Tuesday 24th March 2015 Biggleswade United FC V Holmer Green
The Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Tuesday 24th March 2015
Biggleswade United
v
Colours: Red / Navy
Holmer Green Colours: Green / White
1
Grant Beckwith ©
1
Dan Little
2
Jake O’Neill
2
Ben Bradley
3
James Lamptey
3
Gary Lines ©
4
Lee Bilcock
4
Richard Wallace
5
Ollie Peters
5
Adam Weedon
6
Russell Clark
6
Nick Robinson
7
Jason Darvall
7
Sam Pettyfer
8
Nyasha Sagwete
8
Curtis Stone
9
Tom Cookman
9
Neil McMullen
10
Brett Leader
10
Tom Fifield
11
Adam Drakulic
11
Dean Allen
12
Jack Boyd
12
Andy Shed
14
Martin Russell
14
Mike Benning
15
George Melrose
15
Luke Graham
16
Sam Nair
16
Eliot Derby
17
Chinua Cole
17
Joe Dulieu
18
Jude Eboji
18
Tom Peddle-James
19
Tre Grant
19
Luke Graham
20
Hector Bateller
20
Henry Craven
Manager: MICK REARDON
Manager: CHRIS ALLEN
Assistant: MARK ROYAL
Assistants: KEVIN STONE
Physio: VANESSA FOUCHER
Physio: BRYAN HARDY Match Officials
Referee: Mr D Steele: Assistants Mr J Dass and Mr J Chidley
Welcome to Second Meadow Good evening and welcome to Second Meadow. Today we extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of HOLMER GREEN FC for this Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division fixture. We also welcome our three match officials and hope that you all enjoy your short stay with us. Our last home game was almost a month ago when we went down 2-3 to fourth place Wembley. Since then our form has been dreadful with only one point gained from three matches – two of which have been against sides that are struggling at the foot of the table with our performance at London Tigers, possibly the worst of the season, for which we were punished by a 4-1 defeat. And last Saturday we sacrificed a comfortable 2-0 lead and had to return from bottom of the table and relegation doomed Hillingdon Borough with only one point as they fought back to earn a 2-2 draw. Tonight the players have the opportunity to redeem themselves and get us back on track for a top ten finish – and although the nine point gap between ourselves and ninth place is quite a climb it is achievable. We have the players and a strong squad when everyone is fit and with several players on the road to recovery we should be able to muster a fightback. There is also the bonus of a season end Cup Final to look forward to. So we must put an end to Mad March and look to establish a winning run as we head in to April. A great deal has been happening off the field with the club’s Board working extremely hard behind the scenes. We hit the local paper headlines last week with the announcement that the Town Council have given their support for a the potential relocation of the club to the new development of Kings Reach in Biggleswade. A large piece of land has been identified and we are meeting with Central Beds Council to take this move forward. We are also looking to link up with a local school, Sandy Upper School, with potential for an Academy partnership arrangement. We have also held very successful meetings with our Youth Team coaches who have all signed up to work with Fran Constancio, the club’s new Youth Development Manager. And Fran has been joined by another Spanish coach who flew in from Madrid yesterday, Abraham Selma, who will be working alongside Fran and adding to our growing number of licensed coaches within the club. The date and venue has been set for the club’s End of Season Presentation night. It will be a fantastic night on Thursday 7th May at the town’s new and very popular George’s Hall with Guillem Balague and guests, Gaizka Mendietta and Jim White from Sky Sports presenting the trophies along with a fundraising auction with some very special and pretty amazing auction items. So very exciting times are ahead for the club. Our next game is at Second Meadow on Saturday when Oxhey Jets are our guests for the day. Kick Off 3pm. Let’s hope for an enjoyable and exciting game this evening.
Tracey James – Secretary and Programme Editor
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE
THE HISTORY OF BIGGLESWADE UNITED (2)
2014-2015 Season Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division P
W
D
L
F
A
Pts
1 Kings Langley
32
25
3
4
101
28
78
2 Sun Sports
33
22
2
9
72
41
68
3 AFC Dunstable
34
20
8
6
73
47
68
4 Wembley
32
21
3
8
73
47
66
5 Harefield United
37
20
6
11
86
62
66
6 London Colney
31
20
4
7
53
21
64
7 Berkhamsted
32
18
3
11
75
53
57
8 St Margaretsbury
30
16
8
6
71
37
56
9 Tring Athletic
35
16
6
13
62
48
54
10 Hadley
34
17
3
14
66
58
54
11 Hertford Town
33
15
6
12
70
56
51
12 Oxhey Jets
33
15
6
12
66
58
51
13 Biggleswade United
35
13
6
16
64
68
45
14 Colney Heath
36
11
9
16
64
61
42
15 Cockfosters
33
11
4
18
39
70
37
16 Leverstock Green
35
9
6
20
48
80
33
17 Hoddesdon Town
34
9
5
20
44
77
32
18 Stotfold
32
7
9
16
48
78
30
19 London Tigers
32
7
8
17
49
76
29
20 Ampthill Town
34
6
5
23
36
97
23
21 Holmer Green
31
6
2
23
39
90
20
22 Hillingdon Borough
34
2
8
24
53
99
14
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 Premeir 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 season saw Snowy step down as manager with his assistant, Nick Burton taking over the first team reins. The 2006 2007 season marked a crucial time in the club's history with the formation of a youth structure that sees Biggleswade girls and boys aged 7 to 18 able to be part of Biggleswade United. We now have twelve youth teams including three girls teams with a well established youth committee. The profile of the club as a community club is very much boosted by the association with such a well organised and well structured youth set up. 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 have enjoyed success as coaches at the higher levels of football. Their disciplined approach was quickly adhered to and responded to by the players. The new 2014 – 2015 season has seen the arrival of several new young players to the club following the club’s positive decision to introduce a side that will compete in the Suburban League as well as continuing to compete in the SML Premier Division. The Suburban side will be managed by Gary Burkett who enjoyed success with Shefford Saints Under 18s and many talented young players will be part of the United Squad. Gary will be assisted by former Bushey Met Police manager, Tony Jones. 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. 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 understand 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.
BIGGLESWADE UNITED : OUR HISTORY SO FAR Biggleswade United Football Club was reformed 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.
HOLMER GREEN – THE HISTORY BEHIND THE CLUB
Originally founded in 1908, Holmer played initially in The Chesham and District League. Matches were played at Campbell’s Meadow, (now the Rosetti Estate), close to a tennis racket factory. Sometime before 1934 the Club moved to Holmer Green Common and set up headquarters in The Bat and Ball. In 1934 the Club switched to The Wycombe Combination League. The first known trophy to be won by Holmer Green was The Chesham Charity Cup in 1939, the first of 27 Cups and Championships won thus far by the 1st XI. The early 70’s saw the start of a very successful thirty years in the Club’s history. Holmer Green moved to their present ground, Watchet Lane, in 1975 when the new Holmer Green Sports Association pavilion was fully ready. Holmer won The Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup in 1976-77. Senior Status was thus achieved and since then the Club has striven to play at the highest level possible for a strictly amateur club. The Club, through current President John Anderson, was heavily involved in the moves that set up The Chiltonian League in 1984. That League embraced clubs from no less than six different counties, before being swallowed up by The Hellenic. Holmer had been very successful in the Chiltonian, and believed that a move to a better run league, where the clubs were encouraged to improve facilities, should be the next step. The Chiltonian, only naturally, were reluctant to lose their “flagship” club and tried to stop the move to the The South Midlands League. Not until August 17th 1995 did Holmer Green finally exhaust the FA’s appeal system, successfully, being allowed to switch Leagues. This move gave Holmer Green the impetus to finally erect a Stand, now called The Don Want Stand in honour of their former long-serving groundsman who still helps out with his time and expertise, on a regular basis. Don was recently presented with some momentos to mark his 50 years with the Football Club. Over the following years huge strides were taken which made possible the erection of floodlights, thanks to the fund-raising, grants, and a loan from ex- player Mark Williams. Premier Division status was achieved in 1999 after winning the Senior Division twice in four seasons, being 2nd and 4th in between. A financial crisis arose some 10 or more years ago, after more ground improvements, Mick Bowler came in to help steady the ship, with great financial assistance from former player John Walters. Centenary events started with a visit from a full Wycombe Wanderers team in July 2007 when the ground record of over 800 was recorded. In 2008 the Senior Club formally merged with Holmer Green Minors FC to become “One Club” and this occasion coincided with the new Club as a whole being named “ Club of the Year 2008” by Bucks & Milton Keynes Sports Partnership. Season 2008-09 was Holmer’s 10th successive one in the Premier Division. After an unexpectedly long stay in the Premier Division, Holmer Green was demoted to Division One for season 2009-10, despite avoiding the two relegation positions. Work immediately began to regain the “F” Grading required for Step 5 football to return to Watchet Lane. With Manager Jason Weinrabe, who had twice led the Club to avoid the relegation positions in difficult circumstances, going to work in Australia, the Club promoted Coach Chris Allen to the Manager’s job. Chris was assisted by Gareth Williams and Matt Pollard. The 1st XI won the First Division by three points in 2009-10 losing only 3 of 40 games. The coveted “F” Grading was achieved in 2011.
HILLINGDON BORO 2 BIGGLESWADE UNITED 2 United’s charitable inclinations gifted another relegation fighting side a point on Saturday as they threw away a comfortable two goal lead to allow Hillingdon Borough a share of the points at the Middlesex Stadium. But it was two highly dubious decisions that may have thrown the bottom of the table side a very thin lifeline after the home side scored from a goal that had Mikel Starkeyshinski clearly two yards off side as he collected to make it 2-1. And to make matters worse for United a 85th minute penalty decision had even the home supporters looking baffled as United’s Ollie Peters clearly took the ball cleanly from Boro’s Callum Bennett without any shouts for a penalty from his teammates. The game was a scrappy affair with both sides finding the blustery conditions difficult to handle but United seemed to be coping the better of the two sides and when Lee Bilcock headed home Adam Drakulic’s corner the United contingent hoped for a comfortable ride. It wasn’t to be as Boro’s keeper George Upton pulled off a string of saves to deny strikes from Tom Cookman (pictured) Nyasha Sagwete and Brett Leader and kept his side in the hunt at the break. The second period opened in the best possible fashion for the visitors when a high free kick from Russell Clark floated over Upton’s outstretched arms to Cookman at the far post for the United front man to head home from close range. That should have seen United rain in further goals but again Upton performed heroics for Boro with the best save of the day denying the hosts a third when a cross from Jack Boyd saw Cookman strike superbly but Upton managed to block with an outstanding reflex save. With relegation knocking on Boro’s door the home side management team were forced to gamble and by throwing players forward it was a bet that paid dividends as United sat back, lost their momentum and discipline and let Boro into the game. Now on the back foot United were left reeling while their hosts celebrated a deserved point although through dubious means.
RESULTS Premier Division – Saturday 21st March 2015 Ampthill Town Berkhamsted Cockfosters Colney Heath Harefield United Hillingdon Borough Hoddesdon Town London Colney Oxhey Jets Sun Sports Tring Athletic
3 3 1 1 3 2 1 3 2 1 6
2 1 4 3 1 2 3 0 2 0 1
Hertford Town Wembley Kings Langley St Margaretsbury Leverstock Green Biggleswade United Hadley London Tigers AFC Dunstable Holmer Green Stotfold
FIXTURES Premier Division – Tuesday 24th March 2015 Ampthill Town Biggleswade United Hillingdon Borough Kings Langley Leverstock Green London Colney Sun Sports
v v v v v v v
Oxhey Jets Holmer Green London Tigers Hoddesdon Town Hadley Stotfold Berkhamsted
Premier Division – Saturday 28th March 2015 AFC Dunstable Berkhamsted Biggleswade United Hertford Town Holmer Green Leverstock Green London Colney London Tigers St Margaretsbury Stotfold Wembley
v v v v v v v v v v v
Colney Heath Hillingdon Borough Oxhey Jets Cockfosters Harefield United Tring Athletic Ampthill Town Hadley Hoddesdon Town Sun Sports Kings Langley
With Guillem Balague Jim White Gaizka Mendieta Enrique De Lucas
Tickets on sale soon
SUBURBAN LEAGUE 2014-2015 Season Suburban Football League North Division P W 1 Berkhamsted 16 12 2 North Greenford United 15 9 3 Binfield 14 9 4 Farnham Town 18 8 5 Camberley Town 17 7 6 Leverstock Green 13 6 7 Northwood 14 6 8 Hartley Wintney 14 5 9 Harefield United 11 4 10 Biggleswade United 14 2 11 Newport Pagnell Town 12 2 12 Hanworth Villa 12 1
D 2 3 2 2 2 4 1 2 1 4 3 2
L 2 3 3 8 8 3 7 7 6 8 7 9
F 56 50 48 35 29 41 26 34 17 26 29 17
A 17 20 26 34 45 34 34 43 20 44 43 48
Pts 38 30 29 26 23 22 19 17 13 10 9 5
North Division - Saturday 24th January - RESULTS Berkhamsted Biggleswade United Binfield Harefield United
4 1 5 1
0 1 1 2
Camberley Town North Greenford United Hartley Wintney Leverstock Green
North Division - Saturday 31st January - FIXTURES Camberley Town North Greenford United
v v
Biggleswade United Binfield
With Guillem Balague Jim White Gaizka Mendieta Enrique De Lucas
Tickets on sale soon