ASHBY IVANHOE
CLUB OFFICIALS
Chairman: David Morris
Directors: Jon Emmerson & Neil Johnson
Club President: David Morris
Vice Chairman: Bryan Smith
Vice President: Charlie Tissington Snr
Senior & Matchday Secretary: Stuart Mann
Junior Secretary: Steph Rawden
Finance Manager: Derrick Barrett
Groundsman: Adrian Barnes
Facilities Manager: Dave Buckley
Interim CWO: Sade Palmer
Supporters Club Chairman: Mick Buckley
Website & Programme Editor: Ryan Johnson
Head of Social Media & Marketing: Ryan Morris
Matchday PA: Mick Buckley
Turnstile And Pay Kiosk Operator: Liam Rawden
Lifetime Members: Keith Wright, Charlie Tissington Jnr, Ian Irving, Mark Pepper, Mick Buckley
Head Of Girls & Ladies Football: Neil Crowder
Head Of Junior Football: Mark Scrivener
Girls Secretary: Sade Palmer
Community Liaison Officer: Dean O’Shea
FIRST TEAM MANAGEMENT
Manager: Andy Gray
Coaches: Pete Dunn, Lee Barrett, Conrad Carrolan
Goalkeeping Coach: Vacant
Matchday Co-Ordinator: Lee Barratt
RESERVE TEAM MANAGEMENT
Lee Windrum, Chris Nettle, Glyn Andrews, Roger Birch
GROUND STAFF
Mark Pepper, David Buckley
Tel: 01530 413140
Email: info@ashbyivanhoefc.co.uk
Website: www.ashbyivanhoefc.co.uk
NFU Sports Ground, Lower Packington Road, Ashby De La Zouch, Leicestershire, LE65 1TS
DAVID MORRIS
CHAIRMAN'S WELCOME
Good afternoon, and welcome to The NFU for this afternoon’s game against Heath Hayes. We welcome their players and officials and hope they enjoy their visit to Ashby de la Zouch. As you will know all football was cancelled last weekend due to the sad passing of our Monarch Queen Elizabeth 2nd. My Grandmother lived under 5 different Monarchs, but I imagine most of us here today have only experience one. What a fantastic servant she has been to our nation and rightly deserves all of the respect and praise she has been getting this week. If I might be controversial for a moment and say however I can’t for the life of me think why Ashby Hastings Cricket Club and Ashby Rugby Club were allowed to continue playing within a mile of us last weekend yet we were ordered to postpone all games, a decision that we estimated, as First Team were at home on Saturday , preceded by our Development school, soccer school, and 3 junior games, all of which would have brought in a total spend of circa £1,000 !
I think it was Jimmy Greaves who once said “it’s a funny old game” and how right he was, after we played superbly last Tuesday to defeat Chelmsley Town, we go out a week later and get gubbed 4-0 by Coton Green, however some perspective required as it was our first defeat of the season, so hopefully Andy can rally the troops and we can come back strongly today.
The junior section has grown hugely over the last 12 months to a level where we now run 27 boys teams and 4 girls teams they all start their campaigns this weekend so we wish them all the best for an enjoyable and successful season. We held a coaches meeting last week and in the past let’s just say attendance was low, we had over 30 coaches this time, all positive and engaged for the season, a really good meeting. All of the teams are sponsored as are most of
the senior players too, which you will now see in this issue. The football club, like most of society is experiencing spiralling costs on energy and pretty much everything (as a for instance today’s referee gets £70 & linesmen £35 each so there’s £140 required before anything else) so if you or anyone you know would like to sponsor us I’m sure we can find something, and advertising board, programme advert, a part of the ground or even a cat !
All that remains is to wish Andy and the boys all the best for today and thank you for your continued support.
Come on Ivanhoe !
Dave Chairman
If you are visiting the ground by car please DO NOT OBSTRUCT the junction to Cambrian Way by parking on the grass/path verge as this is both dangerous and you could get a fixed penalty notice from the Council and or Police.
ANDY GRAY
FIRST TEAM UPDATE
Hello all.
As I’m sure you're aware we suffered our first defeat of the season on Tuesday night.
The 0-4 loss was a shock to us all. Without making too many excuses it was always going to be difficult going down to 10 men after eight minutes.
The sending off of Sam Grouse was hard to understand and having watched the video recording I would say that the official's got it wrong.
However, we adapted well and stayed in the game but conceding three sloppy goals late in the first half, killed the game off.
In the second half everyone including all of our subs competed very well and there were still some positives to take from the game.
We draw a line under that and have worked well in training on Thursday.
Today we face Heath Hayes who we competed in two, seven goal thrillers last season.
We hope that today we can return to winning ways and with your support, I’m sure we will.
Enjoy the game and we also hope to see you next week as we try to progress further in the FA Vase.
Regards Andy Gray
FIRST TEAM UPDATE SPONSORED BYIN OPPOSITION TODAY HEATH HAYES
The club was established in 1965 as Heath Hayes United, breaking away from the Heath Hayes Co-op Youth Club. They initially played in the Cannock Youth League, before joining Division Two of the Cannock Chase League for their second season. The club were soon promoted to Division One and then the Premier Division. After moving their base from the Five Ways Inn to the Constitutional Club, the club was renamed Heath Hayes Cons. They won the Premier Division of the Cannock Chase League in 1971–72 and 1972–73, and subsequently moved up to the MidStaffordshire League and then the Staffordshire County League (South).
Heath Hayes were Staffordshire County League (South) Division One champions in 1976–77 and were promoted to the Premier Division. They won the league's Premier Trophy in 1986–87 and went on to win the Premier Division title the following season. After retaining the Premier Division title in 1988–89 and returning to the Five Ways Inn in 1989, the club adopted their current name and moved up to the Staffordshire Senior League. In 1994 the league was renamed the Midland League, with Heath Hayes becoming members of Division One. In 1996 the club transferred to Division One North of the West Midlands (Regional) League. They were Division One North champions in 1998–99 season, earning promotion to the Premier Division.
In 2001–02 Heath Hayes won the Staffordshire Senior Vase with a 3–0 win over Alsager Town in the final. In 2006 the club transferred to the
Premier Division of the Midland Combination. They won the Staffordshire Senior Vase again in 2008–09, beating Ball Haye Green 2–1 in the final. After winning the Premier Division title in 2009–10 the club were promoted to the Midland Alliance.
In 2014 the Midland Alliance and Midland Combination merged to form a new Midland League, with Heath Hayes placed in the Premier Division. However, they finished bottom of the division in the league's inaugural season and were relegated to Division One. The 2015–16 season saw the club win the final edition of the Staffordshire Senior Vase when they beat Lichfield City 4–0 in the final.
Honours
Midland Combination
Premier Division champions 2009–10
West Midlands (Regional) League
Division One North champions 1998–99
Cannock Chase League
Premier Division winners 1971–72, 1972–73
Staffordshire County League (South)
Premier Division champions 1987–88, 1988–89 Division One champions 1976–77 Premier Trophy Winners 1986–87
Staffordshire Senior Vase Winners 2001–02, 2008–09, 2015–16
AIFC
FREEKICKS
FOUNDATION CHARITY CHALLENGE!
Over the weekend of the 13th/14th August, Anthony Wilson and Courtney Howell set out on a challenge of visiting 100 football clubs in 24 hours.
They started the challenge at Boston Town at 1pm, and travelled over 700 miles, through 7 counties visiting a range of grounds from all levels of the footballing pyramid!
The NFU Sports Ground was on their list of grounds to visit and they arrived to us at an early 1:13am on the Sunday morning!
They did the challenge in aid of raising funds for the Freekicks Foundation which is a Nationwide charity
whose aim is to provide football-related activities for ill, bereaved and disadvantaged children, giving them a day to remember with their favourite football club.
They managed to complete their challenge in 23 hours, 29 minutes and 17 seconds!
Well done lads from all at Ashby Ivanhoe FC, it’s a great achievement and we are delighted to be able to have provided you with a signed shirt that you can auction off to raise some more funds!
We look forward to welcoming you to the NFU in the near future to enjoy a game with us!
MEET CLUB SPONSORS
MARK SCRIVENER
JUNIOR AND YOUTH FOOTBALL UPDATE
Here at Ashby Ivanhoe we have seen big changes I n our Junior and Youth section. On June 1st Mark Scrivener joined us to head up this important division of Ashby Ivanhoe FC. Since then the junior section has grown massively!! We now 25 Junior teams up from 14 this covers ages U7 to U18, giving us over 270 children playing in the new stunning Ashby Ivanhoe Junior Kit. We are looking forward to watching our team paly matches in several local leagues including Burton Junior and Tamworth Junior leagues as well as our U14 & U15 taking part in the regional Midland Junior Premiere league! There will be Junior matches on at the NFU every Saturday from September so why not come down and support the kids!!
Added to this we consistently have over 25 budding young players in our soccer school ( ages 3-6) which is run on a Saturday morning 10-11am under the guidance of Rob Avins and is continuing to grow week on week!! The Club also recently started the Development school which give children ages 7-16 a chance to get involved with a football team if there are no spaces in any other clubs at their age group. This has been a huge success as due to the number of children attending this school we have successfully created 4 brand new teams within the Junior Section and given 39 children the opportunity to play league football this coming session!
As you can see its an exciting time here at Ashby Ivanhoe for Junior and youth football, if you or someone you know has children looking to get into a great club please contact us on via our social media or website below.
Mark Head of Junior & Youth FootballJOSH KAY
IVANHOE VS INGLES REPORT
Ashby Ivanhoe 1-0 Ingles
Ashby continued their unbeaten start to the season thanks to Ash Garners early second half goal. His first since signing for Ivanhoe this summer from rivals Stapenhill.
The goal came as a huge relief for Andy Gray’s side who were coming off consecutive league draws without a goal from open play, and a first half against Ingles where quality was few and far between.
Their best opportunity came as Macauley Holmes met Chris Acott’s corner. The captain’s header narrowly missing the target, brushing the crossbar as the goalkeeper was left stranded.
At the other end, the visitors could have snatched the lead when a free kick was hacked off the goal line by Ivanhoe. This chance being the only major scare of the half for the hosts.
Ashby’s play was much improved immediately after the break and Garners goal reflected the increase in their intensity.
Acott burst down the right side and calmly cut the ball back for Garner, who took a touch and slotted into the corner.
Garner has been a vital addition since his arrival, bringing physicality to the midfield while being technically sound and helping to support the attack.
Ashby were rarely threatened after the goal and could have doubled their lead through Sam Grouse, who saw his shot saved one on one by the goalkeeper.
Manager Andy Gray was positive about the result but recognised that his side must improve to keep pace with the league leaders.
‘’It wasn’t a great performance all round but sometimes you grind them out’’ he said. Adding that it is better to win 1-0 than 7-6.
Ivanhoe return to the NFU in midweek as they host Chelmsley town. Tuesday’s visitors have won their last two games and will provide another tough test for Gray’s team.
Coach Team Sponsor
Lee Moyles/Tyrone FC
Mike/Tom
U7 Knights India
U7 Barons Court
Micheal Jackson Dragons Bruel Healthcare
Phil Hinson
U8 FC
Sean Cole Dragons
Rich Brookes Rangers
Craig Gibson
Matt
U9 Knights
Marcus Barons
Jim Pennington Crusaders
Ross Murray Knights
Martyn Greenaway
U11 FC
Chris Sharpe Jaguars
Kev Podmore U12 Spitfires
Robert
Brian Smith U12 Knights Shop
Paul Stroud U12 Warriors Lane Surgery
James Hunt U12 Rangers Zamarnis
Jonny Shales
U13 FC con
Rob Chandler Spitfires Garage Doors Zamanis
Mark Scrivener
Mark
JCP Harriers
Lee
CLUB HISTORY
Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club was founded in 1948 and play their home matches at the NFU Sports Ground, Lower Packington Road, Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire. This is the clubs new home from the beginning of the 2012/2013 season. Since being founded in 1948 up until the end of the 2011/2012 season the clubs previous home was at Hood Park also in Ashby de la Zouch.
The club currently consists of Two adult teams and Twelve sides in the Junior section. The first team play in the Midland Football League Division One, with the Knights in the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division. In the 2008/2009 season the club formed a Youth Team (Under 18’s) side who play in the Leicestershire Midweek Floodlit Youth League on Wednesday nights. A Sunday team was reintroduced for this season and they play in the Burton Sunday League Division Four.
The club’s junior sides ranging from Under 7’s through to Under 18’s play in the Burton Junior Football League and the Tamworth Junior Football Leagues. The junior section came after the club merged with the David Hunt Soccer School at the beginning of the 2009/2010 season.
In February 2004, Ashby Ivanhoe became an FA Charter Standard football club. The club is very ambitious and has plans to progress further up the league pyramid system. The club is run by an experienced management team and enjoys the support of some very prestigious commercial partners.
Ashby Ivanhoe had one of their most successful seasons in 2010/11 as they completed a league and cup double by winning the Leicestershire Senior League by nine points and also lifted the Coalville Charity Cup for the very first time after producing a superb second half comeback to beat Bardon Hill 3-2 in the final. They have
also reached successive Leicestershire Senior Cup finals in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 but had to settle for runners-up on both occasions losing 3-1, firstly to Ibstock United and then Aylestone Park.
The 2013/2014 season saw the first team achieve a long-term ambition as they won promotion into the Step 6 of the Pyramid system playing in the East Midlands Counties League for the 2014/2015 season after finishing third place in the Leicestershire Senior League. It was a close title race with the top three all finishing level on points with Ashby third on goal difference. The Reserves were also promoted to the Leicestershire Senior League Division One.
2014/2015 saw Ashby compete at Step 6 for the first time and they had a very good season and secured a top six finish in the East Midlands Counties League which featured victories against all of the sides above them. The Reserve side were involved in a tight title race and it went down to a last day decider against Lutterworth Athletic Reserves but despite the result going against them on the day they were still promoted for the second season in succession and will play at Step 7 in the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division for 2015/2016.
2015/2016 saw Ashby have another fine season and they mounted a strong title challenge and they led the East Midlands Counties League for the majority of the season before finally finishing in third place. That saw them assured of a first ever appearance in the FA Cup for the 2016/2017 season where the aim again will be to push for promotion to Step 5.
The 2016-17 season was the most memorable in the history of Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club. For the very first time in the clubs history they were accepted to play in the most famous club competition in the world, The FA Cup. It turned into a thrilling journey with higher
CLUB HISTORY
ranked opponents of Quorn and Loughborough Dynamo knocked out before Ashby fell to Ilkeston in the 1st Qualifying Round. Prior to the Ilkeston defeat Ashby received a visit from the FA Cup which was paraded through the town centre visiting local sponsors before players and spectators had the opportunity to view the cup at the NFU Sports Ground.
The league season was inconsistent with a strong finish to the season seeing the team finish in tenth place. The season did end with a first appearance in the final of the Jenkins & Jenkins League Cup but Dunkirk overturned a one goal deficit late on to see Ashby end as runners-up.
The 2017-18 season saw the 1st team finish Seventeenth in the East midland Counties and the Reserves finished in the bottom Two and relegation to Division One.
2018-19 saw the 1st team finish in the bottom half of the East Midlands Counties Football League and The Reserves now called the Knights finish runners up in the Senior League Division One and promoted back to step 7 in the Senior League Premier Division.
In the 2019-20 season Ashby first team faced a fresh challenge when they were moved to the Midland Premier League Division one by the FA in a shake up of the NLS, the season as we all know was expunged due to the pandemic. The
Coalville Charity Cup Winners: 2010/2011 Runners Up: 2002/2003 IVANHOE
Reserves league also had all results expunged.
As a club we are now looking to but our ground and have since the end of the previous season become a CIC club.
CLUB HONOURS
East Midlands Counties Football League League Cup Runners Up: 2016/2017
Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division Champions: 2010/2011 Division One Runners Up: 2007/2008
North Leicestershire Football League Premier Division Champions: 1994/1995, 1996/1997 1998/1999, 2002/2003 Premier Division Runners-Up: 1997/1998, 2004/2005
Cobbin Trophy Winners: 1996/1997
Chairmans Shield Winners: 1995/1996, 1996/1997
Leicestershire Senior Cup Runners Up: 2011/2012, 2012/2013
ASHBY
MANAGER: Andy Gray
COACHES: Pete Dunn, Lee Barrett, Conrad Carrolan
MATCHDAY CO ORDINATOR: Lee Barratt
PHYSIO: Elise Watts
Ashley Garner
Chris Acott
Ciaran Hughes
Daniel Miguel Pastor
Danny Quinn
Gabe Webster
Harry Stewart
Jack Robinson
Jake Conkay
James Grouse
Joe Neal
Josh Thomas
Liam Donaghy Macauley Holmes
Ross McGarry
Sam Grouse
Tom Simms
Tommy Dyche (GK)
Will Groocock
Will Robson
HEATH HAYES
MANAGER: Adam Robinson
COACHES: GOALKEEPER COACH: PHYSIO:
Rhys Bills Chance Bowen
Jamie brown William Burns Hugh Burrows
Lewis Busher Thomas Collis Scott Cooper Roger Davis Jordan Dodd Thomas Faulkner
Issacc Hall
Liam Hallam Matthew Hardiman
joseph david hartshorne Aaron Kaya
Joshua Kniveton
Louis Lake
Charles Marshall James May