Page 8 - Deal Round Up July 2019

would continue to chip in and be an integral part of their community.
“It’s just lovely to get recognition for everybody,” Carroll added. It’s great for all our volunteers and
people who work so hard to make all those things happen. It’s lovely to be selected for the award
and be given that recognition.”
Buildbase National Game Awards 2019: PFA Fair Play Award – Stockport County
Respect not only brings its rewards off the pitch but also on it. National League North champions
Stockport County have led by example for the past two seasons with their discipline record.
Jim Gannon’s County topped the FA Fair Play chart for the second consecutive year after receiving
just 41 yellow cards and only one red card in 55 competitive first team matches.
Stockport clinched the National North title on the final day of the season while also reaching
the FA Cup second round and the FA Trophy semi-finals. BT Sport pundit and The NLP’s Adam
Virgo collected the accolade on
Stockport’s behalf, who had a
clean record for dissent and foul
and abusive language across
Steps 1-4 and the overall best
disciplinary record amongst the
296 clubs.
Manager Jim Gannon collected
a similar award for the whole
of the Football League when he
managed County in the 2008-
09 season and also won the
Fair Play trophy at Dundalk in
2005. He said: “This award is
great recognition to our staff and
players for the manner in which we play the game. For the second year in a row we have had
no cautions for dissent or fouls and abusive language, which shows our respect for referees and
officials.”
Buildbase National Game Awards 2019: Red Insure Team of the Year and Field
Turf Manager of the Year – Justin Edinburgh, Leyton Orient
This is the award that Justin Edinburgh received before the sad
news of his passing was announced.
Justin was asked to rise out of his chair twice on the day to
accept awards but was reluctant to take any credit away from his
players for their performances over the course of the campaign.
“I am not silly enough to think that this is all about me, obviously
I play a part but so too does everyone else and, most importantly,
the supporters,” said the Orient boss. “They are the heartbeat of
this club – they stood by it during very difficult times when they
could have turned their backs on us. It is a great honour to collect the FieldTurf Manager of the Year
prize and I can’t stress enough that this has all been possible because of the team. We are now
back where we wanted to be and there are a lot of big clubs in the National League who probably
feel the same and want to be up in the EFL. We have had the added pressure of being the biggest
club in the league and, home and away, we were the biggest supported club. We always found that
when people came to Leyton Orient it was their cup final. Teams are built on trust and relationships
and we have some real pros at this club and senior leaders who have set the standards for the
young players. There are some fantastic young players who have blossomed at this club under the
great stewardship of my staff and when you have that blend, there is every chance that you are
going to be successful. I am hoping we can emulate what Spurs have done this season, to get to
the Champions League final is quite incredible, so for me it has been an incredible season all round
for both the team I support and the team I manage.”
A gentleman to the end. RIP Justin Edinburgh.
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