WELCOME one and all to the 2008 Pearlman Gwent sport awards, the lesser-known event that follows the UK loveathon known as the BBC Sports personality of the year.

This year, in the inaugural Gwent awards – stand-by for typical ‘Gwent does not exist’ droning on the messageboard from the usual suspects, call it the Monmouth awards if you will, just don’t bore me with your semantics – I shall attempt to round-up what was unfortunately a somewhat disappointing year on a lot of fronts for those of us preoccupied with Gwent sport.

An ego out of control? You’d better believe it! I will throw some nominees into the mix and then pick winners. My game, my rules.

Even the egg-shaped game shall get a mention in this festive column and it seems appropriate to start with our premier team, the Newport Gwent Dragons and I would like to thoroughly examine what has gone wrong for Paul Turner’s side.

I am only kidding! Stick to what you know, I shall let Robin Davey, Chris Kirwan and Iwan Davies worry about matters from Rodney Parade. Following the fortunes of County is stressful enough – but more on that later.

It seems the Dragons had a fairly difficult year in 2008, but one meagre observation if I may. Last weekend, the Dragons and Newport County were both hosts in arguably their biggest respective games of the season, the Dragons facing Toulouse in the Heineken Cup, County hosting Rushden in the FA Trophy.

The Exiles’ attendance was a pathetic 600-odd. The Dragons had over 6,000 at Rodney Parade, decent support on a bitterly cold afternoon. Are we finally ready to end the tiresome region/club/name/stand alone/Newport/Monmouth/should it be Newport Dragons debate? One can only hope!

But unfortunately, both of our big teams miss out on the team of the year award nominations this term, as do our Premiership rugby sides, Ebbw Vale and Cross Keys merely punching their weight and Newport underachieving for much of the year. Pontypool, back in the top flight, certainly earn an honourable mention.

So the team of the year nominees start with Blackwood Cricket Club, who were superb in 2008, winning promotion with both their first and second XI sides. Almost their entire roster of players played youth cricket at the club and no coach or player is paid. What a blueprint for a community club.

They are joined in vying for the top team award by Newport YMCA, the efforts of Mark Coldrick’s side in reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup truly a football fairytale. However, Blackwood just edge it as Newport YM’s league form has been poor this season.

Coldrick earns a nomination for Gwent coach of the year; though there is no prize for guessing the winner of that award, Newport’s own Tony Pulis achieving the dream of every aspiring football manager in the country by taking his side Stoke into the Premier League.

Usain Bolt was a controversial winner of the BBC overseas sportsman on Sunday, (though personally I favoured the decision, as I did hugely with the worthy win for Chris Hoy in the big one) as Bolt edged out Mark Phelps.

So to keep up with the Jones’ at the Beeb, this columnist is equally keen to create controversy in this category.

Tom Willis has certainly looked the part for the Dragons, but in order to upset the favourite for the award, I am giving it to Portuguese footballer Rui Branguina, arguably the most ridiculous signing Newport County have ever made.

He arrived on the back of a decent CV (I had to request this from his agent as he didn’t exist on google) that included his exceptional goal record, his best being over 20 goals in 25 games, when he was playing under-9 football!

Boss Holdsworth talked up his ability in training as he had ‘great feet’ but unfortunately the deal fell through quicker than you could say “I am sure we signed Paul Keddle for seven seconds this summer.”

You see, Branguina had not been made aware that he would be expected to actually play football and risk maybe even being kicked, sometimes twice a week.

“That’s an awful lot of football,” he exclaimed.

And then there was the weather. “It is cold in Newport,” he protested. He’s right you know. It is cold. What an opportunity lost.

I should also give an honourable mention in this category to almost the entire playing staff of Cwmbran Town FC, who represented a club that seemed to decide in early 2008 that they were to be the Arsenal of the MacWhirter League. Sadly, coach Guillermo Ganet wasn’t quite an Arsene Wenger. Thankfully the wheels of change are now in motion at Cwmbran Stadium and a team almost entirely made up of overseas imports now has a more native feel to it. So Branguina can’t be denied!

On to mistake of the year and in this category Newport County stand alone as the sole nominee for sacking club captain Ian Hillier.

It was a crazy decision and a bitter pill to swallow for many supporters, who will no doubt be delighted to see the issue finally resolved this week.

It only took nearly three months, two appeals, headlines in the regional and national press, a fundraising evening and mass online debate for the correct decision to be reached. Only at County… And finally, the big one. As badly off as we have been for team success in 2008 – I hadn’t even mentioned until now the passing of Tim Stone and subsequently devastating effect his death had on speedway in the region – we have been positively flush with individual sporting success.

Obviously some of this column has been somewhat tongue in cheek (I think Tom Willis is probably somewhat more capable that little Rui), but next week I shall present the case for the sportsmen and women of Gwent who really did have an outstanding year in 2008.

Who had the best year? Jockey Sam Thomas, who rode Denman to glory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, finally landing ‘a big one.’ What about boxer Joe Calzaghe, who cemented his legacy as one of the best ever by beating two genuine legends of the sport?

How about Ryan Jones, the Newport boy who lifted the Triple Crown and RBS Six Nations trophies and who led his side to an historic Grand Slam?

Or what about the ultimate example of sporting dedication and dare I say it, greatness, with Liz Johnson’s emotion-laden Paralympic swimming gold?

Whose achievements are the best of the year? Who have I forgotten about? What about a young sportsman category, do you know someone who deserves a mention?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Especially if they are about Rui Branguina!

Pearlman Gwent sport award winners: Team of year: Blackwood CC Coach of year: Tony Pulis (Stoke City FC) Overseas sportsman of year: Rui Branguina Mistake of year: County sack Ian Hillier