Pictured: Ollie Leslie
OFFICIAL MATCH PROGRAMME SATURDAY 27TH OCTOBER 2018 SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE – PREMIER DIVISION
BIGGLESWADE UNITED v EDGWARE TOWN FC
Welcome Welcome to Second Meadow Good afternoon and welcome to Second Meadow for today’s Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division fixture. We extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters from EDGWARE OWN FOOTBALL CLUB. We also welcome our three match officials and hope that you all enjoy your short stay with us. Match Preview by Leon Waite A highly productive week saw United overcome the disappointment of an FA Vase exit in extra-time at the hands of Holbeach United to record their first league win in three attemptsfollowing consecutive defeats to Leverstock Green and Hadley- as they came from behind to beat local rivals Stotfold 2-1 at Roker Park. And the proceeding fixture midweek was even more localised as Biggleswade FC were the visitors to Second Meadow in the Beds Senior Cup. United had lost two and drawn one of the previous three meetings between the two clubs but produced an accomplished display to prevail 2-1 on Tuesday night and wrestle the bragging rights away from their Langford Road neighbours. Buoyed by that result, Jimmy Martin’s men are back in league action today against another recent SSML Division One champion in the shape of Edgware Town- they claimed that title a year before FC emulated the feat. Edgware Town The Wares finished 17th after arriving in the top division and improved markedly on that to place 10th last term and have begun steadily this season as they sit 13th having played twelve matches. Wins have been hard to come by for the Kingsbury-based outfit with none in their last six games and just one in eleven across all competitions- that was a 1-0 league success over London Colney. Immediately after suffering a 3-0 defeat at Biggleswade FC, however, they did become only the third team to prevent the Waders from winning as they secured a commendable 2-2 draw at Silver Jubilee Park. Edgware had the edge in this fixture in the first year following promotion as they won 2-0 both home and away. Last season they claimed a 1-1 draw on the road but United finally picked up an elusive three points against them with a phenomenal strike from Matt Cooper helping towards a 2-1 victory.
Up Next On Tuesday night we welcome HADLEY FC to Second Meadow for a League Cup second round tie. Kick Off 7.45pm. This is followed by the visit of League newcomers North Greenford United FC on Saturday 3rd November.
The Players..
Balague on Biggleswade United GUILLEM BALAGUE Biggleswade United Director of Football, Guillem Balague, provides this weekly column.
My attempts this week to write a column for my Spanish newspaper on Real Madrid's performance against Viktoria Plzen were not helped by the fact that I was trying to watch Real Madrid on television while simultaneously watching our win against Biggleswade FC on my Ipad.
course in the levels of individual quality, the biggest one being the split second reactions shown by players after losing the ball.
True class is often determined by players' reactions and the level of intensity shown both with and without the ball. But I have nothing but praise The problem was that I for our side as we now look couldn't keep my eyes off the forward to playing in the next Biggleswade match. stage of the Bedfordshire Senior Cup one of several What a great performance. local cup competitions we Consistency, great delivery of compete in every season. the ball, and a plan that we stuck to following hours of I had spoken to our coach preparation ensured a well Jimmy Martin earlier who said deserved victory. that he really felt that the side was gradually growing into the team that we all want them to become. Continued Overleaf
Balague on Biggleswade United GUILLEM BALAGUE Continued My complaint in the past has never been about our capabilities, which I have never doubted for a second, but rather our inability to demonstrate consistently just how good we can be when we set our minds to it.
ruthless in front of goal, more clinical in finishing the many chances that we are creating, but at least we can take comfort in the fact that the opportunities are being made.
Hopefully we have now stabalised The achievement of success is all the boat and we can now start to about the realisation of an idea sail towards bigger and better regarding what we want the club times at the club. to do and to that end we need to pay tribute to Jimmy Martin who is doing an excellent job both in So, on to today and welcome to the gradual improvement of the Edgware Town who come to side on the pitch but also by the Second Meadow for a league atmosphere and close match before we welcome Hadley camaraderie that he has created on Tuesday night (ko 7.45pm) in within the camp, off it. the next round of the League Challenge Trophy. A camaraderie and closeness that is absolutely essential for teams to grow. Coaches sometimes spend entire careers looking for a way to harness this type of spirit and Jimmy has managed to achieve it in his first year as a senior coach In a perfect world I would like to see us being perhaps a bit more
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Stay with us after our matches on Saturdays to watch Premier League football. All BT SPORT 1 matches will be shown in the clubhouse after our match.
Current League Standings
Results and Fixtures
Next Up at Second Meadow
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE LEAGUE CHALLENGE TROPHY TUESDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2018 KICK OFF 7.45pm
BIGGLESWADE UNITED V HADLEY
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SATURDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2018 KICK OFF 3pm
BIGGLESWADE UNITED V NORTH GREENFORD UNITED
Biggleswade United Under 23
Our Forthcoming Fixtures
Our History 1959 - 1999 Biggleswade United Football Club was re-formed on the 16th July 1959. However, local history records indicate that there was a Biggleswade United side playing at Second Meadow as early as 1929. Our first season (1959/60) saw us competing in Division Three of the North Herts. League (NHL). After 10 successful years in the NHL the club made the step up to South Midlands League (SML) football. But towards the end of a 15-year association with the SML the club began to struggle and after three years of finishing in the bottom three of Division One we sought fresh fields. The club joined the Herts. Senior but club continued to find the going tough. In 1986 we elected to return to local League football, joining the Bedford and District Football League and began to build again.
The appointment of Brian Swords as first team manager in 87/88 proved to be the turning point in the club's fortunes. During the next ten years the club achieved a tremendous amount of success on and off the football pitch. Our record of League and Cup honours speak for themselves but aligned to this a great deal of work went on behind the scenes to match the on-field success. The club now boasts one of the best clubhouse and ground facilities in the Mid-Bedfordshire area. The success of the club has also attracted many new players as well as commanding a great deal of loyalty from those players who helped the club progress from Division Three of the Bedford and District League to County Senior Club status in just 15 years. The 1995/96 season was the most successful in the club's history - winning five major honours; the Beds Intermediate County Cup, Bedford and District League Championship, League Cup Championship and as the League's representatives the club won the Beds. FA Centenary Cup. Having won every major Bedford League honour the club felt it was time to move on and made the decision to make the step up once again and returned to Division One of the SML. In an exceptionally successful first season we celebrated a Division One "double" by winning the Championship and the Division One Cup. We also retained the Beds. FA Intermediate County Cup, only the second club in the competition's history to achieve this feat. To crown our success the club were awarded the SML Special Achievement Trophy in July 1997.
In the season 1997/98 we finally achieved Senior status. This was achieved not only through the endeavours of the players on the field but ultimately as a result of an extremely hard working committee. With the help of the Biggleswade Town Council a new stand was erected and perimeter fencing installed. And two seasons later the club erected floodlights and on the evening of 26th October 1999 we played our first-ever floodlit game at Second Meadow, Ryman League side Leighton Town were the visitors in the Bedfordshire Premier Cup.
Our History 2000- 2018 The next eleven years saw the first team led by Steve "Snowy" Wright and under his management the club continued to enjoy a very high level of League and Cup success ultimately achieving promotion to the Molten Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and with it the opportunity to compete in the FA Cup. And under Snowy the club made three Beds FA Senior Challenge Cup final appearances, winning two of the three with victories over Stotfold (4-1) and Leighton Town (1-0) but missed out in 2006/07 going down 2-0 to Dunstable Town. Snowy's other cup successes came in the form of the Hunts Premier Cup, North Beds Charity Cup, Hinchingbrooke Cup, the SML Division One Cup and the SML Special Achievement Award once again. The end of the 2006 2007 saw Snowy step down as manager with his assistant, Nick Burton taking over the first team reins. January 5th 2009 saw the club embark on further ambitious ground improvements. With financial backing from Biggleswade Town Council, Mid Beds District Council and the Football Foundation we installed a 260-seater stand, fully enclosed the ground with a double turnstile entrance and players' secure walkway, which raised the ground to Grade E status. After several years of stability in terms of first team managers the next six years saw a regular turnover of first team and reserve team managers with Nick Burton, Dave Elkin and Phil Childs all taking over the first team reins for a time. At the start of the 2013-2014 season we appointed Mick Reardon and Mark Royal as first team managers both of whom had enjoyed success as coaches at the higher levels of football. Their disciplined approach was quickly adhered to and responded to by the players and under their stewardship we achieved the highest Premier Division position in nine years and first silverware in seven years winning the North Beds Charity Cup for the first time in the club’s history. In November 2014 the club took a further positive step to realise our ambitions with the appointment of Sky Sports Presenter and renowned author, Guillem Balague as Biggleswade United’s Director of Football. Following Mick and Mark’s decision to step down at the end 2014 2015, Guillem was quick to act and recruited a new Head Coach in Cristian Colas Beccera. Cristian was assisted by former professional player, Stuart Bimson, and under their guidance the team finished in eighth spot in the Premier Division in 2017 2018 - the highest position in the club’s history. Having built a strong reputation for their outstanding coaching ability and playing philosophy Cristian and Stuart moved up to Step 3 level club, Staines Town, for the start of the 2018 2019 season. Guillem was again in search for a high quality coach and Jimmy Martin came highly recommended by his predecessor, Colas, who worked with Jimmy at Stevenage FC Academy. Jimmy was appointed Manager in May 2018 and will be assisted by a former United playing legend and well respected character in SML football, Dean Bull. Also on the coaching staff is Spanish coach Emilio Gutierrez. The club has certainly come a long way in relatively few years but we could not have done it without the help of a very supportive Town and District Council who clearly understands the benefits of having a community based club in Biggleswade. Our success is also very much down to a very hard working committee who throughout the year - not just the football season continue to volunteer their time and commitment to the club, to help it continue to thrive and be a source of enjoyment for our supporters and the Biggleswade community.
Edgware Town – The History The club were founded in 1939 and played in the Middlesex Senior League until joining the Corinthian League in the 1946–47 season. In 1948 they won the Middlesex Senior Cup In 1963 the club transferred to Division One of the Athenian League. They finished third in their first season, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1966–67 they finished bottom of the division, and were relegated to Division One. This was followed by a second successive relegation to Division Two as they finished bottom of the table again. In 1972 the club was renamed Edgware. When the Athenian League disbanded in 1984 they joined the London Spartan League before changing their name back to Edgware Town in 1987. They won the Premier Division of the Spartan League in 1987–88 and 1989–90, and after their second title win, were promoted to Division Two North of the Isthmian League After league re-organisation in 1991 they were placed in Division Three, which they won the following season. They were relegated back to Division Three in 2001. In 2006 the now-renamed Division Two was disbanded and Edgware were transferred to the Premier Division of the Spartan South Midlands League. They won it at the first attempt, also winning the Premier Cup and the Challenge Trophy. The club was promoted to Division One North of the Isthmian League, but folded at the end of the 2007–08 season due to lack of funds.
In 2014 a group including Dan and Antony Manzi, Daz Bloor and Ken Batten secured the clubs inclusion back into non-league football. After a shaky start to the 201415 season, the wares finished a credible 9th and Middx Prem Cup Runners up after the management team of Michael Roche, Fabio Valenti and Peter Grant came in. The 2015-16 Season saw “The Wares” finish top with only 2 defeats, and lose in the Divisional Cup Final to Crawley Green. The ground, Silver Jubilee Park has achieved a C grade rating with 3 new stands, new floodlights and extended changing rooms and new perimeter fence. The Ken Batten Stand should be in place shortly and then SJP will have 2 seated stands, 3 standing covered stands with a capacity just shy of 2000. Fabio Valenti took over as 1st team manager in June 2016. Fergus Moore took over the team in 2017 after the departure of Fabio Valenti, and after a difficult start the team finished 10th which showed a marked improvement from the season before.
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The League Respect Table for September