Stewey Scoops Top Fans' Award
STEWART DOWNING scooped the top honours at last night's Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club's Player of the Year awards.
The England international winger was the clear members' choice after a campaign which saw him add a goalscoring touch to his willingness to create chances for others.
David Wheater was the other big winner, being named both Young Player of the Year and the John Ovington Community Player of the Year.
There was a healthy turnout from the Boro players and management at the popular annual event, held in the Riverside Stadium's Legends Lounge.
The winners were kept a closely guarded secret and 23-year-old Downing was clearly delighted to receive the accolade.
"As a local lad there's nothing better than playing for your local team and getting support from your local fans," he told host Alastair Brownlee. "As a team we've done okay at times this season but we want to do better next time.
"It's going to be a massive season for us and we have to improve. If we can get a few players in to add to the squad we should be aiming for the top ten."
And having recently signed a new five-year contract he added: "I've signed for a reason, to win things, and hopefully we can do that in that time."
Downing is a previous winner of both the young player and community awards and Wheater will be hoping to follow the same path as his team-mate by one day picking up the top trophy.
Boro's media manager Dave Allan said the club are Premier League champions when it comes to community work, thanks in part to the contribution of the players, who are expected to once again register more community appearances than any other club with more than 300.
"A number of the players gave us great support during the Premier League's Creating Chances community initiative when the likes of Teesside Hospice, Butterwick Children's Hospice and the club's own community work benefited," he said.
Emanuel Pogatetz, Ross Turnbull, Jeremie Aliadiere, Tony McMahon and former winners Downing and Lee Cattermole were among the contenders for the award, but Wheater was the runaway winner.
"It's good thing to do things for the fans, I remember when we were kids we enjoyed seeing the players," said the Redcar-born defender. "There are so many things round here for us to do and it keeps us busy."
Moments later he was back up to collect the Young Player award.
"I thought I might have gone on loan but there were a few injuries at the start and hopefully I've proved myself," he said of his remarkable arrival on the Premier League stage.
"I thank my fellow defenders who've kept me right all the way through and the manager and the coaches for keeping me right."
Gareth Southgate picked up a special award on behalf of long-serving goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who was unable to attend.
"In this day and age it's very rare for someone to stay at one club for as long as Mark has," he said.
"When someone stays that long it's sometimes easy to overlook what a player has done for the club.
"For Schwarz to have been playing at the level he has for as long as he has is testament to him , his professionalism and his approach to training and I'm delighted he's been recognised in this way."
MOSC chair Sue Gardener thanked the players for their turnout and also gave out gifts to people who had helped with events throughout the year, including a bouquet of flowers to community liaison officer Diane O'Connell.
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Previous winners
SUPPORTERS CLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR
1996-97 Juninho
1997-98 Gianluca Festa
1998-99 Hamilton Ricard & Robbie Mustoe
1999-2000 Paul Ince
2000-01 Alen Boksic
2001-02 Gareth Southgate
2002-03 Jonathan Greening
2003-04 George Boateng
2004-05 Bolo Zenden
2005-06 Yakubu
2006-07 Emanuel Pogatetz
2007-08 Stewart Downing
SUPPORTERS CLUB YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
2003-04 Stewart Downing
2004-05 Tony McMahon
2005-06 Lee Cattermole
2006-07 Andrew Taylor
2007-08 David Wheater
