Owls star Johnson and Barnsley’s Rimmington honoured

York City and Sheffield United may be helping to change some minds, but Rotherham United have for weeks been regarded as Yorkshire’s only likely success story in this season’s Football League.
Sheffield Wednesday's Reda Johnson (left) recieves his PFA Player in the Community award from PFA Chairman Richie Humphreys at the Football League Awards 2014Sheffield Wednesday's Reda Johnson (left) recieves his PFA Player in the Community award from PFA Chairman Richie Humphreys at the Football League Awards 2014
Sheffield Wednesday's Reda Johnson (left) recieves his PFA Player in the Community award from PFA Chairman Richie Humphreys at the Football League Awards 2014

The Millers seem nailed on for a place in the League One play-offs and hopes are high at the New York Stadium that manager Steve Evans can pilot his side to a second successive promotion.

If that proves to be the case, Rotherham will get all the plaudits they deserve.

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After last weekend, however, the South Yorkshire club cannot be considered the only winners from the county after several of our clubs and supporters were honoured at the annual Football League awards night.

Middlesbrough, for instance, won the Family Club of the Year award after opening a 3,000-capacity new family area at the Riverside, while Doncaster Rovers were named as one of the regional winners of the Johnstone’s Paint community club of the year.

Sheffield Wednesday’s Reda Johnson was also given the PFA Player in the Community award.

Not only has the defender made more than 100 community appearances for the Owls over the last three years, he also made a substantial donation to allow a local school to purchase a computer system for the less physically able.

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At Sunday’s awards night, Barnsley stalwart Norman Rimmington was highly commended in the ‘Unsung Hero’ category while two of the region’s most loyal supporters were also honoured by the League.

In the Championship, Leeds United fan Phil Beeton scooped ‘Capital One Supporter of the Year’. The 61-year-old Elland Road fanatic said: “I went to my first Leeds game back in the 1950s, and I haven’t missed a league game since March 1967. I am currently on 1,998 consecutive league matches and will celebrate number 2,000 a week on Tuesday away at Bournemouth. I love supporting Leeds as much as I did on day one.”

Sheffield United devotee Brett Price won the League One award after the judges noted he had not missed a Blades game for 21 years until this season.

The judges said: “He attends all pre-season tours, reserve and youth team fixtures, and often travels to away games at this level as well. A true family man, Brett attends every match with his son Tom and would have been an ever-present this season as well had it not been for Tom’s international commitments with England’s Subbuteo squad.”

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Yorkshire missed out on any Player of the Year categories, with Leeds’s Ross McCormack pipped by Burnley’s Danny Ings in the Championship.

Selected winners


Championship Player of the Year: Danny Ings (Burnley).

League 1 Player of the Year: Adam Forshaw (Brentford).

League 2 Player of the Year: Gary Roberts (Chesterfield).

Football League Young Player of the Year: Will Hughes (Derby County).

Johnstone’s Paint Community Club of the Year: Brentford (Brentford Football Club Community Sports Trust).

North East Regional Winner: Doncaster Rovers (Doncaster Rovers Foundation).

Goal of the Year award: Franck Moussa (Coventry City).

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Outstanding managerial achievement award: Gary Johnson (Yeovil Town).

PFA Player in the Community award: Reda Johnson (Sheffield Wednesday).

Capital One Supporter of the Year: Phil Beeton (Leeds United).

League One divisional winner: Brett Price (Sheffield United).

Football League Family Club of the Year: Middlesbrough.

Unsung hero award: Frank Banks (Southend United – Community and Education Trust Volunteer).

Highly commended: Norman Rimmington (Barnsley – Assistant Kitman).