Saints 01 Leaminington FC

ST NEOTS TOWN Leamington Football Club ISSUE 01: THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY MAGAZINE £2.00 The Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division

INSIDE

Issue 01 V Leamington Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division

Also Inside 06 Action Replay 08 Match Report - Hendon 13 Chairman’s Views 20 Read All About It 30 Greenies Greetings

26

32

Todays’ Visitors / A warm welcome to the Brakes

Stews Views / Craigs gets out his crystal ball

04

14

View From The Dugout / Batchy looks to the long road ahead

Non-League Greats / Kicking off with Les Ferdinand

Owner Mike Kearns

Fiest Team Coach John Beck

Chairman Mike Kearns

Club Secretary Gary Wilson

Managing Director Lee Kearns

Fixture Secretary Marian Izzard

Director Iain Parr

Life President John Walker

Football Manager David Batch

Team Officials Darren Plowman (Goalkeeping Coach)

Assistant Manager Steve Eastaugh

Youth Liaison & Development Mick Hunt Physio Carol Holland Functions and Events Coordinator Louise Spark St Neots Town TV Editor Adam Ridley

34 MD’s Views 36 Where are they now from

last season?

53 Season 2014/15 Fixtures Matrix 48 Home & Opposition Squads

18 The Stars Who Got Us To Step 3 / Showcasing The Magician!

Programme Editor Mark Davies Club Photographer Claire Howes Site Manager Irmantas Sabaliauskas Chief Liaison Officer Mike Green Programme Sales Charlie Green

Matchday Music / Scoreboard Simon Hutchinson Pitchcare Working Turf Design & Marketing Blue Prawn Print XL Press Limited

Club Merchandise Linda Walters

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 03

Welcome to the Premier Plus Stadium for our first home game of the season.

We hope that everyone from Leamington has a safe return journey after tonight’s match I write these notes, for what is unbelievably my first ever midweek home match, before the first game of the season away at Bideford.

Everyone wants a good start, but that doesn’t guarantee anything same as a poor start doesn’t.

Just 46 games to go.

TOUGH START We have some difficult looking games scheduled in the first couple of months, with matches against several of last years play-off contenders so it won’t be easy. That said, if it was easy, every team would win the league wouldn’t they?

I am convinced that the players we’ve recruited are exactly the type of player we want at the club.

After long profiling of every position and what is needed from it, we have identified players capable of delivering that to a high level and gone out and got them - or made sure they have stayed at the club.

The start of a new season is always exciting for everyone concerned, although I am fully aware it is very, very long.

All bar one of the new faces have come from other leagues than the Southern, following the same path as Wilkinson, Clarke, Tann and MitchellKing last season.

PAGE 04 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

IMPACT It will be interesting to see the impact that these new players have and if it lives up to the standards, or exceeds them, of those mentioned.

The one new player recruited from this league, Jamie Anton (pictured above right), was a Championship Winner last year with Corby Town.

We’ve also recruited quite a bit behind the scenes, to find every way we can of improving.

DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN Steve Linger is our new Speed & Nutrition coach. He does what it says on the tin, as well as improving individuals posture and ultimately injury prevention. He is the man that all the professional players flock to during the Summer and some of the

CHAMPIONSHIP STEEL - Defender Jamie Anton joins us from Corby Town

“I am convinced that the players we’ve recruited are exactly the type of player we want at the club”

things we’ve discovered about how to help individuals avoid potential injuries is staggering.

Carol Holland has also joined as Head Physiotherapist and has introduced new testing methods so we can monitor player progress and susceptibility to injury, as we move to injury prevention rather than cure.

STATO We also now have a statistician, Ben Jones with us for every game, recording every single touch from every player on the pitch and reporting on our key performance indicators.

Ben then clips the game for us to educate players and we also use some stats for immediate feedback and analysis at half time.

Finally I hope we can give you guys a good ride like last season. We can’t guarantee success and we won’t play well in every game, but I know that you will support the players whatever and when we do get it right, we can all enjoy it.

CAROL HOLLAND

Batchy

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STNEOTSTOWNFC / PAGE 05

OUR FIRST HOME LEAGUE MATCH SIX YEARS AGO UCL PREMIER DIVISION (11/August/ 2009)

St Neots Town 3 - 1 Wellingborough St Neots added a winning start this season at Rowley Park to their opening day success at Daventry United. Visitors Wellingborough gave a good account of themselves but the result was never in doubt thanks to St Neots’ overall control of the match.

The home side dominated the first half without scoring and their patience paid off after the break with two goals in four minutes that set up the victory.

The one downside was a solitary incident of sloppy defending that handed the visitors their consolation goal but this is something that St Neots must learn from.

The only team change from the opening day was that Lee Bassett who had started on the substitutes’ bench on Saturday swapped places with Shane Fox in the starting lineup and he made an immense and impressive contribution before being substituted just past the hour.

St Neots were in charge from the first whistle and the chances came quickly.

A Parys Okai free kick only just cleared the bar and Matt Kenneford turned well to see his first effort blocked by a defender.

An off balance Liam Harrold was disappointed to see his first headed attempt on goal drift wide and a rising shot by the lively Luke Knight was blocked by a defender.

Wellingborough looked good in midfield but created little until 22nd minute when a well-placed free kick

by Paul Smith was comfortable saved

by Luke McShane and on the half hour another free kick this time by Wayne Richardson was pushed away at full stretch by the goalkeeper.

Linking up with Harrold in attack Lee Bassett was a constant threat with his pace and determined pressure on the visiting defence and he set up Kenneford to run at goal but goalkeeper Shaun Markie dived bravely at his feet to block.

A minute before the break the unmarked Harrold should have scored with a near post headed from a Kenneford cross but the ball ballooned over the bar and the sides went for the break goalless.

St Neots early second half pressure brought two goals and another glut of chances. Markie did well to save an Okai free kick and the busy Michael Hyem harried the Wellingborough defence to create a snap volley chance for Bassett which brought the save of the match from Markie.

However the deadlock was broken after 51 minutes when Bassett’s pinpoint cross sought out the head of Liam Harrold and his powerful finish was reached by the keeper but it crept in at the bar post with the home side appealing unsuccessfully for offside.

In St Neots next attack a neat forward pass by Okai was chased and won by Lee Bassett whose low finish made it 2-0. A free kick by Knight was well saved and Steve Lomas then indulged in squad rotation sending on Shane

PAGE 06 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

Fox for Bassett. The visitors reduced to shooting from distance had efforts

by James Russell and Dan Spaughton comfortable saved by McShane and the introduction of Wellingborough substitute Ben Johnson added some pace to their attack. After 69 minutes a cross by Andy Lodge recovered from Saturday’s injury set up Liam Harrold for his third headed goal of the campaign and at 3-0 the match was comfortably won.

It was therefore careless that after 74 minutes a cross from the impressive Johnson found Dan Grainger completely unmarked at the far post and his volley gave McShane no chance but that was as good as it got for the visitors.

Luigi Rocco (for Kenneford) and Paul Dwyer (for Okai) made appearances as substitutes as St Neots played out time and Steve Dogbe squandered a simple headed chance to put icing on the cake for St Neots.

St Neots: McShane, Dogbe, Lodge, Hyem, Fuff, Hurst, Kenneford, Knight, Harrold, Bassett, Okai.

Subs: Fox (for Bassett 61 mins), Rocco (for Kenneford 69 mins), Dwyer (for Okai 80 mins) – not used Simpson & Edge.

Man of Match: Liam Harrold Report: John Walker

i

ST NEOTS TOWN 1 HENDON 1 Pre-Season Friendly / Attendance: 201 Two teams beaten in the Step Three play offs at the end of last season for a place in the newly christened National League met at the Premier Plus Stadium to produce a compelling a competitive match that proved to be an excellent work out for both.

After two ‘showpiece’ matches again Football League visitors this was a serious workout that saw St Neots field eight players in their starting line-up not with the club at the end of last season.

It took St Neots just eight minutes to open the scoring with a classic goal as Tom Meechan fed Remy Gordon who left his marker for dead to cross for Ryan Hawkins to burst through a statuesque defence to score.

There were some notable individual performances in an all-round very satisfactory performance that saw the home side deservedly ease into a three goals half time lead.

Meechan was also involved in the build up to the second goal which saw Gordon rob a hesitant defender to double the lead just two minutes later.

confidence to outsmart a defender and round the visiting keeper to score.

Hendon looked better organised and more determined after the break and Gay needed two attempts to save a stinging shot from Elliott Braithwaite.

Then on the hour a virtuoso goal from Jake Cass put the visitors back in the game as he cut in to beat Gay with a searing right foot effort. Gay

There were some notable individual performances in an all-round very satisfactory performance that saw the home side deservedly ease into a three goals half time lead Then after the break Manager David Batch introduced eight substitutes to give them some competitive playing time as they seek to win either signing on or first team berths.

Leading the way were the impressive strike force of Ryan Hawkins, Tom Meechan and Remy Gordon each of whom contributed first half goals and Connor Hall in defence and the experience Ollie Thorne who patrolled the midfield with ruthless determination. Hendon rallied after the break but had no complaint in defeat.

Goalkeeper Danny Gay had to execute an acrobatic save to push an Andre Da Costa effort over his crossbar but despite having a reasonable share of possession Hendon seldom threatened.

Jack Wilkinson did have to clear off the line from Da Costa after Gay had only parried an effort from Aaron Morgan but the icing on St Neots first half performance came six minutes before the break when Hawkins cleverly freed up Meechan who showed great skill and

then made a good save to deny Sam Murphy but he was helpless after 69 minutes when Murphy produced a swerving effort into the far corner of the net.

At 3-2 it looked as though the visitors might produce a real come back but just three minutes after their second goal Ollie Thorne spotted the substitute keeper off his line to net with a 35 yards thunderbolt worthy of settling any contest.

John Walker

St Neots Town Gay, Tann, Wilkinson, Thorne, Hall, Mitchel-King, Clark, Anton, Meechan, Hawkins, Gordon.

Second half substitutes: Vieira, Harty, Farrell, Hobbs, Henrick, Ofusu, Risby and Greygoose (GK) PAGE 08 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 09

RYAN HAWKINS

Welcome to the officials, players and supporters of Leamington for todays first home fixture of the season.

A special welcome to Ben Mackey, it will be good to say hello to him and his dad Mick today.

Well, what a post season David has had with player recruitment and

trying to improve on last seasons squad that got us to the play off final of which unfortunately still makes me very angry in the way we lost that game.

It’s of course “water under the bridge” but what I saw before and during that game left a very sour taste in my mouth and I certainly hope that I will never see the like again.

With David and his management team adding so many new players to the squad it meant that on some occasions I had to get involved and negotiate either transfer or compensation payments to the players previous clubs.

Actually it was a pleasure to do so and overall I think it all worked out quite well and we signed all of the players David set out to sign.

I say goodbye to the players who have left and we list those players on another page in this programme showing the clubs they have moved to and I thank them all.

I must say that over the five years that I have owned the club I have found out many things that I have not occurred in my business life the main one is that most football players have just the one motive and that is money.

THE MACK IS BACK!

PAGE 12 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

I’m certainly not saying that any person should not try and better themselves by earning as much as they can but if a non league player wants to play at the highest level (and increase his earnings)

then maybe that player should look at where he can get the best opportunity to improve and maybe get snapped up by a club playing at a higher level.

I will boast that we at St Neots Town give our players the very best of everything and I very much doubt if any Non league club can better our professionalism and quality of facilities.

Our Stadium is superb our pitch is I think one of the very best in non-league football, our training facilities are the very best, all of which must be every players dream.

So why do we get this consistent “merry go round” of players jumping ship at the slightest increase in wages and forfeit what they have at a club like ours.

This has played on my mind for some time and this type of player movement just does not allow any club to have consistency to grow and improve the team over many years.

Maybe it is a case of having so many Southern League clubs within a radius of say forty miles or so, but this also happens all over the country and I suppose its called football.

Some players move because they cannot get into a team and give up, but do they try hard enough, the majority will jump ship for a few pounds more.

with top class facilities to the most professional management team I have ever seen.

recorded, our training is just so professional its almost as good as watching a match.

How I could implement that without upsetting David, and how do I go about it, as it is always the manager’s job to hire and fire players.

Our medical department is first class and the players are monitored all the time for prevention of injury and diet.

Well it was no surprise that I did not have to approach him at all it just happened over the course of the post season exactly how I envisaged I wanted it to be.

I only opened up to David the other week and said to him what my true wishes would have been moving forward as I was very frustrated by what I have witnessed every season since I owned the club.

David said to me that what has happened was always his intention come the post-season and that this was long term and we need to have players who in his words would “walk over broken glass” for the club, so new players have signed long term contracts and nearly all registered players are now on contract, those that are not are working very hard to gain a contract.

So I made a promise to myself at the end of last season that we would only sign players that wanted to be part of our progress and to commit long term to the club.

Steve Easthaugh is overseeing the “pathway” for our youngsters to the first team and already we have two of them on contract.

After all its not as though we have not been successful over recent years. As I have said we have everything from a superb stadium

How refreshing this all is, we also have, all of our match stats gathered and analyzed, yes every single play and every player have stats

And it just goes on and on.

I firmly believe that at long last I can relax and let this all take its course.

I have always stated that this league is the hardest to gain promotion from and this season is I believe even harder.

With teams like Leamington, a revitalized Kettering Town an unknown Merthyr Town coming into our division and add to those Poole Town who should have won the league last season coupled with the other top ten teams of last season will make this a really tough test for us all.

“Targets” for this season, well I always let the management team have their own targets moving forward, and as I have said before we can only do our very best, if we are successful then great if we just miss out like last season then at least we gave it our very best shot and we try again.

Lets hope that come April St Neots Town will again be in the mix for those two promotion places, we are structured in everyway to play at a higher level, which is something I could not have said a year ago and we all have that very strong desire for success. So lets get going in what could not be a tougher start to the season. Who would have wanted Bideford away followed by Leamington and Poole for their first three games of the season. We do of course, every match is a challenge and there will be so many ups and downs, lets hope we have plenty of ups and very few downs.

All for one and one for all Mike

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STNEOTSTOWNFC / PAGE 13

Les started his career in non-league football, first with Southall before moving on to Hayes He was spotted by Queens Park Rangers and moved to them for a princely sum of that time for £30,000.

Les made his debut for QPR in April 1987 aged just 20yrs as a substitute.

Having spent the most of the next season out on loan les Came back to QPR but struggled to get into the first team on a regular basis.

He was then loaned to Turkish side Besiktas where he performed well scoring 14 goals in 24 games. He returned to QPR but it was not until the 1992/93 season the first season of the new Premier league he hit the

jackpot by scoring 20 goals in 37 games for the Rangers.

Les stayed with Queens park rangers for 8 years before he was sold to Newcastle United for £6 million, with Hayes receiving a serious amount of money £600,000 due to a sell on clause.

His spell on Tyneside was probably his best scoring 29 goals in his first season teaming up with Alan Shearer where Newcastle got within touching distance of winning the league,

losing out in that infamous season to Manchester United when they lead the division by 12 clear points at one time.

Les moved back down to London to play for Tottenham Hotspur of whom he supported as a boy for £6 million, Unfortunately Injuries disrupted his Career at Spurs but he did form a great partnership with the German star Jürgen Klinsmann and the pairs goals saved Spurs from certain relegation in season 1997.

Because of various injuries Les left Spurs and ran out his career with a number of clubs.

Les represented England On 17 occasions scoring 5 goals.

He is Nnow Director of football at the club that gave him his professional break, Queens park rangers.

Not bad from a lad playing non league football with Hayes who ended up with a very tidy sum of £630,000 for their efforts.

LORENZO FERRARI PAGE 14 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

LES FERDINAND WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 15

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Please contact Louise on Misslouises@yahoo.co.uk or 07753 222683 PAGE 16 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

TOM MEECHAM

PAGE 18 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

THE STARS WHO GOT US TO STEP THREE Always the showman Junior was one of the most naturally talented midfield ball players ever to pull on a St Neots shirt.

Unashamedly looking to move on in search of a professional career he was at St Neots for only a brief spell but left his mark. He made his debut on 7 August 2010 in a UCL Premier Division victory over Northampton Spencer on the same day that Lewis Hilliard made his debut. He did not score but had a hand in three of the goals in the 6-0 victory. Injuries limited his appearances but he won a place in the Southern League side memorably scoring twice in the 4-2 victory over Beaconsfield in our first Southern League fixture. He missed most of the 2012/13 season but returned to play his final match away at Gosport on 27 April 2013.

Probably the most entertaining player ever in non-league football Junior fell out of love with football and played half of last season at a lower level for a London club. We keep in touch with Junior but he is not interested in playing at a higher level again.

Career Record MATCHES PLAYED 75 plus 18 as substitute GOALS SCORED 7 APPEARANCES IN SOUTHERN LEAGUE ERA 43 plus 10 as substitute GOALS SCORED (2011/12 ONWARDS) 4

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 19

READ ALL ABOUT IT We take a look at what other non-league clubs are doing that’s making the news this week.

DUNSTABLE TOWN

Dunstable Town have made a number of new signings. Dan Walker, Zack Reynolds, Lorenzo Ferrari, (pictured) Ryan Plowright and Matt Nolan have all checked into Creasey Park this week. Walker`s arrival is something of a coup for the Blues.

The 25-year-old forward was on loan at Eastleigh from Vanarama Conference, now National League, rivals Braintree Town from February to the end of last season and he made thirteen appearances for the Spitfires, including the play-off semi-final second leg. Originally with Luton Town, where he also took in loan spells with Eastbourne Borough, Cambridge United, Southport and Braintree before being released and signing for Hereford United in July 2013.

CHIPPENHAM TOWN

Chippenham Town have announced the signing of 31-year-old Andy

Sandell. Sandell was Chippenham`s number one target as a striker and he will bring goals, experience and knowledge and will be a fantastic addition to the squad. Sandell last played for Newport County as captain and his previous clubs include Wycombe Wanderers, Forest Green Rovers and Newport as well as a brief spell at Chippenham in 2011/12.

performances in both the youth and reserve team squads. Rapid over the ground and with an eye for goal, Williams was previously on the books of Tottenham Hotspur and burst into life at Forest Green, making his firstteam debut as a substitute against Gateshead. He has also had short stints at Hayes & Yeading United, Oxford City, Paulton Rovers, Hitchin Town and Arlesey Town.

KETTERING TOWN

CIRENCESTER TOWN

Kettering Town have announced the signings of Dominic Langdon, Saul Williams and Jevani Brown ahead of the 2015/16 Premier Division campaign. A versatile defender, Kettering-born Langdon came through the ranks at Tamworth before joining Solihull Moors in 2010 and during this time he represented British Universities at the 2011 World Student Games in China, before returning to win the supporters’ player of the year award that season. He has made over 150 appearances in all for Solihull, but has also had short stints at Brackley Town and Leamington. Williams signed his first professional contract with Forest Green Rovers as a 17-year-old before the start of the 2012/13 season, after impressive

Charlie Griffin will lead the line for club Cirencester Town this season. Griffin, a much-travelled centre forward, has been a prolific goalscorer and fans’ favourite wherever he has pulled on a shirt.

Twenty-one goals in thirty games for his first senior club Chippenham Town, back in 1988/89, earned him a first brief spell in the Football League with Swindon Town. He ended last season back with Cirencester’s Southern Premier rivals Chippenham for his third stint at Hardenhuish Park where he showed he has lost none of his predatory instincts by scoring six goals in ten games. But he turned down the opportunity of another campaign with Mark Collier’s side.

PAGE 20 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

WEYMOUTH

Weymouth have signed former Aldershot Town and AFC Bournemouth midfielder Mark Molesley on a one-year contract.

Molesley re-joined Aldershot in August 2013 having played eleven games for Exeter City in League Two in 2012/13. Molesley played forty-two matches in the 2006/07 season, and returned in March 2012 for a six-week loan spell from AFC Bournemouth. Having started his career at Hayes, Molesley has also played for Stevenage Borough, Grays Athletic and Plymouth Argyle.

STRATFORD TOWN

Four new players have signed for Southern Premier Division new boys Stratford Town including Emmitt Delfouneso (pictured), brother of former Aston Villa striker, Nathan Delfouneso. Delfouneso, aged 21, was a Birmingham City academy player before he joined Nuneaton

Town and later Solihull Moors. “We saw Emmitt when he played against us for Nuneaton in the Birmingham Senior Cup and he stood out like a sore thumb,” said Town manager Carl Adams. “He’s a very good player, he just needs to get settled.”

A utility player who can play central midfield, right-back, centre-half and even up front, Adams has nine pre-season friendlies to try him out.

Adams has also signed 32-yearold centre-half Marcel Simpson from Romulus, former Rocester and Redditch United striker Edwin Ahenkorah and ex-Birmingham City academy goalkeeper Matt Archer.

Adams confirmed that Archer was brought in to provide cover in goal, with Andy Kemp, who kept twenty-one clean sheets last season, remaining first choice. Simpson, who other clubs include Evesham United, Rugby Town, Rushall Olympic and Daventry Town, joins 26-year-old Liam Francis as Adams’ second signing at centre-half this summer.

Last season’s dominant centreback pairing of Loyiso Recci and Guy Clark has been broken up, with Recci banned from football for five years, and Clark currently recovering from surgery on his toes.

CHESHAM UNITED Further the signings of Barry Hayles, Brad Wadkins and Matt Taylor, manager Andy Leese announced news of further player developments.

“Dave Fotheringham is back training with us after his long lay-off which is great news, and we hope to see

Laurie Stewart return soon as well.

“In the meantime another familiar face has returned in the guise of Bruce Wilson. Bruce is well-known to supporters and he will bring his experience to bear on the squad, as well as his qualities on the pitch. We lacked leaders at key times last year, and I know Bruce will bring his high standards and demanding attitude to the squad. We had to work hard to get him back, but it’s always good to get players in who you know will give you what you ask for on the pitch. “We have also agreed terms with Curtis Ujah, a 26-yearold central defender who will also bring physicality, experience and leadership to the group.

KINGS LYNN TOWN

Lowestoft Town have agreed an undisclosed fee with King`s Lynn Town for Sam Gaughran. Gaughran was unable to honour the remainder of his contract with Lowestoft and following this the club have agreed a fee that will see him released from his contract to join the Linnets. The Trawlerboys originally turned down a bid from Lynn for the 25-year-old defender to return to The Walks three years ago.

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 21

DANNY GAY

NEW STADI

Pictured opposite (left to right) Kevin Hull - MD Premier Plus, Lee Kearns - MD St Neots Town & Gary Wilson - Club Secretary

We are excited to announce that we have come to an agreement with Premier Plus Independent Financial Advisers to become our new stadium sponsor for the foreseeable future.

Kevin Hull, Managing Director Premier Plus “Being a proud, long established local company we are excited to have the opportunity to work alongside St Neots Town Football Club in these exciting times for them. The running of the football club and the club management pride themselves on their professionalism, doing things correctly on and off the pitch and this mirrors the Premier Plus philosophy�

X HEPAGE NETS THE WINNER 24 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON

ISSUE 01

DIUM SPONSOR

Premier Plus is a Financial Services Company with a dedicated team of Independent Financial Advisers who enjoy long term relationships with their clients and look to ensure their financial requirements are catered for throughout the phases of their lives. They maintain this by developing close personal relationships, while also applying their knowledge and professionalism to every aspect of finance, however small. Premier Plus was established in April 1997 and operates from their head office in St Neots, Cambridgeshire with 175 years combined experience in Financial Advice.

For more information and to learn more on the services Premier Plus can provide visit www.premierplusltd.co.uk, call 01480 477774 or email info@premierplus.co.uk Premier Plus Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

IT’S THERE

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STNEOTSTOWNFC / PAGE 25

TODAY’S VISITORS

LEAMINGTON FC

2006-07 Season and a familar celebration!

It is good to welcome back our friends from Leamington after their two years spell in the Football Conference.

Our first visitors of the new season to the Premier Plus Stadium for our Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division fixture are the players, Directors and supporters of Leamington and we extend to them our usual warm welcome. The last visit of the Brakes to St Neots was on 16 February 2013 and on that occasion I wrote: “Leamington now lead the way by five points still with two matches in hand and before last week it was confidently predicted that the title was theirs to lose but contrary to expectation they suffered their biggest ever home league defeat 6-0 to Barwell and will no doubt be looking to bounce back this afternoon”.

That prediction proved to be accurate because after beating our lads by a goal to nil scored by Richard Batchelor our visitors went

on win the league by twelve points from runners-up Stourbridge to earn automatic promotion to the Conference North. They finished 13th in their first return season at Step Two but last season was disappointing for them as they finished 21st in the final league table – five points from safety and were relegated. Now they start as one of the pre-season favourites for honours again and by the time our return fixture takes place on December 1st we shall be able to assess their chances of living up to that billing. Founder members of the former Football Alliance in 1979/80 Leamington had three seasons in the top flight below the Football League.

CLUB HISTORY The club was founded in 1891 as Leamington Town and played a leading role in local football prior to WW2, winning the Birmingham

PAGE 26 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

Junior Cup in 1913 and 1921.

In 1971 the club joined the Southern League.

Known as AP Leamington by 1973, progress continued with several appearances in the first and second round of the FA Cup and winning the League Cup and Championship Trophy in 1974.

After three years in the Alliance Premier League (the early form of the Blue Square Conference), Brakes were relegated but bounced straight back with the Southern League Premier Division title in 1983. Another cup double the following year made Leamington the only club to hold all three Southern League trophies at once.

With the club at its playing pinnacle, Automotive Products decided to sell the club’s Windmill Ground for housing. The last match at the

Year founded: 1891 Nickname: The Brakes Chairman: Jim Scott

Website: www.leamingtonfc.co.uk Stadium: The New Windmill Ground

Previous Meetings: 2012/13 Leamington 3-0 St Neots St Neots 0-1 Leamington

traditional home was played in April 1988 and the club went out of action.

and the League Cup, becoming the first club to complete the double.

The club also advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Vase. 2007-8 saw Leamington narrowly fail to be promoted again. The 2008-9 season saw the team build upon their experience of the previous season by winning the Southern League Midlands division by 9 points from Nuneaton Town and returning to the Southern League Premier Division after a gap of 24 years.

the play-off positions, securing a fifth place position on the final Saturday.

A tough Play-Off semi-final at Hednesford saw the team knocked out 3-1 to a team who went on to lose to Salisbury City – a side the Brakes had taken 4 points off earlier in the season.

Re-launched in 2000, and now playing at the New Windmill Ground, Leamington FC has not looked back. The first two seasons saw successive promotions. Brakes finished third in the Midland Combination Premier in 200203, second in 2003-04 and were promoted as champions to the Midland Football Alliance in 2004-05 with a league record 109 points.

They also reached the 4th Round Proper of the FA Vase in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

In 2005-06 Leamington reached the 1st Round Proper of the FA Cup, their first time in the competition since reforming, losing heroically at Colchester United. Brakes completed a magnificent season in 2006-07, winning the MFA title

The club’s first season in the Premier Division saw the team to a comfortable 10th position.

The next season (2010-11) saw a positive pre-season collapse into a poor start to the season, with only five points being collected from the first six games. This was steadily turned around, and in the second half Leamington remained close to

In season 2011/12 a top of the league position at Christmas things looked promising, despite early exits from both FA Cup and Trophy competitions. However, an inexplicable two months without a win in the New Year saw the Brakes slip to seventh in the league and unable to reach the play-offs, despite finishing with a twelve match unbeaten run at the end of the season.

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STNEOTSTOWNFC / PAGE 27

WHO’S WHO

THE BRAKES Paul Holleran (Manager) Managed Brakes since November 2009, taking the team to a play-off spot in his first full season, and after winning the Southern League Premier Division Championship a season ago he managed at Step Two in the Conference North for the first time, achieving a respectable 13th position. A UEFA coach who moved into management early due to injury, Paul achieved initial success at Kings Norton Town before becoming first team coach and subsequently manager at Solihull Borough and leading them to promotion. 2004 saw a move to Halesowen Town, where he guided them to promotion, two Senior Cups and the First Round of FA Cup. Paul has also managed Rushall Olympic, taking them to two play-off spots and the 4th Qualifying Round of FA Cup for the first time in their history.

Tony Breeden (Goalkeeper) Tony makes a second return to the NWG after a season with rivals Solihull Moors.

Originally he returned to Leamington in Summer 2013 after spending the previous 18 months playing in the Conference Premier Division with Kidderminster Harriers (28 appearances) and Tamworth (43 appearances) As one of Paul Holleran’s first signings when he arrived at Leamington in October 2009, Tony made 82 appearances for Brakes in his first spell at the club, memorably scoring a goal from his own penalty area in a match against Chesham United in April 2011. His previous clubs include Rushall Olympic and Sutton Coldfield Town.

Lewis Fenney (Goalkeeper) Fenney, 22, was a member of Boldmere St Michaels` youth set-up, marking his firstteam debut with a clean sheet at Coleshill Town. He left to spend a year full-time at Cambridge United and then played a number of first-team games at Leamington and Rushall Olympic, before returning to the Mikes in July 2012. He returned to the Mikes for a short loan spell from Leamington in December 2013 after rejoining the Brakes in the summer of 2013.

He signed for NPL First Division South side Stafford in the summer 2014. After a brief spell at Barwell Lewis re-signed with Leamington in December 2014.

Connor Gudger (Defender) Paul Holleran moved swiftly to fill the left back slot vacated by former skipper Stephan Morley by signing former Coventry City youngster Connor Gudger from Vanarama Conference North rivals Worcester City in February 2015. The 24 year old has played locally since his release from the Sky Blues, spending 3 seasons at Tamworth and also time on loan at Hinckley United, Cambridge City and most recently Barwell, where he also spent the second half of last season after leaving The Lambs.

Connor signed for Worcester in the close season but had the opportunity to make his mark at the New Windmill Ground following Morley’s decision to leave.

Jamie Hood (Defender) Jamie first joined Leamington in September 2010 from Halesowen Town, and formed a strong partnership with Liam Daly in the centre of defence that was pivotal in the Southern League Premier Division title winning season of 2012/2013. Making 112 appearances in total and scoring 5 goals for us in his first spell, Barwell will be disappointed to lose Jamie, who scored in his last appearance for them in a 2-1 victory over Coalville Town in the Westerby Cup Final at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium at the end of May. Over his two seasons at Kirkby Road Jamie made 82 appearances and scored 3 goals for Barwell.

James Mace (Defender) James initially joined Brakes on trial during summer 2011 but impressed to such an extent that he was quickly snapped up by Paul Holleran, and has played an integral part over the last three campaigns. James is comfortable at either right back or centre back, possesses a good turn of pace, is snappy in the challenge and made 68 appearances for Hinckley United in the Blue Square Conference North in the two seasons prior to joining Leamington and was previously with Atherstone Town.

He was voted the ‘Players’ Player of the Year’ the season before last after narrowly missing out on the Supporters’ award.

Jamie Tank (Defender) 21 Year-old Jamie is the son of former Brake Darran Tank, who made over 70

PAGE 28 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

appearances for Brakes along with a spell as Assistant Manager after joining the club in 2004, and so has long connections with the club. He started his career with Walsall aged 13, playing with the juniors and Under 18s before being offered a contract in June 2011 and captaining both the Youth and Reserve teams, Jamie was handed a first team squad number at 17 before In the summer of 2012 he transferred to Wolves for an initial fee of £20 000, playing in the Under 21 Development Squad at Molineux, but was released in the summer of 2014.

He signed for the Brakes in July 2014 after playing in several of the pre-season friendlies.

Kieren Westwood (Defender) He was a trialist who played the second half of the last pre-season game 2015. He was watched last year, and Kidderminster had him in pre-season but he hadn’t been signed so was bought into training in the last week. He’s only 20 years of age, he’s a local boy and liking the look of him, he was bought in. Westwood signs for Brakes having been with Boldmere St Michaels last season, scooping the player’s player of the season and also the goal of the season awards. He began his career at Cambridge United and also spent a short spell with Banbury United.

Jack Edwards (Defender/Midfielder) Jack spent two seasons at Barwell, having made the step up from Midland Alliance football in 2012 after a successful season with Coventry Sphinx after beginning his career at our Warwickshire neighbours Studley. He is a young versatile player who was monitored for a while, and like many of the present squad is believed to have all the attributes to make the step up.

He’s another local lad, and will be a good addition to the squad. Comfortable playing in defensive positions or in midfield, Jack is a versatile utility player who is athletic and tidy on the ball. He captained Nottingham Trent University, and has had a good upbringing in football terms over the last few years, being involved with teams that play different styles of football.

Ben George (Defender/Midfielder) The 21 year old turned out for Brakes at right back in a friendly at Stratford Town last summer after his release from

Ben Mackey (Striker) Mackey had a very successful first spell for the club in the Midland Alliance and Southern League Midland Division scoring 57 goals over two seasons before moving on to Brackley Town and Corby Town in the Conference North. In Season 2013-14 he spearheaded the Hemel Hempstead attack, scoring 43 goals in a campaign that saw them lift the Southern League Premier Division title. Ben had a disrupted season last year due to a combination of work commitments and injuries. He is a local lad and affectionately remembered by the fans and has expressed a real desire to do well for Leamington.

the Bescot Stadium, where he made 1 appearance for the first team in League One after working his way through the ranks. He went on to feature in over 20 games for our Warwickshire neighbours Rugby Town last season. Paul Holleran agreed a deal to bring Ben in from Rugby, where he was looked at last year after he left Walsall but he had a couple of offers in pre-season to go on trial at other clubs which he took up. Last season probably did not turn out as he would have liked, but he could be an asset to the Brakes as he can operate in a number of positions in defence or midfield.

Joe Magunda (Defender/Midfielder) Leamington born Joe joined his home town club in the summer of 2012 after winning the Southern League Premier Division Championship with Brackley Town, and he added a second medal to his collection the next season with some solid workmanlike performances in the heart of the Brakes midfield. At home in defence or in the middle of the park, Joe graduated from the Academy at Leicester City and featured for the Foxes reserve side before a loan spell at Conference side Woking in 2008.

After his release from Leicester, Magunda made 21 appearances for Kings Lynn in 2009/2010 in the Northern Premier League before the Linnets were wound up in late 2009. He was one of a number of players snapped up by Jon Brady at Brackley, and became a fixture in the Saints side that reached the play offs in 2010. He has also been capped by England at Under 18 level.

His achievements were rewarded with the ‘Managers Player of the Year Award’.

Richard Taundry (Defender/Midfielder) Paul Holleran has made a late addition to his squad for the run in with the signing of Richard Taundry. Recently with Solihull Moors, Richard worked his way through the ranks at Walsall to make his first team debut at a young age, and went on to make nearly 200 appearances for the Saddlers over 6 seasons before joining Worcester City in 2013 after a brief spell with Pelsall Villa. Richard is a versatile player who is able to operate in defence or

midfield, and will be a useful player to have around as Brakes tackle a difficult run in.

Despite being only 26 he has a wealth of experience in the professional game and this will surely benefit the squad.

James Husband (Midfielder) Has made nearly 300 appearances for Leamington since signing in December 2005 whilst a student at nearby Warwick University. He is a skilful left-sided player who can play full-back or wide midfield who earned the well-deserved accolade of Player of the Season 2007-8. Previous clubs include Tooting & Mitcham and Airbus FC. At the end of the promotion winning 2012/13 season James decided to ‘retire’ from football for the Brakes to concentrate on his family and career.

However, he is still spending some training evenings with the squad and is willing to make appearances when called upon – taking him to a tantalising 299 career total.

Ross Oulton (Midfielder) Ross trained with the Brakes a few years ago after he was released by Northampton Town. He has 200 games under his belt, and again he is a local lad who has moved back to the area. He is very versatile and is somebody that could have a big part to play with the Brakes. The 24 year old has gained extensive non-league experience since leaving Northampton with the likes of Rugby Town, Brackley Town, Daventry Town, Kettering Town and most recently Bedford Town.

Jake Jones (Midfielder/Striker) Jake Jones arrived from Kings Lynn Town in the summer of 2015, having transferred to the Southern League from the Northern Premier League. The Solihull born 22 year old attacking winger progressed through the Youth system at Walsall, signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2011. He made his debut for the Saddlers first team in August 2012 as a substitute in a Football League Cup tie against Brentford, making a further two appearances before being released in 2013 after loan spells with Redditch United and Lincoln City. After a loan spell at The

Walks, Jake opted to join Kings Lynn on a permanent basis in January 2014. He made 66 appearances and scored 12 goals for the Linnets, also spending a brief spell at Halesowen Town before returning to Norfolk.

Lee Moore (Midfielder/Striker) Lee signed for Brakes a week before the start of the 2012/13 season after being released by Nuneaton Town. He enjoyed a successful 3 year spell with our North Warwickshire neighbours, making 148 appearances and scoring 29 goals, and winning promotion from the Southern League Premier Division and the Conference North in the Play Offs.

Prior to joining his home town club in July 2009, Lee started his career at Bedworth United, before a spell at Tamworth. He cost AFC Telford United £5,000, a then record fee for the Bucks, in 2006. During his time there Lee scored 35 goals, and the club won promotion from the Northern Premier League and enjoyed a run to the 1st Round of the FA Cup. He has a wealth of experience, including many play-off matches with both Nuneaton and Telford.

He is equally at home on either wing, or through the middle, and is a natural creator and finisher.

Rob Ogleby (Striker) The Coventry born 23 year old, who has been capped 12 times at Under 21 level for Wales, began his career in the Sky Blues’ Academy alongside new Brakes team mate Connor Gudger before moving north of the border to Heart of Midlothian upon his release in 2010. While with the Edinburgh club Rob spent time on loan at East Fife before returning south in 2012 and signing for Wrexham. He went on to make over 50 appearances and scored 12 goals for the Dragons in a little over 2 seasons, and was a member of the clubs’ FA Trophy winning side in 2013. After leaving Wrexham last summer Rob moved back up to Scotland to play for Livingston before returning home early this year and spending the latter half of last season with our North Warwickshire neighbours Nuneaton Town.

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 29

GREENIES GREETINGS

PUMP UP THE VOLUME TONIGHT! Good evening everyone and welcome back to Rowley Park, or The Premier Plus Stadium as it shall be known as going forward.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer break and are looking forward to another season of entertainment, full of highs and not too many lows and hopefully, to go one step further than we managed at the end of last season.

Tonight we welcome the players, officials and supporters of Leamington FC and we hope you have an enjoyable stay with us here before making a safe journey back up to Warwickshire later on tonight. There will be a familiar face in the Brakes team tonight, as Ben Mackey signed for the club during

the summer so please give Ben the welcome he deserves and also, should he be here tonight, his dad Mick. They are two good guys who will always be welcome here at St Neots.

David Batch, his management team and the Chairman have made some very exciting signings who will undoubtedly add to the players we already have here so please join me in welcoming all our new players to The Club. Having spoken with a few of them during pre season, some said they had played here against us before and were very complimentary about our support and they said they can’t wait to hear you all in full voice so let’s not disappoint them.

I have been asked about coach travel for supporters this season numerous times already and as I am writing these notes, The Club are still in negotiation with two different travel companies so as it stands, there is nothing concrete in place but hopefully there will be some definitive outcome in the very near future.

The future of The Club is looking very sound with the commencement of the Scholarship / Learning Partnership programme. This year’s intake of full time scholars has swelled the number to over 35 now and the boys have been in since mid july, partaking in pre season training and friendly matches so keep an eye out for their progress this season in this matchday magazine and on our website.

Well, it’s been a busy summer here at the club with players coming and going and I’m sure those of you that have been to some our pre season games will agree that PAGE 30 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

Talking of this publication, we were judged as the TOP matchday magazine in the Southern League for the second year running and will be aiming to make it a hat trick of awards this season so we hope you like the new layouts, colour schemes etc and we thank you all in advance for your continued support.

Ok then, on to tonight’s game. With the result of Saturday’s game at Bideford unknown at the time of writing, let’s hope we are firing on all cylinders on the back of an opening day victory and

look to make a strong start to the season with last year’s runners up, Poole Town, here on Saturday. Remember, we are all part of the team so play your part and let’s make this place rock!!!!

Be Loud, Be Proud, Be A Saint GREENY

REMY GORDON

STEWS VIEWS

THE OPENER It’s that time again folks. Saturday afternoon shopping with the family is finally again, off limits.

Never one to beat around the bush, I find walking around a city centre, or worse still, a shopping centre, only just preferable to having my eyes poked with a red hot skewer, or as a friend recently had done, having haemorrhoids removed with an elastic band and heat!

Having come so close to National North / South football last season, in what turned out to be the classic “Season of Two Halves” it came as no surprise to see the management team ringing the changes.

They personally get a massive thumbs up from me, by getting away from the quite ridiculous merry go round of southern league players, that seemingly are looking for the very best re numeration, above everything else. Hats off to the likes of Drew Roberts, easily our best player last season, for making a massive statement for putting the club first.

With some terrific young players signed, the coming season looks to be a very exciting one. To my mind the squad looks as balanced as it’s ever been. With some tremendous

experience in the likes of Tann, Gay, Mitchell-King, Roberts, mixed with the youth and pace of Gordon, Hawkins, Meecham, I’m as excited as the next man for our chances of another great season.

There are also some mouth watering ties ahead, with the introduction of one or two new teams to the division. None more so than home and away games against our old foe Kings Lynn.

Regardless of how both teams are doing in the league, if played on Saturday’s I’d expect well over a 1000 for each game!

(Pre warning to the management, more ground and bar staff required for the home game please?)

Kettering Town FC, will also bring a few, as will another one time rival, Leamington, in which programme you will be reading these notes.

Then there are the new grounds which we will be visiting. Stratford, a quite beautiful City, Merthyr, perhaps not quite as attractive but nether less, a trip for the away day fan to relish.

PAGE 32 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

So here it is folks, my prediction for the season: Entertainment, enjoyment, good football, undoubtedly some disappointment along the way, because without that, it wouldn’t be football would it!

Yours Aye Craig

MD’S VIEWS

WHERE’S THE TIME GONE? The dozen or so weeks between the last game against Truro and the first today have just flown by.

We are (by definition) up to and beyond our eye balls with new initiatives that have slowly taken shape over the last few years and have now suddenly burst into life and presented themselves to us by way of excitement and opportunity.

It takes time to fill up the usage quota that our great facility presents to us, we are about 70% there at the moment so we still have a way to go but things are definitely moving in a positive direction. Four years ago and using a somewhat over active mind we could probably state that we were only taking advantage of around 10% of what the facility could offer us so things have progressed nicely.

sense of satisfaction turns into a yearning for something more gratifying.

The Academy is now up and running with additional teams to be added over the next few years to fill the age gaps that we currently have.

This together with the scholarship programme is our present focus and future conveyor belt of talented lads that will make the step up.

The St Neots Town FC Learning and Sports Academy is the culmination of four years worth of hard work, work that has now cemented what we can offer as the pinnacle of non-league football scholarship opportunities.

The above is just a start, we already have a number of new initiatives which are at present being prepped for launch so keep an eye out.

It’s interesting to read reports and predictions on who will do what this coming season, Stuarts post on the forum being a particularly good read. For me it’s all about overall progression as a business and not just what the first team achieve.

Find me another scholarship programme at this level (or the two leagues above) that offers A levels as a possible academic pathway.

Education, Education, Education taught by real school teachers from real schools coupled with a first class football development pathway delivered by A licence coaches and a first team management that wants to give those that can the opportunity their talent deserves.

I’d rather have roast beef with all the trimmings than a tasty burger that hits the spot but then leaves you feeling cheated at how quickly your

Two College teams, 2 under eighteen teams and accesses to an U21’s playing at step 6 and first team playing at step 3.

PAGE 34 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

Two new major sponsors have joined us this season Premier Plus independent financial advisors are our new stadium sponsor and Mick George have agreed to support our Academy/ Scholarship programme. More info will be released soon on how we are working with these two established, professional businesses but needless to say we are fantastically excited.

I’d like to welcome Leamington to the Premier Plus Stadium.

LEE

CONNOR HALL

Where are they now from last season?

Supporters might be interested in knowing just where many of last seasons huge squad are plying their trade for next season.

From last seasons official team photograph only two players remain Drew Roberts and Jamie Greygoose.

Those players who have left the club have signed for the following clubs:

Biggleswade Town Gavin Hoyte Jay Davies (pictured) Ryan Frater

Hemel H’std Town Matt Spring

Dunstable Town Lorenzo Ferrari Ryan Plowright Matt Nolan (pictured) Paul Bastock Ollie Thorne Mason Spence

Hitchin Town Josh Bickerstaff

Royston Town Chris Dillon Leamington Ben Mackey

PAGE 36 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

Arlesey Town Dave Deeney Ben Ford (pictured)

Concord Rangers Arthur Lee (via Hemel)

Chesham United Bruce Wilson (pictured)

St Albans City Lewis Hilliard (pictured)

THE OVAL Our next away day after the long trip to Bideford is to ‘The Oval’ the home of Bedworth United.

Many changes have been made to the ground since our memorable away match there a few seasons ago which just about clinched promotion and won us the southern league central division.

Who can forget proberbly the best goal St Neots have ever scored certainly in current history.

A through ball from Lewis Hilliard on to a running Stefen Moore who chased the ball towards goal and then gave a cheeky back heal on the run to the oncoming Rene Steer who just flicked it over the keeper from an astute angle. That memory will live forever, it might still be on our You Tube channel so those who have not seen it have a look at a truly amazing goal. Yes even better than the FA Cup wonder goal.

So back to our friends at Bedworth who have installed a 3G main pitch which will be our first ever competitive match on that kind of surface.

THE OVAL Miners Welfare Park, Coventry Road, Bedworth, Warwickshire, CV12 8NN Wheelchair Access: Yes Matchday Magazine: £2 Capacity: 3,000 (500 seated) Round Trip from (PE19 6SL): 140 Miles

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STNEOTSTOWNFC / PAGE 37

DEREHAM TOWN 1 ST NEOTS TOWN 1 Pre-Season Friendly With seven senior team regulars either rested or unavailable this proved to be a useful guide of the depth of strength of the St Neots squad as they earned an evenly fought draw against the Ryman League side that had beaten them in an FA Cup encounter last season.

On a blustery afternoon St Neots shaded the first half but the home side rallied late in the game to carve out an equalising goal.

The Manager shuffled his available players to useful effect producing a solid looking defence that featured an impressive first middle of defence partnership of Connor Hall and Tom Ward and although his side looked lightweight in attack David Batch will be pleased the way his less experienced players competed with a solid looking Dereham side.

The Manager shuffled his available players to useful effect producing a solid looking defence that featured an impressive first middle of defence partnership of Connor Hall and Tom Ward excellent saves to deny both Tuttle and Logan and then Ebey Marango went close at the other end.

Inevitably as both sides introduced substitutes the match lost something of its rhythm but continued to be competitive but with fewer direct shots on target.

St Neots began confidently and after five minutes Remy Gordon tested the home keeper after clever approach work by Jack Wilkinson.

Then five minutes later St Neots were in front when a well-placed Gordon free kick created panic in the home defence and Reece Logan under pressure stretched to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper.

St Neots continued to dictate the early play and Tom Meechan fired over the bar and Luis Vieira saw his effort well saved by James Viner.

Andrew Ofusu saw an acrobatic volley deflected by a defender but towards the end of the first half Dereham rallied as Reece Logan brought a useful save from Jamie Greygoose before the keeper had to dive bravely at the feet of Nathan Russell to smother his shot.

Joining the attack from his full back berth Jamie Anton twice shot wide from distance and just eight minutes remained when Dereham snatched an equaliser.

St Neots almost increased their lead a minute after the restart when an in swinging Gordon corner went straight through the packed six yard box only for substitute Luke Tuttle to head off the goal line.

As Dereham had their best spell of the match Greygoose was twice in important action making two

It came after Fraser Blake-Tracy outwitted his marker on the left and crossed to the far post where defender and goalkeeper seemed to leave the ball to the other and Tuttle forced the ball over the line at the far post.

It was probably a fair result to a competitive encounter played out in testing conditions.

John Walker

St Neots Town Greygoose, Anton, Wilkinson, Tann, Ward, Hall, Meechan, Harty, Ofusu, Vieira, Gordon Second half substitutes: Marango, Burton, Clark, Davis, Hobbs and Jeckells (GK) PAGE 38 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 39

£1 50

TOM WARD IS AVAILABLE FOR SPONSORSHIP AS MICK AND SIMON WERE JUST OUR SPONSOR MODELS

Sponsor A Player For The Season We have a great opportunity for supporters to “Sponsor” a player for this season!

The package will include: • A full news item on the website including front page slideshow for each sponsor for one full day with a picture of the sponsor and the player as shown. (This will then revert to the news archive section of the website) and always able to view at any time.

• The picture of the sponsor and the player will be shown on the players Player Profile page on the clubs website for the remainder of the season.

• A picture of the sponsor and the player in the match day programme Sponsor a Player page.

The cost of sponsoring a player or any of the management team will be £150 for each one, or two supporters can share the cost and have a joint sponsorship with both having their picture with the player.

Please contact Louise on Misslouises@yahoo.co.uk or 07753 222683 PAGE 40 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 41

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2 -- 1

Hitchin Town 2 -- 2

3 -- 0

6 -- 2

2 -- 1

0 -- 0

2 -- 2

3 -- 0

2 -- 1

1 -- 1

0 -- 3

2 -- 1

2 -- 1

2 -- 0

2 -- 3

2 -- 3

0 -- 1

2 -- 4

0 -- 0

3 -- 7

2 -- 1

0 -- 3

0 -- 2

Hungerford Town 3 -- 1

2 -- 1

1 -- 1

1 -- 2

0 -- 2

1 -- 0

2 -- 3

0 -- 2

2 -- 1

1 -- 0

2 -- 6

1 -- 0

1 -- 1

1 -- 1

0 -- 1

1 -- 2

2 -- 1

2 -- 2

1 -- 1

1 -- 0

1 -- 2

2 -- 3

Paulton Rovers 2 -- 4

2 -- 0

1 -- 1

4 -- 2

0 -- 2

1 -- 0

2 -- 1

1 -- 0

2 -- 1

2 -- 0

0 -- 2

3 -- 4

4 -- 1

0 -- 1

1 -- 1

2 -- 2

1 -- 0

2 -- 3

1 -- 0

3 -- 0

0 -- 1

0 -- 0

Poole Town 0 -- 0

2 -- 2

3 -- 2

0 -- 4

0 -- 1

4 -- 5

0 -- 0

1 -- 0

1 -- 1

0 -- 1

0 -- 2

2 -- 1

1 -- 0

3 -- 2

1 -- 0

1 -- 3

0 -- 2

1 -- 3

1 -- 2

0 -- 6

0 -- 1

0 -- 2

Redditch United 1 -- 1

3 -- 2

0 -- 3

1 -- 7

0 -- 1

1 -- 0

1 -- 1

4 -- 0

1 -- 1

0 -- 4

2 -- 1

0 -- 1

0 -- 0

3 -- 2

1 -- 2

0 -- 1

0 -- 2

0 -- 2

2 -- 5

1 -- 1

0 -- 0

1 -- 3

Slough Town 3 -- 2

1 -- 2

0 -- 3

4 -- 0

2 -- 1

2 -- 2

2 -- 0

5 -- 2

0 -- 0

1 -- 1

2 -- 4

3 -- 1

1 -- 2

3 -- 5

2 -- 0

0 -- 0

3 -- 3

0 -- 2

3 -- 3

2 -- 0

3 -- 0

1 -- 0

St Neots Town 1 -- 0

2 -- 3

3 -- 3

2 -- 0

0 -- 0

0 -- 0

0 -- 0

3 -- 4

0 -- 0

1 -- 1

1 -- 3

1 -- 1

1 -- 3

1 -- 1

0 -- 1

3 -- 3

0 -- 0

0 -- 1

2 -- 2

1 -- 1

1 -- 1

1 -- 3

Truro City 1 -- 0

0 -- 2

1 -- 2

0 -- 4

3 -- 0

1 -- 2

2 -- 0

1 -- 2

3 -- 1

1 -- 0

1 -- 2

1 -- 2

1 -- 0

2 -- 0

1 -- 2

3 -- 0

1 -- 1

2 -- 2

3 -- 2

1 -- 3

1 -- 2

2 -- 3

2 -- 0

2 -- 0

3 -- 0

1 -- 1

4 -- 0

1 -- 0

2 -- 0

0 -- 3

3 -- 0

3 -- 1

1 -- 3

0 -- 3

5 -- 1

0 -- 3

2 -- 3

7 -- 2

0 -- 1

1 -- 2

4 -- 2

1 -- 2

3 -- 0

0 -- 1

Weymouth

“I SUPPOSE you guys don’t have much to do during the close season, do you?”

If we had a fiver for every time we’d heard that! In fact, with less football going on and more news pages to fill there’s little chance to put our feet up during the summer. With little live action our team have to dig that little bit deeper to come up with the goods but the weird and wonderful stories which make NonLeague so special were never likely to escape us. In fact, the funnies have been more fantastic than ever over the past few months – so here’s a selection of the very best. Don’t fear, we’re not planning on taking a breather. If light-hearted football fun is your thing, we’ll keep digging them out for you every week.

Nor, blimey!

It’s always welcome when a team comes down from the Football League and signs someone we know. Easy copy ahead – and if they are as barmy as Tranmere’s James Norwood, you’re rubbing your hands. They don’t always make it hard for us these footballers. You see Norwood, the self-appointed Snap Chat and twitter king, actually went to the effort of purchasing a grand title for himself this summer. Officially, we all have to address him as Lord James Norwood. His £27 certificate says so, he claims. We’re refusing and request you do the same. The ban on attention seeking strikers starts here!

It’s a poo-done it!

Harry has no Styles

Let’s be honest, there’s no excuse for calling a pre-season friendly off.

Even if the rain’s bad it’s surely not that bad with a pitch untouched for three months. But Bracknell Town’s trip to the brilliantly-named Eversley & California was cancelled… because of geese poo! A statement on the Robins’ website said: “It seems as if they have set up a mobile toilet on the Fox Lane pitch!”

Harry Pell is in need of a break.

Since leaving Hereford United in 2013 he really didn’t settle at AFC Wimbledon, Grimsby or at Eastleigh.

Best get your next manager onside as quickly as possible then. Well after turning up at Cheltenham manager Gary Johnson’s house to talk terms, he spilt coffee on the gaffer’s brand new carpet! The clumsy midfield giant almost blew it and Johnson joked: “I nearly didn’t sign him because of that. He apologised nicely and I let him off!”

Famous faces!

We all like a big-name summer signing, nicking your rival’s top scorer or adding a player of serious pedigree can ease the pain of the football-free months. Supporters of Corinthian-Casuals got one of the biggest names in the game – Diego Maradona! The striker explained: “My first name is Diego, my middle name is Maradona and my family name is Petriaggi. In Brazil we rarely use our last names so this is me! “My father is a very big lover of football.

As soon as my parents had children it was always the plan to name us after great former players. My two brothers are Michel Platini and Rivellino so you understand my mum didn’t have a choice!”

PAGE 42 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

Hardly a glove affair!

Sam Freeman may not be Mr Popular at home but at least his club knows he cares. Before Bedfont & Feltham’s essentially meaningless friendly with London All Nations Football Academy last weekend, he left girlfriend Rosie at Sutton Hospital an hour away… when she was a day overdue! Shock horror, her waters broke – gloves still on, he took a phone call in the middle of the second half telling him to get himself there NOW! Freeman arrived just in time. “I needed the game time!” Sam said. “In my defence she said I could go but she wasn’t happy.” Poor Rosie dropped him for the next game, banning her boyfriend from playing against Hampton four days later. Baby London and proud brother Mason, two, needed their daddy!

THE FAMOUS FIVE!

Pictured left to right: Danny Gay, Tom Meecham, Remy Gordon, Connor Hall & Ryan Hawkins PAGE 44 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

WWW.STNEOTSTOWNFC.CO.UK / PAGE 45

MATT MITCHEL-KING

PAGE 46 / ST NEOTS TOWN F.C. V LEAMINGTON ISSUE 01

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Manager: David Batch Assistant Manager: Steve Eastaugh First Team Coach: John Beck Goalkeeping Coach: Darren Plowman

Manager: Paul Holleran Assistant Manager: Liam O’Neill Team From:

Goalkeepers

Tony Breeden

Danny Gay

Ben George

Jamie Greygoose

Jake Jones

Defenders

Joe Magunda

Brett Longden

Connor Gudger

Jack Wilkinson

Jamie Hood

Adam Tann

James Mace

Tom Ward

Jack Edwards

Michael Williams

Connor Hall

Rob Ogleby

Jamie Anton

Ben Mackey

Sam Harty

Richard Taundry Lee Moore

Midfielders

James Husband

Ryan Hawkins

Danny Williams

Lee Clarke

Ross Oulton

Mat Mitchel-King

Martyn Naylor

Guy Mailamcol

Lewis Fenney

Remy Gordon

Matt Warner

Forwards Drew Roberts Tom Meecham Nathan Frater Bamoussa Cisse

Colours Dark Blue Shirts, Shorts & Socks

Colours Gold Shirts, Black Shorts & Gold Socks

The match line up will be displayed on the electronic scoreboard Referee: Mark Wardell Assistant 1: Lee Grimsey Assistant 2: Calum Chittenden

Next Home Game: Poole Town The Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Saturday 15th August / KO 15:00

As a Club we support Grass Roots Football and stand firm against racism within football, visit www.thefa.com for more information on playing your part.