Manny strikes gold for the first time!

Andrew Dean of GOLDLINE has carefully poured over the list of nominations all week and announced his final decision today.

After such a difficult task of making just one selection from a field of outstanding candidates, he is full of praise for the work put in by local club officials on their 'star' players' behalf.

"What a difficult decision I was faced with. The standard of the nominations has been incredibly high and you have to say that they all deserve it. I've been really impressed with the honesty of the cases put forward. It's not just been praise, praise, praise. Players' contributions over the month have been put into the context of the team performance overall, and that is superb.

"I certainly expect to see some of these players nominated again in the future. With the standard of the first ever nominations being of the highest quality, it sets a marvellous precedent.

"To think that we will be able to match this standard constantly over the coming months shows just how good the local football scene is."

The nominees were:

Left back with Radcliffe BOro of UniBond Division One. Nominated by Kevin Glendon, his manager. " 'Rhino' has been absolutely outstanding for us during a month in which we won five, three away and two at home, and lost just the once. That single defeat was to Premier Division, Marine, in the FA Cup and that is the one game that John didn't appear in! Despite the fact that he is only just turned 30, he has vast Football League experience with Oldham Athletic, Newcastle United (transferred for £275,000), Sheffield Wednesday, Oldham (again) and Mansfield. Since we signed him from Stalybridge Celtic, he has certainly added a lot of quality to our side. His enthusiasm and determination to be a winner are absolutely brilliant. It could be tempting for an ex pro that has played at the level that John has to just settle back on his laurels when you drop down into non-league, but that would never happen with him. His professionalism and desire to do well are as great as they ever were."

Centre back with Atherton Colls of NWCL Division One. Nominated by Steve Walton, his manager. "Andy is still in his early twenties but he plays his defensive role with all the composure of a vastly experienced veteran. We have gone up a division this season and the jump in standard is massive. 'Penders' has breezed through that and has looked extremely comfortable. He was outstanding in each and every game during September. Clitheroe striker Jon Penman, who has played the last two seasons in the UniBond Premier Division, said after our game with his current club, Clitheroe, that Andy was the most difficult opponent that he had been up against for a long, long time and not only is that some compliment, it is also a testament to the way he has been playing!"

Defender with DAISY HILL of NWCL Division Two. Nominated by Jimmy Hulton, his manager. "Manny has been absolutely incredible throughout September. At times I have had a full team out injured or unavailable for some reason or another. No matter how many team changes there have been, he just gets on with it. We have had to throw youngsters into the side and playing at our level can be a big jump for a 17 or 18 year old. Not only has Manny maintained his high level of performance throughout the month, he has also set a superb example to the kids. He'd been advising and helping them through games. He's only 31 but, in our side at the moment, that is old! In fact, he's just been given the nickname 'The Old Fossil'! He loves all of that and I just can't recommend him high enough!"

Midfielder with Turton of SGL SEAT Cars West Lancs Division One. Nominated by Peter Cooper, his manager. "Clarke has had a sensational month for us. We have had a very indifferent start to the season to say the least but Clarke has just kept going to a very high standard with what I have to admit has been very little support. He's a tremendous player who had been playing to the top of his form. This has been particularly pleasing as he missed the whole of the second half of last season with a bad knee injury. At only 24 he is a great prospect for the future of this club and he has a good football pedigree. His father is Ian Woods, the former Oldham Athletic full back."

Defender with ATHERTON TOWN of Manchester League Premier Division. Nominated by Man of the Match sponsor, Leighton Packaging. Harold Crilly, his manager says: "We have not had the best of starts to the season but Scott certainly has. Week in, week out, he has been absolutely outstanding. We have started a Man of the Match scheme this season and Scott has been nominated four times during the month by our sponsor, Leighton Packaging. His performances in the middle of the back four have been of a consistently high standard and his non-stop running and determination are a great asset to us."

Central defender with Tempest United of West Lancs League Div One. Nominated by Micky Farnworth, his manager. "For the first game of the season, I was let down at the last minute by a centre half that I thought was coming down. At half past two, I turned to Kev and asked him if he had his boots. He's 39 now and hasn't played regularly for three seasons. He was very reluctant but he played and he had an absolute blinder. With him in the side we won three out of our first five games after promotion to the First Division and we only conceded three times. Then he went on holiday and we started getting panned, losing 5-0 and 6-0. He came back and stepped into the breach again and we've won our last two without conceding once. He's like a rock at the centre of defence that has steadied the ship. Not only is he playing excellently himself, he's helping all the young lads around him. If you're not letting much go through at the back, you stand a chance of doing something and, with Kev, there that always seems to be the case." Club chairman Alan Westhead added his comments: "It's great to see Kev doing so well in the first team again, but he is supposed to be the second team manager!"

Striker with ATHERTON S&S of Bolton Combination Division Two. Nominated by the Bolton Combination, Peter Conroy (League Official). "Simon had never played open age football before and went to watch some of his friends who were training with Atherton S&S. He decided to join in and, according to club secretary Paul Morris, they soon realised his potential and signed him straight away. September began really well for him when he scored four goals in his new club's Bolton Evening News Open Cup win over Premier Division Summerseat (two divisions higher). This top goalscoring form has continued and by the end of the month he had hit the back of the net on no less than 10 occasions. This is despite the fact that he plays centre of midfield! Atherton S&S are really pleased with their "find" and already the youngster has been attracting interest as a Manchester City scout has been tracking his progress. He is certainly a player for the future and a great credit to a club, which incidentally, has only been in the Combination for 12 months."

On top of what is undoubtedly an incredible honour, Manny will be presented with a magnificent engraved crystal glass trophy out on the Burnden Park pitch prior to next Tuesday's home game with Tranmere Rovers. The presentation will be made by his Burnden idol, Phil Brown.

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