Curbing edge now finished off with concrete and you guessed it……more leveling. Further leveling and rolling to take place over next few days with the first testing phase to start on Thursday. Hopefully the next set of contractors can then move on site to start work on the crash pad and 3G pitch next week.
Also a massive thank you to the army of volunteers from BPA and West Bowling for their efforts this past week. West Bowling made light work of the stand which has been swept and weeded top to bottom, every chair washed and all the broken seats have been replaced. All while BPA cleared the area behind the club house to make way for a newly refurbished beer garden. Work was also started pressure washing down the running track. If anyone would like to volunteer please contact Mark Leadbeater at mleadbeater@live.com
The club are thrilled to announce that we have agreed a three year supplier agreement with Italian manufacturer Macron. It has been a thorough and lengthy process beginning with defining our needs as a club financially, traditionally and from a technical quality perspective.
After speaking directly with Andrea Palilla in Italy it became immediately obvious that Macron strongly believes in the values of hard work and constant improvement. Sporting excellence in their eyes requires effort, sweat and a strong will, and we feel exactly the same way. This hard work and desire to supply the best technical products they can, has led to their rapid growth that has seen them become suppliers to several major European club sides (Lazio, Sporting, Club Brugge, Real Sociedad and Hibs to name but a few) as well as the Scottish and Italian National Rugby Union sides. We can now add Bradford (Park Avenue) to this illustrious list.
We subsequently spoke with their trading team in the UK and after a little back and forth, found some commercial common ground, that will enable the club to improve its mercantile position, whilst meeting all of our customer service requirements.
This new deal will see the club return to its green and white colours, right from our under 5’s, all the way through the whole academy, to the men’s and ladies 1st teams, all wearing exactly the same kit, everyone feeling that we are all part of one big family.
Neil Holroyd – Macron Wakefield Owner
‘Macron are very pleased to have signed a multi year deal with Bradford park Avenue and are very excited for the future of the club and Macron working with you to achieve your goals . Having met Martin and visited the ground, there is a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes and with the facilities . A club with a lot of history and loyal fans, we are looking forward to helping you for fill you ambitions and plans . Welcome to the Macron family.’
Martin Knight –
‘This has been a tricky process, trying to balance the financial needs of the business, the traditions of the club and the desires of the fans. After speaking with three major brands during the process it became clear that Macron offered us the best solution to try and meet the majority of those key drivers. Neil and Andrea, have been incredibly patient and professional with us. We are really pleased that we have a long term agreement in place with them, that stability will allow us to plan better for the future.’
#UTA
If you are interested in sponsoring the kit this season that will give you access to over 100,000 visitors to the Horsfall, all of our academy games, all of the ladies and men’s 1st team games ,home and away, then please contact our Operations Manager Calum Cullen at calum.cullen@bpafc.com
As soon as we realised our oversight by not acknowledging the passing of two of the clubs previous players, we began a review of how this had happened and how we might try to find a solution moving forward.
As way of our apology our Life Time Vice President, John Helm, offered to celebrate and eulogise about the two players we recently lost – RIP Jim Fryatt and Ralph Wright.
Over the years Avenue have been associated with quite a few characters – in the nicest possible sense.
There was the eccentric goalkeeper Chick Farr who loved nothing more than dribbling the ball up to the halfway line and even taking throw-ins !
The incomparable Clown Prince of Football Len Shackleton, little Whelan “Polly ” Ward, particularly adept at conning referees into awarding penalties, and Alvan Williams who struck a ball so fiercely he ended the careers of two goalkeepers.
Jim Fryatt who passed away recently was another who fell into the category of “character” and not just because he still holds the record of scoring the fastest ever goal in English football – four seconds in against Tranmere Rovers. When you think of the greatest headers of a football you think Tommy Lawton, John Charles, Denis Law – well Jim Fryatt was right up there with the best. Prodigious in the air he scored and created many goals over a three year period with Avenue fondly remembered for the exploits of Kevin Hector, particularly the 1965-66 season during which they shared 55 goals in the league alone. Wherever Jim plied his trade he became renowned for his selfless contributions, particularly with his amazing ability to pick out a colleague with a headed pass from almost anywhere. He was also distinctive because of his height and bald head, so years later when I was covering a golf tournament in Thailand and spotted an identikit called Ed Fryatt I couldn’t help but ask the question. Ed was thrilled that somebody remembered his dad and his exploits at the likes of Park Avenue and Southport, Blackburn and Oldham. It was somehow unsurprising when Ed told me that Jim was by then a greenkeeper at a golf club by day and a croupier by night in Las Vegas.
Typical of the character.
Ralph Wright played just the one season for Avenue – poignantly the last season of the club’s Football League existence 1969-70, so his 14 appearances and 1 goal do not feature prominently in the club’s historical record. Yet he remains well remembered as one of it’s favourite sons for his deeds on leaving these shores. Born in Newcastle, Ralph did play for a number of league clubs after Avenue’s demise, notably Hartlepool United, Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers but he left a greater mark on the sport after emigrating to the United States. There he linked up with the famous New York Cosmos team and found himself playing alongside the likes of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer – with all due respect a little dfifferent to Pete Brannan and Terry Dolan !
His career continued to flourish at Miami and Dallas and he eventually took up permanent residence in the States where he passed away last month.
Luca Havern is the latest piece of the jigsaw of Mark Bower’s squad for next season. The experienced 31 year old defender re-joins the Avenue after just a season away at Ashton United. This type of high profile signing demonstrates the clubs intent and the pulling power of Mark and Danny. Havern’s towering performances in our two recent play-off seasons are still fresh in the memory and this type of leadership and quality were at times missing last season. With well over 200 games experience at National League level, natural leader Havern is the ideal fit for the new squads blend of youth and experience. Welcome back Luca, looking forward to seeing you down at the Horsfall very soon.
Luca Havern –
‘I’m delighted to return to Bradford (Park Avenue) for the coming season and to be able to work with Bowes, Bosh and Tully again. Over the 2 seasons I played at the Horsfall, we had some good times and I’d love to emulate that again next season. The new pitch will be great for the club and the community and I’m looking forward to getting started and seeing everyone.’
Mark Bower –
‘It’s great to have Luca back at the club. He was a highly respected member of the squad in his previous spell and has a wealth of playing experience at National League level. Central defence is a key position, so having a player like Luca, who I know we can rely on to put in consistent performances, gives us a good foundation to build a competitive team.’
In what we hope will a hugely successful 4th year at the Avenue, we are really excited to announce that the man, the myth, the legend and fan favourite Nicky Clee has decided to extend his stay at the Horsfall. After two hugely successful seasons, Nicky briefly left the Avenue in the 19/20 season, but returned to join up once again with Mark and Danny. His return saw him put in a series of man of the match performances and score a few great goals, before the suspension of matches, which eventually culminated in our great escape (albeit not the way we would’ve like to have done it).
Regarded as ‘the best player in non-league football’ by his team mates, it should be fantastic to see him strutting his stuff on our new 3G pitch, where his technical ability will be given an even better stage on which to shine.
Nicky Clee –
‘I’m delighted to commit to Bradford (Park Avenue)for another season and be able to work with Mark, Danny, Ryan and Tally again. They are a really good group to play for and hopefully we can put last season behind us and kick on this season. This is a brilliant football club to be involved with and I’m looking forward to getting back to the Horsfall as soon as we possibly can. I enjoy an excellent relationship with the supporters and in my 3 years at the club they have followed us through thick and thin. These supporters deserve success and will be doing my best to give them something to shout about.’
Mark Bower –
‘Nicky’s signing I’m sure will be as pleasing for the supporters as it is for myself and the staff. There is no doubting his quality as a player and since taking up a position as a central midfielder, he has put in a string of man of the match performances to cement himself as one of our key players. He is also a great pro to have around the dressing room and he shares his experiences with our younger players to help their development. Despite reaching the latter years of his career, I see Nicky having a good few years left as a central midfielder and we are delighted he has committed another year to us.’
