Boothen Roar Player Of The Season Review

Last updated : 14 May 2010 By Dan Buxton

Well Matthew Etherington won the Boothen Roar Player Of The Season at a canter but it didn't start off that way, it wasn't until the 10th game of the season he got into the top three of any poll and it was game 14 when he finally got a poll win.

The season started with Liam Lawrence getting Man of the Match in the opening day win ovger Burnley, a seasons peak as he didn't get another through a dusrupted season for the winger.

Rory Delap and Thomas Sorensen followed in the next two games before David Kitson's first Potters goal, away at Leyton Orient, saw him bag the Man of the Match award.

The awards were being spread around and Glenn Whelan, Abdoulaye Faye won awards before David Kitson became the first player to get two poll wins in the season. Sorensen was next to two poll wins, after Tuncay opened his account in the Carling Cup win over Blackpool.

Now was the start of Etherington's run but some great away displays saw Diao dominate Everton and then Simonsen shut out Tottenham at White Hart Lane, both displays bringing the MOTM award.

After Diego Arismendi picked up the award in the cup loss at Pompey and Etherington opened his account at home to Wolves the squads lack of emphasis on one player was there to see as the first 14 games of the season had produced twelve different Man of the Match's.

Etherington picked up the next award, for the away defeat at Hull, to top the table as he had more second and third places than Kitson and Sorensen, and, apart from a brief spell behind Sorensen, he would stay top of the pile as he continued on a run of fifteen top 3 finishes in nineteen games, including six top spots, before injury struck in the February FA Cup tie at Eastlands.

Players were starting to put little runs together, Thomas Sorensen climbing back to the summit after a pair of poll wins away at Blackburn and Arsenal before Tuncay finally started games, and immediately picked up two consecutive poll wins.

Post Christmas saw Dean Whitehead come to the fore and a hat trick of polls wins, the start of a 12 game streak inside the top 3, put him in the frame for top spot, being kept off by Etherington who followed Whitehead with three poll wins in four for himself.

Winger Etherington's injury allowed the awards to be shared and the six games he missed saw six different winners, but he hit the ground running on his return, a second place finish away at Burnley followed by a poll win in the home win against Hull and then five more top finishes as he clinched the title.

Kitson returned to the side and picked up the awards against Tottenham and Bolton before storming off at Chelsea and again finding himself frozen out. Ricardo Fuller was still in form though and finished the season well, picking up two late awards to cement second place, with Thomas Sorensen just being pushed down to the bronze position.