FLEET TOWN v ARLESEY TOWN SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2017 – 3:00PM

V

SPONSORED BY

WELCOME FROM OUR JOINT MANAGER STEVE DORMER

A warm welcome to the supporters players, management and officials of Arlesey Town. Like us they have got off to a poor start this season, we have both played 5 games and picked up just the one point so far. However I am sure both of us are looking to rectify this today. I don’t know a great deal about our opponents but there are no weak teams in this division and today’s game will be a real tough one. We have had them watched recently, this together with feedback from managers of teams they have played is what we have been working on. In last week’s game at Hayes and Yeading I thought we did quite well. If we can just kick the habit of leaking early goals we will have a better chance as we are always a threat going forward. Even more so now we have Patrick Rubiska and Francois Gabbidon up top, Patrick is a young raw talent on loan from Farnborough and he started the season with Beaconsfield Town but when he became available we had to act quickly because once he gets his match sharpness he will become a great asset to us. Many thanks to Farnborough for their support in this matter. Unfortunately we had three players missing on Saturday against Hayes. Chris Musgrove , Chris Wales and Bobby Dormer were all unnavaialble but with them back this will strengthen us again for today’s game. On the injury front George Pillbeam was due to be back training on Thursday but today’s game may have come too early for him. Unfortunately we have a few players that are no longer with us, Sean Mason, Carl Garstang and Will Efambe have been released. Andy and I felt that these lads had struggled a little and needed to develop their football elsewhere, we wish them all the best with their new clubs. On the current playing side it comes as no surprise with what we have had to deal with from pre-season, it’s been a bit of a struggle sometimes to convince players to sign for Fleet Town but we are getting there. Also be prepared to see a few more ins and outs over the coming weeks until we get the balance right. For any interested supporters that would like further explanations on any Club matters, we have organised a fans forum at the Club on Thursday September 28th. This will give supporters the chance to ask Andy, me and The Committee any questions you like about the running of the Club on and Off the field. We are also hoping to have some players in attendance. We have been on the receiving end of some difficult comments on social media so we thought it would be a good idea to arrange a meeting like this for any of you that are frustrated to give you the chance to get your opinion across to us. I would also like to personally thank all the supporters who made the trip to Hayes and say thank you for your support, it doesn’t go unnoticed and hopefully can send you away today happy and with our first 3 points of the season.

Enjoy the game and ‘Come on you Blues’ - Steve Dormer

ACTING CHAIRMAN: Chris Arnold SPORTS THERAPIST: Mark Whiteley VICE CHAIRMAN: Richard Whittington KIT MANAGER : Ben Foster

SAFETY OFFICER: Lyn Bevan YOUTH TEAM MANAGER: Neil Selby COMMITTEE MEMBERS: WEBSITE MANAGER : Harry Cannon Chris Arnold, Richard Whittington, ,Lyn Bevan, Harry Cannon, Darren Edwards, Alec Grant, Gary CHILD WELFARE OFFICER :Chris Arnold Niblett , Nathan Cookson & Claire Whittington PROGRAMME EDITOR : Martin Griffiths FIRST TEAM MANAGERS : TEA BAR : Maria Steve Dormer and Andy Hunt GROUNDSMAN: Bryan Smith FIRST TEAM COACHES : Mark Whiteley and Sam Rafique

01252 623804 www.fleettownfc.co.uk Fleet Town Football Club, Calthorpe Park, Crookham Rd, Fleet, Hants, GU51 5FA Fleet Town is an unincorporated association, managed by a committee, currently comprising of the following individuals: Chris Arnold, Richard Whittington, Claire Whittington, Lyn Bevan, Harry Cannon, Darren Edwards, Alec Grant , Gary Niblett and Nathan Cookson.

FIXTURES AND RESULTS 2017/18

Date Opponents H/A Competition Score Result Att. Sat Aug 12 AFC Dunstable A Evo-Stik League South East 4 - 0 L 121 Tue Aug 15 Chalfont St. Peter H Evo-Stik League South East 1 -1 D 117 Sat Aug 19 AFC Totton H Emirates F.A. Cup Preliminary Round 1 - 1 D 130 Tue Aug 22 AFC Totton A Emirates F.A. Cup Preliminary Replay 5 - 0 L 195 Sat Aug 26 AFC Rushden & Diamonds A Evo-Stik League South East 7- 1 L 540 Mon Aug 28 Moneyfields H Evo-Stik League South East 1- 3 L 109 Sat Sep 9 Hayes & Yeading United A Evo-Stik League South East 3-0 L 149 Sat Sep 16 Arlesey Town H Evo-Stik League South East Tue Sep 19 Farnborough H Hampshire Senior Cup 2nd Round Sat Sep 23 Aylesbury United A Evo-Stik League South East Tue Sep 26 Uxbridge H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Sep 30 Beaconsfield Town H Evo-Stik League South East Tue Oct 3 Basingstoke Town H The BigFreeBet.com Challenge Cup 17-18 - First Round Sat Oct 7 Yate Town H Buildbase F.A. Trophy Preliminary Round Sat Oct 14 Hanwell Town A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Oct 21 Marlow H Evo-Stik League South East Tue Oct 24 Ashford Town (Middx) A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Nov 4 Cambridge City A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Nov 11 Aylesbury H Evo-Stik League South East Tue Nov 14 Northwood A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Nov 18 Barton Rovers H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Nov 25 Bedford Town A Evo-Stik League South East Tue Nov 28 Egham Town H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Dec 2 Kempston Rover H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Dec 9 Thame United A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Dec 16 Chalfont St. Peter A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Dec 23 AFC Dunstable H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Dec 26 Moneyfields A Evo-Stik League South East Mon Jan 1 Hartley Wintney H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Jan 6 Arlesey Town A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Jan 13 AFC Rushden & Diamonds H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Jan 20 Aylesbury A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Jan 27 Cambridge City H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Feb 3 Uxbridge A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Feb 10 Aylesbury United H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Feb 17 Beaconsfield Town A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Feb 24 Hanwell Town H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Mar 3 Marlow A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Mar 10 Ashford Town (Middx) H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Mar 17 Thame United H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Mar 24 Kempston Rovers A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Mar 31 Hayes & Yeading United H Evo-Stik League South East Mon Apr 2 Hartley Wintney A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Apr 7 Barton Rovers A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Apr 14 Northwood H Evo-Stik League South East Sat Apr 21 Egham Town A Evo-Stik League South East Sat Apr 28 Bedford Town H Evo-Stik League South East

What does the first Month of the season tell you by NLP’s Adam Ellis

You can almost guarantee you’ll discover a “we’re not getting carried away” or a “we’ve made a good start, but it’s just a start” or even my personal favourite “nothing is ever won or lost in August or September”.You can’t blame them for keeping their powder dry of course, but it’s always interesting to find out – can we read anything into the first month of the season?

Thanks to a bit of detective work, I can tell you that actually we can. Quite a lot, in fact. Here’s why.After match day nine in the National League we got a glimpse of the future. Sitting on top of the league in the second week of September was Lincoln City. In second, Forest Green Rovers. Both, of course, are now playing League Two football. At the other end Southport and Braintree were in the bottom four, but slow starting Guiseley and Woking would of course eventually find their feet. The National League North’s top dog at this stage of last season were AFC Fylde. Incredibly by this stage Danny Rowe had 16 league goals. You won’t be shocked to hear little changed in the months ahead. But FC Halifax Town, the other promotion winner, were down in ninth place. They wouldn’t be for long! Two of the three in the relegation zone didn’t recover and went down as Altrincham and Stalybridge couldn’t recover. It was a similar story on the 11 13 0 where Maidenhead United sat top of the lot with Dave Tarpey already scoring 12. Hampton & Richmond Borough in second eventually slipped, as did third place St Albans City. Ebbsfleet, play-off winners of course, were hovering just outside the top five. But at the bottom it was a different story as all the early slackers – Welling, Concord and Whitehawk – found their feet. After seven games, eventual Evo-Stik NPL Premier champions Blyth Spartans were sitting pretty and the same could be said of winner Chippenham Town in the Southern League. But the pacesetters in the Ryman Premier– as it was called back then – peaked a bit too early. Leiston were leading the way but eventually ended the season in seventh. The winners, Havant, were only a point away from them after seven matches.

So perhaps we can read more into the start of the season than you would have first thought.

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5 10 13 0 6 5 12 0 7 3 12 0 4 10 10 0 10 3 10 0 7 3 9 0 6 3 9 0 6 3 9 0 7 1 9 0 8 1 7 0 5 1 7 0 5 1 7 0 11 -3 7 0 8 -3 7 0 10 0 6 0 Aylesbury 17. 5 1 0 2 1 0 1 2 0 3 6 10 -4 6 0

United Thame 18. 5 0 0 2 2 0 1 2 0 3 7 15 -8 6 0

United

Arlesey 19. 5 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 1 4 6 11 -5 1 0

ARLESEY TOWN RECENT HISTORY

During 2002 season Chairman Bryan Ellis fulfilled his promise to elevate the club to another level following a successful application to the 'Football Stadia Improvement Fund.' A six-figure grant enabled the club to meet the league's ground-grading criteria that gave the Blues a new covered stand for 600 spectators, a new open terrace and two new turnstiles. On the pitch, Arlesey boss Nicky Ironton led his side to the last 16 of the FA Carlsberg Vase, secured a highly creditable final Division Two fourth place and lifted the Beds Premier Cup for the first time since 1984. The 2002/2003 season was a consolidation for the rapid successes of the previous years and the highlight was an extended run in the FA Cup winning 4 away matches in reaching the fourth qualifying round. The reward was yet another away fixture, this time at Nationwide Conference club, Hereford United. Arlesey Town represented the Ryman League Division One north and after going behind to a sixth minute 'soft' goal, they more than matched their opponents in all departments, even having a goal disallowed. It was such a gallant performance that at the end of the tie, the relieved Hereford fans gave their guests a standing ovation. At the end of the 2002/3 Arlesey's Hitchin Road ground hosted two EUFA Ladies qualifying fixtures including England versus Spain. It was seen as a just reward for all the hard work that had been done at the Club by many of its members in recent years. Season 2003/2004 saw Arlesey Town yet again in the national limelight following a fantastic run to the last 16 of the FA Trophy defeating on the way, both after away draws ‘Hayes FC’ from the Ryman Premier Division and ‘Dagenham & Redbridge FC’ from the Nationwide Conference league. This resulted in an away game with ‘Exeter City FC’ who had just been relegated from the football league. Although losing the game the blues gained respect with an outstanding performance. The season ended with Arlesey Town failing to gain promotion to the new premier structure on goal difference but small consolation was gained when the Blues lifted the ‘Bedfordshire Senior Cup’ after defeating fellow Ryman League club outfit Leighton Town at Hitchin Road in May. In season (2004/05) Arlesey Town played in the Southern League Division One East and after the successful six-year reign of Nick Ironton it was a consolidation period. Because of the club’s success, visibility and recognition most of the players moved to play in the ‘Conference League’ and premier league. After an indifferent start to the season Nicky Ironton decided to hand over the manager’s position to Jon Taylor, whom he had dealings with in the past. Jon imported a new team of players during November with the single objective of maintaining the club’s status within the Southern League Division 1. This was achieved with a mid-table position and during that close season Jon added more players with a wealth of football league and senior club experience. The season (2005/06) Arlesey Town again played in the Southern League Division One East with Jon Taylor and Scot Houghton in charge. With an exciting start 9 wins out of 10 culminating in destroying Boreham Wood’s unbeaten run 3 – 0 at their home fortress. In both the FA Cup and Trophy there were unfortunate fixtures at Premier Clubs, Heybridge Swifts (1 – 0) and Leyton (90th minute goal) ending our cup interests. Arlesey Town had a mixture of excellent and mediocre results and achieved a mid-table position. The 2006/2007 seasons saw Arlesey Town reverting to the Ryman Isthmian Football league along with many of last season’s opponents also being reassigned. Again during the close season Jon Taylor had added players with a wealth of football league and senior club experience for the next season’s campaign we were looking to climb the non-league structure. Darren Hay took on the team management during the early stages of 2006/2007 season, when Jon left for personal reasons, with Mike Brooks as the assistant manager and coach and they put together a very young and eager team for the coming 2007 campaign. This included both experienced senior players supporting by young players who broke into the first team towards then end of the previous season. During the season there were several disruptions and there were three chairmen and three managers in succession which disrupted the development of the team because of the club management changes. Arlesey Town finished in the bottom half of the Ryman league with Matt Corbould as the manager and a very young side. Season 2008/2009 saw Arlesey Town reverting to the BGB Southern League with the consequence of substantial extra travelling miles and additional costs. Because of the league restructure Matt had to put together a totally different team comprising of a number of young players. As a result of Arlesey Town successful cup runs there were three players who were playing professional football for the 2008 season with Dave Kitson, was is a main A.T.F.C. sponsor, and who moved from

Reading to newly promoted Stoke City to remain in the Premiership, Craig Machail-Smith and Shane Blackett were with newly promoted Peterborough United. This is a record to be proud of for a small club like Arlesey. Season 2008/2009 saw Arlesey Town escape relegation by the skin of their teeth. No honours were forthcoming in the season. But the Club were hoping season 2009/2010 would be more fruitful, which it so proved. With a complete new management structure in place and a new Management team, of: Gary King Director of Football, Lee Cowley Manager, Zema Abbey Assistant Manager, and Darren Staniforth as Coach, Arlesey played the season with renewed style and passion, finishing the season in 9th place in the League and getting through to the first round proper of the F.A. Trophy and lifting the Beds Senior Cup in the last game of the season.

Season 2010-11 saw them staying in the Zamaretto Southern League in the new “Central Division” and saw them looking forward with a lot more hope and even more optimism, with the whole team showing great experience and growing in strength and confidence on and off the field all of the time. The season in which Arlesey were in the top echelons all season finished in dramatic stile as they won 10 games on the bounce, had 9 points deducted on the day they thought they had won the league away at Hayes and then beat long term arch rivals and near neighbours Hitchin Town on Hitchin’s own ground on their last game of the season to be finally crowned League Champions. This was followed soon after by beating Biggleswade Town to retain the Beds Senior Cup at Luton Towns Kenilworth Road ground to give Arlesey a League and Cup Double and see them promoted to the new Evo- Stick Southern League Premier Division, a truly tremendous season. The season was topped of in early August of this year as Arlesey beat neighbours Luton Town in the Beds Premier Cup to make a quite unique “treble” for the side. The first season in the Premier League was seen as a settling in period targeting staying up and a good cup run, both of these ambitions were achieved with the club reaching the F.A. Cup 1st round proper for the first time in their history. The second season again saw a good FA Cup run that went again to the 1st round proper before it ended at the Ricoh Stadium against Coventry City. The season finished on a knife edge as Arlesey missed out on the play off spot of the Premier Div by just a single point. Although promotion was narrowly missed the Red Insure League Cup was won in a 2 legged final v Frome to bring home yet another impressive piece of Silverware. The squad like all good squads was rebuilt again through the summer and we looked forward to another successful season. But as the Abbeys left to take up management elsewhere we had a change of Management and in November 2013 Rufus Brevett arrived to take the club forward. Although his 1st season was “steady” ,a very difficult season in 2014-15 saw several changes of management as results failed to materialise as Rufus gave way after Christmas to ex manager Nick Ironton but again this failed to halt the slide and he in turn gave way during the season as Zema Abbey came back with brother Nathan as joint managers, Although this led to an improvement in playing style but they were unable to prevent relegation in the end back to the Central Division. The new season saw us struggle to get to grips with the style of the new division and early form showed us propping up the division but a second half resurgence saw us push up the division to finish in a mid-table position. This season sees us with most of last season’s players returning to try to prove their point that they somewhat under achieved in the previous season.

CURRENT ARLESEY TOWN MANAGEMENT PROFILES Zema Abbey Vastly experienced player with Football league experience with Cambridge Utd, Norwich City ,Bradford City, Wycombe Wonderers and Torquay United. Has also played for Arlesey Town, Baldock, Boston Utd, Hitchin Town, Kettering and Barton Rovers. His experience shows in his use of the ball. The whole team benefits from his experience and leadership. Came back to Arlesey in 2009 as Assistant Manager and became player Manager. A really good tactician who is only interested in the best effort from everybody all the time. Left to become St Neots manager but came back as joint manager with his brother Nathan.

Nathan Abbey A vastly experienced goalkeeper who has joined his brother Zema to also be Joint Manager. Nathan has a long list of clubs to his credit and can list Luton Town (who he made 55 League appearances for) Chesterfield, Northampton Town, Stevenage Borough, St Albans, Hayes, Boston Utd, Bristol City, Torquay Utd, Brentford, MK Dons, Rushton & Diamonds, Kettering & St Neots as well of course Arlesey

Earle Inspection Ltd Providing Prompt and Cost Efficient Inspections

W ebsite: www.earleinspection.co.uk Mobile: 0 7 9 8 0 67 0 9 8 6 Office: 0 1 3 4 4 42 9 7 9 9 Fax: 0 1 3 4 4 30 5 1 5 3 Email: [email protected]

LOLER, PUW ER, and Minor PSSR Inspections

SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2017 – 3:00PM THE EVO–STIK LEAGUE SOUTH EAST

FLEET TOWN ARLESEY TOWN

JOINT MANAGERS: MANAGERS: Steve Dormer & Andy Hunt Zema Abbey & Nathan Abbey Navy & Sky Blue/Navy Blue/Navy Yellow/Yellow/Yellow… 1 Liam Beach 1 Bart Pedrycz 2 Chris Mason 2 Bill Plumpton 3 Chris Musgrove (C) 3 Cade Stephens Abbey 4 Bobby Dormer 4 Kye Andrews 5 Greg Haydon 5 Joe Steele 6 Josh Baines 6 Luke Abraham (C) 7 Sammy Purkin 7 Tony Williams 8 Ben Toye 8 Rafe Goodman 9 Francois Gabbidon 9 Kim Forsythe 10 Patrik Rubiska 10 Yemi Adelani 11 Danilo Cadette 11 Craig Packam SUBS SUBS 12 Owen Cummings 12 Harlem Sambu 14 Harrison Button 14 Taz Andrews 15 Nick Sowden 15 Taylor Rhiney 16 Bradley Wilson 16 Elias Moses 17 Kyle Martin 17 Djon Gibbs

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Assistant Referees: Harry Scott of Fareham, Hampshire Peter Lowe of Gosport, Hampshire Nathan Cook of Waterlooville, Hampshire