Town supporters, who will soon be casting their votes in the annual Player of the Year poll, have been told by Jay Emmanuel-Thomas who he considers to be the leading candidates.

Emmanuel-Thomas, unlikely to be in contention himself after missing so much first team action in the current campaign, said: “I think the two Lukes, Chambers and Hyam, have had really good seasons.

“Luke H does his job consistently and Tommy [Smith] has also had a really good season. But I think a lot of the players have had good, positive seasons.

“We’ve had a lot of 1-0 wins and if it only takes one goal to win a game you can’t really complain, but if we got a few more goals it would make life a bit easier for the defenders.

“Every team makes at least one mistake in a game. At Millwall there was a situation when Luke Chambers missed the ball and [Jermaine] Easter went through.

“Thankfully he missed but at times like that your head is your hands and you are thinking ‘What’s going to happen now?’. There’s no doubt that defensively we have been strong since Mick McCarthy came in and got us better organised.

“That’s why I think the supporters will go for one of the two Lukes or Tommy as their main man.”

Speaking at Monday’s Supporters Club event at Brantham, Tommy Smith and skipper Carlos Edwards were in agreement. Smith said his vote would go to either his central defensive partner Chambers or Hyam, while Edwards said he would pick the young midfielder.

Photo: Action Images

ChrisMakin2012 added 07:17 - Apr 10 Tommy Smith all day everyday for me. Hyam barely played at the start.
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wkj added 07:47 - Apr 10 Tommy Smith - went from the most moaned at in September to the hero in january
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kangablue added 07:48 - Apr 10 Tommy Smith has been the stand out player for me also, great defending, very stable and a threat in the box with a few goals
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itfcjc added 07:59 - Apr 10 JET has had an overall terrible season for what everyone expected Maybe next year JET
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Mark added 08:04 - Apr 10 It clearly should be Tommy Smith, as he has been the stand out player since McCarthy joined the club and central to those five clean sheets we have just enjoyed. Four goals too! He has been a regular throughout, except Jewell's last few matches. Chambers looked poor for quite a while, but has got much better and forced a great partnership with Smith. Permanent signing of the season I'd say, but behind Smith for player of the year. Hyam didn't play for four months and aspects of his game still need improvement, but his work rate and protection of the defence are large reasons for our improved form so lots of credit to him too.

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sirbenofmorlingshire added 08:10 - Apr 10 Smith
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Len_Brennan added 08:10 - Apr 10 Tommy Smith for me, but I certainly wouldn't underestimate the impact that having Chambers as his defensive partner has had on him. I always thought Tommy was a good centre half, when he had the right player beside him. Playing alongside Delaney (another who needed to have a McAuley type alongside) was an absolute disaster, even though they did get somewhat better towards the end.

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Kesgraveblue57 added 08:28 - Apr 10 Tommy Smith gets my Vote
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Fatcatevans added 08:30 - Apr 10 Smith . No one else comes close
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MickMillsTash added 08:39 - Apr 10 Smith, DJ Campbell and Henderson
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Stato added 08:39 - Apr 10 Tommy will win but should be special mention for loan players who did so well for us (DJ & Hendo)
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Karlosfandangal added 08:40 - Apr 10 WKJ Martin went from hero to most moaned about in about the same time, wonder if they will turn on Tommy again if he has a poor season. Torn between Smith and Hyam, would like to see Hyam get it because of how he has improved this season, yet Smith has been our best performer for me. think Chambers has had a lot to do with that.
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oldelsworthyfan added 08:52 - Apr 10 Smith - he gets better and better!
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WeirdFishes added 09:26 - Apr 10 Jack Ainsley
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TractorCam added 10:05 - Apr 10 My vote is on Tommy Smith
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Jeff_winger added 10:05 - Apr 10 Jet is looking sexy in that picture ha
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canarykiller18 added 10:05 - Apr 10 Tommy all day long. Hyam has had a good season but as people have said he didnt play at the start. For me Chambers had a poor start as well he only really got going in January in my opinion.
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muccletonjoe added 10:09 - Apr 10 Smith will win it but my vote remains with luke hyam , our recent clean sheets are not all down to the back 4 .
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Alwaysablue added 10:14 - Apr 10 Very close but Chambers for me
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Surco72 added 10:24 - Apr 10 Reo Coker all the way , loved his finger pointing and constant moaning at others real team player . Chambers and Smith as a pair for me , dont think Smith would have progressed anywhere near what he has without Chambers alongside him . Hyam in front has made us lot more resilent also , big things for him next year . It is amazing what a proper right back has brought to the team though ,with Smith and Chambers being cited as the worst defence we have ever had at the start of the season !!

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bluemikey100 added 10:41 - Apr 10 wot bout loan of the season award gotta be DJ CAMPBELL got us out trouble no one else scoring regular
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hollywoodginge added 10:42 - Apr 10 A case can certainly be made for DJ Campbell, without his goals the form of the 3 mentioned would not have stood for much, we would have been as good as down. His contribution deserves to be recognised in some capacity. But I would rather see one of our boys get it, Hyam a brilliant prospect, Chambers the passion and rapport with the fans we haven't perhaps missed in recent seasons but I would say Tommy (ignoring bias as I do know him) get my vote, so happy things have come good for him, huge potential as a youth hampered by serious injury and knocked confidence by being played out of position. This is just the start for Tommy, watch him grow, he is far from the finished article and we have a real player on our hands.

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TownOnTheUp added 11:14 - Apr 10 Smith or Hyam. I have a massive soft spot for Hyam, but it'd have to be Smith for me.
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Guthrum added 11:43 - Apr 10 Campbell performed a Bullard (on loan) like role for the last couple of months of his time at Town and his goals are undoubtedly responsible for boosting us out of the relegation zone. However, the Palace and Leicester games apart, we were already improving at the back, going from conceding 1.7 goals per game up to the end of October (ignoring the shambles at Blackpool) to 1.0 in the period from then to Campbell's last game on New Year's Day (again, ignoring the collapses at Palace and Leicester). And since early January, it is the defensive performances which have unquestionably kept us out of danger, conceding less than 0.5 goals per game on average overall. So, for me, it really has to be one of the defensive players and, of those, Tommy Smith stands out because of the degree of improvement we have seen in him over the course of the season.

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blueherts added 11:56 - Apr 10 Surco - Love it NRC probably would make ny worst player in a Town shirt team - those dark days at Palace and Leicester seem a long time ago Would give it to Creswell Smith , Chambers and Stearman for last few months But over the season I think it has to be TS as a rock at the back
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