The FSF Writers Awards 2012

The FSF’s Football Writers Awards 2012 took place at Covent Garden’s Grand Connaught Rooms on Saturday evening (7th July). 200 fans were in attendance to see awards handed out across seven different categories recognising the best in amateur and professional writing.

Nominations opened in late April and almost 400 were received, from more than 1000 fans. The winners of the Writer, Podcast, and Book Awards were decided by a public vote. The Newspaper, Blogger, Website, and Fanzine awards were selected by an FSF panel.

Without further ado, the winners…

FSF Book of the Year (public vote):
Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World (Graham Hunter) – Taking the 2011 Champions League final as a starting point Hunter tells the tale of Barca through some of its most famous names – Guardiola, Cruyff, Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi.

FSF Blogger of the Year:
Andi Thomas (The FCF/SB Nation) – for his creative and often humourous take on the world of football. Consistently excellent.

FSF Fans’ Newspaper of the Year:
The Times – for the depth and quality of its writing staff, its varied and dedicated coverage, including an ongoing commitment to its excellent pull-out section.

FSF Fanzine of the Year:
United We Stand (Manchester United) – for their consistently well-written content, excellent cover design and the ability to be self-critical of their club and its players when they feel it is justified.

FSF Podcast of the Year (public vote):
The Anfield Wrap (Liverpool) – independent, only one season old, and already with more than 1m downloads. Boss.

FSF Website of the Year:
Twohundredpercent – for its long-standing commitment, dedication, and coverage of issues that affect football across all leagues.

FSF Writer of the Year (public vote):
Jonathan Wilson (The Guardian, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, editor of The Blizzard, various online) – some writers excel at dissecting the game’s tactics, while others are capable of placing football in its rightful cultural context. Wilson is one of the few who can do both exceptionally well.

The FSF would like to thank each and every person who nominated their favourite writers and publications. The sheer volume of nominations ensured that the standard of entrant was very high and being shortlisted was in itself a fine achievement – the full shortlists are reproduced below.

Shortlist for FSF Blogger of the Year:

• Andi Thomas (The FCF/SB Nation)
• Arseblogger (Arseblog)
• Greg Theoharis (Dispatches From a Football Sofa)
• Ian Rands (A United View)
• Kieron O’Connor (Swiss Ramble)
• Rangers Tax Case

Shortlist for FSF Book of the Year:

• A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke (Ronald Reng)
• Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World (Graham Hunter)
• 50 Teams That Mattered (David Hartrick)
• Brian Clough: Nobody Ever Says Thank You (Jonathan Wilson)
• Red: My Autobiography (Gary Neville)
• Thinking Inside The Box: Reflections on Life as a Premier League Footballer (Louis Saha and Georgia de Chamberet)

Shortlist for FSF Fans’ Newspaper of the Year:

• Daily Mail
• Lancashire Telegraph
• Non League Paper
• Sunday Mirror
• The Guardian
• The Times

Shortlist for FSF Fanzine of the Year:

• A Love Supreme (Sunderland)
• The Gooner (Arsenal)
• The Seagull Love Review (Brighton and Hove Albion)
• The Square Ball (Leeds United)
• True Faith (Newcastle United)
• United We Stand (Manchester United)

Shortlist for FSF Podcast of the Year:

• Bluemoon (Manchester City)
• Cafe Calcio
• Football Weekly
• The Anfield Wrap (Liverpool)
• The Football Ramble
• The Game

Shortlist for FSF Website of the Year:

• In Bed With Maradona
• Miniboro.com (Middlesbrough)
• Sporting Intelligence
• The Anfield Wrap (Liverpool)
• Twohundredpercent
• Zonal Marking

Shortlist for FSF Writer of the Year:

• David Conn (The Guardian)
• Iain Macintosh (Sports Illustrated, Singapore’s The New Paper, The Irish Examiner, various online)
• Jonathan Wilson (The Guardian, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, editor of The Blizzard, various online)
• Nick Harris (Mail on Sunday, editor at Sportingintelligence.com)
• Paul Hayward (The Telegraph)
• The Secret Footballer (The Guardian)

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