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News Archive

4th February 2006
Review Of The Week

Despite a free weekend Frickley Athletic were the beneficiaries as Premier Division leaders North Ferriby United lost at home to Farsley Celtic whilst third place Marine were held to a third successive draw - this time at Lincoln United. Both Farsley and Blyth Spartans moved above Witton Albion who dropped out of the play-off positions after losing at home on Tuesday to bottom club Leek Town. Closing in on the play-off positions are Burscough who won a seven goal thriller as Bradford Park Avenue slipped to a seventh successive defeat and Matlock Town who put in five to end Gateshead's seven match unbeaten run. Guiseley lost ground in the struggle for the play-offs when a missed penalty in a goalless game at Runcorn FC Halton cost them dear. At the opposite end, wins must seem like buses for Leek who followed up their midweek success at Witton with a vital win at next to bottom Radcliffe Borough who had leading scorer Steve Foster sent off after twenty minutes. That reduced Leek's deficit to six points and with three other clubs only two points further ahead suddenly Leek have a lifeline. Two wins in the week for Mossley puts them four points clear at the top of the First Division and it might have been more but for second place Kendal Town coming back from two down to take the points at lowly Goole. The only other top seven club to win were Stocksbridge PS as third and fourth place Bridlington Town and Fleetwood Town fought out a draw whilst Colwyn Bay slumped to defeat at Eastwood Town and Gresley Rovers needed two goals in the last three minutes to claim a point at Clitheroe. With their games in hand, however, Woodley Sports are looking a danger to all the play-off hopefuls. At the bottom Bishop Auckland managed to avoid defeat for the first time in a dozen games with a battling draw at Shepshed Dynamo but their cause still looks a lost one with eighteen points between them and safety.

Davenport In For Telford Job

Former Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and England player Peter Davenport is amongst the names who have applied for the vacant position at AFC Telford United following last week's departure of ex Northern Ireland international Bernard McNally. The 44 year old is keen to get back in to management after four years in charge of Bangor City whom he took in to Europe three times as well as frequently seeing his side finishing as the highest placed semi-pro team in the Vauxhall Masterfit Welsh Premier League. He also had a year in charge of Macclesfield Town in the Football League.

Ashton Go Finnish

Ashton United boss Scott Green who, in a long full time career, played in Finland has used his contacts in that country to land two Finnish players until their own season starts in April. 25 year old striker Andreas Bjork and 23 year old defender Jan Ahlvik have been signed from Vasa IVK after impressing in a trial game against Droylsden.

UniBond "Club Of The Month" Awards

The UniBond League "Club of the Month" awards for January have gone to Frickley Athletic and Ossett Albion. Frickley, without doubt the surprise package of the current campaign, kept up their challenge for the Premier Division title with a 100% record during the month beating Farsley Celtic, AFC Telford United, Prescot Cables and Bradford Park Avenue. In addition they also beat Rossendale United in the UniBond League Chairman's Cup which was the First Division side's first defeat since they installed Derek Egan as manager in November. Frickley's success is certainly being rewarded at the turnstiles with their average crowd of 306 up 36% on last season and the best for eighteen years.

The First Division award was a much closer affair with both Ossett and Woodley Sports boasting identical records of four wins and a loss. Both beat table topping sides in Kendal Town and Mossley respectively and both beat other top six sides in Stocksbridge and Gresley Rovers. Both played three at home and two away and the eventual deciding factor was the starting position of Ossett Albion at the turn of the year. They were third from bottom of the table just three points clear of Warrington Town who had five games in hand. Ossett were also on an eighteen game run without a win when they began their January programme which made their sequence of successes in the month quite remarkable and just gave them the nod over Woodley.

UniBond "Fair Play" Awards

The UniBond "Fair Play" awards for January have gone to Prescot Cables and Gresley Rovers respectively. Prescot picked up the top tier prize with just three cautions in five games but it was a close run thing in the First Division where both Belper Town and Gresley Rovers had incurred four disciplinary points in five UniBond games with the latter taking it because of a better record in the Derbyshire Senior Cup in which both clubs had competed during the month acting as a "tie-breaker".

Farsley Celtic, meanwhile, returned to the head of the current season to date Premier Division table just nudging out Ashton United who had taken over from the "Celts" at the end of December in the race to claim a share of the £5,000 prize money on offer courtesy of UniBond. Colwyn Bay are way out clear as they attempt to win the First Division's top prize come next May. Closest rivals are Belper Town and Shepshed Dynamo.

Endsleigh Sports Insurance "Goalscoring Awards"

The Endsleigh Sports Insurance "Goalscoring" awards for January have gone to Blyth Spartans and Bamber Bridge respectively. Blyth averaged three goals a game during the month whilst "Brig" netted 19 in six games to lift the First Division prize.

Kendal Mint Cake

First Division Kendal Town are not only trying to be table toppers this winter but also table fillers with customised Kendal Town Mint Cake. For more than seventy years visitors to the Lake District have been taking home bars of the famous Kendal Mint Cake which were carried to the top of Mount Everest back in May 1953 on the first successful expedition to the summit of the world's highest mountain. Kendal Mint Cake ranks as one of the most travelled sweets and the UniBond club are adding to its famous history with away fans now able to buy the club's own branded bar with the club badge embossed on it. Secretary Craig Campbell said "We decided to produce the bars due to the demand from away supporters". The bars are on sale at the club shop on match days and via Kendal's website www.kendaltownfc.co.uk

Glendon Quits Full Time Post At Radcliffe

Radcliffe Borough have announced that manager Kevin Glendon, who recently stood down as a Director, is giving up his full time post with the club which he has held for the past ten years. Club Chairman Bernard Manning Jnr said: "The decision is based on the full time role he played within the club not the football manager's position which we have yet to discuss. It was a difficult decision for Kevin and I to make but he felt it was in the best interest of the club and himself as he has plans to create other avenues of work linked to his experience".

Glendon added: "After ten years it is a big wrench to leave but as with my decision to step down from the Board I feel the decision made is the right one at this point in time for the club. It will allow me to concentrate on my new work but I have also promised Bernard that initially I will still help organise the club's fund-raising events and commercial work".

More bad news for the club came with the announcement that former Bury central defender Matty Barrass has had to retire from the game at the age of 25 due to a knee injury incurred during his time with the Gigg Lane club. Barrass made around a century of appearances for the "Shakers" before having to finish in the full time game at the end of last season. However, even the lesser training demands of the semi-professional game have proved too much and he felt it was not worth the pain he was suffering after each match to continue playing. Since signing for Borough in September Barrass started a dozen games and was substitute in a further five.

Witton Sell 'Keeper To Halifax

Witton Albion sold goalkeeper Jon Kennedy to Halifax Town for an undisclosed fee on Tuesday. Kennedy, now aged 25, first came to prominence in the UniBond League as a teenager playing for Worksop Town and a big money move to Sunderland quickly followed. He was with the North East club for four seasons but never made the first team for a league fixture although he did go out on loan and appeared for Blackpool in the Football League. He then moved to Accrington Stanley from whom Albion signed him. To fill the immediate void Witton have taken former Bolton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers 'keeper Mark Westhead on loan from Hyde United.

Kittrick Fits The Bill

After ten league games in charge stand-in boss Steve Kittrick has been awarded the Ossett Town managerial post on a permanent basis. Taking over a team that had just three league victories to their credit Kittrick had won five and drawn one of his ten league games in charge when the announcement was made on Tuesday. The club's Football Executive Phil Thompson said: "Steve, along with Andy Hayward and the rest of the playing staff, has done a tremendous job. The players need to have certainty in their manager and hopefully the confirmation of his appointment will help Steve in this aspect".

Three Eastwood Players On Trial At Forest

Three of Eastwood Town's "Academy" players who have all been featuring in the first team this season on a regular basis have been invited for a week's trial by Nottingham Forest. Lindon Meikle, Junior Daniel and Marc Stevenson are all seventeen year olds.

Biley Leaves Spalding

Former Derby County and Portsmouth striker Alan Biley became the fourteenth managerial change of the UniBond campaign this week when he left Spalding United to return to Kettering Town where he had been Assistant Manager to Kevin Wilson until Wilson was removed earlier this season leaving the way open for Paul Gascoigne's first steps in management. Biley goes back to Rockingham Road now as Assistant to newly appointed "Poppies" boss Morrell Mason.

Spalding were bottom of the pile when Biley took over following Steve Welsh's elevation to the Football League with Boston United but he quickly lifted the "Tulips" up the table despite making it clear that he would leave if offered a job higher up the ladder. Despite being in plaster following a broken leg in January Assistant Manager Andy Stanhope came to the rescue by making the journey to Woodley Sports for today's fixture.

Lyons In England Futsal Squad

Gresley Rovers midfielder Micky Lyons has been named in the England Futsal squad to play Finland next week in two games at Bisham Abbey on 7th and 8th February. It is late recognition of the skills of the 24 year old who was at the FA National School in Lilleshall during the mid-nineties with the likes of Alan Smith and Scott Parker whilst Michael Owen, Wes Brown and Joe Cole were in other age groups at the same time. During his stay at Lilleshall Lyons faced Ronaldhino in a 4-2 defeat shortly before Brazil went on to win the World Youth Championship.

Having been late entrants in to the Futsal version of the game England are rated 66th in the world but coach Graeme Dell says: "We may be 20 years behind the top nations but we are learning fast". www.TheFA.com/Grassroots/SmallSidedFootball gives more details of this fast growing football adaptation.

Walker Pleased With Progress

Belper Town striker Jamie Walker is pleased with the progress of his treatment for the cancer he was diagnosed with earlier in the campaign. The 22 year old who has Hodgkin's Lymphoma said: "The lumps have gone right down. Instead of being like golf balls they are now more like pea size but my hair is falling out". Walker was back in the gym this week for the first time since his treatment started and is already planning his Belper Town comeback having agreed with manager Ernie Moss, who also suffered from the disease some years ago, to play a match to raise money for the Haematology Department at Kings Mill Hospital, Mansfield.

Double Blow For Fleetwood

Fleetwood Town suffered a double blow this week with the news that new dad Ryan Parr has decided to quit the club due to domestic arrangements following the birth of his child which has caused him to struggle to travel to training. Matty Gilson is also unlikely to play for Fleetwood in the near future due to work commitments but one thread of good news for manager Tony Greenwood is that striker Micky Saunders is expected to be back in action by the end of the month after suffering a serious injury in the New Year derby at Bamber Bridge. However, he too could be leaving as he is currently the subject of a seven day notice of approach from title rivals Mossley.

North Ferriby Sponsors Sign Up For Thirteenth Year

Title chasing North Ferriby United were this week taken by surprise when Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of the club's main sponsors Dransfield Properties, stood up at the club's annual dinner and offered to extend the sponsorship which already runs to the end of 2006/7 for a thirteenth year to 2008.

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