Players of the season: Stern John

A target for the crowd’s frustration early on the season, Stern John’s City career looked to be all over when he joined Derby in September on a three-month loan deal with a view to a permanent move.

Asked to play up front in a 4-5-1 formation at Pride Park however, John suffered from the same kind of isolation he had at City and was soon on the fringes of the Rams squad.

He returned to the Ricoh and, after an impressive display as a substitute in defeat at Preston on New Year’s Eve, returned to the starting line-up against Wolves a few days later.

After that, John never looked back, teaming up well with Adebola, proving himself a good link-up man between midfield and attack and earning the praise of the crowd for his much-improved workrate.

He ended the campaign with 5 goals in 7 games and Micky Adams will be looking for him to notch 20 next year.