6 is the Magic Number for Boro

Hope that whets the appetite for Saturday and congratulations to all the backroom team that have worked tirelessly to make these signings happen.

UP THE BORO

All of these players are now available for sponsorship. We have two available sponsorship packages for each player along with the Manager and Assistant Manager.

Both player and management packages are £150 inclusive of VAT.

• You will get your name or business mentioned on the Web-Site and in the Match-Day Programme.
• You will receive a selected replica shirt (Home or Away) signed by the entire squad OR a Casual Shirt.
• 1 Ticket to the ‘End of Season Awards Dinner’.

Our back room staff packages, are £75 inclusive of VAT. No extras included.

Please contact our commercial team now, by emailing commercial@staffordrangersfc.co.uk or by ringing Roy Sales on 07921 943112 if you wish to sponsor any of these players, or any of our Management or back room staff. But hurry hurry, as we only have two slots available for each !

Historic day for the club

Stafford Rangers Football Club launches our new match-day commentary service this Saturday at Marston road, against our neighbours Hednesford Town.

Anyone can listen to ‘Stafford Rangers Radio’ on Mixlr. You don’t need to have an account for this, but we recommend signing up for an account to get a fuller experience of what the channel has to offer.

You’ll be able to join the chat on Mixlr livepages to interact with our broadcasters and other listeners, and you can also follow the channel to get notified about new and upcoming events.

You can join Mixlr for free by signing up with an email address and choosing your username and password.

You can also join and listen in via the Mixlr App, downloadable on Android and iOS.

Create your account now and search for ‘StaffordRangersRadio’ so you can follow us, ready for the next match.

The Hednesford Town event can be accessed now and will go live at 2.40pm on Saturday 30th July. Please support this venture if you cannot attend in person.

Stafford Rangers Football Club.

Malbon added to the squad

We are delighted to announce the signing of 18 year old forward, Ryanjay Malbon from Stoke City. Ryanjay is no stranger to the club having played for us on loan last season, until sadly he broke his foot in the away draw at Basford United.

Ryanjay has featured in several pre-season games and has impressed the management team sufficiently to earn a deal for the forthcoming season.

Welcome (back) to the Boro Ryanjay.

Ryanjay is now available for sponsorship. We have two available sponsorship packages for each player along with the Manager and Assistant Manager.

Both player and management packages are £150 inclusive of VAT.

• You will get your name or business mentioned on the Web-Site and in the Match-Day Programme.
• You will receive a selected replica shirt (Home or Away) signed by the entire squad OR a Casual Shirt.
• 1 Ticket to the ‘End of Season Awards Dinner’.

Our back room staff packages, are £75 inclusive of VAT. No extras included.

Please contact our commercial team now, by emailing commercial@staffordrangersfc.co.uk or by ringing Roy Sales on 07921 943112 if you wish to sponsor Ryanjay, or any of our Management or back room staff. But hurry hurry, as we only have two slots available for each !

We lose a real legend

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of one of Stafford Rangers’ greatest players.

“Shack” as he was affectionately known, joined Rangers in time for the start of the 1970/71 season and became a pivotal player in the club’s success over the next decade.

An industrious midfielder who took no prisoners, Shack was the first signing made by his namesake manager Roy Chapman and soon became a permanent feature in the starting line up and popular with the Stafford fans.

He made his debut on 15 August 1970 in a 3-1 win at Morecambe. The full team that day was: Quigley, G Chadwick, Morgan, R Chapman, Windsor, Machin, Mottershead, SHACK, Williams, Bailey, Latham. Rangers ended the season as runners-up in the Northern Premier League.

The following season was the historic treble season that saw Rangers win the Northern Premier League, the Staffs Senior Cup and the FA Trophy. That April afternoon in 1972 was the first of three Wembley appearances for Chapman (1972, 1976 & 1979) – a record he shared with midfield team -mate Jim Sargeant.

Besides helping Rangers to those three FA Trophy finals and the NPL title in 1972, Shack was also involved in the record breaking FA Cup run that saw Rangers reach the 4th Round proper before going down 2-1 to Peterborough United in front of 31,160 at Stoke City’s Victoria Ground. On the way Rangers defeated Stockport County, Halifax Town and Rotherham United – Shack scoring the first goal in a 2-0 win in the Rotherham replay.

Shack came to the attention of Roy Chapman at the age of just 15 while playing for Port Vale against Lincoln City in May 1967.

He had arrived from the Northumberland town of Lynemouth after being scouted by the legendary Stanley Matthews as part of the youth policy installed at Vale Park by Matthews and Jackie Mudie. He made two more first team appearances in 1967/8 but his Vale career suffered after Gordon Lee was appointed manager in 1968 and he made only eight appearances in the following two years.

With perfect timing, Roy Chapman arrived at Marston Road in 1970 and remembered the meeting three years earlier and Shack was persuaded to join the club

In 1978, Stuart was awarded a testimonial. A strong West Bromwich Albion side – including Laurie Cunningham among six first teamers – came to Marston Road and were held to a 2-2 draw.

In 1984, he was awarded a rare second testimonial as a reward for his commitment and loyalty. This time it was Wolverhampton Wanderers who were the visitors. A near full strength Wolves won 2-0 in front of 1,288.

Ron Reid was manager of Rangers at the time and in the Testimonial programme Reid wrote “ As an opponent, he was always known to be a keen competitor, a hard tackling strong midfielder. All in all, he was a winner.”

During his time at Stafford, Shack tended to wear either the number 4 or 8 shirts but, despite not being the tallest of players, Shack was also known to wear the goalkeeper’s jersey in times of emergency. Reid recalled in his tribute a match between Rangers and Worksop “Stafford were leading 2-1 when Jim Arnold was injured in a collision with Bert Bowery. Jim had to go off only to be replaced by our hero. When Shack went in goal, he made the goals look even bigger, particularly when Big Bert blasted one from thirty yards which went in just above Shack’s head straight through his hands.”

A further testimonial match at the end of the 1983/84 season brought together many of the FA Trophy winning players from 1972 & 1979.

But that was to be a farewell for Shack. He failed to agree terms with Reid for the new season and, after more than 650 appearances and 60 goals for Stafford Rangers, he opted for a contract at fellow NPL side Macclesfield Town.

Rangers and Macclesfield went on to become rivals in a keenly fought battle for the league title. Skippering the side, it didn’t take Shack long to show that he still had something to offer as he scored the opener when the two clubs met at Moss Rose in August 1984. Another Rangers favourite – Steve Burr – scored the winner as the Silkmen won 2-1.

Shack skippers his new club to a double over the Rangers when Macclesfield also won the return in April 1985 and Rangers’ lead at the top was cut to one point.

Chapman was unable to add to the one NPL winners medal that he picked up in 1972 as Rangers held on for the title.

At the end of the season, Chapman moved on to become a player-coach at Rocester and helped to guide them to the Staffs FA Vase in 1986 and again in 1987 as well as back to back Staffs Senior League titles.

Shack’s qualities on the field resulted in him being a part of the first ever semi-professional England football team although, sadly, he never got to kick a ball for the national side. He was also honoured with being a member of the NPL representative side.

Long after his playing days were over, Shack became a frequent visitor to Marston Road, along with good friend and former team-mate, Roger Jones. Off the pitch, Shack continued to entertain just as he had done so often on the pitch.

Shack – you are and always will be a Rangers legend. Thanks for the memories.

SRFC Radio is here !

Stafford Rangers Football Club can today announce, that the club will have live radio coverage from all games at Marston Road and selected away matches for the forthcoming 2022/23 season.

Joining the Stafford Rangers Media Team are: Richard Whinnerah, Craig Cartwright, and Luke Powell who will present the live coverage, providing build up to the games, commentary and in game thoughts and analysis.

There is also the possibility of some ‘Star Guests’ joining up with the team, on some occasions.

The radio coverage of the games will begin fifteen minutes before kick-off of every match and will be broadcasted live via the Mixlr app. Fans will be able to access this through their media device, such as laptop, personal computer, tablet or smart-phone.

Harlequin Teamwear have kindly sponsored ‘SRFC Radio’ for the season, which enables us to purchase the technology required.

Both of our home pre-season friendlies on the 30th July and the 6th August, will be used to test the service before the NPL season begins.

A link to ‘SRFC Radio’ will be provided in due course – so keep your eyes peeled on both our Web-Site and our Social Media Channels.

Meet your Match-Day Commentary Team:

Richard Whinnerah

“I’ve been a season ticket holder for several years now and I have really enjoyed bringing my kids to Marston Road supporting our local team.

I’ve been involved in local football for many years, and this is an opportunity for me to get involved in providing what I hope will be a great addition for the Stafford Rangers Community.

I will bring enthusiasm and a positive attitude to the commentary team and I’m looking forward to watching Rangers build on a great season last year and hopefully push for promotion.“

Craig Cartwright

“I’m an avid follower of all things sport-like and I’ve been supporting my hometown club since the late 80’s with our promotion season to the National League a real highlight.

Looking to next season, I am excited to bring my passion and enthusiasm to the listening Boro faithful, reaching out to those afar who can’t get to the game, UTB“

Luke Powell

“I’m honoured and excited to be given this opportunity to be part of the team presenting the live radio coverage for the up-and-coming season.

I’ll bring experience in presenting live (sport) radio to the team and as a student sports journalist I’m looking forward to being able to display my journalistic flair and develop my skills further.

I’ve followed the Boro closely for a few years and I’m very excited to see the team develop and build on a fantastic season last year.

I can’t wait to be behind the mic next season with Richard and Craig and I hope the audience listening enjoy the coverage of the games.“

The Club are pleased to be providing this service for the fans next season and the team is excited to get going.

Stafford Rangers Football Club.

Early Bird Offer Extended

As everyone is aware our Early Bird Season Ticket discount of 15% ended on Friday 8th July 2022.

To the over 160 fans who have so far purchased a ticket we thank you for your commitment.

We recognise that inflation is now biting and increased costs are impacting upon us all. In recognition of this we advise that the Early Bird discount offer is being extended until the 31st July to help fans take advantage of the discounted Season Tickets for another 3 weeks.

Many of the physical Season Tickets that have been purchased have now been delivered to the club by our ticketing partner Kaizen and fans will be able to collect these from the club on the following dates. Sue Bennett has kindly agreed to distribute these at the following times.

SRFC Office:

• Monday 11th July (11am – 2pm)
• Wednesday 13th July (11am – 2pm)
• Monday 18th July (11am – 2pm)
• Wednesday 20th July (11am – 2pm)

Social Club:

• Wednesday 13th July (7pm – 9pm)
• Friday 15th July (7pm – 9pm)

It’s not long now until the new season starts and we look forward to seeing you all.

You can buy your ticket now by accessing the box office.

Up The Boro