the Playoffs. Tyler may have only played sixteen matches for his new club, but they were all important, and he certainly made a positive impression both on fans of the Seed Growers and on the opposition.

Martyn Stokes (Bowers and Pitsea)

The second of five Bowers stars in our Supporters First XI, Martyn made forty one appearances in the best backline in the Bostik League, and even found the back of the opposition net four times. That wasn’t a flash in the pan; he’d been a mainstay of a Bowers defence whose record was only bettered by our two automatically promoted sides in the previous season, too. If they can keep their squad together Bowers should be a force in the Premier Division next season.

Matthew Briggs (Maldon and Tiptree)

With thirty nine appearances and seven goals from full back, there’s quality about Matthew Briggs that suggests he’s- with no disrespect intended- only likely to stay at our level for rather a short time! Our supporters were certainly taken with his performances for the Jammers last season. Having played for England at five different age groups, and made a full international appearance for Guyana, the former Fulham, Millwall and Colchester United man was a clear favourite, even- it seems- with opposition fans.

Midfielders:

Quentin Monville (Bowers and Pitsea)

The number of Bowers & Pitsea players in your team of the year fairly reflects their dominance- perhaps even more so given that not a single Bowers fan sent in an entry! Our third player from the Len Salmon is Quentin Monville, who gave his all in that number seven shirt, not only creating much of what his side delivered but scoring nine goals of his own.

Kreshnic Krasniqi (Heybridge Swifts)

Earlier this week it was announced that Heybridge Swifts skipper Kreshnic was to leave the club- and oh, how they’ll miss him. It would be impossible for any of our clubs not to be sad to see a player with such ability depart. A big part of Swifts success last season- famous cup runs, playoff qualification and all- this season he was, if anything, even better, scoring ten goals from midfield as his side won the North Division playoffs.

Ben Sartain (Bowers and Pitsea)

We head back to the Len Salmon once more, to sing the praises of Ben Sartain. It took him a month of the season to get a firm hold of that number eight shirt, but once had he it, he kept it- courtesy of forty eye-catching performances as Bowers stormed to the title.

Forwards:

Nnamdi Nwachuku (Coggeshall Town)

Season after season, Nnamdi performed a starring role as the Seed Growers went from strength to strength. Last season was their first at Step Four- could he do it again? You bet he could!
Thirty eight appearances brought him twenty five goals- that’s one every one hundred and thirty six minutes- and during one particular spell he scored in eight consecutive matches, fired blanks in the next one, then scored in the following three, ending up with a run of fifteen goals in just twelve games. You couldn’t ask for much better than that, could you- and our supporters have certainly taken note of his efforts.

David Knight (Bowers & Pitsea)

Two four-goal hauls. Three more hat tricks. Forty two goals from forty three appearances in all competitions. When you’re searching for superlatives to describe a record like that, where on earth do you start? Even our supporters struggled to find the right words, but each one of them knew that a team of the year which didn’t include the Bowers hitman would be laughed at!

Take a bow David. You deserve it.

Thanks for all of your votes. We hope you enjoyed reading the Teams of the Year submitted by our supporters, and we’ll be back with our Supporters Predictions for the forthcoming season in July!