Wire rewarded first for fair play

Warrington Town’s players and management team were the first of November’s Jungledrum Fair Play Award winners to be honoured on Tuesday night.

Evo-Stik NPL First Division North’s best behaved side was presented with an inscribed Jungledrum Fair Play Award certificate recording their achievement and a 1.5 litre bottle of Famous Grouse Whiskey before their 1-0 win over Radcliffe Borough lifted them to sixth in the table.

The Wire struggled on the discipline front for most of last season and at the start of the current campaign but dramatically turned things around in November with just two cautions in five games to win the accolade for the first time.

Evo-Stik NPL FA Respect Manager Phil Bradley and Jungledrum’s David Lunn are pictured, left and right, flanking Warrington Town operations director Toby Macormac and manager Shaun Reid for the presentation at the Abacus Solicitors Community Stadium.

Bradley and Lunn are due to make the presentation to Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division winners Stocksbridge Park Steels and their manager Darren Schofield on Saturday before their home fixture against Worksop. Evo-Stik NPL First Division South winners Market Drayton Town and manager Jimmy Mullen will be honoured a week before Christmas on Tuesday 18 November when they host Sutton Coldfield Town.

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 during November. Where clubs are tied on points judges decide on the basis of marks awarded by referees over the month for Technical Area behaviour.

Evo-Stik NPL Respect Manager Bradley said: "It was a pleasure to present Warrington with the First Division North Fair Play award for November in tandem with David Lunn of Jungledrum as the Wire have not always been where they would like to be on discipline. In fact they spent most of the last campaign facing a call up at the end of the season by the FA under the national body’s disciplinary rules as their record was so poor but managed to escape by the skin of their teeth.

"Chairman Gary Skentlebury and his board, however, along with manager Shaun Reid have turned things around dramatically recently and the award shows what can be achieved when there is a will to improve. Better results are almost always achieved when a club improves its discipline. Less suspensions, less playing with ten men and players concentrating on their own games more, usually adds up to more points on the board.

"The fact that Warrington didn’t pick up any cautions in the game against Radcliffe after being presented with the award is hopefully a sign that the club intends to continue with its new disciplinary policy. Well done to everybody at the club."

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.

In Evo-Stik NPL First Division North Harrogate Railway took over the lead in the overall table after only three cautions in six matches with Trafford moving into second and Clitheroe down to third. All three have the enviable record of averaging less than one caution per game.

Market Drayton’s honour for November also sees them take over pole position on the leaderboard despite stiff competition with no fewer than five clubs all averaging 1.07 cautions per game or less.

Stocksbridge’s three cautions in four games during the month not only won them the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division's November award but also catapulted the club up to seventh in the overall table from 15th.

FC United of Manchester still lead the table from AFC Fylde who didn’t incur a single card in the two league games they managed play. The Coasters overtake last month’s second placed Nantwich Town who drop to third. November’s third and fourth placed teams Ilkeston FC and Blyth Spartans drop out of the top five.

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: www.jungledrumdeals.co.uk