Ladies and Gentlemen, Football Fans,

As you are aware, we held a bloggers contest over the past two weeks in conjunction with Sony Ericsson. Thanks to that wonderful mobile phone company, we were able to offer two - that's right, two - brand-spanking new Sony Ericsson handsets (W995) to our community.
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Anyone who was interested in getting their hands on this, and having their name entered into the Golden Ticket draw (a very funky package for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa available to UK entrants), had to submit a blog, their blog, for consideration by our Judges. Not just any Judges mind you, but some of the big names in the world of football journalism and analysis, both online and offline.

We had some very good entries, each one offering a unique point of view about a unique subject important to the writer. But at the end of the day, only two could be selected.

Without further ado, we present the winners of the contest:

Michael – his blog post "The goose that laid the golden egg". Michael's blog entry drew special praise from Judge and serial football blogger, Ahmed Bilal:

"This was one of the articles in the competition that made me 'think'. It takes a fresh and interesting approach to football's modernisation and the subject of how the TV has impacted our football experiences deserves more attention."

Samir – his blog post "USA: DARK HORSES or REAL CONTENDERS FOR 2010 WORLD CUP".

Guardian Bundesliga correspondent Raphael Honigstein commended Samir's entry as:

"A worthwhile and thorough examination of the prospects of a sleeping giant. It created plenty of debate which is always a sign of a very good blog."

Well done guys, great effort!

We also wanted to give thanks to all those who participated and brought their thoughts to the table, and shared them with the Footbo community.