by Peter Scherer

Former Rotherham Junior goalkeeper Jonathan Hedge has re-signed for Mickleover FC for the 22/23 Southern Premier League Central season.

The 33 year old has also played at Halifax, Ossett, Harrogate and Cambridge Utd among others and joined Sports line-up from Sheffield FC for the second half of last season.

His is also an experienced goalkeeping coach, was capped at England C level and his leadership from the back played a major part in Mickleover’s climb up the table.

I’ve really enjoyed my time at the club since joining at Christmas. It’s a good club that’s run by good people. We have a great group of lads and it was an easy decision for me to stay. Hopefully this coming season we can continue our fine form that we showed towards the end of last season

said Hedge.

Hedgey played an integral part I our great form towards the end of the season. He has been a really important singing for us and I am delighted that he has committed to another season with us. He is a leader and a winner and sets our standards both on the pitch and in the dressing room.

added Sports gaffer John McGrath.

by Peter Scherer

Over the next weeks we are going to take a look at the teams we will be visiting and hosting this season, starting with the teams, who like Mickleover are new to the Southern Premier League Central Division.

Formed in 1900 Basford United are also moving from the Northern Premier League, a team well known to us over recent seasons. Last year we lost at home to them in the league and FA Cup, before a late season away win.

They had a difficult year overall however finishing down in 20^th place, only surviving relegation by two points. Manager Mark Clifford and assistant Dave Frecklington have already started adding to their squad, with 6ft plus defenders Brad McGowan joining from Peterborough Sports and Stern Irvine from Notts County.

Former Northern Irish international midfielder had been signed from Ilkeston and striker Anthony Dwyer from Nuneaton.

Last season’s regulars Declan Dunn and Owen Betts have also re-signed along with Academy graduate Wayne Hinds.

Like Mickleover they have a 3G pitch at Greenwich Avenue and a ground capacity of 1,600.

Kings Langley were formed in 1886 and are also new to the Central Division, after moving sideways from the Southern Division. Like Basford the Hertfordshire based team only just missed relegation, after finishing 20^th.

Manager Chris Cummins was in charge last year, having joined them from Reading Under 21’s in late 2019. He has also been Academy manager at Luton Town, assistant at Watford and been in charge at Toronto in Canada.

Although it’s assumed that a team rebuild will be in progress, no news appears to coming from the club at present about their squad.

Their Orbital Fasteners Stadium has a grass pitch and holds 1,900.

Bedford Town are the third of the four newcomers, having been promoted as Champions from the Southern League Division 1 Central.

Manager Gary Setchell joined the club in September 2020. He won the Conference and League Two titles as a player with Rushden & Diamonds and has previously managed Wisbech and Kings Lynn.

His assistant Darren Edey is an ex Peterborough Utd player and was assistant to Setchell at Wisbech.

They have already re-signed four of their title winning side, with goalkeeper Elliot Duffy, midfielder’s Hugh Alban-Jones and Drew Richardson and striker Connor Tomlinson, but not announced any newcomers yet.

Formed in 1908 they have a grass pitch at their Meadow Lane ground, holding 3,000 spectators.

Last of the newcomers are local rivals Ilkeston Town. Originally formed in 1892, they were re-launched in 2017 and were last seasons NPL Division One Midlands Champions and had been expecting to join Mickleover in the Northern Premier League.

Their New Manor ground can hold 3,029 and the local Derbies are eagerly awaited during the season.

Manager Mark Carruthers has been busy already building his squad. He has signed two centre backs, ex Cardiff and Burton centre back Ben Turner and 6ft 4in Marshall Wilcock, Montserrat international and ex Chesterfield, Stamford and Solihull Moors player, along with right back Kalern Thomas, ex Solihull and Coalville and former England Under 19 left back Ben O’Hanlon who’s played at Wolves, Darlington and Harrogate.

Former Forest striker Chris O’Grady has also played at Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton and more recently Bolton Wanderers, and will joined up front by ex Northern Ireland International, Forest and Derby striker Jamie Ward.

Ex Rams and Burton keeper Saul Deeney has also signed permanently after completing last season on loan from Coalville.

by Peter Scherer, May 31^st 2022

Mickleover FC manager John McGrath has added midfielder Callum Chettle to the squad for the forthcoming season, from near neighbours Basford Utd.

I’m  delighted to join Mickleover, the club is heading in the right direction and myself and the manager have spoken and agreed that it is the perfect move for me to keep progressing. The management team has a huge amount of experience and it’s something that will only help better myself during the course of next season. Can’t wait to get started and hopefully be right up there come the end of the season.

said Chettle.

Chettle had been at Basford since July 2019, during which time his father and ex Nottingham Forest star Steve was manager. He started out at Forest as a junior too, before joining Ilkeston at 15. He made 22 first team appearances during a spell at Peterborough Utd and has also played for Alfreton and been capped at England C level.

I am over delighted with the signing of Callum. He fits the mould of the dynamic midfielder we are looking for and he is also incredibly talented with the football. I had a very specific type of player in mind when doing my recruitment and Callum was top of that list. He has football league experience and having spoken to him at length over the last few weeks, he still harbours ambitions to again play as high as he can. I believe he has all the ability to be a football league player once again and it’s our job at Mickleover to make sure we give him the platform to do so.

McGrath added.

 

by Peter Scherer (Photo: Sarah Middleton)

It came as a surprise to many that 2021/22 was the final season for Mickleover FC as part of the Northern Premier League.

With neither of the previous two seasons completed due to Covid lockdowns and some teams going out business, the FA decided that a reshuffle was needed mainly around steps 3 & 4.

As well as Mickleover, fellow NPL side Basford Utd and newly promoted Ilkeston have all been placed in the Southern League Premier Division Central for next season.

Bedford are newcomers too, promoted as Division One Central Champions, along with Kings Langley who have moved from Premier South.

Although we now lose the local Derbies at Matlock, Belper and Stafford, a number of new localish clashes come to the fore, with Coalville and Barwell in Leicestershire, plus Tamworth, Nuneaton and Hednesford.

Gone are the long trips to Morpeth and South Shields, with numerous trips up the M6 North and we now look to Leiston Nr Ipswich as our furthest excursion, along with Kings Langley also in Suffolk and Hertfordshire based Hitchin and Royston.

The general concensus is that it’s a new challenge and bit of a journey into the unknown.

I’m OK with it, as there are pros and cons. New clubs, new grounds etc and exciting times. But there is a drawback as I knew most of the NPL teams, managers and players inside out, but I don’t know much about the Southern League,

said Mickleover manager John McGrath.

So it’s my job to prepare the lads for the new challenge in the Southern League.

by Peter Scherer (Photo: Sarah Middleton)

2021/22 will be looked back on as both a challenging but rewarding season.

The new 3G pitch not only put an end to the constant postponements, but brought in extra revenue to the club.

The delay and lack of pre-season availability after the well-publicised theft also had their part to play  however.

The season started with the tough trip to South Shields, suffering a 0-3 defeat before two consecutive home wins against Gainsborough and Ashton.

After going 1-0 up at eventual Champions Buxton, they fought back as 1-3 winners, but after the win at home to Hyde on August 30^th, a double victory over Atherton in October and November were the only other wins before the New Year.

Injuries had hit hard and loss of form too in some cases. Paddy Webb, Alex Morris and Declan Bacon all left the club and keeper Callum Hawkins was recalled by Burton Albion.

Jake Bennett had picked up a serious knee injury and George Milner had a couple of injury spells, while the influx of loanees showed some promise and some not.

There were 17 games to play as we reached the new year and it was tight at the wrong end of the table, but out of those 17 games only three were defeats, which included the dubious home loss against Scarborough.

Confidence in defence came from new keeper Jonathan Hedge and the combination of skipper Phil Watt, James Butler and Pablo Mills began to look solid.

Ben Lewin had his first NPL experience and scored in the FA Cup defeat to Basford, but after Jordan Gough departed after only a few games Rhys Dolan and latterly Elliott Walker settled as wing backs.

Will Robinson and Ethan Mann both got useful time with the first team and both Phil Bateman and Burton loanee Ben Radcliffe spent time in defence as well as midfield, until Bateman was injured too.

Andrew Wright was coming from injury too but still gave his usual 110% effort, while Andy Dales looked strong in early season but faded a little, before a strong finale when once again his pace was critical.

It was another good season for Kemy Agustien, a calming influence on the ball, with some trickery and a constant threat.

After his early season injury Mason Warren took time to get back to form, but was another reliable midfield performer.

Liam Ravenhill spent the season with loans from Doncaster Rovers. It was noticeable that after a spell in the Doncaster first team, he returned to Mickleover looking much more confident.

Jake Scott came back for a few games in a variety positions and George Atwal got his first team debut,

But it was at the front where some difficulties lay. With Milner missing Stuart Beavon was the only regular starter and the frustration began to show.

There were a few loanees who failed to impress, so Shaquille McDonald made his Mickleover return and added some verve to the frontline. 

Jahvan Davidson-Miller came in too but was mainly on the bench and Callum Niven showed promise when he came over from Burton on loan.

Both Josh Satchwell, Fin Barker and latterly Kai Moore had spells in the squad too.

So how did gaffer John McGrath feel the season had gone?

“I was delighted how things started, with the pitch etc and the team we had. Then in October and November we had lots of injuries and that was causing us a big problem.”

“From January though it was probably promotion form, so I wish there had been another six or so games and we could have reached the play-offs.”

“I was super proud of the lads to finish 12^th though, and I always had faith in our method’s and we never came away from that. We have the youth system and recruitment just right and knew we would probably finish about half-way,”

“We have one of the best coaching staffs outside the league with Paul Groves, Ricky, Steve, Pablo and Jonah and being team manager it’s an important figure over the whole club not just the first team. I am a hands on a tracksuit manager, but will wear a suit when we get to the Premiership.”

Mickleover FC are very happy to announce the signing of Marcus Marshall.

I am over the moon to have signed and to have the chance to play for a such great club. I’ve had a chance to look around the ground and i can’t wait to get started. I’ve spoken in length with the manager who i think really highly of so I’m looking forward to working with him and his staff. Hopefully this season will be a successful one on a personal level and for the team.

Marcus

 

Marcus is a player who I have admired for a long time and having spoken to him at length over the last few weeks I know I’m signing a centre-forward with the same desire and determination that aligns with everything we’re trying to achieve here at Mickleover FC.

John McGrath

 

 

Mickleover FC are proud to announce that one of our star players, Stuart Beavon, will be playing for us next season.

I am really pleased to have signed for another year and I cannot wait to get going again, especially after the way we finished last season on a great run of form. I think it’s gonna be a good season ahead.

Stuart Beavon

Absolutely delighted to keep Stuart for another season. Players like Stuart Beavon are unique and I am delighted he has committed again to Mickleover FC. He’s an outstanding player but also an unbelievably positive person to have in and around our changing room.

John McGrath

By Lewis Radbourne, with additional words from Peter Scherer

Mickleover ended the season on a high as they beat Lancaster City 3-1.

Starting line-up: 1-Jonathan Hedge 2-Elliott Walker 3-Rhys Dolan 4-Ben Radcliffe 5-James Butler 6-Phil Watt 7-Liam Ravenhill 8-George Milner 9-Kai Moore 10-Stuart Beavon 11-Andy Dales. Subs: Ethan Mann, Andrew Wright, Pablo Mills, Jahvan Davidson-Miller.

Sports started the better of the two teams, when in the sixth minute some good pressure from Moore led to Walker receiving the ball on the edge of the area, and he smacked the ball onto the crossbar, which set the tone for the rest of the game.

A couple of minutes later and Beavon was put through on goal down the right- hand side of the box, but his shot was straight at the keeper.

13 minutes in and Walker came close once again, with his free-kick deflecting under the wall, and going just past the post. Beavon then came close once again two minutes later when his half volley curled wide.

It took 20 minutes for Lancaster to have their first attempt of note, when Charlie Bailey’s strike from 30 yards out forced an acrobatic save from Sports keeper Hedge.

But there was an early change for Mickleover when Mann came on for Milner.

Lancaster continued to come back into the game, when Liam Brockbank put in a low cross from the left-hand side, only for Hedge to claim the ball on the six yard line, just before Robert Wilson to get a nick on it after 35 minutes.

Lancaster started the second half the better of the two, with striker Enoch Likoy managing to get onto a ball down the left side ahead of Walker, before smashing just past the far post in the opening minutes,

Despite Lancaster’s start, it was Mickleover who took the lead through Dales, when some good pressure from the winger led to him winning the ball back in the opposition box, before calmly finishing into the bottom right corner in the 51^st minute. 1-0.

It was only four minutes later that Mickleover doubled their lead through Radcliffe, when he headed in Moore’s cross from the right- hand side after some good play from the hosts. 2-0 after 54 minutes.

Shortly afterwards the scorer came off to make for Wright, and Davidson-Miller replaced Moore, but Wright was soon on the scoresheet himself.

Beavon played the ball across to the edge of the area for Wright, who’s bouncing 74^th minute shot into the bottom left corner made it 3-0.

Mickleover piled on the pressure near the end as they looked for a fourth, when Dales picked up the ball in the centre of the area, trying to place the ball into the bottom left corner, just putting it wide as it hit the post.

Sports thought they got their fourth when Wright curled in, only for it to be given as offside. Dales then thought he got the fourth too, with his half volley looking like it looped over the keeper, only for Lancaster goalkeeper Curtis Anderson to tip it over the bar.

Despite the late pressure, it was the away side that got the fourth goal of the game when Nathan Reid was put through on goal with five minutes left and slotted it home to make it 3-1.

The 3-1 win means Sports end the season in 12th place on 55 points, one place behind Lancaster.

 

by Peter Scherer

It’s been a long and difficult season, with a threat of relegation in the air pre-Christmas. But the strength in depth of the relatively young squad has seen John McGrath’s  Mickleover rise to 12^th in the NPL table, after some outstanding performances.

Saturday’s match against Lancaster City at the Don Amott Arena is the last of the 2021/22 season and we see our visitors one place above us in 11^th, but without a win or a goal since March 26^th, when they beat Nantwich 1-0 at home.

Goalkeeper Curtis Anderson was capped by England at Under 16,17,18 and 19 levels, having joined Lancaster from Wycombe Wanderers at the end of January.

He was a Manchester City junior who then tried his luck in the US with Charlotte Independence. He joined Wycombe on his return to the UK and was loaned to Walton Casuals and Eastbourne.

Jordan Eastham is a keeper on loan from Blackburn Rovers and Max Povey has also been a regular sub keeper, a former Morecambe junior he had a spell at Conwy before joining Lancaster in 2019.

Defender Liam Brockbank arrived from Workington last July. He was a junior at Carlisle Utd, but was released after nine years and is an England Futsal International.

Fellow centre back Andrew Teague was a Macclesfield Junior, who was also loaned out to Hyde. On his release he joined Leigh Genesis, before arriving at Lancaster in January 2009. He then spent almost nine years at Chorley, before returning to Lancaster in July 2020.

Glenn Steel is another long serving centre back who has been with our visitors for five years. His early career was at Bamber Bridge and Fylde, before his first stop at Lancaster in December 2013. He returned to Bamber Bridge a year later, where he stayed until January 2017.

Centre backs Joe Blanchard and Jack Byrne are both currently on loan, Blanchard from Preston North End and Byrne from AFC Fylde. 

Former Bolton Wanderers Junior midfielder Sam Bailey has been at Lancaster for almost five years, after an intervening three-year spell with Kendal Town.

Midfielder Charlie Bailey came through Morecambe’s Academy. He was loaned to Kendal Town and joined them following his release. He has been at Lancaster since July 2017 and his full name is Lord Charles Bernard Rufus Montegue Bailey, Earl of Cork.

Christian Sloan is another ex Kendal Town player. The midfielder was also a Barrow Junior and joined Lancaster in September 2020.

Yet another ex Kendal player is midfielder Simon Wills, he has been at Lancaster for well over nine years over two spells, racking up around 300 appearances.

Midfielder Niall Cowperthwaite has spent most of his career in Cumbria and North Lancs. From Morecambe’s Academy he played for Workington, Kendal, Penrith and Barrow, before rejoining Workington after a two-year career break. He has been at Lancaster since July 2019.

Midfielder Rob Wilson is in his third spell at the club, having returned in 2018, while Ben Anderson is a more recent product of their own youth scheme.

Striker Nathan Reid was signed from Holker Old Boys in October 2021. He was previously at Kendal too and spent a short time with Barrow, after they signed him from Holker Old Boys too.

Enock Likey is another relatively new arrival. The former Bolton junior was also at Chorley, before a four-year break brought him to Lancaster in February.

Joe Rodwell-Grant is one of the more recent signings. A junior striker on loan from Preston North End, he has also had a couple of loan spells at Bamber Bridge.

In recent weeks Lancaster own junior strikers Finley Lynch and Joel Davidson have become part of the first team squad too.

Kick off as usual at the Don Amott is 3pm, if you don’t make it you will have to wait until August for the next NPL action.