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Week Four on Site

The initial groundworks are continuing on site and the unseasonable Manchester weather has allowed good progress with this vital early preparatory work.



Our pitch contractors have surveyed the existing drainage on the community pitches and have identified the extensions and improvements that we need to make before the planned reseeding of the pitches in the spring. The next few weeks will be taken up with more site preparatory work. Areas that are below the finished site ground level will be in-filled and the ’platform bed’ for the artificial pitch will be created. The construction and site compound areas will be marked out and any site materials that cannot be reused will be removed.

This week the design team will be reviewing our sustainability plans and site environmental issues. The construction is targeting a rating of ’very good’ under the BREEAM sustainable building code

As part of the review our design team will look at the physical build and the construction methods used as well as wider environmental impact and improvements across the site area.

The National Football Museum are running a project with artist Neville Gabie and archaeologist Jason Wood to commemorate the building of our new ground with a ’comparative archaeological study’ - more details to follow in the New Year.

Around the club

The first team’s good run of results and form has continued. The manager believes the new signings of Nelson Mota from Salford and Joe Fox from Frickley will freshen up and improve the options he has available in the squad. Nelson is a direct result of the scouting network that Karl established earlier this year. After being made aware of Nelson’s pace and ability Karl asked FC one of our scouts to make an assessment which resulted in us informing Salford of a ’seven days notice’ to talk to the player. Clubs interested in signing players on non-contract terms at a rival club are not permitted to make an approach to a player until they have notified the player’s existing club of their interest by giving seven days notice of an approach being made. The system is designed to protect the interest of clubs.

Some players will contact one of our coaches directly. In these cases if the player is currently registered with a club but is of interest to us then we ask to speak with the manager if he is happy for us to talk with the player then the player could be invited down to training. Those players making enquiries at the FC office are asked to submit a ’playing cv’ which is sent to the coaching staff for assessment.

If there is interest in a player on a contract at a rival club then the existing club can refuse an approach and permission to talk to the contracted player.

Our scouts are out every week watching matches either looking for possible new signings or assessing the teams that we are scheduled to play. We are always on the lookout for new scouts anyone interested should contact the office.

On an injury front Jerome Wright is clear to recommence training but still has to avoid any contact work. Amjad Iqbal is recovering from a chest infection and Chris Worsley’s knee is on the mend whilst Matt Walwyn is on his way back into full training too. Both Matty Wolfenden and Jon Worsnop picked up knocks at the Blyth game and will be assessed at training this week.

The women’s team recorded a record victory last week with a huge score and bid farewell to Francesca Davies who headed off to Dubai and a new career as an air hostess. The development squad also won last weekend with Frank van Gils netting a hat trick. Frank is part of our academy team at Manchester College and has featured for the first team this season, we have a number of players pressing their case with some really good performances of late.

Jerome Wright attended the awards evening for AFC Masters last week. Despite his injury he continues to play a role in the life of the club and gave up a Friday night to support the work of this inspiring club for disabled young people in Bolton Jerome presented each player at the club with an FC United medal.

The driving force behind the club is FC United member Iain Massignham who is supported by an army of coaches and parents. AFC Masters players were mascots for the Frickley game FC United. For the report of their visit click here

Fan Ownership

More inspirational news from the supporter ownership movement this week.

Wrexham FC is 150 years old in 2014 and after the ownership nightmares of the last few seasons the club is finally coming out of the doldrums. The club has been in the hands of the Supporters Trust for just two years and having won the FA Trophy in year one the club’s AGM was informed that the club is finally debt free click here

AFC Wimbledon have this week launched their campaign to return to the borough of Merton with a site on Plough Lane as the prime target check the details out click here

Charlton Athletic become the latest club to have its stadium designated as an Asset of Community Value click here.

The Glazer’s attempt to stop fans at United doing the same failed and Old Trafford is also now listed. Small but nonetheless what could prove to be significant steps. Details of what this means for clubs can be found here.


First Posted ~ 18:01 Tue 3 Dec 2013
News ID ~ 5232
Last Updated ~ 02:08 Tue 16 Feb 2021