Whatever happened to our Carlisle Utd award winners?

2008 - KEIREN WESTWOOD
IT is now eight years since Westwood capped a stunning campaign with our readers' prize, and the young goalkeeper who built his career at Carlisle is now 31, and at Sheffield Wednesday.

Back in 2008 the gloveman was the pick of an excellent bunch, who had looked set to take United into the Championship, only for a late-season slump - then play-off heartbreak against Leeds - to derail them.

These several years on it is still rewarding to search YouTube for Westwood's finger-tip saves in that play-off first leg at Elland Road.

Carlisle's No1 position cannot have seen many more remarkable feats, and it was inevitable that United's failure to reach the second tier would mean Westwood would rise to bigger things individually.

United settled for a £750,000 package from Coventry, where Westwood - whose Republic of Ireland eligibility was revealed by the News & Star - enhanced his career further.

A move to Sunderland in 2011 offered the Premier League opportunity many felt inevitable, but untimely injuries saw him edged out by Simon Mignolet.

He has spent the last two years at Hillsborough, featuring in the PFA Championship team of the year in 2015, and there is hope that his strong displays there will enable him to add to his 18 Ireland caps, with Euro 2016 looming.

2009 - CLEVELAND TAYLOR
THIS was one of those bittersweet awards where the winner is hailed as the best of a bad bunch.

Former Scunthorpe player Taylor did not exactly start his Carlisle career in stunning order, but during 2008/9's tormenting run-in he earned the affection of supporters with some dogged displays on the right wing.

As Carlisle staggered to the brink of relegation, only to survive with a final-day win against Millwall, Taylor was at the forefront, and the 25-year-old's efforts earned him seven awards at the end-of-season prizegiving.

Alas, the wide man filed a transfer request just weeks later. United tried to persuade him otherwise, but Taylor cited a sick grandmother in Leicester as one of the main reasons for seeking a move closer to home.

It came as something of a surprise, then, when his next move was much further south, to Brentford, before a bounce into Scotland the following year with St Johnstone.

Spells with Burton, Grimsby, Harrogate and Corby followed, as his career wound down, and Taylor is now a personal trainer - in Leicester.

2010 - RICHARD KEOGH
The 2009/10 season saw a cult hero emerge at Brunton Park, but Keogh was not simply a figure of boisterous fun - he was a serious player in Carlisle United's defence.

It was at right-back that saw the former Bristol City man truly enter fans' affections. Even when the Blues were pummeled in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final by Southampton, Keogh stood out, and a banner declaring 'In Keogh We Trust' was taken on many a journey around League One's grounds.

It was a story of self-improvement for a player who had arrived at Carlisle out of shape and not necessarily in demand - and by the spring of 2010 his star was rising.

Although Abbott tried to persuade him otherwise, Keogh decided to take his chances in the Championship with Coventry. It proved a worthwhile move, as Keogh impressed enough to make a further step, to Derby in 2012.

While the biggest rise of all - to the top-flight - has so far eluded him, another chance could come his way next month. A thrilling summer also awaits the defender, who is sure to be in the Ireland squad for Euro 2016, having played a key part in their qualification.

2011 - JAMES BERRETT
By the end of 2010/11 the signing of Berrett from Huddersfield appeared one of Greg Abbott's cannier pieces of business. Edged out at the Terriers by their big spending, the home-grown midfielder was snapped up for a small fee.

Initially, he repaid United superbly. Berrett struck 10 goals and contributed a host of assists in his debut season, whilst playing a part in Peter Murphy's JPT winner at Wembley.

He chipped in with 10 more in 2011/12, when Abbott's side fell just short of the play-offs. From there, though, things became less successful, as Berrett's form form waned as United declined.

He remained a regular pick in the 2012/13 relegation battle and the 2013/14 drop into League Two, and at the end of that campaign rejected a two-year contract extension in favour of staying in League One.

His move to Yeovil, though, was a disaster, as the Glovers also tumbled, and things have gone little better since he moved to York, the Minstermen having been relegated back to non-league.

Berrett, now 27 and who recently became a father, remains under contract at Bootham Crescent next season.

2012 - LEE MILLER
Nobody was surprised that our 2012 trophy ended up in the hands of Miller,  the talisman for a season that seemed destined for the play-offs until an untimely injury put paid to Carlisle's hopes.

It can barely be overstated how Miller helped transform Carlisle when he joined from Middlesbrough early in 2011/12. United had built a reasonable team that lacked strength and purpose up front. Miller was a perfect solution.

The big Scot scored twice on his debut at Leyton Orient and became the team's most influential player, a target-man who helped enhance the games of others and linked superbly with Rory Loy, JP McGovern and Francois Zoko.

A groin injury in April was therefore greeted with doomsday predictions - and, sure enough, Carlisle were not the same team without him, as they dipped below the play-off line.

Further injury restricted him the following season, before he returned in the winter to help the survival effort. But in 2013/14 he was far from the force of old as Carlisle slumped to relegation, his time at the club ending with a fall-out with boss Graham Kavanagh when he missed a team meeting.

It was a regrettable end for the former favourite, who returned north of the border, first with Kilmarnock and now with Falkirk, for whom the 32-year-old has scored nine this campaign.

2013 - MATTY ROBSON
This was not a successful Carlisle campaign by any means, as Abbott's side started leaking goals by the bucketload and a cluster of summer signings failed to deliver.

Robson, though, remained a reliable figure, even if he was often asked to trade his preferred left-wing slot for a place on the left of that defence.

Having joined from Hartlepool in 2009, Robson became a stalwart at Brunton Park, and his consistent efforts in 2012/13 saw him crowned player of the year not just by News & Star readers but five other sections of United's support.

That led the man known as 'Popeye' to flex his muscles and claim a new contract, and he was expected to be a pivotal figure in United's attempt to rebuild under Abbott.

He enjoyed more memorable moments, such as his equaliser in the FA Cup at Sunderland under Abbott's successor Kavanagh, but another change of manager the following campaign did not pay off for Robson.

Injury also hindered his attempt to win over Keith Curle, who sent Robson on loan to Gateshead before releasing him in the summer. He then dropped into the Northern League, with Shildon.

2014 - DAVID AMOO
It required x-ray vision to see many positives in Carlisle's 2013/14 relegation campaign, a term which saw them break a club record for player turnover. And while it would be stretching things to say David Amoo illuminated Brunton Park from first to last, the speedy winger at least did more than most.

A summer gamble by Abbott, who was not long for the manager's job, Amoo started the brightly, scoring a cluster of goals even as they flew in at the other end.

There were periods when it seemed the former Liverpool and Bury man alone was providing the flair. His form grew patchier after the turn of the year, yet he ended the season as top scorer on 11 as Graham Kavanagh's team went down.

The following campaign, he scored the first winning goal of the Keith Curle era, against Tranmere, but injury then intervened, while Curle swiftly turned his attention to other options, and it was of little surprise when Amoo was released last summer.

He duly got a move to Partick Thistle, where he has made 37 appearances and scored five goals, yet to be deterred from life at Firhill by Partick's terrifying new mascot.

2015 - KYLE DEMPSEY
Another easy choice for our readers, for Maryport's Dempsey was the shining light in an otherwise bleak campaign.

By the end of it, midfielder Dempsey had become so central to United that it seemed hard to recall that he only made his full professional debut the previous August.

Yet the former rugby league prodigy showed determination and ability that others seemed to lack, and when he also started chipping in with goals, it was impossible for first Kavanagh, then successor Curle, to ignore him.

No Carlisle player spent more minutes on the pitch in 2014/15, a remarkable feat for such an inexperienced pro, and while his debut campaign was not without incident - such as a red card at Tranmere and a disciplinary rap over a six-player Boxing Day drinking session - there was much more good than bad, and in no time his name was appearing in scouts' notepads.

Come the end of a campaign where he scored 11 goals, clubs were circling. By the time he reported back for pre-season, a fight for his signature was on.

It was duly won by Huddersfield in the Championship, and while Dempsey has been in and out of the starting line-up under Chris Powell and David Wagner, also sometimes being deployed at right-back, the feeling is that next term could see a real breakthrough for the young Cumbrian in the second tier.