The usual guessing game will be taking place tonight at the Northern League dinner.

Around 300 people will attend the league’s popular bash, with World Cup final referee Howard Webb the chief guest, and Burnley chief executive Paul Fletcher the main speaker.

It hasn’t been easy in recent years to predict the winners of some awards, and this year doesn’t appear to be much different.

Chester-le-Street striker Nathan Fisher won the player of the year, leading scorer and young player of the year awards last season, and while the leading scorer award is pretty clear cut, the other two awards aren’t, with several players pushing their claims. The winner doesn’t necessarily need to be from a club that has won honours – Fisher was at a relegated club last season.

Whitley Bay manager Ian Chandler has won the manager of the year award for three years running and he could well make it four after Whitley’s record breaking Vase triumph at Wembley three weeks ago, but Spennymoor boss Jason Ainsley could push him all the way after his team won their second successive league title.

There are several other awards which are dedicated to those who work tirelessly in the background keeping the clubs and the league going. There will be the Unsung Hero award, which was won last year by Bill Penman and Jeff Pattinson from Crook, the Tea Hut award for the best refreshment hut, and the Arthur Clark Memorial Award for the person who has contributed most to the league during the season.

There will also be awards to the programme of the year, the referee of the year, and the safe hands award, while prize money will be handed out by the league’s sponsor, Ann Barkas.

There’ll be a full list of award winners on the Northern Echo website at the weekend