WeAreBrighton.com End of Season Awards 2015/16 - The
Polls
It has been quite the
season for Brighton and Hove Albion. A record points
haul in the Championship, a record low number of defeats
in a season and just two goals away from automatic
promotion to the Premier League. Not bad for a side who
avoided relegation the previous year by one place.
And now is the time to
recognise the achievements of this remarkable set of players
with the coveted WeAreBrighton.com End of Season Awards
2015-16.
There are 11 categories to chose from including the
coveted Player of the Season award won by such players as
Andrew Crofts, Glenn Murray, Liam Bridcutt and Stephen Ward
who all left within six months of taking the crown. Curse,
what curse?
One new category has been
added this year and that is Celebration of the Season.
Having scored the most goals in the division the players
have demonstrated some excellent ways of celebrating and
their efforts in that department have not gone unnoticed.
Happy voting!
WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Season
Previous Winners: Inigo Calderon (2015) Stephen Ward (2014), Liam Bridcutt (2013, 2012), Glenn Murray (2011),
Andrew Crofts (2010)
Bruno:
Captain for most of January onwards, he started
every league game of the campaign and put in
some sensational performances bursting forward
from right back. His most consistent season yet.
Wouldn't know he is in his mid 30s.
Lewis Dunk:
Once the will-he-won't-he transfer saga that saw
him dropped in the opening weeks was over he
battled back to become a regular in one of the
meanest defences in the division, forming a
superb partnership with Connor Goldson.
Tomer Hemed:
A superb debut campaign in England in which he
notched 17 goals in all competitions. Remarkable
return when you factor in the fact he scored
just once between October and February. Netted
11 in 17 in the run in.
Beram Kayal:
The midfielder didn't start three league games
all season and they ended in a draw with
Preston, a hammering at Cardiff and a draw with
Sheffield Wednesday. Played through most of it
with injury as well.
Anthony Knockaert:
His arrival in January was the catalyst for that
superb run of form in the second half of the
season. He weighed in with a number of goals,
assists and was generally unplayable at home. A
stunning signing.
Dale Stephens:
Another player to have hardly missed a game this
season, he popped up with some vital goals and
alongside Kayal looked to have built one of the
most promising midfield partnerships in the
division.
David Stockdale:
With so many games won in the first half of the
season by one goal, his string of world class
saves were not only impressive but point
earning. Without them, we'd have been nowhere
near the top three.
Goal of the
Season
Previous Winners: Rohan Ince (2015), Jake Forster-Caskey (2014),
Craig Mackail-Smith (2013), Inigo Calderon
(2012), Liam Bridcutt (2011), Gary Dicker
(2010)
Solly
March v
MK Dons home:
McDons made a right hash out of clearing a
corner after Lewis Dunk caused mayhem in the
box with the ball eventually falling to
Solly March 25 yards out who smashed it into
the top left hand corner.
James
Wilson v Charlton home:
The Man United loanee marked his first start
for the Albion by collecting the ball just
inside his own half, dribbling past three
players and slotting home under the
goalkeeper.
Dale
Stephens v QPR away: Rajiv van La Parra's
corner was headed back into the danger area
by Lewis Dunk where the midfielder was
lurking to produce a superb intuitive
overhead kick with the ball only a matter of
feet off the ground.
Anthony
Knockaert
v Burnley home:
Jamie Murphy feeds his fellow wideman with
the French midfielder tricking and turning
one way and then the other in the box and
with the tackles flying in, he unleashed a
drive that not even four goalkeepers could
keep out.
Anthony
Knockaert v QPR home:
We've been particularly rubbish at set
pieces in the last few seasons. That all
changed with this stunning free kick bent up
and around the wall and into the top right
hand corner of the goal.
Jiri Skalak
v QPR home:
A quick counter attack saw the ball bounce
off a QPR defender straight into the path of
the Czech winger who unleashed an absolute
thuderbastard of a volley into the top
corner from a full 35 yards.
Last Minute Goal of the
Season
Previous Winners: Inigo Calderon (2015), Leonardo Ulloa (2014), David
Lopez (2013), Will Buckley
(2012)
Tomer Hemed
v Fulham away:
Jake Forster-Caskey's inch perfect pass set away
Kazenga LuaLua who earned the Albion a last
minute penalty. Up steps Tomer Hemed with nerves
of steel to slot home and give the Albion a 2-1
win.
Bobby Zamora v The Leeds United away:
A fairytale first goal of his second spell for
the returning legend. Gaetan Bong slipped a
clever ball through and the veteran showed all
his experience to dink over the onrushing
goalkeeper for a 2-1 success.
Steve Sidwell v Nottingham Forest away:
Anthony Knockaert came charging in from the
right, past five men with the ball eventually
bobbling to Steve Sidwell who lashed home a 90th
minute winner to keep the promotion dream alive.
Tomer Hemed v Charlton away:
Another last minute penalty from the Israeli
although with the Albion 2-1 up this lacked the
drama of his effort at Fulham. Still, another
welcome goal as we tried to haul in
Middlesbrough's superior goal difference.
James Wilson v Derby home:
The last minute of the last home game of the
regular season and David Stockdale is up for the
corner, causing chaos in the box. The ball
eventually falls to James Wilson who smashes
home to secure a 1-1 draw.
Celebration of the Season
Previous Winners: New category!
Sam Baldock
forward roll v Fulham away:
With an Olympics to come in 2016, Sam Baldock
and Kazenga LuaLua stake their claim for a
synchronised gymnastics spot with a perfect
demonstration of a forward roll.
Hemed climbs
the hoardings v Fulham away:
The striker celebrates his last minute penalty
winner at sunny Craven Cottage by climbing onto
the advertising hoarding at the front of a
packed away end to be mobbed by team mates and
fans.
LuaLua's
backflips v Ipswich away:
Kazenga LuaLua opens the scoring at Ipswich
and follows it with a cartwheel and four back
flips, after which he falls over. The
celebration took a lot out of him as he didn't
score again all season.
Knoackert &
Hemed salute v The Leeds United:
Tomer Hemed nets his second of the game and is
joined in celebration by Anthony Knockaert which
involved some weird high five thing and then a
military style salute.
The players
pile v QPR home:
After Jiri Skalak's stunning 35 yarder against
QPR, every player in blue and white bar David
Stockdale rushes forward for a classic
old-school style bundle in front of the North
Stand.
Memorable Moment of the Season
Previous Winners: Fulham away (2015), Forest away (2014), Palace
home (2013), Doncaster home
(2012), Charlton away
(2011), Southampton away (2010)
Ipswich away:
A tough away game against one of the divisions
better sides, the Albion put on a stunning
performance to win 3-2. It was the moment that
made many of us realise we had something
special.
Together v
Hull City:
In the aftermath of the Shoreham Airshow
Disaster, the club came together to pay tribute
in a moving ceremony before the visit of Hull.
It was everything that makes you proud to be a
Brighton fan.
Zamora scores
in front of the North Stand:
Arguably the greatest striker the club has
ever had finally did what most of us thought he
would never get the chance to do - scoring in
front of the North Stand with a great finish v
Bristol City.
Comeback from
2-0 down v Charlton:
The unbeaten start to the season looked like
it was all but over as relegation threatened
Charlton stormed into a 2-0 lead at The Amex.
Cue a stunning comeback as the Albion rallied to
win 3-2.
MK Dons away:
Some incredibly sensible pricing from McDons
saw 7,000 fans head to stadium:mk where the
Albion secured another three points in the
promotion charge as the hosts missed a last
minute penalty. What a rollercoaster.
Home playoff
atmosphere:
The best atmosphere at The Amex? Easily. A sea
of blue and white roared the Albion on to a
dominant first half display but they couldn't
quite get the job done to overcome the odds and
make Wembley.
Dismissal of the Season
Previous Winners: Adrian Colunga (2015), Leonardo Ulloa (2014), Ashley
Barnes (2013), Mauricio Taricco (2012,
2011), Colin Hawkins (2010)
Jamie
Murphy v Bolton away:
A loose bit of control saw the ball run away
from the winger and as he attempted to
retrieve it, he slipped over with the result
being a quite unlucky two footed lunge that
resulted in a red card.
Lewis Dunk v
QPR away: 2-1 up away from home against
a recently relegated Premier League side and
already on a booking? One thing not to do is
fly into a totally unneeded challenge to
secure yourself a second yellow and with it
a red.
Lewis Dunk
v Derby home: He doesn't learn does he?
A must win game in which you are trailing
1-0 is not the time to make an unnecessarily
tackle to take your second yellow of the
game, second red of the season and a two
game ban.
Dale
Stephens v Middlesbrough away:
The tackle that some of our support will be
talking about in 10 years time. The
midfielder wins the ball but in the
aftermath leaves a bullet hole wound in
Gaston Ramirez's leg. Straight red from Mike
Dean.
Flair
Moment of the Season
Previous Winners: Chris O'Grady (2015), Andrea Orlandi (2014), Liam
Bridcutt (2013), Vicente (2012), Cristian Baz
(2011), Inigo Calderon (2010)
Uwe
Hunemeier's use of English:
It is always good when we sign a player from
foreign lands and his English produces great
phrases. Take the BFG for example who described
the gluing together of his head after a nasty
whack as "my bonce is locked"
James Wilson
is sick:
Plenty of people were struggling with New Years
Days hangovers, James Wilson included seemingly
as he was caught by the Sky camera being sick on
the pitch before kick off against Wolves. (Yes,
we know he was ill)
Hemed's
penalty v The Leeds United:
Shades of Cristian Baz this one as the striker
stepped up to take a penalty at home to The
Leeds United and coolly scooped the ball into
the corner of the goal.
Skalak
uploads a photo of himself in a call centre:
Jiri Skalak is an absolute joy on social media.
His finest work uploading a picture to
Instagram of himself as a call centre worker
with the phrase "Hello this is Skalak. How may I
assist you?"
Uwe Hunemeier
& Solly March in the away end:
Chairman and former chairman we are used to in
the away end. Players? Not so much. There were
wild scenes on the concourse at the Riverside as
Uwe Hunemeier & Solly March joined the party.
Colin
Calderwood knocks over Aitor Karanka:
A scuffle erupts on the touchline at the
Riverside. As Boro boss Aitor Karanka tries to
settle things down, Colin Calderwood comes from
nowhere to knock him flying. Totally
unnecessarily but totally brilliant.
Villain of the Season
Previous Winners: David Burke (2015), Nigel Adkins (2014), El Hadj
Diouf (2013), Glenn Murray (2012). Nigel Adkins
(2011), Dean Hammond (2010)
Joey Barton:
His performance in the home game with
Burnley was the that of the ultimate pantomime
villain. Constantly chatted up the referee to
avoid a card, stamped on Beram Kayal. How he was
on the pitch by the end is a mystery.
Mike Dean:
Ah, Mike Dean. To all intents and purposes
he was going to book Dale Stephens for that
tackle away at Middlesbrough. Then he saw a
little bit of blood, changed his mind and the
rest. as they say, is history.
Derby County
fans:
Not only have they been an abomination on
Twitter all season, but they also showed real
class when booing Solly March after he was
stretchered off at the iPro with a season ending
injury. Nice.
Eddie Howe:
So a deal was all to set to be done with
Bournemouth to bring Glenn Murray in in January.
And then that smug prick Eddie Howe vetoed it at
the very last minute. Remember, we were just two
goals from promotion...
Look-a-like of the Season
Previous Winners: Neil from The Inbetweeners
(2015)
Bruno - Abu
Azarel:
Can this seasons performances from Bruno be
put down to his new beard? Nobody can say for
certain. One thing we do know is that he now
looks rather like Abu Azarel, the Angel of Death
who is fighting against ISIS in Iraq.
Inigo
Calderon
- Jesus Christ with short hair:
It can be no coincidence that one of the
biggest heroes in the Albion's club history who
is known for his work in the community shares an
uncanny resemblance with the late Jesus Christ.
Chris Hughton
- Barack Obama:
While Barack Obama's message of hope may have
failed with the American people, Chris Hughton
has done everything in his power to restore it
to fans of Brighton and Hove Albion.
Liam Rosenior
- Lionel Richie:
When Rosenior was at Hull City he even had the
Lionel Richie dreadlocks. Even without them, he
still cuts a striking similarity to the man who
once made a perfect reconstruction of a woman's
face out of clay despite being blind.
Sexiest Player of the Season
Previous Winners: Inigo Calderon (2015), Andrea Orlandi (2014, 2013),
Vicente (2012)
Inigo
Calderon:
After the controversy that surrounded his
omission in 2014, the Spanish right back took
the crown last year. Can he make it a fifth win
in a row for Spain to continue the countries
dominance over this award?
Gordon Greer:
His career may be winding down and his hair
may be thinning but if a rugged Scotsman who
looks more like a rockstar than a footballer is
your thing than Gordo is a damn good looking
man.
Tomer Hemed:
The striker is married to a former Miss Israel
who is absolutely stunning. That alone means he
must be good looking enough to become a debutant
in the category. The fact he isn't a bad
footballer either probably helps.
Solly March:
Many of our fans would have dreamed of nursing
Solly March back to health after his
season-ending injury and it isn't hard to see
why with his boyish good looks and the fact he
is an England under 21 international.
Dale Stephens:
He may have busted open Gaston Ramirez's leg,
but don't let that fool you into thinking the
man is a fighter rather than a lover. His
northern accent is also a big bonus in making
people swoon.
James Wilson:
Another one who gets in due to his boyish good
looks and his youthful enthusiasm. He is also
technically a Manchester United player which
despite the fact they are now rather crap has a
certain allure to it.
Best Bald Head of the Season
Previous Winners: Bruno (2015, 2014, 2013),
Gordon Greer (2012)
Bruno:
Already a three time winner of having the best
bald head at the club, Bruno has gone a step
further this season and teemed it delightfully
with a hipster beard of the sort you see often
in the North Laines but rarely on a football
pitch.
Inigo
Calderon:
His game time has been lacking slightly this
season but when he has been on the pitch -
particularly in wet weather - you can still make
it that shiny bonce that is beginning to grow
alarmingly from his crown.
Gordon Greer:
The hair loss that has been noticeable at the
back for some time has now crept to the front
with receding going on at the side of the head,
leaving what can only be described as a classic
island.
Niki Maenpaa:
We were slightly upset when the goalkeeper
with the shiniest head in Europe arrived in the
summer with a full head of hair and beard. Fear
not though, by the time January rolled around
normal service was resumed. How is it so shiny?
