VOTING is over, the results have been collated and it's time to crown the winners of our non-league all-star polls.

With the help of Gazette readers, we set out to celebrate the cream of the crop in terms of our finest semi-pro talent.

We asked for your nominations for the best managers, goalkeepers, full-backs, centre-backs, wingers, midfielders and strikers.

And thanks to you, we were able to produce a shortlist of five in each category.

We ran different polls each day and the response was both fantastic and striking.

In total, the polls generated a whopping 9,044 votes.

The manager ballot was the biggest, with 3,043 votes.

And the final result was incredibly close, with our winner - being announced tomorrow - scooping 39 per cent compared to the runner-up's 37 per cent... 1,181 votes against 1,130.

The other polls, which also featured a scattering of clubs, were similarly competitive.

The keeper poll attracted 829 votes, the full-back poll 1,258, the centre-back poll 2,146, the midfielder poll 998, the winger poll 513 and the striker poll 257.

"We were delighted with the response and it's proof, if any were needed, that our non-league circuit is alive and kicking," said sports reporter Matt Plummer.

"The interest is clearly there and after so much success last season, both individually and collectively, it's great to cast the spotlight on our very worthy winners.

"It's not an easy task comparing players from different rungs of the non-league ladder but our readers truly got in the spirit and treated it for what it was - some close-season fun.

"Thanks so much to all who participated, giving us the shortlists and then casting votes - not to mention the clubs and individuals who helped spread the word online."

Nominations could feature players from any of the senior sides we cover, from National League Braintree Town through to the Thurlow Nunn League.

Iron players were in the mix, alongside star men from Bostik League quartet Brightlingsea Regent, Heybridge Swifts, Maldon and Tiptree and Coggeshall Town.

Also eligible were step-five players from Thurlow Nunn League premier division pair FC Clacton and Brantham Athletic, Stanway Rovers, then of the Essex Senior League, and Thurlow Nunn League first division south sides Wivenhoe Town, Halstead Town, Harwich and Parkeston, Little Oakley, Coggeshall United, Brightlingsea Regent Reserves and Braintree Town Reserves.

All that remains is to announce our winners.

For full coverage, check our website first thing tomorrow morning and make sure you grab a copy of tomorrow's Gazette.