02 PAGET v Sutton United:Layout 1 12/08/2014 09:11 Page 1 02 MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 2 PAGET RANGERS FC vs SUTTON UNITED FC Tuesday 12th August 2014 7.30 pm kick off 02 PAGET v Sutton United:Layout 1 12/08/2014 09:11 Page 2 Chairman: Matthew Dainty Vice-Chairman: Tony Bradley Secretary: Heather Dainty Treasurer: John Bird Commercial Manager: Stuart Roberts Club Welfare Officer: Steve Simkins Committee Members: Greg Cragg, Julie Lickorish Matchday Assistants: John Boyle, Simon O’Neill, Chris Green 1st Team Manager: Martin Asante 1st Team Assistant Manager: Phil Morris 1st Team Match Secretary: Tony Gregory U21s Manager: Mick Coggins U21s Assistant Manager: Tony Dunbar U18s Manager: Tony Reynolds U18s Assistant Manager: Tony Hines U16s Manager: Lee Butler U16s Assistant Manager: Darren Simmonds Enquiries [email protected] Website www.pagetrangers.co.uk Twitter @pagetrangers Facebook search ‘Paget Rangers FC’ Admission: Season Tickets: Adults - £30, Over 65s - £20, Under 16s - £10 Match Day Admission: Adults - £3, Over 65s - £2, Under 16s - £1 Printed and Designed by 02 PAGET v Sutton United:Layout 1 12/08/2014 09:11 Page 3 Chairman’s Chatter Good evening and welcome to this Midland Football League Division 2 clash with our friends and rivals Sutton United. I extend a warm Paget welcome to the players, supporters and officials of Sutton United and hope to see you all in the bar after the game. We kicked off the season on Saturday with a narrow 3-2 defeat against last season's runners-up, Fairfield Villa. Paget put in a good performance overall and some silly mistakes cost us goals, however this is a new team still learning to play together and we will no doubt achieve our targets for the season. The squad has been strengthened with a signing of real quality in Marcus Brown from Romulus. Marcus is Romulus' second highest goal scorer of all time and scored over 100 goals in 150 games for the Roms. I would like to place on record my thanks to Romulus chairman, Richard Evans for his help and co-operation during the transfer process and hope Marcus can supply us with the goals to fire us to glory. The club is actively looking to strengthen in a couple of further positions to ensure that there is stiff competition for places across the park. Committed, ambitious players are the future of Paget Rangers FC and the club is now moving in the right direction to achieve this as our squad takes on it's new look. On Saturday we visit our old foes, Coventry United, in the cage at the Alan Higgs centre. There will be a big crowd in attendance so all support for the Bears is more than welcome, but first let's focus on the task in hand and that's securing three points tonight against Sutton United. COME ON YOU BEARS! Chairman,Matthew Paget Rangers Dainty Paget Bench Coat: £59.99 Paget Merchandise Store: Paget Warm-Up Jersey: £27.99 Paget Replica Shirts (Home/Away) Child Sizes: £24.99 Paget Scarf: £7 Paget Replica Shirts (Home/Away) Adult Sizes: £29.99 Paget Enamel Badges: £3 Paget Polo Shirt (Small to 3XL): £14.99 Paget Bronx Hat: £8 Paget Training Kit (Shirt, Shorts, Socks): £34.99 Paget Kit Bag: £15 Paget Tracksuit (Top and Bottoms): £39.99 Email your orders to [email protected] Paget Shower Jacket: £39.99 one 02 PAGET v Sutton United:Layout 1 12/08/2014 09:11 Page 4 Welcome today’s opponents: SUTTON UNITED A History of Sutton United FC – adapted from the detailed history on the Sutton United website. Sutton United Football Club was founded in 1947 by three young men recently demobbed from the RAF. Frank White, Ken Smith and Bill Walker had met before the start of World War II whilst with the Air Training Corps in Sutton and - after returning home at the end of the conflict - asked Squadron 495 to form an amateur football club which was agreed. So Sutton United was born - using a small monetary gift from the ATC - with Frank as Chairman, Ken as Treasurer and Bill as Secretary. The name United was chosen as there was already a Sutton Town and an Athletic. At this time rationing was still very much in force and everything - including food and consumer goods - was in extremely short supply and difficult to obtain. Green shirts became the team’s colours after they were given a blue goalkeeper’s jersey and some green shirts from the ATC, which they then made up into a complete kit. The team started out playing in a field off Cows Lane, Wylde Green, using the trees to change under and a nearby stream to wash in. Sutton United played friendly games until the club joined the Birmingham AFA after being proposed by local rivals Parkfield. Eventually, the club had to move and a pitch was found on land belonging to James Booth in Penns Lane. There were changing rooms – an old railway truck – but still no running water. This was used for 2-3 years, until Sutton Town Council provided the club with a pitch at Rectory Park. By now Frank White was the only one of the original three founders left - but Sutton United had two teams and was growing stronger. When compared to the AFA’s established ‘giants’ like Wake Green and Silhill, the club were still minnows but, even then, there was the drive to go onwards and upwards and the move towards future success was steadily gaining momentum. The Swinging Sixties saw more progress for the club. Games at Rectory Park had involved changing in a scout hut in nearby Broomie Close. But then the council built a very small and basic changing room block for the four pitches in the park. The 1960 fixture list had many of today’s familiar names such as Wake Green, Silhill, Parkfield and Walsall Phoenix. But there were also the likes of Keep Bros, Gas Officials, Dudley Old Boys, Handsworth Wood Arsenal, Cradley Chain and Castings and Birmingham Telephone Area, all of whom are now long gone. The 1970s was the decade of change for Sutton United. The teams had been strengthened by excellent players joining from rivals Sutton British Legion FC. But it was not until 1974 that the club finally achieved promotion to the Premier Division - having missed out previously because of inadequate facilities in Rectory Park. The first major success came with the Senior Cup in 1974/75 when Sutton beat Old Wulfrunians 4-3 after extra time. The following season the club lost 4-2 in the Senior Cup final after a replay and extra time. The start of the 1980s saw all the good work at the club come to fruition as Sutton United landed its first Premier league title in the 1982/83 season. Two more Premier league titles were to follow along with four more league championships and fourteen cup wins establishing Sutton United as the club to beat. The 1990’s was a quiet decade with regard to the championships although the first team finished runners-up on seven separate occasions. However, the trophy cabinet was kept busy as the club landed two Senior Cups, the Junior Cup, two Minor Cups, five Holder Cups, the Youth Cup and the Veterans Cup. In 2006-07 the first team won the Premier league title in 2006/07 after a gap of 23 years and also landed the HS Shield. After three successive Birmingham & District AFA premier division titles in 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 the club took the bold decision for the first team to move up in 2012/13 to the Midland Combination. Sutton United began the season well in both league and cup and throughout looked likely candidates for promotion. The progress in cup competitions and accumulation of postponements arising from the continual bad weather resulted in a heavy schedule of matches at the end of the season. United could not quite sustain sufficient momentum to end the season as champions but were promoted as runners-up – a tremendous achievement in their first season in the league. Furthermore the club claimed its first Midland Combination trophy with a 4-2 win over AFC Stratford in the final of the Challenge Vase. The 2013-14 season saw Sutton United adapt well at the higher level finishing in an excellent third only one point behind second placed Fairfield Villa. Sutton United in the Midland Combination: SEASON LEAGUE P W D L F A P POS 2012-13 MID C-2 32 22 6 4 103 32 71 2/17 two 2013-14 MID C-1 28 16 7 5 68 32 55 3/15 Thanks to the fchd website for this information 02 PAGET v Sutton United:Layout 1 12/08/2014 09:11 Page 5 We’ve met before Paget played two league games against Sutton United teams in the 2012-13 Birmingham AFA Division 2. Paget Rangers 3-0 Sutton United A dominant display from Paget saw the Bears extend their lead at the top of league table following a 3-0 victory over Sutton United. Played in glorious sunshine at the Gas Ground, it was Sutton who indeed started brighter. The long ball over the top was a particular threat to the Paget back line in the opening 10 minutes and only a series of saves from Paul Smith kept the score at 0-0. On 20 minutes, Midfielder Matt Coates was replaced due to an injury with Michael Harrigan returning from the bench after suspension.