New Board Members

The Trust Board is very pleased to have welcomed two new co-opted members recently, Gary Jones-Boast and Eugene Carroll. We asked them to introduce themselves to the members, here’s what Eugene said:

“I’ve been following Stanley for the best part of 30 years going back to the NPL days and have been a season ticket holder for the past 10 years or so.  I took early retirement in November last year, and have a little more time on my hands and getting involved more in the OASST is one of the things on my list.

“Chatting to Peter L and Pete W about how I can support, we decided the best way was for me to initially be co-opted onto the Trust Board to give me a chance to see how things operate and work out how I can make a contribution and continue in maintaining the strong tie between the club and the OASST.

“I’ve been married for 30+ years, have 2 adult daughters, and am still active enough to keep fit by running a couple of times a week and playing football with Clitheroe Lads United.”

And here’s why Gary wanted to be part of the board of the Supporters’ Trust…

I’ve supported Accrington Stanley all my life of 52 years; and back in the 80’s my Dad was a Director under the Alty era, my Mum used to look after the match day catering, and both my Sisters where involved either working on the gate or selling match day programmes.

We had a family full-on connection, with everyone having a role to fill on match days: my most-loved memory was presenting David Hargreaves with his 300 goals shield in the centre circle before the game.

Now I’ve been given the opportunity to serve this wonderful club as a board member for the supporters trust, and I’m very honoured to be part of it .

1968 Lounge Review

It’s a year since the incredible Stanley hospitality suite – Coley’s and the 1968 Lounge – opened, and recently ‘The Padded Seat‘ – a website which reviews hospitality facilities at football grounds – paid a visit to sample what’s on offer. This is their review:

Chairman’s update

By Peter Leatham, OASST Chairman

Well what a hectic few weeks that has been!

In and amongst our continued indifferent league form, continually hampered by bumps in the road, some of which, I must say, seem to be self inflicted, we had two games on national TV.

The Leeds match saw the BBC in and around Stanley for a good few days and we were invited to supply some fans to be interviewed which formed part of their pre match introductions.

We were a little surprised by the angle they appeared to want to take, wanting to talk more about red / white rose rivalries, nori brick and that milk advert, rather than about football and the actual game itself!

However we all coped and were generally quite pleased with the final piece that went to air nationally and internationally pre match.

This was also supplemented by a short piece I recorded for Talksport which also helps further spread the good name of our club alongside plenty of other media coverage for our club.

As the club continues to evolve, it presents many challenges both on and off the pitch. These were well highlighted by the Bolton Wanderers Papa Johns Semi Final game which saw a number of crucial incidents and not just on the pitch.

Whilst Sean McConville’s challenge undoubtedly changed the course of the game many Stanley fans were more concerned about issues on the terraces. Our unfortunate inability to sell out our “home” allocation meant that a number of away fans were prompted to snap them up. Bolton sold their whole allocation in about 7 minutes and obviously many of their supporters were left disappointed.

This leads to two questions, why were the good folk of Hyndburn not enthused enough to part with their cash for a momentous game in the club’s history, remembering that we sold our Leeds FA Cup allocation in only a few days for another televised match? Secondly how did a number of away fans manage to circumnavigate the club’s attempts to keep them out of home areas?

I believe (and witnessed) that fans purchasing from the club were asked for a number of details that only home fans should know as well as cross checks with Bolton’s own fan database. Despite these measures tickets still found their way into the “wrong” hands with many, as yet, unsubstantiated stories circulating on social media.

These are real challenges to the Club administration and a very steep learning curve as they strive to balance financial sustainability against the safety of our fans and we plan to discuss these issues further in the coming days with the football club. We are also hoping to stage a fans’ meeting for concerns to be aired first hand with our owner and Managing Director.

However, I believe that fans need to understand these challenges will continue to arise as the club continues on its journey and the “good old days” are long gone. These were the “good old days” where the club constantly battled against financial hardships and administration and came perilously close to repeating the dark days of March 1962.

The days of pitching up at 2.55 and wandering into the ground are gone. We are firmly in the realms of purchasing tickets in advance, either online or in person at the club, then arriving in good time for a chat and a pre-match beer in the wonderful new Coley’s bar.

We have to welcome away fans into our bars as they add much needed income that we can’t seem to generate from our modest home fanbase. In general the majority of visitors have been great and any that haven’t may well not be welcomed next time around. The authorities have been happy to accommodate the club’s “unusual “ stance and support our open to all policy and, whilst it remains peaceful, will carry on supporting the club.

On the pitch, the team need us all, loud and proud, as they strive to pull away from the dreaded bottom four, every game will be a big game until safety is mathematically assured.

On a different subject, I was delighted to see the government finally published its white paper detailing its plans for the implementation of a new football regulator as recommended by the Fan-Lead Review.

To read the government documents on the Fan-Led Review, click here to be taken to the GOV.UK website.

This is our once in a lifetime opportunity to ensure stability throughout our football pyramid and should be embraced by the football family. This is not the end but hopefully the start of a new beginning for football. Accrington was there at the beginning in 1888 and it’s our job to ensure we are playing our part in ensuring a prosperous future for our club.

Chaplaincy News

By Deb Phillips, Supporters’ Chaplain

Since my last article, Christmas has been and gone!

On the 3^rd December last year at our home match against Oxford Utd, we had some very special guests and you may have noticed them as they moved around the ground.

The Stanhill Community Posada joined us. A Posada is a Spanish/Mexican tradition focussed on the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. Throughout the time of Advent – Mary, Joseph and their donkey travelled around Stanhill in Oswaldtwistle and stayed at places and homes in the local community. Kate Prescott from Stanhill Methodist Church and some of you will remember her Dad, former Chairman and President of Accrington Stanley – John Prescott, brought Mary, Joseph and their donkey to the match. They visited Coley’s, the Supporters’ Trust stand in Coley’s, the media desk, the Memorial Garden, they even went through the turnstile into the Fanzone, before watching the players warm up (my favourite pic below). And also Mary having her photo taken with our Her Game Too ambassador, Jodie, and her photo frame!

The memorial garden is looking excellent with oak trees planted by Stephen Lowe and Smith’s garden maintenance services. My personal thanks also to all those who give their time freely for the upkeep of the garden. It provides a peaceful place for those families who wish to have a quiet moment to reflect on loved ones who are no longer with us.

At the time of writing we have had 2 televised matches at the Wham Stadium. We welcomed Leeds Utd at the end of January in the 4^th round of the F.A. Cup. Unfortunately we lost 1 – 3 but it was a pleasure to speak with some of the Leeds fans who emphasised how much they had enjoyed themselves at our club. However just over a week later Leeds Utd sacked their manager Jesse Marsch – funny old game sometimes.

Our 10 men against Bolton Wanderers did themselves proud by holding onto 0-0 right up until the 83^rd minute in the semi-final of the Papa John’s trophy. Many of us were gutted by the outcome when the full-time whistle blew sending our local rivals through by winning 0-2. 

On the day of the Bolton match I noticed that it was 3 years since Rotherham fan Andrew Wilson-Storey died following our match. I messaged our contact at Rotherham to say that we at Accrington Stanley are thinking of his family and friends. I also sent a couple of pictures which appeared on my Facebook memories which showed the Clayton End holding a banner “RIP Andrew”. Mick replied and wished us good luck against Bolton and If we managed to get to Wembley a group of “Millers fans” were going to travel to Wembley to support us. I witnessed first hand how different fans can be in football that Wednesday night and it would have been good to have had some of the Rotherham fans joining us at Wembley, but maybe next time.

We all should be proud of the lads and what they have achieved in the cup runs but now is the time to get behind them along with John & Jimmy and the rest of the staff to stay in League 1 next season. We all can play our part and be that 12^th critical person on matchdays.

I’m also in awe of the many fans who travel the length and breadth of our country to support our team. Some even travel hundreds of miles for our home matches! In this time of the cost of living crisis it is commendable that some fans support in this way – amazing.

And finally if anybody becomes aware that a fan is ill, perhaps in hospital, and would like me to visit them then I will always endeavour to go and have a chat about our beloved Stanley and give them a cheery smile. I can be contacted by emailing chaplain@onstanleyon.com or stop and have a chat with me on matchdays (look out for me with my rainbow shoulder bag with a cross on it). Also please don’t forget about the helplines below if you are in need of a particular service and as I always say – let’s look after one another at the Wham!

Keep the faith

Debra

Is there a North/South divide in the lower echelons of the Football League?

By John Schofield, lifelong Stanley fan

I present the evidence and leave you to decide.

It is interesting to compare the teams currently in the EFL, or rather not in the EFL, with those of the 1957/8 season – the final season of the old Third Divisions North and South.

Generally, the Third Division South teams have suffered relatively minimal impact. 

Only three teams from that 1957/8 season are currently out of the EFL – Torquay, Aldershot, and Southend; whilst Exeter and Colchester have also had periods in the National League/Conference etc.

By contrast the old Third Division North teams have been decimated.

Some THIRTEEN teams from that division are currently out of the EFL, they are Scunthorpe (champions in that year), Bury, Halifax, Chesterfield, Wrexham, York, Gateshead, Oldham, Workington, Darlington, Chester, Bradford Park Avenue and Southport. Additionally, Accrington Stanley, Mansfield, Stockport, Tranmere, Carlisle, Hartlepool and Barrow have had lengthy periods out of the league.

Making twenty in total from the class of 57/8 who have endured hard times.

If you look at the Second Division of that season, some four Northern teams and one Southern team have endured periods outside the league: Lincoln, Doncaster, Grimsby, Leyton Orient and Notts County (who are still in the National League) have had a spell out in the cold.

Since the introduction of automatic promotion from the Conference/National League many of the above have been relegated on merit (or rather lack of). Back in the 70s, however, the old boys re-election network didn’t extend to the far-flung outposts of Barrow and Workington. Nor did Gateshead, Bradford Park Avenue and Southport fare any better, with the general re-election picture being Northern club out, Southern club in:

• Out Gateshead/In Peterborough.
• Out Bradford Park Avenue/In Cambridge.
• Out Barrow/In Hereford.            
• Out Workington/InWimbledon.

Southport were replaced by nearby Wigan who had been knocking on the door for years.

Finally, Accrington Stanley (runners up in Third Division North 1957/8) were kicked through the trap door in 1962, despite withdrawing their resignation letter, to be replaced by Oxford.

To give a balanced view, it is fair to say that many of the incoming Southern teams are from towns with a large, often affluent, population and little competition from other league teams in the immediate catchment area. As such they can easily justify having an EFL team. 

The Northern clubs on the other hand often have a number of large successful clubs on the doorstep, which is reflected in reduced numbers through the turnstiles. It is also fair to say that they are often in a less affluent catchment area. Support is often limited to indigenous population of the town, whilst the glory hunters support the big clubs (if only on TV in many cases).

This raises the question: “Should the lower divisions revert to a north/south split?” 

More local derbies and therefore bigger gates, generating much more interest. Supporters able to attend more away matches at lower cost in terms of both money and time. Lower travelling and accommodation expenses for clubs – many clubs have been crippled by escalating costs. The benefits seem obvious. The draw backs are less clear.

I leave you to decide.