Seaside sensations Bournemouth breezed back to the top of the Championship with five league wins in December – thanks in no small part to the brilliance and consistency of Harry Arter.
A bargain £4,000 buy from non-league Woking, Arter was one of Eddie Howe’s first signings after the Cherries had won promotion from League Two in 2010.
He continues to repay the south coast club’s modest investment, with huge interest, and never more so than during a dazzling December when he bagged five goals in those five winning games.
Manager Howe was rightly named Manager of the Month for December, and Arter has added his own personal prize to a growing collection as Fans’ Player of the Month.
Despite claiming individual awards, both men point to the collective effort as the secret to Bournemouth’s incredible success so far.
Arter also pays tribute to the fans, and says: “To see the club come from where it was to where it is now has been an unbelievable journey and they should pat themselves on the back because they are the ones who have got us here.”
In League One, Swindon’s Andy Williams has been following Arter’s lead with a goalscoring spree which has seen the Robins fly to the top of the table, and he is a worthy fans’ player of the month winner also.
Williams was a double goalscorer in the December victories over Notts County and Walsall, and was also on target in the win against Port Vale.
The Swindon favourite has taken his fine end-of-year form into 2015 with further goals against Fleetwood and Coventry (two), and it’s little wonder a number of bigger clubs are monitoring his impressive progress.
League Two’s fans’ award goes to James Collins whose 11 goals so far have put Shrewsbury firmly in the promotion mix.
The Shrews were unbeaten in the league during December and Collins continues to lead the front line with a combination of both force and finesse, let alone his goalscoring ability.
Our congratulations go to all three winners, and now the search is on for the January champions so continue to register your votes as we look to add to our growing roll of honour.
Source: DSG
