Players Player – Oakley James
In his first year Oakley James made himself a mainstay in the University of Gloucestershire (UOG)starting eleven. A versatile player James played in central midfield, on the wing, and even up-front when needed. Despite his smaller size he battled well in midfield and used his technical skills to be a threat when driving with the ball. Having spent time at Cirencester and Cheltenham Saracens he has plenty of men’s first team experience and this showed in his performances.
He was able to collect two goals and five assists from midfield in his debut BUCS campaign.
Managers Player – Rory Hunt
Rory Hunt’s final year of university football was hampered slightly through injury. Being a forward he had Plenty of competition this season, and made a fast start when scoring the first goal of UOG’s season, a 3-0 away win against Bath.
However, this form wasn’t enough for him to keep his place and was dropped to the bench a few times, but still contributing with goals and assists from the bench. He ended his final season in the UOG blue with six goals, joint second in the league, and one assist.
Most Improved – James Blackman
Another player who had his season interrupted with injury, James Blackman was hoping for an injury free year following missing out on Varsity last season with a groin problem. However, Blackman made his performances count when he played. Playing at both right and left back he collected seven assists, and was part of the best defence in the league. His assists mostly consisted of deadly corners, including the title winning game for UOG, where his corner assisted the first and third goals that got the UOG title party underway.
Goal Of The Season – Adam Smith
A first year Adam Smith joined the university side with plenty of experience in football, having been a part of Oxford United’s academy up until under 16’s, and playing for Kidlington Reserves alongside UOG this season.
In a dominant home performance UOG were 5-1 up against University of Bath but had just conceded. Centre back Ben Wheaver received the ball from kick-off and fired a ball diagonally forward to Smith. The midfielder flicked the ball over the left-back and struck a half volley into the top right hand corner.
This was one of his four goals in his maiden season, which included multiple efforts from outside the box, and he also finished with the most assists in the league, the only player to reach double digits with 10.
