Final fans poll counting down!

With voting for the five finalists in the running to win the NPL Facebook Group's 2016 Fans Player of the Year accolade closing at a minute to midnight on Thursday, the supporters behind the coveted accolade first handed out five years ago are urging supporters to cast their votes in the annual online poll.

Robert Dale at Blyth Spartans, Clitheroe's Sefton Gonzales, Stourbridge's Karl Hawley, Kidsgrove Athletic's Anthony Malbon and Ciaran Kilheeney at Warrington Town are all heading for the 2016 EVO-STIK Northern Premier League Players of Year Awards in April after they were chosen by the NPL Facebook Group's short-listing committee from the 127 players nominated by supporters.

More than three hundred players and officials are expected to attend the fifth annual awards when they return to the four star Brooklands Holiday Inn near Barnsley on Sunday 17 April. Leeds United manager Steve Evans is handing out the accolades this season and NPL Facebook spokesman James Heyes believes any of the five finalists could come out on top with just over 24 hours of voting still to go.

Heyes said: "If you haven't done so already, there is still time to vote for the winner of the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League's Supporters Player of the Season award. Its is very close between three of the players so far but the other two are still within touching distance as well."

Won last season by Spartans star Dale, pictured collecting his award from England C manager Paul Fairclough, the NPL Facebook Group Fans Player of the Year accolade is the only footballing honour in the UK run by supporters alone.

The countdown to this season's event got underway in January when voting forms went to the league's managers to choose a 'player of the year' and 'young player of year' in each division along with eleven more in three EVO-STIK NPL 'teams of the year'.

The brainchild of former Manchester City keeper and NPL man Alan Ogley, the EVO-STIK NPL Players of the Year Awards are a unique celebration at the top levels of Non-League football with the focus on recognising the impact of players on the campaign.

Launched in 2012, the inaugural accolades were handed out by World Cup referee Howard Webb and BBC 5 Live and Non-League Show presenter Caroline Barker. This season's star-studded night will also see the best young players from the NPLFA, the EVO-STIK NPL's ground-breaking league wide academy, honoured in front of their peers and the league's senior stars.

To take part in the online poll for the NPL Facebook Group Fans Player of the Year click on the following link and cast your vote: http://tiny.cc/NPLSPOTS2016. Fans can only vote once. Where multiples votes are made, all are deleted.

Image courtesy of Graham Lindley

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