NCEL Newsletter - Issue 16, Season 2004/05
(Week ending: Saturday 12th March, 2005)

BUXTON have seen some changes in the dressing room recently with the arrival of Andy Brownrigg and Dean Fearon and the departure of Simon Johnson.

Brownrigg and Fearon, both defenders, enjoyed winning debuts in the Bucks Presidents Cup win over Selby Town.

Brownrigg was formerly with Hallam but has a whole host of other clubs on his CV including Rotherham United, Kidderminster, Gainsborough, Yeovil, Stalybridge and Morton. He was also a stalwart of the Maltby promotion winning side from last season.

Fearon too has enjoyed a spell at Rotherham United as well as stays at Ilkeston, Wakefield-Emley and Belper Town.

Midfielder Simon Johnson has left the Bucks after only a short stay at the Silverlands.

Meanwhile Buxton assistant-manager Chris Marples has been hit with a 35-day suspension from the FA following protests from the Bucks bench at a penalty decision in the recent match with Arnold Town.


PONTEFRACT’S Skinner Lane ground has once again been targeted by vandals. The main stand was extensively damaged in an arson attack at Christmas 2003 and now vandals have returned to the ground.

Ponte webmaster and programme editor Rod Naylor said: “The tea bar was broken into, and a recently acquired pool table was stolen, a TV screen was smashed, and cupboard contents strewn about the place.

“Snooker balls are still being found at various parts around the ground. In addition, the press box was damaged by a hammer attack, and wiring was ripped out from a floodlight pylon.”

The incident has been reported to the Police.


LONG Eaton United’s Grange Road ground is set to be transformed with the construction of a new stand. The 250-seater stand has long been planned but, after some delays, work has now begun on the structure which will be built alongside the existing clubhouse.


SELBY Town could soon have a new multi-million pound Conference style stadium according to nonleaguedaily.com. The website reports that two years of hard work behind the scenes has culminated in the signing of an agreement that will see a new ground for the Robins built from the sale of their current Flaxley Road home.

Wetherby-based house builders Portford Homes have inked a provisional deal to buy the ground as long as planning permission is granted. The proceeds of the sale will be ploughed into a new complex adjacent to Selby College to include a Conference-standard ground with a capacity of nearly 5,000 and a number of pitches that will be made available to junior sides and other teams in the town.

Chairman Mike Dunne said: "We have got aspirations as a club to move up the leagues but we need to make quite a lot of improvements to the ground in order to do that.

"When we were looking at the requirements, we found there wasn't much of a difference between UniBond League and Conference so we thought it would be best to go the whole distance now.

"Wouldn't it be lovely if Selby Town could play York City in a few years' time? Don't get me wrong, I want to see York back up into the League but for a town the size of Selby to be able to compete in the UniBond League - and beyond - would be amazing.

"When this is done we will be able to achieve that. And, as we are currently top of the NCEL Premier Division, it would be great to have that to aim for down the line."

The new stadium will be born out of a close working relationship between the club and the district council that has seen independent consultants drafted in at a cost of £30,000 to put forward the best solution.

After months of meetings, the club have now secured an option to buy two disused pitches from the council and some land from the college to build the new stadium. And it is hoped the deal will go through and work completed in time to move in ahead of the 2006/07 season.

The new location will help strengthen the ties with the Selby College academy and will provide a focal point for the community with junior teams based there.

Dunne added: "We have worked very closely with Selby District Council in getting this together. They have been a great help to us and we really appreciate that.

"We have worked with them and the planners and the solicitors all through this so we are hoping we have got it all right."

The joint planning permission for the housing and the new stadium will be submitted in the coming weeks.


GARFORTH Town manager Simon Clifford has denied he will step down in the foreseeable future, though he doesn’t rule out taking ‘a break’ at some point. Clifford has plotted a course he believes can take the Miners all the way to the Football league and is determined to be at the helm for as long as possible. He said: "I will be with this club for my entire lifetime, I have planned for that.

“I certainly will not be continuing on as manager for the twenty five or thirty years that it will take the club to reach the highest levels of the game.

“I have loved every second of my time this year managing a wonderful and fantastic team of players. I will start next season as manager. Any future appointment would come from within the existing coaching staff.

”As we reach the Football League and beyond I would return to managing the team on a full time basis with full time players. In the intervening years a strong coaching team will manage both the preparation and performance of the teams at the club.”

Garforth have also announced the appointment of Dean Eldredge as the clubs full-time general manager.


MICKLEOVER boss Martin Rowe has called for more consistency from his players. Sports are currently in the top ten as they enjoy their second season of Premier Division football and will better last years finish of 13th.

But Rowe said: “"A lack of consistency and a failure to convert the many chances we have created are the reasons why we are no higher up the table.”


ARNOLD Town are still waiting for a decision on their new ground and once again there are fears for the clubs future if planning permission isn’t granted soon. The Nottingham Evening Post revealed that…There will be no Arnold Town after May 31 - unless the club gets the go-ahead to build a new ground.

That's the stark warning from vice-chairman Roy Francis, who says the battle to find a new home has left them virtually penniless.

"We have spent £30,000 on solicitors, surveyors and what have you in the past year alone," he said. Two years ago, when we played Scarborough, we had £40,000 in the bank.

"We have spent a lot more since we first started the search for a new ground several years ago. Over the last 15 years we must have looked at 20 to 30 sites. But we have nothing to show for it at the moment. And, if we don't get a decision soon, it will all be wasted.

"Because after May 31 there will be no Arnold Town. We are homeless - we have had it. It is as simple as that."

Arnold have been told to leave the King George V ground at the end of the season. But they hope that, if they get permission for a new ground, the council will allow them to stay on until it is built. Their planning application is being considered by a Government inspector.

"The future of Arnold Town Football Club will again be in the hands of Gedling Borough Council," said Francis. "Arnold Cricket Club has already gone and, if we go, the town will have lost its sporting base."

Francis believes a decision has already been made. "I just hope they let us know quickly," he said. "If we get a decision by March 16 we should be all right. I just hope the council give us a bit of leeway. If they don't, there are 300 kids out on the street as well, because there are plans to build a new school, Church Drive Primary, on their pitches."


GLAPWELL have re-signed their former player Gary Castledine from First Division Retford United sixteen months after the midfielder left Hall Corner.

The hugely experienced Castledine began his career at Shirebrook before joining Mansfield Town in the Football League. After leaving the Stags he began a tour of Non-League clubs including the now defunct Telford United, Gainsborough Trinity, Gresley Rovers and Eastwood Town.

Further spells at Gedling Town and Alfreton preceded his first move to Glapwell in July 2003 before joining Retford in their promotion campaign from the Central Midlands League.