Stuart Watson

Stuart Watson has been covering ITFC for as long as anyone can remember. He is so respected by our fans that his name is even sung on the terraces of ITFC - as his editor, and a lifelong ITFC fan, I have never known that to happen with any other sports journalist. Stuart has had a fantastic year. With the launch of our digital subscription, he is far and away the biggest acquirer of subscribers all by himself. Our launch in May this year has brought in 2800 subscribers already, nearly 800 of those are Stuart's alone. No ITFC fan's game is complete without reading Stuart's verdict. His is the voice you turn to on Twitter. You follow his live blogs of the game if you're not there, knowing there is no one better to put you at the scene. But that's not all he does. Players trust him. They tell him things. Two of our splashes this year in news have come from his contacts, including Kieron Dyer's liver transplant and the story of a lower league footballer experiencing racism from Essex police. He's a team player and he shares. He is also very adept at interviewing and getting players to open up. Some of his brilliant work includes a heartfelt interview with ITFC goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky for example and the tragic story behind the name written on his glove. He also got two great exclusives from Jason Schechterle, the Arizona police officer turned motivational speaker who has become a rather unlikely Town fan. We LOVE Jason! His versatility came in his 'This is for' poem, which summed up 20 years of Town fan agony. It blew me away - and spoke to every Town fan in a way no one else could. Stuart doesn't play to the fans; he tells it like it is which is why he is so respected. He is also hugely popular on our Kings of Anglia podcast which has 20,000 subscribers. Everyone wants to know what Stuart thinks about it all. And every Saturday, when we sell 1000 papers outside the ground, we know that it is largely thanks to Stuart that our brands are still holding their own. He doesn't make a big fuss about himself - there is no ego whatsoever. He remains calm whether we've won 6-0 or lost by the same. What would we do without him? I see it as my job as editor to ensure we never have to! He is, simply, the very best at what he does.