Nearly 500 guests danced into the early hours of last Saturday night at the prestigious new venue next to the national stadium as the Ryman rewarded fair play, sportsmanship, club achievements and the exploits of their star players and managers in front of friends, families and their peers.
The Isthmian League is set to enter its sixteenth year of title sponsorship with the Ryman Group in August and the title sponsor's Chairman Theo Paphitis was, as always, at the heart of the event, handing out the accolades in more than thirty categories alongside Ryman League President and Chairman Alan Turvey and Fabio Malipiero from Macron, sponsors of the league’s Manager of the Month, Team of the Month and Golden Boot Awards.
Malcolm Alexander from the league’s Fair Play sponsors Bluefin Insurance and Sandy Brownless from Lucas Fettes, sponsors of the Ryman Youth League Cup, were also among the guests who enjoyed a silver service dinner and entertainment from Tenor Martin Toal, cabaret from Ian Irving and dance into the night with band The Dark Blues.
Special guests included Football Conference Chairman Brian Lee and from the Football Association - Barry Bright, Leader of Council, Mike Appleby, Leagues and Clubs Manager and Steve Rooke, Registrations Manager.
As a reward for winning last season’s FA Respect Gold League Award at Steps 1-4 and taking the Silver Award this season, the FA’s delegation brought along the FA Challenge Cup to the banquet. The Cup’s presence also served as a fitting reminder of Hastings’ heroic run to the competition’s Third Round last season. Along with the rest of Ryman’s reward recipients, the club’s heroics won a special mention from Chairman Alan Turvey in his address to guests hailing their 2012-13 campaign.
. | Premier | North | South |
Champions | Whitehawk | Grays Athletic | Dulwich Hamlet |
Play-Off Winners | Concord Rangers | Thamesmead Town | Maidstone United |
Manager Of The Year | Darren Freeman (Whitehawk) | Hakan Hayrettin (Grays Athletic) | Gavin Rose (Dulwich Hamlet) |
Golden Boot | John Sands (Bury Town) | Luke Callendar (Heybridge Swifts) | David Cook (Hyth Town) |
Team Of The Season | Carshalton Athletic | Witham Town | Maidstone United |
Fair Play Award | Leiston | Thamesmead Town | Folkestone Invicta |
Respect Award | Carshalton Athletic | Wroxham | Crawley Down Gatwick |
Premier Division Team Of The Year
Position | Player | Club |
Goalkeeper | Marcus Garnham | Bury Town |
Rightback | Ashley Miller | Canvey Island |
Leftback | Lee Chapell | Wealdstone |
Centreback | Steve King | Concord Rangers |
Centreback | Matt Lawrence | Whitehawk |
Midfield | James Fraser | Whitehawk |
Midfield | Alex Dyer | Wealdstone |
Midfield | Gareth Heath | Leiston |
Midfield | Kane Wills | Bognor Regis Town |
Striker | John Sands | Bury Town |
Striker | Scott McGleish | Wealdstone |
Division One North Team Of The Year
Position | Player | Club |
Goalkeeper | Robert Budd | Thamesmead Town |
Rightback | Craig Pope | Grays Athletic |
Leftback | Ashley Probets | Thamesmead Town |
Centreback | Junior Baker | Grays Athletic |
Centreback | Jay Leader | Aveley |
Midfield | Joao Carlos | Grays Athletic |
Midfield | Kenny Beaney | Grays Athletic |
Midfield | Leon Lalite | Grays Athletic |
Midfield | Cory Whitely | Cheshunt |
Striker | Luke Callander | Heybridge Swifts |
Striker | James Cox | Aveley |
Division One South Team Of The Year
Position | Player | Club |
Goalkeeper | Daren Ibrahim | Maidstone United |
Rightback | Tommy Osbourne | Maidstone United |
Leftback | Thomas Mills | Maidstone United |
Centreback | Steve Watts | Maidstone United |
Centreback | Lewis Gonsalves | Dulwich Hamlet |
Midfield | Erhun Oztumer | Dulwich Hamlet |
Midfield | David Cook | Hythe Town |
Midfield | Nyrgn Clunis | Dulwich Hamlet |
Midfield | Alex Flisher | Maidstone United |
Striker | Daniel Carr | Dulwich Hamlet |
Striker | Stuart King | Maidstone United |