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Here are the Monthly Winners for July:
Congratulations!!
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| £500 |
1378 |
Simon Hands
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| £100 |
2974 |
Peter Jones
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| £50 |
1601 |
James Costain
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| £25 |
1944 |
Pickerings Hotel
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| £10 |
2750 |
Helen Smith
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MORE PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES:
30th July 22:00
Two more PsF's have been added to the calendar, both scheduled for 7:00pm on August 4th!
Garstang Reserves will entertain Galgate Reserves at The Riverside, whilst Leyland Youth visit The Beeches.
MATCHDAY: PsF v GILLFORD PARK [H]
29th July 16:00
There is no time to dwell on Wednesday's performance as it's 'game on' again at The Riverside on Friday evening. Kick off is at 7:15pm.
Northern League Gillford Park are the visitors, repeating last summer's pre-season tour, so we know we are in for another tough workout. Carlisle based Gillford, who play in the Second Division of the Northern League, were 2-0 victors here on their last visit.
*UPDATE: GARSTANG 1 GILLFORD PARK 1: this certainly goes down as a good physical test, played out in constant rain throughout. The good contest, only marginally disrupted by substitutions, was played out before a small, but select, band of the faithful who saw Garstang sticking with a passing game and creating more chances as the game progressed. Having got ahead late on through Alan Coulton, the home team saw Gillford nick one close to the end for a fair result. More later.
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| Coulton at the back stick. |
MATCHDAY: PsF v LANCASTER CITY [H]
27th JUly 20:00
Another visit from the 'big boys' tomorrow when Lancaster City come to The Riverside; kick off is at 7:00pm. Certainly, there's a lot of water gone down the Wyre since their last visit a year ago, and their 4-1 victory. No matter what we think, both managers tell you that the game as no more than a training session, and so it will be up to the touchline pundits to make the assessments on how we are doing!
Stimmo has briefly escaped from Lancaster Castle, jury service I'm given to understand, and written a few thoughts here.
Following Adam Kilifin's injury against Kendal, and the resultant long term absence, Garstang FC are arranging a benefit for him, the first step being a collection at tomorrow's game.
*UPDATE: GARSTANG 0 LANCASTER CITY 7: not really a 'seven goal thriller' as Lancaster made pace and fitness tell in the last third of the game. Having said that, Garstang started well with lots of constructive play, but without finding a cutting edge. Something to build on come Friday, then, with Chris Brown back in the squad and a busy debut for new keeper Mark Thornley.
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| A late push from Garstang. |
KIDS UNDER YOUR FEET?
27th July 13:00
And only six weeks of school holidays to go! Garstang High School's first Summer Soccer School kicked off this morning and there are still places available for Wednesday to Friday this week, or for the full four day Second Course from Tuesday next week.
Call Angela at Garstang High on 01995 603226 now.
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Some of the early arrivals with the Morecambe FC Coaching Staff.
Recognise anyone? |
PsF v GILLFORD PARK [H]:
27th July 12:00
Kick off time for Friday's game has been put back to 7:15pm.
GOLF DAY REMINDER:
27th July 08:30
Now is the time to book your places at this year's Garstang FC 'David Quinney' Memorial Golf Day to be held at The Garstang Country Hotel and Golf Club on Friday August 8th.
Full details and reservations from Les or Adrian, or email here.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING TONIGHT:
26th July 09:30
The Garstang FC AGM will be held tonight at Garstang Country Hotel and Golf Club commencing at 7:30pm: all welcome.
*UPDATE: The formal business of the AGM was completed uneventfully with all the nominated members, listed below, being elected / re-elected to the Management Committee unapposed. A report will be available later.
MATCHDAY: PsF v RIBBLETON YOUTH [H]
25th July 08:00
Garstang Youth Team Management get their first look at their new squad in competitive action this morning, Sunday, at The Beeches.
The kick off, against Ribbleton Youth FC of the LEPSFL Division One Whites, is at 11:00am.
*UPDATE: a really good turn out from the players, plus three absent on holiday, made this an excellent 'toe in the water' for the youth team squad. As ever, the objective was to get everyone into the game which did disrupt the play, Ribbleton ending up victors by 3-1, despite the home team scoring first through Adam Baker and missing a penalty. More here.
**UPDATE: the new LEPSFL season will kick off on Sunday September 5th.
PsF: GARSTANG RESERVES 0 HIGHGROVE FC 4
22nd July 22:30
Well, they came with a very good reputation and Garstang Reserves found them just 'too hot to handle' as, running through the middle, Highgrove built a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break.
Stimmo, managing the team with Paul Bailey away, rang the changes at half time and stiffened up the middle, getting Garstang into the game until the last ten minutes when Highgrove broke away to add two more.
A demanding workout though; and good to see Curwen again, Panepinto and Sutcliff in from the Youth Squad.
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| Aidy Hunt went closest for Garstang. |
WHITEHAVEN FRIENDLY OFF:
22nd July 22:30
Whitehaven AFC have, regrettably, pulled out of Saturday's game and, at this late stage, it has not been possible to arrange for a suitable substitute. Sorry!
You can still get your weekend football fix on Sunday at The Beeches though, when Garstang Youth Team take on Ribbleton Youth in a pre-season friendly. Kick off, for their first ever game, is 11:00am.
FIXTURE UPDATES:
22nd July 16:00
Our September fixtures have been amended to accomodate the new dates of the Lancashire Amateur Shield ties. Check the fixture pages, or download current fixture list here.
MATCHDAY: HIGHGROVE FC
21st July 23:00
With several of Manager Bailey's regulars playing in Wednesday's game at Wyre Villa, Thursday's game at The Riverside gives him a chance to see what some of the others can do. He has a few new faces waiting in the wings, so this should be another interesting evening against a very good Highgrove side. Kick off at 7:00pm.
MATCHDAY: PsF v WYRE VILLA [A]
20th July 09:00
Wednesday sees Stimmo's squad heading over the Wyre for our second PsF, this one at Wyre Villa; kick off 7:00pm. The team building will continue, as Stimmo reports here, so it will be well worth making the short hop to Stalmine. The West Lancs route planner is here!
Wyre Villa FC, playing in Division One of the West Lancs, only finished mid-table last season, but there are enough local rivalries to make for an interesting evening.
UPDATE: WYRE VILLA 2 GARSTANG 2
21st July 22:30
Another good workout for the senior squad this evening with the starting line-up building on Friday's performance and, at times, looking very comfortable in possession. They only had the one goal to show for it at half time though, going in 1-0 up, although it was a bit special! Stimmo again made wholesale changes at half-time, getting everyone some match time. Summary here.
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| Keeper Curwen beaten by a near post header for 2-2. |
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE NOMINEES:
18th July 19:00
The following members have put their names forward for election / re-election to the Garstang FC Management Committee at the AGM to be held on July 26th:-
| Marc Armstrong |
Bob Freeman |
| Steve Baker |
Paul Hutton |
| Mark Bendall |
Fred Miller |
| Ian Blezard |
Dave Porter |
| Anthony Davis |
Les Taylor |
| Adrian Wilding |
MATCHDAY: PsF v KENDAL TOWN [H]
16th July 08:30
I see that the hosepipe ban is working it's magic this morning but, hey, you wouldn't want it too easy would you? A tough pre-season is just what is needed to get you in shape for another West Lancs campaign. And that applies to the players as well!
Manager Stimpson takes the first steps in his team rebuilding programme against a very strong Kendal Town at The Riverside this evening: kick off is at 7:00pm. Certainly, you will see some new faces trying on the Garstang Red, but Stimmo and #2 Wilson are keeping their cards close to their chest as they look to put together a winning hand for the 2010/11 season.
Lee Ashcroft, too, will be giving new players an opportunity to impress as he builds a side to take Kendal into the Conference North. Like Stimmo, Ashcroft is also starting hard and, with outings against Carlisle and Blackburn Rovers already under their belts, they are up and running! A tough night for Garstang? See you there.
UPDATE: GARSTANG 0 KENDAL TOWN 2
16th July 22:00
2-0 to Kendal, for what it's worth, but otherwise a very good workout for the Garstang squad who competed well over the full 90 minutes. In a game of few chances, the home side squandered theirs, wasting some good approach play. All in all, however, a good performance in front of a good crowd and we can look forward to next week's visit to Wyre Villa.
Match summary here.
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A near post mix-up sees the ball creep in for Kendal's first.
**More on GFCfacebook |
The one sad note of the evening saw Adam Kilifin suffering a tibia and fibula fracture in a strong block tackle. Let's hope things look a little better tomorrow for 'Killer'. 'Chin up Mate.'
***Sunday's Youth Team PsF v Tarleton Corinthians has been cancelled so the Wyre Villa visit on July 21st will be our next game. The next game at The Riverside is the following day when Garstang Reserves entertain Highgrove.
MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY:
15th July 07:30
Les Taylor, the Garstang FC Commercial Manager, is already signing up local businesses who intend to take advantage of our Matchday Hospitality package in entertaining friends and customers at a game. Details of this, and other sponsorship opportunities, are here, but you'll need to move quickly to book a game. Call Les on 07979 235217.
*Note: due to the new dates assigned to this season's Lancashire Amateur Shield cupties, our fixture programme for September onwards will change. Updates soon. Available Hospitality dates are shown on the First Team Fixtures Page.
FIRST UP: KENDAL TOWN
14th July 12:00
Clearly, Stimmo doesn't believe in easing into the new season as he has, again, lined up Kendal Town for our opening pre-season friendly. Kendal, who lost out in the play-offs for promotion to the Conference North at the end of last season, are intent on doing a bit better this term under their new Chairman Haydon Munslow. We should also welcome Manager Lee Ashcroft back to the touchline although, with our widened pitch, he could still be watching from the car park!
This first game is always of particular interest to Riverside fans as they wait to see which players are going to figure in the new management duo's plans: and Stimpson and Wilson are clearly 'up for it', as you can read here.
Kick off is at 7:00pm. See you there!
WORMY CAUGHT:
12th July 16:00
......photograph here.
LFA UNDER-18 YOUTH CUP:
8th July 17:00
Garstang Youth Team will play their first ever cup game on September 26th, a home tie against AFC Patriots, a Bolton area side. 69 teams have entered the competition and, like the senior team, the Youth Team have a bye into the second round.
The full draw of the Furness Building Society sponsored competition is here.
'HOLLANDS PIES' AMATEUR SHIELD:
8th July 16:00
The draw has just been announced for this season's Lancashire Amateur Shield competition with Garstang FC getting a bye to the Second Round where a home tie awaits against the winners of Turton v Croston Sports.
The First Round ties will be played on September 4th, with Round Two now on September 25th, necessitating an early re-arrangement of the fixture list. The full draw is here.
NEIL PARKINSON TO MANAGE GARSTANG VETS TEAM:
7th July 17:00
Club stalwart Neil Parkinson has grasped the nettle, picked up the short straw, and leapt out of the frying pan as he has bravely volunteered to co-ordinate Garstang Veterans' activities during the coming season.
Veterans' teams, for players who are over 35 years old, are growing in popularity and, rightly, Garstang Vets should be a significant part of our 'football family'. Thanks to Neil, the Vets will now have a web prescence, enabling other teams to get in contact, and the rest of us to share in their deeds of derring-do!
Read more on the Community Newspage here.
YOUTH TEAM: LEE BAKER SETS THE SCENE
5th July 16:00
The new Youth Team Manager, Lee Baker, gives notice of his intentions in his first website article, citing his aim to "get the lads in the Youth Team a chance to play West Lancs football in the Garstang First and Reserve Teams". Read it on the Youth Team Newspage.
The Youth Team have also announced three pre-season friendlies:-
Sun July 18th | PsF v Tarleton Corinthians [A] 1:00pm
Sun July 25th | PsF v Ribbleton [H] 11:00am
Sun Aug 8th | PsF v Gregson Lane [H] 11:00am
**Update: The home fixtures will be played at The Beeches.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
5th July 10:30
The Annual General Meeting of Garstang Football Club will be held on Monday July 26th at 7:30pm in Garstang Golf & Country Club.
AGENDA
• Opening remarks (Chairman)
• Apologies
• Minutes of previous AGM
• Matters arising from the minutes
• Presentation of the annual reports
a) Chairman – Adrian
b) Secretary – Paul
c) Commercial – Les
d) Website – Ian
• Presentation of the annual accounts (Marc & Mick)
• Appointment of Auditor
• Election of the Management Committee
• Motions to the AGM
• AOCB
• Closing remarks (Chairman)
All committee members are asked to attend or send their apologies. Any members of the public are more than welcome to attend.
5th July 07:30
Garstang Football Club are delighted to announce the biggest Sponsorship deal in the Club’s history with quality tile specialists Rockform. Commercial Manager Les Taylor said, “This is a very exciting time to be involved with the Club, but we still need companies like Rockform to financially support us, buying into our vision of creating a true Town Team.“
Rockform are situated on the A6 Garstang Road at Brock and offer a wide range of tiles and floor coverings. Managing Director, Tony Vile, who admits to being an Everton fan, has agreed a two year deal to sponsor the First and Reserve team shirts; the 'Rockform' name to be emblazoned across the front - and prominently around this website. “We look forward to a successful social and business relationship that is mutually beneficial to both parties and hope that supporters of Garstang Football Club will support 'Rockform' and indeed, all our sponsors whenever possible“ added Les.
Tony Vile said that he was only too pleased to be supporting Garstang Football Club in this way. “I wanted to support an organisation that had some drive, but were also prepared to give something back to the community. I'm a football fan, so the thought of supporting Garstang Football Club very much appealed to me.“
WELCOME TO THE NEW SEASON:
4th July 07:00
So, here we go again! The players are back at training, there's a smell of paint at The Riverside, the fixtures are out, and you can't find your way around the website!! Even the West Lancs website has a new look: it must be Season 2010/11!
SUMMER SOCCER SCHOOLS
4th July 07:00
Garstang Football Club have teamed up with Morecambe Football Club and Garstang High School to set up two Summer Soccer Schools. The Soccer Schools will take place at Garstang High School. The first, between the 27th July and the 30th July, is for pupils of Garstang High. The second for pupils of local Junior Schools is between the 3rd and 6th August. The schools run from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm daily.
“We are delighted to have forged a partnership with both Morecambe FC and Garstang High” said Les Taylor. "The students will be supervised by qualified football coaches supplied by Morecambe FC."
To pick up an application form just call in at Garstang High School or, for further information, you can call 01995 603226 and ask for John Grecic or Angela Wrennall.
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| Geoff Wilson in a more familiar pose. |
STIMMO FINDS HIS #2:
4th July 07:00
Following Marc Armstrong's decision to step down from the Assistant Manager's job at the end of last season, Manager Stimpson has had the problem of finding a suitable replacement at the top of his 'to do' list. In the end, however, it wasn't a difficult task as the ideal man was right under his nose - Geoff Wilson.
Geoff, you will recall, suffered significant knee ligament damage in the final game of last season and, with an MRI scan and probable operation imminent, he won't be kicking a ball in anger for some time. This is an ideal opportunity, then, to try on some management boots and, with his personality, knowledge and contacts in the West Lancs, Stimmo regards him as a fabulous asset in what promises to be a very big year for Garstang Football Club.
Geoff is keeping his football boots dusted, however, and plans on regaining match fitness and pushing for a place in the team when ready. As he says, "I don't want some injury dictating when I retire; I'll retire when I feel it's right!"
A good choice by Stimmo: the lads on the new kop are very happy with that!
WEBSITE UPDATE:
4th July 07:00
Yup, we have a new coat of paint as well! Not knowing where we would end when we started the website, we tried to cater for every eventuality. With the benefit of a season's experience, however, the superfluous items can now be removed and the site slimmed down. Hopefully that makes it faster and easier for you to find your way around; it certainly makes it easier to maintain!
We've now outgrown our 'Beano' phase; we're more of an 'Observer' now, and with a circulation in excess of 100,000 in the last year, we're doing ok! New traffic software on the site means that we also know that 3,437 different individuals have visited our site this calendar year!
The update will be completed over the next couple of days, so expect the odd duff link as the work progresses. Some pages will remain under construction, or have last season's look, until new information becomes available. After that, let me know of any probems here. Let me know too if we've lost some feature that you really can't live without!
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Here are the Monthly Winners for June:
Congratulations!!
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| £500 |
2884 |
Mrs M F Swift |
| £100 |
2639 |
Paul Brooks |
| £50 |
1506 |
John Salthouse |
| £25 |
1376 |
Simon Hands |
| £10 |
1848 |
David Bithell |
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| Mrs Swift with John Woods |
YOUTH DIVISION ONE - REDS:
20th June 08:30
Garstang Youth Team have been assigned to the LEP Sunday Football League Youth Division One 'Reds' for the coming season.
They can now look forward to meetings with Caton, Fleetwood Town, Fylde, Lostock Hall, Lostock St Gerards, Morecambe Hawks, Thornton Cleveleys and Warton Typhoons.
NEW FACES IN THE WEST LANCS:
13th June 19:00
At the League AGM last week, membership applications were accepted from Kendal County, Ambleside and Ladybridge Football Clubs.
Ladybridge, along with Lostock St Gerards and Longridge Town, have also had Reserve Teams accepted into Reserve Division Two, thus sparing Freckleton Reserves from relegation and leaving fifteen teams in Reserve Division One for the coming season.
The Premier Division will return to sixteen teams with the expected promotion of AFC Darwen into the NW Counties.
SITUATION VACANT:
Club Secretary
9th June 08:00
Due to changes in his work and family committments, our current Secretary, Paul Hutton, has found it increasingly difficult to get to games on a Saturday afternoon. He, and the Committee, regard the Secretary's matchday duties as a central element of the job and so Paul has, reluctantly, offered his resignation.
If you would be interested in filling the post, or would like more information, please contact Adrian Wilding. You can email him here.
Paul will continue in the role until his successor is found, and he will be happy to work with them as they get to grips with the 'paperwork'.
YOUTH TEAM FIRST BACK:
5th June 09:00
The newly formed Garstang FC Youth Team are leaving little to chance as they prepare for their first season in the Lancashire Evening Post Sunday Football League. Training commences on June 23rd at The Beeches: a 90 minute stint from 6:00 pm.
An initial squad of 14 players must be registered with the league before July 23rd and the Youth Team Management are keen to see how the team is shaping up before then.
The senior squads return on July 1st.
