Promotion winners

10 managers will start next season in the N&R Division 1 after winning promotion. Seven of those managers were in their first ever N&R season. Congratulations and we have high hopes that you can all compete again next year at the top table.

Wardy, Neville and Steve each deserve a mention, particularly the first two who after many years have finally had some success. Neville remember, also won the N&R Cup.

So for Ken, Richard, Neil and Mark promotion was just a formality after being at the top for almost the whole campaign. Mark was top of the table for 6 weeks, KC took a little while to find his feet but by week 10 was 9th, then he was 4th by week 20 and then by week 27 KC was top and he cantered to the finish line.

Double Rich hovered in the lower promotion places also after a sluggish start but he had a really strong finish and Neil was only out of the top 10 for 3 weeks and a superb last week moved him from 6th to 3rd.

Both Steve Merchant and Wardy never came out of the top 10 and both enjoyed bouts in 1st place, Steve for 5 weeks and Simon for 11. It was a good season for Simon whose previous two seasons had seen him finish 44nd and 28th.

Alastair Bigg spent all but a fortnight in the promotion race, was top in week 5 but fell away in the closing month or so and we thought in a bit of danger but he pulled through.

Neil Bixby surprised a few people. He was pretty much nowhere up until Christmas when hit first made 10th. And there he stayed and got to 7th in week 32 and that is where he stayed.

Ricky Wood had a steady first half of the season, most of which was under the radar but in week 30 he moved up to 9th. He dropped out of the race with just 4 weeks to go but battled back to claim promotion with 42 points to spare.

Then there was Neville, who was a rank outsider for promotion. But he overcame Davor in the final week and will play in the N&R elite next season.

Spare a thought for Davor, my favourite Yugoslavian, who lost out by one place and who was in the top 10 for the majority of the 41 weeks, including 3 at the top.

Blunty and Ben also came close and Tim & Dennis, Paul & Christian and Emma all had seasons that they can find some solace in.

This is how it finished:
1. Ken Cobbett, 1,467
2. Richard Richards, 1,463
3. Neil Wallis, 1,421
4. Mark Gregory 1,419
5. Steve Merchant, 1,414
6. Simon Ward 1,402
7. Neil Bixby, 1,388
8. Ricky Wood, 1,332
9. Alastair Bigg, 1,318
10. Neville White, 1,315
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11. Davor Duvancic, 1,290
12. Andrew Cassell, 1,277
13. Ben Guarino, 1,272
14. Emma Sadler, 1,277
15. Feldbruegge/Malloy, 1,272