Aaron Collins was crowned Wanderers’ Player of the Year at the club’s End of Season Awards, sponsored by Franking Sense.
Collins led the supporters’ vote to be named as the Whites’ top performer in 2024/25 and add his name to an illustrious roll of honour of previous winners.
The striker made it a notable double on the night by also landing the top-scorer prize thanks to his 19 goals in all competitions.
Collins said: “It means a lot to be Player of the Year at this club. The fans are the ones who are voting and it's a massive fan base here. We haven't had the season we wanted it to be but I appreciate all the fans that voted and thanks to them.
“I’ve just read some of the names on the trophy, like Jay Jay Okocha and Kevin Davies, and there are some top players on there. It’s an honour to be alongside them.
“We haven't been able to reach the heights that we should have this season but with a new gaffer and probably some new players in through the summer we're going to go into next season with a bit of inspiration and try and get promoted because that's the reason I and a lot of players have come here.”
The Player’s Player of the Year award was won by Aaron Morley thanks to the major impact the midfielder made on his return from a successful loan spell with Wycombe Wanderers in January.
Goal of the Season went to George Thomason for his brilliant strike against Blackpool, while Sonny Sharples-Ahmed was named B Team Player of the Year and fellow midfielder Harley Irwin won the Youth Team Player of the Year after captaining the double-winning side.
A successful year within the Academy, which saw the B Team win the LFA Senior Cup and the Youth Team win the LFA Professional Youth Cup and the EFL Youth Alliance northern section, was recognised at a glittering ceremony hosted at the Toughsheet Community Stadium by Radio 2 presenter and Wanderers’ fan Vernon Kay.
For the first time staff and players from the BWFC Women’s Team were also present and honoured for an outstanding inaugural season under club operations which saw them also complete an LFA Challenge Trophy and league double by winning Division One North of the North West Womens Regional League.
Top scorer Faye Knox was named as the Women’s Player of the Year after a tally of 27 goals and 12 assists this season, while other awards went to first-team defender Chris Forino as Community Champion, Mike Smith as Bolton Wanderers in the Community’s Community Star and Eric Whitfield who was chosen as Supporter of the Year.
A Special Recognition Award was also made to Julian Darby, the homegrown former player and double-winning Youth Team coach who this season added to his list of achievements and services to the club by leading the first team to successive victories in his up-lifting spell as interim manager in January.
End of Season Award Winners 2024/25
Bolton Wanderers in the Community’s Community Star, sponsored by the Product Care Group: Mike Smith
Supporter of the Year sponsored by Trafford Centre and the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust: Eric Whitfield
Community Champion sponsored by Precision Marketing Group: Chris Forino
Top scorer sponsored by Bolton CCTV: Aaron Collins
B Team and Academy Player of the Year: Sonny Sharples-Ahmed
Youth Team Player of the Year: Harley Irwin
BWFC Women’s Player of the Year sponsored by Bernsteins Kitchens: Faye Knox
Special recognition award sponsored by AGR Ltd: Julian Darby
Goal of the season sponsored by Heritage Trade Frames: George Thomason (against Blackpool)
Players’ Player of the Year sponsored by Eventura: Aaron Morley
Player of the Year sponsored by Franking Sense: Aaron Collins