VOTING FOR THE FOUR PLAYER OF THE SEASON AWARDS HAS OPENED, SO LET’S HAVE A LOOK AT THE RUNNERS AND RIDERS. EVERY DAY UNTIL SUNDAY WE’LL GO THROUGH THE CONTENDERS FOR ONE OF THE TROPHIES

The Men’s Young Player of the Season award is open to any player who made at least one appearance for the first team last season, and was aged 22 or under when we kicked off on the first day against Eastleigh.

That leaves us with 8 contenders: Ryan Austin, Ryan Barnett, Jake Bickerstaff, Scott Butler, Max Cleworth, Sam Dalby and Kai Evans.

THE CONTENDERS

It’s a fascinating field, with plenty of options. It’s tempting to see Barnett as the favourite, because his contribution at the end of the season was massive. His directness down the right and consistent quality delivery into the box were huge factors in our successful title push, and minimised the impact of losing the excellent Anthony Forde.

However, it’s most certainly not a one-horse race, and Barnett only made 12 appearances for us last season, which might count against him. In contrast, Sam Dalby has enjoyed a superb debut season with us, making 49 appearances and scoring 8 goals.

He has progressed superbly: Phil Parkinson will have hoped to see Dalby kick on after a promising season at Southend, but I suspect he’ll be surprised at just how quickly Dalby has developed. By the end of the season he had gone from a useful understudy to a legitimate alternative to Ollie Palmer, which is saying something!

Max Cleworth holds the trophy, and is certainly worthy of consideration again. He managed 27 appearances, many of which were in the first half of the season when he played a key role in establishing the momentum of our push for the title. Ultimately he lost his place as our approach became a little gung ho and his ability going forwards was jettisoned for the more prosaic approach of Jordan Tunnicliffe. However, that was a reaction to the need for a shift of style and the pedigree of his replacement, not a slur on Cleworth, who remains a massive part of Wrexham’s future.

Who’s won this award before? Click here and find out

Jake Bickerstaff is often mentioned in the same breath as Cleworth because they broke into the first team together during our bizarre campaign in the Scottish Challenge Cup.

While his chances have been limited, in part by the form of Dalby, his progress certainly should be acknowledged. He looked like a real leader of the line in his FA Trophy starts, his game appearing to have developed as he held the ball up well and had a greater goal threat. The variety of finishes he pulled out for those goals suggested he could develop into a real penalty area danger.

The other eligible candidates have had less pitch time: Austin, James and Evans were restricted to a handful of substitute appearances, but Scott Butler deserves a mention. His debut at Altrincham was cut short by injury, but he’d looked very solid in the heart of our defence, and clearly has potential. He looked to be enjoying his Summer in the States too!

PREDICTION

For me, I think it’s probably Dalby who should win, although Barnett’s impact was massive. The small number of games he played makes it too close to call. Cleworth rounds off the podium.

To vote for the awards, go to the club website.