Get ready to choose your top stars!

With Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder booked to hand out the accolades at the seventh annual awards in April, links to a new online poll will be dropping into the in-boxes of management teams on Monday 26 February to choose a 'Player of the Year' and 'Young Player of Year' in each of the EVO-STIK League’s three divisions along with three 'Teams of the Year'.

The stars of the milestone 2017-18 campaign will be honoured on stage at the plush Brooklands Holiday Inn near Barnsley on Sunday 15 April and fans will get their chance to start getting involved in celebrating this season’s top performers from Monday when the nominations process opens for the EVO-STIK NPL Show Fans’ Player of the Year.

A shortlisting committee made up of fans, media officers from all 68 clubs and journalists and pundits covering the EVO-STIK League will then whittle down the nominations to five finalists for a final online vote closing on Monday 2 April.

Still unique in the top levels of Non-League football with the winners chosen by managers and fans since former World Cup referee Howard Webb handed out the inaugural accolades, the event will be broadcast live on Facebook for the second year running after thousands of fans logged on last season to see the ceremony.

For the first time ever, voting in all polls is being carried out electronically and Monday will also see the opening of the nominations process to pick the NPL’s top bosses of the last five decades as part of the league’s on-going NPL50 celebrations.

Like the 100 playing legends and ‘Team of All Time’ who attracted thousands of votes in the first half of the season, the chosen few will also feature in ‘50 Glorious Seasons - A History of the Northern Premier League 1968-2018’, the new book charting the competition’s history that is currently being written and is due out at the end of the season.

As guest of honour at the awards, 50-year-old Blades boss Wilder will be following in the footsteps of World Cup referee Webb in 2012, Manchester City and Everton legend Joe Royle, former Wales boss Brian Flynn, Mansfield Town manager Steve Evans, England C manager Paul Fairclough and former Welsh international Dean Saunders last season.

The now annual awards are the brainchild of former Manchester City keeper and Evo-Stik NPL stalwart Alan Ogley and as well honouring the EVO-STIK League’s finest, popular former Non-League boss Wilder is also set to inspire the league's next generation of stars coming through the NPL Football Academy. Like their seniors, they'll be honoured on stage for the third year running since first being invited to attend the awards in 2016 following the NPLFA's foundation in 2014.

Look out for more details on the nominations process for both the EVO-STIK NPL Show Fans’ Player of the Season and NPL50 Managers polls on Monday before they open at 6pm.

Image courtesy of Graham Lindley

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