THE MEADOWMAN - OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AFC BRIDGNORTH

THE MEADOWMAN

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF AFC BRIDGNORTH

AFC B R I D G N O R TH V

BLACK

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COUNTRY RANGERS F.C

WEST MIDLANDS PREMIER LEAGUE KICK OFF 15:00

SATURDAY 14th DECEMBER 2019

CROWN MEADOW, INNAGE LANE, BRIDGNORTH, SHROPSHIRE, WV16 4HL

To this afternoon’s match and an especially warm welcome to the officials, players and supporters of Black Country Rangers.

Unfortunately one person who will not be with us this afternoon is our Captain Matt Deans who suffered a horrific ankle injury during last Saturdays game versus Shawbury United. It is an injury that has ended his season however we hope that he makes a full recovery and is able to play for the Meadowmen again in the future.

Apparently his injury is similar to that of Willy Boly the Wolves defender who broke his ankle earlier in the season. He was also seen last Saturday night by the same surgeon that operated on the Premier League defender therefore hopefully his ankle will totally recover from the injury Matt is a smashing lad who commands respect from his teammates and always puts 100% into every game. He will be a massive loss to us. His commitment can never be doubted. Earlier this season for our game at Cradley, Matt was on holiday in Cornwall, nevertheless he drove a round trip of 550 miles to play the game. His family must be thanked for their tolerance.

Thanks must also go to the physios from Shawbury Utd who did a fantastic job in assisting with Matt as he lay on the pitch for an hour awaiting the ambulance.

Also on a positive note it was great to see the return of Jason Pike to the team and to see the team playing confidentially for the 27 minutes that were played before the abandonment.

Being topical it was interesting to note that in the last few days of the election campaign the Conservatives promised to plough money into the non league game. Apparently Boris Johnson has promised to put his “heart and soul” into a planned bid to host the 2030 World Cup as part of a pledge that every family will be an average of 15 minutes from a high-quality football pitch.

The Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham outlined a crisis in grass-roots football facilities that means 150,000 matches are cancelled every year and only one in three pitches are up to standard. At current rates of investment, he said that it would take 25 years to provide even basic facilities.​ Johnson has now said that grass-roots investment will be quadrupled over the next decade from £180 million to £730 million “This great country is the home of football,” said Johnson. “Let’s make 2030 the year of the UK and Ireland World Cup. I want this tournament to be about more than just football. I want it to transform lives with a legacy to match the 2012 Olympics.”​ We wait and see a lot can happen in ten years.

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Back to matters on the pitch . Due to a lack of games and consistency we continue to drop down the table. We must make every effort to make our way back up the league and it will take a massive effort from everyone if we are to make that fourth place. The top three teams are relatively clear but there is one spot left for the chasing pack. Lets hope that we can lead that pack starting with three points today.

A reminder also that on Tuesday we host Wellington Amateurs in the first defence of the TJ Vickers Trophy. The Am’s are going great guns in Division One and it will be a very tough challenge for us

ARTICLE REPRODUCED FROM TOTAL FOOTBALL MAGAZINE From grass roots up: Running a non-league club What does it take to run a non-league club? And why do it? Total Football’s Daniel Cross headed for Staffordshire and tracked down three chairmen about the importance of non-league football, the difficulties in running a club and what the future holds for grassroots football.

FOOTBALL FOR LESS THAN A FIVER? Contrary to popular belief, football started before 1992 and there are actually more than just four leagues in England. There are even clubs where you can interact with the players and it costs less than a fiver to get in.

I am of course, talking about non-league football. The food will be far from gourmet, the stadium will...well, the stand, will look like the wind could blow it over and you won’t be able to feel your hands after 15 minutes. But don’t let that put you off. It is a whole different world when you step below League 2. A neglected world. A dogeat-dog world. But a place on which the foundations of football are built. I spoke to three Staffordshire non-league chairmen about what the lower levels of English football are really like and why we need to look after the roots of the game.

WEMBLEY TRIUMPH Mick Hughes has been involved in Stafford Rangers for 27 years, he has been on the board for 25 of those and has seen the club win at Wembley as well as finish within four places of promotion to the Football League.

“Fans at this level are a different breed. They dedicate their whole lives to nonleague football and essentially it is what keeps the game going.

“You rely on supporters helping out and volunteers and things. The non-league scene is a different game to Premier League football.

“These are the foundations of football and the authorities need to remember that.”

Hughes’ point is that the universal appeal of football is the similarities between the top and bottom of the game.

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REALITY A child in the park can re-enact his favourite player’s goal from the weekend and it won’t be a million miles away from the reality – Both players are kicking a ball around on some grass, and having fun. “Far too much money goes to the top of the game,” argues Hughes. “I’m sure it is fine being chairman of Arsenal or Manchester United but there isn’t enough money for everyone down here.

“We would all love to be winning cups and getting promotions, but it is a constant struggle just to keep going.” Stafford Rangers are in a stabilising phase after successive relegations following the global economic meltdown, but Leek Town chief Andy Wain also cites money, or the lack of, as his biggest problem.

“Paying the bills is the hardest part,” Andy tells me. “Money is hard to come by, especially at this level, and during the current climate. “You rely on benefactors and networking with investors. It is pretty much a full-time job – on top of your actual full-time job.”

FOUNDING MEMBERS Wain runs an animal feeding company, but has been involved in Leek Town all his life. His grandparents were among the founding members of the club and he has been with the club as fan, director and now Chairman. Leek are currently in the play-offs and have a decent chance of moving up into the Evo-Stik Northern Premier. Wain is looking forward to the possibilities but knows it will ultimately mean more financial struggles. He continued: “You have to walk before you can run.

We have got a good chance of going up this season, but it will be tough, and if we get promoted, it will be even tougher in the league above.

“It would be a great achievement to stay up. We look to rebuild and stabilise, and we’ll see what happens.” The third chairman that I spoke to is Michael Fitzjohn of Kidsgrove Athletic. He is actually stepping down at the end of the season due to work commitments but will remain on the board and says he “will try get down to games as much as possible.”

‘IF YOU CAN’T PUT IN 150% DON’T BOTHER’ Fitzjohn said: “If you can’t put 150% in it’s not worth being here. I like to be here every game and at the moment I can’t fulfil that.”

Fitzjohn, like the others, was asked to join the club’s board and eventually voted to be chairman. It seems it is not the most sought after job.

A constant financial struggle is not the most appealing situation but there are perks.

Highlights that you just don’t get in the upper echelons of football.

“I enjoy every week, I really do,” said Fitzjohn. “The highlight in my time was probably the recent FA Cup run (Kidsgrove got within one win of the first round proper – the furthest they have ever been). That was a special day and we were unlucky in the end.” For Hughes and Rangers the choice was easy: “Highlight? Well the club has been very successful over the years, especially in the 80s and 90s. But I

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think the winning promotion to the Conference National [in 2006] at the Pirelli Stadium. That was amazing. “Unfortunately we couldn’t stay there long-term but hopefully we will get back up, and this time we will be better prepared.”

SENTIMENTAL As a fan at heart, Wain’s highlight is a more sentimental one.

“When we got Neil Baker (a former player) back to the club as part of the management team [in the mid-1980s]. He challenged for the league for several years and took us to Wembley too (Leek lost 3-0 to Barrow in the FA Trophy final).

Those were great times.” All three men have had success during their short spells at the top of their respective clubs, but they are not letting it go to their heads.

Each one knows this level of football only too well. One bad appointment.

One case of over-stretching the purse strings, and the club could be in freefall.

Slow and careful planning is the way forward for these teams.

‘PUSH FOR PROMOTION’ Hughes continued: “Hopefully we can get back to where we were, but it will take time. We have appointed a good manager in Greg [Clowes] and in the next couple of seasons we will look to push for promotion again.” For Kidsgrove it is about small improvements each season. They have got rid of crippling debts in the four years since Fitzjohn took over and have improved their league position almost year-onyear. At Leek Town, a promotion would be a “great achievement” for Andy Wain, but “staying up is the real challenge.” Most football clubs in England receive parachute payments from the revenue generated by the Premier League. These payments are essential to a lot of clubs’ survival. However, in non-league football there is even less money. The clubs rely on fans and investors even more that at the top of the game.

THE NEXT NON-LEAGUE MESSI? So next time you’re sitting in watching the football scores on a Saturday afternoon, why not get down to your local non-league game. You will be surprised at the level of talent and the professionalism of the place. You can meet the manager, speak to the players, even go for a beer with them after. Fancy yourself as the next Messi?

Then prove it. Most non-league clubs are happy to offer trials to players if you think you’ve got what it takes. Forget about the astronomical wages, agents and Sepp Blatter’s FIFA. This is real football. And I guarantee you, after a couple of nonleague visits you will struggle to remember that the Premier League even exists.

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GEORGE SCOTT ASH EVANS SCOTT BECKER JOHN BREMNER JAMES CHETTER MATT DUDLEY ANDREW HAYNES MATT DEAN ELLIOTT LEE

ANWAR OLUGBON CHARLIE SWINGOOD CHRIS THOMAS CALLUM WHITTAKER SAM MCCARTHY BEN NOVIS MIKE GWYNNE GEORGE MARSH

AHMED ALI TROY BAKER JOEL BELL JARAD DANIELS MUSA JAWARA DANNY MEEK BABUCAR SAUANE

CHRIS SPENCER ALI TRAWALLY SEAN TURNER AMRIK VIRDEE KAYELEDEN BROWN ALEX NORRIS

: AARON ATHERTON, REBECCA SCOTT-MULLEN, JORDAN TINDALL

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The club was established in 1996. Spending its first years as a side in the Birmingham County leagues, working their way up the pyramid to the top level of the Birmingham County League. In 2007 they joined Division Two of the West Midlands (Regional) League.

The club were Division Two champions in 2009/10, earning promotion to Division One a feat which earned manager, Paul Garner, the WMRL manager of the year award. The club also won the Doug McDonald Discipline Award for the season.

They were Division One champions in the 2010/11 season and were promoted to the Premier Division, with the continued success manager, Paul Garner, retained his WMRL manager of the year award for the 2ⁿd consecutive season.

Black Country Rangers' first season in the Premier Division (2011/12) saw them finish as runners-up. The club also won the JW Hunt Cup, beating AFC Wulfrunians 4–3 in the final. They retained the cup the following season with a 4–3 win over Wolverhampton Casuals.

The club then suffered a dip in league form and fortune as they languished around mid-table in the league, leading to a procession of managers, eventually settling on Wayne Spicer for the 2017/18 season. Spicer, fresh from winning WMRL D2 and the WMRL D2 League Cup with West Brom United, led his BCR side to a 4th placed finish in the league, a feat he managed whilst going 22 games unbeaten, and to the final of the WMRL Premier League Cup, which they lost 30 to league winners Wolverhampton Sporting.

In 2018 the club was restructured and renamed Black Country Football Club, following a merger with Black Country Fusion, the first team however still operates as Black Country Rangers.

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A picture from yesteryear when footballers know how to knot a tie, grow moustaches and curtain patterns were god awful. This was an award ceremony and the link with today is that the young player of the year is non other than Mark Weale who several trouser sizes later is now the Chairman.

All of today’s players should note, if you want that loose fitting tie look, the chairman is the go to guy for advice.

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Grassroots football relies heavily on sponsorship and support from the local community and businesses. As we strive to build a development centre here in Bridgnorth which will offer budding stars from the local area the chance to develop and hone their skills this support is crucial to not only our success but our future.

THE MEADOW FUNCTION ROOM THE NEWLY REFURBISHED MEADOWS FUNCTION ROOM IS AVAILABLE FOR PARTIES AND PRIVATE FUNCTIONS. FULLY STOCKED BAR AND FRIENDLY STAFF TO CATER FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS

FOR DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT Debbie on 07805 062442