THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE ANNOUNCE SKY BET LEAGUE 2 PLAYER OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
The Football League have revealed the three players who are in contention to be named the Sky Bet League 2 Player of the Year at The Football League Awards 2014, which takes place this Sunday, 16th March, at The Brewery, London.
The Sky Bet Player of the Year awards have been voted for by managers of the clubs in each division. Each manager was asked to list their top five players from this season in order, with the scores added up to get a shortlist and an overall winner.
This nominees for this year's award are Rochdale striker Scott Hogan, Chesterfield winger Gary Roberts and Scunthorpe United frontman Sam Winnall.
The Football League Awards honour achievements, both on and off the pitch, across The League's 72 clubs, rewarding players, clubs and fans in 13 categories, which include the Family Club of the Year, Johnstone’s Paint Community Club of the Year, Capital One Supporter of the Year and the Tokio Marine Unsung Hero award.
On the pitch, the League Football Education Apprentice of the Year will be chosen for each division, as will the Sky Bet Player of the Year, while the Young Player of the Year and the Mitre Goal of the Year will also be chosen.
Supporters will get a front row seat for Sunday’s Awards with live coverage of the ceremony being broadcast to a global online audience on multiple channels. Fans can watch all the action unfold by heading to FLAwards.com, The Football League's official YouTube and Facebook pages, as well as official club websites and YouTube channels. There will also be a variety of live online partners taking the event to fans around the world.
In total, 33 clubs have been nominated so far, with Championship side Derby County leading the way with four nominations, while a further nine clubs have been nominated twice.
Sky Bet League 2 Player of the Year shortlist and nominee information:
Scott Hogan (Rochdale)
Striker Hogan’s chance at Rochdale might have gone after he was released by the club in May 2011 but almost three years on he is a shining example of why you should never give up. Spells with several non-league clubs followed before his second Spotland opportunity arrived in May last year with a move that has worked out brilliantly for player and club. He scored on his Dale debut and hasn’t looked back, bagging goals consistently to be closing in on the fabled 20-mark by the start of March with Keith Hill’s men eyeing promotion.
Gary Roberts (Chesterfield)
Roberts joined Chesterfield in the summer of 2013 from Swindon Town and he has been an inspirational figure in the Spireites’ bid to win promotion from Sky Bet League 2. Turning 30 two days after The Awards, Roberts has packed plenty of experience into his career, all of which is proving vital for Paul Cook’s men. As well as scoring some crucial goals, the winger also leads the Sky Bet League 2 assists table and his know-how has guided Chesterfield to not just the top of the table, but also a place at Wembley in the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
Sam Winnall (Scunthorpe United)
Four previous loans and a release from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2013 left Winnall wondering what his next move would be, but he can certainly now call Scunthorpe United ‘home’. The 23-year-old has been prolific in front of goal this season for Russ Wilcox’s men, leading the way in the Sky Bet League 2 charts while helping the Iron make themselves serious contenders for automatic promotion. If a chance falls to Winnall then the Glanford Park faithful expect him to take it, such has been his development this season, and a run of scoring in four consecutive games in February really saw him come to the fore – though he had been doing pretty well before that too.
Recent Winners
2013: Tom Pope (Port Vale)
2012: Matt Ritchie (Swindon Town)
2011: Ryan Lowe (Bury)
To find out more about The Football League Awards, and for a full list of Award categories, please visit www.FLAwards.com.