With this incredible season drawing to a close for Swindon Town, the fine performances of our most important players have resulted in us being crowned as League Two Champions.
All the players have out in a tremendous amount of effort and picking one player will be a hard decision but I have selected nine nominees for player of the season which shows what a great team effort it has been and each of them has put in the effort and performances needed to secure the title.
Aden Flint
Aden Flint has constantly performed as a defender and as a striker this season. The defender has scored his fair few goals but is also a very strong defensive minded player while being somewhat of a fans favourite. After arriving from Alfreton Town in January 2011 he failed to make an impact among Danny Wilson’s squad with experienced defenders getting the nod instead of him. But Paolo Di Canio saw his potential and he is now a consistent member of the starting eleven. The centre-back has been a rock at the back and has saved us on more than one occasion with his tall presence on the pitch. He has numerous Man of the Match awards for performances in a Town shirt and is expected to make a greater impact next season in League One.
Paul Caddis
Near the beginning of the season Caddis was given the responsibility as the Swindon captain and up to early March he never missed a minute in a town shirt until he picked up an injury. He is a constant high performer in matches and has even had enough time to grab a few goals along with his defensive duties. After joining on loan two seasons ago, Paul impressed on a number of occasions which lead to Danny Wilson signing the right back on a permanent basis along with fellow scot Simon Ferry. He has also had fame outside of the County Ground being the skipper of the Scotland under 21 team. Paul has been a resounding success and he has inspired the squad to win the league and Swindon fans hope that he will remain a Town player for many seasons to come.
Matt Ritchie
Everyone knows that Matt is strong a contender for the award after his recent success picking up the League Two Player of the Year award. His high quality performances have been noticed by the press and numerous higher league sides with Bournemouth being linked with the former Portsmouth man. He has scored many goals as well as assisting them in his right wing position making a successful partnership with Paul Caddis on the right. He is liked amongst the fans with many of the younger generations looking up to him as a role model in football. The winger has been a solid performer this season and in the summer I’m sure lots of clubs will be chasing the Portsmouth youth production.
Alan McCormack
Alan originally signed from Charlton as a midfielder and that’s where he played for the first few games in a Swindon shirt but from the start we could see the midfield partnership of McCormack and Simon ferry or Oliver Risser just wasn’t going to work. Then when we had only one centre-back for a game Alan filled in and put in a great performance and since then has formed an unbeatable partnership with Aden Flint. He has also stood in for Captain Paul Caddis a few times and also captained us in our JPT defeat at Wembley.
Alan Connell
When Alan signed he instantly became a fans favourite and has showed why by firing himself to the title of our top scorer despite having to come off the bench and only starting a handful of games. Fans often chant for him to come on and he has certainly showed why he deserves to start games. This season Alan has been named “super sub”. His signing from Grimsby was met with excitement but you can’t help but thinking would he be here if Adam Birchall had agreed to move to Swindon?
Rafael De Vita
The Italian forward signed from Livingston in the summer and started the seasoning partnering Billy Bodin up front and has scored a few goals this season. A few games later De vita was converted to a left winger and made the left wing position his own until the arrivals Luke Rooney and Lee Holmes. De Vita always puts in 100% and is a player I enjoy watching. His performances have been mostly consistent and that’s why I have nominated him for the award.
Jonathan Smith
The midfielder signed from York city in the summer and has put in solid performances in the centre of midfield since signing. He was one of the non league players we signed and was one of Di Canio’s first signings. Although he has stepped up to the plate most of the time and has always tried hard, he hasn’t been started an awful lot towards the end of the season but will be ready for next season.
Wesley Foderingham
When young Wes signed early on in the season not many people had heard of him but in a short space of time the young keeper has made himself a town favourite. The goalkeeper has established himself as one of the first names on the sheet with saves that put us top of the table. When the 20 year old joined on a three month deal in November no-one had really heard of the young shot stopper but after five clean sheets out of five in his first five matches people had taken a shine to him. When January had rolled around most people expected an extension to his loan but instead he was released by Palace and turned out to be one of the best signings we made in January.
Simon Ferry
The flying Scottish midfielder has been great all season and has popped up to start some great movements which often led to goals. His midfield play has been second to none and we have to hope he will be as effective next season. He deserves his nomination after putting in 100% effort all season and in all being great all round.
So now comes to who deserve to win the award this season and for me the man that stands out is Paul Caddis. The full back has made a great impression and has inspired others to put in the performance to pick up three points..Paul has formed an unbeatable partnership with Matt Ritchie on the right wing and Ritchie is never the same without him. The games that he missed this season demonstrate why Caddis is such an important player for Swindon Town.
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