sydenhams football league news 2019/20 edition … · 2020-06-13 · saturday, 13 june 2020 page 6...

Saturday, 13 June 2020 of 22

SYDENHAMS FOOTBALL LEAGUE NEWS 2019/20 EDITION NUMBER 50

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of your Newsletter, if you have anything to contribute, please do get in touch by email- [email protected] You can keep up to date with all the news from around the League by following us on Twitter at - @Sydwessex You are more than welcome to use any material (excluding attributed photographs) but it would be appreciated if any material used is acknowledged. It is hoped you enjoy reading this each week. With readership quite widespread, not only within our own competition, but across the three counties and beyond- if ANY club has anything they’d like to have published in here, whether that be a request for helpers, promotion of forthcoming events, items required or available for sale please contact the Newsletter Editor. As a general reminder- Match Reports, player news and photos are always welcome- it is your Newsletter!

JOINT PRESS RELEASE SYDENHAMS LTD STATEMENT It has been a privilege for Sydenhams to have worked with the Wessex league over the past 17 years but we have now taken the difficult decision that 2020/21 will be our last season as sponsor. The league has meant a huge amount to us all at Sydenhams and we would like to take this opportunity to applaud the exceptional work of the Wessex league and everyone associated with it, we are truly honoured to have been part of something so special for nearly two decades and wish you all the very best success for future. Lee Wright Group Managing Director Sydenhams Ltd. SYDENHAMS FOOTBALL LEAGUE STATEMENT It is with regret that I advise you Sydenhams Ltd will not be continuing with their sponsorship of the Wessex League at the conclusion of the 2020/2021 season. The league and it’s member clubs have benefited immensely from the sponsorship by Sydenhams Ltd, during an unprecedented 17 year partnership, making it possible for the league to develop and be considered by many as one of the best Step 5/6 leagues in the country. The decision is disappointing although understandable in the current economic crisis brought about by the Corona Virus pandemic. In thanking Sydenhams Ltd for their sponsorship, on behalf of everyone involved with the League I would like to recognise the support from Ray Pride. Nick Spencer Vice Chairman Sydenhams Football League (Wessex)

mailto:[email protected]



WE GO AGAIN

After looking at the best results by current club last week, it is only right to look at the other side of the coin this time round.

HOME DEFEATS

TEAM SEASON OPPONENTS SCORE AFC PORTCHESTER 2004/05 Fleetlands 0-6 AFC STONEHAM 2015/16 Tadley Calleva 0-4 ALRESFORD TOWN 2007/08 Cowes Sports 0-6 ALTON 2016/17 Laverstock & Ford 0-9 AMESBURY TOWN 2016/17 Sholing 0-6 ANDOVER NEW STREET 2015/16 Totton & Eling 0-7 ANDOVER TOWN 2019/20 US Portsmouth 0-5 BAFFINS MILTON ROVERS 2017/18 Portland United 0-6 BASHLEY 2017/18 Lymington Town 0-5 BEMERTON HEATH HARLEQUINS 2017/18 Blackfield & Langley 0-8 BOURNEMOUTH 2014/15 Petersfield Town 0-8 BROCKENHURST 1999/00 Wimborne Town 0-9 CHRISTCHURCH 1996/97 AFC Lymington 0-7 [1] COWES SPORTS 2015/16 Salisbury 0-6 DOWNTON 1999/00 AFC Totton 0-7 EAST COWES VICTORIA 2014/15 Pewsey Vale 0-9 FAREHAM TOWN 2016/17 Blackfield & Langley 0-7 FAWLEY AFC 2013/14 Alresford Town 0-7 FLEET TOWN 1989/90 Wimborne Town 0-5 FOLLAND SPORTS 2004/05 Winchester City 0-10 [2] HAMBLE CLUB 2005/06 Paulsgrove 0-7 HAMWORTHY UNITED 2008/09 VT FC 0-8 HORNDEAN 1991/92 Fleet Town 0-7 HYTHE & DIBDEN 2007/08 Laverstock & Ford 0-9 LAVERSTOCK & FORD 2012/13 Cowes Sports 0-8 LYMINGTON TOWN 2008/09 New Milton Town 0-6 NEW MILTON TOWN 2019/20 Andover New Street 0-6 NEWPORT (IOW) 2017/18 AFC Portchester 0-7 PETERSFIELD TOWN 1994/95 Gosport Borough 0-9 PORTLAND UNITED 2005/06 Winchester City 0-8 RINGWOOD TOWN 2018/19 AFC Stoneham 0-9 ROMSEY TOWN 1997/98 Eastleigh 0-10 SHAFTESBURY 2009/10 Fleet Spurs 0-7 SOLENT UNIVERSITY FC 2017/18 Sholing 0-6 TADLEY CALLEVA 2011/12 East Cowes Victoria 0-8 TOTTON & ELING 2017/18 Romsey Town 0-7 US PORTSMOUTH 2012/13 Brockenhurst 0-8 VERWOOD TOWN 2018/19 US Portsmouth 0-6 WHITCHURCH UNITED 2003/04 Winchester City 0-8

NOTES [1] - precursor to New Milton Town [2] - as Hamble ASSC

In the event of the result occurring on more than one occasion ONLY the most recent is shown.



AWAY DEFEATS

TEAM SEASON OPPONENTS SCORE AFC PORTCHESTER 2008/09 US Portsmouth 0-7 AFC STONEHAM 2004/05 Fleetlands 0-6 [1] ALRESFORD TOWN 2015/16 Salisbury 0-6 ALTON 2016/17 Hamble Club 0-8 AMESBURY TOWN 2019/20 AFC Stoneham 0-9 ANDOVER NEW STREET 2013/14 Petersfield Town 0-14 ANDOVER TOWN 2018/19 Romsey Town 0-7 BAFFINS MILTON ROVERS 2017/18 Sholing 0-4 BASHLEY 2017/18 Alresford Town 0-5 BEMERTON HEATH HARLEQUINS 2014/15 Winchester City 0-6 BOURNEMOUTH 2008/09 VT FC 0-8 BROCKENHURST 2003/04 Wimborne Town 0-8 CHRISTCHURCH 2013/14 Newport IOW 0-12 COWES SPORTS 2018/19 Alresford Town 0-6 DOWNTON 2007/08 Wimborne Town 0-10 EAST COWES VICTORIA 2016/17 Hamble Club 0-14 FAREHAM TOWN 2018/19 Lymington Town 0-6 FAWLEY AFC 2016/17 Moneyfields 0-7 FLEET TOWN 1990/91 Thatcham Town 0-6 FOLLAND SPORTS 2018/19 Romsey Town 0-9 HAMBLE CLUB 2006/07 Tadley Calleva 0-9 HAMWORTHY UNITED 2016/17 Team Solent 0-7 [2] HORNDEAN 2008/09 Poole Town 0-10 HYTHE & DIBDEN 2007/08 US Portsmouth 0-10 LAVERSTOCK & FORD 2013/14 Andover Town 0-7 LYMINGTON TOWN 2007/08 Poole Town 0-7 NEW MILTON TOWN 2016/17 Weymouth Reserves 0-10 NEWPORT (IOW) 2017/18 Horndean 0-7 PETERSFIELD TOWN 1994/95 Fleet Town 0-15 PORTLAND UNITED 2005/06 Andover 0-8 RINGWOOD TOWN 2007/08 Fareham Town 0-10 ROMSEY TOWN 1992/93 Eastleigh 0-10 SHAFTESBURY 2009/10 Fawley 0-7 SOLENT UNIVERSITY FC 2015/16 AFC Portchester 0-6 TADLEY CALLEVA 2011/12 Brockenhurst 0-7 TOTTON & ELING 2013/14 Bemerton Heath Harlequins 0-8 US PORTSMOUTH 1999/00 Andover 0-12 VERWOOD TOWN 2004/05 Tadley Calleva 0-7 WHITCHURCH UNITED 2005/06 Stockbridge 0-10

NOTES [1] - as Ordnance Survey [2] - precursor to Solent University FC

In the event of the result occurring on more than one occasion ONLY the most recent is shown.



PICTURE THIS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

-11 6.

7.

-S e

Identify the team from

these picture clues,

there’s seven to get…



JEWSON CHAMPIONS SHIELD

With apologies to our fantastic current sponsors- and the sorry news at the head of this Newsletter, we look

back in time to the Summer of 1998. To warm up the season, and for the first time…

Saturday 8 August 1998, Fawcetts Field, Jewson Champions Shield

Lymington & New Milton v Wroxham Wayne Shaw 1 Ryan Lemmon Jason Stride 2 Kevin Prior Richard Cort 3 Stewart Larter Graham Kemp 4 Mark Crowe Paul Morris 5 Adrian Harris Nigel Mottashed 6 Neil Bennett Mark Jones 7 Darren Gill Jimmy Anderson 8 Matt Barbrook [6] Andy Sampson [75] 9 Rob Musgrave Phil Stone [50, 54] 10 Darren Prior Neal Bartlett 11 Gavin Pauling Paul Sims 12 Chris Wigger

Andy Knighton 14 Josh Carus Dave Knighton 15 Matt Neale Ben Thomson 16 Kevin Green 17

Jewson welcomed the “Battle of the Best”- The Jewson Football Leagues in both Wessex and East Anglia competed for the Jewsons Champions Shield. This brought together the best team from each league for the first time in a curtain-raiser to the new season. The winners were to benefit from work to the value of £2,000 donated by the Sponsor. The Lymington & New Milton Chairman at the time, John Mills, gave a warm welcome to Fawcetts Field in his

programme notes, and it the contest saw the launch of the newly amalgamated club (AFC Lymington and New Milton Town) at their superb new location. There were hopes that the fixture would be repeated in 1999/2000. Cheered on by a crowd estimated at over 300, the hosts ran out as 3-1 victors, with the proceeds from the game being donated to the Neuroblastoma Society- fighting childhood cancer.

PICTURE QUIZ ANSWERS- 1. Hamble Club; 2.

Christchurch; 3. Horndean; 4, East Cowes

Victoria; 5. Downton; 6. Ringwood; 7. Fawley.



WESSEX WORDSEARCH #5

T R A C C M C C A R T H Y S H

G N I D R A H D F G T L K A B

G F B A T M A G P I E S L A D

S N I T R A M E R T N L R E O

K A T D W S B S D F N K K R S

C L G E E O E R S R E L L O W

I L B M U N R O S N D E Y M E

R D G P P L L U F F M A N I L

E R O S S K A C U R T I S L L

D E S E P H I L L I P S A L N

E B N Y S D N F L L E W T A E

R B E W E O S R E K C I V D M

F I Y R U B E L R A P O I T S

F H A L R E S F O R D R O F S

D H R E T S I L L A C M D X R

ALRESFORD

DEMPSEY

GOSNEY

MARTINS

VICKERS

ARLEBURY

DENNETT

HALL

MASON

WOLLERS

BARK

DOSWELL

HARDING

MCALLISTER

This week, we’re using names linked with the team who were top on 14 March.

CHAMBERLAIN

EATWELL

HIBBERD

MCCARTHY

CURTIS

FREDERICKS

LUFFMAN

MUNRO

DALLIMORE

FULLER

MAGPIES

PHILLIPS

THE A TO Z OF THE WESSEX LEAGUE CLUBS IN MEMBERSHIP 1986-2020

WARMINSTER TOWN

League Record:

Season Tier Played Won Drew Lost G For G Ag G Diff Points Pos.

06/07 T2 36 16 9 11 63 48 15 57 8th

07/08 T2 40 20 11 9 89 48 41 71 7th

08/09 T2 40 22 8 10 98 47 51 74 5th

09/10 T2 40 15 4 21 66 85 -19 49 14th

10/11 T2 36 13 6 17 72 79 -7 45 12th

11/12 T2 34 8 8 18 56 83 -27 32 16th

Total 226 94 46 86 444 390 54 328

WY Compiled by Gary Day and Mike Robins, and finally the last piece. It’s hoped you have enjoyed this series. The ‘Tier’ system explained. The names of the divisions have changed over the years. Tier 1 is the present day Premier Division. Tier 2 is the current Division One. Tier 3 lasted for just three seasons and was initially called Division 3 but had been renamed Division 2 in its final campaign.



Year Formed 1878 Total Wessex Seasons 6

Joined Wessex From Wiltshire League Tier One (currently Premier) 0

Duration in Wessex 2006 to 2012 Tier Two (2004 - date) 6

Moved to (League) Western League Tier Three (2004-2007) 0

One from Gary’s archives and a Sunday match in the Wiltshire Premier Shield when Warminster visited

Bradford-on-Avon.

Date: 30/11/1986 Wiltshire Premier Shield – Round 1 At: Avon Sports Club

AVON (BRADFORD) (0) 1 WARMINSTER TOWN (2) 2 Warminster Town: Kee; Bennett, Spayes; Newman, M Brown, Sturgess; Richardson, Carpenter, Penny, Chalk (sub: Muir 64), Smith Notes: Both teams were struggling in the second tier of their leagues – Avon in the Hellenic and Town in the Western – at that time and a keen tussle was expected. Avon’s keeper Escott limped off after only nine minutes having received treatment earlier, outfielder Steve Kirk performed extremely well through the rest of the match. Town netted on 20 minutes when Derek Penny headed home at the near post from a corner. Ian Chalk added to the lead five minutes later, a pass deflecting to him to place a low shot into the corner. The second half didn’t inspire too much but it was Avon who netted a late consolation when, deep into stoppage time, Fitzroy Simpson thumped home a shot at the far post but the visitors retained the lead to move into the semi-final stage. Footnote (1): Warminster lost the semi-final 3-0 to Melksham Town at Frome Road, Trowbridge. Footnote (2): Avon were named after the Avon Tyre Company and the sports ground is located where Bradford Town FC now play. Yes, if you’d recognised the name of the Avon goal scorer then it was indeed the player who’d appeared for Manchester City and Portsmouth (as well as Havant & Waterlooville and Eastleigh in his latter days). Fitzroy was Bradford-on-Avon born and was on loan there whilst featuring in the youth team at Swindon Town, for whom he made 105 league appearances before his move to Manchester. He also appeared as a full international for Jamaica. In 2019/20: Warminster Town played in the Western League – Division 1.

WELLOW

Year Formed 1992 - reformed Total Wessex Seasons 1

Joined Wessex From Southampton League Tier One (currently Premier) 0

Duration in Wessex 2006 -2007 Tier Two (2004 - date) 0

Moved to (League) Disbanded summer 2013 Tier Three (2004-2007) 1

League Record:


06/07 T3 30 19 6 5 77 36 41 63 3rd

Total 30 19 6 5 77 36 41 63



Ah, this is a tough one for Gary: “I’d only seen Wellow play twice and both were defeats and one of those

was a heavy one following their Wessex days. So, with apologies to those from Wellow, it has to be this one,

but hopefully it will still invoke some memories of a great Wellow Wessex season”.

Date: 07/04/2007 Hampshire Intermediate Cup – Semi-Final At: Hatches Farm

WELLOW (0) 1 FLEETLANDS (1) 2 Wellow: Page; Roseby, Males; Simpson, Burge, Betteridge; Askham (sub: Jacobs 78), Wilkinson, Cooper (sub: Long 72), P Trailes, Purkiss. Subs (not used): C Trailes, Betteridge, Lockey Notes: This was an all Wessex Division 2 clash and turned out to be an interesting encounter, won by the side who’d played at this stage before, which I think proved significant. The game kicked off with very few spectators but the village gradually turned out in greater numbers as it progressed. There wasn’t a great amount of goalmouth action to report in the first half (perhaps those locals knew something I didn’t?!) but there was plenty of commitment being shown. It was Fleetlands who scored the first goal when a free kick came back off the bar and bounced conveniently to Wayne Emery to nod it over the line from about a yard out. That goal came on 29 minutes and Wellow had a couple of chances afterwards, firstly when Paul Trailes hit the post and that was followed by a low save by visiting keeper Alan Edgar from an Alex Purkiss shot. Wellow levelled the scores from a penalty when Purkiss was tripped in the box and Nick Cooper sent Edgar the wrong way from the spot. It was 1-1 then and with most of the second half to play it was time for Wellow to grasp the nettle! It didn’t quite work out like that as Fleetlands netted a second goal soon after as a cross was headed by Nathan Mancell and Paul Stanley completed the close in finish at the back post. There were a couple of late chances for Wellow and sub Mike Long challenged Edgar and the ball went out for a corner. At the very last, Long was just unable to connect with a right wing cross and Fleetlands held on and take a place in the final. Footnote (1): Wellow’s only season in the Wessex League proved to be a successful one, in addition to doing so well in the Intermediate Cup. Having failed to get permission to install floodlights at their ground the club moved to the newly formed Hampshire Premier League (HPL) with most of the other Wessex 2 sides. However, they pulled out of the HPL at the eleventh hour due to a loss of players and, with the Southampton Senior Divisions fully subscribed, took the Hampshire League (2004) route instead. After a poor 2007/08 season they returned to the Southampton League thereafter. Footnote (2): The Hatches Farm ground has been briefly used as a home venue by Cadnam United and Athletico Romsey in the HPL. It is now used by Wellow Youth FC and plans have been submitted for a renovation project which could mean this most pleasant venue will return to the adult football scene once more in the future. Footnote (3): To complete the picture of this one, Fleetlands were the Hampshire Intermediate Cup winners as they defeated Bournemouth area side Suttoners Civil 2-1 in the final at Christchurch (Mancell scoring both goals).

WELLWORTHY ATHLETIC


Joined Wessex From Hampshire League Tier One (currently Premier) 2


Moved to (League) Merged with Lymington Town Tier Three (2004-2007) 0

The merger produced AFC Lymington (which can be found under ‘A’)



League Record:


86/87 T1 32 14 6 12 48 50 -2 48 7th

87/88 T1 36 12 8 16 46 53 -7 44 15th

Total 68 26 14 28 94 103 -9 92

One from Gary’s archives when Wellworthy and New Milton fought out a New Year’s Day local derby.

Date: 01/01/1986 Hampshire League – Division 3 At: Ampress Sports Ground

WELLWORTHY ATHLETIC (2) 3 NEW MILTON (1) 1 Wellworthy Athletic: Light; Stride, Gates; Ingrem, Foot, Platt; Sims, Carroll, G Packer, Totczyk, Hayward. Sub (not used): Miller. Notes: This was a Bank Holiday match with Wellworthy (second) facing New Milton (second from bottom) and a crowd of sixty or so turned out for this morning kick-off. it started predictably with a goal by Gary Packer who was left unmarked to receive a cross and score. New Milton levelled with a fine individual goal by Kim Sherred, cutting inside a defender and create space for a shooting chance which he buried into the corner of the net. The scoring continued when the home side went in front. Mick Hayward got into the inside-left position and laid it to Jim Totczyk who returned it and he rifled a first time shot high inside the near corner, a fine goal. Totczyk then had two headers off the bar in as many minutes. Wellworthy held onto their 2-1 advantage at half-time. Packer hit the post in the second half and New Milton fought well thereafter and gave the home side a few frights, including a clearance off the line, suggesting their placing in the table was perhaps a false one. The Wellworthy victory was confirmed with four minutes left when Packer’s shot was forced off the line and fell to Totczyk who was left an opportunity to shoot home which he gratefully accepted. Footnote (1): For those who’ve followed this on a match-by-match basis then firstly, well done! Secondly, you will be aware from my Sholing Sports notes that I didn’t like clubs wearing grey shirts and Wellworthy joined that particular club too! Footnote (2): This venue had floodlights and therefore qualified to be a Wessex League ground and Wellworthy became founder members. A railway station, known as Ampress Halt, was in view from the pitch (on the Brockenhurst to Lymington branch) and whilst the line remains, the sports ground has now long gone for redevelopment, and for those interested, the pitch was roughly where the Ampress Park MOT Centre is now situated.

WEYMOUTH RESERVES

Year Formed 1890 Total Wessex Seasons 6+1

Joined Wessex From Reformed reserve team Tier One (currently Premier) 0

Duration in Wessex 1998-2004; 2016-2017 Tier Two (2004 - date) 1

Moved to (League) Reserve team disbanded Tier Three (2004-2007) 0

Note: The club played six seasons in the Combination Division. Tier shown as ‘Comb’ denotes Combination

Division below is when the Wessex League had its own division for reserve teams.



League Record:


98/99 Comb 36 23 10 3 133 33 100 79 1st

99/00 Comb 40 26 6 8 107 44 63 84 3rd

00/01 Comb 42 25 7 10 112 62 50 81* 4th

01/02 Comb 40 30 8 2 110 31 79 98 1st

02/03 Comb 40 30 4 6 99 38 61 94 2nd

03/04 Comb 38 19 5 14 75 42 33 62 7th

16/17 T2 40 19 7 14 99 63 36 64 10th

17/18 T2 0 0 N/A+

Total 276 172 47 57 735 313 422 562*

* denotes points adjustment. + denotes club withdrew their team from Division 1 (Tier 2) in September 2017

having played eight league matches, their record was expunged. One from Gary’s archives in the days when

Weymouth fielded a reserve team in the Western League.

Date: 05/04/1985 Western League – Division 1 At: Recreation Ground WEYMOUTH RESERVES (3) 4 ODD DOWN (1) 2

Weymouth Reserves: Judd; Beauchamp (sub: Diaz 19), Doidge; White, Williams, Dove; Greeno, Kearns, George, Preston, Hannigan.

Notes: There was a large presence of reserve teams playing in the Western League in the eighties and it was a

Good Friday trip to the Recreation Ground

to watch Weymouth’s second string

entertain Bath based side Odd Down on a

very wet Bank Holiday afternoon. [Pictured

left- Action from the game, which was

played at the club’s former Recreation

Ground home which they left in 1987 (and

taken with a 1980s camera!)]

Weymouth took a 12th minute lead when Greeno (who has featured for Dorset sides in other matches in this A-Z article) crossed

to the far post and Kearns defied the close presence of a home defender to head home. Odd Down had their striker Calder sent off following an alleged punch, an isolated incident, but one that left them with ten men for the remaining 75 minutes and Kearns soon netted again, receiving a further cross from Greeno, he shot firmly home. There were two further goals at the end of the first half as Crispin netted for Odd Down, a fine over the shoulder hooked effort but the Terras soon re-opened a two goal gap between the teams when a free-kick by Doidge went over everyone and got to the far post where Williams headed home. Pat George got onto the scoresheet as rain fell very heavily. His effort was a diving header from close range (I found out much later that his specialist position was actually goalkeeper!). Odd Down pulled a goal back when there was a handling offence and Pinker beat Weymouth keeper Judd from the penalty spot. There were other chances on the rain drenched turf which, in a way, added an additional entertaining ingredient to the proceedings.



WHITCHURCH UNITED


Joined Wessex From Hampshire League (x2) Tier One (currently Premier) 15

Duration in Wessex 1992-1994; 1995 to date Tier Two (2004 - date) 10

Current Member Division 1 Tier Three (2004-2007) 1

League Record:


92/93 T1 40 12 6 22 57 80 -23 42 15th

93/94 T1 42 11 2 29 51 96 -45 35 22nd

95/96 T1 40 12 13 15 66 76 -10 49 13th

96/97 T1 40 12 7 21 58 81 -23 43 15th

97/98 T1 38 7 8 23 37 78 -41 29 19th

98/99 T1 38 5 11 22 36 76 -40 26 19th

99/00 T1 40 7 10 23 53 89 -36 31 17th

00/01 T1 44 8 13 23 37 72 -35 37 19th

01/02 T1 44 5 5 34 27 116 -89 20 20th

02/03 T1 42 4 3 35 27 124 -97 15 22nd

03/04 T1 42 7 5 30 38 117 -79 26 22nd

04/05 T2 42 17 5 20 72 77 -5 56 12th

05/06 T2 42 5 8 29 44 137 -93 23 22nd

06/07 T3 30 10 4 16 48 61 -13 34 12th

07/08 T2 40 8 10 22 51 97 -46 34 17th

08/09 T2 40 21 10 9 102 62 40 73 6th

09/10 T2 40 16 13 11 85 50 35 61 10th

10/11 T2 36 17 4 15 77 54 23 55 7th

11/12 T2 34 13 8 13 50 45 5 47 8th

12/13 T2 30 22 3 5 76 23 53 69 2nd

13/14 T1 42 16 7 19 57 69 -12 55 13th

14/15 T1 40 20 7 13 80 76 4 67 6th

15/16 T1 40 12 8 20 66 82 -16 44 16th

16/17 T1 42 8 8 26 50 116 -66 32 21st

17/18 T2 34 10 5 19 45 77 -32 35 13th

18/19 T2 36 12 5 19 53 80 -27 41 14th

Total 1018 297 188 533 1443 2111 -668 1079



One from Gary’s archives when Whitchurch and AFC Totton battled out a game at the bottom end of the

Wessex League.

Date: 28/12/1996 Wessex League At: Longmeadow

WHITCHURCH UNITED (1) 3 AFC TOTTON (2) 2 Whitchurch United: Bloomfield; P Hargood, S Hargood; Gardiner, Macey, Roffey (sub McCluskey 59); Long, Dinham (sub: Watts 59), Pearce, Clarkson, McCormack. Notes: This was a strange Saturday at the end of December. My first-choice game was Overton United Reserves v Queens Keep but it was a freezing day and the Bridge Street pitch hadn’t thawed in one area due to the shadow caused by the club building. Next, there was just time to get to Malshanger for their 2pm kick-off with Stockbridge. Now, anyone who’s been to Malshanger will remember turning off at Oakley and driving along those little lanes to get to the ground. Those lanes were like a skating rink on this day! Players were seen on arrival at 1.55pm and it was ‘game on’! Well, it was game on for all of 11 minutes as Portsmouth official Mr Coleman decided it was too dangerous to continue. Next, it was gripping the steering wheel firmly and back along those icy lanes setting off to the 3pm kick-off at Whitchurch and plenty of time to get to that one. However, on entering the village one of the local shops put one of those ‘A frames’ out that showed “Whitchurch United Suspended!”. This created new concerns but not for long, we were almost there and it was game on today, the suspension having applied on Boxing Day. The programme explained it was due to a problem gaining access to the Hampshire FA offices during the Christmas period to pay outstanding money. The pre-match ‘shaggy dog story’ now completed, this game was between two sides who were struggling at the bottom end of the table. AFC Totton were rock bottom with only Gosport Borough and BAT separating them from the home side (and a couple of big names were ‘down there’ in this campaign). Totton went ahead on 18 minutes when Mick Ross got between some static home defenders to nod home from a corner. The lead lasted only five minutes though as a great run down the right by Jason Dinham who then put in a pin-point centre to Paul Roffey to head in at the far post. The Stags went back in front when Daren Terrell buried a low shot past ‘Titch’ Bloomfield in the Whitchurch net and they kept that lead going into half-time. The second half was an even affair and eventually United levelled it up again when they had a good spell. It was scored by Mick Pearce who was left unmarked in the inside-left channel and he leathered a shot which rebounded off the underside of the bar and then got on the end of the rebound to net a more difficult chance past a visiting defender on the line. The winning goal came six minutes from time when a slick Tony Long header across set up Pearce to score his second with a firm drive and give his side the lead for the first, but most significant, time in the match. Drama both before and during the game but eventually - when attending a Saturday football match is an absolute necessity - it all turned out right in the end! Footnote: AFC Totton were close to losing their Wessex League place (just a single division back then) as they finished the season three points clear of bottom club Petersfield Town, who were relegated to the Hampshire League. Totton have been playing at a higher level for a good while now but this does show how football club fortunes can fluctuate over the course of time.



WIMBORNE TOWN


Joined Wessex From Western League Tier One (currently Premier) 23


Moved to (League) Southern League Tier Three (2004-2007) 0

League Record:


87/88 T1 36 17 8 11 68 53 15 59 6th

88/89 T1 32 14 6 12 59 55 4 48 6th

89/90 T1 36 20 8 8 83 48 35 68 4th

90/91 T1 38 22 4 12 80 45 35 70 5th

91/92 T1 36 25 5 6 82 37 45 80 1st

92/93 T1 40 30 5 5 101 27 74 95 2nd

93/94 T1 42 34 5 3 126 41 85 107 1st

94/95 T1 42 22 14 6 102 52 50 80 4th

95/96 T1 40 20 6 14 85 61 24 66 6th

96/97 T1 40 26 7 7 97 42 55 85 2nd

97/98 T1 38 18 9 11 89 63 26 63 7th

98/99 T1 38 18 14 6 81 34 47 68 6th

99/00 T1 40 32 4 4 126 33 93 100 1st

00/01 T1 44 28 9 7 111 52 59 93 3rd

01/02 T1 44 21 14 9 82 53 29 77 8th

02/03 T1 42 26 7 9 113 44 69 85 4th

03/04 T1 42 31 6 5 105 45 60 99 2nd

04/05 T1 42 20 12 10 82 53 29 72 7th

05/06 T1 42 15 10 17 60 61 -1 55 12th

06/07 T1 38 19 10 9 82 54 28 67 6th

07/08 T1 44 30 6 8 125 33 92 96 3rd

08/09 T1 42 26 9 7 115 41 74 87 4th

09/10 T1 42 29 4 9 113 43 70 91 2nd

Total 920 543 182 195 2167 1070 1097 1811

One from Gary’s archives when the Magpies had already scored over one hundred goals and met Portland

United on Easter Monday in 2003.

Date: 21/04/2003 Wessex League – Division 1 At: Cuthbury

WIMBORNE TOWN (3) 4 PORTLAND UNITED 0 Wimborne Town: Kearn; Parkin, Manning (sub: Moxham 87); Powell, Percival, Barham; Sturgess (sub: White 82), Smith, Barnes, Cannie, Dipper. Sub (not used): Marney Notes: Wimborne went into this match in fourth place whilst Portland, in their second campaign as a Wessex League club, sat in mid-table. The Magpies were in cruise control as they won by a clear four goal margin. Two goals in the opening ten minutes set the Magpies on their way but both were of United’s own making though. The first came when a defender headed a throw across his own goal and Darren Powell shot



home from close range. Number two came when Paul Myers, the Portland keeper, poorly punched the ball out, there was a further chance to clear but it then fell to Mark Smith to have time to tee it up for himself and strike a low volley into the corner. The third goal came on 39 minutes and more disappointment from the Blues point-of-view as Myers’ poor clearance produced a chance for Gareth Barnes to be left a simple opportunity. Teams that had hit the net over one hundred times should not receive so much assistance to add to their tally! The second half didn’t really get into top gear as Portland were happy to accept damage limitation but Guy Dipper did add a fourth Wimborne goal, having space on the left his shot found the far corner via a touch off the luckless Myers. There were three yellow cards but overall it wasn’t a difficult game for Broadstone referee John Fortescue to control. Footnote: I considered an alternative game to the above when Town entertained the Bournemouth Poppies in December 2008. There was a home sending off and another red card shown to a visiting player that, following a three-minute delay, got rescinded! But and not wishing to upset the Newsletter Editor who was the Poppies secretary back in those days, (I remember it well, some confusion over the players identity which was odd as the two involved didn’t look alike in any way whatsoever- Ed) I decided that it was more about officiating rather than the featured club’s performance. That is not what this article is trying to highlight so I plumped for the Portland game instead. For the record though, ten-man Wimborne won that game 1-0 with a goal by Scott Joyce although (with further apologies to the Newsletter editor) a penalty miss didn’t help the Bournemouth cause.

WINCHESTER CITY



Duration in Wessex 2003-06; 2009-12; 2013-15 Tier Two (2004 - date) 0

Moved to (League) Southern League (x3) Tier Three (2004-2007) 0

League Record:


03/04 T1 42 35 3 4 151 35 116 108 1st

04/05 T1 42 31 4 7 134 38 96 97 2nd

05/06 T1 42 34 5 3 112 31 81 107 1st

09/10 T1 42 13 18 11 66 59 7 57 11th

10/11 T1 42 25 8 9 84 52 32 83 3rd

11/12 T1 42 33 5 4 138 39 99 104 1st

13/14 T1 42 25 6 11 93 41 52 81 5th

14/15 T1 40 28 5 7 120 38 82 89 2nd

Total 334 224 54 56 898 333 565 726

Gary’s archives: “Readers from the Winchester area may recall the featured Cowes

game when Winchester City were on the receiving end of a big beating. So, you’ve had

to wait a while for ‘W’ to come around (which I can’t take the blame for!) and it’s time

to make up for it and, with humble apologies to Fawley folk, here’s a big City win to

reflect upon”.



Date: 24/04/2002 Hampshire League – Premier Division At: Esso Recreation Club

ESSO (FAWLEY) 0 WINCHESTER CITY (2) 9 Winchester City: Crowfoot; Wait, Lang; Vowles, Boswell (sub: Hill 64), Blake; Rogers, Brewster (sub: Ahmet at half-time), Findlay (sub: Martin 71), Nelson, Beck. Notes: This match was an absolute one-sided romp and totally dominated by City from start to finish who look like settling for third place in the Premier Division of the Hampshire League. This Wednesday evening match began in bright sunshine but the backdrop of the refinery chimneys soon disappeared suggesting there was mist around. City led on four minutes when Paul Nelson hit the bar with a header but it fell conveniently back to him to shoot home. City added a second on 15 minutes and a good move too, Kevin Brewster’s pass put Adam Rogers clear and his low cross was missed in the middle by Stuart Findlay but his strike partner Nelson applied the final touch. The score remained 2-0 at the break with City relatively untroubled. The mist floated in even thicker at the interval but a little breeze helped to move it on and the game was never at any threat of completion as City added seven more second half goals. A Stuart Lang pass put Martin Beck clear through the middle and he slotted it past the advancing Esso keeper Moore (0-3, 50 minutes). Beck soon added another and a fine individual effort, skipping past two home defenders before shooting home (0-4, 54 minutes). Beck was having a productive time as he soon turned provider, crossing for Nelson to head his hat-trick goal (0-5, 59 minutes) and with over one-third of the match still to go the evening was looking to be a tough one for the Esso side. Lang added a sixth goal in the 65th minute, a header from well inside the six-yard box. Beck continued to torment Esso as he got into a crossing position and Nelson made a darting near post run to head the centre in before the keeper could get there to give the City striker a four-goal haul (0-7, 74 minutes). Goals eight and nine soon followed, a Rogers header and when Beck weaved his way into the box, he was upended and had the opportunity to complete a deserved hat-trick which was achieved from the penalty spot (0-9, 78 minutes). It was most unusual for City to score quite as many goals in a game and their great goal-getter Findlay didn’t score one of them! Footnote: City did finish third but in the next (2002/03) campaign they won 36 of their 38 Hampshire League Premier Division matches to unsurprisingly take the title and a place into the Wessex League. Their goals tally showed 181 for (at 5.03 per game) and only 18 against (0.5) and although runners-up Vosper Thornycroft put up a gallant challenge, they were 17 shy of City’s 109 points. In 2019/20: City were playing in the Southern League – Division 1 South.

YATELEY GREEN

Year Formed 1995 (for Saturday side) Total Wessex Seasons 1



Moved to (League) Aldershot & District League Tier Three (2004-2007) 1



League Record:


04/05 T3 38 2 2 34 30 213 -183 8 20th

Total 38 2 2 34 30 213 -183 8

One from Gary’s archives when Yateley Green visited Ringwood Town, both sides being in the hunt for

promotion.

Date: 06/04/1996 Hampshire League – Division 3 At: Long Lane RINGWOOD TOWN (1) 1 YATELEY GREEN (0) 2

Yateley Green: C Ryan; Hindry, Cooke; Cooper, Fallon, D Ryan; Cherry (sub: Giles 83), Witney, Orsborn (sub: Mulji 89), Lynch, Brennan (sub: Humphries 70). Notes: This was one of those games of two-halves with Town dominating the first period and Yateley grabbing the match by the scruff of the neck to gain vital promotion points in the end of season race.

It was a most pleasant afternoon in Ringwood. The sun was shining and what a shock it was to find their fine grandstand to be reduced to rubble following some bad weather. Only two rows of seating remained in place and, on a day like this one, sitting in the open air did seem a fine idea. Ringwood settled better in the first half with Green defender Paul Cooper having to clear from the line following a partial stop by keeper Craig Ryan to keep the ball from entering the net. Ringwood did get a goal though, Darrent Blenham heading a cross back into the mix where Dave Richards applied the simple finish. Little was

seen of Yateley as an attacking force at the break and Town’s 1-0 advantage was certainly a fair reflection. What a second half transformation! Yateley were camped in the Town half throughout as the home side just couldn’t make any progress at all. Green bossed the midfield and took a really firm grip on the game. The ‘inevitable’ (if that should be a word to be used in a football context!) goal to level the scores came on 66 minutes, a slick move in midfield and a delightful touch by Lee Orsborn for Steve Cherry to chip it over Jamie Sawyer, the advancing Town keeper. There had to be a winning goal (inevitable again?!) and it came with nine minutes remaining as a throw from the left was knocked into the path of Green substitute Danny Humphries at the near post and he buried a low turning shot. Footnote (1): This proved to be one of only six league defeats for Ringwood in the season who ended up as Division 3 champions whilst Green finished short of the pace in fifth position. Footnote (2): The stand at this ground was rebuilt by the time of my next visit. Footnote (3): Yateley Green are not only the last team alphabetically but, when it comes to their Wessex League record of just one season, they are also in last place statistically too. But credit to them for sticking at the task in that one season which would have been too much for many others and the towel would have been thrown in midway through. In 2019/20: Well, the two senior teams in the area – Green and Yateley FC (formed in 1902) – were great rivals but they eventually decided to combine their resources in 2013. They were joined by Beaulieu FC (a boys and girls team formed in 1972 by the residents of Beaulieu Gardens in nearby Blackwater) along with Yateley FC Youth. The merged team, known as Yateley United FC played in Hellenic League Division 2 South in 2019/20.

So that’s it….



Yes, that’s the complete A to Z (or should that be A to Y?) of Wessex League clubs and their league record and a random game where that club had (in most cases) a good day when I’d watched them play over the years. I’ve gone back as far as 1979 to trace my random game. There’s been something for the ‘stattos’ amongst us and something for those that like a look back at the matches and the players from times gone by. My thanks to the Newsletter editor for keeping such good statistics over the years. You may be interested as to why I write about the football games I attend?

Well, in February 1976 and in my mid-teens I went to watch a game at Ten Acres, about twenty minutes or so walk from where I was living back then. It was a Russell-Cotes Cup game between Swaythling and Fleet Town. I got back home after the match and thought: “I’d like to remember that game” so got a piece of lined paper and wrote down my thoughts. I even marked the players (and the referee) out of ten! I did keep a record of the games I’d been to up to that point (mainly Southampton ones at The Dell) and, I’m sure you want to know, Swaythling won 2-0 (and I do still have that account). The rest, as they say, is history! I have been asked that same question many times more as the years have rolled on.

Well, I used to try and be clever and say I want to back track and read about the games again in my older age! That has become true, but the right answer should have been, of course, that one day we will be locked down by a mystery virus and I’ll be able to find matches in my files that a group of readers will find of interest! Who would possibly have believed that? But there is no way that my scribble can replace going to a game of football, meeting friends and acquaintances, on hot, warm, cold, wet, windy, misty, frosty or even snowy days. To enjoy the game from the sidelines, share your opinion with others - whether that last attack was offside or should that have been a red card or not. A game of football takes me away from the day-to-day issues for that hour and a half; it’s like being in a fantasy land. That final whistle will blow and then reality kicks back in once more until the next match is attended. There will always be a next game … but in these strange times it is uncertain when that will happen. Hopefully, there won’t be any player, official or even club casualties. Thanks for reading and please, do stay safe, because not only do I want to be on that touchline once again soon, but I want you to be at the game as well. Gary

OLD BOYS NETWORK – YATELEY GREEN It has certainly been a while since carrying a story under this category, but with the end of our A-Z series there’s no better place to start than at the end, with Yateley Green. The team came to us when the League expanded to add two more Divisions, but as noted above lasted just the one season- 2004/05, finishing bottom with just eight points from the 38 games and sadly conceding a whopping 218 goals. After dropping to local (Aldershot) football they returned in the Surrey Intermediate League in 2012/13 and duly won the division (of 15 teams) amassing 63 points from their 28 game schedule winning the title by ending eight points ahead of Old Farnboronians- thereby gaining promotion to the Surrey Elite Intermediate League. The next season saw them merge with Yateley to form Yateley United and more seasons in that Surrey league. 2018/19 saw them go to the Hellenic League and in the abandoned season of 2019/20 were lying in 2nd spot with 35 points from 16 games in Division 2 South. The club had continued to use Sean Devereux Park for their games that was used back in their Wessex days, but subsequently moved to (the old Farnborough North End) Cody Sports and Social Club at the commencement of 2018/19. Their points in that campaign came from a 1-0 win over Verwood at home and a 6-3 win at Fleet Spurs. Honours even were where they shared two goals with AFC Portchester at Sean Devereux Park and Ordnance Survey (now AFC Stoneham) on the road.



THREE IN TO TWO WILL NOT GO

In Season 2014/15 Petersfield Town were comfortable winners of the Premier Division of the Sydenhams Wessex League but the pursuit of promotion from Division One was a lot closer with three Clubs pulling ten points clear of the pack but only two could be promoted and we follow now the progress of those three Clubs through the season until all was decided. Division One had only fifteen Clubs that season, a reduction of one from the previous year. Petersfield and Andover Town had been promoted and replaced by the relegated Downton and Romsey Town whilst Hayling United had withdrawn because of Ground Grading problems. The three Clubs who dominated the Division were Cowes Sports, Tadley Calleva and Team Solent and as usual the season began in ………

AUGUST With the FA Cup and Vase no doubt on the Agenda during the month the Clubs only played eight matches between them. Cowes made the long haul to Downton and returned with a point from a goalless draw and then defeated Pewsey Vale at Westwood Park. Tadley got away to a flier with Brett Denham notching a hat trick in a 6-0 defeat of United Services Portsmouth, George Hallahan came off the bench to score the only goal of the game at Team Solent and they completed the month with a one all draw at home to New Milton. Team Solent got off to the worse start possible going down 8-2 at home to Amesbury, for whom Eddie Perrett and Danny Finnegan both scored hat tricks, then losing to Tadley before finally getting off the mark with a 3-1 win over East Cowes Vics at Test Park. They also lost to Cowes in the FA Cup as their notoriously bad start to the season year by year continued. PL W D L F A Pts Tadley Calleva 3 2 1 0 8 1 7 Cowes Sports 2 1 1 0 2 0 4 Team Solent 3 1 0 2 5 10 3

SEPTEMBER Still not a great deal of League activity but Tadley continued to prosper with two home games and two wins 4-1 over Hythe & Dibden (Denham notching a double) and 6-0 over Ringwood Town, with James Milford claiming a hat trick and Denham another brace under his belt. Cowes also won two out of two – 2-1 at Amesbury and 3-1 at home to Andover New Street – while Solent went one better by winning all three games they played. Laverstock & Ford were beaten at Test Park and there were wins on the road at Andover New Street (2-1) and New Milton (3-2). PL W D L F A Pts Tadley Calleva 5 4 1 0 18 2 13 Team Solent 6 4 0 2 13 14 12 Cowes Sports 4 3 1 0 7 2 10

OCTOBER Again no doubt because of Cup Competitions and the relatively small number of Clubs in the League only a handful of League matches – two for each to be precise. Tadley and Brett Denham continued at the same

pace with a 9-1 victory at East Cowes, who had a poor season, and a 4-0 defeat of Andover New Street at Barlows Park. Denham scored SIX at Vics and three against New Street. Team Solent matched them in terms of points with two home wins, 3-0 over Downton and 3-1 against Hythe & Dibden and, not to be outdone, Cowes travelled twice and won twice. A best of three goal win at Ringwood was followed by a 6-0 defeat of Laverstock & Ford with a hat trick from Jordan Browne so no change in the order.

PL W D L F A Pts Tadley Calleva 7 6 1 0 31 3 19 Team Solent 8 6 1 2 19 15 18 Cowes Sports 6 5 1 0 15 3 16



NOVEMBER A mixed month for Tadley as they lost for the first time, 3-2 at Cowes and also went down 4-0 at home to Team Solent but they regained some momentum with a best of three goals win at Laverstock and a 3-1 success at New Milton. Team Solent in turn enjoyed a successful month, taking nine points from their three games. As well as the win at Tadley they won 2-1 at Romsey and trounced Fleet Spurs 8-3 on home soil with a hat trick from Justin Koeries. Cowes backed up their home win over Tadley with a 4-0 defeat of Downton on the Island but were held to a one all draw at Fleet Spurs PL W D L F A Pts Team Solent 11 9 0 2 33 19 27 Tadley Calleva 11 8 1 2 38 10 25 Cowes Sports 9 7 2 0 23 6 23

DECEMBER Always regarded as the halfway point of the season and invariably the start of the bad weather though none of the sides seemed to suffer from the latter. Solent beat Andover New Street 2-0 at home, shared four goals at Pewsey and went in to the New Year on the back of an impressive 3-1 win at rivals Cowes. Tadley finished the year on a high winning all three matches in the month by comfortable margins. Amesbury and East Cowes were beaten 4-1 and 6-0 respectively at home and they scored three without reply at Fleet Spurs. Not the best of months for Cowes though with defeats at Pewsey and New Street (2-0 and 3-1) to add to the loss to Solent before finishing with a 4-0 win at East Cowes Vics that maintained bragging rights for the season, with a gate of 129 being recorded. PL W D L F A Pts Tadley Calleva 14 11 1 2 51 13 34 Team Solent 14 11 1 2 33 19 34 Cowes Sports 13 8 2 3 31 14 26

JANUARY With the fixtures ticking along nicely all three Clubs completed three games in January and in Tadley’s case, successfully. A 4-0 home win over Laverstock & Ford was followed by trips to United Services Portsmouth and Amesbury that both resulted in 2-1 victories. Team Solent were momentarily stalled by Cowes winning 3-1 at Test Park but bounced back to beat Ringwood 6-2 at the same venue before a Jesse Waller-Lassen hat trick steered them to a 4-1 win at Fleet Spurs. Cowes went down 5-3 at New Milton before their fine win at Team Solent (watched by an attendance of 19) was followed by a two goal success at Hythe & Dibden. PL W D L F A Pts Tadley Calleva 17 14 1 2 59 13 43 Team Solent 17 13 1 3 51 28 40 Cowes Sports 16 10 2 4 39 20 32

FEBRUARY In to the last three months of the season with Cowes having some ground to make up. Not the best of months for Tadley with only two points gained from the three games played. Draws at Romsey and Downton (2-2 and 1-1) were followed by a 3-0 defeat at home by Cowes – at this stage of the season possibly an important result for both sides. Solent played four games with wins at East Cowes Vics and Hythe & Dibden (4-0 and 3-1) and a two goal defeat of United Services Portsmouth at Test Park before finishing the month with a best of five goal defeat at Amesbury. Cowes, still slightly behind on fixtures, shared six goals at United Services Portsmouth and scored six without reply at home to Laverstock & Ford before the perhaps vital win over Tadley. PL W D L F A Pts Team Solent 21 16 1 4 62 32 49 Tadley Calleva 20 14 3 3 62 21 45 Cowes Sports 19 12 3 4 51 23 39



MARCH An increase in the number of fixtures and the finishing line almost in sight with Solent playing five games in the month and winning them all to ensure they were the side the others had to beat. Away victories at Downton and United Services Portsmouth sandwiched home wins over Romsey, New Milton and Pewsey -the latter 6-0 with six different scorers. Tadley won three out of four, away at Ringwood, courtesy of another Denham hat trick, (he scored 39 goals in the League) while home wins over Pewsey and Romsey came either side of a home defeat by Downton. Cowes gave every indication of coming good at the right time with a one hundred per cent record for the month, beating Amesbury, United Services Portsmouth and Fleet Spurs on the Island before winning 4-0 at Hythe & Dibden. PL W D L F A Pts Team Solent 26 21 1 4 81 36 64 Tadley Calleva 24 17 3 4 72 26 54 Cowes Sports 23 16 3 4 64 26 51

APRIL The home stretch and the old adage as regards Team Solent – is it better to have games in hand or points on the board? On the 4th Cowes drew two all at Romsey and Tadley won 5-2 at Pewsey and both sides recorded 4-1 wins on the 6th against Vics (attendance 154) and Fleet Spurs (Denham with another hat trick) respectively whilst Solent scored the only goal of the game at Ringwood on the 7th. Cowes won 3-1 at New Milton on the 11th and beat Ringwood 4-1 on the 18th when Tadley lost 2-0 at Hythe & Dibden – whilst Team Solent sat and watched. The last Saturday and one game to play with Solent on 67 points, Tadley on 60 and Cowes on 61 meaning Solent were home and dry. Solent lost at Laverstock & Ford, where the attendance of 37 is recorded whilst Tadley gained three points with a 5-2 win at Andover New Street, but to no avail as a Jared Wetherick hat trick gave Cowes victory at home to Romsey, three points and promotion delight at Westwood Park and despair at Barlows Park – the ups and downs of Football, and to close, and for those statistical buffs out there, the Cowes Romsey crowd of 197 that afternoon was the highest in the Division for the season. PL W D L F A Pts Team Solent 28 22 1 5 83 38 67 Cowes Sports 28 20 4 4 76 32 64 Tadley Calleva 28 20 3 5 86 33 63

FIND THE MANAGER – ANSWERS

Answers from last week-

1. Viv Anderson

2. Tommy Smith

3. Dwight Yorke

4. Francis Lee

5. Pat Jennings

6. Ronnie Rosenthal

7. Duncan Edwards

8. Jackie Milburn

9. Francesco Totti

10. Darren Anderton

11. Divock Origi

Re-arranging the first letter of the

SURNAMES gives- James Taylor



CLUB NEWS

Despite all the issues over the current pandemic, not least as we now know with the League, it is marvellous to see that many clubs are announcing sponsorship deals within their communities; be it for players, coaching staff, kit or playing equipment. This is extremely pleasing news to hear, well done to all concerned.

Some good news for a number of our clubs was announced last weekend, but too late to go in Edition #49, after being successful in the applying for and subsequently being awarded a grant to assist in paying for pitch maintenance by the Football Foundation. This’ll go a long way to help in these challenging times. Should you require more information, do visit www.thefa.com/news/2020/jun/08/pitch-preparation-fund-review-080620

please note though that the offer is now closed. Folland Sports require an enthusiastic new Club Secretary to handle administrative matters for their Wessex League One and Hampshire Combination teams. The club also anticipate entering an under 18s team in the CSYL (City of Southampton Youth Football League). This provides an exciting opportunity to take a route into local football administration with a very long-established and respected club. The outgoing secretary, in his continuing role at the club as Treasurer, will provide all necessary instruction and support to the successful candidate. Should you be interested, then do please contact Jason Simmonds (Vice Chairman) on 07920 513552 or [email protected] Luke Shipley has joined Downton and will work alongside Rich Rendall as First Team Coach. Interesting news from the BBX Stadium. New Milton Town goalkeeper Coach Martin Pidgley can count on a professional player for sponsorship this coming season thanks to current AC Milan goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. Begovic is currently on loan to the Italian club from AFC Bournemouth after a loan spell in Azerbaijan playing for Qarabag and has made over 60 appearances for the Bosnia Herzegovina national side. On social media there are two new accounts for member clubs, Amesbury Town can now be found at @AmesburyFc and Cowes Sports are at @CowesSFC give them a follow to keep abreast of developments and news from those clubs. Disappointing news has also arrived at the Editors Office this week, in that Solent University FC have tendered their resignation, ironically not long after the story on pages 18 to 20 was submitted for inclusion. We hear that the University has taken the bold decision to withdraw from Saturday football and therefore resign their membership. The changing landscape in Higher Education, with realignment of the priorities of the University and the desire to support their other sporting ambitions led them to this necessary but still difficult decision. They have expressed their thanks to both the County FA and ourselves for all the support offered to them throughout the last decade. We wish those involved our best wishes in the future. The decision to replace (or not for that matter) is not in our hands and will be decided on by the FA- so for the time being we shall be running with two divisions each of 19 clubs, watch this space. News from Foxcotte Park sees Andover New Street announcing the reformation of Andover New Street Ladies FC. It has been several years since competitive ladies’ football has been played there. These are extremely exciting times for the club despite the current uncertainties, with the club continuing to grow both on and off of the pitch. The reformation of the ladies team ensures a pathway from youth to senior level football for the young ladies currently playing in their successful youth teams. The ladies will play on Sunday afternoons in the Hampshire County Women’s & Girls Football League. They will begin their journey in Division Four, managed by Kyla Tobin, a player having come through the youth section of Andover New Street herself. Football Chairman, John Ward, said “These are exciting times for the club. We as a committee are extremely proud that we are able to reform the ladies team and we look forward to supporting their progress”. The club are interested to hear from any girls aged 16+ or ladies who are interested in getting involved with football. Please contact the club at [email protected] or 07889154611.

http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/jun/08/pitch-preparation-fund-review-080620





WEEK FORTY SIX ROUND UP Clubs are strongly recommended to think through risk assessment scenarios that will need to be overcome to ensure guidelines are adhered to as and when the new season gets under way. Some thoughts were included in our last edition, such as one way systems round the pitch, at the tea bar, and toilet facilities. Minimal use of changing rooms- as an aside clubs are also very strongly advised to ensure that the water pipes are cleaned through before a return to use. There may be some news ahead of the League AGM on 28 June but forewarned is forearmed. Clubs are also reminded about ensuring they are ready and able to partake in the AGM which will be held online, club secretaries will have been forwarded the information that they require in order to participate. WGS is now open for registering players for 2020/21 Season. Please ensure that you click on 20/21 season because the 19/20 season still shows and some clubs have already registered players in the wrong season.

A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW- THE LAST WORD

The announcement last Wednesday certainly leaves a big gap in our family. Clubs should be aware that Officers on the League Management Committee are already looking for a replacement or replacements to carry on where Sydenhams will leave off. But let’s be clear here, it will be difficult to find someone to fill those shoes- not just short term but going forwards as well. Lack of investment at this level of the game may have serious ramifications. We have accepted that challenge. In the meantime, there will likely be some changes in prize money this coming season, and also in finances required from clubs for belonging to the League. Hopefully, there will be an update towards the end of this month. On behalf of everyone involved with our League, may I say that the support from Sydenhams over the last 17 years has been fantastic to all our clubs and their support has been greatly appreciated- and let’s not forget that. Thank you.

sydenhams football league news 2019/20 edition … · 2020-06-13 · saturday, 13 june 2020 page 6...

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