A class act amid a tough year - Time to crown your Portsmouth Player of the Season

Primarily retaining their hard-earned Championship status during what has been an exhausting season emotionally, summed up by that Coventry Building Society Stadium heartbreak.

Nonetheless, since 1979 the Fratton faithful have been voting on an annual basis for their The News/Sports Mail Player of the Season - and tradition cannot be broken.

Since Peter Mellor, there have been a total of 40 different winners, including club legends and Hall of Famers, with some claiming the honour on multiple occasions.

Now the 46-year-old trophy is ready to be passed on from Marlon Pack to the next worthy recipient and, as ever, the fans will decide who exactly that is.

The midfielder swept the board last season with 12 supporter trophies, plus the League One title, of course, as John Mousinho’s men clinched promotion back to the Championship.

Inevitably leading contenders will be chief creator Josh Murphy, bargain buy Nicolas Schmid, leading scorer Callum Lang and the ever-dependable Connor Ogilvie.

Colby Bishop may also warrant a mention, following seven goals since returning early following heart surgery, while Freddie Potts has been a popular loanee, and Andre Dozzell flourished with regular first-team football after a slow start.

Perhaps Elias Sorensen or Sammy Silvera take your fancy - the choice is entirely yours. And we all know somebody who revels in being different.

Previous winners include Alan Biley, Barry Horne, Alan McLoughlin, Guy Whittingham, Peter Crouch, Gary O’Neil, Linvoy Primus, Hayden Mullins, Michael Doyle, Sean Raggett and Colby Bishop.

Indeed, Alan Knight has won it three times, while Steve Claridge, David James, Noel Blake and Matt Clarke having each claimed it on two occasions.

Now we’re approaching the moment when a new name is to be engraved on the trophy as Pack’s successor, with Pompey heading towards the season’s May 3 finale against Hull.

To register your vote, please email [email protected] before 12pm on Sunday, April 20. It will be one vote per email, so choose wisely.

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