Tuesday, 6th January 2009

News

22nd November 2008
Review Of The Week

After beating ASHTON UNITED in midweek GUISELEY failed to join HEDNESFORD TOWN who were on FA Trophy duty in top spot when they lost on their travels for the first time going down to MARINE 2-0 on Saturday.

But just two points separates the "Mariners" in third spot from Ashton in seventh. BRADFORD PARK AVENUE could have been in that mix but they lost surprisingly at home to bottom club WITTON ALBION who had gone eleven games without a point. PRESCOT CABLES twice led at BUXTON but are still looking for a first away win after drawing 2-2.

Elsewhere EASTWOOD TOWN maintained their unbeaten home record with a 4-0 win over WORKSOP TOWN whilst ASHTON UNITED recovered from their midweek set back to win at fellow play-off hopefuls NORTH FERRIBY UNITED. The one other game on Saturday saw FRICKLEY ATHLETIC continue their march away from the foot of the table with a 3-1 win at home to MATLOCK TOWN.

There was a shock in store for FC HALIFAX TOWN when they went down at lowly ROSSENDALE UNITED enabling BAMBER BRIDGE to join them in top spot with a win at CURZON ASHTON. Indeed Halifax were the only one of the top six to lose whilst bottom club SALFORD CITY are still searching for a home win after drawing against CLITHEROE.

First Division South leaders CARLTON TOWN suffered their first away reverse of the season losing at QUORN and SHEPSHED DYNAMO moved to within two points of them when maintaining their unbeaten home record against RUSHALL OLYMPIC. Third place RETFORD UNITED dropped home points in a goalless draw against WILLENHALL TOWN whilst at the other end BRIGG TOWN were celebrating their first three pointer of the campaign and LINCOLN UNITED their first home win.

In five games against outside opposition in the FA Trophy UniBond sides were unbeaten with OSSETT TOWN, ILKESTON TOWN and DURHAM CITY all registering wins whilst CAMMELL LAIRD and HEDNESFORD TOWN both forced replays whilst on their travels.

Dynamo Boss Resigns

Loughborough Dynamo manager Adam Beazeley has resigned after two successful seasons in charge that peaked with promotion to the UniBond League last May. He said "In footballing terms it was the hardest decision of my life but the amount of time I could give the club was decreasing". Chairman Frank Fall said he was "saddened but understood the decision" adding that Assistant Manager John Folwell would take over with Mike McLarnon as his assistant. Beazeley's departure takes the number of managerial changes this season to a dozen following the departure of Tommy Taylor at Boston United.

Taylor Goes At Boston

Boston United manager Tommy Taylor became the eleventh managerial change of the UniBond season to date when he left the "Pilgrims" this week by mutual consent. Taylor had joined the club just prior to the start of the 2007/8 campaign following their relegation from the Football League and with little more than two weeks to prepare he assembled a squad that finished in a creditable tenth place in the Blue Square North.

Boston initially started life back in the UniBond League following the decision to relegate the club with some reasonable form winning four and drawing two of their opening eight games but since then results have gone down hill with just one point from the last six games that Taylor was in charge and their home form in particular left plenty to be desired results wise. Indeed, after winning their opening game of the season Boston had not won another home league match at the time of Taylor's departure.

Taking over in a caretaker capacity is Steve Welsh who resigned as manager of Spalding United in October 2005 to become 1st team coach at York Street when the "Pilgrims" were still in the Football League. More recently he has been responsible for the club's youth policy including overseeing Boston's Centre of Excellence. Now aged 41 the Glaswegian made more than three hundred appearances in the full time game with half of them coming at Peterborough United. His other clubs included Cambridge United, Preston North End, Lincoln City, Partick Thistle, Dunfermline Athletic and Ayr United.

Premiership Winner Is Matlock Choice

Mark Atkins, who played in all but eight of his side's games when Blackburn Rovers won the Premiership title in 1994/5, is the choice of Matlock Town to replace the recently departed managerial team of Phil Brown and Gareth Williams.

Atkins made a total of 257 appearances for the Ewood Park club before leaving them in September 1995 in a £1m move to Wolves where he played a further 126 games. His later clubs included York City, Doncaster Rovers, Hull City, Shrewsbury Town and Harrogate Town whilst he picked up managerial experience in stand-in roles at both Doncaster and Shrewsbury.

He was also Assistant Manager to John Reed at Harrogate Town and Stalybridge Celtic and by a quirk of fate will face his mentor in only his second game in charge of the "Gladiators" when Matlock travel to Buxton for a League Cup tie on Tuesday!

Chief Executive Keith Brown said "We're delighted that Mark has accepted the position. Its been a really tough decision with sixteen applicants which was reduced to a short list of seven with three of those being invited back for a second interview".

Eastwood Becomes Permanent At Rossendale

Rossendale United announced this week that caretaker boss, captain and leading goalscorer Phil Eastwood has been appointed Manager on a permanent basis.

He originally joined the Dark Lane club in August 2006 from Stalybridge Celtic since when he has made more than a century of appearances finding the net on a regular basis including scoring three hat-tricks.

Now aged thirty Eastwood began his career at Burnley as a trainee and won a Pontins League First Division Championship medal whilst with the Turf Moor club's Reserve team.

He then moved in to the Conference with Morecambe having already experienced action at that level in loan spells at Telford and Kettering. He spent a year at Southport before switching to Stalybridge in August 2002. He intends to carry on playing and will be looking to appoint an Assistant in the near future.

Nantwich Youngsters Earn A Crack At Everton

Nantwich Town's youngsters continued their fantastic FA Youth Cup run when they turned over Football League club Macclesfield Town 2-1 on Tuesday evening in front of a crowd in excess of 400 to earn a crack at Everton in the 3rd Round Proper. The encounter with the "Toffees" will take place at Goodison Park on Monday 15th December with a 7.30pm kick off.

Amongst the spectators on Tuesday was 74 year old former Manchester United player Ron Cope who, as a youngster, was drafted in to play in what was probably Manchester United's most poignant game ever with Sheffield Wednesday providing the opposition in the Red's first game following the Munich Air Crash.

He went on to make over a century of appearances but the former England Schoolboy international had six years earlier played in a record breaking FA Youth Cup game in which Manchester United defeated Nantwich 23-0 - a record score for the competition that still stands today - with the late great Duncan Edwards scoring five in a match that attracted a crowd of 2,600.

Guiseley Ladies Take "Team Of The Round" Award

Hard on the heels of Clitheroe and Durham City taking "Team of the Round" awards in this season's FA Trophy comes news that Guiseley Ladies have been named the "Team of the Round" in the Ladies FA Cup after beating Peterlee in the First Round Proper. They now meet Derby County Ladies at Nethermoor tomorrow (Sunday) with a 1.00pm kick off.

Much sadder news coming from the Yorkshire club was the announcement of the death of one of their most treasured volunteers Gladys Clapham after a long battle with cancer. She was known throughout the UniBond League fraternity as, along with her husband Keith and daughter Susan, she regularly welcomed visiting officials in the hospitality area at Nethermoor and was even present at the last home game prior to her death. It is said about some people that once they are born the cast is thrown away - Gladys was one of those people.

Whiteside Back In At Woodley

Former Club Secretary Tony Whiteside has answered the call of Woodley Sports after Chairman Peter Sullivan stepped down. Whiteside, who also doubled up as Treasurer in his previous stint returns after an absence of two and a half years and has vowed to take the Lambeth Grove outfit forward in the coming years.

He said "I intend to continue the work done by my predecessors and in particular the tremendous achievements that Neil Rourke (who died recently at the age of forty) initiated in the youth and community club areas. Hopefully our committed youth policy will produce more players such as Liam Dickenson (Stockport County) and Simon Hackney (Carlisle United) both of whom went on to become Football League regulars".

Matt Nurses Loughborough

Loughborough Dynamo 'keeper Matt Nurse has just completed a century of successive league games for the club. During that period he has kept 26 clean sheets with newly installed Manager John Folwell saying "He has been fantastic for this club and I am sure he could play at least two levels higher".

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