Fair play award 'honours' Spartans

Blyth Spartans manager Paddy Atkinson has paid tribute to his players after the club's presentation with December's Jungledrum Premier Division Fair Play Award.

Atkinson, who saw Spartans Chairman Tony Platten presented with the award on the pitch at Croft Park before his side's 2-1 league win over Matlock Town, said: "It's credit to the players that during a tough run in the month they have kept their heads. They are representatives of this club whatever they do so to recieve this award is a great honour, not only the club, but for them as footballers as well."

The Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier Division Spartans were the first of December's divisional Jungledrum winners to be honoured. League Vice Chairman Keith Brown is pictured making the presentation of an inscribed Jungledrum Fair Play Award certificate and a 1.5 litre bottle of Famous Grouse Whiskey to Blyth's Chairman Platten.

All three divisional winners have now collected their Jungledrum Fair Play Awards as the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League's best behaved teams in the final month of 2012.

Chasetown, First Division South's top Jungledrum club, collected their accolade from League Representative John Beaumont before their Doodson Sport Cup clash with Northwich Victoria. Trafford were the last of the three to be honoured on Saturday when the Evo-Stik NPL's League Respect Manager Phil Bradley handed over the First Division North Jungledrum Fair Play Award before their league match gainst Mossley.

The three clubs topped their respective division's Jungledrum Fair Play tables, coming out on top after a totting up of red and yellow cards divided by the number of Evo-Stik NPL fixtures they’d played in the final month of 2012. Where clubs are tied on points judges decide on the basis of marks awarded by referees over the month for Technical Area behaviour.

Competition for the Jungledrum Fair Play Awards isn’t limited to monthly honours. Come the end of the season all three overall divisional winners will receive a cheque for £1000 courtesy of the sponsors Jungledrum with the runners-up receiving £500 and the third place clubs £250.

As part of the Evo-Stik NPL’s Respect Programme, £4000 in prize money is also available to clubs whose players back the Football Association’s ongoing campaign by cutting out cautions for dissent. The incentive has paid off. In the last three years the Evo-Stik NPL has won the FA’s overall award twice and last year were runner's up.

Blyth's single caution in the four games they played in December has seen the North East outfit climb back into the top five of the Premier Division’s overall Jungledrum Fair Play table. FC United of Manchester still lead the season-to-date table, Nantwich Town and AFC Fylde are second and third respectively, with Witton just ahead of the Spartans in fourth.

Trafford are still second in the overall table after picking up the Jungledrum First Division North honours with just two cautions in five matches. Leaders Harrogate Railway can count themselves unlucky not to have won the monthly accolade after avoiding censure altogether in three matches, only missing out after December’s waterlogged pitches saw them fail to play the four fixtures required to qualify.

The race at the top is still likely to be tight with the division’s best behaved sides averaging less than a caution a game. Both Trafford and Harrogate Railway also lead the chase for the NPL’s prize money for cutting dissent. Neither have yet to register a caution for the offence this season with only one other club in the division, Skelmersdale United, able to match them.

Evo-Stik NPL First Division South's Jungledrum winners Chasetown still lead the overall table and are another club without a single dissent caution all season. They played five games during December and didn't pick up a single card to pip second placed Mickleover Sports who collected one caution in their five games. There are now no fewer than four clubs averaging less than a caution a game in the division.

Marketing and advertising specialists Jungledrum harness their online expertise to open new income streams for the league's clubs while securing fans money saving deals. The Jungledrum Fair Play Tables are available throughout the season via a hyperlinked logo on the league's official site.

Jungledrum’s Lloyd Bantleman said: "Jungledrum is delighted to be associated with the Jungledrum Fair Play award as integrity and fair plays lies at the heart of our business ethos. We are working with clubs across the league to help them develop a measurable income stream that gives their business supporters a fair return on investment with the club."

For more information on Jungledrum and the work they are doing to open new and no risk income streams for Evo-Stik NPL clubs visit: jungledrumdeals.co.uk