News
Presentations 2008
EBOH Weekend
Sponsored Run
fees Increase Unavoidable
Car Parking
Manager of the Month - Paul Witchell
Fund Raising Disaster
New Child Welfare Officer
Stotfold FC Lottery
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U16 - RUNNERS UP
KEN MURRAY MEMORIAL CUP 2007-8
As predicted, Stotfold's brave U16 side came up against a really top quality Royston Crow Championship side in Newhall Rangers. Newhall started by far the sharper, but Stotfold were aware and although respectful, didn't give them too much time on the ball. In fact, despite their dominance, it was Stotfold that had the only clear early chance. However, the match turned on 21mins, when a hotly disputed possibly offside goal was permitted to stand and Newhall took the lead. Going in at half time, just one down gave Stotfold hope and they came out all guns blazing. For the first 20 minutes of the half, Stotfold dominated proving themselves to be worthy finalists. There was great play from all the Stotfold lads combining to set up several clear opportunities to level the match, but were unable to put any away. By this time, all the neutrals in the ground were urging Stotfold on. But it was Newhall, against the run of play, doubled their lead and effectively killed off the match. A late goal for Newhall took the final score to 3-0, where 2 was probably a fairer score. The performance and behaviour of the Stotfold lads won them respect and praise from the league management committee. A league spokesman said "You couldn't tell it was D1 v D3, they performed brilliantly and were a credit to their club". To a man, Stotfold stood and applauded their opponents as they lifted the cup. This was a fitting end to Richard Kiteley's management career at Stotfold. Arlesey boy Richard joined Stotfold Juniors as U8 Manager in June 1999 and has given 9 years service to the club. His Son Robert played for the club since 1998 when he joined the U8s as a 6 year old. Richard, who runs Arlesey & District Taxis has brought his own style of management to the club and until he got involved with Stotfold Juniors and youth football, he didn't know that Fare could be spelt another way. Congratulations to all the players on a great season and congratulations and sincere thanks to Richard for seeing them through.

U13 - JUST MISS OUT
Stotfold's brave U13s put up a great fight on Sunday against D1 championship favourites and Herts County Cup Winners, Herts Rangers in the semi final of the league cup. Having regularly dished out up to 12 goal tankings to their D1 rivals, Rangers might have expected an easy passage through to the final. However, an early James Adams goal let them know they were in a game. Rangers drew level just before half time and then two quick cheap goals in the first five minutes after the break saw Stotfold trailing 1-3. But from then Stotfold took the game to the champions elect through skill, hard work and determination. Callum Green led by example, as did the kilted Braveheart Manager Graeme Shaw. As Stotfold matched Rangers and started to really get back at them, a goal against the run of play should have killed them off at 1-4. But never say die Stotfold came back again, redoubling their efforts and Kevin Jupp's good run and inch perfect blast into the bottom corner gave Stotfold a life line and Herts Rangers a very uncomfortable last 5 minutes. 2-4 it ended and a great cup run that deserved a place in the final was ended with it. But Graeme's team proved that they are a first division quality side and hopefully they will gain the promotion they so clearly need and deserve. Congratulations to all the players on a fantastic season.

PRESENTATION EVENING 2008
Our annual presentation evening has been confirmed at Etonbury School on
Saturday 7th June 2008, starting around 5pm. Details to follow.

E.B.O.H. WEEKEND
EBOH'S bi-annual visit to Stotfold was blighted by the worst Easter weather that I can remember. However, the spirit of the weekend was certainly not diminished and the weather just meant a few logistical issues for the organisers. Friday evening and Saturday went fairly well to plan with all the events going ahead. The Seven a side football tournament in the morning at "The Arena" in Baldock was a great success. That was followed by the Wembley tour. This was enjoyed by all the visitors. Their was an extremely popular "tug of war" contest on Saturday evening, won by Stotfold. However, the main event on Sunday was the issue. Due to all the rain on Saturday, the decision was taken that the matches couldn't be played at Roker Park. Several alternatives were considered, but in the end, The Baldock Arena came to our rescue by agreeing (at extremely short notice) to open up their entire facility to us. With the onset of the early morning blizzard, there were several tonnes of snow on the pitch when we arrived. The provision of brooms and shovels from Rory Green enabled an army of Stotfold parents and coaches and EBOH coaches to clear the snow of the pitch. This was a magnificent effort and enabled the games to go ahead.
On the pitch this year, Stotfold came up against probably the best two EBOH sides we have seen for a long time. This was reflected in the scores. Our under 14s, after a very promising start, went down 1-3, the Stotfold goal coming from Jack Pollock. The under 16s, really came under the cosh losing 1-5 with the Stotfold goal scored by Jonathan Mait. Therefore, the two new Ken Waylett shields and the Alway trophy all boarded the bus for Dordrecht. The Stotfold players should all be very proud of themselves as these were very good EBOH sides selected from mainly top division teams at EBOH. The structure of their club allows them to select 32 players from almost 100 eligible players and so we are always going to be up against it.
In the adult match, we faired a little better with goals from Sam Amos and Rob Syme taking the game to 2-2 and a penalty shoot out, where Dave McAdam was dominant and Stotfold won 4-2 on penalties.
The recipient of the Stan The Man Trophy was James Casey. James was selected by the visiting coaches as the outstanding Stotfold player. The trophy was presented to James by Darren Richardson, Stan's grandson.

Our gUNDER 14 SQUAD UNDER 16 SQUAD
1 Joshua Mason 1 Dean Bainbridge
2 James Casey 2 Ben Amos
3 Ben Coxon 3 Matthew Benson
4 Matthew Cunningham 4 Alex Best
5 Michael Darlow 5 Joshua Blunt
6 Joshua Deller 6 Luke Cleverly
7 Dom Doherty 7 Nathan Cooper
8 Luke Green 8 Peter Harsent
9 Miles Larter 9 Joshua Holby
10 Connor Long 10 Ashley Kirby
11 Christopher Mait 11 Robert Kiteley
12 Jack Pollock 12 Jonathan Mait
13 Jack Simmonds 13 Lewis Page
14 Tommy Taylor 14 Jonathan Purdie
15 Matthew Tear 15 James Tear
16 Christopher Thornley 16 Craig Tuffin

The Events were sponsored by

E.H. CROUCH - FUNERAL DIRECTORS

BEALE BROTHERS, FAMILY BUTCHERS, REGENT STREET

STOTFOLD PHARMACY

GORDON GOODWIN - FUNERAL SERVICES

MANOR ROOFING

THE FOLLY BARBERS SHOP, (DOUG'S) HITCHIN ROAD

STOTFOLD JFC PENNY A MILE SPONSORED RUN
RAISED £2074 WELL DONE AND THANK YOU!
To all those that took part in the sponsored run (1st March) to raise desperately needed additional funds to cover the cost of the sturdy new goals needed to be bought by the club for use on Riverside Park. We had 106 player runners completing a staggering total of 365 miles and therefore each penny sponsored is worth £3.65 to the club. If you have sponsored someone, please pay them as soon as you can, and if you haven't sponsored anyone, it's not too late to make a donation c/o Andy Bainbridge via your team manager. When we know the total raised, we will publish it here. There were dozens of players completeing a mile and an incredible amount of players doing multiple miles and at least 6 players that completed a fantastic personal total of 7 miles each. This is the first event this season that has been very well supported with almost all the managers and coaches getting involved. Also the number of parents and siblings running with the members was great to see.

MASSIVE FEES INCREASE NOW LOOKS UNAVOIDABLE
Regrettably, a very significant increase in playing fees now seems inevitable after the Elvis Shmelvis night failed to make a profit. The event was as always a great evening enjoyed by all that came, however, the numbers attending were extremely low and all the hard work of the organisers was wasted. It now seems clear that the parents and families of the players would prefer to pay higher fees rather than support the social events. The amount will be decided at the AGM, but a 60% increase can't be ruled out.

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CAR PARKING AT THE GREEN
Parking around the Green is a highly sensitive issue and parking right up to the junction with Regent Street is, selfish, dangerous and illegal. Please ensure that all Home and Away "football" cars use the car park at Roker Park at all times. Failure to comply will result in the Town Council withdrawing permission for us to play on the Green. The club can't afford for that to happen and therefore if any teams are identified as causing this problem, they will either have to play all their matches away or be permitted to use the Green only at a time when the club management are available to steward the parking on their behalf.
PLEASE DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE THE PERSON WHO'S SELFISH ACTIONS COSTS THE ENTIRE CLUB THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THIS VALUABLE FACILITY

ANOTHER FUND RAISING DISASTER
The Christmas disco has become the latest casualty in our fund raising programme. It was so badly supported that the club has made an overall loss on the evening. This is unacceptable as a club of more than 200 players could not sell more than 24 tickets to an adult Christmas disco. The committee will meet at the end of January and will have to have a full and frank discussion on the future of fees at our club. We have always been very proud of the fact that our fee of £47 per annum is dramatically less than any other club in the area. Arlesey is probably next lowest at £75 per season with some clubs charging more than £100 per season. We maintain these low fees through a significant fund raising programme, but without support from parents it can't be done. Any suggestions as to how we might overcome the apparent apathy without just hiking up our fees would be well received.

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Paul Witchell
MANAGER OF THE MONTH
U9 Manager Paul Witchell collected his 2nd Manager of the month award for April 2008. PAul's two squads won all their matches this month and his A team has gone the whole season unbeaten. Richard Conway just lost out on goal difference.

MANAGER'S OF THE MONTH 2007-8
September - Ray Mait U14
October - Paul Farquharson U12
November - Richard Conway U10
December/January - Paul Witchell U09
February - Andy Bainbridge U15
March - Paul Farquharson U12
April - Paul Witchell U09

Meet our Child Welfare Officer
Andrea Bainbridge has been appointed as Child Welfare Officer with Dawn Kirby as her assistant. Andrea (pictured left) has served on the committee for three years and is a Child Care Professional. Should any parent or member of the club have any concerns relating to the welfare and safety of the children during club activities, you should contract Andrea in confidence on 01462 731254 or email us but remember that email is not secure and should not be used for any confidential or sensitive communications.

STOTFOLD F.C. LOTTERY
The lottery is an in club lottery with prizes to date of £6,400 per annum. All the profits from the lottery are shared equally between the senior and junior clubs and it is a crucial part of our fund raising portfolio. For details please visits the LOTTERY page. This year's jackpot of £2000 was drawn of Sunday 2nd September in the clubhouse.

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