Dunstable Town v Potton Utd - Sat 15th Feb by Dunstable Town

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF DUNSTABLE TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB 2019/2020

CREASEY NEWS

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POTTON UNITED

Saturday 15th February 2019 Kick Off 15:00 Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division

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OUR CLUB HONOURS LIST

Southern League Central Division Winners 2013-2014 Southern League Championship Trophy Winners 2013-2014 Spartan South Midlands Premier Division Winners: 2002–03, 2012-2013 Bedfordshire Senior Cup Winners (12): 1895–96, 1956–57, 1959–60, 1979–80, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2008–09 Bedfordshire Premier Cup Winners (4): 1980–81, 1982–83, 1990–91, 2006–07, 2011-2012 Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup Winners: 1999–2000, 2008–09, 2018-19 Bedfordshire Floodlit Cup Winners: 2007–08 Eastern Junior Cup Winners: 2006–07 Colwyn Cup Winners: 2006–07, 2009–10

WHO’S WHO AT CREASEY PARK Playing Staff Gareth Jackson - First Team Manager Ryan Sturges - Assistant Manager Ivan Arapov - Coach Wayne Upton - Coach Rory McMullen - Goalkeeper Coach Tasos Psarras - Sports Therapist Justin Lucas-Hill - Club Medical Consultant Colin Lauder - Development Team Manager Valentino Qoku - Assistant Manager Samir Amadu - Coach

Non-Playing Staff

Neil Barker - Chairman Andrew Amu - Vice Chairman Andrew Madaras - Club Secretary Dudley Peacham - Treasurer Kristy Lewington - Club Welfare Officer and FA Charter Standard Coordinator Stephen Lewington - Press Officer, Social Media, and Youth Engagement Officer Chris White - Social Media Manager and Club Photographer Katrina Peacham - Committee Clerk and Turnstile Manager Nikki Lauder - Events and fundraising Patrick MacKay - Match-day Merchandising Coordinator Peter Burrows - Community Engagement Officer Vince Dunnell - Youth Section Chairman and Assistant Youth Welfare Officer Adrian Dunne - Youth Section Vice Chairman and Events/Fundraising Kristy Lewington - Youth Section Secretary and Club Welfare Officer Christian Baxter - Youth Treasurer and Assistant Youth Welfare Officer Brad Cawthorne - Match day Camera man Jacqui Dunnell - Match day Hospitality Bradley Fields & Jon Keenan - Match day Volunteers

s a r a d a M w Andre

FROM THE BOARDROOM It’s nearly five months since we played Potton Utd at The Hollow and came away with a hard earned 2 – 0 victory. The game played in brilliant sunshine and warm weather was a good advertisement for non league football at Step 5. We were very well looked after by Potton Utd that day and we are pleased to be able to wish a warm welcome to the players, coaching staff, committee members and of course, the supporters of Potton Utd to Creasey Park this afternoon and reciprocate their generous welcome and hospitality. We’re now almost two thirds of the way through the season and I thought I’d take this opportunity to thank you for your wonderful, loyal support. Our average home attendance of 120 is bettered only by Leighton Town & Newport Pagnell Town in our division and is higher than two Step 3 clubs and 29 Step 4 clubs. Having experienced the pain of two successive relegations it was not unreasonable to worry that last season’s average attendance of 125 might be drastically reduced, but that has not been the case. Your support, your passion for our team has been humbling to be part of and witness at close quarters. Our away support has matched the home support in terms of numbers at several grounds this season. We know how much the players and management staff value your vocal support, so a huge thank you from us all. Those of you who follow the non- league pyramid structure may well be aware that this is the last season of the FA’s restructuring programme. From next season there will be one more division

created at Step 4 in the north, and two more divisions created at Step 5. This should then leave the non- league pyramid much more evenly balanced in terms of relegation and promotion matters. For this season all clubs that win their respective Step 5 leagues will be promoted to Step 4. Clubs who finish in 2nd & 3rd places in some of the midlands and northern Step 5 leagues will also be automatically promoted to Step 4. Four clubs who finish 2nd in their respective Step 5 leagues will also be promoted on a points per game ratio. The next seven clubs with the highest points per game ratio will then play the bottom 7 clubs from the Step 4 leagues. The winner of each game either is promoted or keeps their place at Step 4. The ties will be arranged on a geographical proximity basis and be played at the home ground of the Step 4 club. Relegation from Step 5 next season will be for 12 clubs only (from 14 Step 5 leagues) and will be on a points per game ratio. While the make up of the divisions for next season is of course unknown at this stage it is conceivable that Dunstable Town will be playing several different teams in a very different looking league. The Club will keep you informed of changes as and when they are confirmed at the end of the season. Thank you again for your support. Let’s get behind Gareth & the boys and push on up the table.

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POTTON UNITED HISTORY Potton United were, unusually, formed in Wartime 1943. Although only limited football was played at this time they soon made their mark on the local football scene by winning the Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup in 1944. When football returned to normality after the war, United joined the South Midlands League and remained there until 1955. The club then applied to join a London based league but were refused entry so they were forced to take a break from competitive football for one season. They spent a short period in the Central Alliance League before finally joining the United Counties League where they remained in the Premier Division until the end of the 2000/2001 season when they were relegated into Division One.

Lloyd, took over and guided the club to win the Hunts Premier and Hinchingbrooke Cup competitions. 1993/94 was the first season for many years that Potton failed to win any silverware and ended with Andy Lloyd announcing his resignation. Kenny Davidson took over the reins for four seasons and won a number of cup competitions, but failed to make any real impact in the league. The 1996/7 season was the most impressive with the club participating in six cup finals, winning four of them.

Potton were very successful in the local cup competitions in the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s but had to wait until the 1986/87 season to win their first league title. During this season they remained unbeaten on their travels. Two years later this achievement was repeated and Ray Seekings scored a club record 56 goals. It is also interesting that those players have retained a keen interest in the club.

After Kenny left in 1998 the club went through a bad spell on the pitch and were eventually relegated. After a poor season in Division One, it was decided that the club should look for a new manager. Former club captain and fans favourite, Dick Newman returned to the club at the start of the 2002/2003 season. After spending most of the season in second place in the league, a poor run in at the end of the season cost the club promotion. However, it was good to see such a great team spirit on and off the pitch.

The 1989/90 season saw Potton reach the fifth round of the FA Vase, before losing 2-1 away to Billericay in front of a 1000 plus crowd. Potton had a good following that day and many remember the after match activities.

At the start of 2003/4, the clubs 60th Anniversary, the club played a Rushden and Diamonds X1 that consisted mainly their youth side. The match attracted about 450, and this in spite of the wooden stand being burnt down one month earlier.

The 1991/92 season saw a major change within the club when long serving Manager, Terry King, resigned. His assistant, Andy

Dick was well prepared for 2003/4 and expected a lot from the squad. At the start of the season he had set them a target in

POTTON UNITED HISTORY the league of 100 goals, 25 goals against and 80 points. Going into the last game of the season at Olney the first team needed to win to secure the league title, and they did so in style winning 5-0. The league playing record for the season was played 34, won 24, drawn 5, lost 4, goals for 99, goals against 25, points 80—which was extremely close to Dick’s targets. This then secured promotion back to the Premier Division. Having gained promotion the club was looking to consolidate their position in the league, but November onwards found them challenging for honours. Eventually they had to settle for runners-up to Cogenhoe. The reason for this was the failure of the floodlights twice when playing Cogenhoe, which led to the match being replayed as the last game of the season when they had to beat Cogenhoe to win the league. They could only manage a 2-2 draw, in front of the largest crowd of the season (325), although they had the majority of the play they could not just score the winning goal. The first team won the UCL Knock-Out Cup, for the first time since 1972/3, and also won the Hinchingbrooke Cup and North Beds Charity Cup. The team played 63 matches during the season and won 48, scoring an incredible 163 goals (111 in the league and 52 in cup matches). Joint Managers Dick Newman and Roy Bloxham won three Manager of the Month’s awards as well as winning Manager of the Season award. In 2005 Ian Donnelly took over the role of Manager following Dicks close season resignation. At the start of the season many would have settled for a mid table

finish but when they went top in October and remained there for the rest of the season, with the exception of one week, it seemed that they would be in for a chance of beating the previous seasons runners up spot. Unfortunately, fate was to strike again and Woodford pipped us to the league title, this time goal difference was the deciding factor. In the cups, they went out of the FA Cup and FA Vase early on but retained the North Beds Charity Cup, beating Wootton 3-1. Following Ian Donnelly’s resignation towards the end of last season due to business commitments, Roy Bloxham was appointed as first team manager. Roy moved quickly to bring Dick Newman back to the club as his assistant. In season 2006-07 they finished a creditable fourth in the league and reached the Fourth Round of the FA Vase before losing 2-1 to eventual finalists AFC Totton. They did not win any silverware but reached the final of the North Beds Charity Cup and UCL knock-out cup. Roy Bloxham announced that he would not be able to continue as Manager, for personal and business reasons, and the club appointed 32 year old Dean Chapman as Manager. Unfortunately most of the previous three season’s squad left the club so Dean had the job of rebuilding the side with his cousin Adam Chapman and Kelvin Ash helping him. The first team also had a very unsettled side and just escaped relegation by finishing

TAKE FIVE POTTON UNITED LAST FIVE SEASONS SEASON LEAGUE

P W D L F A P POS

2014-15 UCL-1

38 25 7 6 89 31 82

3/20

2015-16 UCL-1

36 18 3 15 61 52 57

7/19

2016-17 UCL-1

36 19 7 10 89 49 64

6/19

2017-18 UCL-1

38 24 7 7 110 47 79

2/20

38 19 5 14 75 58 62

7/20

2018-19 SSML-P LAST FIVE RESULTS Tue 11 February