SPONSORED BY: Saturday 31st July 2021 KO: 3.00pm Todays’ match sponsor is WG WATSON MEDIA BARNES PRINT (E.A.) LTD - Producing Programmes since 1987 T: 01362 691980 ♦ www.barnesprint.com Partners: Andrew J Geddes and Anthony Scott A warm welcome to ‘The Nest’ Good Afternoon and welcome to The Nest for today’s opening league fixture of the new campaign. We offer a warm welcome to the Officials, players and supporters of Thetford Town, we hope they have an enjoyable afternoon with us and a safe journey home later. This welcome is extended to the match officials in chage this afternoon. An unbelievable amount has happened since my last set of notes back in December for the Cornard game, one that finished as a thrilling 4-3 win with Avo scoring in injury time. Following the 3rd lock down the season was again halted, however the FA continued with their re-structure and by virtue of having the second best PPG record over the past two seasons we were elevated to Step 5 for the first time in the club’s history. We did, of course, manage to play out some football in April and May and lifted the Suffolk Senior Cup for only the second time in the clubs history in late May to cap a memorable few weeks for the club. Off the pitch we have been busy, the main stand has had a significant facelift and the pitch has received significant investment as well. Work will start soon on the next stage of our ground improvements, a new stand will be built and the hard standing pathway around the pitch will be completed. Pre-season has been eventful and, at times, challenging. The recent spike of cases has led to lots of players missing games through isolations, something I expect to continue for a while yet. Indeed our last two friendlies have been called off after several cases within the squad, not ideal preparation it’s fair to say. We have had some very tough challenges that will hopefully stand us in good stead for the coming season. As usual during the close season there are lots of coming and goings. We have retained a very good core of our squad and added 5 senior players with Tom Debenham (Lowestoft), Sam Peters, Craig Nurse, Lee Hammond (all Walsham le Willows) and Nick Castellan (Swaffham). AllA of WARMour new players WELCOME bring lots ofTO experience ALL - ofEAT this levelIN OR and TAKEabove and AWAY we wish them well during their stay at the club. It is great to be back today and what a stage for the club. We now look to a first ever season at this level, a first ever FA Cup appearance as the club goes from strength to strength. As ever thanks for coming, we hope to see you throughout this historic year. Enjoy the game. Ben Officials Of The Club - Season 2021/22 President - Gene Fincham Chairman - Kevin Fincham Vice-Chairman - Steve Peasey Secretary - Janet Ashby Treasurer - Chris Phillipson Senior Development Manager - Tony Lyes Club House Manager - Ian Rampley Managers First Team Manager - Ben Cowling Assistant Manager - Alan Gyte 1st Team Coach - Tom Walker Physio - Mark Hawley Reserve Team Manager - Lee Webber & Dave Coomber Under 18s Manager - Sam Hawley Thurlow Nunn League - Premier Division PL W D L GD PTS Brantham Athletic 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ely City 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fakenham Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gorleston 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hadleigh United 0 0 0 0 0 0 Haverhill Rovers 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kirkley and Pakefield 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lakenheath 0 0 0 0 0 0 Long Melford 0 0 0 0 0 0 March Town United 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mildenhall Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mulbarton Wanderers 0 0 0 0 0 0 Newmarket Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 Norwich United 0 0 0 0 0 0 Swaffham Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 Thetford Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 Walsham le Willows 0 0 0 0 0 0 Whitton United 0 0 0 0 0 0 Woodbridge Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wroxham 0 0 0 0 0 0 1st Team Fixtures & Results - 2021/22 Date Opponents H/A Comp KO/Res Sat 31st July THETFORD TOWN H League 3.00pm Tue 03rd Aug. March Town United A League 7.45pm Sat 07th Aug. MULBARTON WANDERERS H FAC EPR 3.00pm Tue 10th Aug. HAVERHILL ROVERS H League 7.45pm Sat 14th Aug. Whitton United A League 3.00pm Sat 21st Aug. WALSHAM LE WILLOWS H League 3.00pm Tue 24th Aug Mulbarton Wanderers A League 7.45pm Sat 28th Aug. Woodbridge Town A League 3.00pm Tue 31st Aug. NORWICH UNITED H League 7.45pm Sat 04th Sept. WROXHAM H League 3.00pm Sat 11th Sept. GORLESTON H League 3.00pm Tue 14th Sept. Newmarket Town A League 7.45pm Sat 18th Sept. Fakenham Town A League 3.00pm Tue 21st Sept. SWAFFHAM TOWN H League 7.45pm Sat 25th Sept. DOWNHAM TOWN H FAV 2RQ 3.00pm Sat 02nd Oct. Brantham Athletic A League 3.00pm Sat 09th Oct. HADLEIGH UNITED H League 3.00pm Tue 12th Oct. Ely City A League 7.45pm Sat 16th Oct. KIRKLEY & PAKEFIELD H League 3.00pm Sat 23rd Oct. Long Melford A League 3.00pm Sat 30th Oct. MILDENHALL TOWN H League 3.00pm Sat 06th Nov. Norwich United A League 3.00pm Sat 13th Nov. MULBARTON WANDERERS H League 3.00pm Sat 27th Nov. Gorleston A League 3.00pm Sat 04th Dec. WOODBRIDGE TOWN H League 3.00pm Sat 11th Dec. Wroxham A League 3.00pm Mon 27th Dec. Mildenhall Town A League 11.00am Mon 03rd Jan. NEWMARKET TOWN H League 3.00pm Sat 08th Jan. FAKENHAM TOWN H League 3.00pm Sat 15th Jan. Walsham Le Willows A League 3.00pm Sat 29th Jan. WHITTON UNITED H League 3.00pm Sat 05th Feb. Kirkley & Pakefield A League 3.00pm Sat 19th Feb. LONG MELFORD H League 3.00pm Sat 26th Feb. Haverhill Rovers A League 3.00pm Sat 12th Mar. Thetford Town A League 3.00pm Sat 19th Mar. BRANTHAM ATHLETIC H League 3.00pm Sat 02nd April Swaffham Town A League 3.00pm Sat 09th April ELY CITY H League 3.00pm Sat 16th April Hadleigh United A League 3.00pm Mon 18th April MARCH TOWN UNITED H League 3.00pm Fixtures Will Change League - Thurlow Nunn Premier Division FAC - F.A. Cup FAV - F.A. Vase TN CC - Thurlow Nunn Challenge Cup SPC - Suffolk Premier Cup Our Opponents History in Brief The club was founded in 1883. Up until the First World War Thetford played in the Norwich and District League. Because, at that time, Thetford was in both Norfolk and Suffolk, the club were able to enter both Norfolk and Suffolk County Cup competitions and in 1911 they won the Suffolk Junior cup. After the first World War, Thetford played in both Norfolk and Suffolk Premier Leagues and won the Norfolk Senior Cup in 1948 and the Norfolk and Suffolk League Championship in the 1954/55 season. The boundaries were then altered and Thetford became part of the county of Norfolk. In the 1981/82 season, Thetford Town were runner’s-up in the Norfolk Senior Cup. In the 1989/90 season Town were runners-up in the newly formed Jewson League. In 1990/91 Town had one of their best ever seasons, winning the Norfolk Senior Cup beating St. Andrews 4-3 in the final and reaching the Fourth round of the FA Vase. Recent Times After a poor spell for a number of seasons, the 2010-11 season was something of a turning point for the club as, after many years in the middle and lower reaches of the First Division Town finished fifth in the league. They also reached the final of the First Division Knockout Cup to cap a great season, although they were narrowly beaten in the final, going down 3-1 after extra time as Gorleston lifted the trophy. 2011-12 saw Town build further on the momentum of the last two seasons as they gained promotion to the Premier Division, under manager Mark Scott, finishing runners up behind Godmanchester Rovers on goal difference. There was double heartache as Town were runners up again, this time in the Norfolk Senior Cup. Again it was Gorleston who emerged victorious in front of 1,150 fans at Norwich City’s Carrow Road. After maintaining the club’s Premier Division status for the following three seasons, early in the 2015-16 season, Thetford parted ways with Scott. Danny White was appointed as the new player-manager in October. The rest of the season was a struggle as Town found themselves towards the bottom of the table, but ultimately stayed up. The 2016-17 season was a vast improvement as Thetford finished in 7th place, the highest finish for the club for 26 years. The next two seasons saw Thetford finish just below mid-table, following inconsistent campaigns. However, Town reached a cup final in each season, firstly losing to Brantham Athletic in the Thurlow Nunn Challenge Cup, before a 2-1 AET defeat in the Norfolk Senior Cup final to Dereham Town at Carrow Road. With most of the squad committing for the 2019-20 season and a few solid additions, hopes were high for the new campaign. However after winning their first game of the 2019-20 season the club went on an awful run of form that saw them lose ten successive league games.