Comeonyouswans 1
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SWANS #COMEONYOUSWANS 1 HERTFORD.indd 1 18/10/2019 15:37:14 SWANS #COMEONYOUSWANS 2 HERTFORD.indd 2 18/10/2019 15:37:14 SWANS CHAIRMAN Joe Dixon CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER Kevin Rowell CLUB SECRETARY Steve Parsons MANAGER Mahrez Bettache ASSISTANT MANAGER Hamza Marchoud DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL Peter Stanford COACHES Mitch Garrett PHYSIOTHERAPISTS Sam Codling, Zoë Rush KIT MAN Steve Ryan #COMEONYOUSWANS 3 HERTFORD.indd 3 18/10/2019 15:37:19 SWANS Good afternoon and welcome ment to our new groundsman, Steve Honey and to Wheatsheaf Park for this, his team (Darren Varney and Mark Williams) that our first BetVictor Isthmian the game went ahead at all after so much rain. League match for 32 days! We Klajdi Cani made a welcome return from injury – welcome our opponents from but perhaps it was a little too soon as he had to Hertford Town Football Club, come off with 15 minutes to go. who – amazing as it may seem – are making their first visit to Wheatsheaf Park Likewise, our near neighbours Hanworth Villa of in almost thirty-five YEARS! We hope they have the Combined Counties League did well to get a pleasant stay here in our company, and a safe Tuesday’s match on, as we made the short 7 mile journey home afterwards. trip top contest a Middlesex Senior Cup tie – our fourth consecutive cup match in four different A special welcome today goes to our friends competitions. Thankfully there was no animosity from THE SWEDISH MASSIVE. Despite a couple after the somewhat fractious visit we made in of drop-outs through illness and the excitement pre-season, and we found them most welcoming of their local side, IK Brage, going for promotion hosts. A very well taken goal by Scott Walker in to Sweden’s top-flight from ‘Superettan’, there only 8 minutes put us in the driving seat, but is expected to be a magnificent seven members whether we took our foot off the pedal, or our from our only overseas Supporters’ Club, and hosts raised their game, the Villains deservedly it will be great to see Göran and the lads once drew level through Turnell Sinclair on 33 minutes. again. Vi hoppas att ni har en bra dag i Wheat- We unfortunately lost Niran Butler (injured) soon sheaf Park, och att er stöd hjälper att glädja till afterwards, and Hanworth continued their good laget till framgång i eftermiddag. work in an end-to-end second half, eventually taking a 75 th minute lead when Sinclair’s shot Last week’s FA Trophy tie did not go as we had went in off the foot of the post. When former hoped, when we held a strong Heybridge Swifts Swans legend André Scarlett (now Assistant side for 50 minutes, but eventually went down Manager) came off the bench for the home side 2-0 on an afternoon of torrid weather. It’s a testa- with 10 minutes to go, he must’ve been hoping to #COMEONYOUSWANS 4 HERTFORD.indd 4 18/10/2019 15:37:20 SWANS help see his side through to the 2 nd Round – but day, but that game has simply been moved back this young Staines side had other ideas, and they 24 hours to Sunday 27 th . We have provisionally came back strongly to snatch victory with goals arranged to go to Fleet Town in the Aldershot on 85 and 88 minutes. Isaac Thompson got the Senior Cup on 12 November, although that equaliser, completing a great run with an equally could be in doubt as our League Cup game with good shot that went in off the foot of the far post, Ashford will not be able to be played on 5 th (we’ll and he also had a hand in setting up the winner, be at Barnet), and so may have to take this date which Dara Dada-Anité lashed into the roof of the instead. Finally, the Youth’s home League Cup net from 15 yards. game v Bracknell was rained off here on Monday, and so we are likely to play it AT BRACKNELL on The reward for that victory is an intriguing visit to 30 th October. Barnet FC in the next round. Early indications are that the game will be played as scheduled on 5 There are also some changes of th November, 7:45 at The Hive – their impressive personal behind the scenes, too, new stadium. beginning with the appointment of HAMZA MARCHOUD as While on the topic of fixtures, please note that Assistant Manager to there have been some changes, as listed on the Mahrez Bettache, with relevant page in today’s issue. Tuesday’s League effect from last Satur- Cup game at Bedfont is off (Ashford’s drawn FA day 12 th . Trophy tie required a replay last Tuesday, thus Then on Thursday bumping their own MSC tie with Bedfont to next (17 th ), PETER week, and sending our game back to late Novem- STANFORD was ber, by which time it may be a ‘dead rubber’). made Director of Cheshunt have been given a home draw in the FA Football, adding to Trophy, which means that their tenants, FC his duties with the Romania, cannot host us as planned next Satur- U18 side. #COMEONYOUSWANS 5 HERTFORD.indd 5 18/10/2019 15:37:21 SWANS The departure has also been announced of James Lee (who took over the Commercial Manager’s duties from Angie Payne on 2 July, prior to Angie’s departure from the Club in the first week of September), and this role is now being undertaken by an external consultant, Anthony Williams. Mahrez Bettache is now clear of his suspension, although is intending to scale back his playing involvement to concentrate on team management. Mahrez has also made several new signings, so we wel- come to the Club Zaid Al-Hussaini, Rúben Martins Dantas Carvalho, Joel Flavien Howard (who briefly played under Cristian Colás last pre-season), and Adam Toubal, as well as adding Youth ‘keeper Armando ‘Mundi’ Shkoza to the senior squad. We will introduce all the newcomers more fully in a future edition, but for now we wish all our new recruits, on and off the field, every success at STFC. In case you were wondering where our skipper JOEY TAYLOR was for the past couple of games, he was away on international duty! He was in the Montserrat side who contested two CONCACAF Nations League fixtures, alongside two others who’ve played for us in the past, Adrian Clifton and Corrin Brooks-Meade. (Joey’s brother Lyle, himself an ex-Swan, was also in the team for their two games last month, but was not involved this time). On Sunday they went down 2-0 at home to El Salvador, but on Wednesday they gained a hugely creditable 0-0 draw in the Dominican Republic, to virtually ensure they won’t be relegated to League C next time. For a nation of just 5200 people, that’s a remarkable achievement against countries with 6½ and 10½ MILLION inhabitants respectively. We wish them luck in the remaining games on 16 & 19 November. As mentioned in the last edition, we welcomed Catherine Horne and her daughter Emma to the game on Saturday, to carry out a small act of remembrance for her late father, Jim, who passed away in June. Catherine has asked me to extend her thanks to all at STFC for their support in this difficult year. Jim was our Secretary from 1982-9, and a Life member for the last 30 years of his life. Sad to say, Catherine had to advise us that her mother Avice, had passed away in hospital in Gosport just 12 weeks after her husband, and once again we extend our sympathies to the family. AVICE C. HORNE (1 April 1937 – 8 October 2019): Mrs Horne first got involved in the Club through helping in the boardroom from 1982/3, and the teabar from Sept ’83 until 1987/8. She also helped with the Juniors, and in particular doing registration for the innovative STFC Mini-League, working alongside founder Mick Clarke and his son Bob. She joined the STFC Committee in 1988, serving in 1988/9 as our Reserve Team Secretary (a post which made her one of the first women to enter the Sutton United FC boardroom, for a Suburban League AGM!) Following the resignation of her husband, took over the Secretary’s job in February ’89, serving until summer 1990, and again from 9 Mar to 15 Jul 1991. She was also Match Secretary for season 1990/1. After leaving Staines, she had spells as Secretary at both Hampton FC and Ruislip Manor FC. She assisted Jim with his Middlesex FA duties, but also became Registrations Secretary of the County League in her own right for season 1993/4; after that she was made a Vice-President, which was uplifted to a Life Vice-Presidency thereafter. Avice’s funeral takes place at 1pm on Wednesday 6th November at Christ Church, Stoke Road, Gosport. ENJOY THE GAME – COME ON YOU SWANS! #COMEONYOUSWANS 6 HERTFORD.indd 6 18/10/2019 15:37:21 SWANS TODAYS PROGRAMME There are now THREE ways in which you can enjoy the STFC official matchday programme! The first is of course the traditional paper copy, which has been thoroughly redesigned by our new consultant Sam ‘Berni’ Bernard, and is printed by Tony Vella at Print Direct Solutions of Langley [www.print-direct. net]. The physical programme is sponsored and promoted by the Staines Town FC Supporters’ Club, so please do your bit to support the Club by purchasing one (a snip at £2) and also by providing any feedback to David Norris, Christine Harberd, or John Blair in the Shop.