Stafford Rangers are delighted to announce the signing of central midfielder Tom Tonks.
Tom Tonks returns to the Boro
Fans will have fond memories of “Tonksy” after his previous stint at the club where he helped us win the Staffordshire Senior Cup, and wowed fans with his trademark set-pieces.
Incoming..
Since then he’s enjoyed a fruitful few years, winning promotion to the National League with Tamworth, as well as gaining national recognition for his part in The Lambs FA Cup run that ended against Tottenham Hotspur in the third round.
Following his departure from Tamworth, he became a free agent and manager Graham Deakin worked tirelessly in order to get the deal done, and welcome back the fans favourite to the Stan Robinson Stadium.
Deakz said on the signing:
“I’m really chuffed to get Tonksy through the door. It was about finding the right profile of player, and did I think it would happen? Three to four weeks ago, no.
Personally though I have worked really hard on this deal, and I have known Tonksy a long time, so to get it over the line I am absolutely delighted.”
Tonks rejoins the side having already made 93 appearances for the club, scoring 24 goals during that time.
Stafford Rangers are pleased to announce the signing of experienced goalkeeper Russell Saunders.
Saunders, 37, joins the club having recently left Bury, where he was a popular figure both with staff and fans and part of their past two promotion winning campaigns.
Russell Saunders
Russell’s addition brings a wealth of experience to the goalkeeping department, having started his career at Wigan Athletic, he moved on to a number of North-West based non-league clubs including Hyde United, Chorley, and Altrincham, where he won promotion to the Conference National in 2014.
Coaching Role
As well as joining the club to push and offer his 20 years of experience to Leon Phillips, Russ will also assist Scott Cooksey with goalkeeper coaching, a role he is familiar with given his previous coaching experience as a 1 to 1 Goalkeeper Coach.
On signing Russ, manager Graham Deakin said
“I’m delighted to get Russ signed. This shows we are doing business in every department and we now have two high quality goalkeepers in Leon and Russ.
In recent years, the knock on effect caused by goalkeeper injuries has been there for everyone to see, so having a strong goalkeeping unit is absolutely vital for where we want to take the club, and they will push each other every training session and game.
Russ brings a wealth of experience and is a winner. He was part of the Bury squad that won back to back promotions, and was in a high-performance, winning environment that we are trying to cultivate at the club.
Alongside his player role he will also support Scott Cooksey with training sessions for the other goalkeepers, so I am really pleased with the addition of Russ and look forward to seeing him get down to work.”
It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of former Stafford Rangers striker Paul Cavell.
Paul Cavell
Cav joined Rangers in December 1987 when he was signed by Ron Reid from Goole Town.
Born in Worksop on 13 May 1963, he spent his early years at Notts Forest, signing for them in 1979. He left after two years and cited not being taken on by them as one of his worst moments in football. He subsequently signed for his home town club, scoring on his debut as a 18 year old against Gainsborough Trinity on 27 January 1982. He went on to spend a total of 5 years with the Tigers before moving to Goole Town.
Spell with the Boro
After impressing at Goole, he moved to Rangers for a £5,000 fee and made his Rangers debut in a 2-1 victory over local rivals Telford United on 28 December 1987 and recorded his first goal for the club as Rangers defeated league leaders Barnet on 6 February 1988.
His talents were quickly obvious to Rangers fans and, despite only having made a handful of appearances at the time, a brief profile in the Stafford programme noted “…he has already given plenty of indication that he WILL make a name for himself at non-league’s top level”. With Reid singing the praises of his new singing, it was a role reversal after Cavell had spent his youth cheering on Reid while he was leading the attack at Central Avenue.
At the end of his first season, he had netted 15 goals including a hat trick at Bath City. Disaster struck at the start of the 1989 season when he suffered a broken leg in a game against Telford United which forced him to miss two months. His return was greeted by a tremendous reaction from Rangers fans and he quickly regained his form to add another 12 goals to his career tally, including a lobbed finish to earn a relegation avoiding win against Kettering Town on the final day of the season.
In 1989/90, Rangers reached the FA Trophy Semi Final – the club missing out on a Wembley final with a heart-breaking defeat by Leek Town – but there was no such joy in the league as the club faced another battle against relegation. Survival was eventually achieved in another dramatic final day win against Farnborough Town, Cav again making his mark with an 80th minute equaliser after Rangers had gone 2-0 down in the first few minutes.
That goal marked his last contribution in a Rangers shirt as he re-joined former manager Ron Reid who was now in charge at Boston United. He had scored 39 goals in 108 appearances for the Boro, many of them watched by his father John who travelled the country in support.
After the Boro
Cavell spent a couple of years at Boston before a move to Dagenham & Redbridge in 1992 and it was while he was at the East London club that he received a call up for the England semi pro side, making his debut v Wales on 3 March 1992. He also appeared for the prestigious Middlesex Wanderers side.
In 1994, he moved to Gateshead for a club record £9,000 fee before being signed by Sammy McIlroy at Macclesfield Town the following summer where he collected an FA Trophy winners medal.
In 1996, he moved on to Purfleet but returned to Boston in 1997 and spent another year at York Street before going on to appear for Gainsborough Trinity and Matlock Town in 1998.
After his playing career ended, he remained in the game in various capacities as a scout, coach and manager at the likes of Boston, Maltby, Dagenham, Sheffield United and Tamworth.
Our sincere condolences go to his family and friends.
Stafford Rangers FC are delighted to officially welcome Jamie Kelly as Manager of our Women’s Team.
Alongside his background as a youth coach and the experiences gained in the UEFA C qualification process, Jamie has coached across multiple sports, including Rugby and American football, most recently coaching and serving in the committee Vice Chair role at American Football club, Sandwell Steelers. He also brings extensive experience as an Analyst and Scout across football – men’s and women’s – and American Football, and brings a creative approach to the role built on preparation, tactical detail and a clear philosophy for how the game should be played.
By trade, Jamie is a Technology Executive with 12 years experience in leading teams across enterprise tech, AI and automation. That same rigour and leadership now comes in clutch, with a plan to build the women’s team into a side fit for a pyramid climb.
Speaking about his appointment, Jamie said:
“I have had a brilliantly warm welcome to the club, and I am genuinely excited to get our community behind women’s football at Stafford Rangers. What strikes me already is the technical quality on show in our open sessions – there is real talent here to work with, and that gives us a very strong foundation to build on.
Moving forward, I want us to be the best-prepared and one of the most tactically innovative sides in the league – one that is hard to play against across all phases because we have done the work that others haven’t. That starts with our standards: clinical in our technical skill, relentless in our togetherness, and proactive in everything we do on the pitch.
I am excited to get to work, enforce those standards in our upcoming pre-season, and build something the players and this club can be proud of.”
We are thrilled to have Jamie leading this exciting new chapter and look forward to supporting him as we continue building women’s football at Stafford Rangers.
One final opportunity to Join Us
Our open training sessions have already attracted an excellent turnout, and with both our 7-a-side and 11-a-side teams now formally entered into league competition, we are preparing for an exciting season ahead.
We are off to a flying start already; with Jamie and backroom staff keen to watch the players in action to understand their current ability and identify areas of focus, the 7s team are taking part in the Staffs Girls and Ladies Mid-week Summer League and as yet, remain unbeaten – having so far played local rivals, Stafford Town and Walsall-side, Lane Head.
We have one final open session at Rowley Park on Monday before we begin finalising our squads. If you want to be part of that journey, why not pop down and see what they are all about?
All positions at all levels of ability are welcome.
Training Details:
Monday Evening: 8:00pm – 9:00pm Rowley Park, Stafford, ST17 9XX
We’re building something ambitious, and players joining now have the opportunity to be part of the journey from the very beginning.
What We Offer:
Competitive football in both 7-a-side and 11-a-side formats
Midweek training and home matches at the Stafford Rangers stadium
A genuine opportunity to help shape an ambitious new women’s programme
Supportive, inclusive and competitive team culture
Structured, tactical coaching focused on improving individual player development and team performance
Opportunities to progress as the women’s section grows
For women’s football at this level, the quality of facilities and club infrastructure available at Stafford Rangers is exceptional, with a 150 year history, and provides an environment that few clubs can match. There is a lot going on at the Stan Robinson Stadium over the next 12 months, after the recent £1million investment that will see a 3G pitch next year as we strive for sustainability. Join us in black and white, and be part of a club with a strong community identity and a serious, measured, long-term vision.
Stafford Rangers are pleased to announce the signing of attacking forward, Wealth Da Silva.
Da Silva, 26, joins from Wythenshawe Town, having made a name across the North- West region as a hungry player, with an eye for goal.
Wealth da Silva with manager Graham Deakin
Having previously turned out for Witton, Nantwich and Mossley, Wealth is no stranger to this level and provides manager Graham Deakin with an additional option in attack.
Ahead of the move manager Graham Deakin said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to sign Wealth. He’s a different profile of striker to Scott and Darrhyl and he did well in a team that was at the wrong end of the table last season..
We knew with Darrhyl’s work commitments as a firefighter and him missing a certain amount of games through the season that we needed to add another striker to our squad we would need cover and Wealth fits the bill, and he was desperate to come to Stafford.
We look forward to seeing him scoring goals for the Boro next season and hope everyone can welcome him to the club”
You can catch an interview with Wealth later this week on our socials
Stafford Rangers are delighted to announce the signing of versatile wide player Bebeto Gomes from Bury FC.
Bebeto Gomes
Gomes, 27, joins from The Shakers for an undisclosed fee and becomes manager Graham Deakin’s eleventh signing of a busy summer, as the club steps up its ambitious project on and off the pitch.
Born in Portugal, Gomes made a name for himself as an attacking full back with plenty of pace to burn, featuring for numerous sides in the North West region including Stockport Town, Radcliffe, Stalybridge Celtic, and most recently Bury, where he won the NPL West division title last season.
Head scout George Stephens had the following to say about the signing:
I would like to personally thank Johnno and Bury FC for their co-operation throughout this process. We have achieved an agreement that represents fantastic value for the football club and we would like to place on record our thanks to Bury FC in their assistance in completing the deal.
Bebeto is a player we identified very early on as one of the best in his position outside of the National League. Fans, I am sure will remember him from January and how good he looked on that day. When this looked like it could become a real possibility towards the end of last week, it was important that myself and Deakz moved quickly to secure his signature.
We are absolutely thrilled to have him in the building. We have beaten off stiff competition from Step 2 and Step 3 clubs to get his signature and this shows how attractive a proposition the project at Stafford Rangers is to high-quality players like Beto. We look forward to him representing our fantastic football club as we move into the new season.
We hope you can all give him a huge welcome to the club!
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