72 CLUB HEROES NAMED AHEAD OF FOOTBALL LEAGUE AWARDS 2015
The Football League have announced 72 ‘Club Heroes’, recognising a member of staff at each of the 72 Football League clubs. The accolades are part of the Tokio Marine Kiln Club Hero Award at Sunday’s 10th annual Football League Awards, with an overall winner being named on the evening.
The award highlights the role played by staff at clubs throughout the League, whose work often goes unnoticed. All clubs were asked to nominate one member of staff to be recognised for their loyal and dedicated service off the pitch. Those selected cover a whole variety of roles showing the many different aspects of a professional football club, and include employees that have been involved with their club for over 10 years.
Each of the 72 people nominated will receive a special commemorative glass plaque to mark their inclusion in the list. It is the first time that every one of the 72 Football League clubs will be honoured at the annual awards ceremony as part of a special way to mark the 10th year of the event.
Drew Barrand, Marketing Director of The Football League, said: “The Football League Awards 2015 provides not just the opportunity to recognise star performances, both on and off the pitch over the last year, but also the chance to celebrate the last 10 years of the event.
“We wish all those nominated the best of luck and look forward to a fantastic evening on Sunday.”
The full list of Club Heroes is;
Accrington Stanley – Vikki Gilmartin (Head of Finance)
AFC Bournemouth – Neil Vacher (Club Secretary)
AFC Wimbledon – Tim Hillyer (Shop Manager)
Barnsley – Norman Rimmington (Laundry Worker)
Birmingham City – Brian Murphy (Training Ground/Stadium Maintenance Manager)
Blackburn Rovers – Barbara Magee (Travel Administrator)
Blackpool Football Club – Rennie Parker (Golden Gamble Ticket Seller)
Bolton Wanderers – Joe McGlynn (General Operative)
Bradford City – John Duckworth (Kitman)
Brentford – Roger Crook (Community Sports Trust)
Brighton & Hove Albion – Keith Gallis (Matchday Programme & Lottery Coordinator)
Bristol City – Keith Draisey (Head of Operations)
Burton Albion – Enid Barks (Tea Lady)
Bury – Joan Curtis (Club Lottery)
Cambridge United – Dave Doggett (Chairman)
Cardiff City – John Tobutt (Academy Day Release Teacher & Coach)
Carlisle United – John Halpin (Football In The Community Officer)
Charlton Athletic – Bob Snow (former Player Liaison Officer)
Cheltenham Town – Paul Godfrey (Club Director)
Chesterfield – Jim Brown (Commercial Manager)
Colchester United – Julie Ager (Football Sales Executive)
Coventry City – Andrew Harvey (Training Ground Operations Manager)
Crawley Town – Terry Marshall (Steward)
Crewe Alexandra – Bev Dyer (Ticket Office Manager)
Dagenham &Redbridge – Chris Pollard (Functions Manager)
Derby County – Gordon Guthrie (Club Ambassador)
Doncaster Rovers – Tracy Kennedy (Laundry Manager)
Exeter City – Richard Knight (Club Secretary)
Fleetwood Town – Ted Lowery (Honorary Vice President)
Fulham – Michael Cripps (Groundsman)
Gillingham – Peter Lloyd (Away Travel Co-Ordinator/Radio Summariser)
Hartlepool United – Doris Ford (Catering Manager)
Huddersfield Town – Andrew Brook (Kit Manager)
Ipswich Town – Pat Godbold (Club Archivist/Historian)
Leeds United – Stix Lockwood (Player / Community / Charity / Supporter Liaison)
Leyton Orient – Lindsey Martin (Club Secretary & Ticket Office Manager)
Luton Town – John Buttle (Press Consultant)
Mansfield Town – Michael Merriman (Head Groundsman / Kit Manager)
Middlesbrough – Ron Bone (Head Of Academy Recruitment)
Millwall – Colin Sayer (Stadium Manager)
Milton Keynes Dons – Paul Heald (Goalkeeping Coach/Player Liaison Officer)
Morecambe – Richard Danson (Senior Academy Scout / Match Day Co-ordinator)
Newport County – David Hando (Club President)
Northampton Town – Frank Grande (Club Historian)
Norwich City – Danny Casey (Ticket Office Manager & Customer Services Manager)
Nottingham Forest – Brian Goodliffe (Steward Supervisor & Tour Guide)
Notts County – Jo Richardson (Accounts Assistant/Facilities Co-Ordinator)
Oldham Athletic – Judith Lane (Retired PA to the Chief Executive)
Oxford United – Ambrose Landon (Press Liaison Officer)
Peterborough United – Tony Broughton (Match Day Host)
Plymouth Argyle – Rachel Fry (Head of Retail)
Port Vale – Steve Speed (Head Groundsman / Stadium Manager)
Portsmouth – Michael Turner (Deputy Safety Officer)
Preston North End – Simon Nash (Club Mascot – Deepdale Duck)
Reading – David Downs (Safeguarding Officer, Reading FC Academy)
Rochdale – Jack Northover (Kitman)
Rotherham United – Denis Circuit (Head of Medical)
Scunthorpe United – John Staff (Draw/Programme Seller, Historian & Scout)
Sheffield United – Gary Shanks (Club Mascot – Captain Blade)
Sheffield Wednesday – Keith Howard (Official Club Historian)
Shrewsbury Town – Ryan Jervis (PA Announcer)
Southend United – Helen Norbury (Football Secretary)
Stevenage – John & Janet Ryder (Head Groundsman / Club Shop Assistant & Kit Lady)
Swindon Town – Roger Reeves (Match Day Tunnel / Academy Co-ordinator)
Tranmere Rovers – Tony Coombes (Programme Designer)
Walsall – Paul Mason (Training Ground Manager)
Watford – Mary Thompson (Programme Sales Co-Ordinator)
Wigan Athletic – Kathryne Farnworth (PA to Team Manager and Club Doctor)
Wolverhampton Wanderers – Ron Picken (Academy Operations Coordinator)
Wycombe Wanderers – Gina Allan (Club Doctor)
Yeovil Town – Darren Way (Assistant Manager)
York City – David Quinn (Programme Seller & Transfer Box Operator)
To tie in with the 10th anniversary of the Football League Awards, this year there are a total of 10 categories, including the Sky Bet Players of the Year in each division, Family Club of the Year, Capital One Supporter of the Year, Johnstone’s Paint Community Club of the Year, PFA Player in the Community, Mitre Goal of the Year, LFE Apprentices of the Year and the Sir Tom Finney Award.
In addition to the Tokio Marine Kiln Club Hero Award, there will be another special category to mark the 10th anniversary of the event with 11 players and a manager selected to be in the Football Manager Team of the Decade, based on performances from the past 10 seasons.
Fans can watch the Awards ceremony live on The Football League’s YouTube channel from 8:30pm on Sunday evening at http://po.st/FLAwardsLIVE. Highlights of the event will also be broadcast on Sky Sports 1 on Monday evening at 6:15pm and 9:15pm.
To find out more about The Football League Awards, and for a full list of Award categories, please visit www.FLAwards.com or search for #FLAwards on Twitter.
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Notes to Editors:
ABOUT THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE AWARDS
Established in 2006, The Football League Awards is an annual gala event which celebrates excellence both on and off the pitch. The 2015 ceremony is the 10th such event, which attracts players, managers and staff from League clubs as well as sponsors, partners and those wishing to celebrate everything Football League.
Supporters will get a front row seat for Sunday’s Awards with live coverage of the ceremony being broadcast to a global online audience. Fans can watch all the action unfold by heading to FLAwards.com and The Football League's official YouTube page. Highlights of the event will also be broadcast on Sky Sports.
The event will also be covered with live updates on social media via The Football League’s official Twitter account (@football_league) and official Facebook page (/FootballLeague).
SHORTLISTS
Awards will also be handed out on the night for the Tokio Marine Kiln Club Hero award, Football Manager Team of the Decade and Contribution to League Football. Shortlists for the remaining categories have been announced as below:
Sky Bet Championship Player of the Year
Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough)
Troy Deeney (Watford)
Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town)
Sky Bet League 1 Player of the Year
Dele Alli (Milton Keynes Dons)
Luke Freeman (Bristol City)
Joe Garner (Preston North End)
Sky Bet League 2 Player of the Year
Alfie Mawson (Wycombe Wanderers)
Danny Mayor (Bury)
Ryan Woods (Shrewsbury Town)
Football League Young Player of the Year
Dele Alli (Milton Keynes Dons)
Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough)
Nathan Redmond (Norwich City)
Mitre Goal of the Year
Joe Garner (Preston North End)
Rohan Ince (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Yann Kermorgant (AFC Bournemouth)
Andy Mangan (Shrewsbury Town)
Craig Westcarr (Portsmouth)
Capital One Supporter of the Year
Championship – Sarah Watts (Brighton & hove Albion)
League 1 – Tracey Cole (Crawley Town)
League 2 – Greg Hill (Exeter City)
Family Club of the Year
Brighton & Hove Albion
Colchester United
Middlesbrough
Milton Keynes Dons
Plymouth Argyle
Stevenage
Johnstone’s Paint Community Club of the Year
Blackburn Rovers (NORTH WEST)
Doncaster Rovers (YORKSHIRE & NORTH EAST)
Derby County (MIDLANDS)
Norwich City (EAST)
Brighton & Hove Albion (SOUTH)
PFA Player in the Community
Hope Akpan (Reading)
Elliot Omozusi (Leyton Orient)
Danny Shittu (Millwall)
LFE Apprentice of the Year
Championship
Lewis Cook (Leeds United)
Joe Gomez (Charlton Athletic)
Fred Onyedinma (Millwall)
League 1
George Cooper (Crewe Alexandra)
Giorgio Rasulo (Milton Keynes Dons)
Louis Reed (Sheffield United)
League 2
Conor Chaplin (Portsmouth)
Ben Harrison (AFC Wimbledon)
Ryan Johnson (Stevenage)
Further Details:
Andy Dodd
Head of Marketing Communications
The Football League
(: 0207 430 4905 & 07960 397785
adodd@football-league.co.uk
www.FLAwards.com