The votes have been cast and winners of our Player of the Year awards for the 2021/22 season have been named!
It was our number eight, Ben Garrity, who scooped up the most awards following his impressive debut season with the Vale.
Garrity was one of the biggest success stories for the club last campaign, quickly cementing himself as a mainstay in Darrell Clarke’s side, with his seemingly endless energy and attacking prowess making him a fan favourite.
The man deemed ‘The Best on Earth’ via his catchy chant from the stands, ended the season with 12 goals and one assist, and has been rewarded for his efforts with three awards.
Garrity was voted as our Fans Player of the Year, Players Player of the Year, Supporters Club Player of the Year and Official Away Travel Player of the Year as he played a major role in our promotion to Sky Bet League One.
The award for Goal of the Season had a number of excellent contenders, such as David Worrall’s stunning first-time strike against Harrogate Town, Tom Conlon’s beautiful free-kick at Mansfield Town and Brad Walker’s long-range winner against Oldham Athletic.
However, there was only ever going to be one winner, as Jamie Proctor won the award for his outstanding scissor-kick volley against Sutton United at Vale Park.
Our number 13 ended the campaign with 13 goals and his Paulo Di Canio-esque strike was the pick of the bunch.
Young Player of the Year was awarded to goalkeeper Aidan Stone, who had great success in the side during the latter half of the season, where he cemented himself as first-choice keeper in the side.
Across the season Stone made 28 appearances and kept 11 clean sheets, with his stand-out performances across the final 15 games of the league campaign earning him huge adoration from the Vale fans.
Stone played a key part in our Play-Off success, keeping a clean sheet in both our second-leg win over Swindon Town and the Final against Mansfield Town.
The most memorable moment of Stones season was his penalty shootout save against Swindon Town during the Play-Off Semi-Final second-leg, where he denied Josh Davison’s potentially match winning spot kick.
At the other end of the pitch, the award for Top Goalscorer was won by James Wilson, who netted 15 times across all competitions, including goals in our final game of the season away at Exeter City and then each of our three Play-Off fixtures.
Wilson enjoyed the most prolific campaign of his career and our number nine scored an array of memorable goals, such as his FA Cup hat-trick against League One Accrington Stanley on his way to finishing our top scorer for the 2021/22 season.
The prize for Club Player of the Year was awarded to our captain, Tom Conlon, for his efforts towards helping the side throughout the season from both on and off the pitch.
Conlon, who scooped up five end of season awards last year, continued to display his on-field attributes during the start to the season, as he scored four goals and assisted five times during his 23 appearances.
Unfortunately, Conlon’s season was cut short in January due to injury, but he continued to play a central role to the team from an off-field position, maintaining all his captaincy responsibilities such as speaking to the team before, during and after games, displaying his outstanding leadership qualities, especially during Darrell Clarke’s leave of absence.
For these actions and more our skipper was named our Club Player of the Year for the 2021/22 season by the management team and board of directors.
Tommy McDermott was named Youth Player of the Year, following a season where he netted six times and notched 11 assists in 32 games for the Youth Team, with his impressive campaign earning him a place training with the First Team during the latter part of the season.
Confirmation of the award’s and award winners can be found below:
Fan’s Player of the Year – Ben Garrity
Player's Player of the Year – Ben Garrity
Club Player of the Year – Tom Conlon
Goal of the Season – Jamie Proctor vs Sutton United
Top Goalscorer – James Wilson (15 goals)
Young Player of the Year – Aidan Stone
Youth Player of the Year – Tommy McDermott
Supporter’s Club Player of the Year – Ben Garrity
Official Away Support Player of the Year–Ben Garrity
PFA Community Champion - Tom Conlon