The BADGER 2023/24 Issue 21 vs Godmanchester Rovers

THE OFFICIAL MATCH DAY PROGRAMME vs GODMANCHESTERROVERS

UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH SATURDAY 6th APRIL 2024 I 3pm KICK OFF

Bugbrooke St Michaels FC

The Badgers, founded 1929 CLUB COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT - WILLY MARRIOTT

CHAIRMAN - KEVIN GARDNER

VICE-CHAIRMAN - NIGEL THOMAS

CLUB SECRETARY - GRAHAM CONNEW

YOUTH SECRETARY & TREASURER - NICK INWOOD

FIXTURES SECRETARY - DAVE MELLOR

GROUNDSMAN - DANNY POWELL

WELFARE OFFICER – HELEN GILLIGAN

COMMITTEE – RICHARD GIBBON, STUART WYKES, RICHARD FAULKNER, STEPH NASH

MANAGEMENT / COACHING TEAM

FIRST TEAM – DALE WALTON

RESERVE TEAM - ROB JONES

‘B’ TEAM - ANDY DEMIDOW

LADIES TEAM - STUART WHITE

UNDER 18s BLACK (NSYL) - LOUIE GALBRAITH

UNDER 18s WHITE (NSYL) - DARREN SMITH

UNDER 18s (NDYAL) - DEANO GOMES

UNDER 16s - MARK LINNELL

UNDER 15s - SIMON WHEELER

UNDER 14s - RYAN NASH

UNDER 13s - CHRIS ASHTON

UNDER 12s BLACK - DANIEL BLAND / BEN SMITH

UNDER 12s WHITE - TONY HILL

UNDER 11s BLUE - IAN MARRIOTT

UNDER 11s WHITE - MIKE BRINKLEY

UNDER 11s GIRLS - STEPH NASH

UNDER 10s GIRLS - KERRY HOUGHTON

UNDER 9s - ANDREW JACKMAN

UNDER 8s - NEIL BYRNE / DARREN WILLIX

WELCOMETOTHESETT

From the Chairman …

As Chairman of Bugbrooke St Michael’s Football Club I would like to offer you a warm welcome to The Sett and hope that you have an enjoyable visit.

Here at Bugbrooke St Michaels we are working hard to develop a club with a strong inclusive ethos, offering opportunities for players of all ages and abilities.

We are extremely proud of our youth development programme, supporting players from seven all the way up to eighteen. Many of our young players go on to have success with one of adult teams, with some players going on to even bigger and better things!

There is a great wealth of local support for the club, everyone that helps does so on a voluntary basis and through everyone’s hard work and dedication we have been able to achieve and maintain FA Accredited status.

Whilst some clubs choose to reinvest their revenue into players wages, here at Bugbrooke we hold a different set of values. All of our profits go into upgrading our equipment and facilities, building a solid future-proof foundation that will be here for future generations to enjoy.

Whilst this can sometimes hold us back from gaining huge success on the pitch, we feel our excellent facilities, youth development programme and ethos on community set us apart from other clubs.

Success and progression starts from the beginnings.

Thank you for your support today, we hope that you enjoy the game, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Kev

Kevin Gardner, Chairman

Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club would like to place on record our thanks to our team of volunteers, our advertisers and sponsors.

MANAGERS NOTES

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of Godmanchester Rovers who are the visitors to the Sett for todays United Counties Premier Division South fixture.

As we write these notes, we haven’t a clue if today’s match will go ahead or not!

The rain has been relentless for several months and whilst it is the same for every club up and down the country this, coupled with the volume of matches that are played on our pitch has left the surface unplayable.

Proof of how bad the weather has been this season is our Under 18s White who have had FIFTEEN fixtures cancelled this season, a truly staggering number!

Looking at today’s game our visitors will be desperate for the points, they currently sit just 3-points ahead of bottom placed Desborough Town with just 5 games left to play.

We have set high standards this season and with 4 games remaining we need to make sure that we maintain those standards, 12 points is the target as we aim to finish the season on a high note.

Before signing off, away from ourselves we must congratulate Wellingborough Town who on Bank Holiday Monday were crowned Champions of the United Counties League South Division following a nervy 1-0 win at Desborough Town.

Results elsewhere mean that Aylestone Park, Racing Club Warwick, March Town United and St Neots Town are all guaranteed a place in the end of season Play-Offs, best wishes to all teams in their quest for promotion to Step 4.

Thank you for your support today, enjoy the game and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

“We have set high standards this season and with 4 games remaining we need to make sure that we maintain those standards.”

OUR HISTORY

Formed in 1929, Bugbrooke St. Michael’s Football Club took over from Bugbrooke United who folded in 1928 after being in existence since 1910.

The club, which is named after the local St. Michael’s and All Angels Church, initially took its place in the Northants Central Village League and had immediate success, winning the league title from 1931 to 1937.

The club closed for the Second World War before reforming in 1947 and were once again successful winning the CVL title from 1947 to 1950 and were Northants Lower Junior Cup runners-up in 1949, a feat repeated in 1954.

We finally won the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup in 1956 and followed this in 1957 by winning the prestigious Daventry Charity Cup.

The club had its most successful years from 1966 to 1972 when we won the Northants Central Combination Premier title and again from 1976 to 1979 with 1977 also seeing us win the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup again.

The club continued to succeed in the Northants Combination until 1987 when the we took the decision to join the United Counties League.

At this time, we decided to run two teams in the U.C.L. and two teams in the C.N.C. We also began our youth section and have continued this ever since. Today we run 4 adult sides, including a recently formed Ladies team as well as 15 youth teams.

The club has had continued to enjoy success across all age groups over those 30 years, the most notable being N.F.A. Junior Cup winners in 1992, N.F.A Lower Junior Cup in 1993 and U.C.L. Division One winners in 2001.

The reputation for producing successful youth teams has increased over those years and 4 of our youth players (under 16) have been signed by professional league clubs.

The achievements of the club on the field have always been supported by a hardworking committee whose chief officers are recorded on a roll in the clubhouse foyer. They along with supporters of the club have built up the excellent changing rooms and clubhouse since 1980.

We hope that you enjoy the facilities that they have provided over those years, and we look forward to seeing you again in the future

‘LOVE

FOOTBALL. PROTECT THE GAME.’

A message from Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club about antisocial and criminal behaviour

As we commence the new season we want to make you aware of new measures being taken across all of football, and the NLS, to ensure everyone can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

We are supporting strong action from the FA, and across the NLS to tackle antisocial and criminal behaviours that put all of us at risk.

Please remember the following activities are illegal, dangerous, have serious consequences and have no place in our game:

• Carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros

• Invading the pitch or entering the pitch without permission

• Throwing objects onto the pitch

• Drug use within the football ground

• Discriminatory behaviour

For everyone’s safety, we will report anyone carrying out these offences to the police, which can result in a criminal record.

Anyone who enters the pitch without permission and those carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros will now receive an automatic club ban. These measures could also now apply to the parents or guardians of children involved in these activities.

This reflects the seriousness of the risks to fans and staff – pyros can burn at 2000 degrees Celsius and cause life changing injuries, while entering the pitch endangers players, managers and match officials. It also impacts the hard working volunteers, who ensure that our special part of the game continues to run.

We know those who commit these illegal acts do not represent the majority of supporters. Please work with us to call out the risks.

#LoveFootball #ProtectTheGame

Full name:

Nickname(s):

Founded:

Ground:

Capacity:

Manager:

League: 2022–23:

Current Position

Last Time Out: Form:

Godmanchester Rovers

Goddy 1911

David Wilson Homes Stadium

Unknown

Dan Gleeson

United Counties Premier Division South

United Counties Premier Division South, 14th of 18

18th – P34,W8,D2,L24 Pts 26

Lost 1-5 vs Histon

W W L L L

GODMANCHESTER ROVERS TODAYS VISITORS

Situated on the banks of the River Great Ouse, 16 miles North-West of Cambridge, on the A14.

Godmanchester is a town, not a village as it was chartered in 1212 and again in 1604. Godmanchester has been inhabited for over 2000 years and was a very important Roman settlement.

Football has been played in Godmanchester since the late 1890’s with Godmanchester Rovers coming into existence in 1911, previously playing as Godmanchester Town.

The first recorded mention of the club is from the ‘Cambridge Independent Press’ newspaper dated Friday 26th December 1913 where Godmanchester Rovers had a fixture against St-Ives on Boxing Day.

During the 1928–29 season, when they won the Hunts Junior Cup. They played in the Huntingdonshire League for many years before joining the Cambridgeshire League.

They won the Hunts Junior Cup again in 1988–89, and in 1992 were promoted to the top division of the Cambridgeshire League. In 1994–95 they won the League Cup, retaining it for the next two seasons. However, they were relegated to the Senior Division in 2000.

With the club about to move into a new ground, they made a speculative application to join the Eastern Counties League in 2002. Despite being in the second tier of the Cambridgeshire League, the club were successful.

In 2011–12 the club won the Eastern Counties Division One on goal difference to earn promotion to the Premier Division, also winning the Division One Knock-out Cup, defeating Whitton United 1–0 in the final.

After securing Premiership football for the 2017-2018 season it was marred by a large number of postponed games creating a large backlog of matches to be played, due to severe weather, notably ‘The Beast From The East’ and heavy rain.

After a slow start results started to improve with the return of a number of players that departed at the end of the 2016-2017 which helped earn a respectable 4th place.

During the season break work was undertaken to add further drainage to the pitch to elevate potential postponed matches.

The 2018-2019 season saw the retention of the majority of the playing squad from the previous season and despite a strong winning run of pre-season matches and a win in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary round, Rovers lost their opening League match but bounced back with a FA Cup win in the next game. This was the start of pattern that Godmanchester had throughout the season, strong performances in Cup games but mixed in League.

As we all know the 2019-2020 ended abruptly, however this allowed the club to work on and allow the pitch to have a long recovery. Hopefully that work has paid off and the pitch is a little more resilient to heavy rainfall.

As with the 2019-2020 season and Covid-19, 2020 -21 started with no spectators and just 9 games played before the season was ended and nulled. The club took the opportunity whilst the ground was void of any sport and spectators to embark on several ground improvements and renovations. The biggest undertaking was a large expansion on the Club House, adding a new larger kitchen for match day refreshments and larger patio area.

Before the start of the 2021-22, First Team manager, Ollie Drake departed the club making way for Dean Greygoose to take charge with a fresh squad of players.

2023/24 RESULTS & APPEARANCES

SUBS

A.WEBSTER ALHASSAN PANTER PORTER MALKIN SPENCER REZA BINDER HALLMARK J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER ALHASSAN PANTER PORTER REZA SHEHI CALVER BINDER MALKIN J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER ALHASSAN PANTER 1 PORTER REZA 1 GREEN SURACE BINDER

ALHASSAN 1 GREEN PANTER PORTER REZA SHEHI SURACE BINDER A.WEBSTER J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN SURACE 1 BAZELEY CAREY MAY

A.WEBSTER GREEN 3 SURACE PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN REZA SPENCER CAREY MAY

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 REZA PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN SURACE SPENCER CAREY GIBBON

A.WEBSTER GREEN ALHASSAN PORTER BINDER SHEHI 1 SIMMONS UNDERWOOD CAREY

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PRICE PORTER 1 BINDER ALHASSAN SIMMONS UNDERWOOD CAREY 1 PANTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN 2 ALHASSAN PORTER CAREY SHEHI SPENCER BINDER PANTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER 1 PORTER BINDER 1 ALHASSAN STEWART UNDERWOOD SHEHI SMYTH

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER PORTER BINDER SHEHI STEWART 1 POWELL ALHASSAN SURACE

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER OBENG 1 BINDER ALHASSAN SHEHI SMYTH CAREY 2 PORTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER 2 PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN SHEHI SMYTH 1 CAREY STEWART

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER 1 PORTER 1 BINDER ALHASSAN CAREY SURACE GIBBON J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER 2 PORTER BINDER POWELL MAKEKERA MEMOLI GIBBON STEWART

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER 1 PORTER BINDER SHEHI MAKEKERA ANKRAH SPENCER J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER PORTER BINDER 1 SHEHI CAREY STEWART SPENCER J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 PANTER ANKRAH BINDER ALHASSAN MAKEKERA STEWART OAKES

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER STEWART BINDER 1 POWELL MAKEKERA PORTER MALKIN GIBBON

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 ALHASSAN PORTER BINDER 1 SHEHI CAREY GIBBON J.WEBSTER ANKRAH

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER 1 PORTER BINDER SHEHI STEWART POWELL OAKES

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER 1 PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN SHEHI CAREY OAKES GIBBON

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN SHEHI CAREY OAKES POWELL

CAREY GREEN EMERY STEWART 2 BINDER ALHASSAN SHEHI MEMOLI J.WEBSTER

OAKES GREEN PANTER 1 PORTER STEWART ALHASSAN SHEHI MAKEKERA MALKIN

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER 2 PORTER J.WEBSTER ALHASSAN GIBBON W.PANTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN PANTER EMERY BINDER ALHASSAN GIBBON W.PANTER J.WEBSTER KING

A.WEBSTER GREEN STEWART 2 PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN GIBBON J.WEBSTER KING

A.WEBSTER GREEN STEWART 1 PORTER BINDER ALHASSAN GIBBON J.WEBSTER KING POWELL

A.WEBSTER GREEN STEWART 1 CAPATINA 1 BINDER KING MAKEKERA ANKRAH ALHASSAN

A.WEBSTER GREEN STEWART CAPATINA BINDER BRIGGS SHEHI J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN MARTINDALE KING BINDER SHEHI MAKEKERA J.WEBSTER GIBBON

A.WEBSTER 1 GREEN STEWART 1 SHEHI BINDER GIBBON MAKEKERA W.PANTER KING

A.WEBSTER GREEN BROWN PORTER BINDER 1 SHEHI STEWART POWELL MALKIN GIBBON

A.WEBSTER GREEN STEWART 1 PORTER BINDER 1 BRIGGS SHEHI BROWN 1 OBENG

A.WEBSTER GREEN STEWART PORTER BINDER BRIGGS SHEHI BROWN KING

A.WEBSTER GREEN 1 OBENG PORTER BINDER MALKIN SHEHI POWELL J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER GREEN CAPATINA 1 PORTER BINDER PRICE SHEHI KING GIBBON

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LEAGUE TABLE - FIRST TEAM

PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH

Lutterworth Town Vs Coventry United

Aylestone Park Vs Cogenhoe United

Bugbrooke St.Michaels Vs Godmanchester Rovers

Desborough Town Vs St Neots Town

Eynesbury Rovers Vs Daventry Town

Leicester Nirvana Vs Histon FC

March Town United Vs Easington Sports

Newport Pagnell Town Vs Yaxley FC

Racing Club Warwick Vs Rugby Borough

Wellingborough Town Vs G.N.G Oadby Town

RESERVE DIVISION

Godmanchester Rovers Reserves Vs Bugbrooke St.Michaels Reserves

Northampton ON Chenecks Reserves Vs Irchester United Reserves

Rothwell Corinthians Reserves Vs Kempston Rovers Reserves

Harborough Town Reserves Vs Buckingham Development

Raunds Town Reserves Vs Bourne Town Reserves

” The Other Upton Park”

Upton Park is inextricably linked to the Olympics. Mention the old ground to any West Ham fan and you’ll likely be met with a wistful look of nostalgic remembrance, glorious memories lost to the relentless march of property speculation in the capital. A move to the London Stadium following the 2012 Olympics may have made business sense, but to fans, it made little football sense, and there is still a sense of mourning for the history that was abandoned. But they are not the first side from the area to have their history connected to the Olympics. In 1900, when football was making its debut at the hallowed international exhibition of sporting excellence, the FA needed a team to represent the nation. They turned to the amateur side from London; Upton Park.

Upton Park were formed in 1866 as an amateur side, a status they fiercely maintained and one that gave them a ticket to the Olympics in Paris some three and a half decades later. They were participants in the first FA Cup in the 1871-2 season and conceded the very first goal scored in the competition, at their coincidentally named West Ham Park ground, a strike from Jarvis Kenrick that gave Clapham a 3-0 win. The club regularly attracted impressive crowds to their games and have been cited as a possible influence in Thames Ironworks, who would become West Ham United, moving to the area.

Despite their amateur status, Upton Park would be one of the key drivers of the professionalisation of English football, following an FA Cup tie in 1884. The club made a complaint to the FA about possible illegal payments to players by their opponents Preston North End. They were thrown out of the competition, but the FA were forced to confront the issue, and when the illegally professional clubs threatened to break away and form their own league, the legislators relented.

Despite being wound up in 1887, the club were reformed in 1891 and were founder members of the Southern Alliance, a league system that was set up for clubs in southern England, the most notable of which was Tottenham Hotspur (Arsenal were banned from the competition having recently professionalised). Upton Park finished the first season bottom of the league, but more concerning was the general failure of the competition. The Southern Alliance was wound up after that single season, with clubs having to find their places in other leagues.

And so, having spent most of their time bouncing around amateur football with limited success, it was something of a surprise when the FA asked Upton Park to represent the nation at the 1900 Olympics. The squad would comprise of the players registered to the club, with the addition of William Gosling from Chelmsford City (who had beaten Upton Park 7-1 that season), Alfred Chalk from Ilford, Jack Zeally from Bridport, and Richard Turner from the excellently named Crouch End Vampires. With the squad sorted, the team made the relatively short journey to Paris.

Only four teams entered the football competition, Upton Park, a representative XI from France, a Swiss team, and a group of students from Belgium that included one Englishman (Eric Thornton) and a Dutchman, and who were only there because Racing Brussels had pulled out. Before the tournament started, the Swiss team also withdrew, leaving just the three sides.

The slightly chaotic nature of these Olympics meant that Upton Park had to play just one game, against the French XI (who also had to play the side from Belgium, in the Belgian’s only fixture). Although no medals were awarded, the International Olympic Committee have attempted to reconcile the early competition with our modern competition and have designated the game between Upton Park and the French XI as the ‘gold medal’ match.

Taking advantage of a slight breeze, the French chose which way to kick in the final match in Vincennes, but it was no real advantage at all. Upton Park raced into a twogoal lead, John Nicholas and Richard Turner with the early goals. They then sought to control the game, slowing down the play due to the hot weather. Gosling went off injured in the second half, but the British side couldn’t be contained, and Nicholas got a third before Zealley completed the rout.

The players raced from the final back to England for an FA Cup tie against, of all sides, Olympic, which they lost 50, and then back to France to complete their touring duties. Despite not getting medals in the Olympics themselves, the FA awarded them commemorative medals at the end of the following season.

Upton Park wound up in 1911, and apart from a trophy named after them in the Channel Islands, that was that. Until West Ham vacated the Boleyn Ground. Upton Park were reformed in 2016 and played the final game at West Ham’s old ground, against Royal Engineers. Most of all, though, they are remembered as the very first World Champions.

Enjoy the game!

FIRST TEAM

DON’TMISS THEACTION

SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOW THE BADGER

BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS

Manager:

Dale Walton

Colours: White / Black / Black

FROM:

Luke Reeve

Billy Panter

Ryan Nash

Joe Malkin

Tom Simmons

Tom Smyth

Tom Walton

Joel Powell

Kodi Briggs

Ryan Martindale

Calvin Green

Ronnie Gibbon

Kevin Shehi

Tom Binder

Aidan Webster

Jake Webster

Freddie King

Carter Price

Cosmin Capatina

Dan Porter

Shay Brown

Christian Makekera

Andrian Ankrah

GODMANCHESTER ROVERS

Manager:

Dan Gleeson

Colours: Blue / Blue / Blue

FROM:

Ben Arnold

Emmanuel Gbejuade

Ricki Goodale

Matthew Green

Ben Newton

Ruari O'Boyle

Ron Sosoli

Tom Spark

Ben Tait

Alfie Turner

Edward Watson

Joshua Hales

Will Jolly

Tyler Marheineke

Charles Whitehead

Ben Newton

Hashim Bakar