The 1st team fixtures have been released for the 2010/11 season. Steve Jay's boys will begin their campaign against new comers, Cambridge University Press. This promises to be a fast paced encounter with plenty of youthful energy on show! This is the first time they have met in their history and getting off to a good start will be imperative to both sides.

Fakenham away, and then 2 homes matches against Cornard and Downham will give the locals some indication of how STFC will perform this season with plenty of new faces on show.

Griff: "The side is coming along nicely and with probably 2 more players to add to the squad, Steve is very happy with the players we have and the quality of the ones we have retained. By the end of the week, I will report back with confirmation on all the signings."

"It doesn't matter who you get in the first few games as we have had tough and easier starts and neither made a difference! All we need to do is knuckle down, get a good end to pre-season in and hit the ground running. The lads are very enthusiastic, especially after seeing the sort of football we are playing and the ability of the new players. Exciting times!"

It is with regreat that the club have lost Christian Appleford to Mildenhall Town FC. It seems the temptation of a great financial package and close relationship with his full time job was too much to resist. We wish him all the best.

John Griffin will remain at the club and is currently putting a structure togther that will continue the plans he and Ap's set out for the upcoming season.

Griff Said....

"Although not ideal I fully understand Christian's decision. Some things in life are really too tempting to turn down. I wish him all the best. I won’t be going anywhere and will remain at the club. People who know me, know that I turned down a managers job in the Essex Senior League only 1 year ago to remain here as we have a very exciting future ahead of us and I want to be around to make it happen. The only decision for me now is do I bring in another joint manager, Assistant or a new management team and stay on the fringes ensuring the plans we put in place remain at the club? I, along with Neil Sharp, have the ideas and will do our very best to make sure things are in place within the next 48 hours. One thing is certain this announcement makes no difference to the current crop of players or the new ones coming over for our first pre season session tomorrow. They will all be working hard to get that 1st team place and will all be rewarded for their efforts.”

A reminder to all current players and any new players interested in joining that pre-season training starts next week, Tuesday 29th June.

Players should meet at the club at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

Christian, Griff, Dominic, Mark, Glen, Gary and Ian look forward to seeing you there for preparations for the 2010/11 season.

Any potential new players please feel free to conatct the first team management at the club on;

Christian Appleford, email: christian.appleford@stowmarkettownfc.co.uk (07540 280584),

or John Griffin, email:john.griffin@stowmarkettownfc.co.uk (07867 830836).

Aps

Stowmarket Town FC would like to announce the appointment of the new reserve management team for season 2010/11.  The appointments of Dominic Bowers as manager with his dad, Mark Bowers as his assistant comes hot on the heels of the news about the new U18 management structure where Glen Parker and Gary Abbott have taken on the management roles, with Ian Crick acting as a development officer between the youth and adult set ups.

Dominic has played locally and at Stowmarket U18’s in the past and recently whilst taking his FA coaching badges has managed youth teams in the Eastern Junior Alliance and Ridgeon’s Youth League where he won the Central Division of the Ridgeon’s Youth League in 2008/09.   He spent the 2009/10 season as a player coach at Debenham LC reserves.  Mark who will be Dominic’s assistant, has managed local youth teams and managed Stowmarket Town U18’s to runners-up spot in the Eastern Junior Alliance League and to the League Cup Final in his previous time at the club. Mark was also Assistant Manager with Debenham LC Reserves, but stood down in 2008 to concentrate his efforts on the u18 team.

We welcome both Dominic and Mark to the club and wish them success in their roles for the coming season.

Aps

Stowmarket Town are pleased to announce their first part of the new Management restructure in the senior section of the club. 

After the most successful under 18 season in the clubs history, with the team winning the Central Division Title, Karl Daniels and Scott Peat have decided to move on within the club and take up other posts that we know will showcase their talents even further. The club wishes to thank them for all their hard work and wish them the very best in the next steps of their association with our club. 

To that end, John Griffin and Christian Appleford have put the first part of the clubs new structure in place by appointing Glen Parker as the Under 18 manager. 

Glen has a wealth of successful experience at adult and youth level with league wins at Bramford FC, and Achilles Reserves in the SIL and a Junior Cup title to boot. After spells with Ipswich Wanderers as assistant to both Louis Newman and Steve Buckle, Glen concentrated on his coaching at youth level where he finished last season at Achilles. Glen is part way through his FA level 4 and brings with him bags of enthusiasm and knowledge of the game.  To ensure continuity within the club at this level, Glen will be ably assisted by Gary Abbott who attended 90% of the STFC Under 18 games last season. Gary himself has been a successful coach with Stowupland Flacons and with his keen eye for talent spotting will be a great asset to have at the club.

The biggest area John and Christian wanted to ensure worked well is the communication between all senior levels. Stowmarket Town Youth were once again the most successful youth club in the county and to not tap into that would be a crime. So, to ensure that all players are assessed and communicated to correctly over the coming season, they have appointed Ian Crick as Senior Development Officer of the club. Ian’s role will be to make recommendations on players and give ability reports and suggestions to the management team at their regular meetings. Ian has worked closely with Glen over the years and his knowledge of football in this area is second to none. 

STFC Webby asked John Griffin his assessment of the steps he and Christian have taken at this section of the club. “It was very important we continued the momentum started by Karl and Scott last season and combined that with the success of the youth section. Glen has always been someone I have admired for his enthusiasm, coaching techniques and reading of the game. To have him onboard will give us that continued drive. Gary helping him is a real bonus and brings with him a wealth of youth football knowledge as well as the continuity we wanted from last season.” 

What is the idea behind Ian Crick’s appointment? “We wanted someone to be separate from all the senior teams who would look across each section and assess how every player is performing to ensure none slip the net. Ian is one of those characters that most people in football know and his experience is something that can only benefit the club. He has always been an advocate, as have we, of giving youth a chance, so to have him working alongside us is a big step forward in the clubs development.” 

What’s next? “In the next few days, we hope to announce the new reserve management structure which will dovetail into the under 18 section.”

The date of the Annual General Meeting has been set and all members of the club are asked to attend to have their say on the running of the club for the next year.

Monday 11th October 2010 at 19.00 in the Club House

Thank you.

Colin