2014. Well, that went quickly, eh?.

It doesn’t seem a year ago that I was settling down for a booze-free Christmas, mountains of veg and turkey on my plate but no pigs-in-blankets or chestnut stuffing, in fact, not so much as a roast potato.

I was deep in training for the 2014 NFL draft... hoping to make a mark at the Regional Combine in NYC and pursue a life of fame and fortune as a pro sportsman Stateside.

The fact that you’re reading this now means you can probably tell how that turned out.

My performance under the bright lights on the big stage in February marked me out as one of the earliest sporting villains of the year. But who else is worthy of mention for their achievements or otherwise in the past 12 months?

Athletics. Dartford sprinter Adam Gemili. Two silver medals in front of an enchanted Commonwealth Games crowd in Glasgow and two golds at the European Championships in Zurich, all in the same year he took my order and went to the till at Nando’s. Think we can agree that makes him a hero.

While I’m at it. Jo Pavey. Forty-years-old, two kids, 10,000m, 32 minutes, one European gold. Should have been Sports Personality of the Year.

Which reminds me. Europe beat the USA 16.5-11.5 in the Ryder Cup with Rory McIlroy basically proving the difference between winning and losing – still not enough to get him the SPOTY award though... clearly petrolheads have developed cutting-edge technology which enables them to vote multiple times a second in order to secure victory for one of their own.

For what it’s worth, Lewis Hamilton – plus his car and squadron of well-paid expert engineers – claimed the Formula 1 world title for the second time.

A year ago you’d probably not heard of Lizzy Yarnold or Charlotte Evans – it’s testament to their performances in Sochi, at the Winter Olympics and Paralympics respectively, that they have spent more time on TV and radio than Dermot O’Leary this year.

Want more reasons to be proud of Kent at the end of the year? Para-skier Millie Knight, cricketers Sam Billings and Adam Riley and athletes Bobby Clay and Dina Asher-Smith. World class young performers who call the Garden of England home. Not forgetting, of course, ever-reliable James Tredwell. England’s best one-day spinner, whether people want to accept it or not.

Tredders also has a penchant for making chutneys and preserves so he’s now known to me as Jams Spreadwell.

Elsewhere this year, Arsenal saw off the might of Wigan (on penalties) and Hull at Wembley to get their hands on some silverware for the first time since 2005 – a simpler time when British people didn’t know the words Kim Kardashian or Facebook.

There was a World Cup which I can barely remember now. I understand Germany won it, I vaguely recall them smashing Brazil on the way and I assume England went out in the group stage.

Oh yes and the Premier League suffered a huge blow as one of the best teams of the 2013/14 season – Luis Suarez – signed for Barcelona for a reported £75m in July, shortly after munching on a man’s shoulder at the World Cup. Massive blow to Liverpool and kickstarted the countdown to Brendan Rodgers’ inevitable departure but no great loss to the English game.

Some people are a bit more difficult to pigeon-hole than Suarez and people like Kevin Pietersen and Alan Pardew seem to be either hero or villain depending on how many minutes past the hour it is.

Sporting highlight of the year for me? Not actually the assault on the NFL but my stint at Glasgow.

The buzz in the air, the honest endeavour of under-paid, over-worked sporting stars for whom it’s all about the medals, not the money.

Only slight downside was sharing a hostel dorm during my stay, leading to one slightly unusual wake-up call.

A ‘mature’ male member of coaching staff from a West African Commonwealth nation set a 6am alarm to rouse him before performing a mesmeric 25 minute ritual on the floor in the middle of the room involving a good pound of body butter and other glistening unguents.

I still can't sleep properly to this day.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year. See you on the other side!

Want to get a Hoad off your Mind? email Alex at ahoad@thekmgroup.co.uk or tweet him at AlexHoadKOL