Tuesday, 14th October 2008

News Archive

3rd February 2007
First Division leaders Buxton were staring defeat in the face with 11 minutes to go at home to Colwyn Bay but came back to earn a point that actually increased their lead as second place Eastwood Town were surprised at home by third bottom Wakefield FC.

A goal by Stewart Copnell signed with only minutes to spare before the morning deadline was enough to give third place Stocksbridge the points against Ossett Albion whilst at the other end of the table it was a good week for Chorley who followed up their midweek point with a 3-0 win over Rossendale.

Pickering Departure Takes Total To Twenty

The managerial changes within the UniBond League hit the twenty mark this week when it was announced that Ally Pickering had left Woodley Sports by mutual consent. The former Rotherham United defender who went on to play in the Premiership for Coventry City had been in charge for two years and had established the Stockport based outfit as one of the best footballing sides in the First Division. Taking over for the "foreseeable" future is Assistant Manager Ian Nevison and former Club Chairman Ian Campbell. In fact it has been all change at the Cheshire club as directors Mike Clark, Craig Sellars and Stewart Vann have resigned from the football side of the club to concentrate their efforts on the new overall Woodley Sports Club development leaving Chairman Peter Sullivan and remaining Directors Rod Haslam and Jeff Mills to restructure the Board. Amongst the people approached to help are former club mainstays Tony Whiteside and husband and wife team of Pauline and Ian Campbell who all stepped down at the end of last season.

Chorley Mourn Ex Chairman

Chorley were this week mourning the death of former Chairman Jimmy Tootell who had been a popular figure at Victory Park for over fifty years. He was instrumental in the building of the Social Club and also signed Paul Mariner, who later was sold to Plymouth Argyle for a club record fee on his way to 35 England caps, for the "Magpies".

UniBond "Club Of The Month" Awards

The UniBond "Club of the Month" awards for January have gone to Ilkeston Town and Eastwood Town respectively. Both prizes were close run affairs with several clubs in the Premier Division unbeaten whilst in the lower tier Belper Town, Bradford Park Avenue and Eastwood all boasted 100% league records during the month.

Ilkeston took the Premier Division accolade with four wins and a draw during January and with three of those games away they nudged out AFC Telford United and Prescot Cables who both had three wins and a draw in four games. In the First Division Belper Town won four out of four league matches whilst Bradford were successful in all four league and cup fixtures but it was Eastwood who landed the spoils with five wins from as many games with four of them on their travels.

With the season now in to its sixth month no club in either Division has won the prize on more than one occasion!

UniBond "Fair Play" Awards

The UniBond "Fair Play" awards for January have gone to Prescot Cables and Ossett Albion with Cables remarkably picking up the prize for the third time in four months! Needless to say they sit at the top of the season to date Fair Play table which can be found elsewhere in this release but, remarkably, despite their excellent record they are still only 0.10 of a point ahead of Guiseley who are the same margin in front of Matlock Town.

Albion lifted the First Division prize with a dramatic improvement resulting in just two cautions in four games after a pretty desperate disciplinary record up until that point. Despite their improvement they stay next to bottom in the season to date table with only Clitheroe below them. Kidsgrove Athletic continue to lead the overall table by a country mile and seemed destined already for the Division's £1,000 first prize come the end of April. However, who gets the runners-up prize of £750, 3rd place prize of £500 and £250 for 4th spot is wide open.

Fourteenth 'Keeper For Chorley

Chorley used their fourteenth goalkeeper of the season on Tuesday evening when John Ogden made his debut for the struggling First Division side. He follows in the footsteps of Mark Threlfall, Phil Priestley, Mike Allison, Ryan Platt, Dave Fish, Brett Walker, Mark Canning, Mark Thornley, Scott Ball, Danny Hurst and Paul Eatock. The other two players to feature between the sticks this season for the "Magpies" were outfield players James Quadrio and Ian Callaghan who had to take over in games where the 'keeper of the day had been injured! Ogden was the "Magpies" fourth custodian in as many games after Hurst, Thornley and Eatock had appeared in their previous three fixtures!

Quick Fifty Up For Sharpe

Bradford Park Avenue boss Phil Sharpe has piled up a quick fifty games in charge since his appointment in March 2006. His fiftieth game came with a 2-1 victory in Tuesday evening's County Cup at Pontefract Collieries with his complete record reading Won 26 Drawn 5 Lost 19.
Albion's £70,000 Investement Comes To Fruition

Ossett Albion's ambitious project to refurbish their floodlit training area is due to be completed and in use next week. The training area that served the club well for many years had to be closed eighteen months ago when the tarmac surface deteriorated to such an extent it was deemed dangerous. It has now been upgraded with a third generation Astroturf surface along with improved floodlighting and, in addition to considerably improving the club's own training requirements, will serve the needs of numerous other organisations in an area where such facilities are at an absolute premium. With changing accommodation already on site the club's £70,000 investment should not only enhance Albion's own facilities but also generate additional income for a club that has often struggled over the years to raise sufficient finance to compete at this level.

Eight On The Bounce For Lennon

Michael Lennon, the League's leading scorer with 34 goals to his credit for Kidsgrove Athletic going in to today's game at Gresley Rovers, was on the mark again in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Woodley Sports. It was the eighth successive game Lennon had found the net beginning with the away game against Skelmersdale United on 19th December and continuing against Rossendale United, Alsager Town, Chorley, Buxton, Skelmersdale United at home and Bradford Park Avenue.

Gresley Another Step Nearer To Ground Move

Gresley Rovers are another step closer to moving to a new home from their Moat Ground where they have been playing for 99 years. The club has been awarded a grant of £75,000 by the South Derbyshire District Council to help tie up the purchase of the current ground from local brewery Mitchell & Butlers. Once the club have finalised the purchase they plan to sell it and build a new stadium on former industrial land in Church Gresley with club officials hopeful of moving sometime during 2008

Bad Break For Warrington

Warrington Town's Karl Robinson will be out for the rest of the season after sustaining a broken ankle in Tuesday evening's goalless draw against Chorley

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Rovers Make A Point On The Road

New Signing

At home to:
Willenhall Town (UniBond President's Cup 2nd Round)

This evening, 7.45pm

View previous encounters with Willenhall Town