ROYSTON TOWN vs TAMWORTH - MATCHDAY PROGRAMME - SAT 14th AUG 2021

THE PITCHING IN SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION CENTRAL

ROYSTON TOWN FC vs TAMWORTH FC Saturday 14th August 2021 Kick Off: 3.00pm

Royston Town FC would like to welcome this afternoon’s opponents Tamworth FC for their visit to Garden Walk for this Pitching In Southern Football League Premier Division Central fixture.

We wish their Players, Officials and Supporters an enjoyable afternoon and hope the match will be a keenly contested and entertaining game.

We also welcome this afternoon’s Match Officials and hope they too have an enjoyable game.

TODAY'S MATCH SPONSOR

https://www.iglfilms.co.uk/

Royston Town Football Club President Chairman Secretary

Founded 1875 Alan Barlow Steve Jackson Terry McKinnell 9 Valley Rise, Royston, Herts SG8 9EY

07772 086709

Treasurer Welfare Officer Fixture Secretary Executive Board

Webmaster Programme Editor Official Photographer

email: secretary@roystontownfc.co.uk Jeff Gill Angela Baulk Steve Endacott (07971 512402) Trevor Burrows, Andy Toovey, Eric Joyce, David Baulk, Angela Baulk, Chris Coote, Duncan Easley, Giles Parnwell, Neil MacLeod, Matt Clowery.

Steve Endacott Angela Baulk Kevin Richards

Football Management Team First Team Manager First Team Asst Manager Reserve Team Manager U18 Team Managers Women's Team Manager Vets Team Manager

Steve Castle Chris Watters Lewis Endacott Dan Evans/Matt Campany Lewis Endacott Lee Wilkinson

Ground

Garden Walk, Royston, Herts SG8 7HP Telephone (01763) 241204

Colours

First XI Reserves U18 Women's Vets

White/Black/White White/Black/White White/Black/Black White/Black/White White/Black/Black

Members of: The Hertfordshire Football Association Southern League Premier Division The Herts Senior County League Thurlow Nunn Youth League Eastern Region Women’s Football League The Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Ladies League

RoystonTown Football Club is an unincorporated association controlled by its members under the Constitution of RTFC

CLUB HONOURS WINNERS Herts County League (Div I) 1969-70, 1972-73 Herts County League (Premier Div) 1976-1977 South Midlands League (Div I) 1977-1978 South Midlands Reserve League (Div II) 1978-1979 South Midlands Reserve League (Div I) 1979-1980 North Herts (Div IV) League Cup, 1978-79, 1979-1980 Herts Charity Shield, 1981-82, 1989-90, 1996-1997 Herts Intermediate Cup, 1988-1989 Chiltern Youth League (Div I) 1989-1990 South Combinations Reserve Floodlight Cup, 1992-1993 Chiltern Youth League Cup, 1992-1993 South Midlands Challenge Trophy, 1995-1996 Eastern Region Women’s League (Div II) 1998-1999 Eastern Counties Youth League Cup, 2001-2002 South Midlands Reserve Challenge Cup 2004-2005 KB Tyres Division III Champions 2006-2007 South Midlands League (Div I) 2008-2009 South Midlands League Cup (Div I) 2008-2009 South Midlands Floodlit Cup 1994-1995 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012 South Midlands Reserve League (Div II East) 2008-2009 South Midlands Reserve Challenge Cup 2008-2009 KB Tyres Division I League Cup 2009-2010 South Midlands Reserve Floodlit Cup 2009-2010 BIS Cambs League Division 2A 2010/2011 BIS Cambs League Divisional Champions 2010/2011 Veterans Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup 2010/2011 South Midlands Premier League 2011/2012 South Midlands Premier League Cup 2011/2012 Suburban League North Division 2012/2013, 2013/2014 Joint Winners of the Hinchingbrooke Cup 2013 Eastern Region Women’s League Plate 2013/2014, 2014/15 Suburban Premier League 2015-16 Eastern Region Women’s League Division 1 West 2015/16 Southern League Div 1 Central 2016/17 RUNNERS UP South Midlands Challenge Cup, 1978-1979 Herts Charity Shield, 1978-79, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2008-2009 South Midlands League (Premier Div) 1979-1980 North Herts (Div IV) 1979-1980 North Herts (Div III) 1981-1982 North Herts (Div II) 1982-1983 South Midlands Res Section Trophy, 1982-1983 Chiltern Youth League Cup, 1986-87, 1988-1989 Herts Intermediate Cup, 1989-1990 Herts County Youth Cup, 1992-1993 North Herts (Div I), 1993-1994 South Midlands Floodlit Cup, 1995-1996 Herts F.A. Women’s Cup, 1998-99, 2001-2002 2013/14 Eastern Region Women’s League (Div I) 1999-2000, 2013/2014 2014/15 Eastern Junior Plate, 2001-2002 KB Tyres Division I 2008-2009, 2009-2010 South Midlands Reserve Challenge Trophy 2009-2010 South Midlands Reserves Floodlit Cup 2010/2011 Hertfordshire Women’s County Cup 2013/2014 Eastern Region Women’s League, League Cup 2014/15 Southern League Division 1 Central 2014/15 2015/16

SO WHEN DID IT ALL BEGIN? The history of Royston Town FC After some intensive research, the evidence is that the club came into existence in 1875 making Royston the third oldest Club in Hertfordshire after Hitchin and Bishop Stortford.

The Club’s very first honour came in 1911/12 when they won the Creake Charity Shield beating Wisbech 1-0 in extra time.

The Club’s first major honour in more recent times came in the guise of promotion to the Herts County Premier League in 1969/70 and they went on to be champions in 1972/73 and 1976/77.

In 1978 we rejoined the South Midlands League and won the Division One title at the first time of asking. Success continued with a final appearance in the Herts Charity Shield for the first time in 1979 and runners up spot in the South Midlands League Premier Division in 1980. The Herts Charity Shield was won in 1981/82 and two years later the Club joined the Isthmian League Division Two North where we remained for 10 seasons before returning to the South Midlands League in 1994.

After a period in the doldrums that culminated in relegation from the South Midlands League Premier Division at the end of 2006/07, Paul Attfield was appointed manager with ex-Spurs favourite Tony Galvin returning to Garden Walk 1st Team Coach in November 2007.

Paul immediately set about building a new 1st Team squad and a run of 17 games undefeated saw the Club move from the bottom of the table to finish in 5th place in the League.

The foundations had been laid for the 2008/09 season and the first team took the South Midlands Division One League title with one of the best sets of stats for any Step 6 Club in the country W33, D4, L3, GF138, GA30, GD+108, PTS 103.

The 2011/2012 season will be seen as a watershed in our history with winning the South Midlands Premier Division title and promotion to Step 4 in the shape of the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One Central.

In our first season back at Step 4 after an absence of 19 years, it was hard to know what to expect and how we would perform. Most of our supporters felt a mid-table position would be an acceptable target for the season, but we quickly found ourselves exceeding all expectations as our performances propelled us towards the top of the table. Four straight wins in the first four games set the tone and a run of nine wins with just one defeat between October and December saw us maintain a play-off position. In the very last game of the season a playoff was still a possibility and having gone 2-1 up away at AFC Hayes with just a few minutes of the game left it looked a near certainty. But it was not to be as Hayes scored an 87-minute equaliser and our play-off place was lost.

In our second season at this level, our steady progress to claim a place in the playoff zone was given a severe jolt when Paul Attfield announced his resignation as first team manager due to ill health at the beginning of November. The search for his replacement began almost immediately and we were inundated with applications from some very well know and successful managers. After an exhaustive selection process, the Board appointed Steve Castle at the end of November and on Boxing Day Steve officially took over securing a 0 – 0 draw against the League’s form team and eventual champions Dunstable Town.

Our 2014/15 season opener was at home against one of the promotion favourites Rugby Town but an impressive team display ensured their threat was stifled and we ran out winners 2 -1. That victory really did set things buzzing but we were quickly brought back down to earth when on the following Tuesday night Bedworth United were the visitors winning the game 3 – 1.

As we all know consistency in performances provides the key to long term success and although the early stages of the season produced good results against the likes of Daventry Town and Beaconsfield these were punctuated by dismal performances against the likes of Aylesbury and Egham Town. From mid-November to mid-December We really lost our way with six defeats in seven games but our rollercoaster ride saw an incredible run of form over the Christmas period and into the New Year with five straight wins which helped us maintain a position in the playoff places.

On a miserable Tuesday evening in February we travelled to lowly AFC Hayes and after an abject performance we lost the game 2 – 0. This prompted our Chairman to tell Steve Castle that he had given up on this team making the play – offs and said that we should start preparing instead for next season. That message was conveyed to players and we witnessed a most remarkable transformation in our results with a 14 game unbeaten run during which we scored 29 goals and conceded just seven resulting in us achieving the runners up spot to league champions Kettering Town and securing our place in the play- off semi final where we met local rivals Barton Rovers.

After an incident packed 90 minutes and extra time the game ended in a goalless draw but it was not to be our night and we lost the shoot out 4-5 and had to suffer the agony of all the emotions which go with being defeated in this way.

We started the 2015/16 season strongly and between the end of December and the end of March we produced a rich vein of form with only one defeat in 14 games and this ensured we were sitting on top of the league with just 7 games to go and with the expectation that we could win promotion outright ran high throughout the whole club.However three games in succession proved our down fall when we could only draw 0 – 0 with Bedford and lost to Egham away 3- 1 and Godalming at home 1- 0 and once again we ended up in the play offs against AFC Rushden but we failed to turn up and went out tamely to our opponents 2 - 1.

Having finished runners up for two years in succession Steve Castle was determined to make it third time lucky and began to recruit some experienced new blood in the shape of John Frendo and Adam Murray whilst at the same time giving youngsters Gus Scott Morris and Josh Castiglione extended runs in the first team.

However the season didn’t start well and after four games we’d only mustered five points whilst promotion rivals Farnborough just couldn’t stop winning. Although results did improve, defeat in the FA Cup to Heybridge Swifts 4 – 1 and a thrashing by Barton Rovers at home 6 – 3 at the end of September didn’t do a great of good for our confidence.

Things took a dramatic turn thereafter with 12 successive league wins which ended with defeat 2-1 at Kidlington in early January 2017, interspersed by a magnificent run in the FA Trophy including victory against Step 2 outfit Hampton and Richmond Borough before in the replay against Dulwich Hamlet we eventually went down 1 -0.

With cup football out of the way the team put together an incredible run of 16 league games undefeated including a 5 – 0 thrashing of closest rivals Farnborough which saw us maintain the top spot until the end of the season by a margin of 12 points and the highest number of goals scored, 120, across all three Evostik Leagues.

Promotion to the Southern Premier League means that the Club will be playing at its highest level in its 142 year history!

Season 2017/18 saw The Crows exceeded all expectations in our first season at Step 3.

Throughout the season we managed to maintain our hopes of a play-off place until they were finally put to bed with two successive defeats against the eventually play-off winners Slough Town and we had to be satisfied with a seventh place finish. The signing of Adam Marriott, a proven goal scorer who had played for Lincoln City, Stevenage and Cambridge United was without a doubt a real coup and he was to play a key role in the progress made by the Club by becoming our leading marksman with 31 goals.A good run in the FA Trophy with wins against Enfield Town and Leatherhead came to an end against Eastbourne Borough when having managed to draw at their place we lost the replay on penalties. We managed to get to the final of the Herts Senior Cup were we played Boreham Wood from Step 2 and in spite of a brave performance we never really had the power to compete and lost 2 – 1.

Given where we had started from we definitely exceeded our own and many other peoples’ expectations and this has provided us with the building blocks to face this season in the newly constituted Southern Premier Central League.

SUPPLIERS OF PRIZES FOR THE FAMOUS ROYSTON TOWN FC MEAT RAFFLE

Season 2018/19 saw us finishing in a respectable 9th position in what proved to be a very strong Premier Division Central. During February/March we recorded six wins out of seven league games to give us a faint hope of a playoff spot, but three straight defeats in April put paid to our chances.

We suffered another early at AFC Sudbury in the FA Cup and in the FA Trophy we progressed through two rounds before being beaten in a replay at Needham Market.

Season 2019/20 will go down in the Club’s history as one of the most successful and exciting but ultimately one which ended in bitter disappointment.

Steve Castle was quick to ensure we had players who were proven goal scorers and the arrival of Matt Bateman, Brandon Adams and Claudio Ofosu did not disappoint. Perhaps the only sadness that our young and highly talented left wing-back Joe Newton had created so much interest from EFL Clubs that in the end, it was inevitable he would have to leave us and Joe was signed by Coventry City.

No Crows fans will ever forget the team's brilliant performances in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy and although our FA Cup run ended with defeat to the very talented Maldon and Tiptree in front of a record crowd for Garden Walk of 1152. The interest generated in the Crows both locally and beyond was immense and set the scene for what was to come in the FA Trophy. It all started with very comfortable wins against Brightlingsea Regent and Haywards Heath and then were drawn away at Step 2 table-topping Wealdstone which for many was one of the games of the season as Royston shot into a 2- 0 lead before Wealdstone hit back to pull the tie level 2-2. In spite of being under constant pressure, the Crows mounted a great counterattack down the left and the cross was despatched by Brandon Adams to give the Crow’s victory 3-2. What followed was truly historic with home wins against Step 2 teams Boreham Wood 2-0, Chester 3-0 and away at National League Ebbsfleet 2-0, to set up a quarter-final tie away at Concord Rangers. In the run-up to the game, the rain had been falling heavily but our opponents declared the pitch playable and the invasion of six coach loads of Royston supporters and a convoy of cars and mini-buses descended on Canvey Island. As we started arriving for the kick-off the match referee declared the pitch unplayable and with a sense of extreme disappointment and also a lot of anger we all returned home. The following Tuesday the game went ahead but it was not to be and we were defeated 2-1. There is no doubt the Clubs achievements in the FA Trophy marked a watershed in our history which will be remembered for a very long time.

Running alongside the cup success it was easy to forget that we had got ourselves in contention to win the League with a run of only two defeats in 20 league fixtures. With 3 games in hand and only 2 points behind Peterborough Sports and Tamworth and playing some of our best football, we looked nailed on to win the League. Then out of the blue, the Covid crisis hit all levels of football and with what many felt was indecent haste the League decided to null and void the whole season.

All our achievements were suddenly for nothing and the taste of bitter disappointment amongst all supporters of the Crows was very hard to swallow.

Season 2020/21: As the pandemic took hold it seemed like the chances of seeing a new season start were remote but by summer 2020 there had been a massive improvement and by July the lockdown ended albeit with a host of restrictions in place.

By the time we had assembled a squad, we were without key players such as Matt Bateman who moved to Hemel Hempstead and Claudio Ofosu who joined Hartlepool and with a lot of the momentum and energy generated by the now-defunct season now dissipated we were finding it hard to get going again. In the League, we seemed to slip into the habit of conceding goals when in a winning position and a string of draws meant we languished in the lower half of the division.

The FA cup again promised to provide excitement with wins against Newmarket, Wroxham and AFC Stamford before losing to our old rivals Bishops Stortford. We won our first two ties in the FA Trophy against Hythe Town and Tamworth before going out 3-2 away at Brackley by which time the League season was yet again declared null and void as the second wave of Covid took its stranglehold.

A comprehensive history of the Club can be found in The History of Royston Town FC 1875 - 2012 first published in 2013. The book was written by the Club’s President, Alan Barlow following more than five years of painstaking research and can be purchased via the Club.

WHO'S WHO OF THE CROWS Joe Welch (Goalkeeper) Joined us from Chelmsford City in 2016/17, Joe started his career at Southend United before joining Histon where he played over 50 games and earned a loan deal at Stevenage. Joe’s other clubs include Ebbsfleet, Bromley and St Albans City.

Ed Asafu-Adjaye (Defender) Versatile defender who re-joined the Crows in 2019 after spending a season at Hayes & Yeading. Started his playing career at Luton Town and broke into the 1st team during the 2008/9 season. In total he made 64 appearances for The Hatters before moving to Forest Green Rovers and then to Hemel Hempstead Town.

Adam Murray (Defender) Adam joined us at the beginning of 2017/18, having spent the previous two seasons at Cambridge City where he made 60 appearances. He quickly settled into the squad and has proved to be a formidable addition for the Crows.

Ronnie Henry (Defender) Signed for the Crows at the beginning of this season after spending a season at Billericay Town. Ronnie was a product of the Spurs youth system, before going on to play 502 games for Stevenage (the club’s all-time record appearances) in two spells either side of two seasons at Luton Town.

Daniel Brathwaite (Defender) Club skipper, Dan joined the Crows from Chesham United for the start of 2015/16.

He is an experienced defender whose former clubs include Boreham Wood and Dover Athletic.

Dan Newton (Defender) Joined the Crows early into season 2020/21, Centre-Back Dan's previous clubs were Biggleswade FC and Northwood. He is a calm and confident defender and cousin of former Crow Joe Newton.

James Brighton (Defender) Experienced full-back who joined us in November 2019 from Kettering Town, where he had spent a successful four seasons. James has previously played for Hemel Hempstead Town, Cambridge City & Cambridge United.

Scott Bridges (Midfield) Scott re-joined the Crows in season 2020/21 after spending the previous season at Hayes & Yeading, having been a Crow for four years previously, scoring 71 goals in 194 appearances. Originally with Aston Villa until 2007, Scott then played most of his football at Banbury United.

Spyros Mentis (Midfield) Versatile, hard-working and tough-tackling midfielder or defender, Spyros re-joined The Crows in 2018/19 after a season away at Hayes & Yeading, he previously played just under 100 games for us from 2013 during his first spell at Garden Walk.

Tom Newman (Midfield) Joined the Crows at the start of 2018/19, Tom has impressed when called upon and has chipped in with some useful goals from midfield.

Isa Rotimi (Midfield) Young midfielder who signed for the Crows at the beginning of season 2019/20, Isa previously spent two seasons at Colney Heath.

Dan Green (Midfield) Joined us in December 2018 from Chesham United, Dan is an experienced midfielder whose other previous clubs include St Albans City and Dunstable Town.

Brandon Adams (Forward) Signed for the Crows in 2019, Brandon previously spent four years at Queens Park Rangers which included loan deals at Malaysian club Perlis and Linfield in Northern Ireland. After leaving the R’s in 2018 Brandon dropped into non-league hoping to catch the eye of pro clubs and has certainty impressed. After a short stint at Enfield Town he moved to Ware in 2018/19 and bagged an impressive 23 league goals in 25 games.

Josh Williams (Forward) Signed for the Crows at the start of last season after spending the previous season at Ware, where he scored 17 goals in 30 appearances, Josh previously played for FC Romania.

Isaac Galliford (Forward) Previously with Hitchin Town, St Neots Town & Hemel Hempstead after starting out with Luton Town. Isaac signed for us for the beginning of last season. Whilst with The Canaries Isaac’s performances earned him an England ‘C’ call-up.

Matt Bateman (Forward) Re-joined us for the start this season from Hemel Hempstead, where he spent last season after moving from the Crows. Matt signed for the Crows at the start of season 2019/20 and scored an impressive 24 goals in 41 games during that season to earn his move to Hemel. Previous to that Matt played a big part in Berkhamsted’s push for promotion in 2018/19 where he netted 43 times in 54 appearances for The Comrades.

Harry Draper (Forward) Signed for the Crows on loan from Stevenage at the start of this season. Harry has been with Stevenage from the age of eight, he signed his first professional deal at Boro’ in summer 2019 and then spent that season on loan at Hitchin Town.

TODAY'S OPPONENTS Tamworth FC Club History It is nearly nine decades since, in the summer of 1933, a football team in Tamworth was just a dream until the lovers of the beautiful game worked together to set up a new club in the town.

The demise of Tamworth Castle FC left the town with no senior-level football club, but a campaign involving a town businessman and the local newspaper set the wheels in motion to form another club, and so Tamworth FC was born. The original ground on which the team played was next to the now-demolished Jolly Sailor pub, and from 1934 onwards The Lamb became the club’s new home, where they remain to this day.

The club played its early football in the Birmingham Combination, and the Birmingham League (now the West Midlands League) in the 1950s, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that the club achieved notable success with two league championships and numerous victories in the League Cup, Birmingham Senior Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup. The club also reached the First Round of the FA Cup on two occasions, and on the second of those occasions, they progressed to the Second Round by virtue of a 2-1 victory over Torquay United at The Lamb.

These were good times indeed for Tamworth FC, but it wasn’t to last. Despite gaining entry to the Southern League in 1972, the club’s fortunes went on a dramatic slide as the 1970s proved to be as cruel as the 1960s had been kind. Attendances fell to record low levels; The Lamb fell into disrepair and it became a major effort just to keep the club alive. In 1984, a consortium of local businessmen including the current Chairman Bob Andrews took the club over and set about restoring it to its former glory. Tamworth returned to the West Midlands League and gradually found their feet again, winning the Championship in 1988 and regaining their Southern League status after a four-year hiatus.

The following season Tamworth progressed to even greater things reaching the final of the FA Vase, and, on 6th May 1989 in front of a Wembley crowd of 26,487 (the record attendance for the Vase final at the ‘old’ Wembley), they played out a 1-1 draw with Sudbury Town and won the replay 3-0 at Peterborough four days later to give the club, and the town, possibly its finest moment ever.

The Vase triumph did not crystalise into further success though and manager Graham Smith left the club two years later while four managers in four seasons failed to springboard the club until February 1995 when former Birmingham City player Paul Hendrie was appointed with instant results. He guided the Lambs to within a point of promotion then secured the 1996/97 Southern League Midland Division Championship by a 26 point margin.

The next boost came in January 2001, when former European Cup winner Gary Mills was appointed manager and with the club staring relegation squarely in the face his impact was almost as instant as Smith’s. Firstly, guiding the side away from the drop, and then masterminding a Championship challenge in the 2001/02 season, which ended in heartbreaking fashion on the final day at Folkstone. Mills left Tamworth, and the club swiftly appointed his assistant Darron Gee into the hot seat.

Gee and the club as a whole started the 2002/03 campaign with a renewed sense of purpose and were rewarded with the Southern League Champions with 3 weeks of the season remaining. It could have been even better but a storming run in the FA Trophy ended in defeat to Burscough and disappointment at the Villa Park final.

Mark Cooper was then appointed, and fans were rewarded with two fantastic FA Cup runs. The first against Stoke City in 2005-6 was halted by penalty kicks in a replay in the Third Round Proper and a live BBC TV fixture against Championship side Norwich City in 2006-7 ended in defeat. Lack of progress in the league saw ‘Coops’ leave and Mills return soon after and promotion to Conference National was achieved in 2008-09 with a game to spare.

Mills departed, former Nottingham Forest star Des Lyttle, took the reins but with relegation, a distinct possibility he stepped down with four games to go and the club’s academy coaches including Vase winner Dale Belford stepped up to help and it went to the wire, with a nervy televised victory ensuring survival with 14 minutes of the season remaining.

Prior to his sad passing in December 2011, long-serving stalwart and later Club President Len Gendle predicted an FA Cup victory at Gateshead which took The Lambs on to be narrowly defeated by Premiership side Everton in a 3rd Round match at Goodison Park.

In January 2013 assistant Dale Belford was asked to step in as caretaker manager once again and rescued the club from the drop with the highest ever top-flight points haul he continued as permanent boss into the 2013-14 season, although the side was ultimately relegated from the Conference Premier.

Former Wrexham player-manager Andy Morrell and assistant Mike Fowler came to the club, taking them on a world-beating 12 game-winning run whilst narrowly missing out on the playoffs in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

During the summer break of 2016, Chairman Bob Andrews oversaw the multi-million-pound replacement of The Lamb’s 80+-year-old grass pitch with a state of the art artificial 3G surface, one of only a handful of similar surfaces in the top two tiers of the non-league pyramid at the time.

It completely changed The Lamb from being a one team venue into a facility for the club’s burgeoning youth and academy sides as well as bringing the community into a popular hub for local football for all abilities across all ages.

Despite progress away from the first team, inconsistent results and performances conspired to relieve Morrell of his duties in February 2018. Fowler took the reins into 2018-19 as Head Coach alongside newly appointed Director of Football, Tim Harris, however, after defeat in the FA Cup to local rivals Hednesford Fowler stepped down and Harris steadied the ship for one game. Former Boston United and St Neots Town boss Dennis Greene was appointed in September 2018 but mustered only 7 wins in 28 games and was sacked in January 2019.

U21s boss and Lambs playing legend Gary Smith and former Mansfield and Guiseley coach Andy Danylyszyn took the reins, turned results around and with the additional experience of Thomas Baillie, rebuilt the squad to their own liking for the 2019-20 season.

The side performed superbly, making a fine run in the FA Cup and achieved one of the highest points per goal tally’s in the club’s history, sitting in second place a game behind top spot with promotion looking odds on, and were in second place, but in front on PPG when the season was ended due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The 2020-21 season started well before stuttering to a halt and suffered a similar fate, however Smith, Danylyszyn and Baillie pledged, alongside many of the squad and several impressive new signings, to try again in the same vein in the 2021-22 season.

WHO ARE YA? Tamworth FC Player Pen Pics 1st TEAM MANAGEMENT Andrew DANYLYSZYN Andrew initially worked with the youth setup at The Lamb having previously been with Gainsborough Trinity and West Bromwich Albion before joining up with Gary Smith.

Gary SMITH Gary is a former Tamworth playing legend. He featured in the World Cup for St Kitts and Nevis during his time at The Lamb in the mid-1990 and returned to The Lamb for the start of 2018-19 as joint manager of the U21 team before linking up with Andrew Danylyszyn in the first team.

Thomas BAILLIE Thomas is a former manager of both Kettering Town and Stratford Town and spent time working with Norwich City’s School of Excellence. He joined Tamworth in June 2019 as Head of Senior Football working closely with Smith and Danylyszyn.

The management trio When Smith and Danylyszyn took control of the first team in January 2019 it was initially on a caretaker basis and following a run of impressive results both were given the permanent, joint, job continuing into the 2019-20 season. Thomas Baillie joined the duo but the season was necessarily cut short when it looked odds on that The Lambs would secure promotion, recording one of the most impressive points per goals ratios in the whole of English football at the time while sitting in second place in the table.

After the 2020-21 season was halted Smith, Danylyszyn and Thomas Baillie have rebuilt and strengthened the squad with the aim of continuing in the same vein in 2021-22.

Gary PRICE Formerly the goalkeeper coach at Rushall Olympic Gary joined Tamworth in June 2019 in the same capacity.

Kevin Da Silva BASTOS An attacking midfielder he started his playing career at Nottingham Forest before moving to Grantham Town. Prior to joining up with the Lambs, he had spells at Loughborough Dynamo and Newark FC, scoring on his ‘debut’ in our first pre-season friendly of the 2021-22 campaign.

Ryan BESWICK Ryan began his career with MK Dons youth academy, before joining Leicester City’s youth academy with a spell on loan at Redditch United during the period. He then joined Kettering Town and had a loan spell at King’s Lynn, before five years at Solihull Moors in which he scored the clubs first National League goal. He spent the 2017-18 season as captain at local rivals Nuneaton Borough, joining Tamworth in July 2018. Ryan is the club's captain and was voted player of the season in 2019-20.

Jordaan BROWN Jordaan joined Tamworth in the summer of 2021 from Stourbridge where he had spent three seasons. The defender had also featured for a number of London area non-league clubs and Finnish side VPS where he made Europa League appearances and Norwegian club Flekkeroy, before returning to England with Redditch United, Stafford Rangers and the Glassboys, from where he joined The Lambs.

Jordan CLEMENT A former Wolverhampton Wanderers youth team player, Jordan made the move out of the Lambs U21 side early in the 2018-19 season and made his debut for interim boss Tim Harris away at Lowestoft Town before became an almost permanent name on the teamsheet towards the end of the season for the new managerial duo of Smith and Danylyzsyn. He joined Alvechurch in the summer of 2020 and quickly made the short move to Redditch United where he was regularly on the scoresheet, before returning to Tamworth a week before the start of the 2021-22 season.

Jack CONCANNON Jack initially signed on loan from Birmingham City in December 2018 and the tricky player made such an impact out of midfield that his loan was subsequently extended to the end of the season.

He returned to St Andrew's for 2019-20 and made a first-team appearance in the FA Cup against Coventry City. Jack signed another one year deal in July 2020 before making a welcome return to The Lamb permanently after his contract ended.

Chris COX Chris began his career with Coventry United and he played for the club from its formation in 2013, and was named captain during the 2014-15 season, making 175 appearances and scoring 53 goals, leaving the club a legend. He played for Stratford Town under Thomas Baillie during the 2018-19 season, joined Tamworth in August 2019 and returned to Coventry United at the start of the season then made the move back to The Lamb in October 2020.

Dan CREANEY Dan began his career with Atherstone Town and played for Bedworth United before moving to Coalville Town where he had loan spells with Basford United. During the 2018-19 season, he was at Stratford Town under Thomas Baillie and joined The Lambs in June 2019 for an undisclosed fee, re-signing for the club in the summer of 2020.

Aaron FORDE A graduate of the Walsall youth team Aaron was part of the first team in 2010-11, but never made an appearance. He has also played for Stratford Town, Bedworth United, Halesowen Town, Sutton Coldfield Town, Rushall Olympic and Stourbridge, where he was voted ‘Supporters Player of the Year’ in 2018-19. He joined The Lambs in June 2019.

Ben HART Previously a fullback with his hometown club, The Brewers, Ben made a couple of appearances for The Lambs in the 2019-20 season and 2020-21 during two loan spells from Burton Albion and signed for Tamworth following his release in the summer of 2021.

Cameron HOWKINS Cameron originally joined The Lambs in December 2019 having previously been with Kidderminster Harriers and returned to Tamworth in September 2020, signing up again for the current season in the summer of 2021..

Prince MANCELLINI Signed in the summer of 2021, Prince was previously with Basford United, Long Eaton United and Radford.

Shaquille McDONALD After starting his footballing career with Birmingham City’s Youth system he joined Peterborough United in 2012 after impressing in Chasetown’s scholarship scheme. Shaquille moved to York City and Derby County before signing for Nuneaton Town in June 2016. Further moves through the non-league pyramid saw him at Bromsgrove Sporting in 2019-20 and he signed for The Lambs in the summer of 2020 Orrin PENDLEY Versatile defender Orrin signed in the summer of 2021 from near neighbours Rushall Olympic where he was club captain.

Jas SINGH Previously with Shrewsbury Town, Kidderminster Harriers, Solihull Moors, Gloucester City and AFC Telford United, well known and well-respected goalkeeper Jas was a long-term target for The Lambs and came to the club during the summer of 2018 so is now in his fourth season between the posts.

Aram SOLEMAN Aram was with West Bromwich Albion as a youngster playing in their U18 and U23 sides as well as the FA Youth Cup and EFL Trophy. On his release from The Baggies, Aram joined Rushall Olympic and has also spent time at Coventry City and Solihull Moors. He signed for The Lambs in October 2020.

Michael TAYLOR Nicknamed ‘The Beast’, Mickey had a spell with The Lambs under the previous boss Dennis Greene before joining Bromsgrove Rovers where netted 31 times in 35 games and was on target to pick up the golden boot before the season was halted.

Jack THOMAS Jack is a midfielder who played for his hometown club from 2014-18, spending time out on loan at a small handful of clubs, including Tamworth in February 2018. He signed for Basford and Ilkeston town before returning to The Lamb in the summer of 2021.

Tyrell WAITE Tyrell started as a youth at Ilkeston and signed for Tamworth in the summer of 2018 after impressing in the pre-season friendlies where he showed his prowess as a striker. He previously plied his trade at Notts County, Nuneaton Town, Skelleftea (Sweden), Kidderminster Harriers, Boston United, Matlock Town and Stafford Rangers.

Dexter WALTERS A winger with lightning pace Dexter first signed for the Lambs from Romulus in Aug 2017 and played the majority of his games for the Lambs in the club’s U19s and U21s sides making four first-team appearances. He signed up for the 2018-19 season but signed for Coventry City on a 2year contract in Aug 2018 after impressing in The Lambs pre-season. A regular in City’s U23 side he made his full debut in the EFL Trophy and spent a period on loan at Leamington making 14 appearances and Coventry City released him at the end of his contract heralding a return to The Lamb in 2020-21, resigning for 2021-22.

Tom WARD Tom is a defender who signed in the summer of 2021. He was previously at Kings Lynn and Grantham Town and a member of the Linnets side that lifted the National League North title in May 2020. He started his career playing for his home club Sleaford, then through Boston United Reserves was given a senior deal at York Street for the 2011-12 season. He went on to make 70 appearances, scoring six goals before moving on to Gainsborough Trinity, St Albans, and St Neots in November 2014 making 126 appearances before returning to Kings Lynn and Grantham.

Henri WILDER Henri began his early career playing for Brighton & Hove Albion for five years before being spotted at Mansfield Town where he played in the under 18 team that won the league title in 2017-18.

Henri enjoyed loan spells with Lewes and Basford United during his time at Mansfield Town and joined Tamworth in August 2019 after some very impressive displays during pre-season where he played across the whole back line.

Lucas YEOMANS A highly-rated youngster who progressed through the ranks of the Lambs Academy, having joined from Derby County. Made his debut in the FA Trophy in 2020-21 at just 16 years of age.

CROWS WEEKLY DRAW ROLLOVER CURRENTLY STANDS AT

£2795!

The Crows Weekly Draw (previously known as the Royston Town FC Development Fund) was set up many years ago as a way of providing a regular source of income to help the Club improve facilities both on and off the pitch.

Recently the funds generated have helped pay for new clubhouse furniture, admissions hut/turnstiles, pitch weed killing and fertiliser and renovation of the boardroom including a new boiler.

It only costs £1 per week to join.

As the name suggests, the draw takes place on a weekly basis. The holder of the winning number will receive £25 with £10 being added to the “Rollover Fund” each week. The “Rollover Fund” will be won when the Blue Ball is drawn,with the next number taking the accumulated prize.

You can become a member & have a chance of winning a weekly prize or the Rollover – you must pay for at least 26 weeks (i.e. £26) upfront to be eligible for the Rollover Prize.

Why not join today – simply download the standing order form by downloading from the Royston Town FC Website – listed under Crows Weekly Draw and return it to our fund organiser Trevor Burrows or leave it at the club – or contact Trevor and he will register you as a member.

Trevor’s Contact Details: Telephone: 07813 327786 Email:burrowsbuildingservice@hotmail.co.uk

Latest Prize Winners – each winning £25 D Cooper K Vickers W Hannigan G Pinner A Barlow R Davey A Martin

TRAVELLERS TALES

By Brian Buck

121st game of the season. (Match 13,380) Saturday 26th June 2021.

Sheering 1 Waltham Abbey ‘A’ 3 (Hertford & District ORC Sports League Charlie Smith Challenge Cup Semi Final) att 35 approx.

After my need to try and be unsociable on the previous Saturday, as I was trying (not very well) to self isolate in readiness for my long awaited operation to remove my gallbladder two days later, I was far more sociable today as I was able to drive to this game after my operation, a walk in, hobble out one on the same day was deemed to be a success. I arrived here some 45 minutes before kick off and it was lucky that I had done my homework using Google Maps, as the ground was set back behind some houses. I’d seen a game here once before, on Monday 23rd May 1988, when I saw Sheering lose 5-1 to Hatfield Broad Oak, a decent side in those days, in a Brian Skingle Sports Bishop’s Stortford Stansted & District League Premier Division match att 25 approx. In those days the ground was easy to find as it was right behind the Queens Head pub. But that has sadly closed and has either been converted into housing or replaced by housing, all of which makes it hard to park, although I was able to snap up one of the two remaining spaces in the layby opposite the entrance to the ground. The pitch was surprisingly railed off for the most part, but I headed over to the far side of the pitch and watched the game from one of the unused dugouts, generally with an unobstructed view and out of the sun as well. But I had to sit there a long while before proceedings started, as apparently a road closure on the way from Harlow, which saw the ref arrive late, even though his two lino’s arrived at about the same time as I did. The upshot was that we kicked off just over 15 minutes later. Had we started on time then we might have had a problem, Waltham Abbey’s kit didn’t arrive until close to the proper kick off time. This was never really going to be the host’s day. They looked tired and exhausted after winning Division 1 of this league unbeaten and their number 9 missed some good chances early on for them. It was hard to criticize him though as in other games he’s scored 27 goals during the season. On 24 minutes top of Division 2 Abbey took the lead from the spot following a foul, given by the ref 40 yards away. I thought he was right, but others thought differently and the lino on that side never reacted. Then two quick goals, on 34 & 35 minutes made it in effect game over. The hosts replaced their keeper at the break and played marginally better in the second half, pulling a goal back on 58 minutes, but it was never going to be enough to disturb Abbey and their enthusiastic bunch of fans.

122. (13,381) Wednesday 30th June 2021.

Ware 8 Hoddesdon Town 0 (Friendly Match) att 140 approx.

Although some people views will differ, from my point of view, this was my last game of the season, which will go down in my records as being my worst season for watching football since the 1969/70 season when I only saw 107 games. Anyway, it was good to be here tonight and I was amazed at just how many people I knew. This ranged from Groundhoppers through to league and club officials and just friends. Many of those came from the Hoddesdon Town camp and whom I’ve known for years. Big news is that after many years service, chairman Roger Merton MBE is standing down at the end of the season to be replaced by Stuart Varney, who is also a stalwart on the Hertford & District League committee. As for the match, it turned out to be a rather one-sided affair, particularly in the first half when the visitors hardly got a look in. It took the ‘senior’ Ware side just a second short of two minutes to open their account and by half time they were winning 5-0. Both sides made lots of changes at the break and in the second half Hoddesdon played much better, aided by a changed in tactics. However, in the closing stages of the game, Ware re-established themselves and rattled in three more goals. Thus, a wonderful month for watching football came to a close.

Perhaps, we will never again see so much competitive football locally in the month of June. I do hope that when they are out there getting their nuts frozen off in the months of January and February the various FA’s and league officials will recall just how nice it was to be playing football in those warmer summer months!

1. (13,382) Thursday 1st June 2021.

Duxford United 2 Histon Hornets U18 11 (Friendly Match) att 60 approx.

The start of my new season commenced the next day. This was my first visit here since 2nd May 1997, when I saw Duxford United lose 2-1 at home to Sawston United in the Bambridge Invitation Cup Semi-Final, att 65 approx. Since then, although there has been no change to the Hunts side road of the ground, a large community centre, complete with sizable car park, has been recently been built and it opened around a year ago. I reckon that if there was an emergency the whole population of the village could fill this building, with room to spare. Anyway, from the host's point of view this was rather a strange evening in that their Twitter feed stated that their pre-season training wasn’t due to start until 6th July. But despite this I still expected them to see off a genuine youth team. But soon it was obvious that this was not going to happen and they shipped their first goal on 7 minutes. But it was all square on 16 minutes. Then Hornets were back in the lead three minutes later, from the spot. We were expecting a free-kick the other way following an injury, but we weren’t watching properly! By the break the score was 1-4 with the fourth goal being another spot-kick, following a foul. The score then became 1-5 and then 2-5 by the 57th minute, when the ball was nodded home despite the visiting keeper for some reason trying a scissor kick to prevent this happening. A minute later it was 2-6 and then starting on 73 minutes Hornets scored four times in four minutes. Meanwhile, in the community centre a brass band was practising, but playing funeral music was perhaps a step too far! A final goal arrived on 85 minutes and soon the ref brought an end to proceedings a few minutes early. But Duxford must have blamed their excellent pitch for their defeat tonight as the next day they revealed that they had been accepted for a £10,000 grant for a pitch maintenance programme over the next 6 years from the Football Foundation! Sad then that a week or so later, they folded their first team which then took the place of their reserves.

2. (13,383) Saturday 3rd July 2021.

Mangrove 3 Much Hadham 6 (Played at Much Hadham) (Hertford & District ORC Sports League Division 2 Cup Semi Final) att 35 approx.

If Westmill is perhaps the most scenic ground in Hertfordshire then perhaps Much Hadham can claim that their ground is in the prettiest village in Hertfordshire. Indeed a sign actually mentioned ‘Best Village in Hertfordshire’ and there were also a number of signs in people’s gardens to come and view them next day.

My only other visit here occurred on Tuesday 30th March 2010, when I saw Much Hadham get thrashed 7-0

by Warewolves in a KB Tyres & Mercury Hertford & District League Division 1 match, att 7. Since then the cricket element of the club has disappeared and Hadham have turned what was a sloping pitch, round by 90 degrees. Today it was also good to see my friend and ex-Spurs reserve and youth team player, Bobby Scarth, running one of the lines. The game was keenly contested, for all the right reasons and they gave Ed Byrne (the comedian!) lookalike ref, no serious problems at all. The only thing he did which mystified us a bit, was to instigate water breaks during each half, on a not particularly warm day. Sometimes I think that the refs have them for their own benefit rather than for the players. As for the game, Mangrove were leading 2-1 at the break, despite playing a lot of the half with ten men due to an injury. The injured player returned for the restart. By the 55th minute Much Hadham were winning 3-2 and then another injury on 63 minutes saw Mangrove go down to ten men for the remainder of the game. No more goals then came until added on time when firstly Hadham got their fourth goal before Mangrove pulled a goal back. But there was still time for two more Hadham goals before the final whistle, to bring to a close a decent afternoon out, surrounded by nice people.

SQUADS Saturday 14th August 2021 Kick Off: 3PM

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