Ashby Ivanhoe VS Rochester Saturday 24th September 2022

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

Assistant Manager: Pete Dunn

Coaches: 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

DAVID MORRIS

CHAIRMAN'S WELCOME

Good afternoon and welcome to The NFU for today’s game against Rocester, and we welcome their players and officials to Ashby de la Zouch. It’s a break from the league today and a chance to dream in The FA Vase, once again it’s higher league opponents but we played really well in the last round so hope for more of the same today. Loughborough Students who are a league above us were 1 game from Wembley last season, so you never know ?

Great to get back on track in the league last Saturday and before the game our friend Shaun Adey took the payer and team photos that you see in the programme today, thanks Shaun, much appreciated and great job as always. If you or anyone you know would like to assist us with a field of expertise then we would love to hear from you. On that front we are looking for a senior gateman to work our turnstile on matchdays. This will be for First Team on Saturdays and occasional Tuesdays and Knights games on Saturdays and occasional Thursdays, again if you or anyone you know would be interested in this (a paid position) then let me know or come and have a chat.

Last weekend we had a record attendance at the Saturday morning Soccer School, unfortunately for First Team Manager Andy Gray, he had kindly volunteered to cover for Robbie that day and the site of him and his assistant Lee trying to coral 35 4, 5 and 6 year olds did remind me of the old series One Man and His Dog J Seriously they did a great job another good example of how everyone is working so well with each other across the club, brilliant !

The Junior section got underway last weekend and there were some terrific results not least was Mark Scrivener’s team winning 7-0 away at Hednesford Acadamy, there are 31 Ivanhoe junior sides playing all over the town and at central venues so try and catch one of their games on Saturday or Sunday mornings if you can.

All that remains is to wish Andy and the boys all the best for this afternoon, thanks for your support of the team it’s much appreciated, enjoy the game and 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 everyone.

Last weekend saw us win a difficult game against a very dogged Heath Hayes side. 3-1 was a fair result but it took us a long time to find our form and overcome our opponents. We have had the opportunity to have back to back training sessions this week for the first time this season. We've had a small reset and reminded ourselves of how we play.

Hopefully this will benefit us moving forward.

Today we welcome Rocester in the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Vase.

This competition provides us with a break from league action but also gives us the opportunity to enjoy what is a wonderful occasion for the players and all involved at our club. Although Wembley is still a long way off it enables clubs like ours to dream of the impossible.

We certainly hope we can progress further and who knows how far we can go.

On another note I hope you enjoy our new look matchday programme.

A lot of effort goes on behind the scenes and this is another example of how the club is moving forward.

I'd like to say a personal thank you to all involved at AIFC and I can assure you all that there are exciting times ahead.

Anyway, we hope you enjoy today and that you cheer us on to another victory and help send us into the next round.

Regards Andy Gray

FIRST TEAM UPDATE SPONSORED BY

IN TODAY

ROCESTER

Rocester F.C.’s lengthy history dates back to 1876 when a number of friendly matches were played against teams from the surrounding area.

As founder members of the Dove Valley League, Rocester played their first competitive football in the 1892-93 season, but it wasn’t until 1911 when the Ashbourne News Cup provided the club with its first ever trophy.

Several more honours followed during the 1920s and 1930s in local competitions before the club disbanded in 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II.

Reformed in 1946, Rocester were soon among the honours again, and a move into the Stafford Amateur League in 1953 brought unprecedented success when no less than eight trophies were won in just three seasons.

The club stepped up into the Staffordshire County League (North) in 1957, and remained in membership with varying degrees of success until the formation of the Staffordshire Senior league in 1984.

The appointment of retired Black Country businessman Don Hill as Chairman led to a rapid rise, and under the guidance of former player Alan Beaman the club won its first senior honours when both the Senior League title and the Staffordshire F.A. Vase were annexed in 1986.

Further success followed in 1987 when the Senior League title was retained, and only a penalty shoot-out defeat in the Staffordshire F.A. Vase Final prevented a repeat of the ‘double’ achieved a year earlier.

1986-87 proved to be a memorable season in the F.A. Vase, which Rocester had entered for the first time. Starting in the Extra Preliminary, they reached the last 16, knocking out the holders and hot favourites Halesowen Town along the way before a club record attendance of 1,026 at Leek Town’s Harrison park ground.

During the summer of 1987 Rocester moved from their old home, in truth no more than a field with wooden changing rooms, to the present ground, named at the time as Riversfield. The new ground was built on the site of an ancient Roman fort, which led to the adoption of their nickname ‘The Romans’.

At the same time the club joined Division One of the West Midlands (Regional) League where they remained unbeaten in their first 22 games before going on to claim the championship with some ease. The Romans also won the League Cup and the Staffordshire F.A. Vase to complete a magnificent treble.

Rocester took their place in the Premier Division and following an initial mid-table finish they made a challenge for the title in 1989-90 only to be edged into 2nd place by Hinckley Town on goal-difference.

In 1994 Rocester became founder members of the Midland Football Alliance, and in 1998 claimed second place behind Bloxwich Town. However the following season promotion to the Southern League

was achieved as MFA Champions. The ground, now renamed ‘Hillsfield’ in memory of Don Hill who died in 1996, had already met the required grade.

The Romans reached the Staffs Senior Cup final for the first time in 2001, but struggled in the Southern League until being relegated back into the Midland Alliance in 2003 after four seasons away. However that disappointment was quickly forgotten when the Midland Alliance title was won at the first attempt, this time with promotion into the Northern Premier League. The move north signalled a big downturn in fortunes and the Romans went through a complete season without a league victory in 2004-05.

Once again relegated back into the Midland Alliance, the downward trend proved difficult to reverse and although performances improved, it wasn't until January 2006 that the team finally recorded its first league win, a 3-1 success at Quorn, to end a run of 67 league games without a win. After finishing bottom, a second successive relegation was only avoided due to league restructuring.

After two disastrous years the club began to move forward again and a respectable 12th place finish was attained in 2006-07 along with a run to the 3rd Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup where the Romans lost narrowly at Kettering Town in front of over 1000 spectators.

The Romans continued to improve during 2007-08, and the season ended on a high when Kidsgrove Athletic were beaten 3-0 in the Staffs Senior Cup Final at Vale Park – the first and so far the only time Rocester have won the prestigious trophy.

Former player Dave Langston proved the most successful of several managers over the next seven years, but his departure in 2013 decimated the squad and a complete rebuild was required. Following a poor start the team failed to recover sufficiently, and after finishing in the bottom three the Romans were spared relegation only after Gornal Athletic were deducted points and Highgate United failed to attain the necessary ground-grading - meaning the club could begin the 2014-15 campaign in the Premier Division of the newly-formed Midland Football League.

Mark Wilson’s appointment as Manager in September 2014 saw fortunes improve dramatically, and in his first season in charge his team finished 12th and reached the final of the League Cup.

Wilson resigned in January 2015, but under his successor Danny Martin the club were relegated into the MFL Division 1 in 2017. Andy O’Connor returned to steady the ship before former player Paul Wright took charge in September 2019.

Following F.A. restructuring in the summer of 2021, the Romans were laterally moved into the North West Counties League Division One South, and begin a new chapter in their long history.

JON NEIL

DIRECTORS UPDATE

First of all, we would like to welcome Rocester, their players, staff and supporters to the NFU sports ground for our FA Vase match this afternoon.

In addition, we would also welcome everyone associated with Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club and any groundhoppers that may be in attendance for what hopefully will be an entertaining game.

As you will read in the programme, on the field, the club is flourishing and the First team and The Knights have started the season strongly. We have seen a massive growth in the number of junior boys and girls teams and have a thriving Saturday Development and Soccer School. Personally, we would like to thank, all of the people involved on the football side, in making the summer and start of the season an enjoyable experience.

A lot of activity has been taking place off the field as well.

The date of 1st June 2020 was a significant milestone in the history of AIFC, as we reconstituted to Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club CIC, a company registered on Companies House. Several years of planning took place prior to this, in order that the new structure would provide sustainability to the football club, by diversifying and becoming a business.

Both myself and Neil Johnson became the named Directors with the responsibility to take the club forward, in the best interest of club and the community.

The formation of the CIC contributed massively in giving the club the ability to purchase the freehold of our ground. This had been put up for sale in the Autumn of 2019, as a result of the club’s landlord going into administration. At this time, the future of the club was in a precarious position, as there was another interested party in purchasing the ground, but as existing tenants, we worked proactively with the administrator’s to put our ourselves in a position to be given first choice as to whether we wished to purchase the ground.

Despite the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, which affected everyone’s lives in one way or another, the CIC started the process of raising funds to acquire the freehold and following a turbulent journey, the date of 27th May 2021, will always be etched in my memory as the date that we finally completed the purchase of the freehold of the ground. The future of the Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club, that has been in existence since 1948, was secured. Personally, having been in business for nearly 40 years, the purchase and everything involved in the process was one of the toughest challenges that I have been involved with. For all parties involved in assisting us getting this over the line, thank you.

With the freehold of the ground secured, plans are being put into place to redevelop the NFU sports ground and we wish to share that towards the end of this year, a planning application will be submitted to provide a 2nd floor extension to the existing clubhouse, new changing rooms and a new 3G pitch, which will be located on the existing junior pitch and training areas.

Before this, we are totally aware that as a result of the number of spectators, players, parents that use our facilities on match days and training nights, our existing car park is constantly at breaking point and as a result, off site parking is very common occurrence. We are mindful of the disruption and inconvenience to our residential neighbours that this may cause. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that this week, we have agreed a lease with the current landowner to have a portion of the adjacent field as an overspill car park, and subject to receiving the necessary planning permission for change of use, then we are hopeful that this will be in operation by the end of the year. Further updates on the progress of this will be provided at the appropriate times.

Other exciting initiatives are being considered and are developing at pace and further announcements are to follow, but hopefully you will see that AIFC CIC has ambitious plans to provide a facility that you and the whole community can be proud of, enhance the enjoyment of people

using the facilities and hopefully allow us to climb up the football pyramid.

Other key items that we wish to share, is that sponsorship is increasing and to date, we have over 50 sponsors, both new this season and existing ones that have supported the club over the years.

New signage to the front entrance is being manufactured ready to be installed, which will enhance the image of the club upon arrival.

From May 2022, the CIC became VAT registered and this month, we will be issuing our first VAT return to the HMRC.

The Knights bar is open from 4pm on weekdays and 12 noon at weekends and the number of people using the facility is continuing to rise. The catering team are performing very well on matchdays and we are constantly looking at ways of improving our offering.

With the partnership with LCFC Turf Academy and our groundsman’s infectious love of grass and white lines, we have obtain grants for new equipment and pitch maintenance, which is not an insignificant amount of money and will give us the impetus to hopefully continue to provide

improved pitches during the season.

We are very proud of the achievements we have made to date and the current position that the club currently finds itself in. As you will see exciting times are ahead of us. We have got here through a very committed group of individuals that are all pulling in the right direction and long may this continue, however as always, we need additional people to join us and should anyone feel that they could contribute to our plans above, then please feel free to contact either Neil or myself to discuss in more detail.

There are too many people to name in person, but for all that have supported both Neil and myself in driving the CIC forward and for their tireless work that people put into undertaking their roles within the club, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, the support gives us the desire and strength to drive this club forward and to achieve new heights for all to enjoy.

Anyway, I’m off to the bar, hopefully the Chairman is in there to buy me a drink, and for all attending the game, enjoy the day and hopefully see you all back very soon.

Jon & Neil AIFC CIC Directors

MARK SCRIVENER

JUNIOR AND YOUTH FOOTBALL UPDATE

The Season has now started for our 26 teams and the 292 kids that are registered have all been involved in league games last Saturday, some mixed results in the competitive age groups and lots of fun was had with the younger ages. All of them were looking stunning in their new kits and we hope to have some team photos for the future editions!!

We are going to have 3-4 games at the NFU every Saturday morning going forward, which makes for a fantastic atmosphere around the ground with Hot and cold drinks and food available so feel free to pop down cheer on the Ashby kids!

We now have spaces in our Development school due to players being moved into teams so if you know any 7-16 year olds that are looking for new teams or a fresh start, please get in touch.

The soccer school had a superb opportunity last weekend when the session was taken by the first team Manager Andy Gray! He gave the kids the experience of shooting a penalty on the 1st team pitch as well as his knowledge when training them.

This is the first of many links set up within the club to bring the youth and adults sections together to inspire our players to excel to progress through our pathway to first team football.

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 Football

GROUNDSMAN UPDATE

Welcome to todays game

Wow! What a scorcher of a summer we’ve had some great weather.

Not so great for the grass though!

Well they say football is a game of 2 halves and that’s certainly true as far as looking after the pitch is concerned.

1st Half

During the summer, we’ve had the challenge of trying to keep the pitch green and trying to get water ON the pitch.

2nd Half

Now as we go into Autumn / Winter we have the challenge of trying to keep the pitch green and trying to get water OFF the pitch.

Certainly a game of 2 halves

We’ve been doing a lot of work on the pitch over the summer months to try to give the boys the best possible playing surface.

And will continue to improve as we move forward through the season.

Our next planned activities are to apply granular autumn winter fertiliser and then to carry out

verti-drain aeration to the pitch to help with de compaction of the soil.

I would like to thank a couple of our partners in particular who have provided fantastic service and support over the last few months.

Leicester City FC Turf academy in particular Ben Sadler, who has been a great support to me sharing his vast amount of knowledge on pitch care.

And Mark Parnham from Kilworth machinery, who has done a fantastic job helping provide service repairing our ground care equipment.

People often ask me am I happy in my job? My answer is always How can I not be happy, dealing with grass and white lines all day.

George Ezra has even written a song about it, Green green grass blue blue sky

I will be a grounds man to the day I die, or something like that.

As far as I’m concerned this is the best job in the world, working for a great club with a great team of people in all aspects of the club.

Anyway good luck to the team today, get behind the boys and enjoy the game.

Here’s to a great season ahead.

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 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

ASHBY IVANHOE

CLUB HISTORY

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 Reserves league also had all results expunged.

In the 2021/22 season, the club secured their highest ever league finish, finishing 4th Place and securing a place in the play-offs, where we faced local rivals Stapenhill in the semi-finals and lost 4-2.

The club has now re-constituted as a Community Interest Club (CIC) and made another fantastic step forward as we secured the purchase of our ground on Lower Packington Road, paving the way to develop our facilities further and provide a community hub for the town.

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

Coalville Charity Cup Winners: 2010/2011 Runners Up: 2002/2003

ASHBY IVANHOE

MANAGER: Andy Gray

ASSISTANT MANAGER: Pete Dunn

COACHES:, 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

ROCESTER

MANAGER: COACHES: GOALKEEPER COACH: PHYSIO:

Charlie Mansfield GK Konstantinos Mario

Sam Paddock

Luke Zona

Harry Payne

Sam Mellor

Jovani Molenge

Samir Azam

Munyaradli Muchenje Tom Riley

Gregory Large Rhian Graham

Bodri Tekila

Matt Nutt

Darren Bullock

Ashley Elliot Max Williams

Oliver Griffiths

Will Burrows Warren Lomas