W
ith the Euro 2012 football feast all over with another entirely predictable England quarter final exit, the thoughts of any avid football fan immediately turn to the up-coming domestic season. Although the English national team is extremely well supported, most ‘proper’ football fans will prioritise their club’s fortunes over Roy Hodgson’s men, and while our area may not have a Premier League club, nor even one in the next three tiers of the English professional structure, there’s still a plethora of high standard football in Stamford and Rutland this season. Of course, there’s Peterborough United down the road, who will once again ply their trade in the Championship, but for true Stamfordians, Stamford AFC, otherwise known as ‘the Daniels’ are the only game in town, so to speak. Based in the Premier Kitchens Arena, the Daniels will feature this season in Step Four of the non-league pyramid (meaning they’re four promotions from the football league). It’s their fourth season in the catchily-titled Evo Stik Northern League Division One South, having been relegated in 2008 from the Evo Stik Northern Premier Division. Now to you and I, Stamford is hardly a northern town, but to the masterminds at the FA it is, and they will once
Feature /// Football preview again have to face trips to the likes of Sheffield, Leek, Market Drayton, Sutton Coldfield and Kidsgrove. There’s plenty of reason for optimism this year at the Daniels, and that’s mainly down to the return of former manager Graham Drury, who was quickly (and controversially) snapped up by the board when he left Corby Town at the end of last season. The Drury appointment caused a rumpus, not least because it meant the immediate departure of manager, Tommy Brookbanks, who wasn’t too pleased with the way he was edged out after guiding the Daniels to a top 10 finish last season. It also caused a stir with some fans, who remember all too well that Drury left Stamford four years ago, lured midway through the season to the newly-found money at Corby Town, Stamford’s local rivals. Drury’s departure and Corby’s money lead to many players following him down the A43, and the Daniels subsequently went through an awful spell, dropping from eighth in the league in January, to relegation in April. Many blamed Drury, but football’s a funny old game, and when Drury became available again after Corby’s recent financial turmoil, the board were surely right to snap up an ambitious and talented manager. Drury’s previous reign at the Daniels was very successful, and since taking over at Corby, he guided them to two promotions (to the Conference North), and reached the FA Cup first round proper in the last two years. Could he do the same at the Daniels? As well as recruiting a talented manager,
‘FOR STAMFORDIANS, THE DANIELS ARE THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, SO TO SPEAK... AND THERE’S REASON
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Returning manager Graham Drury’s man-management skills are well known
Above and right
New young players have brought much-needed power and energy for the forthcoming season
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