Tonights Game is off due to a waterlogged pitch
The Under 18’s game against Hednesford is off due to a waterlogged pitch.
Boldmere Preview – Phil Bennett
Boldmere St Michaels arrive at Stafford Rangers for this Walsall Senior Cup quarter finals as the holders. They are looking to progress to another final to add to the times they won the cup in 1987, 2006, 2007 and 2008. While we lie bottom of the Northern Premier League (step 3) Boldmere lie 8th in the Midland Premier League (step 5). The fixture has some added spice in that In September, while bottom of the league, Boldmere appointed former Rangers manager Neil Kitching as their manager and with the addition of some ex Rangers players he has seen them rise up the table.
The football club was founded in 1883 as a Youth football team attached to St Michaels, the local church Bible class. After progressing through several minor leagues, the club entered the Birmingham & District Amateur League. However, a split in the club occurred and a team called Boldmere was formed to play elsewhere. Several seasons later the two teams reformed in 1925. Either side of the Second World War, Boldmere was amongst the leading amateur clubs in the country, such that In Easter 1939 Boldmere ventured into Europe to play in the Verviers Tournament in Belgium. The Mikes triumphed and returned with the trophy to be greeted by the Lord Mayor at Birmingham New Street Station.
1947/48 saw an amateur Cup run and a 1-0 win over Moor Green in front of a record crowd of nearly 5,000 meant they were just 90 minutes away from the F.A. Amateur Cup final. The semi-final saw the club lose 2-0 to Barnet in a game played at Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium in front of a crowd of over 27,000.
As semi-professional status came more into being, Boldmere’ s desire to remain as an amateur club saw them struggle to compete and the playing fortunes of the club went into decline. In 1963 Boldmere moved to the Worcestershire Combination which later became the Midland Football Combination. The 1994-95 season saw Boldmere become one of the founder members of the Midland Football Alliance
In June 1971 a fire devastated the club and almost put them out of business however many changes have taken place regarding upgrading the facilities and the building of a superb clubhouse. Other additions have been the erection of floodlights and the building of new dressing rooms and Boardroom facilities to raise the club up to Southern League standards, a level to which Boldmere aspire to play at.
Games played on January 14th this century.
2006 Morecambe H 1-0 F A Trophy round 2
2012 Marine A 1-0 Northern Premier League
Stafford Rangers Football Club Statement
Recently Stafford Rangers fans have been reported to the FA by match referees on four occasions. Any incident that is mentioned in the referees report must be investigated by the club, and there are procedures in place that the club must follow. The FA then decides if any punishment is necessary. I know everyone is hurting at the moment but please remember that any behaviour by fans deemed unsavoury by the referee may result in disciplinary action against the club.
Statement from the Board
To all our fans
Firstly, I want to apologise to every fan for the delay in providing an official statement from the Board of Directors of our Football Club. You may be aware my wife recently suffered a heart attack over the Christmas period and spent some time in hospital. I am sure you will understand my wife has been my priority and taken up much of my time. Thankfully, she is recovering well and is now at home.
Regarding the football club.
I and my fellow Directors hear the voices of the fans and can see the passion coming from our strong fan base. We are clearly facing a huge challenge on the pitch and our season is not going as we expected. Our hunger for success burns with a passion and when we under-perform, we hurt.
I acknowledge it’s a very delicate situation and talks are ongoing daily. I would hope the fans can be patient and I can assure you all, everything possible is being done. A further statement will be made once discussions with the management have taken place.
We are all Stafford Rangers, more than just a football club!
Uptheboro’ – JB
Academy & Under 18’s update
Update on our 1st year Academy progress and our under 18’s progression in the Midland Floodlit League.
The club would like to start with announcing that Bristol Street Motors of Stafford are kindly sponsoring the Academy side, and Taylor Classics of Stafford are sponsoring the under 18’s side.
We thank both companies for their support. You can access the websites of both sponsors in the links above.
The Academy side have been together now since term started in September 2019; they train daily at Rowley Park Stadium under the professional coaching of Alex Meechan. Matches are played at Marston road Stadium. There are currently 19 members in the squad, and they are in second place in the NPLFA Joma League. The education takes place at the football club daily with the students studying towards BTEC qualifications, both the level 3 Diploma and Extended Diplomas in sport.
The under 18’s squad are playing in the Midland Floodlit Youth League and are managed by John Psaras and Oz Rowley, the team is made up of mainly 16-year-old lads that are also associated with the Academy side. This gives us the ability to offer more football to a 19-man Academy squad. We also have additional players in the squad that are not associated with the Academy, special mention to Owen Turner, Matthew Marshall and Richie Lythgoe who returned to the club to add to their experience. The under 18’s play home matches at Marston Road Stadium. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with our under 18’s the roles available are managing the gate at home fixtures and someone to write match reports. If you would like to volunteer for either of these roles please email commercial@staffordrangersfc.co.uk or call 01785 602430 and speak to Roy Sales.
Ashton Preview
Yet another 6 pointer, so no pressure on the Rangers then. If you look at corresponding league records, then there is a very strong similarity. Ashton at home in the league have won 1, drawn 2 and lost 6 whereas on our league travels we have won 1, drawn 2 and lost 8. Ashton lie 21st in the table with 15 points from their games while we are 3 points behind them but having played 2 more games. Goal difference is tight such that a win for the Rangers by 2 goals will take us of the bottom. Ashton’s poor home form has seen only 1 home win, that being against fellow relegation candidates, Gainsborough, and they have two draws with Atherton and Matlock. Defeats have come at the hands of FC United, Nantwich, Radcliffe, South Shields, Stalybridge and Whitby.
Ashton came into non-league hierarchy in 1992 with promotion from the North West Counties to the Northern Premier League 1, gaining promotion to the Northern Premier League in 2002. 2004 saw promotion to Conference North, but that lasted only for one season, and became the clubs first ever relegation in their history. Last season saw their second season in Conference North, but they returned to the Northern Premier league with another relegation. They were tipped for a quick return but find themselves, like us, deep in a relegation battle. However, just before Christmas the Ashton Board acted, parted company with manager Jody Banim. They quickly appointed Michael Clegg having tempted him from Atherton Collieries. His first move was to transfer in two players from Atherton in Ben Hardcastle and Michael Brewster. Clegg had won three promotions in five years in charge at Atherton Collieries. He has however had a tough start, yet to get a victory, so hopefully we intend to stop him getting his first win.
In recent years Hurst Cross has not been a happy hunting ground for us, with defeats in seasons 2013/14, 2016/17 and 2017/18. However, our first three visits saw us gain points in 2004/05, 2011/12 and 2012/13.
I know it is asking a lot for a large away following in our current form, but for those intrepid followers you need the sat nav of OL6 8DY to find Hurst Cross, Surrey Street, Ashton Under Lyne. Please note that there is limited street parking around the ground. Railway travellers have a choice of train from Manchester Victoria or a tram ride from Manchester Piccadilly, but with both you will have a good 30-minute walk. Admission is £12 Adult, £8 concession, (Junior 12-17, students and OAP’s) and £3 for Under 12’s, however all under 12’s must be accompanied by an adult.
Games played on January 11 this century
2003 Moor Green A 1-1 Southern League
2005 Alfreton A 1-0 Conference North
2011 Telford H 0-2 Conference North
2014 Blyth A 2-6 Northern Premier League
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