RHRFC v Rockleaze

HILL vs ROCKLEAZE RANGERS 27th JANUARY 14:00 KO

match day sponsor:

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welcome CLUB OFFICIALS Chairman Wayne Lewis Vice Chairman Gareth Clowes Club Secretary Zack Coleman Treasurer Martin Coleman President Dave Elsmore Vice Presidents Nick Matthews

CONTENT

Malcolm Jones

5 Wayne’s World

Gareth Clowes

6 Club History

1st Team Manager Bobby Walding

8 Leagues

Reserve Team Manager Sid Martin

10 Our Squad

Third Team Manager Phil Cook Ground Maintenance Paul Gibson Programme Designer & Editor Adam Cole

12 Rockleaze Rangers

WAYNE’S WORLD A very warm welcome to all attending the match this afternoon at the Recreation Ground, home of Ruardean Hill Rangers Football Club.

We would like to offer a special welcome to the players, management, and supporters of Rockleaze Rangers for this Marcliff Gloucestershire County League fixture. We hope they enjoy their short stay with us and have a safe journey home.

Today’s visitors currently sit in fourth position in the league table with 33 points from 17 games. Their game last Saturday resulted in 5-0 home victory against Sharpness. The goals were scored by Drew Sawden, James Goulden, Brandon Boontam and Sam Bailey. The other goal was scored by a Sharpness defender.

The first meeting of the two teams playing today, which took place in September, resulted in a 4-0 victory to Rockleaze.

Ruardean Hill’s first team match at home to Almondsbury last weekresulted in a 3-1 victory. The scoreline was 00 at half time. The Hill took the lead through defender Scott Albon.

Further goals from Steve Clarke and Max Telling ensured the victory, despite a late reply from Almondsbury substitute Connor Peberdy. A strong second half performance from the Hill gaining three points and moving them up to ninth in the league.

In the North Glos, the Reserve team narrowly lost 3-2 to Broadwell Reserves in the league. The Hill took the lead through Ty Adams.

Broadwell then scored two goals to take the lead in the match before Mike Harrison scored the equaliser. With the game heading towards a draw, Broadwell got the winner through defender Steve Blaby. The Reserves headed home disappointed after no reward from a good performance once again.

Ruardean Hill Rangers A game was abandoned after 15 minutes against Sling Reserves at St. Briavels due to a frozen pitch.

Today, the Reserves and the A team have no fixtures, so we are expecting some good support for the first team today.

Finally, we hope you enjoy today’s game.

We would like to thank everyone for their support and hope to see you again at next week’s reserve team home game against Harrow Hill Reserves.

Thanks Midge

RUARDAEAN HILL

RANGERS HISTORY Ruardean Hill Rangers play their football on the highest point in the Forest of Dean, 920 feet above sea level.

Formed in 1919, Ruardean Hill played in the old Forest of Dean league until its termination in the late 1950’s. They then moved into the North Gloucestershire League and have remained there in some capacity ever since.

Ruardean Hill gained their first promotion to the Northern Senior League in 1994/95 and competed in this league for several seasons before being relegated in 2001. They immediately regained promotion the following year only to be relegated again in 2004.

In the 2011/12 season, they earned a last day promotion back to the senior league as well as reaching the final of the ‘Amateur Cup’. The 2012/13 season brought the club its first promotion to the Northern Senior League Division 1 from back-to-back promotions. ‘The Hill’ finished in the top eight for each of the next three seasons before finally winning the Division 1 title in 2016/2017 season. They scored an incredible 125 goals and conceded just 34 in 35 games.

Ruardean Hill’s current first team has a good mixture of youth, from our youth teams, and experience from the same core group of players. The core group players have been in the team for about 10 years. They now field 3 senior teams; the club’s promotions owe a lot to the depth of its other senior teams.

The club are now competing in their 5th season in the Marcliff County League having finished 9th and 5th in their first two seasons. They are now fully cemented in the County League and they are looking to push on and finish as high as possible.

COUNTY LEAGUE TABLE POS TEAM

P

W

D

L

F

1

Avonmouth

15

14

2

Stoke Gifford United

18

10

3

Frampton United

18

4

Rockleaze Rangers

5

Bromley Heath United

6

Little Stoke

7 8 9 10

A

GD

PTS

0

1

6

2

52

15

37

42

40

21

19

10

5

3

36

38

24

14

35

17

10

3

13

8

3

4

53

15

38

33

2

29

18

11

27

17

7

4

6

31

23

8

25

Sharpness

14

6

4

4

19

18

1

22

Hanham Athletic

12

6

2

4

34

23

11

17*

Ruardean Hill Rangers

16

4

5

7

32

38

-6

17

Broadwell Amateurs

14

5

1

8

21

28

-7

16

11

Wick

16

3

6

7

28

32

-4

15

12

Quedgeley Wanderers

15

5

0

10

18

42

-24

15

13

Almondsbury

16

4

2

10

20

41

-21

14

14

Cheltenham Civil Service

18

4

2

12

15

38

-23

14

15

Gala Wilton

18

4

1

13

30

53

-23

13

16

Hardwicke

17

3

4

10

18

49

-31

13

COUNTY LEAGUE TOP Scorers POS TEAM

P

G

1

Karim Rendall

Hanham Athletic

12

16

2

Josh Pearce

Avonmouth

16

15

3

Spike Weaver

Stoke Gifford United

20

14

4

Steve Clark

Ruardean Hill Rangers

13

10

5

Liam Towler

Wick

15

10

6

Manolo Marquez Espada

Frampton United

10

9

7

Drew Sawdon

Rockleaze Rangers

15

9

8

Daniel Webb

Rockleaze Rangers

16

9

9

Kyle O’Donovan

Avonmouth

13

8

10

Jenson Beard

Rockleaze Rangers

13

7

north Glos leagues premier league POS TEAM

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

PTS

1

Howle Hill

11

9

0

2

39

16

23

27

2

Milkwall

10

6

3

1

28

13

15

21

3

Bream Amateurs

8

6

1

1

32

7

25

19

4

Westbury United

11

6

1

4

26

18

8

19

5

Huntley

10

6

0

4

26

17

9

18

6

Broadwell Amateurs

14

5

2

7

28

44

-16

17

7

Mitcheldean

13

3

7

3

27

33

-6

16

8

Ellwood

11

4

3

4

20

16

4

15

9

Harrow Hill Res

11

2

2

7

19

24

-5

8

10

Newnham United

10

2

2

6

16

28

-12

2*

11

Ruardean HIll Rangers Res

11

0

1

10

14

59

-45

1

PTS

division three POS TEAM

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

1

Westbury United Res

14

9

0

5

42

31

11

27

2

Whitecroft Res

10

8

1

1

37

31

32

25

3

Harrow Hill A

10

7

1

2

32

15

17

22

4

Redbrook Rovers Res

10

6

2

2

40

22

18

20

5

Blakeney Res

11

5

1

5

20

24

-4

13*

6

Staunton & Corse A

10

3

3

4

32

18

14

12

7

Lydbrook Athletic A

11

3

0

8

25

33

-8

9

8

Ruardean Hill Rangers A

8

3

2

3

21

24

-3

8*

9

Sling Res

11

2

0

9

23

57

-34

6

10

Rank Outsiders Res

9

1

0

8

11

54

-43

3

County LEAGUE results 20th-26th Avonmouth 4-3 Hanham Athletic Bromley Heath United P-P Quedgeley Wanderers Cheltenham Civil Service 1-2 Frampton United Gala Wilton 1-2 Little Stoke Rockleaze Rangers 5-0 Sharpness Ruardean Hill Rangers 3-1 Almondsbury Stoke Gifford United 4-0 Hardwicke Wick P-P Broadwell Amateurs

County league fixtures 27th-1st Gala Wilton

v

Frampton United

Hanham Athletic

v

Stoke Gifford United

Hardwicke

v

Almondsbury

Little Stoke

v

Bromley Heath United

Quedgeley Wanderers

v

Boadwell Amateurs

Ruardean Hill Rangers

v

Rockleaze Rangers

Sharpness

v

Cheltenham Civil Service

Wick

v

Avonmouth

MEET OUR SQUAD AARONUNDERWOOD

BOBBYWALDING

MATTCOOK

A top goalkeeper, who has been keeping us in games for many years. Proper clubman.

A hard working, committed player, who will never be outbattled. Club captain.

A great player to have in the squad. Works hard and will never let the club down.

TOMLANDON

connordallimore

TOMMYCOLEMAN

An experienced defender who has a good turn of pace.

Good on the ball and is a natural leader. First season at the club, joining from Gloucester Athletic.

A great character who can play anywhere central. Works hard and is good on the ball.

New signing from Gloucester Athletic, who also has County League experience.

An asset to the team. He reads the game well and uses his pace to get out of danger. Decent on the ball and loves a challenge. Has caught the eye of Cinderford Town in recent months.

KaneSansom

tomcosheril

tyAdams

Into his second season with us now and has been an excellent addition, strong target man who will brings others into the game.

First season with the club, Tom has impressed in preseason. A quick winger who will cause defenders some problems for sure.

Been a regular in the reserves for a few years now making several first team appearances, can play wide or through the middle.

CharleyMason

CharlieTaylor

danMatthews

Confident on the ball and never stops working for the team. Leads by example. First team captain.

A young player with lots of potential and a great left foot. Keen to learn. Recently joined from Soudley.

Proper Clubman. Gives his all, displaying superb work ethic.

His progress has been temporarily halted, whilst he recovers from an injury.

KANEFELLOWS

maxtelling

benball

A natural leader who has recently started to rediscover his love for playing. Quality on the ball and loves a challenge.

A young talent, who will be playing his first season in Senior football. Decent on the ball and not afraid to get physical.

An energetic and intelligent player, who has impressed during preseason. Second season in the first team. Bags of flair.

STEVECLARK

OLLIEMASON

ALEXSTEPHENS

Back from a season with Lydney and is the goalscorer we’ve been missing. A pacey forward with an eye for goal, great to have him back.

Ollie is an exiting young talent who is comfortable playing at fullback or on the wing. Dual signed with Pegasus.

A young player with plenty of pace and energy. Has more time to play now he has finished University. Debut season in the first team.

welcome TO

JORDAN DUNNING An excellent shot-stopper and commanding presence in the box, this is Jordan’s third year with the club after spells with Tytherington Rocks and Bristol Manor Farm.

PETER IRELAND Nicest lad in the club, Pete nonetheless puts it all in on the pitch, though for all his endeavour, a goal still eludes him.

TASMAN ROOK New signing who joined the club in the second half of the 2022/23 season from Chippenham Town, Tas will be hoping for an injury free campaign this year.

MARCUS WILLIAMS Club stalwart, after starting at Under 6’s with Rockleaze Marcus equally adept at fullback or midfield.

AIDAN HALL The Ice-Man is a solid full-back with a penchant for gold chains and fake tan. Dreams to appear on Love Island one day.

JOSHUA GROTZKE Josh is a versatile defender with years of experience in the County League. Voted Chairman’s Player of the Year 2022/23.

JORDAN BUCKETT A natural leader on and off the pitch, Jordan has matured well into the captaincy, leading by example through consistently putting in strong performances.

MICHAEL PERHAM Rarely seen at training, and never at preseason, Mike is nonetheless class. Occasionally chips in with goals (at both ends).

MAX HODGSON New signing Max is a talented ball playing centre back who has earned his place in the squad following a number of strong performances during preseason. At 6’4”, 17 year old Max is an exciting prospect.

JOSHUA BUTT Brother of Fraser, new addition to the squad for 2023/24, Josh is a talented box-to-box midfielder. Cos-plays as Tintin in his spare time.

ZAKI ELGAHMI Cultured and experienced centre back, Zaki brings an air of calm to matches. Recently appointed assistant manager for the 2023/24 season.

OLIVER WOOLLAND Ollie currently holds the record of ‘most spells with the Club’ jointly with Jay Moore. A versatile player, former BRANDON BOONTAM When you’re that good, you can afford to be a little bit lazy… Bran is an outstanding player, who from time-to-time gets his freekicks on target.

DREW SAWDON Hard hitting midfielder hailing from the North, Drew has been promoted from our Reserves after a number of excellent performances at the end of the 2022/23 season.

SAMUEL BAILEY Silent assassin, bandit-Bailey is a classy midfielder who both links up play and scores goals through his late runs into the box.

AHMED HUSSEIN New recruit who joins the club from SCBC Stockholm. Ahmed has impressed during preseason with great technical ability and vision.

JONATHAN WEBB New signing Jon joins us from Mangotsfield, and has put in a number of strong performances during pre-season, whilst also chipping in with a few goals.

NICHOLAS JONES Now back for his second spell with the club after two successful seasons with Cribbs, Nick brings pace, experience and a winning mentality to the side.

HENRY JONES Not known for his defensive credentials, Henry compensates for this with piercing runs, quick feet and an excellent delivery. Loves a tap-in too.

TATE SHAW Tate brings extreme pace to the side, making a strong impression after signing from Patchway Town during the second half of the 2022/23 season.

FRASER BUTT Former Gloucester City academy player, Fraser is a mercurial talent with an eye for goal, as well as being a set piece specialist.

MATTEO PALI New recruit Matteo joins the club from Patchway Town, bring trickery and guile with his customary Italian flair.

JORDAN DENT Despite a string of injuries over the last few seasons, “Barry” Dent is nonetheless a quality forward with an eye for goal. Liability on a night out though.

DANIEL WEBB Tour and social secretary, Webby is also a Gloucestershire County League veteran, having terrorised opposition with his skill, movement and goals for a number of years.

JENSON BEARD After a breakthrough season in 2022/23, Jenson will be looking to cement his place in the starting line-up. An excellent pre-season, backed up with goals has not harmed his chances.

GEORGE JAMES Goal machine GJ9 finished the 2022/23 season as the club’s top goal scorer, despite having played the rest of his career at centre back.

Loves penalties and tap-ins.

JAMES GOULDEN With 9 goals in 5 games over preseason, it’s fair to say new signing James has hit a bit of form. Tall and tricky, backed with a great touch and movement, he’s one to watch.

Rockleaze

hist Rockleaze Rangers Football Club was established in 1976 as a Sunday team under the name of Nat West Court FC. After a couple of seasons, the club expanded into Saturday football and joined the Bristol and Suburban League in 1979. Thereafter followed a number of years during which the club progressed through the divisions, with the highlight being GFA Minor Cup winners in 1986. The club were now known as Avonside Court, and this progression culminated in being crowned Premier 2 Division Champions in 1989.

After finishing the following season in 4th place in Prem 1, the early 90’s marked a transitional period for the club, establishing closer ties with Bristol and West and, as by then the club had moved grounds to play at the Bristol and West Sports Club then on the Portway. Under the management of Geoff Bryant and latterly Paul Smith, the club attracted a core of young players. During this period the club enjoyed its most consistent performance, finishing in the top 6 in 4 consecutive seasons and narrowly missing out on the Prem 1 Championship in 1999 season, having to settle for Runnersup spot.

Another difficult period for the Club followed, with the club now known as B&W Avonside having to find a new home at the University Ground at Coombe Dingle, following the closure of the Bristol and West Sports Ground, and losing a number of key players to Gloucestershire and Somerset County League Clubs. This resulted in relegation back to Suburban Prem 2 in 2004, however, this was a turning point in the club’s fortunes, with the appointment of Andrew Myland as 1st Team Manager, many of our past players returned coupled with the recruitment of a number of new faces and the team immediately returned to Prem 1 in 2005 as Prem 2 runners up.

Cup semi-final appearances in the GFA senior Amateur in 2006 and the Suburban League Cup in 2007 ended in disappointment and despite 2 seasons of mid table finishes the decision was taken to strengthen the management team still further. The appointment of Carmelo Micciche as Manager saw season 2007-08 start with much optimism. This optimism was not unfounded, and the 1st team ended as GFA Senior Amateur Cup Champions, runners up in the Suburban League Premier 1 and promotion to the Gloucestershire County League.

During the summer of 2009 B&W Avonside amalgamated with a junior football club known as Rockleaze Rangers who were also based at the University Ground in Coombe Dingle to form a new 'all through' FA Charter Club known as Rockleaze Avonside FC. The junior section ran teams from Under 6's though to Under 16's with a membership exceeding 280. The amalgamation was such a success that at the end of the 2009-10 season the decision was made to augment the merger fully by playing under a single banner, that being Rockleaze Rangers F.C. Since 2009 the senior section of the club has expanded from 2 Saturday sides to where we are today which has 5 Saturday sides, 2 Sunday sides and also two Under 18's sides with an overall club membership in excess of 500.

This will be the 16th season of Gloucestershire County League football, despite numerous top half finishes success has been limited with a best of 3rd place in the 2012/13 season. Whilst the 1st team is undoubtedly the club's 'flagship' side other teams within the club have had their own successes with the Reserves now being a force in the Suburban Premier 1, the ‘A’ team now just two divisions below and the ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams in the divisions below.

e rangers

tory The Sunday Vet's initially led by ex-Club Chairman Mike Hughes were promoted for 3 consecutive seasons winning The Bristol Casuals League Division 5 in 2009/10, runners up in Division 4 in 2010/11 and also runners up in Division 3 in 2011/12 however for the past six seasons have played in GFA run Bristol Veterans League with all matches played at St. Bede’s School, finishing as Champions of the Gloucestershire South Division in 2015-16, 2016/17 and also County champions in 2016/17.

At the end of 2012/13 Carmelo Micciche stepped down after 6 successful seasons in charge of the 1st team, Dave Johnson was appointed’ however, things didn’t work out for Johnson who was replaced by player Neil Simons in March with us sitting second from bottom, we finished ninth and reached the Les James League Cup where we ultimately lost to an exceptional Longlevens side. Alan Tyers took over for the 2014/15 season and guided us to our third consecutive top half finish (9th), before deciding to move on at the end of the season.

The 2015/16 season saw ex Almondsbury UWE duo Rich Thomas and Lee Roberts given the responsibility of taking the club to the next level, that being a regular top 6 Gloucestershire County league side. The team achieved our initial goals by finishing 5th in the league and were once again runners up in the Les James League Cup and for the 4th time in 5 seasons won the Respect Fair Play League Award. A 6th place in 16/17 saw us become the top 6 side we wanted to be. Our Reserves were also promoted to Prem 1 as Runners up in the league and GFA Senior Amateur Cup. After 3 seasons in charge Rich and Lee stood down at the end of the 2017/18 season.

The 2018-19 season saw the club finally move into our new ground after signing a longterm agreement with the University of the West of England (UWE) to play at their wonderful new Hillside Gardens facility. This has been years in the planning and is one we hope will safeguard the long-term future of the Rockleaze Rangers F.C. At the start of the 2018-19 season our successful Reserve team management duo of Peter Bradbury and Lee Douglas were appointed and despite two interrupted seasons due to the global pandemic, the duo have orchestrated two top 4 finishes in their time in charge.

Club Motto: Win together, Lose together, Stick together

Thank you!

We would like to say a huge thank you to mapledean home ltd for sponsoring our new first team tracksuits

SQUADS Tyler Adams Ben Ball Taylor Blaby Steve Clark Tommy Coleman Tom Cosheril Kane Fellows Fin Jones Tom Landon Charley Mason Oli Mason Dave Matthews Kane Sansom Alex Stephens Charlie Taylor Max Telling Aaron Underwood Bobby Walding

Alan Berrow

Ben Adam Sam Bailey Jenson Beard Jordan Buckett Fraser Butt Jordan Dunning James Goulden Pete Ireland Nick Jones Mateo Pali Drew Sawdon Tate Shaw Dan Webb Marcus Williams Ollie Woodland

NEXT ON THE HILL 03.02.2024

Res v Harrow Hill

14:00