CHRIS SHIELDS TOOK home the top award at the 2022 NI Football Awards, with the Linfield midfielder named Danske Bank Footballer of the Year.
The former Dundalk man played a key role for the Blues this season as they landed a fourth Premiership title in a row.
Shields, 31, joined Linfield last summer following a decorated nine-and-a-half year spell with Dundalk, a club he represented almost 350 times.
Shields has had a big impact since moving north, and has netted seven goals in 40 appearances across all competitions as Linfield pipped Cliftonville to the league title.
“It’s a great honour for me to win this award,” Shields said.
“This is obviously my first year at Linfield, so I’m delighted that I have been recognised in this way.
“But really, this is just an added bonus. I came here to win the league and that’s exactly what (we’ve achieved).
“I must give a lot of credit to David Healy, who put faith in me. He’s a top class manager, and I’m glad I’ve been able to repay him. It was incredibly tough, with Cliftonville pushing us all the way, but I think we deserved the title.”
The awards were voted for by the members of the Northern Ireland Football Writers’ Association and the 12 Danske Bank Premiership managers.
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Great read.
Fair play Curtis, always a great player, a great ambassador and very articulate.
Great article
Great read, didn’t realise how though his childhood was with his mother’s passing so young. Great determination to bring up his siblings and make an impact across the water.
An inspiring story, hopefully he gets a chance to coach in England in the future
Great read. He makes a good point about number of BAME managers versus number of BAME players… The former should be much higher.
Interesting guy,i hope his coaching career brings success.
I remember Curtis when he worked in a newsagents in Talbot street Dublin 1
Very nice guy
Great article and wishing Curtis the best of luck going forward
A great guy and a very enjoyable read. Best of luck Curtis!
Great read.
Great article. Let’s not shy away from our shortcomings as a country, no one should be victim to this sort of abuse. Welcome the diverse next generation of Ireland
A Boro legend
Curtis is a legend. Racism is a cancer destroying society.
Who gives a fuvk if you slate brown white back who cares your Irish x
@BriP75: stupid comment. Evidently some people cared enough about his skin colour to racially abuse the man growing up. That sort of ignorant attitude is the reason why racism still exists in society. Educate yourself…