Month: December 2015

Shildon Staying at Dean Street

From Mike Amos “The Chairman’s Blog”

Chairmans blog by Mike Amos

December 21 2015

Shildon are staying at their Dean Street home, elderly but much loved. After years of speculation, and a great deal of hard work and exploration, the decision was taken at tonight’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
My own shareholding, it should be explained, is humble. It’s precisely four and with a face value, memory suggests, of 25p apiece. Sell? No chance, they could be worth 50p one day.
The club has long contemplated a move, not least because of the perceived need to grow an academy and development sides but also because the dear old “pagoda” stand has seen very much better days. That the seats and flooring are wooden also means that attracting funding for refurbishment would be difficult.
Several property developers had expressed an interest in the ground – opening up the possibility of a move to an athletics stadium on the edge of the town – but nothing acceptable has materialised.
So what now? The club will look to erect a 250-seat stand to replace the existing cover on the far side, allowing the seating areas of the old stand to be mothballed. The dressing rooms and clubhouse will be upgraded, with the hope of an academy partnership with Sunderland’s Foundation of Light.
Club director David Dent has done a huge amount of work on the whole project, The backing for his recommendations was unanimous. Off the field, at least, it was one of the most momentous nights in Shildon’s history. Those shares could be worth a fortune.

 

Mike’s blog can be found at http://www.northernleague.org/blog/view_latest_chairmans_blog.php

Guisborough Town 1 Shildon 1

Shildon AFC missed the chance to close the gap on league leaders Morpeth Town when they were held to a 1 – 1 draw at the KGV Stadium in Guisborough on Saturday 19th December 2015.

Shildon were the better side and should have won the game comfortably but some diabolical refereeing decisions robbed the Railwaymen of all three points.

Shildon had two clear penalty claimed turned down and had a perfectly good goal disallowed after just 3 minutes when keeper Nicky Liversedge fumbled the ball over his line, but Bobby Moore was deemed to have pushed him. The video of the game shows clearly the goals should have counted.

It was all Shildon in the first have with Dan Groves making a scintillating run beating 5 defenders but his shot was saved. Then Paul Connor was through and should have scored before he was hacked down in the box, but alas, the referee said play on.

Half Time:  Guisborough Town  0  Shildon AFC  0

Five minutes into the 2nd half Shildon had another appeal for a penalty for a clear hand ball turned down.

After 76 minutes the home side took the lead when Danny Earl’s shot was parried out and Steve Snaith fired in the rebound.

Minutes later Shildon’s Lewis Dodds was lucky to receive just a yellow card.

In time added on Shildon finally got a little bit of justice when the ref. gave a soft penalty after Jonathan Helm fouled Micky Rae in the box, and Anthony Bell scored from the spot kick.

Final Score:  Guisborough Town  1  Shildon AFC  1

Goalscorer:  Bell 91.

Bookings:  (Y)  Bell 63, Dodds 79, Wood 79.

Subs:  Greulich-Smith for Harwood 69, Rae for Connor 80, Fryatt for Wood 84.

Two points lost thanks to some controversial refereeing decisions. Shildon are now one point behind Morpeth but have played two games more. The next game on Boxing Day is a 6 pointer when Shildon travel to top of the league Morpeth.

Film Night in the Clubhouse

The film I Believe in Miracles will be shown in the Dean Street Clubhouse on Friday 18th December 2015 starting at 8pm

On January 6, 1975, Nottingham Forest were thirteenth in the old Second Division, five points above the relegation places and straying dangerously close to establishing a permanent place for themselves among football’s nowhere men.

Within five years Brian Clough had turned an unfashionable and depressed club into the kings of Europe, beating everyone in their way and knocking Liverpool off their perch long before Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United had the same idea.

This is the story of the epic five-year journey that saw Forest complete a real football miracle and Clough brilliantly restore his reputation after his infamous 44-day spell at Leeds United. Forest won the First Division championship, two League Cups and back-to-back European Cups and they did it, incredibly, with five of the players Clough inherited at a club that was trying to avoid relegation to the third tier of English football.

I Believe In Miracles is based on exclusive interviews with virtually every member of the Forest team, it covers the greatest period in Clough’s extraordinary life and brings together the stories of the unlikely assortment of free transfers, bargain buys, rogues, misfits and exceptionally gifted footballers who came together under the most charismatic manager there has ever been.