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| News Archive 2009 Reserves' Curzon Ashton match off (Thu 31 Dec) The Reds Reserves v Curzon Ashton Reserves Lancashire League game, due to be played at Borough Park on Saturday, has been postponed because the Borough Park pitch is still frozen.
A decision on the Reserves fixture v. Stalybridge Celtic Reserves, due to be played at Borough Park on Monday, will be made on Sunday. Good chance that Blyth Spartans game is on (Thu 31 Dec) The club has been in contact with Blyth Spartans this morning and their Club Secretary stated that the Croft Park pitch is currently soft after two days of rain and with no frost forecast for this evening the prospects for the match look good. A referee is on stand-bye for a pitch inspection which will be held at 9:00am, with a decision being made and publicised from about 9:15am onwards. In addition, plans are being made to stage the postponed Harrogate Town match on Tuesday 5th January at Wetherby Road, though yet to be confirmed, to get much needed match practice in prior to the FA Trophy tie against Rushden & Diamonds on Saturday 9th January. When confirmation is made, or otherwise, details will be published. Reds hope for at least one game (Wed 30 Dec) With both the Reds fixtures over the holiday period cancelled and the prospect that the New Years Day fixture at Blyth Spartans may also fall foul of the weather, the Reds are looking into the possibility of staging the cancelled Boxing Day fixture at Borough Park on either Saturday 2nd or Sunday 3rd January. Blyth Spartans’ Croft Park is currently frozen and the thaw is not anticipated to come early enough to allow the pitch to be ready for the scheduled fixture on New Years Day. When further details are available, the likelihood of play at Croft Park, Blyth and the possibility of a rescheduled game at Borough Park will be made available. Reds frustration grows (Sun 27 Dec) Reds’ match at Harrogate Town on Monday has become another victim of the weather with the Blue Square North fixture called off at 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon.
Match referee Duncan Street inspected the Wetherby Road pitch, still with five inches of snow covering the surface, and confirmed the inevitable ’game off’ verdict.
Discussions to re-arrange both the Blyth Spartans (home) and Harrogate Town (away) fixtures will be held sometime this week. The revised fixture list, at this moment, reads: January | 1 | Blyth Spartans | Away | | 9 | RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS | HOME | | 16 | Alfreton Town | Away | | 19 | HYDE UNITED | HOME | | 23 | GLOUCESTER CITY | HOME | | 26 | Vauxhall Motors | Away | | 30 | Hyde United | Away | February | 6 | SOLIHULL MOORS | HOME | | 9 | STALYBRIDGE CELTIC | HOME | | 13 | DROYLSDEN | HOME | | 20 | Southport | Away | | 23 | Ilkeston Town | Away | | 27 | REDDITCH UNITED | HOME | March | 6 | Farsley Celtic | Away | | 13 | CORBY TOWN | HOME | | 20 | Eastwood Town | Away | | 27 | Hinckley United | Away | April | 3 | Northwich Victoria | Away | | 5 | FLEETWOOD TOWN | HOME | | 10 | AFC TELFORD UNITED | HOME | | 17 | Solihull Moors | Away | | 24 | STAFFORD RANGERS | HOME |
Boxing day blues (Sat 26 Dec) A home game for Reds on Boxing Day has been a rarity during the post Football League era and today’s encounter v. Blyth Spartans would have been just the third at Borough Park since we became members of the Northern Premier League back in 1977. A few have been lost to weather, including today's but, overall, the imbalance is quite noticeable with fifteen of our seventeen Boxing Day clashes played away.
Our record during the same period has been very poor with just two wins and two draws providing some post Christmas cheer.
We have lost all four Conference North fixtures played on this day and it is eleven years since we managed a victory – a 3-0 North West Counties League success against Holker Old Boys here. The only other success was at Gateshead in 1985 when goals from Billy Gilmour and Allan Carruthers helped us to a 2-0 victory at The International Stadium.
There was an other occasion when we looked like winning at Gateshead only to be thwarted by a floodlights failure. We were 2-0 ahead back in 1979 but the lights went out after an hour and, when the game was eventually replayed, it resulted in a goalless draw!
Twenty-one years ago we lost at Penrith with both goals in that defeat converted by David Taylor, father of current Reds’ player Aaran.
A reminder of Boxing Day results over the past thirty years:
Year | Venue | Opponents | Result | | 1977 | Away | Barrow | 1 - 3 | | 1978 | Away | Netherfield | 0 - 1 | | 1980 | Away | Gateshead | 0 - 1 | | 1983 | Away | Barrow | 1 - 3 | | 1985 | Away | Gateshead | 2 - 0 | | 1986 | Away | Barrow | 0 - 1 | | 1987 | Away | Gateshead | 0 - 4 | | 1988 | Away | Penrith | 0 - 2 | 1989 | Away | Lancaster City | 0 - 0 | | 1991 | Away | Netherfield | 2 - 4 | | 1994 | Away | Gretna | 0 - 3 | | 1998 | Home | Holker Old Boys | 3 - 0 | | 2002 | Away | Kendal Town | 3 - 3 | | 2005 | Away | Vauxhall Motors | 1 - 2 | | 2006 | Home | Leigh RMI | 0 - 1 | | 2007 | Away | Leigh RMI | 1 - 2 | | 2008 | Away | Fleetwood Town | 0 - 1 |
Our Football League record on this particular day was much better and included four victories in five years over Carlisle United. Reds’ best win as a FL club was back in 1951 – a 6-1 home triumph against Southport.
We recorded numerous impressive Boxing Day wins during the North Eastern League era, the best of which was a 9-2 Lonsdale Park success over Washington Colliery eighty-one years ago! Blyth game off (Sat 26 Dec) Borough Park's Town End. Workington’s Blue Square North encounter v. Blyth Spartans today has been postponed because of a frozen pitch.
A local Contributory official inspected the frozen surface just before 9am this morning and, after liaising with match referee, Ben Toner (Lancashire), had no hesitation in calling the game off.
The Blyth Spartans’ party were duly informed half an hour before their scheduled departure.
The club were hopeful of the game going ahead on Christmas Eve but the pitch was unplayable at 3pm on Christmas Day and was still frozen solid on Saturday morning. Town End terracing. Club optimistic for Spartans visit (Thu 24 Dec) The club are hopeful that the Boxing Day clash with Blyth Spartans at Borough Park will go ahead as scheduled.
The pitch has been frozen in recent days but there was quite a bit of give on Christmas Eve enabling groundsman Jeff Curwen, (pictured left), to roll the surface and, forty-eight hours before kick-off, it was just about playable.
A further check will be made on Christmas Day and there will be a referee on standby to conduct a pitch inspection on Saturday morning should one be necessary.
Day time temperatures have improved over the last two days, albeit just a degree or two, but it all depends on how severe the frost is on Thursday and Friday.
Reds' holiday programme includes home and away clashes with Spartans with a trip to Harrogate Town sandwiched in between. Reds beat freeze (Tue 22 Dec) Reds played Whitehaven in a hastily arranged friendly on Tuesday evening as both teams utilised their regular training session on the third generation pitch at the Focus Scaffolding Sports Complex. It provided some much needed match practice for the two sides who have lost games during the current arctic conditions. An explosive start from Reds swept the hosts aside with three well taken goals producing an unassailable lead. Gareth Arnison’s precise cross shot opened the scoring after Anthony Wright, (pictured left), found Reds’ top scorer in plenty of space inside the area. Jonny Wright doubled the advantage, against his former club, finishing well after ‘newcomer’ Paul Nicholson was involved in the build-up. Nicholson, (pictured right), who had a fine debut for the Reserves last week, played the whole game and made a positive contribution. Anthony Wright netted Reds’ third goal with a crisp low shot into the far corner of the net but Whitehaven reduced the arrears soon after. Tony Caig had parried Craig Robson’s shot but David Dustin was on hand to smash the rebound into the net. Arnison had a ’goal’ disallowed for offside and then saw a powerful header hit the crossbar as Reds dominated against an under-strength home team. Anthony Wright netted his second, and Reds’ fourth, with the goal of the game following some swift passing from back to front. A useful workout for Darren Edmondson, who played for an hour himself, as Reds finished 4-1 victors. Team: Caig, Andrews, Edmondson (Main), May, Rowntree, McLuckie, Vipond, Nicholson, Wright A, Arnison, Wright J. Re-arranged fixtures (Mon 21 Dec) Two of Reds’ Blue Square North fixtures have been re-arranged as follows:
The home match v. Stalybridge Celtic, originally scheduled for 9th January but postponed because of both clubs continued involvement in the FA Trophy, will now be played at Borough Park on Tuesday 9th February. The away game at Ilkeston Town, postponed on Saturday because of a frozen pitch, will now take place at the New Manor Ground on Tuesday 23rd February. Cumberland Cup (Mon 21 Dec) The Cumberland Cup tie v. Greystoke, due to be played at Borough Park on Tuesday, has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Greystoke were given the opportunity to re-schedule the match to Wednesday, 23/12, at Whitehaven’s Focus Scaffolding Sports Complex but opted not to play on that day.
The game will now have to be re-scheduled early in the New Year. Suspensions (Sat 19 Dec) Following his red card dismissal in the 4 - 2 FA Trophy victory at Solihull Moors, Reds' leading goalscorer Gareth Arnison's one match suspension will commence on Tuesday 22nd December. If the Cumberland Senior County Cup match against Greystoke scheduled for Tuesday evening goes ahead, then Arnison will miss this game through suspension. If the game is cancelled for any reason then Arnison will miss the next game to go ahead which will likely to be the Blyth Spartans game on Boxing Day. Also likely to miss the Blyth Spartans game will be Phil McLuckie who has accrued five yellow cards and his automatic one match ban commences on Boxing Day. FA Trophy 2nd Round draw (Mon 14 Dec) The FA Trophy Second Round draw was made today with the Reds being drawn against Blue Square Premier Rushden & Diamonds. The Reds faced Rushden & Diamonds in the FA Cup earlier this season at Borough Park with the Diamonds coming out 3 - 0 winners. The tie is to be played on Saturday 9th January 2010 at Borugh Park, 3:00pm kick off. The scheduled Blue Square North home fixture against Stalybridge Celtic will be rescheduled to a later date. The FA Trophy 2nd Round draw in full: 1 AFC Wimbledon v Wrexham or Altrincham
2 Worcester City v Carshalton Athletic or Northwood
3 Stevenage Borough v Vauxhall Motors
4 Blyth Spartans v Guiseley
5 Cambridge United v Eastbourne Borough
6 Gateshead or Harrogate Town v Arlesey Town or Chippenham Town
7 Oxford United v Woking
8 Stalybridge Celtic v Corby Town
9 Kidderminster Harriers v Hampton & Richmond Borough or Lewes
10 Newport County v Hinckley United or York City
11 Workington v Rushden & Diamonds
12 Chelmsford City or Truro City v Crawley Town
13 Fleetwood Town v Dover Athletic
14 Southport or Gainsborough Trinity v Tamworth
15 Maidenhead United v Barrow
16 Salisbury City v Maidstone United or Histon FA Trophy 1st Round (Sun 13 Dec) The FA Trophy First Round Proper yesterday had a few 'giant killings' with Unibond League side Guiseley defeating Blue Square North Redditch United by a solitary goal. Meanwhile, former Blue Square North Worcester City defeated former winner and Blue Square Premier side Grays Athletic, 3 - 1. Fleetwood Town progressed to Round Two after defeating Blue Square Premier bottom side Chester City. With the FA Trophy Second Round becoming national there is potential trips as far as Dover & Truro in the bag for Monday's draw. The FA Trophy First Round results in full are: AFC Wimbledon 2 - 1 Boreham Wood
Arlesey Town 1 - 1 Chippenham Town
Bashley 2 - 3 Crawley Town
Bishop's Stortford 1 - 2 Maidenhead United
Blyth Spartans 2 - 0 Ilkeston Town
Cambridge United 3 - 1 Luton Town
Carshalton Athletic 1 - 1 Northwood
Chelmsford City 2 - 2 Truro City
Chester City 0 - 1 Fleetwood Town
Corby Town 2 - 0 Farsley Celtic
Farnborough 1 - 3 Newport County
Gateshead 1 - 1 Harrogate Town
Guiseley 1 - 0 Redditch United
Hampton & Richmond Borough 0 - 0 Lewes
Havant & Waterlooville 2 - 3 Dover Athletic
Hinckley United 0 - 0 York City
Kettering Town 0 - 1 Barrow
Maidstone United P - P Histon
Mansfield Town 0 - 2 Tamworth
Matlock Town 0 - 2 Kidderminster Harriers
Nantwich Town 0 - 3 Stalybridge Celtic
Oxford United 1 - 0 Hayes & Yeading United
Rushden & Diamonds 1 - 0 Billericay Town
Southport 2 - 2 Gainsborough Trinity
Stevenage Borough 2 - 0 Ebbsfleet United
Vauxhall Motors P - P Kings Lynn
Welling United 0 - 1 Eastbourne Borough
Weymouth 0 - 1 Salisbury City
Woking 1 - 0 Forest Green Rovers
Worcester City 3 - 1 Grays Athletic
Workington 2 - 1 Nuneaton Town
Wrexham 0 - 0 Altrincham Burscough Reserves (Mon 07 Dec) Burscough have, today, resigned from the Lancashire Football League.
The club is, apparently, suffering from serious financial difficulties and are not in a position to carry on with their reserve team.
Reds Reserves were due to visit Burscough at the end of this month having beaten them 2-0 at Borough Park, thanks to goals from Adam Main and Lee McCullough, back in August.
That was one of only two wins obtained so far but, sadly, it will be now expunged from the records. Fifty years of the Football League Cup (Sun 06 Dec) The Football League Cup, currently known as the Carling Cup, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In celebration of the event, the Football League are organising a competition to select the best Cup moment from a list of 50 nominations. In the list of 50 is the 1964/65 Workington v Blackburn match where the Reds humbled the First Division side 5 - 1 at Ewood Park. A brace from Kit Napier and Barry Lowes with Dave Carr getting the other goal completed the rout for the Reds. Reserves' match postponed (Sat 05 Dec) The Lancashire League fixture vesus Barrow, scheduled for Thurdsay 10th December, has been cancelled. This is to accommodate the Cumberland Cup tie versus Greystoke the previous night on the 9th December at Borough Park, 7:30pm kick off. Match updates (Fri 04 Dec) The Reds' Third Round Cumberland Senior County Cup tie against Greystoke will now be played at Borough Park on Wednesday 9th December, 7:30pm kick off. Additionally, the Blue Square North fixture against Vauxhall Motors has been rescheduled for Tuesday 26th January at the Rivacre Park. The replayed Third Round Qualifying Round FA Trophy tie against Solihull Moors will be played next Tuesday 8th December at Damson Park. If we overcome Solihull Moors and progress to the FA Trophy First Round, the tie will be against Nuneaton Town at Borough Park on Saturday 12th December, 3:00pm kick off. If we don't progress in the FA Trophy, it is most likely that the Hyde United league fixture will be brought forward and played on Saturday 12th December. Lady in black (Thu 03 Dec) Natalie Walker introducing herself to Eastwood Town's captain Martin Foster. Last Saturday's encounter against Eastwoood Town was an entertaining affair with a well earned and deserved victory against a side second in the table prior to kick off. One of the referee's assistants was not Mr N A Walker as stated on the back of the programme but a Miss N A Walker. Natalie Walker is the first female to officiate in a Blue Square North fixture at Borough Park. We have only had a few here over the years, two that I can remember, during the North West Counties season and one during our second spell in the Unibond League. Natalie Walker probably does not count Workington v Eastwood as her greatest achievement to date in her Assistant Referee's career as last November she, along with referee Sasa Ihringova, officiated at the FIFA U20's Women's World Cup in Chile. Rewarded for their excellent performances throughout the tournament, Natalie Walker was one of the Assistant Referee's when Germany beat France to third place with a 5-3 win while Sasa Ihringova took charge of the Final that saw the USA take on the reigning champions Korea DPR. It was the American's who came off better securing a 2-1 win to take the title, they last won in 2002. The same pair had earlier in the year been appointed to officiate the second leg of the UEFA Women's Cup Final between German side FFC Frankfurt and their Swedish opponents Umeå IK. Locally, Serena Fennell has been on line duty here for friendlies and the odd Reserves fixture. Seven years ago, (23/11/02), we were involved in a first. Amy Rayner refereed our game at Alfreton Town - the first ever Unibond League match refereed by a female official. Lloyd loan extended (Thu 03 Dec) Paul Lloyd's loan period has been extended by a further month. The initial loan period was to conclude following this Saturday's Gainsborough Trinity Match. Llloyd has started all three matches since his loan spell started, featuring on the Corby Town, Eastwood Town and Solihull Moors ties. Dave Hewson, (pictured left), returned to the football field in a game for the Northern Alliance side Harraby Catholic Club recently bagging two goals in the process. 'Dabber' is expected to make another outing for Harraby at least as past of his recovery before we see him turn out for the Reds. Meanwhile Stephen Hindmarch, (pictured right), has taken part in the last three training sessions and will be seen out warming-up with the team against Eastwood Town. Hindmarsh is still a while away from challanging for a place in the Reds squad but his rehabilitation is progressing. The bad news though is that Dan Shannon is doubtful for the game against Eastwood after injuring his ankle in training during the week. Eastwood Town match to proceed (Tue 24 Nov) Following a Board meeting held on Tuesday evening it has been agreed to hold the Blue Square North league match against Eastwood Town at Borough Park on Saturday 28th November as scheduled. All services were restored to Borough Park on Monday and with the flood defences surrounding Borough Park holding firm the pitch, though very wet at the moment, should be perfectly playable for Saturday's fixture. The ground is protected from the River Derwent by two large banks, though according to groundsman Jeff Curwen who was present at Borough Park in the early hours of Friday morning, the water was six inches from coming over the banks. The adjacent Lonsdale Park was flooded, as was the bowling club and the cricket club. On aerial photographs Borough Park was an oasis of green among the flood water. The Directors of Workington AFC would like to thank Eastwood Town for their kind offer to switch the tie to Coronation Park but it was decided to hold the game at Borough Park. Prior to kick off, a minutes silence will be held in memory of PC Bill Barker who was tragically killed when the Northside Bridge collapsed only yards away from Borough Park. County Cup match postponed (Mon 23 Nov) The Reds Third Round Cumberland Senior County Cup tie against Greystoke scheduled for this Wednesday, 25th November has been postponed. No date has yet been set for the re-scheduled fixture. FA Trophy draw (Mon 23 Nov) The FA Carlsberg Trophy’s First Round Proper draw was made at the Wembley Stadium today, with the 24 Conference Premier clubs entering at this stage. If the Reds should prosper in their delayed Third Qualifying Round tie against Solihull Moors, they will entertain either Hyde United or Nuneaton Town at Borough Park. The First Round Proper ties are due to be played on 12th December, with the winners each picking up £5,000. Floods and Borough Park (Sun 22 Nov) Following the recent flooding from the River Derwent causing the postponement of the FA Trophy tie against Solihull Moors it has been agreed not to attempt to stage the game this week. Though the Borough Park pitch is playable, there is still uncertainty over travel arrangements of any visitors to Workington with the collapse of the Northside Bridge adjacent to Borough Park, that tragically cost the life of PC Bill Barker, and with the potential damage to numerous other access bridges around the county. The FA Trophy tie is likely to be staged on Tuesday, 1st December at Borough Park which would consequently postpone the Vauxhall Motors league match scheduled for the Tuesday evening as FA Trophy ties take precedence over league matches. Efforts are being made to ensure that Saturday's Blue Square North league game against Eastwood Town goes ahead as scheduled. The gas supply to Borough Park is anticipated to be restored on Monday after its loss following the collapse of Northside Bridge. Confirmation, or otherwise, of the Eastwood Town game is likely to be made on or before Thursday this week. Everyone involved with Workington AFC wish to offer their condolences to the family of PC Bill Barker following their tragic loss. Paul Lloyd signs on loan (Fri 06 Nov) Manager Darren Edmondson has moved quickly to replace the retired Matt Henney signing Paul Lloyd on an initial months loan from Conference side Forest Green. Paul, you may just remember, has been at Borough Park previously, but his stay was very fleeting as his stay consisted of one un-used substitute appearance before he signed for Forest Green. Matt Henney forced to quit (Thu 05 Nov) Reds winger Matt Henney has been forced to quit playing due to back problems that have blighted him this season. Matt has had back problems for a while but this term has found it difficult to play without pain. Matt told manager Darren Edmondson at Tuesday's training session of his decision to hang up his boots. The 33 year old has had three spells at Workington amassing over 250 appearances for the club. FA Trophy draw (Mon 02 Nov) The FA Trophy Third Round Qualifying draw took place today with the Reds securing a home tie against fellow Blue Square North side Solihull Moors. The tie match is scheduled for Saturday 21st November, 3:00pm kick off. The prize money on offer to the winners of this round is £4,000 with the ultimate winner of the competition picking up £50,000 with £25,000 for the losing finalists. County Cup draw made (Thu 29 Oct) The draw for the Third Round of the Cumberland Senior County Cup has given the Reds a home tie against Penrith based Greystoke. The Westmorland League Division Two side currently sit in tenth place (of twelve) in the divison. The tie is scheduled for Saturday 28th November, but all sides draw at home that have floodlights have to play the fixture mid-week. The mid-week date for the fixture has yet to be confirmed. New Hyde date (Fri 23 Oct)
The Blue Square North fixture v. Hyde United, which was cancelled to accommodate today’s FA Cup tie, has been re-arranged and will now take place at Borough Park on Tuesday 19th January, 2010 kick-off 7.45pm. Diamonds are a girl's best friend (Fri 23 Oct) Ex. Reds’ fan, Susan Lockhart, is now a ‘Diamond geezer’ and is in a bit of quandary as to where her allegiance will lie this Saturday. It will be her first visit to Borough Park today since the late eighties but, since then, she has become a keen Rushden & Diamonds supporter and actually lives just a mile from Nene Park.
Sue, nee McCullough, is originally from the Harrington area and is the grand-daughter of former Workington AFC chairman, Arthur McCullough.
She started supporting Reds from a young age and became a member of the Supporters’ Association and a valued helper behind the scenes. Sue recalls often making the players’ pre-match meals prior to home games then sitting proudly in the directors’ box (when we had such a facility) to watch the game hoping none of her heroes suffered from a bout of food poisoning.
In her early years as a fan, she remembers Bobby Charlton guesting for Reds in the Fort Lauderdale Strikers friendly and crying when Gordon Livesey left the club. Another memory was not being allowed a day off school by her parents when Bill Shankly visited the ground in 1980 although her mum did get her Shanks’ autograph which she still has to this day.
Sue starting watching Diamonds five years ago and is now a season ticket holder. They do travel to away games occasionally, mainly against local opposition, but will be travelling up to Cumbria for a ‘flying visit’ for the Cup game. “We will be leaving first thing on Sunday morning, though, because my son, Daniel, will be playing football for Diamonds’ U13 Elite team.” explained a proud mum.
Diplomatically, Sue hopes Saturday’s encounter results in a draw but she thinks it will be a tough game. “If it is a draw, the Workington supporters and players will have the opportunity to visit our ground – one of the best in the country” she reckons.
Her favourite Diamonds’ player at the moment, apart from her youngest son of course, is Lee Tomlin and Sue warns Reds that he is in good scoring form at the moment.
To complete a memorable day, her son, Daniel, will act as the Rushden mascot and, to complete a unique family double, her brother’s son, Liam, will be the Reds mascot. Sue’s brother, Lee McCullough, plays for and skippers the Workington Reserves team. Reserves match postponed (Thu 15 Oct) The Reds Reerve team gamthis evening had to be potponed earlier this afternoon due to a gas leak adjacent to Borough Park. The leak has caused an interuption to the gas supply at Borough Park putting the boilers out of action. It is to be hoped that all the prolems will be resolved before next Saturday's FA Cup tie against Rushden & Diamonds. Another home draw in FA Cup! (Mon 12 Oct)
The FA Cup Fourth Round Qualifying draw has suprisingly given the Reds another home tie, this time against Rushden and Diamonds. The Diamonds currently are 11th in the Blue Square Premier league with a won 6, drawn 5, lost 5 record. Rushden & Diamonds, based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, was formed by a merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992. They were Conference champions in 2001/02 winning promotion into the Football League and subsequently were further promoted into League Two as Third Division champions in 2002/03.
With two relegations in three years the club fell back into the Football Conference where they have remained since. Tom Aldred resigned on loan (Fri 09 Oct) Carlisle United's talented defender Tom Aldred has resigned on loan for a further two months. In addition, he has been allowed to compete in the FA Cup commencing in tomorrow's Third Round Qualifying tie against Radcliffe Borough. Should the Reds progress, his loan period would also cover the Fourth Round Qualifying, (where Conference sides enter), and the First Round Proper where League One nd Two side enter. It is likely that Tom will replace Lee Andrews in the side as Lee has suffered a re-occurance of his calf strain problem that has forced him out of the side previously. Hyde United saved (Sat 03 Oct)
At The High Court in London, Blue Square North club Hyde United successfully rescinded the winding up order made against them last Wednesday. The team will be travelling to Farsley Celtic on Saturday, while their postponed FA Cup against Salford City will be played this Monday evening.
Reserves match postponed (Sat 03 Oct) The Reds Youth team face a daunting mid-week trip to Congleton Town on Wednesday – their 'reward' for that exciting penalty shoot-out success over Bootle in the last round of the FA Youth Cup. In terms of distance, it could not have been much worse for Steve Lee and his young charges with the problem of getting lads out of school/college more of an issue than tackling the M6 or Congleton!
The home game v. Lancaster City Reserves, originally scheduled for Thurs 8th October then brought forward to Monday 5th October, has now been cancelled. It will be re-arranged accordingly.
Good luck Tom (Sat 03 Oct) Due to the fact that Carlisle United did not want Tom Aldred cup-tied, the talented defender will effectively conclude his loan spell with us after today’s game. Tom has created a favourable impression in the matches against Alfreton Town, Gloucester City and Redditch United. We wish him well in the next chapter of his professional career.
Home draw in FA Cup (Mon 28 Sep)
The FA Cup Third Round Qualifying draw has given the Reds a home tie against the winners of Warrington Town and Radcliffe Borough. The two sides finished level at 1-1 on Saturday with the replay being played on Tuesday evening at Radcliffe Borough's Stainton Park. In Saturday's fixture the 'Boro' took an early lead through a well executed Steve Howson goal while Warrington Town pulled level with a second half Chris Gahgan penalty. Hyde United's future in doubt (Fri 25 Sep)
The future of Hyde United is in doubt after the club's appearance in the High Court this week. The board of directors at Blue Square North club Hyde United were devastated to learn that on Wednesday afternoon, at a High Court hearing in London, the football club was officially wound up. The club had applied for a final adjournment and had produced evidence that funds to satisfy the petition debt due to HM Revenue & Customs in full would be in place in the very near future.
The board is taking legal advice on whether this decision can be overturned, and will make a further statement once this advice is received. Premier League cash boost (Wed 16 Sep)
The Premier League made a one off payment of one million pounds (£1m) to the 68 member clubs of the Football Conference. The payment has been made to soften the financial blow which clubs in the Football Conference, competing in the Blue Square Premier, North and South have suffered this season due to the demise of Setanta. The Premier League has fully compensated the Premier League clubs for the loss of revenue after the collapse of Setanta. The £1m payment does not fully cover the loss of revenue for the 68 Conference clubs, Blue Square North and South clubs will receive £6,000 as opposed to the original £15,000 sponsorship from Setanta. Calendar boys (Wed 16 Sep)
Three of the lads celebrate their birthdays during September.
Kyle May (27) and Tom Aldred (19) reached their personal milestones recently with Gareth Arnison (23), (pictured left), about to do so on Friday.
Congratulations. The Wright choice (Wed 16 Sep) With skipper Tony Hopper unavailable for the trip to Gloucester and his potential understudies, Lee Andrews and Shaun Vipond, also non-travellers, Jonny Wright captained the side for the first time in a league game. He had previously skippered the side in the pre-season game at Tow Law. When Jonny was substituted in the second half at Gloucester, the armband was passed to Anthony Wright. FA Cup draw (Mon 14 Sep) Workington AFC start their 2009/10 FA Cup campaign with a tie against Cammell Laird in the Second Qualifying Round.
The fixture is to be played at Borough Park on Saturday 26th September, 3pm kick off.
Cammel Laird, based at the Kirklands Stadum in Birkenhead, are curently sitting mid table in the Unibond First Division South.
The club gets its name from the Cammell Laird shipyards on the Mersey. Over the last 185 years the shipyard has launched more than 1350 ships. The ship profile at the top of the club crest is that of one of Lairds' most famous creations The Ark Royal. Aldred comes in on loan (Tue 08 Sep) Carlisle United defender Tom Aldred was signed on a month's loan this morning. He was brought in as cover for the injured Kyle May and also to cover the suspension of Lee Andrews who will miss Saturday's game against Gloucester City. Edmo's second anniversary (Mon 07 Sep) The Football Association's Gary Alpin presents Darren Edmondson with the FA Trophy Team of the Round Award. Reds boss Darren Edmondson celebrated two years in the Borough Park hot seat with the draw against Ilkeston Town at the week-end and was pleased with the response from the players following the poor showing at Fleetwood Town in the previous game. It was the eighth goalless draw of his tenure and perhaps the most welcome. He took over the managerial reins on 7th September, 2007 guiding the team to a 1-1 draw v. Barrow at Holker Street. Since then, he has been in charge for over a hundred league and cup matches overseeing two mid-table finishes in Blue Square North, an appearance in the First Round proper of the FA Cup, two decent runs in the FA Trophy and a victory in last season’s Cumberland Cup Final. The Bank Holiday defeat at Fleetwood was the heaviest inflicted upon us during his time at the helm but we have won 5-0 no fewer than four times during the same period. Darren’s Reds record is detailed below: League: P.86 W.23 D.26 L.37 F.96 A.114
Cups: P.22 W.13 D.5 L.4 F.42 A.22
Total: P.108 W.36 D.31 L.41 F.138 A.136 Reunion (Mon 07 Sep) Neil and Ian McDonald Ian McDonald, a Reds footballer during the early seventies, made his first visit to Borough Park for thirty-five years at the end of July. Ian, and younger brother Neil, were invited to play in the Liverpool Legends charity match and although both declined the offer they were present on the day.
We see Neil quite often due to his Barrow connections but it was great to see Ian again after so many years.
Ian’s Workington career only lasted for twelve months but he entered the record books when he was sold to Liverpool in January, 1974. The transfer fee of £33,000 was a record transaction for the club.
The talented midfield player had joined us from hometown club Barrow early in February 1973 and we paid £3,000 to secure the transfer.
A goalless draw v. Hartlepool marked his debut but he did score twice before the end of that season. His first was the only goal in a home win over Colchester United and then he netted in a 2-1 defeat at Darlington. The following season, Ian found the target in our 2-2 League Cup draw at Carlisle United before producing some eye-catching performances for Reds throughout Autumn and Winter. He scored a brilliant individual goal against Newport County and scouts were starting to make rare appearances at remote Borough Park.
Helping Reds to a 5-2 win over Darlington proved to be his last goal and appearance for us before that dream move to Liverpool after just 45 games (5 goals).
The move to Anfield did not work out, unfortunately, but Ian carved out a distinguished career in the lower leagues playing for the likes of Colchester United, Mansfield Town, York City and Aldershot amassing over 650 league games in the process. Coaching, managing and scouting roles in the non-league game followed.
A well respected Workington old boy. Farsley future uncertain (Fri 04 Sep)
The future of Farsley Celtic is in the balance at the moment, on Friday club president John Palmer said administrators had ordered the Celts to inform league bosses they would not be able to fulfill their fixtures for the season. Farsley went into administration at the end of June with debts of more than £200,000. At 3pm on Friday the Football Conference issue a statement stating that the administrator of Farsley Celtic Football Club Limited has verbally confirmed to the Board of the Football Conference, following the withdrawal of a potential purchaser of the club it has not been possible to complete a sale of the club and with there being insufficient funds coming into the club, the Throstle’s Nest Ground has been closed and that Farsley Celtic’s fixture against Stalybridge Celtic on Saturday, 5th September 2009 has been postponed. During the afternoon though the administrator stated that a new consortium was wishing to purchase the football club and have satisfied the administrator that funding is now available to allow tomorrow's fixture at home to Stalybridge Celtic in the Blue Square North to proceed as scheduled. The Football Conference allowed this reversal to proceed and the game is to go ahead but the Football Conference Board are now urgently seeking clarification from the administrator as to the long term future of Farsley Celtic FC Ltd. 70 years ago (Fri 04 Sep)
Last week marked the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War and football, like everything else, was disrupted with regular league competition suspended for the best part of six years.
The 1939-40 season, therefore, was very different. It was the only campaign where we remained unbeaten at home, never won a single game yet finished in 16th position in the North Eastern League.
We had kicked off the season on the 26th August with a home game against Annfield Plain with a crowd just short of 3,000 witnessing a 1-1 draw. It was to be the last league match for the first team at Borough Park until the start of the ‘45-46 campaign when Annfield Plain were again the visitors.
The opening match was followed by away games at Spennymoor United (3-5) and Sunderland Reserves (0-4) both of which resulted in heavy defeats. The day after the Sunderland game the outbreak of war was confirmed.
We did play two friendlies against Barrow during September and October, losing at home and away, but all the professional players were paid off. The Reserves continued to play in the West Cumberland League until late October before that league was also suspended. FA Youth Cup (Sun 30 Aug) The Reds will begin their interest in the FA Youth Cup at the 1st Round Qualifying stage with a home game against Bootle. The match has been arranged for Tuesday 22nd September at Borough Park with a 7.45pm kick-off. The winners of that tie will be away to either Burscough or Congleton Town. Reds haven’t won in the competition since the 05-06 season when they recorded a 2-1 success at Pontefract Collieries but they were quickly brought back to earth with an 11-0 defeat at home to Burscough! Bootle knocked us out of the competition two years ago (0-3). Reserve team managerial duo Steve Lee and Herbert Briggs will be in charge of team affairs. Them and us (Fri 28 Aug) Jonny Wright opened his goal account for the season last week – for Reds and Stalybridge Celtic. He had the unusual distinction of scoring for both sides with the goals at either end of the pitch helping each side to a welcome point.
Jonny opened the scoring for Celtic with a sweet close range volley giving Tony Caig no chance of saving. He quickly made amends, though, with a somewhat fortunate equaliser when he deflected the ball into the net without knowing too much about it. Had the goals been the other way around, I don’t think he would have minded too much.
Not many Reds players are members of this rather exclusive club as it has only happened three times during the non-league era yet, strangely, each time has been in a Conference North fixture.
Joe Kendrick had the fortune/misfortune to score for both sides when Southport played at Borough Park two years ago with Joe contributing to Southport’s 3-2 victory.
Matt Henney was the other victim ironically in a match at Barrow four years ago. He netted Reds’ consolation goal in that embarrassing 6-1 defeat but also headed an OG in Barrow’s favour.
Even fewer opposition players have netted for and against us with Eastwood Town player Simon Copeland the last to do so in a 2-2 draw at Borough Park during the 89-90 season.
The last time it happened in a Football League match involving Reds was back in 1975 when we lost 2-1 at Torquay United and home player Phil Sandercock netted for them and us.
Former Aston Villa defender Chris Nicholl once scored all four goals in a 2-2 1st Division draw at Leicester City while Manchester City’s Tommy Hutchinson famously netted for both sides in the 1981 FA Cup final against Tottenham. Striker Cook brought in on loan (Fri 28 Aug) Andy Cook in action against Hinckley United last season. Carlisle United striker Andy Cook, 18, has joined the Reds on loan to bolster the injury hit Reds attack. Both Reds first choice strikers Jonny Wright and Gareth Arnison are struggling with injuries and are unlikely to be able to compete in both tomorrow's fixture against Northwich Victoria and the bank holiday fixture at Fleetwood. Cook's League registration has been confirmed and is therefore available for tomorrow's Borough Park encouter with the Vics. Cook had nine starts and seven substitute appearances for the Reds last season scoring 5 goals. Aldred loan on hold (Thu 27 Aug) Carlisle United defender Tom Aldred's proposed month loan stint at the Reds has been put on hold. Aldred was joining the Reds to cover for Lee Andrews, allowing Lee to rest a calf injury that has been bothering him for a few weeks. Surprisingly the calf injury has cleared without rest and Lee is fit for Saturday's game against Northwich Victoria. Reds manager Darren Edmondson didn't want Tom to come down to Borough Park and not play. With Kyle May and Lee Andrews being the heart of the Reds defence there would be limited opportunities for Tom to play. Aldred the Red (Tue 25 Aug) Carlisle United manager Greg Abbott has confirmed that defender Tom Aldred is set to join the Reds for a month long loan. Tom Aldred is a first year professional at United and Greg Abbott commented on the Carlisle United website, "Tom needs regular football and we don't have too many Reserve games this season". "Darren always looks after our players and some proper football will do Tom good. He'll play in our Reserve game on Monday afternoon and then we expect him to sign the forms for the loan spell after that." Sofa so good (Fri 21 Aug) Skipper, Tony Hopper, extended his record of scoring in every season of Reds’ Blue Square North membership when he netted the opener against Harrogate Town last week. He hasn't been prolific in those previous four seasons but is still proud of the fact that he has scored in everyone.
Asked if he intended doing a 'Ryan Giggs' (he has scored in all Manchester United’s seasons in the Premier League), the inform captain said, "Would he be as good if he had to deliver sofas before the game." Ex. Boss pays visit (Fri 21 Aug) It is now twenty eight years since Sean Gallagher was unceremoniously dumped as Reds manager but he still enjoys the occasional visit to Borough Park or watching us play in the Lancashire area. Along with his wife and son, Sean was welcome visitor to the Harrogate Town match last Tuesday and, as well as enjoying the match, was able to have a chat with colleagues from the early eighties particularly former secretary, Keith Nelson. Sean was appointed Workington manager in May, 1980 succeeding Barry Endean. He guided Reds to 10th position in the then, one division, Northern Premier League and was in charge for the two FA Cup games against Carlisle United. In the final eighteen games of his first season, Reds only lost twice. The following season, he experienced mixed fortunes conceding four goals in three matches but masterminding a 7-1 win (a record NPL victory for us at the time) over Morecambe. That was to be his swansong as the board terminated his contract in October 1981. ** Northwich Victoria boss Andy Preece was also a spectator at the Harrogate Town game-taking a check on Reds before Vics’ visit here next Saturday. Shirt sponsorship (Tue 18 Aug)
Shirt sponsorship has been a part of English football for more than a quarter of a century now with Workington AFC first getting in on the act in 1983. For almost every season since then, we have carried national and local motifs on our shirts but, until now, the logo has always appeared on the front. With this season’s shirt, we have broken new ground and sponsorship slogans appear on both the front and back. METROPOLITAN RACING, a great help to the club for many years, became the first company to advertise on the back of our shirts with their logo prominent on the shoulders above the shirt numbers. They, along with ROMAR – the club’s main sponsor – will see home and away shirts display their support up and down the country this season. It was back in the early eighties that the likes of FIAT, CRAIG TRAVEL and BNFL were the first of many to be involved in a shirt sponsorship deal with the Reds. Then, almost by accident, we hit the big time when Channel 4’s THE BIG BREAKFAST asked to sponsor us for the 1995-96 season. That was not the most lucrative deal we have ever had but the publicity it generated was priceless. There were studio appearances for the players, footage on national TV and weekly mentions on their Monday morning news bulletins. How many, if any, of the numerous shirt sponsors associated with Reds can you remember? I have come up with the following list with apologies to those who may have been forgotten: LIME HOUSE SCHOOL, RAFFLES BAR, PRINTEXPRESS, SANDWITH ROOFING, SYWELL CONSTRUCTION, CREST, AXA, ALBANY, JENNINGS BITTER, JOS TAYLOR JOINERY, DUNCAN HILL, BROOMBYS, WEST CUMBRIA SCAFFOLDING, ALLERDALE, WEST COAST THERMAL, WAVERLEY HOTEL, CORUS and F. C. WHELAN HEALTHCARE. A hectic start (Tue 18 Aug)
Three down, thirty-nine to go is a rather phlegmatic approach to the new campaign as the games come thick and fast during a busy August. Indeed, as things stand, this our busiest month of the season with seven games to be played.
So, how are we shaping up? Well, had we drawn our first three games, everyone would have been reasonably satisfied with a solid start and three points in the ‘bank’. However, because we have lost two of those opening fixtures, the doom and gloom brigade are out in force predicting a winter of struggle despite the fact we still have the same points tally!
There needs to be some middle ground here with supporters not going overboard with a win nor plunging into the depths of despair following a defeat. The feeling is that because we have a ‘bigger’ squad than last season, we will automatically finish higher up the table but it does not work quite like that. You have to improve your squad to stand still in this league and it is only when you find that magic ingredient, consistency, that play-off qualification, or better, can be seriously contemplated.
We have never won on the opening day of a Conference season and Hinckley United, who else, extended that unwanted sequence to five seasons when they left Cumbria with all three points. A controversial 66th minute penalty gave Hinckley the opportunity to settle a keenly fought contest which they did when Adam Webster blasted past Tony Caig. Webster had also scored from the spot when Hinckley won here in March.
Ironically, I had been chatting to our new ‘keeper, Tony Caig, beforehand about his record facing penalties (he once saved two at Wembley you know) and he confirmed it was quite good over the years. He had saved one at Tow Law the week before so a 50/50 success rate is all you can expect from your goalkeeper.
A demanding mid-week trip to Gainsborough followed and having twice lost to Hinckley at Borough Park during 2009, we redressed the balance by recording a second victory of the year at the Northolme. Back in March, two Anthony Wright goals helped us to a 2-1 win there and we again got the better of a useful Trinity side with an excellent performance.
‘Wrighty’ did not score on this occasion but it was via his superb, inviting free-kick that Andy Hardman headed our winner on the hour. It was thoroughly deserved with every player used making an invaluable contribution over the ninety-six minutes. The added time had been lost when Kyle sustained a nasty head injury which, in turn, led to another typical Workington adventure throughout Tuesday night/Wednesday morning!
After heaping praise on the lads on Tuesday, it was a different story at Stafford at the weekend when few covered themselves in glory in our worst showing to date. It was a day when everything appeared to go wrong and there were a handful of plausible excuses (the absence of Kyle, Jonny and Gareth from the starting line-up, further injuries to Lee, Matt and Andy Hardman, a deflected first goal etc.) we could have put forward but Darren’s brutal assessment that we simply weren’t good enough sufficed.
Now we have to get a patched-up team out onto the pitch to meet the challenge of Harrogate’s new look team as we battle through this hectic opening to the season. Three games in the next week then the schedule becomes more manageable. Reserves' Fleetwood preview (Tue 18 Aug) Workington Reserves will hope to bounce back from Thursday's home defeat as champions Fleetwood Town visit Borough Park on Thursday night kick off 8pm. Reds Reserves lost out after a mad two minutes saw AFC Fylde score two in as many minutes and just after Gregg Mitchell had fired Reds level at 1 - 1. Fleetwood won the league title last season, taking the crown from Workington Reserves. The Reds had to rebuild after they won the title as all bar five players left the club for Gretna. Reserves manager Steve Lee (pictured) has a very young squad of players at his disposal with few players who are over twenty, though it looks a good balance which could gel over the coming months but Thursday's game will be a very big test. They follow Thursday's match with another home game on Monday night as Burscough visit Borough Park. Steve Lee will chose from the following: Reserves Squad: James Bryden, R. Smith, Simon Bragg, Sam Smith, Jake Smith, George Close, Dan McDermott, Lee McCullough, Dan Gullen, Adam Main, Andrew Bromley, Gareth Brunton, Levi Johnson, Barry Armfield, Martin Rossi, Nick Holden, Craig Johnston. Vipond gets the all clear to play (Fri 14 Aug) Midfielder Shaun Vipond has had his international clearance approved by the Football Association after his short lived, through injury, trip to Sweden. Swedish side Östersund held his player registration and international clearance was required to allow him to return playing for the Reds. Clearance came through on Thursday allowing to make the trip to Stafford tomorrow. Kyle's hospital ordeal (Fri 14 Aug) Following a clash of head with Gainsborough player Luke Beckett, Kyle suffered a bad gash to his head that required hospital treatment. Kyle had to wait around three and a half hours before he was seen by a doctor while the rest of the travelling Reds contingent were waiting at the Lincoln County Hospital with him. Six stitches were required to the wound but Kyle remained in good spirits throughout and asked how he felt on arriving back at Penrith said, "Fine apart form a bad head". The Workington contingent arrive back in town at 7am after the 'epic' journey. Kyle will almost certainly miss the Stafford game and with injury doubts to Lee Andrews who suffered a calf strain, the Reds back line will have to be re-arranged. Reserves start their campaign tonight (Thu 13 Aug) Workington Reserves will kick off their season tonight as AFC Flyde come to Borough Park. The match kicks off at 8pm. Manager Steve Lee has had his squad in training this week and after a mixed run pre-season it is down to the small matter of getting league points in the bag.
A bizarre fixture list will see Workington Reserves playing all their home games before the turn of the year with the last eight games in 2010 all away from Borough Park. The Reds young guns have beaten Frizington Whitestar 4 – 1, drew with Windscale 3 - 3 and beaten Annan Athletic Under 19s 2 – 1. Their final pre-season game saw them go down 3 - 1 at Cleator Moor Celtic.
Come see the kids of the future at Borough Park. Admission to tonight’s game is only £2 for adults and £1 for kids under 16. Manager Steve Lee (pictured) has a selection problem as he has 24 players to choose from but he will make his final selection from the following: James Bryden, Martin Rossi, Dion Barnes, Simon Bragg, George Close, Andrwew Brown, Dan McDermott, Jake Smith, Sam Smith, Dan Gullen, Adam Main, Lee McCullough, Callum Lee, Andrew Bromley, Jordan Lee, Gareth Brunton, Scott Mitchell, Stefan Scott and Levi Johnson. Holty woes (Tue 11 Aug) Ten years ago, Grant Holt started the 1999-2000 season with Reds in the Unibond League helping us to an opening day win over Flixton. His distinguished career since then has been well documented in the Reds programme as he continues to make his mark in the Football League.
After being introduced to senior football at Borough Park, Grant has subsequently played for Halifax Town, Barrow, Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale, Nottingham Forest, Shrewsbury Town and, following a £400,000 move in the summer, Norwich City.
His debut for the Canaries did not really go to plan with Grant part of the Norwich team humiliated 7-1 by Colchester United at a shell-shocked Carrow Road. P.S. Holty scored a hat-trick in his second game for the Canaries in a 4 - 0 win over Yeovil in the Carling Cup. Reebok rendezvous (Tue 11 Aug) There was an interesting reunion at Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium recently with two former Reds players bumping into each other.
Keith Armstrong and Paul Handley, who were together at Workington during the 80-81 season, met for the first time since their playing days and had great time reminiscing about the old times at Borough Park.
Paul still lives in the South Cumbria/North Lancashire area and is an occasional visitor to Borough Park. Keith is one of the best known football personalties in Finland and now works in television after a very successful career there as a player and a manager. He was at Bolton as part of the Canal TV crew who were compiling a documentary on Jussi Jaaskelainen the long serving ‘keeper who has turned out for Wanderers over 400 times. Jussi, capped over fifty times by Finland, was playing in his testimonial game against Scottish side Hibs. Opening day blues for Reds (Tue 11 Aug)
Reds compounded their poor opening day record in the Conference when, for the second successive season, Hinckley United inflicted a 1-0 defeat upon us when the new campaign got underway.
That means we still have to record an opening day win in Blue Square North with just one solitary point banked over the past five seasons. Indeed, we have failed to score in the last four league openers drawing a blank against Hinckley United, twice, Boston United and Nuneaton Borough. Our only goal netted on the first Saturday was Graham Goulding’s strike v. Worksop Town in our very first game at this level four years ago.
How much, though, can we read into an opening day win? Does it guarantee a good season to follow? Not always as far as Reds are concerned. Back in 1997, we started the season with a superb 3-2 away win over Whitby Town yet finished the campaign being relegated. The following year, North West Counties League, we started with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle Town yet finished the campaign as champions. Funny old game!
Yet it is only six years ago that we were celebrating our best ever opening day win – a 7-0 demolition of Ossett Town but we failed to win any of our eight subsequent games! Matt Henney netted twice that day (Tony Hopper also got his name on the scoresheet) and has enjoyed scoring as a new season is launched. He also found the target when we won our first game back in the Unibond at Flixton’s expense in 1999 and didn’t he once score a famous goal for Gretna on the opening day of the campaign?
Here is a reminder of our seasonal openers over the last decade: 00-01 | Lincoln United | 2-2 away | 01-02 | Ossett Albion | 3-0 away | 02-03 | North Ferriby United | 1-1 away | 03-04 | Ossett Town | 7-0 home | 04-05 | Matlock Town | 4-0 home | 05-06 | Worksop Town | 1-2 home | 06-07 | Nuneaton Borough | 0-0 away | 07-08 | Boston United | 0-2 away | 08-09 | Hinckley United | 0-1 away | 09-10 | Hinckley United | 0-1 away |
The Geoff Lumsden memorial trophy (Sun 09 Aug) Saturday’s game was sponsored by Mark Lumsden and his family in memory of his brother Geoff, a keen Reds fan who died earlier this year aged just 48. Geoff’s nieces and nephew, Helen aged 9, Sammy aged 7 and David aged 7, were the mascots on the day. After the game in the Reds social club Geoff’s brother and sister Mark and Elaine presented "The Geoff Lumsden Memorial Trophy" to a volunteer and supporter who works for the club behind the scenes. The first recipient of the memorial trophy was Steve Durham, much admired by Geoff and as his brother Mark said, one of they few people to have travelled to more away games than Geoff. The trophy has been made possible by the efforts of Reds’ fans John Crook and Richard Scott, two of Geoff’s friends. Happy birthday Matt (Sun 09 Aug) Matt Henney completed a week-end double. After being nominated sponsors Man of the Match on Saturday, he celebrated his birthday on Sunday. New season squad takes shape (Sat 08 Aug) Reds manager Darren Edmondson is commencing the new season with a strengthened squad from last term and could now have selection problems ahead of him with competition for the bench places never mind the starting eleven.
New recruits include ‘keepers Tony Caig and Aaran Taylor along with Matt Henney, Stephen Hindmarsh, Darren Casson and Dan Shannon and the manager has been able to secure the services of Callum Ruttledge and Shaun Vipond who featured in last years side.
Shaun Vipond will miss Saturday’s opening fixture along with the injured Stephen Hindmarsh, but with Phil McLuckie returning from holiday in time to feature in the game a strong squad will line up for this opening fixture.
Dave Hewson has only recently had his cast removed from his leg and will be missing for a few months to come.
Meanwhile, Dan Robinson has been loaned out to Annan Athletic to help build his confidence. Dan, who has scored in a number of pre-season friendlies and County Cup games, has yet to score in the league since joining the Reds. Hopefully Dan will start banging in the goals and we will see him back at Borough Park in the future.
Reds Squad:
Aaran Taylor
Adam Main
Andy Hardman
Andy Langford
Anthony Wright
Callum Ruttledge
Dan Shannon
Darren Casson
Darren Edmondson
Dave Hewson
Gareth Arnison
Gari Rowntree
Jonny Wright
Kyle May
Lee Andrews
Matt Henney
Phil McLuckie
Shaun Vipond
Stephen Hindmarsh
Tony Caig
Tony Hopper Shaun to miss opening day clash (Fri 07 Aug) Shaun Vipond is to miss the opening league game of the new 2009/10 season against Hinckley United. Swedish side Östersund currently hold his player registration and unfortunately international clearance has not been obtained prior to the Friday 5pm deadline required for him to be able to play in tomorrows opening day clash. Shaun who played for Swedish team Östersund back in April was injured in his debut against Norwegian side Byåsen which cut short his Swedish sojourn. Frenchfield Park (Tue 04 Aug) Several former Reds players were involved in the first ever game at Frenchfield Park-the new home of Penrith FC. The Northern League side opened the doors to their out-of-town facility on Monday with Annan Athletic the first visitors to the new venue. Included in the Annan line-up were the likes of Derek Townsley, Lee Hoolickin and Alan Inglis (Michael Jack and Craig Summersgill were non-playing substitutes) while hosts Penrith fielded Graham Anthony, Steve Archibald, Dean Douglas, Pete Ferris, Alan Gray, Mark Jones, Matty Lea, David Lynn, Richard Prokas and Tyron Taylor during the match which saw Annan romp to an emphatic 5-1 victory. Athletic’s Gary Redpath had the satisfaction of scoring the first ever goal, a header, at the stadium which sits adjacent to the A66. Craig Wilson became the first Penrith player to score at Frenchfield Park-a superb angled volley-while Alan Gray had the unwanted honour of conceding the first own-goal on the ground. Kevin Mulraine refereed the game which attracted a 250 plus attendance. Penrith’s first league game at Frenchfield Park is on Saturday v. Morpeth Town.
Lancashire League's new sponsor (Wed 29 Jul) After a period of 4 years under the banner of the Lancit Haulage Lancashire Football League, a change is afoot for it to be renamed the GalaxyFootball.co.uk Lancashire League. Tony Gribbin, owner of Lancit Haulage has ended his sponsorship of the League after 4 successful years; Tony said “I have enjoyed my time as sponsor of the League for the last 4 seasons and it has certainly helped spread the name of my company across the North of England. At this moment in time I am looking at other opportunities, but will always look back on my time with the Lancashire League as a happy one”. Taking over the title sponsorship is Leyland based company Galaxy Print, who incorporate Parr Promotions and GalaxyFootball within the group of companies. Owner Mark Parr is familiar to football clubs in the region as a supplier of leisure wear and promotional goods to many clubs. The company also supply work wear and corporate wear to industry, and undertake all kinds of printing on modern equipment from the company’s Croston offices. Galaxy Football however are the arm of the company that supplies football kits and associated items such as tracksuits, polo shirts, rain tops etc. They also stock a range of other items such as training aids, corner flags, water bottles etc. Mark Parr of GalaxyFootball commented “I am pleased to forge this link with the Lancashire Football League as they are a well established and respected league and I feel that it gives GalaxyFootball a creditable partner to be associated with. We are a football based company and it helps us to access more of the football world, in doing so we hope we will be able to help clubs by keeping our prices competitive so benefiting the member clubs”. Neil Marsdin, Chairman of the Lancashire League said” I am pleased to be able to announce that the League has secured a sponsorship deal in these difficult times, and especially pleased that it is Galaxy Football as Mark and I have been friends for a number of years. We are a league of 26 clubs, and if by our joint links both the league and GalaxyFootball can grow, that would be a good outcome. We are currently looking to incorporate information from GalaxyFootball and Galaxy Print websites into our own website, and possibly have online ordering. It is early days, but I sure the partnership will prosper during the two years of the sponsorship deal”. Reserves to play Celtic (Sat 25 Jul) ... Cleator Moor that is. Reserves manager Steve Lee has arranged their fourth pre-season friendly against Cleator Moor Celtic on Tuesday 4th August. The match is to be played at the Celtic's Birks Road ground, kick off 6:45pm, details found here. Impressive display against the Amateurs (Thu 23 Jul) The Reds had a 4 - 0 win against Whitehaven Amateurs at the Focus Scaffolding Sports Arena on Wednesday evening. Manager Darren Edmondson fielded seventeen players including himself during the game with the Reds dominating throughout with Callum Ruttledge scoring twice and with Andy Langford and Dan Shannon bagging the other two goals. The match report can be read here. Leigh Genesis quits Reserve league (Thu 23 Jul) Leigh Genesis Reserves have resigned from the Lancit Haulage Lancashire Football League. The West Division of the Lancashire League is now reduced to thirteen teams, while the East Division remains unchanged also with thirteen teams. The Reds Reserves home fixtures will usually be played on a Thursday evening this season while their opponents will be: AFC Fylde, Bamber Bridge, Barrow, Burscough, Chorley, Curzon Ashton, Fleetwood Town, Formby, Lancaster City, Southport, Stalybridge Celtic and Woodley Sports. Reserves sponsor themselves (Sun 19 Jul) The Reds Reserves, (pictured above in pre-season training), unable to get a sponsor in these difficult financial times for the forcoming 2009/10 season have decided to take matters into their own hands. On Sunday afternoon they carried out a sponsored run from Borough Park to Cockermouth. Seventeen members of the Reserves' squad ran the route as a team and completed the distance in a time of one hour fifteen minutes. The money raised from the run with go towards a set of new tracksuits for the Reserve team. If anyone wishes to contribute they can do so by contacting Herbert Briggs or Paul Armstrong. Reserves kick off their pre-season (Fri 17 Jul) The Reds Reserves kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 4 - 1 win against Frizington White Star at Borough Park on Thursday evening. Reserves manager Steve Lee (pictured) fielded nineteen players in a total during the game. Frizington also had two players in Barry Armfield and George Close that will feature in the Reserves side this season. A match report can be found here. Whitehaven friendly date change (Sun 12 Jul) The date has been changed for the Whitehaven Amateurs fixture with the tie being switched from Tuesday 21st to Wednesday 22nd July. The match is to be played at the Focus Scaffolding Sports Arena, Whitehaven, 7:30pm kick off. A map and directions to the ground can be found here, Calendar. New calendar feature on website (Sun 12 Jul)
The calendar feature of the website has been revised to be more user friendly. The calendar lists all the fixtures and any other events that are scheduled as well as having other useful features. The calendar also now incorporates a map function that can show you where the event/fixture is located at and can give you directions if required. The new Workington AFC Calendar can be found here, Calendar. Change of date for Barrow friendly (Fri 10 Jul) The Barrow pre-season game, originally scheduled for this Thursday (16/7) at Borough Park, has been re-arranged and will now take place at Borough Park on Tuesday 28th July kick-off 7.30 pm. Barrow asked for the switch to enable them to play Stockport County this coming Wednesday at Holker Street and WAFC had no qualms about changing the date. Meanwhile, the game at Penrith next Tuesday will take place at Southend Road as the Blues have still to complete their protracted move to Frenchfield. Farsley Celtic issued a reprieve (Thu 09 Jul) Today the Football Conference reprieved Farsley Celtic from expulsion from Blue Square North after the club entered administration after the AGM and prior to the start of the season. The Football Conference issued the following official statement. "In the specific and unique circumstances of Farsley Celtic FC, where the club has entered into administration after the AGM and prior to the start of the new season, the Directors have taken a decision which they feel will benefit all parties. Farsley Celtic FC will be permitted to complete its fixtures for this coming season in the Blue Square North, albeit the Club will commence the 2009/10 season on minus ten points.
The situation regarding the impact of Appendix E, in respect of the past AGM/pre-season time frame, will be reviewed and fully discussed at the clubs' pre-season meeting in August and again at the EGM in January to ascertain the member clubs' views on this particular point. Appendix E will though continue to apply in all other circumstances". The controversial 'Section E' of the constitution is to be reviewed at a later date with respect to this issue. Farsley Celtic will now join Northwich Victoria starting the season with a ten point deficit. Tony Caig agrees to sign (Wed 08 Jul) Highly experienced Cumbrian 'keeper Tony Caig has agreed to sign for the Reds for the forthcoming season. Tony featured in last Saturday's friendly at Gretna making a number of excellent saves in the first half. It was also announced today that he has been appointed to a goalkeeping coaching role at Carlisle United. Tony played for Carlisle United between 1992 - 1999 making well over 200 appearances before moving to Blackpool. He has also had spells at Charlton Athletic, Hibernian, Newcastle United, Vancouver Whitecaps, Gretna, Houston Dynamos and laterly at Chesterfield. Currently manager Darren Edmondson is on holiday and the deal will be concluded on his return. Hindmarsh puts pen to paper (Sat 04 Jul) Following Reds opening friendly of the season against Gretna FC, Stephen Hindmarsh signed his contract bringing him to Borough Park for the next two years. Hindmarsh missed out on playing in Saturday's friendly, recovering from a hamstring injury sustained while running on holiday. The Reds came out winners in a competitive game by the solitary goal scored by second half substitute Dan Shannon. Farsley Celtic kicked from the Conference (Fri 03 Jul) The Football Conference have removed Farsley Celtic from Blue Square North after the club entered administration. The Conference fixtures released this morning though included Farsley Celtic and with all the other leagues line-ups set for the new season it would appear that Farsley Celtic would not have a league to play in. The club are to appeal to the Football Association (FA) and have set up a fighting fund to fund the cost of the appeal. Farsley have fell foul of the notorous "Appendix E" of the Football Conference constitution that states: "In the event of the club of a club suffering an Insolvency Event after the Annual General Meeting of the Company and prior to the start of the new season then the club will cease to be eligible for membership of the Competition for the new season and the club will be relegated from the Competition to a level within the National League system as may be decided upon by the Football Asscociation". The same was applied to Northwich Victoria at the end of last season, but was overturned on appeal to the FA with Northwich allowed into the Blue Square North albeit with a 10 point deduction. New season fixtures released (Fri 03 Jul) The new season fixtures were released at 10am this morning with the Reds opening the season with a home tie against Hinckley United on Saturday 8th August followed by trip to Gainsborough Trinity the following Tuesday. The Boxing Day/New Years Day 'derby' fixture this year is against Blyth Spartans, while we finish the season on Saturday 24th April with a home tie against Stafford Rangers. For the full fixture list see the Fixtures/Results page, here. Corporate Sponsorship Draw winners (Thu 2 Jul) Bulldog Drainage co-owners Graham Partridge and Richard Bond. The Workington AFC Corporate Sponsorship draw took place on Thursday morning at Borough Park with the first prize winners being Bulldog Drainage. Bulldog Drainage, a Salterbeck based business, was only set up earlier this year by Graham Partridge and Richard Bond. Their package consists of their name appearing on all of the Club's letterheads, compliments slips, season tickets and sponsor tickets. They will also recieve a full page colour advertisement in the match-day programme and their name/logo on the front cover. In addition they will receive a Vice-Presidents Season Ticket and shall be invited to a home game of their choice where they can entertain guests with free drinks and a half-time buffet. And finally, they shall also have their name displayed on the Welcome Board at the entrance to Borough Park and will have a perimeter advertising board within the stadium. The three runners up, winning various packages were: The Technology Store getnoticedonline.co.uk Metropolitan Racing
John Fuller (Times & Star) and Reds' manager Darren Edmondson making the draw. FA Cup and Trophy dates (Wed 1 Jul)
The early rounds of the 2009-10 FA Cup and FA Trophy have been announced. The FA Cup this year has 762 accepted entries with the Reds entering at the Second Round Qualifying stage on Saturday 26th September. The FA Trophy this year has 265 accepted entries with the Reds entering at the Third Round Qualifying stage on Saturday 21st November. FA Youth Cup (Wed 1 Jul)
The early rounds of the 2009-10 FA Youth Cup have been announced. The competition has 467 accepted entries with over 50 new entrants including Corby Town, Gloucester City and Ilkeston Town who are all newly promoted sides to the Blue Square North. Workington Reds Youth have a bye at the Preliminary Round stage and enter at the First Round Qualifying round with a home tie against Bootle. The tie is to be played in week commencing Monday 21st September. Lancashire League AGM (Wed 1 Jul) Herbert Briggs and Steve Durham represented the club at the Lancit Haulage Lancashire League AGM at Leyland on Tuesday. It was confirmed that Salford City, Clitheroe, Hyde United and Darwen have all left the League with AFC Fylde, Southport, Curzon Ashton, Silsden and Eccleshill United being elected for the organisation’s 71st season. Bradford Park Avenue (East Division) and Fleetwood Town (West Division) were presented with their championship trophies – an experience Reds enjoyed at the previous AGM. The season is due to commence w/c 10th August with Reds opting to play their home games this term on a Thursday evening. FA County Youth Cup (Tue 30 Jun) The early rounds of the FA County Youth Cup fixtures have been released with the Cumberland FA drawn first out of the hat in a home tie against North Riding FA on Sunday 18th October. The County Youth Cup, originally known as the County Minor (Youths') Championship, was launched in 1944-45 by The Football Association to provide representative football for the best young players who had not signed up with professional clubs. Nowadays, any player under written contract, including Trainee/Scholarship players, or those registered at Academies or Centres of Excellence, is not eligible to compete in the competition.
Players under the age of 18, be they at school or playing in leagues affiliated to County Football Associations, are eligible. Last season's County Youth side had a strong contingent of Reds Youth players and is managed by the Reds Reserves' manager Steve Lee. Additional friendly arranged (Tue 30 Jun) An additional friendly has been arranged for Saturday 1st August against Tow Law Town. "The Lawyers" compete in Division One of the The Skills Training Northern League and finished finished in a mid table 11th position last season. Former Reds player Mark Eccles currently plays for the 'Lawyers'. Borough Park date set for Barrow friendly (Fri 26 Jun) A date has finally been confirmed for the visit to Borough Park of Barrow AFC. The fixture, competing for the Chas Kendal Trophy, will be played on Thursday 16th July. The trophy is currently held by Barrow following their 3 - 2 win at Holker Street last season. Jack Swindells (Thu 25 Jun) He died suddenly in his Cornwall home on Tuesday (23/6). Manchester born Jack started his career with Manchester City but never made the first team during his time at Maine Road. He moved to Blackburn Rovers who became the first of six clubs whom he played, and scored, for in the Football League. After his time with Rovers, he spent time with Accrington Stanley, Barnsley, Workington, Torquay United and Newport County. Jack signed for Reds in February, 1962 and scored his first goal in his second match – a 3-1 win at Chester. On the final day of the 61-62 season, he netted a hat-trick in a 5-3 victory over Bradford City. The following season, 62-63, he played in all fifty league and cup matches for Reds scoring 14 goals (12 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup) before moving to Torquay United for the start of the 63-64 campaign. Reds summary: Season Appearances Goals 61-62 16 7 62-63 50 14 After ending his Football League career with Newport County, Jack obtained legendary status at Altrincham scoring over 250 goals for them in less than 350 appearances. In his first full season at Alty, he scored an incredible 82 goals in 63 games – including six hat-tricks! He graced Moss Lane for seven seasons scoring no fewer than 265 goals before ending his playing days in ‘senior’ football with Radcliffe Borough. Setanta cease broadcasting (Wed 24 Jun) At 6 pm yesterday all UK Setanta channels ceased broadcasting following the parent company's entry into administration. While the news had been widely expected it still comes as a major blow to Conference football.
Unless a replacement TV company picks up the Setanta contract all Conference Blue Square Premier clubs will be financially effected by around £60,000 this season, while Blue Square North and Blue Square South sides will lose out by around £10,000. ESPN, who were owned by Setanta at one time but were sold to Disney to help fund their Premier and FA contracts, are unlikely to pick up the Conference TV coverage and BSkyB will have no capacity to broadcast. The Conference Board released the following statement: The Board and staff of the Football Conference are deeply saddened by the news that Setanta have gone into administration. Although the financial implications of this action will have an enormous impact on the competition, our clubs, partners and supporters, we must not forget the contribution made by them to us over the last two years. Setanta pioneered many new initiatives during their association, some of which are now copied by other broadcasters.
The Conference Board did everything in its power to support Setanta in its time of financial crisis and we wish the very best to all those we have met along the way, who have become friends. We sincerely hope those dedicated staff, who have become part of the Football Conference family over the last two seasons, will continue to operate and work at the highest level in sports broadcasting and that their future remains positive.
To all our member clubs may we thank you for supporting Setanta and be assured that your Board together with all staff will be working hard to find another broadcast partner to further build on the ground work laid down by them in supporting our competition, which is at the very heart of English football. Setanta (Tue 23 Jun) The Setanta Shield first round draw was due to take place on Monday, (22 June). However, following Friday’s news regarding the future of Setanta, the draw has been suspended until further notice. Meanwhile, the draws for the early rounds of the FA competitions will be made on Wednesday 1st July when Reds will learn who they will play in the FA Youth Cup. Reserves first friendlies confirmed (Mon 22 Jun) The first of the Reserves friendlies have been confirmed by Reserves manager Steve Lee with games against Frizington White Star on Thursday 16th July, 7:00pm kick off at Borough Park and a game against Windscales on Thursday 30th July, 7:00pm kick off at the Falcon Club, Egremont. Conference AGM and Presentation (Sat 20 Jun) The 30th AGM and Presentation Evening of the Football Conference took place at the Holiday Inn, Stratford-upon-Avon with Reds represented by director Colin Doorbar and secretary Steve Durham. It was confirmed Blue Square were entering their final twelve months of a three year sponsorship whilst troubled Setanta entered their third of a five year deal hoping for better news on their future soon. The formation of the three leagues was ratified with Reds set to play Northwich Victoria, Eastwood Town, Ilkeston Town, Corby Town and Gloucester City – the latter three for the first time – in Blue Square North this term. It was an all Cumbrian affair at the presentation/dinner dance with Reds seated with a nine-strong Barrow contingent including former Workington player Neil McDonald. Tamworth’s Gary Mills was named BSN Manager-of-the-Year while Gateshead’s Lee Novak won the Player-of-the-Year and Top Scorer award. Southport won the Fair Play award with Reds collecting a cheque for £800 for a third place finish in the disciplinary stakes. The hypothetical Blue Square North ‘Team of the Year’ was: YOUNG (AFC Telford United) NEWTON (Droylsden) VAUGHAN (AFC Telford United) WHITEHEAD (AFC Telford United) SMITH (Tamworth) WRIGHT (Tamworth) HALL (Hinckley United) MILLIGAN (Fleetwood Town) NOVAK (Gateshead) SHELDON (Tamworth) CLAYTON (Alfreton Town) Gateshead’s match day programme was voted the best in BSN. The fixtures for the 2009-10 season will be released in the next fortnight with Reds hoping for an away game on the opening day (8/8) to avoid a clash with Carlisle United’s League 1 opener against Brentford. It is possible that Blyth Spartans will be Reds’ opponents for the Christmas/New Year fixtures. The squad will begin preparations for their fifth campaign in Blue Square North when they return for pre-season on Thursday. Reserves early start (Fri 19 Jun) The Reds Reserves commenced pre-season training last Saturday at Moorclose and were again training on Monday evening where manager Steve Lee supervised training on his return from holiday in Cuba.
There was a healthy attendance at the first two sessions with a few new faces present including a couple of good young prospects in twins Sam and Jake Smith. Jake Smith Sam Smith The first of the friendlies have been arranged with the Reserves playing Frizington White Star on 16th July at Borough Park, 7:00pm kick off, with additionally an away match against Windscale on either Thursday 31st July or Friday 1st August. Vics win appeal (Mon 08 Jun) Northwich Victoria tonight won their appeal against the Football Conference's decision to bar them from the Conference leagues following their entry into administration after the league deadline. A FA panel in London overturned the Conference's verdict and decided that the Vics will play in the Conference North next season but will carry a ten point deduction for entering administration. Vics to be ejected from Blue Square North (Sun 07 Jun) Northwich Victoria are set to be barred from the Blue Square North following their relegation from the Blue Square Premier league. Football Conference officials claimed that the Vics entered administration too late, but the Cheshire side have appealed to the FA that will be heard on Monday afternoon. Vics owner, Jim Rushe says that he gave notice of the club’s intention to enter administration on 6th May, before the league deadline of the second Saturday in May. If the Vics expulsion is upheld, Burscough will be most likely reprieved from relegation. Reserve's league line-up confirmed (Sat 06 Jun) The line-up of the Lancashire League West Division for the forthcoming season has been confirmed. The Reserves will compete in a 14 team division consisting of the following teams: AFC Fylde, Bamber Bridge, Barrow, Burscough, Chorley, Curzon Ashton, Fleetwood town, Formby, Lancaster City, Leigh Genesis, Southport, Stalybridge Celtic, Woodley Sports & Workington. Hindmarsh agrees to sign (Sat 06 June) Stephen Hindmarsh, previously with Carlisle United and Shrewsbury Town, has agreed to sign up for next season Reds’ squad. Nineteen year old Hindmarsh, who grew up in Keswick, was one of seven players released by Shrewsbury Town following their defeat in the League Two play-off final by former Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson. Hindmarsh is currently on holiday but will sign up for the club upon his return. Midfielder Shaun Vipond has been invited to attend pre-season training following his ill fated spell in Sweden. Vipond suffered a broken collar bone making his debut for Swedish side Östersund against Norwegian side Byåsen. King's Lynn lose their appeal (Sat 30 May) King's Lynn have lost their FA demotion appeal in Derby.
A three-member Derbyshire FA panel rejected the club's bid to overturn the club's Conference explusion for failing to initiate a £250,000 upgrade to their council-owned Walks stadium before a March 31st deadline. The FA panel deliberated for 55 minutes before upholding the Conference's initial ruling. King's Lynn will play in the Unibond Premier Division for the 2009/10 season.
Following the appeal the FA National League Systems Committee finally released details of this coming season's non league pyramid for steps one to four.
Hyde United have been reprieved following Lynn's demotion - subject to raising funds to meet an outstanding tax bill. The confirmed line-up of the Blue Square North is now as follows: BLUE SQUARE NORTH | Team | From | | AFC Telford United | CONFN | | Alfreton Town | CONFN | | Blyth Spartans | CONFN | | Corby Town | SLP | | Droylsden | CONFN | | Eastwood Town | NPP | | Farsley Celtic | CONFN | | Fleetwood Town | CONFN | | Gainsborough Trinity | CONFN | | Gloucester City | SLP | | Harrogate Town | CONFN | | Hinckley United | CONFN | | Hyde United (Rep) | CONFN | | Ilkeston Town | NPP | | Northwich Victoria | CONF | | Redditch United | CONFN | | Solihull Moors | CONFN | | Southport | CONFN | | Stafford Rangers | CONFN | | Stalybridge Celtic | CONFN | | Vauxhall Motors | CONFN | | Workington AFC | CONFN |
Collin signs Carlisle contract (Sat 30 May) Former Reds 'keeper Adam Collin has finally put pen to paper and signed a two year deal with Carlisle United. United manager Greg Abbot has said about Collin, "He's done really well at Workington and he's a young player that we have wanted to bring in for a while". Aaron Taylor, (pictured right), is lined up to be the replacement for Collin, agreeing to return to Borough Park. Blue Square North 2009/10 fixtures (Thu 28 May) The Blue Square North 2009/10 season fixtures are to be announced on Friday 3rd July ahead of the league starting on Saturday 8th August. The final line-up of the league has still to be confirmed by the FA National League Systems Committee. Gloucester City were anticipating a decision last Tuesday on which league, Blue Square North or South, they would compete in. However, the FA said on Tuesday it was still waiting on appeals from other clubs before it would confirm where Gloucester will be playing. Pre-season fixtures update (Wed 27 May) The first of the pre-season friendlies have now been confirmed with the season kicking off with a fixture against Gretna on Saturday 4th July. A date still has to be confirmed for the visit to Borough Park of Barrow AFC and it is hoped that a friendly against League Two side Bury can be arranged during their visit to Cumbria in July for a training camp. The full list to date is as follows: Saturday 4th July, Gretna, 3:00pm kick off, Away Saturday 11th July, Carlisle United, 3:00pm kick off, Home Tuesday 14th July, Penrith, 7:30pm kick off, Away Tuesday 21st July, Whitehaven Amateurs, 7:30pm kick off, Away Saturday 25th July, Gateshead, 3:00pm kick off, Home Pre-season fixtures confirmed (Fri 22 May) The first of the pre-season friendlies have now been confirmed with Carlisle United starting the season off with their first team visiting Borough Park on Saturday 11th July. A date has yet to be confirmed for the visit to Borough Park of Barrow AFC, competing for the Chas Kendal Trophy, that Barrow currently hold after their 3 - 2 win at Holker Street last season. The agreed fixtures to date are as follows: Saturday 11th July Carlisle United Tuesday 14th July Penrith Tuesday 21st July Whitehaven Amateurs Local Ref in Cup Final appearance (Wed 20 May) John Corkhill, extreme left, lines up before the FA Carlsberg Sunday Cup Final. John Corkhill, from Egremont, ran the line during the FA Carling Sunday Cup Final that took place at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium. The FA Carling Sunday Cup is the pinnacle tournament for Sunday League sides. The opportunity to officiate at the final came as surprise for John, 44, who started refereeing in 1996 before hanging up his boots when he was 36. John started refereeing at Sunday League level but now officiates at Conference North level on a regular basis. He also runs the line regularly at Premier League and Football League reserve level. The final, contested between Nottinghamshire side Oyster Martyrs FC and Croxteth side Scots Grey FC, resulted in an extra time 4 – 3 win for Scots Grey. Wayne Rooney and his wife Colleen came along to support members of Wayne’s family who were playing in the game. Rooney’s younger brother, Graham, and his cousin Thomas were in the Oyster Martyrs side, which is managed by Wayne’s uncle Richie. Northwich Victoria enter administration (Tue 19 May) Northwich Victoria have announced that they have gone into administration following their relegation from the Blue Square Premier.
It is the second time in the space of five years that the Vics have made the decision to go into administration.
Owner Jim Rushe stated, "It's something I've had to think seriously about."
"I made the decision before the weekend to go into administration voluntarily in order to safeguard the club's future."
"It was vulnerable to action from creditors and this allows us to find a solution that is to the long-term benefit of Northwich Victoria Football Club." Rushe has turned to insolvency experts Refresh for assistance, as the club still owes the taxman around £400,000.
Northwich Victoria will start their season in Blue Square North with a ten point deduction. Mathew Henney (Thu 14 May) As widely anticipated Matt Henney is returning for this third spell with Workington Reds after spending the last two seasons with Barrow. Matt had a very successful spell with Barrow, scoring the winner against Stalybridge Celtic that secured Barrow's promotion to the Blue Square Premier league. Previously Matt was with Gretna when they joined the Scottish league and scored Gretna's first league goal against Greenock Morton in the 02/03 season. Matt made his debut for Reds as a substitute in a FA Vase tie at North Ferriby United on 28th November, 1998. His league debut was v. Atherton Collieries, (North West Counties League), on 19th December, 1998. A summary of his career so far with the Reds is as follows: | Season | League | Cup | Total | 98-99 | 20 (10) | 7+1 (2) | 27+1 (12) | 99-00 | 33+2 (2) | 14 (1) | 47+2 (3) | 00-01 | 5+3 | 1 | 6+3 | 03-04 | 41 (10) | 11 (2) | 52 (12) | 04-05 | 39 (10) | 7 (1) | 46 (11) | 05-06 | 39 (8) | 7 | 46 (8) | 06-07 | 29+5 (2) | 7+1 (2) | 36+6 (4) | Total | 206+10 (42) | 54+2 (8) | 260+12 (50) |
Goals indicated in brackets.
He picked up four ‘player of the year’ trophies during his second spell with Reds: Supporters’ Player of the Year: 03-04, 04-05 Players’ Player of the Year: 03-04 National Supporters’ Player of the Year: 04-05 Review of the Season (Mon 11 May)
Compared to the 2007-08 campaign, Workington Reds’ showed improvement in several areas. Their league position of 12th was slightly better than the previous season of 14th and, in addition, they scored more league goals, conceded less, lost fewer matches and improved the on field discipline. Yet despite those marginal improvements, attendances were down with the lowest league gate for five years (225) contributing to a league average of 355 compared to 391 the season before. The best crowd of the season was the 1,029 in attendance for the FA Trophy tie v. Wrexham. Attendances for Reds’ away games were much healthier with a 10,688 aggregate producing an average of 509 with the seasonal best the 1,753 gate at AFC Telford United. In addition to a mid table finish in Blue Square North, completing a fourth campaign at that level, the Reds lifted the Cumberland Cup which included victories over two of the better teams, Carlisle United and Penrith, in the competition. No fewer than 43 players represented the team this season but twelve of those were reserve team players who were given a chance in the Cumberland Cup matches. Five players came to the club on loan with Carlisle United trio Shaun Vipond, Darren Campion and Andy Cook joined by Bury duo Jack Dorney and Ricky Anane. Players’ Player of the Year, Adam Collin, was the only ever present turning out in all 53 league and cup matches and, prior to that, playing in all six pre-season friendlies too! Gareth Arnison emerged as the club’s top scorer with 24 goals (15 in the league) while Jonny Wright’s tally of 16 included 14 in Blue Square North. Anthony Wright bagged 9 (7 league) and loanee Andy Cook chipped in with five. Some brilliant goals were netted throughout the season with some of the best including: Graham Anthony v. Farsley Celtic (away) in the Setanta Shield Anthony Wright v. Hyde United (away) in the league Shaun Vipond v. Hyde United (away) in the league Anthony Wright v. Stalybridge Celtic (away) in the league Gareth Arnison v. AFC Telford United (home) in the league Jonny Wright v. Farsley Celtic (away) in the league Andy Cook v. Farsley Celtic (away) in the league Jonny Wright v. Fleetwood Town (home) in the league. Over the course of the season, Reds were awarded five penalties with Gareth Arnison converting the three he took while Craig Johnston and Jonny Wright both had their spot-kicks saved. Eight penalties were conceded with Adam Collin saving three of those with the other five converted. Graham Anthony, David Hewson, Tony Hopper and Adam Collin captained the side at various stages of the campaign. Reds only recorded ‘back-to-back’ wins in the league on two occasions while the best unbeaten league sequence was four games and the longest run without a win stretched to five matches. The FA Trophy win at Barrow earned Reds the FA’s ‘Team of the round’ award whilst there was individual recognition for Phil McLuckie who won the BSN Player of the Month accolade for January. Phil also picked up the Most Improved Player of the Year award after completing his first full season with the club. The Sportsmanship Awards, sponsored by Sports 360, saw Reds collect the fewest number of yellow cards (33) in the entire Conference but our five reds (Kyle May, Graham Anthony, Craig Johnston, Jonny Wright and Lee Andrews) effected our final placing, and prize money, with our share of the sponsorship amounting to £857. Lee Andrews was nominated Supporters’ Player of the Year while Kyle May added two more ‘player of the year’ titles to his bulging trophy cabinet being the recipient of the National Supporters’ Player of the Year and Clubman of the Year mementos. Best wins of the season were the 5-0 victories over Gainsborough Trinity (home) and Farsley Celtic (away) whilst Tamworth inflicted a 4-1 reverse upon us at Borough Park – the heaviest defeat of the season. We managed a league double over Trinity (5-0 and 2-1) but saw four teams beat us home and away: Hinckley United (1-3, 0-1), Blyth Spartans (0-1, 1-3), Redditch United (0-1, 0-2) and Tamworth (1-4, 0-1). In six weeks time, the lads will report back for pre-season with the start of the new Blue Square North campaign getting underway on 8th August. Liverpool Legends match date confirmed (Sat 09 May) The date has been confirmed for the Liverpool Legends v Workington Reds XI match. The game, to be played at Borough Park on Sunday 26th July 2009 with a 3:00pm kick off, will feature a host of former Liverpool stars playing against a Workington XI lead by Reds' manager Darren Edmondson. Phil Neal will be leading the Liverpool Legends side and will have the likes of Jan Molby, Ray Houghton, Alan Kennedy, Jason McAteer, John Aldridge, Phil Babb, Michael Thomas, Gary Gillespie, and David Fairclough to select his team from. The match has been organised by Joe Murray of Cumbria Police and John Head of Workington Rotary Club. Following the march, there will be a dinner at the Washington Central Hotel where the Liverpool Legends will be present. The Legends will auction off some of their memorabilia to raise money for local charities. Blue Square North 2009/10 line-up (Fri 08 May) The line-up for next seasons Blue Square North will consist of the following teams following Gateshead's promotion to the Blue Square Premier after their 1-0 victory over AFC Telford United in the play-off final this evening. AFC Telford United
Alfreton Town
Blyth Spartans
Corby Town
Droylsden
Eastwood Town
Farsley Celtic
Fleetwood Town
Gainsborough Trinity
Gloucester City
Harrogate Town
Hinckley United
Hyde United
Ilkeston Town
Northwich Victoria
Redditch United
Solihull Moors
Southport
Stafford Rangers
Stalybridge Celtic
Vauxhall Motors
Workington With King’s Lynn being relegation, (subject to appeal), for ground grading issues, Hyde United have been reprieved from relegation. Eastwood Town and Ilkeston Town won promotion from the Unibond Premier division; with only one ‘northern’ side relegated from Blue Square Premier, Northwich Victoria, requires Corby Town and Gloucester City to be promoted from the British Gas Southern League. Worcester City who transferred to the Blue Square South last season were guaranteed that it would be for a minimum of two years, hence will not be transferring back to Blue Square North. Southend Road (Wed 06 May) Quite a few former Reds players were involved in the final Northern League game at Penrith’s Southend Road ground on Tuesday. The Blues said good-bye to their town centre ground with a crucial match against Newcastle Benfield with a late goal securing a 1-0 victory and a first Northern League title for the visitors. They were helped on their way by Dean Nicholson who played for Reds the season before last while another talented ex. Red, Paddy Atkinson (from the mid-nineties era) is the Benfield assistant manager. On duty for Penrith were James Holland, Alan Gray, Dean Douglas, Graham Anthony, Matty Lea, Michael Reed and David Lynn – all former Workington players as is Blues boss, Richard Prokas. Penrith finished a creditable 7th. Frank Kirkup (Wed 06 May)
Frank Kirkup, a Reds star from the sixties, has died at the age of 70. He signed for the club in June 1959 following his release from Blackburn Rovers making his Reds’ debut (v. Southport) in August that year. A member of the Workington side which played in our very first Football League Cup tie at Chelsea in October, 1960. Frank scored 14 league goals during the 60-61 campaign including a sequence when he netted in five consecutive games. During that same season, the left-winger netted in both home and away games against Carlisle United as Reds recording a league double over the Blues. Was transferred to Carlisle during the 62-63 season for a fee of £3,000 (plus Geoff Martin) and went on to make 83 league and cup appearances for United scoring 15 goals in the process. Returned to Borough Park in November, 1966 but played just ten more games. In total, Frank made 162 (148 in the league) appearances for Reds scoring 34 (31 in the league) goals. The funeral service will be held on Thursday in his hometown of Spennymoor. Where are they now (Mon 04 May)
It is now ten years since Reds lifted their first major championship in an existence spanning 115 years with the dramatic clinching of the North West Counties League title on the 3rd May, 1999. A near 2,500 crowd witnessed Reds overcome gallant Mossley 2-1 to leapfrog the Seel Park outfit and go top of the table for the first time after winning their final fourteen matches. But what has happened to those Workington Reds’ heroes who were involved in that thrilling Borough Park title decider a decade ago? GEORGE DIXON - Drifted out of senior football soon after helping Reds to the title although still plays locally occasionally. ALAN GRAY - Eventually played nearly 400 games for Reds but joined Penrith at the start of the current season and played against us in the recent Cumberland Cup Final. MARC GREEN - Enjoyed a decent career with Reds before drifting into local football. MARTIN KIRKBY - Skipper of the championship winning side who played for a while in the north east before returning to Penrith. More recently, has been turning out for Keswick and captained them to a first ever Westmorland County Cup success last month. LEE TAYLOR - Played a prominent part in helping Reds establish the best defensive record in the league that season. Later played locally. STUART WILLIAMSON - Scored the all important first goal against Mossley and served Reds well during his time at Borough Park. An occasional visitor to home games and still lives, and plays, locally. MARK JONES - Given outstanding service to Penrith Football Club since leaving Reds and another who played against us at Brunton Park. MATHEW HENNEY - Could be back at Borough Park in August for a third spell with the club having played for Gretna, Reds and Barrow in recent years. MATT SWAILES - Returned to his Lancashire roots and played for a while in the Unibond and North West Counties leagues. PAUL STEWART - The crowd puller during that memorable season, it was great to see a top player in Reds’ colours and ‘doing his bit’ for the side. Limped off injured during the Mossley game. Still lives in the Blackpool area. DARREN WILSON - Top scorer that season with 11 of his 14 netted in the league. Played for Netherhall for a while in the County League after a successful time with Reds. GRANT HOLT - The success story of the championship winning side with the raw teenager, who scored 11 goals for Reds that season, going on to forge an illustrious career in the game serving the likes of Halifax Town, Barrow, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest and Shrewsbury Town. Scored in the Mossley match, netted his 29th for the Shrews on Saturday and the winner of a host of awards this season. BRETT SWIFT - Only made a handful of appearances that season but did score a couple of goals. More recently been with Harraby CC. GRAHAM GOULDING - Just broke through into the first team that season but made his mark in later years. Edmo signs new three year deal (Sat 02 May) Darren Edmondson signs new deal. Workington Reds manager Darren Edmondson signed a new three year deal at last night’s Supporters Club Sportsman’s dinner. The enjoyable evening proceeded with the contract signing and those present were highly entertained by compère Howard Nicholson, comedian and ventriloquist Paul Levant and former Wales and Everton defender Kevin Ratcliffe. Workington have progressed under Darren's stewardship; last season progressing to the FA Cup First Round where we played Bury and finished in 14th place in Blue Square North. While this season, a good run in the FA Trophy culminated in a tie against Wrexham and finishing 12th place in Blue Square North under tight financial constraints and with a small squad. For the forthcoming season key players have signed new contracts and the majority of the squad have agreed to play on next season with the exception of Adam Collin who has left to join Carlisle United. With the announcement of a new club sponsor in Romar Innovate for next season, the involvement of lifelong Reds' supporter John Rowland brings new optimism to the club. Reds' chairman Humphrey Dobie congratulates Darren Edmondson. Jonny and Jason complete the London Marathon (Sun 26 Apr) Reds player Jonny Wright (pictured) and his brother Jason Pascoe completed the London Marathon today in memory of their brother Richard. Richard suffered from Microcephalia, a disorder that affected the size of his brain. Sadly Richard passed away aged just 24. Jonny and Jason are raising money for the charity Contact a Family, a charity providing support to families with disabled children. Jonny Wright completed the marathon in a time of 4 hours, 44 minutes, 28 seconds alongside his brother Jason. Jonny suffered a groan strain after around 21 miles and struggled for the last 4 miles but got there in the end. King's Lynn relegated from BSN (Thu 23 Apr)
King's Lynn have been threatened with expulsion from the Conference over ground grading issues. The club have 14 days to launch an appeal against demotion after failing to meet Conference deadlines on remedial work to the council-owned Walks Stadium. The local Borough Council who own the ground, have agreed to carry out an estimated £250,000 upgrade ahead of next season's league kick off but this has been rejected by Conference officials.
The council was first approached by the club for assistance in December, after a ground inspection highlighted areas which needed improvement.
The council agreed to provide financial assistance and contract support to enable KLFC to get the major works completed that included setting aside a budget of £250,000 to carry out works to increase the size of the changing rooms and to provide officials' changing rooms and a medical room for players. This sum also included an upgrade to the floodlighting. The smaller items were to be carried out by KLFC themselves including improving signage, adding two extra turnstiles and providing additional room in the dug-outs. The club have 14 days to launch an appeal to the league. Lynn would be demoted to the Unibond Premier if they lose. Tamworth win the league (Tue 21 Apr) Tamworth gained victory over Hickley United by the single 65th minute goal from Nick Wright. With this victory giving the lambs a clear five point advantage over Gatehead heading into the final fixture at the weekend it ensured promotion for the Lambs to the Blue Square Premier. The play-offs for the final promotion place will be contested between Gateshead, Southport, AFC Telford United and Alfreton Town. Down and outs (Sat 18 Apr) Following Saturday's games the three teams dropping out of the Blue Square North league have been confirmed. With Hyde losing at Redditch United and Burscough losing at Stalybridge Celtic, both teams are relegated along with already relegated Hucknall Town. New contracts agreed (Fri 17 Apr)
Following last nights County Cup victory against Carlisle United, Lee Andrews (pictured left) and Kyle May each signed a new two year contract confirming them as Reds' players up to April 2011. Both participated in last night's cup victory and featured in the build up to only goal of the game scored by Gareth Arnison four minutes before the end of extra time. The Cumberland Senior County Cup final will be played next Wednesday, 22nd April at Brunton Park, 7:00pm kick off. The Reds opponents in the final will be Penrith. Mr Indestructible (Fri 17 Apr)
There were worries after Monday's game against Burscough that Kyle May had played his last game of the season following breaking his nose in the game. Kyle was replaced by Darren Edmodson to avoid further damage to his broken nose. Kyle saw a specialist on Thursday who informed him a operation was required on the nose; the operation was scheduled for 11am this Friday morning. Meanwhile, Kyle rang manager Darren Edmondson on Thursday asking if he could play in the County Cup Semi-final against Carlisle later that evening. Kyle played the full game including extra time. Following the operation Kyle may make himself available for the trip to King's Lynn, depending how the operation goes. OFK's Shaun Vipond injured on debut (Mon 13 Apr) The English midfielder was injured in Thursday's friendly match for Swedish team Östersund against Norwegian side Byåsen and was taken by ambulance to hospital.
The injury occurred in the 29th minute when Vipond collided with a Byåsen player. Vipond was left writhing in pain after the collision and was carried off on a stretcher. Ambulance staff present at the ground believed he had broken his collar bone and Vipond was taken directly to Östersund hospital.
OFK's coach, Kalle Björklund said afterwards, "It is incredibly sad, we feel very sorry for Shaun. Typically enough, he started this game very well". Vipond, making his debut for OFK, was attempting to force his way into the starting eleven for the forthcoming season.
Asked if following this injury that Shaun may go back to England, coach Kalle Björklund said, "That is for the Board to decide, but football really is tough. We cannot allow an injured player to take up a place in a competitive squad".
Ernie Talbot (Sun 12 Apr)
There was a moment of silence prior to kick-off on Saturday as a mark of respect to a former player and a supporter. Ernie Talbot, a player from the fifties, and keen supporter Tony Waiting both passed away recently and our condolences go to the respective families. Ernie’s finest hour in a Reds’ shirt was during the 1956-57 season when he scored twice in the famous 3-2 away win over Derby County. He only made 19 first team appearances over six seasons with the club during the fifties. He did make his mark in North Eastern League football, though, scoring over fifty goals for the Reserves including a seasonal best of 17 during the 57-58 campaign. Four of those goals were netted against Blyth Spartans who were the opposition when the minute of silence was observed on Saturday. Ernie bagged two hat-tricks for the Reserves including four goals in a 5-3 win at Stockton. After leaving Borough Park, Ernie signed for Netherfield. Hopping along (Sun 12 Apr) Club skipper Tony Hopper is presented with an engraved memento from chairman Humphrey Dobie in recognition of his 200 (league and cup) appearances for the Reds. Skipper Tony Hopper is the latest player at Borough Park to join the 200 club having reached that personal milestone in the home game against Hucknall Town on Tuesday. He produced another awesome performance and was unlucky not to mark the occasion with a stunning goal – his sweet volley ruled out because of an offside decision. Tony made his Reds’ debut back in the 2000-01 season in a Unibond League First Division game against Lincoln United. Wearing the number 7 shirt he took his place in this line-up: Gary Hoggeth, Alan Gray, Gavin Skelton, Billy Barr, Wayne Johnson, Graeme Carr (Gary Milne), Tony Hopper, John Wharton, Barry Irving (Graham Goulding), Brian Dawson and Mark Jones. Sub: Marc Green. Since then he has made the number eight shirt his own in 200 league and cup appearances – 170 of which have been in the league – scoring fifteen goals in the process. Season-by-season summary: Season Appearances Goals 00-01 1 02-03 23+2 3 03-04 22+1 3 05-06 31+2 1 06-07 38+3 1 07-08 50 4 08-09 36+2 3 Hewson injury woes (Sat 11 Apr) Injured Reds' skipper Dave Hewson received the worst possible news this week when he recieved the results of his ankle scan. Dave has been out injured for nine weeks already and could face up to another eight months out of action confirmed by manager Darren Edmondson following Saturday's Blyth Spartans match. Darren confirmed that Dave Hewson requires an operation on the injured ankle and it could possibly be around Christmas time before Hewson could resume playing. New main sponsor (Fri 10 Ap) John Rowlands with Reds chairman Humphrey Dobie. The club is pleased to announce that John Rowlands, Managing Director of Romar Innovate and a lifelong Reds supporter, has agreed to Romar Innovate becoming the main club sponsor for the 2009-10 season. Cumberland Cup semi-final date (Mon 06 Apr) The date for the semi-final clash against Carlisle United in the Cumberland Senior County Cup has been agreed. The fixture is to be played on Thursday 16th April, 7:00pmkick off at Borough Park. News signings ahead of deadline (Fri 03 Apr) Reds' manager Darren Edmondson has signed three recruits to the first team squad ahead of the deadline. Former Morecambe youth player, Callum Ruttledge (pictured left) was present on the bench on Tuesday evening for the Fleetwood Town match. Along side Callum on the bench was Adam Main (pictured right) has steeped up from the Reds Reserves. Also signed, returning to the Reds fold, is goalkeeper Aaron Taylor (pictured left). Aaron has been training with the Reds for a few months now and is seen as a direct replacement for Adam Collin for next season. Reserves game postponed (Thu 02 Apr) Friday evenings Reserve team game against Lancaster City Reserves has been postponed as Lancaster are unable to raise a team. The next Reserve team game is against Chorley. The match is to be played at Borough Park on Tuesday 14th April. Mirehouse Cumberland Cup preview (Thu 02 Apr) Reds’ manager Darren Edmondson will be playing himself in the quarter final tie at Mirehouse this evening. Goalkeeper Adam Collin will be the other first team member playing along with new first team squad recruit Adam Main, (pictured left). The winner of this tie will face Carlisle United in the semi-final. Edmo v. Alfreton (Sun 29 Mar) Reds’ manager Darren Edmondson has enjoyed mixed fortunes in the eight encounters against Alfreton Town during his time at Borough Park. As a player, Darren played against Town four times and never lost winning twice and drawing the other two. In addition, he scored in two of those games – one at home, one away. Not bad when you consider he only netted three league goals in total for us. As a manager, however, Edmo has come up against Alfreton four times and has yet to taste victory having drawn once and lost three times. The hypothetical question is: Would we have got something from the game had he introduced himself to the action via the bench on Saturday? Viv goes back to York (Sun 29 Mar) Assistant manager Viv Busby was one of many former York City players who attended a reunion dinner last Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the memorable 1983-84 season. Viv, who finished his playing days with City, was assistant manager to Denis Smith back in the mid eighties when York became the first Football League team to obtain 100 points on their way to the old Fourth Division title. Most of the squad from that season were present plus many other York City greats from different eras in an event hosted at York Racecourse. Darren Edmondson and Lee Andrews are two other members of the present Reds’ set-up with York City links and they join a list which includes the likes of Gus Alexander, Tommy Brownlee, Clive Colbridge, Tommy Spencer, Tommy Spratt, John Ward and Ian McDonald all of whom have spent time at Bootham Crescent and Borough Park at various stages of their respective careers. Keith Armstrong (Sat 28 Mar) A player who served Reds during the late seventies/early eighties has become a TV star in Finland. Newcastle-upon-Tyne born Keith Armstrong, 51, has spent the best part of thirty years in Finland enjoying success as a player, coach, manager, TV pundit and summariser. Keith first played for Reds during the 78-79 season making his debut thirty years ago in a home draw (2-2) v. Frickley Athletic. A few days later, in an away game at Boston United, he scored a ‘wonder’ goal in a 2-1 defeat and subsequently netted 1 v. Altrincham, 2 v. Northwich Victoria, 2 v. Morecambe and 2 v. Stafford Rangers. Keith also netted four goals in the Cumberland Cup including our consolation goal in the shock 3-1 defeat in the final at the hands of Cleator Moor Celtic in 1979. His first of nine clubs in Finland was with Oulun Palloseura (OPS) whom he played for whilst at Reds. He went onto score 60 League goals in 179 appearances whilst his European goal tally ‘famously’ included one in a 10-1 defeat against Liverpool. He had the satisfaction of playing for and managing Finnish teams in European ties against Liverpool. Keith won three titles as a player – OPS in 79 and 80 and Kuusysi in 84 – then five as a manger plus two cups. A league and cup double was obtained in 2003 and he was twice winner of the ‘manager of the year’ accolade. For the past twelve months, Keith has been working as a TV presenter and is one of the scouts employed by the Finland national team under their manager Stuart Baxter. He now has dual nationality and has mastered the Finnish language. Keith made fifty appearances for Reds scoring 14 goals in the process. WAFC career: Season Appearances Goals 78-79 18 12 80-81 18 + 5 2 81-82 2 + 7 - Ex-skipper on the mend (Thu 26 Mar)
Dave Butler, who made over 200 appearances for Reds between 1964 and 1970, is back ‘at work’ after recently undergoing surgery following a heart attack. He celebrated his 64th birthday earlier this week with a bit more gusto than normal after the health scare. Dave, now scouting for Portsmouth, left Reds thirty-nine years ago for Watford and subsequently qualified as a physiotherapist. He became a close friend/colleague of Terry Venables and worked under him at Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and, of course, the England national team. From Borough Park to the Camp Nou (Thu 26 Mar) Reserve team secretary Herbert Briggs has also experienced the contrast between the basic and luxurious recently when he visited Barcelona’s Camp Nou for the first time. After watching Reds struggle to a draw v. Hyde United at archaic Borough Park, Herb’s next game was watching the Spanish League leaders demolish Malaga 6-0 at one of the top football venues. After seeing Messrs Xavi, Messi, Henry and Eto’o get amongst the goals it is back to reality on Saturday! From Borough Park to Wembley (Thu 26 Mar) Saturday Borough Park, next week Wembley. That is the interesting contrast which sees Wallsend official, Dave McCallum refereeing the Blue Square North fixture v. Alfreton Town before heading south for next week’s Johnstone Paint Trophy Final between Luton Town and Scunthorpe in which he will officiate as an assistant referee. I have never been fortunate to visit the new Wembley dressing rooms but I am quite confident it will be a grade or two higher than the less than basic facilities at Borough Park. Enjoy your big day Dave. Reds' Conference marksmen (Thu 26 Mar) We are now coming to the end of our fourth season in Conference North football and during that time we have scored no fewer than 220 league goals. Can you remember who scored our first goal at this level at the start of the 2005-06 campaign? It was, in fact, Graham Goulding who netted what proved to be a consolation goal in a 2-1 home defeat against Worksop Town. A few days later, Tony Hopper scored our first away goal in a 1-1 draw at Hyde United and the skipper is the only player to score in each of the four seasons to date. David Hewson and Craig Johnston still had the opportunity to do the same before injury ended their season prematurely. ‘Johnno’ topped Reds’ scoring chart in the first two seasons, scoring 10 and 15 respectively, while Jonny Wright did so last term with 11. Jonny and Gareth Arnison lead the way this season on 13. Anthony Wright’s superb winner at Harrogate Town on Tuesday lifted him one place in the top ten which reads: 29 Craig Johnston 24 Jonny Wright 16 Anthony Wright 15 Gareth Arnison 12 Steve Birks 10 Graham Anthony 10 Matthew Berkeley 10 Mathew Henney 9 Tony Hopper 9 Michael Reed Tony Hopper has scored in each of our four seasons in Conference North. Andy Cook's loan extended (Mon 23 Mar) The loan deal with Carlisle United bringing young striker Andy Cook to Borough Park has been extended to a second month. Andy has made has made 5 starts and 4 substitute appearances in his first month scoring two goals. Cumberland Cup quarter final date set (Fri 20 Mar) The date for the Cumberland Cup quarter final tie against Mirehouse has finally been set with the game to be played on Thursday 2nd April at Mirehouse. Mirehouse have recently been having work done on their floodlights and if the work is not completed in time for the tie it will be switched to Borough Park. The kick off time for either venue has yet to be agreed. Vandals strike again (Wed 18 Mar) Vandals have attacked Borough Park yet again, this time completely destroying the home dugout. The dugout was burnt down after wheelie bins were set alight inside the dugout. Advetisement hoarding were also damage in the incident. The incident happened on Sunday afternoon, around 3pm. If anyone can assist the club in catching the culprits please contact the club or Workington police. Saturday's game against Hinckley United is set to go ahead as planned as a replacement dugout should arrive on Friday. WAFC - a good decade (Tue 17 Mar) One or two supporters left the ground last week somewhat disgruntled that we had produced a below par performance against fellow strugglers, Hyde United, and, for the third game in a row, had failed to win on home soil. What ever happens between now and the end of the season, and we remain very optimistic about retaining our place in Blue Square North, the fact is the past decade has been a very good one for Workington AFC. The turning point was the season in the North West Counties League which was our salvation but also, almost, the beginning of the end. We had to bounce back at the first attempt otherwise one wonders where we would be now - if we had still been here at all. Bounce back we did but it was subsequently discovered at a cost. A former chairman accumulated huge debts and, if it wasn’t for four members of the current board and several other individuals, I am sure the club would have folded. They ensured a future and for that we will be forever grateful. There have been plenty of highlights during the past ten years - certainly more than the previous two decades – and if we can continue in the same vein for the next decade (new stadium or a re-vamped Borough Park permitting) the future, although not guaranteed, would be promising. It is, of course, ten years on since we embarked on that memorable fourteen match winning sequence which eventually clinched the North Western Trains League title. We were still in 5th position when the run got underway with a somewhat fortunate 3-2 win over Ramsbottom United on 6th March, 1999. Seven wins later, we were still in 5th position eventually moving up to 4th then 3rd. After a 3-0 success at Glossop North End (the eleventh win of that wonderful sequence) we moved to 2nd and the situation was now in our own hands. All that was needed was another three victories which we managed to eventually go top on the final day following victory over the previous leaders, Mossley. It will be sometime, if ever, before we see the like again but some supporters, it would appear, expect that as the norm! Alan Suddick 1944 - 2009 (Mon 16 Mar) Alan Suddick, who played for the Reds during the 1981-82 season, passed away suddenly today aged 64. Born in Chester-le-Street in 1944, alan played 144 games for Newcastle United after becoming their youngest ever debutant at 17. After five years at St. James’, he moved to Blackpool in a £63,000 transaction spending a decade at Bloomfield Road before a spell with Stoke City. He subsequently played for Bury, Southport, Barrow and Lancaster City. Earlier in his career he was capped by England at Youth and U23 level. He joined Workington in September 1981 (signed by Sean Gallagher) making his debut in a 1-0 home win over Gainsborough Trinity and was a member of the Reds’ team that thrashed Morecambe 7-1 later that month. Played a dozen league and cup games for us as a ’stop-gap’ signing. Alan has been living in the Blackpool area for the past thirty years. His father was a professional with Barnsley while his son, Jarrod, played for Reds during the 95-96 season. Reserves' game postponed (Mon 16 Mar)
Saturday's proposed Reserve game against Clitheroe has had to be postponed as it clashed with the Cumberland FA U18 game against Sheffield & Hallamshire U18 The Cumberland U18 side draws heavily from the Reds Reserves side with the like of Matthew Charters, Daniel McDermott, Michael Grayson, Greg Mitchell, Gareth Brunton, Nicholas Holden, Liam Jackson, Callum Lee, Adam Maine, Stefan Scott, Callum Lee, Ryan Moody and Aaron Roberts representing both sides. Dean Gordon (Mon 16 Mar) Vastly experienced ex-Palace and 'Boro defender Dean Gordon has joined the Reds on a week-to-week basic. Gordon, 36, will be helping out the management team in training where his experience will be invaluable. He has other offers on the table and will decide in the next few weeks if he wants to come full time. Gordon started his career with Crystal Palace, being a local lad from Croydon, progressing through their youth ranks. A pacy left back in his prime, he played over 240 matches for Palace scoring some spectacular goals including a hat-trick against West Bromich Albion in 1995. He won a Championship medal with Palace and also an England U21 call up getting 13 U21 caps. Gordon joined Middlesbrough in July 1998 for a £900,00 fee spending four seasons at 'Boro where he played 63 games in the Premiership scoring 4 goals. He additionally has played for the following teams in his playing career: Cardiff City (on loan), Coventry City, Reading (on loan), Grimsby Town, APOEL (Cyprus), Crook Town, Worksop Town, Albany United (New Zealand), Aukland City (New Zealand), New Zealand Knights (New Zealand), Lewes, Torquay United, Whitby Town and Ilkeston Town. Player of the month award (Sun 15 Mar) Prior to the Hyde United game on Saturday, Phil McLuckie, who was named the BSN Player of the Month for January, received his prize of a bottle of champagne and an engraved Blue Square trophy from Reds' chairman Humphrey Dobie. Five on the road (Thu 12 Mar) Scoring five goals in an away match was something of a rarity for Reds for over two decades but they have been plentiful in recent seasons with Tuesday’s nap-hand at Farsley the eighth time we have done so in the past five years. Only once during that period have we gone on to net half-a-dozen (Redditch United) so I have not included that in our list of fivers. A reminder of the big wins on the road: Stalybridge Celtic 5-0 (FA Cup), Vauxhall Motors 5-2 (League), Netherhall 5-0 (Cumberland Cup), Lancaster City 5-1 (League), Spennymoor United 5-1 (League), Bamber Bridge 5-1 (FA Cup), Kendal Town 5-0 (League). In addition to the aforementioned, Reds have won friendly matches at Gretna (5-2) and Whitehaven (5-1). Thank you Bury (Tue 03 Mar) Jack Dorney (pictured left) and Ricky Anane (pictured right) are the latest players who will be able to list both Bury and Workington on their career CV following their month on loan with Reds. They returned to Gigg Lane on Monday after saying their goodbyes following the Southport game. Both had been involved in our previous six games with Jack, 19, playing some part in all of those including his full debut v. Droylsden while Ricky, 20, got some limited field time against AFC Telford United and Tamworth. During our Football League days, the likes of Bill Bradbury, Hugh Cameron, Billy Griffin, Barry Lowes, Alan Tyrer and Dave Howitt had played in both the white of Bury and the red of Workington at various stages of their respective careers with Griffin and Lowes actually switching allegiance in the same transaction. More recently, the likes of Gary Hoggeth, Lee Connell, Rob Debenham, John Borg, Gary Messer and Mark Donnelly spent time at Borough Park after starting their football life with Bury. Spot-on (Thu 26 Feb) For the second time this season, Adam Collin thwarted Droylsden with a spectacular penalty save helping Reds to another 1-1 draw against the Manchester side. His superb save on Tuesday to deny Sean Newton was every bit as good as the one he made at Droylsden last September when he kept out Neil Prince’s first half spot-kick. Adam’s heroics in the home match were probably more dramatic because it was he who gave away the last minute penalty which he atoned for in style. Asked why he was not red-carded referee Paul Marsden explained, “When the goalkeeper tripped the Droylsden player everyone assumed Adam Collin would be sent off but Steve Halford had knocked the ball towards three Workington defenders who, in my opinion, would have cleared the ball first. Therefore, it was not a goal scoring opportunity.” A situation which clearly went in our favour to counter balance a decision which went against us at Tamworth in the previous game. Adam was subsequently named the sponsor’s ‘man-of-the-match’ just like he had been in the earlier meeting at Droylsden – an unusual double. It was his eighth penalty save for Reds (not including the five he has made in penalty shoot-outs). House of Lords (Fri 20 Feb) Workington AFC, along with all other sixty-seven Conference clubs, will be represented at the House of Lords on Monday when, for the first time, a reception will be held giving our colleagues and us the opportunity to meet their local MP and other influential parliamentarians. It is being hosted by Lord Faulkner of Worcester, vice-president of the Conference, with the event kindly sponsored by Setanta. It will give us all the opportunity to demonstrate to MPs the immense amount of good work Conference clubs undertake in the community and the contribution we make to the local area. Reds’ director Colin Doorbar (pictured) will be our representative with MP, Tony Cunningham, hoping to attend the event “ if at all possible”. Colin will be travelling to London on Monday for the evening reception and should be back in west Cumbria for Tuesday’s home game versus Droylsden. The event is being held in the Cholmondeley Room in the House of Lords commencing at 6pm. Hero Hopper (Sun 15 Feb) Tony Hopper marked the eighth anniversary of his Reds debut with a ‘man-of-the-match’ performance that helped topple high flying AFC Telford United on Saturday. The ‘new’ skipper was outstanding for the eighty-five minutes he was on the pitch and received a well deserved standing ovation when he was replaced by Ricky Anane just before the end. He led by example throughout and was an inspiration to the rest of the team some of whom are ten, or more, years his junior. His Reds career got underway during the 2000-01 season when he played a ‘one-off’ game for us whilst on loan from Carlisle United. He helped Reds to a 2-2 draw against Lincoln United at Borough Park wearing the number 7 shirt in this line-up: Gary Hoggeth, Alan Gray, Gavin Skelton, Billy Barr, Wayne Johnson, Graeme Carr (Gary Milne), Tony Hopper, John Wharton, Barry Irving (Graham Goulding), Brian Dawson, Mark Jones. Sub: Marc Green. In the seven seasons since, Tony has been a regular in six of those with last term his best making fifty league and cup appearances culminating in him being nominated the Players’ ‘Player of the Year’. The only problem now is getting the 32 year-old out for two demanding games a week between now and the end of the season. If he plays well the team responds accordingly as was the case on Saturday. Team of the Round award (Sun 15 Feb) Gary Alpin from the Football Association was a guest at Borough Park on Saturday where he made an on field presentation to Workington AFC. Our victory over Barrow in the FA Trophy Second Round was judged by the FA as the "Team of the Second Round" performance. Gary Alpin presented the Team of the Round award to the Reds injured duo of Craig Johnston and Dave Hewson prior to the Wrexham game. Also, prior to the game, Gary was photographed with Reds manager Darren Edmondson in the Shankly lounge with the award. Ton up for Wrighty (Sun 15 Feb) Anthony Wright, one of only two ever-presents in the Reds’ line-up this season, recently celebrated his 100th Workington game. He reached the milestone appearance in the 3-0 FA Trophy win at Barrow last month with his century of outings consisting of 83 in the league and 17 in various cup competitions. ‘Little Wrighty’ originally joined Reds in the 2004-05 season and made his debut as a substitute in a 3-2 Unibond League Premier division defeat at Lincoln United. He made eight substitute appearances in the early part of the season but a lack of first team opportunities prompted a switch to Penrith where he was a regular for the best part of two seasons. One of his appearances for Penrith was against Reds when the Blues of Southend Road knocked us out of the Cumberland Cup. He made a welcome return to Borough Park in 2006 and has been an integral member of the side since. Anthony made 43 starts in his first full season with the club scoring nine goals in the process. Injury hampered his progress somewhat last term although he still made 30 starts but managed just one goal. In the current campaign, he has netted six goals in his 32 league and cup outings. Anthony, 22, has now made 105 (+ 15 as a substitute) appearances for Reds and has 16 league and cup goals to his credit. Paul Lloyd (Mon 09 Feb) Paul Lloyd’s Reds’ career is over before it had even started. The midfielder’s registration with Reds was cancelled on Monday and he will sign for Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday. He was a non-playing substitute in the Trophy game against Wrexham so will be eligible for Forest Green in their 4th Round tie at Stevenage Borough. Player of the month award (Fri 06 Feb) Phil McLuckie has been named BSN Player of the Month for January and will be presented with a bottle of champagne and an engraved Blue Square trophy at a future home game. Jonny Wright was amongst the other players short listed but Phil got the nod. Craig Johnston was the last Reds’ player to pick up the award in September 2006. Defender Scott Garner (Mansfield Town) and goalkeeper Matt Lovett (Hampton and Richmond Borough) were the other recipients in Blue Square Premier and Blue Square South respectively. Gateshead’s Ian Bogie was nominated Blue Square North manager of the month for January. Billy Watson 1928 – 2009 (Thu 05 Feb) Billy Watson, Reds' groundsman for 39 years, sadly passed away on Wednesday 4th February after losing his brave fight against cancer. Billy started as groundsman in January 1952 after leaving the Royal Signals. He joined the army at the age of 18 just as the Second World War ended in 1945. He saw active service in Palestine as a wireless operator. During his time as groundsman, Billy became friends with Bill Shankly who managed the Reds from January 1954 to December 1955. Bill Shankly kept in contact with Billy after he moved on and offered him the groundsman's job at both Huddersfield and later at Anfield where he became a legend as manager of Liverpool FC. Billy Watson was deeply shocked by Shankly’s death from a heart attack at the age of 67. Bill attended Shankly’s funeral at West Derby in Liverpool and was surprised to find that the canon who took the church service asked to see Billy. His name was Harry Myers and he was once the vicar at St Mary’s Church in Harrington and remembered Billy Watson from his time there. Billy was born on the Quay where he attended Lawrence Street Junior and Infants School on the Marsh. After moving to Salterbeck when he was 10, where he lived for 60 years, he attended Harrington Juniors in 1938 and then Guard Street Senior Boys School. Billy's funeral service will held at Our Lady and St. Michaels church on Thursday 12th February and he will be inturred at Salterbeck Cemetery. New date (Tue 03 Feb) The Blue Square North game v. Hucknall Town, originally scheduled for the 31st January at Borough Park, has been re-arranged and will now take place on Tuesday 7th April, 2009 kick-off 7.45pm. The match had to be cancelled to accommodate Saturday’s Trophy clash against Wrexham.
Andy Halliday (Tue 27 Jan) Match referee, Andy Halliday, will be following in his brother’s footsteps when he takes charge of his first ever game at Borough Park on Saturday. Elder brother Jim was on duty here in September when he refereed our FA Youth Cup tie versus Ashton Town having previously been on the line at Borough Park for the pre-season friendly v. Carlisle United. Now Andy will take centre stage for the FA Carlsberg Trophy match against Wrexham. Andy has the better pedigree, though, and has had his share of the limelight already in a blossoming career. He was an assistant referee at the Millennium Stadium in 2005 for the League 1 Play-off final and also on the line for the FA Trophy final the same year. In addition, he has three UEFA cup ties under his belt. Earlier this season, he was involved in a controversial incident in the Hull City v. Aston Villa Premier League encounter at the KC Stadium. Referee Steve Bennett awarded Hull a penalty following a corner believing the ball had been helped over the bar by Ashley Young’s raised hand. The ball actually hit the bar. After being persuaded to consult his assistant, Andy Halliday, the decision was reversed. Last week, Andy was on duty in the Championship fixture – Blackpool v. Birmingham City. Scouting mission (Sat 24 Jan) Wrexham first team coach, Brian Carey, must have been impressed when he assessed Reds’ strengths and weaknesses at Bower Fold on Saturday. The Blue Square Premier outfit, who visit Borough Park for the first time in thirty-nine years on Saturday, will be well informed of what we have to offer once Carey’s report has been digested by Dean Saunders and his staff. Carey, a recent Wrexham manager, has a wealth of experience as a player and coach having played for the likes of Cork City, Manchester United, Leicester City and Wrexham. He was also capped three times by the Republic of Ireland. His report will be incomplete, however, as he left the ground just before the end and missed our two secret weapons, Dan Robinson and Andy Hardman, combine to score a fine fourth goal. The Wrexham connection (Thu 22 Jan) Our encounter with Wrexham will be the first cup tie between the sides and the first meeting of any kind for thirty nine years. We met regularly during our Football League days, twenty four times in fact, and our record against the Wrexham Reds was very good – particularly at Borough Park. It was a bit different on Welsh soil where we only tasted victory on two occasions but each of those contributed to a league double. Wrexham’s only win here helped them to a league double too. It was back in the 1951-52 season, and Third Division (North) football, when 7,492 fans turned up at Borough Park to witness a Workington victory (2-0). The return match was played a week later at the Racecourse Ground and finished goalless. The attendance, incidentally, was just 97 fewer than the previous week. Chris Simmonds netted the first hat-trick in the series and that contributed to our best win (4-0) overall during our second season in the League. The 24th October, 1953 will be etched into our history as the day we suffered a record FL defeat with Wrexham inflicting the damage (0-8). One of several heavy reverses when we ventured over the border. The 55-56 clashes saw us win for the first time at the Racecourse with a 1-0 Boxing Day success quickly followed, next day, by a 3-1 victory at Borough Park thanks mainly to an Ernie Whittle threesome. Home and away successes were again obtained during the 61-62 campaign with our 3-2 win at Wrexham watched by a huge crowd of 14,471 –the best for a fixture between the two clubs. Wrexham had the last laugh, though, winning promotion as we finished 8th Their only double at our expense was season 67-68 with the Borough Park leg attracting, by contrast, the lowest gate in the series – just 1,765 supporters passing through the turnstiles. A similar response today would leave us delighted; how times change. The twenty-fourth tussle, in April 1970 saw Wrexham emerge 4-1 victors with veteran striker, Les Massie, the last Workington player to score in this particular fixture. SUMMARY Season Home Away 51-52 2-0 0-0
52-53 4-0 0-3
53-54 1-1 0-8
54-55 2-1 1-1
55-56 3-1 1-0
56-57 3-0 0-3
57-58 4-2 1-1
60-61 3-1 1-2
61-62 1-0 3-2
67-68 1-2 0-5
68-69 0-0 0-1
69-70 2-0 1-4 A handful of players have played for both clubs with two, Earl Godding and Stewart McCallum, coming to us from Wrexham and one, Brian Tinnion, transferring in the opposite direction. The Tinnion transfer earned us £15,000 some forty years ago and, most probably, kept the club afloat at that time. Two others, Gordon Livsey and Stuart Mason, came to us during our non-league days having previously played for Wrexham earlier in their respective careers. Gordon, in fact, was our first post-Football League manager but he left after less than six months in the job. Stuart came to us from Bangor City where he had been player/manager. Trophy trivia (Thu 22 Jan) Walter Gillott scored Reds first goal in the FA Trophy. Our first win in the competition was 1-0 at Burscough (thanks to an own-goal). We have been involved in three Trophy penalty shoot-outs; losing against Harrogate Town and Rocester but winning v. Burton Albion. The best attendance for a Reds’ trophy tie was the 1,643 present for the Kettering Town clash at Borough Park (99-00), the lowest a mere 53 spectators at Kirkby Town (80-81). Graham Gill, with four goals v. North Shields, was the first and only Reds player to net a Trophy hat-trick. Our record win was the 7-1 success at Rothwell Town, the heaviest defeat 0-5 at Leicester United. Reds have obtained a welcome £15,000 from the FA prize fund for their three Trophy wins. Trophy Tears and Triumphs (Thu 22 Jan) Our FA Trophy adventure began thirty-one years ago with a match against Altrincham but, since then, it is fair to say we have experienced more tears than triumphs in almost eighty ties in the competition. Replay defeats against the likes of Glossop, Northallerton Town, Great Harwood Town, Leicester United and Rocester (to name a few) have left Reds fans wondering if we will ever make a significant contribution in the Trophy. In the past, and too often, one win for us has represented a ‘cup run’ so with five victories over this season and last Reds fans may just be starting to enjoy the competition. This season sees us playing in four rounds for only the second time with successes over Tamworth, King’s Lynn and Barrow earning us the right to take on Wrexham who have been billed as one of the favourites as they partake in their first FA Trophy tournament. The previous time we generated ‘cup fever’ was during the 99-00 campaign when we played seven matches – going through in replays against Bilston Town, Burton Albion and Worksop Town before falling to Kettering Town at Borough Park. In that particular run, we managed to be the focus of attention when we met Burton Albion at Borough Park. Off the field, there was the presence of Sky, Border TV and radio crews from BBC Cumbria and Derby not to mention then Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson in the stand. On the pitch there was a midfield battle between two former Liverpool players – Paul Stewart (Reds) and Nigel Clough (Albion). It finished all square so a trip to Eton Park (in the days before the Pirelli Stadium) on the Tuesday saw our heroes triumph in a penalty shoot-out. In the crowd was Nigel’s dad, Brian – VIPs at both games. Worksop Town (away) was our reward for overcoming Albion and, in another replay, we overcame higher placed opposition (they were Unibond Premier at the time) for only the second time in the competition. Reaching the last sixteen was quite an achievement considering we were still Unibond First at the time and there was no disgrace in a 1-0 defeat by Conference outfit Kettering Town. We have had other memorable afternoons in the competition and my favourites would have to include a 5-4 win over Brandon United in the mid-eighties when Reds went in front for the first time when scoring the fifth goal and our record Trophy win at Rothwell Town a decade later when Reds, struggling in the league at the time, emerged 7-1 victors. Even those cannot compare with the recent win at Barrow in the last round when our nearest rivals were somewhat relieved that we only netted three! Which brings us to Wrexham who go into the tie as odds-on favourites. It would be beyond fantasy to make the last eight but, at least, we have generated some creditability in the competition after years of abject failure. One of our guests today is Gary Aplin who is on the FA Trophy committee. Gary, who once refereed an FA Trophy tie at Borough Park, is here to present us with an FA memento to mark our ‘Team of the round’ performance at Holker Street. Ex-Reds (Mon 19 Jan) Twelve months ago, Matt Berkeley was still ‘flavour of the month’ at Borough Park having just scored that stunning goal at Braintree Town – an equaliser which earned the replay three days later. He only netted two more goals for Reds (in the superb 5-0 win over Tamworth) before the end of the season to finish with 11 in total. Matt moved on in the summer and has since spent time with Altrincham, Droylsden, Leigh Genesis, Mossley and Hyde United. Far from ideal for a young talent who should be settled and playing for a club on a regular basis. He is on the move again, however, having recently joined Welsh Premier League outfit, TNS. Matt scored his first goal at that level on Saturday helping his side to a 1-1 draw against Newtown. If Matt stays there a bit longer than the time spent at some of his previous clubs, he could meet up with another former Workington player in the WPL – Paul O’Neill is still at Rhyl. Another striker who has led a nomadic existence since leaving Reds is Neil Tarrant (8 appearances for us in 06-07). He is still playing in the Northern League but recently dropped a division when he switched from Sunderland Nissan to Darlington RA. Geoff Lumsden (Sat 10 Jan) Lifelong Reds fan Geoff Lumsden 48 sadly passed away on Fri 9th Jan after losing his brave fight against cancer. Geoff started following the Reds as a youngster in the late 60's early 70's and had been a dedicated supporter both home and away ever since. He was also for many years an active member of the supporters club which included two spells as treasurer. He also spent countless unseen hours doing jobs at Borough Park including several spells working alongside brother Mark as joint Groundsman. Geoff was a meticulous hard worker who had the Borough Park surface looking it's best since the 'Billy Watson' era. His other interests included scootering, music and narrowboats and although he had no family of his own he was very close to his sister Elaine, brother Mark and their families. Funeral service is to be on Fri 16th Jan at Distington crematorium Stafford Rangers (Thu 08 Jan) The Blue Square North fixture against Stafford Rangers, postponed because of a frozen pitch on 3rd January, will now take place at Marston Road on Tuesday 17th March, 2009 kick-off 7.45pm. The only fixture to be confirmed at the moment is the Cumberland Cup tie at Mirehouse which is due to be played the week commencing 2nd March. Another new date (Mon 05 Jan) The Blue Square North fixture against Fleetwood Town, postponed on New Year's Day because of a frozen pitch, will now take place at Borough Park on Tuesday 31st March, 2009 kick-off 7.45pm. A new date for the fixture at Stafford Rangers has yet to be confirmed. First ever derby in the Trophy (Sun 04 Jan) Whilst Barrow have enjoyed the better of things against Reds in league (Football League, Northern Premier League and Conference North) matches, we have the slightly better record in cup competition. It's twenty-two years since we inflicted a league defeat upon the Bluebirds but we have enjoyed success in Unibond cup ties in recent years. Our record in both the Football League Cup and FA Cup, albeit decades ago, is also favourable. Indeed, we have beaten the Holker Street men 9-1 in both the aforementioned cup competitions. Saturday's tie is a first-timer in the Trophy and is expected to be well supported in view of the interest generated in the Furness area for the Middlesbrough game. Should a replay be required, it will be played at Borough Park on the following Tuesday (13/1). Had Barrow drawn with 'Boro, a potential Trophy replay would have been put back a week. Reds' record in cup-ties v. Barrow is detailed below: FA CUP
Home Away
1903-04 9-1
1905-06 0-1
1907-08 6-2
1909-10 2-1
1922-23 0-1
1927-28 3-1 FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUP 1962-63 2-3
1964-65 9-1
1969-70 0-0 1-3
1970-71 2-0 UNIBOND LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP 2000-01 2-0
2001-02 2-0 UNIBOND LEAGUE PRESIDENT'S CUP FINAL 2003-04 4-3 2-3 SETANTA SHIELD 2007-08 2-2 (lost 7-6 on penalties) New date (Sun 04 Jan) The Blue Square North fixture at Solihull Moors, originally scheduled for 10th January but postponed due to Reds' involvement in The FA Trophy, will now take place at Damson Park on Tuesday 17th February kick-off 7.45pm. New dates for the league games v. Fleetwood Town (home) and Stafford Rangers (away) have still to be confirmed. Eight weeks in charge without a game (Fri 02 Jan) With the latest cancellation of the Reds' reserve team game against Formby due to the Borough Park pitch not having thawed sufficiently for the game to go ahead, 'new' Reserve team manager Steve Lee has now been in charge eight weeks and has yet to play a game! Hopefully the current cold spell will abate before the 23rd of the month for the Lancaster City fixture to go ahead and Steve will finally be able to start his Reserves' managerial career after 9 WEEKS in the job. Reds in 2008 (Fri 02 Jan) Reds record over the last calendar year reflected our league position at the end of last season and where we were at the end of 2008 - a lower half of the table side. We started the year with a narrow win over Leigh RMI but it was another six games before we managed another victory although it was worth the wait - a 5-0 success over Tamworth at Borough Park. They would avenge that defeat in style a few months later when they won 4-1 in west Cumbria. The best home win and heaviest defeat against the same opposition. Tamworth was also the venue for a morale boosting FA Trophy win in November - a rare, but thoroughly deserved, success on the road. One of the problems overall was our inability to win on a regular basis - we win, on average, every four or five games and failed to register 'back-to-back' victories in the league throughout the year. Operating with a wafer thin squad has limited the manager's options considerably but Darren has also had to contend with no fewer than seventeen player departures. Not all those who have left were an automatic choice but a half decent squad nevertheless. We served up some excellent performances on the road but could not convert draws into victories and our only win on foreign soil was back in April at Hyde. We should have won at Hyde again, of course, but had to settle for a draw having been 4-2 ahead. Jonny Wright can look back on a successful year and, despite missing a few games through injury, scored goals (13) on a regular basis. Others who started and finished the year with us - Adam Collin, Kyle May and Tony Hopper - have been immense. We played 51 league and cup games throughout 2008 but our success rate was just under 25%. League record: P. 43 W. 10 D. 15 L. 18 F. 48 A. 59 Cup record: P. 8 W. 3 D. 3 L. 2 F. 15 A. 10 Not exactly 'annus horribilis' but a very tough, challenging year and, no doubt, it will be much of the same during 2009. Survival is the name of the game and not a lack of ambition on the club's part. It is called reality! Boxing day blues (Thu 01 Jan) There was little festive cheer for Reds fans at Fleetwood last week with the team suffering a fourth consecutive Boxing Day reverse in Blue Square North. Our record on the 26th December in recent years has been poor and we have not tasted victory since 1998 when we managed a 3-0 home win over Holker Old Boys. Since then, we have drawn at Kendal Town (3-3), lost at Vauxhall Motors (1-2), lost at home to Leigh RMI (0-1), lost at Leigh RMI (1-2) and lost at Fleetwood Town (0-1). | |
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