LancsVillan Posted May 11, 2012 Moderator Share Posted May 11, 2012 As we remember Paddy lost his battle with cancer back in October and a good number of you gave donations towards his charities of choice and towards a trophy to be named after him. Remembering Paddy Well today members of Pat's family were at Bodymoor Heath to present the trophy to the inaugural winner. The winner being decided by totaling up not the individual votes but the number of games a player won the MotM award in the Reaction and Rating threads. The deadline for this was Bolton at Home and to my surprise when totaling things up we have had some SIXTEEN different match winners. However, way out in front was Steven Ireland with 7, even more surprising as the first of these was only given on New Year's Eve at Chelsea. Rather than try to put in into my words here are some words from Pat's parents (Barry and Linda) and his cousin Mark (mark359 on here). My husband Barry, Mark and I have been to Bodymoor Heath today to present 'Paddy's Trophy' to Stephen Ireland (what a nice guy!). ... We thought the trophy itself was a great choice - just as we imagined - and I think Mark will be sending through some of the photos that were taken today so that people who kindly contributed can see it for themselves. We know Patrick would have been so proud to think that a Villa Trophy been named in memory of him, and we as a family have been really touched to read all the comments and tributes from his fellow VT contributors. It just goes to show how strong an online community can be. With many thanks again for everything. Yours, Linda Ebbutt Hi Allan, We all had a really good time, all the players we met in passing were really friendly and Stephen himself was really happy to chat to us and came across as a really nice genuine guy. I have attached a selection of Pics from today and also two pics of Pat in case you wanted to use those, one from a Villa Park stadium tour and the other from a trip to Wembley. LV: See Below The word doc attached is something that Linda and Barry wrote. They didn’t actually read it out today, just picked some bits on it to say. LV: See Below I look forward to following who wins it year on year. Can I also pass on this link to you: BTRtriathlon I am not sure what VillaTalk’s policy is on including links to fundraising sites, but the attached site has been created by 4 of Pat’s friends who are completing a triathlon to try and raise money for Brain Tumour Research in Pat’s honour. It would be great if you could also pass this on to the wider VillaTalk community in case anyone wanted to contribute. LV: In this case it is fine Thank you again, Mark I will post the speech up in a separate post but here are those pictures: So there we have a winner, I will be arranging a plinth shield to go onto the trophy that will be engraved with the winner's name each season. (Next year it will be awarded by a VT member too) We at VT towers would like publicly to thank the club for all their help in arranging the presentation and everyone involved at Bodymoor Heath in making this a memorable day for Barry, Linda and Mark. And finally 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancsVillan Posted May 11, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted May 11, 2012 Presentation of Patrick Ebbutt/VillaTalk.com trophy to Stephen Ireland Our son Patrick, who this trophy is named after, died from a brain tumour in October last year at the age of 25. He had been a passionate Aston Villa fan all his life, and had been an active member of the VillaTalk forum, where he was known as Paddy, since December 2003. His total number of posts on there numbered almost 20,000. The members of VillaTalk, most of whom had only ever met Patrick online, were very saddened to hear that he had died, and at the time there was an long tribute thread where people remembered his positivity, humour, fighting spirit and intelligence. It was as a result of this strength of feeling that members of the forum began donating funds towards the trophy that we are here to present today. Our family have been extremely touched by this gesture, and we know that Patrick would be enormously proud to think that this was being done in his name. Aston Villa as a club were exceptionally good to Patrick during his illness, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for this. A particular mention should go to General Krulak, who, on hearing about Patrick’s diagnosis in 2006 through the VillaTalk forum, surprised us all by telephoning us to see how he was and to see if there was anything he could do for him. Following some discussion about Patrick’s weakened immune system, the club then offered to provide him with a private box at Villa Park whenever one was available, so that he could avoid the crowds and still enjoy the games. . This was a truly remarkable gesture that was greatly appreciated by us all, particularly Patrick, and it gave a huge boost to his morale. We are therefore proud to present this trophy for the first time to the player who received the highest number of votes from Villa Talk members this season – Stephen Ireland. (Presented by Patrick’s parents, Linda and Barry Ebbutt and his cousin, Mark Gormley.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted May 11, 2012 Moderator Share Posted May 11, 2012 Cant see well enough to change anything. It's made me cry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted May 11, 2012 Moderator Share Posted May 11, 2012 That's lovely Al. That pic at the top reminds me of meeting Paddy and his Dad at Rovers in the pub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 The club have done well here. The true fans player of the year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Well done to all involved. Done Paddy proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Great stuff a fitting tribute and well done to one and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Fantastic stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaztonVilla Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 SI was personally touched and moved by Paddy's story and very proud to be the first recipient of Paddy's Trophy. He's also visited VT to read up on Paddy, which is a first as he doesn't normally like to visit sites like this (for obvious reasons). Well done everyone at VT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 SI was personally touched and moved by Paddy's story and very proud to be the first recipient of Paddy's Trophy. He's also visited VT to read up on Paddy, which is a first as he doesn't normally like to visit sites like this (for obvious reasons). Well done everyone at VT. Indeed. Stephen Ireland eh, who'd have thought it 12 months ago. Paddy was never a guy to have an agenda so I'd bet my house on him agreeing with VT on the winner. Let us hope for many more. Great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morkery Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Not sure why I opened the thread up again just now, but still chokes me. I bet Paddy has been enjoying the last few weeks. Off topic is not the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KjParton Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 When does this get re-awarded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark359 Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Pre-season I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eames Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Coin flip between Godzan and the Beast..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 As good as Goose has been, I think it has to go to Tekkers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KjParton Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 ^ agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark359 Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 As long as he is still here to accept it pre-season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Tekkers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoughboroughLion Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 (edited) Benteke Edited June 6, 2013 by VERB27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 It will go to whoever won the most VT MOTM awards through the season. So likely Benteke yes. I hope it will be awarded again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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