LTLF Awards 2004

Every year LTLF gives you the chance to pick your heroes and villains of the previous season. This year was no exception, with the added bonus of Euro 2004 as well! The first set of awards were voted for after the season finished. Thanks go to the hundreds of people who voted and we hope to continue providing you with Forest-related entertainment and information next season.

Player of the Season: Andy Reid

In a season that was difficult to say the least, Andy Reid was the one shining light that made it worthwhile to turn up every week to watch Forest. His skill and creativity almost single-handedly kept Forest going in the dark months before Joe Kinnear arrived. It was little surprise then that he won through for this award with nearly 75% of the total votes.

The likes of Wes Morgan, Michael Dawson and Matheiu Louis-Jean picked up a handful of the other votes each, but nobody could come close to Reid for his impact on this campaign. In fact, he was so good that it is surprising he's still at the club at all. Despite attracting a lot of deserved attention from Premiership clubs, Joe Kinnear's £10m price tag has put a lot of bidders off so Forest fans look set to be able to enjoy his talents for part of next season at least.


Young Player of the Season: Wes Morgan

While Andy Reid also picked up 17% of the voting in this category, it was Wes Morgan's development as a defender this season that earned him this award. He also fought off competition from his more experienced team-mate Michael Dawson (9%) with some commanding performances. Under Paul Hart he was forced to fill in as left-back and stepped into Des Walker's shoes when he suffered injury, meeting and passing the required standards in both roles.


Most Improved Player: Gareth Taylor

This category was a strange one this year because almost all of the candidates earned their nominations not from improvement from one season to the next as is usual, but from improvements from one half the season to the next. No player optimised this more than Gareth Taylor: in the first half he struggled to find space in Hart's patient passing game, in the second he was a constant threat, thriving on good service provided by Kinnear's more direct approach.

He won 47% of the vote thanks to some strong performances and important goals at the end of the season. Gareth Williams also improved greatly under Kinnear and he came in second with 37%. Eion Jess was one of the few nominees to actually show improvement on last season and he got 11% of the votes.


Signing of the Season: Paul Evans

With so many players being brought into the club to help stave off the threat of relegation, it was perhaps surprising that one player ran away with this title. But Paul Evans won this award for two reasons: firstly, his performances, full of grit and a level of commitment not seen since Tony Vaughan's days at the City Ground. Secondly, his transfer fee of only £25,000 from Bradford made him a complete bargain.

In only eight games he has made himself a fans' favourite and earned 68% of the votes due to his part in helping Forest's end of season form. Signed at the same time, goalkeeper Paul Gerrard came in second with 25%. Gareth Taylor was the only other player to score significantly with just under 7%.


Worst Sale of the Year: Marlon Harewood

This year a special category was dedicated to the players the club allowed to leave - a direct consequence of which was our appalling start to the season. You decided that Marlon Harewood's £500,000 transfer to West Ham was the worst of the last 12 months and a major contributing factor in Forest's decline. In fact, it is possible to directly compare the beginning of the Reds' slide down the league to the time of his move away.

Riccy Scimeca was missed in midfield for most of the season and his free transfer move to Leicester came in second with 22%, while Jim Brennan and Jack Lester's moves to Norwich and Sheffield United respectively both scored around 10%.


Worst Player of the Season: Michael Stewart

When he was signed by Paul Hart on a season-long transfer last summer, Stewart was hailed as the next Paul Scholes, but Forest fans saw little to compare the two, except for their ginger hair. A series of disinterested performances saw Stewart become a waste of space in the team and unpopular among the fans.

Rumours of training field bust-ups with team-mates didn't help his standings. When Forest tried to send him back to Manchester United, they were forced to fulfill the majority of the contract and he sat in the reserves for the rest of the season. He received 66% of votes, beating Danny Sonner (20%) and Barry Roche (10%) to be named Forest's worst player of the season.


Best Match: Sheffield United 1 Forest 2, 03/01/04

It was an act of revenge as Forest's beat their play-off tormentors from last year, completing a league double over the Yorkshire rivals. Marlon King gave Forest the lead in a dull first half - in the second the Blades fought back, getting an equaliser through Alan Wright, but Gareth Taylor scored the winner with fifteen minutes to go with a powerful header.

This result was not only a sweet victory that dispelled some of last year's bad memories, it also represented a great period of form for the Reds. It won 32% of votes, with wins over Bradford, Ipswich and Sheffield United (Home) all tying for second place on 13%.


Best Moment: Gareth Taylor ending an 18-match losing streak with a last minute header against Bradford, 28/02/04

It ended a four-month streak without a league win and sent the City Ground wild. It was also a piece of brilliant technique as Gareth Taylor's mid-air header found the net. With just over 50% of the vote, it was decided that this was the single best moment of last season, beating David Johnson's two goals against Ipswich that ended our relegation worries (22%) and Andy Reid's stunning goal against West Ham (10%).


Worst Moment: David Johnson breaks his leg, 13/09/03

After his season before, everyone knew that Johnson would be a key player again this term. As he was stretchered off the pitch against Sheffield United, everyone in the ground knew that it was serious and would have a major impact on Forest's season. This was the worst moment of the campaign with 60% of votes, beating even the 'coffee cup' incident at Pride Park (24%) and Marlon Harewood's move to West Ham (9%).


Twat of the Season: Michael Stewart

Stewart picks up his second award thanks to his arrogant attitude and failure to live up to expectations. He was the narrow winner in this always hotly contested category. With 21% of the total votes, he beat Andy "Rugby Tackle" Hessenthaler (19%), Leicester City Football Club (14%) and "Racist" Ron Atkinson (13%). Last year's winner, Mark Cowburn was unable to retain his title, finishing in fifth place with 12%.


The following awards were voted for after Euro 2004.


Euro 2004 - Player of the Tournament: Wayne Rooney

Few would have predicted the impact on 18-year-old could have on a major tournament, but Wayne Rooney was inspiring to say the least. He almost single-handedly carried England into the quarter-finals. When he suffered an injury, England's hopes faded.

Although this ballot may have been slightly biased, Rooney won with 35% of votes. Official Player of the Tournament, Greek captain Theodoros Zagorakis only manged 9%, with his team-mate Traianos Dellas coming in second place with 23%. Milan Baros was third with 19%.


Euro 2004 - The 'Andre Silenzi' Award for Biggest Let-Down: David Beckham

The England captain's disappointing performances and terrible penalties earned him 46% of the votes here, beating other failures such as cheating Francesco Totti (18%), Thierry Henry (11%) and the entire German team (10%).


Euro 2004 - Best Match: Holland 2 Czech Rep 3 (Group D)

It was a tournament that rewarded sound tactics and hard work rather than flair and flamboyance, so it did not throw up many classic matches. However, the Holland-Czech Republic encounter had enough incident to fill an entire tournament: amazing goals, controversial refereeing decisions, and an amazing come-back from the Czechs.

It was the stand-out game of the summer and received 62% of votes cast. England's 4-2 win over Croatia (15%) was also memorable for fans, as was their 2-1 defeat to France (11%), although for different reasons.


Euro 2004 - Best Goal: Henrik Larsson (SWEDEN v Bulgaria)

It was one of the early goals in the tournament, but the sheer technical brilliance of Henrik Larsson's flying diving header to score against Bulgaria earned him this award with 27% of the votes. He beat Nuno Maniche's stunning long-range strike for Portugal in the semi-final against Holland (23%) and Jon Dahl Tomasson's volley from the edge of the area against Sweden (16%).


Euro 2004 - Best Manager: Otto Rehhagel (Greece)

German coach Otto Rehhagel faced little competition in this category after leading Greece to victory thanks to some very shrewd tactics, earning 84% of the votes. He became the first foreign coach to win a major tournament, beating Luiz Felipe Scolari of Portugal (8%) in the final.


Euro 2004 - Best England Player: Wayne Rooney

Rooney picks up his second award, the shining light of the England team during Euro 2004. Wayne has gone from promising starlet to international superstar in the space of a few games. He got 47% of the votes here, although the Arsenal duo Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole both caught the eye with 26% and 20% respectively.


LTLF Writers Award: Alan Fisher

No apparent signs of cheating in this category (for once) so Alan Fisher takes the title in his first season on the LTLF team. He has been a prolific contributor writing on many subjects and won 36% of the votes. TrickyMatt was once again a popular choice, landing 21% of the poll, while other regular contributors Adam Gray, Alastair Gunn and Daniel Hawkins all scored around 12%.