'The City Gent' took the plaudits in the awards, which are hosted by The New Football Pools and the UK's leading football research expert, the Football Fans Census, and are designed to celebrate the writing skills and editorial talent which have created the football fanzine phenomenon. Despite facing stiff competition, the Bradford City fanzine came out top and won the 'Best League Two Fanzine' accolade.
Over 2,000 football fans voted for their favourite fanzine from across 92 English Premier and League clubs and all non-league clubs, with nine award categories up for grabs, ranging from 'Best Premier League' and 'Best Non-League' fanzine to 'Best Editor' and 'Best Fanzine Blog'. Judges selected from the fanzines shortlisted by the fans, with each category rewarding the wealth of talent, flair and creativity which goes into producing some of the nation's most iconic footy publications.
'The City Gent' was a clear winner in the 'The New Football Pools Fanzine Awards 2008' with the judges making the following comments:
Best League Two Fanzine - 'The City Gent' - Bradford City FC
'The City Gent' has now been running for over 20 years, oozes quality and is quite possibly the oldest active fanzine in Britain. Well-written, it contains some excellent articles and is a smart, well-presented fanzine which lives up to its name - a true City Gent!
It was a great year for Yorkshire clubs, with Silsden AFC's 'We're Not Playing on THAT pitch' scooping 'Best Non-League Fanzine'. Merseyside also picked up its first silverware of the season as Everton's 'Blue Kipper' fanzine writer Michael Durkin received the 'Best Writer' award and Liverpool 's 'Kopblog' won 'Best Blog'. The complete list of award winners are as follows:
1. Best Overall Fanzine - 'A Love Supreme' - Sunderland AFC
2. Best Premier League Fanzine - 'A Love Supreme' - Sunderland AFC
3. Best Championship Fanzine - 'A Kick Up The R's' - Queens Park Rangers FC
4. Best League One Fanzine - 'Monkey Business' - Hartlepool United FC
5. Best League Two Fanzine - 'The City Gent' - Bradford City FC
6. Best Non-League Fanzine - 'We're Not Playing on THAT pitch' - Silsden AFC
7. Best Editor - Jonathan Fear, editor of 'Vital Villa' - Aston Villa FC
8. Best Writer - Mickey Blue Eyes, writer for 'Blue Kipper' - Everton FC
9. Best Blog - 'Kopblog' - Liverpool FC
Jon Sheehy, director of marketing for The New Football Pools said: "From Liverpool to Leyton Orient, the National Football Fanzine awards are a tribute to the passion, dedication and talent which goes into writing the much-loved football fanzine. As a source for great banter, prediction and debate our winners really can claim to talk a good game.
"Both the quality of entries and the volume of votes received from the fans suggests that the passion for writing and debating all matters football remains as strong as ever. Congratulations to 'The City Gent' and a big thank you to all who contributed. We hope it's reward for the hard work which goes into writing it, as fanzines are a major part of our footballing culture and reflect the heartfelt views and opinions of the fans who follow their team through the good times and the bad."
Fans can view all the results from the The New Football Pools Fanzine Awards 2008 by logging on to www.footballpools.com/fanzine.