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KICKING-OFF
A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN
For the final time this season, welcome to Ingfield and thankfully we are reaching the natural end of the season where all fixtures will be fulfilled and not “null and voided” or “curtailed” as we saw in the previous two seasons!
Since the merger of Town and Albion unbelievably this will be just our second full season. In 2018/19 we took the final play-off place finishing in sixth with a home record of ten victories which ahead of today’s game is the same amount of home wins we have had this season, with six of them since the turn of the year.
Our away form, it is clear to see is the reason we will end this season in a position around the ninth place we sit before kick-off today.
With the changes that have taken place I believe we are in a strong position going into the summer and looking ahead to next season.
Talking of next season, it has been announced this week that the opening league game of the 22/23 season will be Saturday 13 August, so get those summer holiday’s done by then! Before then though we have the small matter of a local derby with Tadcaster Albion, a side who have found form of late and will be a stern challenge today, despite our good recent home form.
With the season soon to be completed, Presentation Night will take place here on Saturday 14 May, all the usual awards will be on offer. Luke Swinden will soon be making plans known so you can vote for the Supporters player of the year award.
You are all invited to join us - no ticket required. We will have use of the full clubhouse and there will be a disco and karaoke as well as the presentation and, importantly, it will be member prices for all as a special thank you to all our fans for supporting this great club.
It will be great to see you there to celebrate the end of the season and to look forward to the next one.
Enjoy the game!
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The Presidents Address
Neville Wigglesworth
After today we are just one game away from the completion of our fourth season as Ossett United. In our first one we exceeded all expectations by reaching the Division One East play-offs before going down in extra time to Pontefract Collieries in the semi-final.
Also, not forgetting in that inaugural season, that we lifted the West Riding County Cup with victory over National League side Guiseley in front of a bumper crowd of over 1,118.
In seasons 2 and 3, both of which were aborted because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have to be realistic in reflecting on the fact that we could have been flirting with a relegation battle rather than looking upwards towards the promotion places. This season started promisingly enough but we have ultimately stuttered and spluttered albeit to a comfortable mid-table situation. At this stage in our relatively short existence as a united club I think overall we’ll be fairly happy with that.
Hopefully by the time you read these notes which are being written prior to the Hebburn game, we will have cracked the milestone of the 50 point barrier for the current season. A single point in Saturday’s away fixture at Hebburn would be enough to ensure that. 50 points at this level of football is no mean feat and would give us a sound platform to build on next season.
Regardless of the Hebburn result we will top 50 points with any kind of positive result against our Yorkshire neighbours Tadcaster Albion this afternoon. Both games also give us the opportunity to record league “doubles” over our opponents. Back in late August we carved out a 2 – 1 win over Hebburn here at Ingfield and in late December, under the interim managers James Walshaw and Ross Killock, we won 3 – 2 away at Tadcaster.
Another real bonus of this season has been the actual increase in our match day attendances. League newcomers Stockton Town lead the Division One East attendance league table but Ossett United are a very creditable second in the rankings with our average home gate prior to this afternoon standing at 505. I feel we have the potential to build on this figure year upon year and hopefully the townspeople of Ossett will back us again throughout the 2022/23 season.
I don’t think we should forget either that we are not exactly competing on a level playing field with most of the clubs in our division that being due to the unfortunate and highly significant debts we were burdened with in the early days of our existence.
Such were the levels of debt I am not alone in believing that many clubs in a similar situation as ourselves would undoubtedly have folded. But we are Ossett United and, against all the odds, we are coping and managing the situation and things have moved very much in the right direction in this respect. That this is the case is testament to the brilliant stewardship of our administration.
Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we will have cleared all outstanding monies and then we will be better placed to realise our ambitions for advancement. Next season, not wishing to put undue pressure on our management duo Jas and Mark, it would be nice to pick up a few bob from the FA Cup prize money pot – something which has been sadly lacking in recent years.
During the close season further ground development projects are in the pipeline and we can look forward to our terrific group of volunteers getting stuck in to whatever needs doing. At our level of the game only with volunteer help can we move forward and it has to be recognised that we are indeed fortunate to have a group here at Ingfield which I consider to be second to none. Your efforts are, as always, very much appreciated and never merely taken for granted.
As the curtain is about to come down on our season next Saturday at Marske United we hope supporters enjoy the break and come back again next season with renewed optimism for what might be achieved. Thanks again for your support and we look forward to seeing you all in season 2022/23.
Neville Wigglesworth – President Ossett United FC
Managers Corner
With Jas Colliver
Good afternoon and welcome to staff, club officials and players of Tadcaster for todays final home game of the season.
Tadcaster have been on a good run of form and no doubt like ourselves want to finish the season on an high so today will be a tough fixture.
Our home form has been excellent so hopefully today we can finish the season in front of our fantastic supporters with all three points.
In our last home game we out worked, out fought and out played a strong Worksop side who will be disappointed that they haven’t finished the season in a play off position or more. We showed we can compete against strong sides in the division but like we’ve said on a number of occasions this needs to happen more often.
On Saturday we were all gutted to lose that one away at Hebburn, I thought it was a good game to be part of with two sides trying to play in the right way and throwing everything at it so late on in the season.
My fear was that the game could’ve been a non event but it was far from that and that’s testament to this group of players. I felt Saturday was the first time we didn’t get what we deserved, I felt a point would’ve been fair but if we had took all three points I don’t think anyone would’ve been surprised. Hebburn are a good side, play a different way to most in this division so tactically we were pleased with the lads.
As the season draws to a close I’d like to thank everyone who has made us feel welcome, I know there has been many changes since January but hopefully the vast majority of you can see the direction and calibre of players we are looking to bring in. Thank you to the board for their full backing, thank you to the volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure match days are a success and finally you as supporters - you have been incredible.
We are an ambitious management team who want to be a successful here at Ossett United, we work our socks off, train hard and prepare properly. We are hoping this is evident after a preseason of working on certain things and building a competitive squad to progress this club on and off the pitch.
Enjoy the game.
Jas.
A view from the Press Box...
Craig Biddlestone
So, we’ve reached the end of another eventful season, though the strange thing being is of course that thanks to the pandemic it’s actually our first completed season since 2018/19.
In that first season we brilliantly won the County Cup and got through to the play-offs, despite the fact that had we actually won those play-offs we wouldn’t have gone up thanks to the unique way the FA restructure the football pyramid.
The two curtailed seasons we struggled near the wrong end of the table but as a club still in our infancy we overcame a whole host of off field problems in order to become the self-sustaining club we wanted to become when we merged, and whilst this season started off brightly we slipped away from those top 5 positions, but, there is certainly plenty to build on for next season, especially as Jas and Wardy continue to build a quality squad. If we maintain our home form going in to next season and improve the away form then the world is our oyster!
Completely changing the subject it’s only right we touch on the media team. One thing I want to try and do here is to build a reputation as a club where we are known for helping students who want to work in media by allowing them to showcase their talents and help them make the step in to media once they’ve finished at university. Before the pandemic we did just that with Tom Lane and Dan Johnson, and this season it’s been great experience for Chris Cassidy and Chris Boyd and more recently Harrison Carpenter. Chris Cassidy is in his second year at Leeds Beckett University and I’m pleased to say that he will be staying with us as an excellent radio commentator for the 2022/23 season, but in the case of Harrison and Chris Boyd they are coming to the end of their time at Huddersfield University and regrettably at Ossett United too (at time of writing).
With Harrison it’s been a case of short but sweet since he came in to do match-day Twitter and match reports, but he leapt into his role with desire and passion and has been an excellent asset, we wish him well in the future and hope he stays in touch and we see him back at The World Famous Ingfield soon. For Chris Boyd we are losing who a person who in my eyes is the best cameraman, graphic editor and content creator in the league, it’s going to be along arduous summer trying to replace a person who is not only fantastic at what he does but is also a fantastic person. Wherever Chris ends up we of course send him away with our best wishes, but Chris who has become a good friend of the club has also hinted at becoming a member in the future.
Also, let us not forget Keith Wood and Jon Hunt who continue to provide quality photos, I know that everybody associated with the club is really appreciative of the images they produce, none more so than me who is appreciative at the lack of photos of me! Jack Sloan also deserves a mention of course, despite moving in to a different role at the club as video analyst he continues to do excellent work on our match-day programme and website, his work certainly doesn’t go unnoticed but whilst he’s replaced the terraces with the bench he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves.
Finally, I’d just like to give a special mention to our two radio guests on Saturday at Hebburn. Gary Wigglesworth who of course many of you know and was originally with me when we created Ossett United radio was joined by his friend Kendall Rowan who is interested in getting in to media. Kendall is very prominent on social media and has often been seen as a Newcastle United fan giving her views on her club on Sky Sports News and other media outlets, both did brilliantly in assisting Chris at Hebburn and made it a very refreshing listen from my lounge back here in Ossett.
Thank-you to all of our brilliant media team and thank-you to you all of you supporters that read my waffling programme notes, your support is always appreciated.
Enjoy the game.
Craig
OSSETT UNITED
SQUAD LIST
Ossett United Coaching Team:
- Manager: Jas Colliver
- Assistant Manager: Mark Ward
- Coach: Gary Middleton
- Physio: Emily Crispin
- Video Analyst: Jack Sloan
Ossett United Squad:
- Ed HALL (GK)
- Jake TEALE (GK)
- Brad BEATSON
- Jack COWGILL (C)
- Ellis FARRAR
- Mark EDUR
- Harry GAGEN
- Ross HARDAKER
- Dec McGIVERN
- Kieran BLADES
- Aaron HASWELL
- Luke HOGG
- Josh WALDRAM
- Oli METCALFE
- Curtis MORRISON
- Craig NELTHORPE
- Charlie WOOD
- Ify OFOEGBU
- Jordan TURNER
- James WALSHAW
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Tadcaster Albion
SQUAD LIST
Tadcaster Albion Coaching Team:
- Manager: John Deacey
- Assistant Manager: Andy Monkhouse
- Physio: David Allpress
Tadcaster Albion Squad:
- Simon Russell
- Corey Roper
- Dan Hartley
- Jack Crook
- Romario Vieira
- Eddie Church
- Kesi Omolokun
- Kieran Burton
- Des Amponsah
- Mark Ferguson
- Donald Chimalilo
- Jordan Deacey
- Jack Carr
- Chris Howarth
- Harry Fisk
- Ally Hughes
- Tom Goddon
Tadcaster Albion History:
Formed in 1892
The club is believed to have been formed in 1892 as John Smith’s FC. It wasn’t until 1923 that the Tadcaster Albion AFC name was adopted. In the early years the club played in the local York League. Which they won in 1948 . They continued competing in the York League during the 1950’s & 60’s.
Tadcaster Albion, in the early days, played home games on the site of the cricket ground on Station Road, before moving to the Ings ground, near to where the present Samuel Smith Brewery Packaging Block now stands.
Changing facilities were in the town, at the rear of the Falcon Public House on Chapel Street, and it was a common Saturday afternoon sight to see nets, corner flags, buckets, oranges, players and officials trekking through the town.
Down the years the club has played in several leagues. In early times, Barkston Ash and later still, the Yorkshire and Northern Counties East Leagues.
Football continued on the Ings ground until 1960, when the club moved 100 yards up river to its present home at the Park.
In 1973 the club joined the Yorkshire League Division 3 and were promoted in 1975 & 1977 to reach Division 1, relegation was to follow in 1979 & 1980.
In 1982/83 they became a founding member of the Northern Counties East League, originally in the NCEL Division Two North before league reorganisations led them to Division One in 1991. They rarely finish in the top half of the league in the 1990’s and finished bottom in 2001/02 & 2003/04.
At the start of 2004/05, Jim Collis became manager and at this point fortunes on the pitch started to improve dramatically. In his first season, Albion finished 5th in the league, the following year a 3rd place finish meant promotion was missed by one point.
Jimmy Reid took over as manager in 2006, but his time was blighted by off the field problems. An attempted hostile takeover by dissident committee members took a massive amount of money to fight. Then in Nov 2007, an attempted arson attack on the clubhouse caused a lot of damage.
Paul Marshall took over at the start of 2008/09, in his first season he played mostly local players and the team struggled and finished 17th.
In 2009/10, with an influx of a few new key players, Albion won the NCEL Division One title. In 2010, Rob Northfield, took over as Chairman of Tadcaster Albion (2010) Ltd, and the club became a company limited by guarantee.
Albion finished fourth in their first season in the NCEL Premier Division and won the NCEL President’s Cup, beating Farsley AFC 5-1 in the final. That was followed by an 8th place finish in 2011/12 and 6th in 2012/13.
In the 2013/14 season Rob Northfield resigned a few days before the start of the season and i2i Sports Ltd agreed to take effective control of the club and company, with Matthew Gore becoming the new chairman.
In 2014/2015 the Brewers lead the NCEL Premier for most of the season, but a poor run of games in March led to them finally finishing in third. An excellent run in the FA Vase saw them make history by making it through to the Quarter Final of the FA Vase where they drew a record - breaking crowd of 1,307, but were narrowly beaten by Highworth Town. At the end of the season manager Paul Marshall left and former Harrogate Railway boss Billy Miller was unveiled as his replacement.
In 2015/2016 the Brewers lead the NCEL Premier for most of the season once again, but this time they held their nerve and finished Champions with a 2-1 home win over Armthorpe Welfare. They also made it to the League Cup Final but were beaten in a thrilling 3-2 game against Cleethorpes Town.
In 2016/2017 the Brewers started their first ever season in the Northern Premier First Division North. With a mix of old and new players Billy Miller was back in his old stomping ground and his experience and knowledge of this division was needed. The Brewers started the season well and were in the play-off spots, then injury problems hit the team and the season seemed to run away from them. They finished 19th in the league which spelt the end of the management team with Michael Morton and Simon Collins taking over.
2017/18 season saw the team quickly finding it’s feet as the fortunes took a turn for the better after the new year with Michael & Simon steering the club to its highest ever finish reaching the play-offs after a dramatic final day. This once again brought massive excitement amongst the club and town but unfortunately it ended in semi-final defeat 2-1 at Bamber Bridge despite taking the lead and putting in a valiant performance.
The 2018/19 season saw the Brewers move into the Northern Premier East Division after the league switched from a North/South divide to an East/West split. It was another positive one for the club finishing just outside the play-off places in 7th having been in the top six for most of the season. At the end of this campaign Manager Simon Collins decided to step down and several players moved onto new clubs.
2019 / 20 Former professional footballer and boxer, Curtis Woodhouse took charge, initially having only four players on the books. He built a new squad and for the first 3 months of the season we began to look like promotion contenders. Curtis left the club at the end of October and Paul Quinn inherited the mantle with Steve Waide as his assistant. The second half of the season was overshadowed by four devastating floods at the Stadium , before Covid 19 brought everything to an impromptu finish .
2020/21. Paul and Steve reorganised the playing Management over the summer months with support teams to deal with the analytical side of things, with fitness and injuries and with emerging talent. Thirteen of the previous season’s squad renewed their contracts and six exciting new players joined. It was looking good for a play off place when Covid struck again.
2021/22 With the unexpected departures of Paul Quinn and Steve Waide, the opening matches were a great disappointment. However, the appointment of the experienced John Deacey as team Manager plus Andy Monkhouse as his Assistant, has seen a dramatic upturn with far better results. Early days yet but we are moving in the right direction.
Book Review - Towering Tales & a Ripping Yarn: Yorkshire Football's Grassroots Legends by Steven Penny
This is not Steven Penny’s first book looking at football in Yorkshire, as he took a look at the soccer scene in the White Rose county with, Soap Stars and Burst Bubbles, featuring the 2002/03 season. Penny had hoped to revisit many of the Clubs featured in that book, but COVID put pay to that as football at non-league level was effectively shut down, with the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns in many divisions made ‘null and void’. As a result the author had to rethink his plans as the country and football, stopped and started, around the various lockdowns.
What Penny has produced is a record of the game as it learned to live with the restrictions that COVID brought. This saw socially distanced sitting and standing, temperature checks for players, officials and spectators, e-tickets, face masks, hand sanitiser stations and in some instances playing behind closed doors the new ‘normal’. It seems strange some two years on since the first lockdown that the game and indeed life in general has pretty much returned to as before, therefore this book is a good reminder of the hoops that needed to jumped through for players and fans alike to get their football fix.
As with Soap Stars and Burst Bubbles, Penny uses a diary format to record each game, with details about the Clubs taking part, some interesting associated storis about past players and some brief match details. In terms of the time-line, August 2020 marks the starting point with chapters through to December 2020 before lockdown and a resumption of games in April 2021 through to June 2021. Whereas Penny focused on the steps taking in the Northern Premier League, Northern Counties East League and the like in 2002/03, in Towering Tales & a Ripping Yarn, he has to step down even further in the English football pyramid, where COVID restrictions allowed the playing of games in non-enclosed ground. As a result readers are introduced to the grassroots levels of the Yorkshire Christian League, Humber Premier League and Doncaster Saturday League amongst others, as well as the cup competitions of the Huddersfield League and Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League.
Once again Penny finds points of interest at all the games he attends, making links between the fixtures he attends and tales of ex-players such as England World Cup winner Gordon Banks and Manchester United legend Dennis Law, as well as renowned musician Paul Heaton and even Michael Palin from the classic Ripping Yarns tale of Golden Gordon shown on the BBC in 1979. This is another winner from Penny to follow-up on the success of Soap Stars and Burst Bubbles, taking readers back to a time, we hope we don’t have to endure again.
(Publisher: Victor Publishing. January 2022. Paperback: 248 pages)
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Match Highlights: Hebburn Town 2 - 1 OUFC
Club Shop
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GEOFF'S STATS
Ossett United is a trading name of Ossett United Limited, a Private Limited Company limited by shares.
It is registered at Companies House, Company number 11162425. There are two people with significant control. J Rogers (31.525%) and D Rogers(25.5%).
Credits:
JonHuntPhotography Keith Wood