The Fratton Faithful Awards 2015

Last updated : 04 May 2015 By Jim Bonner

The 2014/2015 season is yet another campaign to consign to the depths of our memories as we'll all try to forget it as soon as possible.

Therefore, without wishing to prolong the pain any longer than it needs to go on for, here are the winners of the Fratton Faithful Awards for 2015.

Player Of The Season

Let's be honest, there was only one player who was ever going to win this.

Whilst James Dunne has proved to be a very useful addition to the midfield given how Pompey's form dropped miserably when he was injured and whilst Paul Robinson did his best to marshall what was a poor defensive unit on the whole, there has only been one consistently outstanding performer to wear a Portsmouth shirt this season.

With seventeen goals and six assists from midfield, Jed Wallace has proven he is too good for League Two and he will almost certainly be plying his trade in the Championship next season.

Some may criticise his decision making and wanting to do too much on his own but his ability to drive forward and take a man on is something not seen often enough by other Pompey players. The 21-year-old will be missed and will be extremely difficult to replace.

WINNER: JED WALLACE

Worst Player Of The Season

Whilst the best player award was an easy decision, this one was the total opposite. There were quite a few candidates to choose from after such a terrible season but the field was narrowed down eventually.

Nicky Shorey has been going through the motions this season and it will be good to finally be rid of the underperforming left back whilst Dan Butler has also come in for plenty of criticism for the amount of individual errors he makes, despite his age.

Alex Wynter was dreadful despite being loaned from a Premier League club whilst Danny Hollands and Craig Westcarr have both been extremely disappointing given their goalscoring exploits of last season.

However, none of these can compare to the absolutely embarrassing performances of the so-called Pompey "captain" Ben Chorley. Fans cringed as they watched him get given the runaround by Plymouth's attackers on live TV and other performances have been just as hapless as the basics of defending seem to have been forgotten by him.

In fact, Chorley has been so utterly terrible that not only does he win this award for the season but he could well be considered to be the worst centre back this club has ever had. Given that the likes of Carl Tiler and Colin Blant would be competing with him for this "honour", that is some achievement.

WINNER: BEN CHORLEY

Signing Of The Season

Andy Awford's record in the transfer market has been questionable to say the least but he did make a couple of welcome additions to the squad.

James Dunne added some much needed steel to the midfield and he should be a key player next season as will Matt Tubbs whose goals will always come in handy for a (hopeful) promotion push next season, although you wonder why Awford didn't sign him in the summer when he had the chance.

But still, the addition of Paul Robinson to the club has been an excellent one. He clearly has leadership qualities, chips in with the odd goal and will surely be named as captain for next season, having made his loan move from Millwall permanent in January.

Whilst Pompey's defensive record has been less than impressive this season it's fair to say that it would be a whole lot worse without Robinson.

WINNER: PAUL ROBINSON

Worst Signing Of The Season

Andy Awford made some terrible blunders in the transfer market this season although nobody could really blame him for signing Danny Hollands and Craig Westcarr when he did, despite how badly they have flopped this season.

But it was the manager's utilisation of the loan market which truly baffled many Pompey fans. Borrowing Cole Kpekawa was pointless, Lee Holmes was useless, Miles Storey wasn't played when he clearly had potential and Michael Drennan was just as ineffective as he was last season.

They still weren't quite as bad as Alex Wynter, though. Some may defend him by claiming that he is a centre back but a player of supposed Premier League pedigree with Crystal Palace should be able to adapt to a full back position at League Two level.

The fact he couldn't defend, couldn't run and couldn't cross makes him arguably the worst right back seen at Portsmouth since Yassin Moutaouakil, albeit that being only a season ago!

WINNER: ALEX WYNTER

Goal Of The Season

There haven't been too many memorable goals scored by Pompey players this season. For some reason, Joe Devera's strike from the edge of the box against Stevenage sticks in the mind probably due to how unexpected it was.

A lot of people would say Wallace's fierce strike from distance at Carlisle is the goal of the season, although Alan Knight still insists the keeper should have saved it.

However, my personal favourite came early in the season in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Yeovil as Craig Westcarr took down a pass into the box with a superb first touch and then produced a perfectly sublime lob over the Glovers goalkeeper to give Pompey a 3-0 lead. A technically outstanding goal which can be seen by clicking here and skipping to 40 seconds in.

WINNER: CRAIG WESTCARR VS YEOVIL (A)

Best Home Match Of The Season

There weren't too many matches at Fratton Park to choose from this season but the 3-0 maulings of Morecambe and Carlisle are up there with the best performances at home this season.

The best of them may have been when Northampton came to town back in August and were soundly beaten thanks to an excellent all-round performance that raised false hope for the season ahead.

Still, even that doesn't beat the manic comeback win over Tranmere Rovers on a cold Tuesday night in February. Micky Adams' men held a 2-0 lead going into the final fifteen minutes only for Westcarr to pull one back.

Andy Awford then threw caution to the wind and played four strikers in search of two goals, which ultimately came from Ryan Taylor to send Fratton Park absolutely crazy! Relive the madness by clicking here.

WINNER: PORTSMOUTH 3 TRANMERE ROVERS 2

Worst Home Match Of The Season

Boos have rang out of Fratton Park after a defeat far too often this season but some of those losses were more deserving of those howls of derision than others.

Losing 3-2 to Accrington Stanley having brought the game back to 2-2 after being a couple of goals down was difficult to take but worse was watching Shrewsbury being made to look like Barcelona thanks to an inept Pompey performance on a horribly rainy day to boot.

However, there were two games that ultimately stood out as prime candidates for this award.

To be a goal up against Southend only to then concede twice with fans turning on Andy Awford isn't something that we'll want to remember. Paul McCallum's idiotic dismissal for violent conduct at the end just made matters worse as it looked like the manager was going to get the boot.

The Southend result only takes the silver medal, though, as there was one performance at Fratton Park that was even worse. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy but when AFC Wimbledon turned up and turned Pompey over on Boxing Day after an abysmal performance that saw Matt Tubbs score a ridiculously easy goal against his former employers in the biting cold, there was absolutely no festive cheer in Portsmouth that day.

Pompey also failed to register a meaningful effort on target whilst Dan Butler was sent off for a second yellow card. Some fans claimed it was the worst performance seen at Fratton Park for years and it would be hard to disagree with them.

WINNER: PORTSMOUTH 0 AFC WIMBLEDON 2

Best Away Match Of The Season

This is the easiest award to give out given the severe lack of competition for it. The 1-0 win at Oxford was jammy whilst the 2-1 victory at Mansfield came against ten men. Only one win remains to talk about and what can be said that hasn't been said already?

Pompey fans turned up at Cambridge's Abbey Stadium fearing yet another dismal performance and yet somehow the team managed to double the amount of league goals they scored on the road by slamming six past the U's in a devastating display of attacking football.

Click here for the match highlights of a truly unforgettable day out for any Portsmouth fan lucky enough to be there.

WINNER: CAMBRIDGE UNITED 2 PORTSMOUTH 6

Worst Away Match Of The Season

Oh Jesus, there were so many candidates up for this dishonour it was extremely difficult to single out just one of them. The fact that the goalless bore draws at York, Hartlepool and Dagenham weren't even considered for this award tells you just how atrocious Pompey were on the road this season.

The 3-0 thrashings at Bury and Plymouth as well as the 1-0 surrender at Wimbledon all take third place with second place going to the away match at Tranmere, who, despite not winning a match for what seemed like an eternity under Micky Adams, predictably turned Pompey over although the manner of the 3-1 defeat was disgusting.

And yet that still isn't the worst performance of the season away from Fratton Park.

Prior to this campaign, Portsmouth had never lost a competitive match to a non-league team. All of that changed when they produced a truly gutless showing at the Recreation Ground as Aldershot Town deservedly dumped the 2008 FA Cup winners out of the competition on live TV. The defeat was a disgrace and a shameful moment that history will never let any of us forget.

WINNER: ALDERSHOT 1 PORTSMOUTH 0

Moment Of The Season

To be frank, there hasn't been a single joyous football moment to remember this season. The on-the-pitch matters have been extremely disappointing whilst the off-pitch dramas in staff being sacked and board members resigning have just made matters worse.

Therefore, the moment of the season was simply when it ended and put us all out of our misery. Hopefully, next year there will be a much happier moment to remember.

WINNER: THE FINAL WHISTLE AFTER THE YORK MATCH