THE MAIN FEATURE

THE MAIN FEATURE T OM COULTHARD

Tom Coulthard is closing in on 350 appearances for Stockton Town, having broken into the first team when he was 17. Tom grabbed the all important equaliser against Guisborough on the opening day of the Northern League season, to save the Anchors a point. Here in this feature, Tom discusses pre-season, the season so far, milestones and more. On the long break due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tom believes it took time to click back into it: “It wasn’t so bad, Michael gave us a programme that Sam wrote up for us, but I do a lot of running myself anyway. I think it just took a bit of time to click back into the fact we’re starting to go up towards competitive football, which I think showed in the first three games of pre-season. Once everything started clicking together, looking at the South Shields and Whitby games and how we started the

season, I think everyone is back in the groove of things.” On the importance of the FA Cup performance against Shildon, and sending out a message: “Definitely, we can’t just expect to turn up to games and expect to win just because there’s thoughts that we shouldn’t be in this league, it’s all said and done now [denied promotion last season], but it’s a massive point to send out to everyone that we are still here and we will carry on from where we left off last season.” Stockton drew 2-2 with Guisborough Town on Saturday, Tom believes it was important to come away with a point at the end: “Massively, ideally we would have loved to come away with the three points, but if someone offered you 2-2 with 15 minutes to go being 2-1 down, we’d have snapped their hand off for it. It’s a massive point just not getting beaten, for getting points on the board early on, one point is better than none. A lot of people expected us to win but Guisborough worked hard for their point.” On approaching 50 goals for the Anchors: “No I haven’t even looked, I’ve been at the club since I was 17, it’s normally the appearances not the goals I look at!” On nearing 350 appearances for Stock- ton: “It’s great, it’s a great little accolade to have as well ascaptaining the club at Wembley, I’m expecting to be at the club for many years to come and hopefully 500 shouldn’t be too far away.” When asked on his personal aims for this season: “Anyone who was in the squad for the Wembley FA Vase final would love to get back there, it’s normally a once in a lifetime opportunity but we would love to play there twice and hopefully win it.” “Promotion is massive, we feel like we should have been promoted, however they stopped the league due to Covid-19, we feel like we need to prove to people why we shouldn’t be in this league anymore. We hopefully can go up as champions but if it means second, third place, we’d take it but we want to go up as champions.

“Good FA Cup run, same as last year, all the lads and fans loved the four games, the away game at Guiseley was a great test for the lads to show where we could possibly end up playing teams like that week-in, week-out.” On the premature end to last season, and moving forward from that: “No, I think it’s all been and gone now, initially when the announcement came that they were ending the season straight away, a lot of the lads were shocked and disappointed but nothing’s going to change now, we’ve got to look forward and get the job done.” Recently, a few Northern League fixtures have been postponed due to Covid-19 worries, Tom believes we just have to concentrate on ourselves: “We can only concentrate on ourselves, it’s not good looking at other games, we will just go into every game and if any of our games are affected that’s not a problem, we’ll keep training and working on things. If our games are on, all the lads will be 100% committed and ready to play.” On the recent good record against Ashington, going into tonight’s game: “It’s a blank slate, everyone has signed new players, a few players have left. I don’t think we take too much interest in that, it’s a whole new season so it’s a level playing field.” On getting the first win of the season, and pushing on: “Definitely, that first three points of that season, it’s a great kick start but not getting beaten is the massive one, so hopefully we can come away with the three points and another clean sheet for the lads.” Looking forward to the FA Cup tie against Billingham Town on Saturday: “It’s one at a game at a time, Ashington first then Billingham on Saturday, it’s always good games against them, they’ve normally got a good pitch over there. Hopefully three points tonight then hopefully we progress in the FA Cup.”

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MEET THE PLAYERS INTRODUCING OUR SQUAD FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON

1 Callum Roberts Goalkeeper Callum joined from Billingham Synthonia and he was at Preston NE for six years prior. The shot-stopper has also spent time higher up in non-league football. 5 Dan McWilliams Defender A local lad, Dan was released from Middlesbrough’s Academy at age 16. He has previous Northern League experience with Billingham Synthonia and Guisborough. 9 Jordan Robinson Midfielder Jordan is a very experienced defender, who played for Middlesbrough’s Academy before joining Wigan Athletic. He is a tall, strong midfielder, who is a huge asset. 2 Michael Arthur Goalkeeper ‘Martha’ joined the club back in 2012 from Billingham Town as an outfield player. He was a vital member of the team that went all the way to the FA Vase final in 2018.

6 Lewis King Defender Lewis was a member of the Hartlepool Academy until 16, he then spend time with Burnley and then Spennymoor. A top prospect, athletic and gets forward. 10 Max Craggs Midfielder A product of the Stockton youth system, Max joined the squad age 17 and quickly became a regular. He had a season with Billingham Synthonia in 2015-16. 3 Adam Nicholson Defender Longest-serving player at the club, Adam came through the youth system. Captain of the team, he leads by example at the back and also has an impressive scoring record. 7 Tom Coulthard Defender Tom is a product Stockton’s youth set up. He broke into the first team when he was 17 and is a tough, strong, quick, thoroughbread of a centre back.

11 Nathan Mulligan Midfielder Nathan was with Middlesbrough until age 18. He played in the Football League with Darlington and has a wealth of Northern League experience. 4 Dale Mulligan Defender Dale re-signed for Stockton and links back up with brother Nathan after a spell at Shildon. He played for the Anchors during their Wembley run in 2017-18. 8 James Risbrough Midfielder ‘Munchie’ returned home in 2017 after playing for several top clubs including Spennymoor, Marske and Guisborough as well as spending time in Sweden. 12 Shane Henry Midfielder Shane’s nickname is ‘The Bull’ and that becomes clear when you see him play. He joins his hometown club after six seasons playing higher up with Spennymoor Town

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13 Tom Portas Midfielder Tom signed from West Auckland and has previous experience with Guisborough, Whitby and Darlington. A fantastic midfielder, elegant on the ball.

17 Jonathan Franks Forward Jonathan started his journey at Stockton and has represented England from U15s through to U20s. The forward has played for a number of top clubs. 21 Michael Dunwell Manager After a successful playing career, he was appointed Stockton manager in 2014, after a year of being a playercoach. He now enters his seventh season as manager. 14 Cieran Jackson Forward Cieran signed for the Anchors Spennymoor Town and also has international honours to his name when he was called up to the England Schools Under-18 squad in 2018. 18 Kevin Hayes Forward Kevin forced his way into the title-winning team in 2017 and has gone on to cement his place in the first team. A lightning quick wide man, likes to get at defenders. 22 JD Briggs Asst Manager JD also had a great playing career, in non-league. He turned to coaching and became Michael’s assistant in the 2014 and has been with the club ever since. 15 Fred Woodhouse Forward Another Stockton youth product, Fred won the Second Division title with Newton Aycliffe and was part of the Marske United squad that won the title in 2015.

19 Michael Roberts Forward Another Stockton lad, Mikey has also played at Guisborough, Spennymoor, Whitby and Marske. He also has a Division One title under his belt.

23 John Fielding Coach John joined Stockton as an assistant with the U18s and was promoted to first team coach in 2018. He guided the youth team to a league and cup double in 2017. 16 Jamie Owens Forward Jamie is now in his third spell with the club and is a product of the Stockton youth system. He has a wealth of experience and won the league title with Marske in 2015.

20 Nathan Steel Forward Nathan arrived from Shildon and is an experienced Northern League striker, who has had successful spells at clubs like Guisborough and Billingham Synthonia.