Avenue are back at home this Saturday for their first match since the return of Mark Bower and Danny Boshell. Kick off 3pm.
In the mean time, the first meeting of the fund raising committee takes place this Wednesday.
It’s no secret that running a club at this level is a costly business and as such we need to look at every avenue possible to raise funds.
Alongside this, the club feels it is important to provide supporters with a wide range of activities to engage in outside of the football calendar.
As such a new fund raising committee has been formed to plan and host a series of events through out the year, including speaker evenings, quiz’s, sportsman’s evenings, raffle’s and a wide range of other activities.
Historically we have had fantastic support for events at the club which have raised much needed funds, and as such we would like to invite supporters to join our new fund raising committee.
The committee will be overseen by Associate General Manager, Carl Marsden, but will be headed up on a day to day basis by Avenue stalwart, Dave Stordy.
Many supporters will already know Dave and the fantastic work and fund raising he has carried out at the club over the years, and the club would like to take this opportunity to thank Dave for all his hard work and dedication.
We would like to invite any supporters who would like to join on the committee to an initial meeting in the social club on Wednesday the 9th of October at 7.30pm.
If you would like to be considered but cannot attend, please send an email to Dave Stordy (davestordy@hotmail.co.uk).
If you have any suggestions on activities the committee can carry out, then please email Dave.
Speaking about the formation of the committee, Dave said:
“It is really important that we support the club financially given what has happened recently and the new plans for Horsfall in the future, so we look forward to seeing or hearing from you.”
All at the club would like to thank Riccardo Calder for his efforts in Red Amber and Black this season and wish him all the best for the future.
Avenue are without a game this weekend, but you can still get your football fix at the Horsfall stadium this Sunday as Oakenshaw take on Home Bargains in the FA Sunday Cup. Kick Off 2pm.
The former St. Kitts & Nevis international, who played for Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Chesterfield during his career, brings with him a vast wealth of knowledge and experience.
Since retiring from professional football, Desmond has forged a career in coaching and youth development, having previously lead the academy at Halifax Town and working for Manchester City as an elite development scout.
The FA Sunday Cup is a knock-out competition founded in 1964 for English Sunday league football teams.
Oakenshaw AFC play in the Bradford Sunday Alliance Football League and following their top 3 finish in the 2018/19 season, were invited to play in the FA Sunday Cup.
Their opponents, Home Bargains FC are from Liverpool and play in The Liverpool Business Houses Football League Premier Division.
Kick off is at 2pm on Sunday, October 6th.
The pay on the gate prices are:
• Adult – £3
• Under 16 – Free
Jon Parkin featured for a number of clubs through out his football career, including York City, Hull City, Preston North End and Stoke City to name but a few.
Having played for over a dozen clubs through out his career and with plenty of stories to tell, Jon’s autobiography, Feed The Beast has quickly become a popular read for football fans across the country.
And now you can hear it from the man himself at 8pm on Friday the 4th of October.
Tickets cost just £12 and include a hot supper and the bar will be open on the evening for refreshments.
To get your tickets, contact Dave Stordy on 01274 512 989 or email info@bpafc.com
The deadline for submissions is mid-day on October the 24th, but applicants should act fast to ensure they get a place.
The course is a 2-year, full-time education and football development programme for 16-18 year olds.
The academic curriculum is delivered by SCL Education Group and the training is delivered by the highly experienced coaching team of Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC Academy.
Year 1 – BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Sport
Year 2 – BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Sport
Academy teams play in the U19 Alliance Football League and the ECFA Yorkshire and Humber Region invitational league 2B
4-5 GCSE’s Level 9-4 including English or Maths, or both.
You will need to be 16 years old by 31st August, ready to start the programme in early September.
Following a period under interim stewardship, Mark Bower has agreed to return to the club alongside assistant manager Danny Boshell.
Speaking on the appointment, Gareth Roberts said:
“The club has endured a difficult time this year on and off the field but these issues have been dealt with and the club is ready to get back to winning ways. We obviously have a lot of confidence in Mark and Danny.”
Bower, who lead the Avenue to two successive National League North play off places joins the side at the start of a lull in league action, with the first team not due to take to the field until the 12th of October, when they face off against Hereford.
Talking about his return, Bower said:
“I’m really pleased to be coming back. There’s no denying its a big job. We are where we are and have to be realistic, there’s no magic wand. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to turn it around.”
“I’ve spoken to Gareth, and off the pitch the club is going the right way and getting into a much better shape. To get it right on the pitch we need everyone pulling in the right direction, young players need supporting, lead by a core of experience.”
“It wont be easy. We will have some dark days but can’t dwell on those. We have to get everyone together, and work to get out of the bottom Two. The target is to stay up”
Addressing the club’s supporters he said:
“We need your support more than ever. We’ve had some great times as a club over the past few years, with good wins and hard fought points, often times that been down to the ‘Twelfth Man’ effect. But now we need everyone to come together and fight for the Avenue, both on the pitch and in the stands.”
With this appointment, interim manager, Marcus law and assistant, Lee Fowler have left the club.
The board and all at the club would like to thank Marcus and Lee for their hard work and dedication under very difficult circumstances, and wish the pair every success in the future.
Speaking about their tenure, Gareth stated:
“I would like to recognise and thank the interim management team of Marcus Law and Lee Fowler for stepping in at short notice and helping us out.”
Show the team your support on Saturday the 12th of October as Bradford play Hereford at the Horsfall Stadium. Kick off: 3pm
Due to technical issues with the recording, the video of the inteview isn’t available, however a brief transcript has been provided by match day commentator, Russ Whittingham
Marcus said; “I felt the level of fitness amongst certain players I was assured about, wasnt where I felt it should be or expected.”
“I hold my hands up to the fact I feel I made a couple of selection mistakes.”
Marcus went on to thank the fans and stated;
“I wish to apologise profusely for that display.”
Following the final whistle Marcus and Lee, accompanied by the players, made their way to the traveling green army to apologise for the performance and thank the fans for making the journey.
Avenue Assistant Manager Lee Fowler commented that the level of desire and in particular “the fight for every tackle” wasn’t there. He went on to say; “Its my worst day in football”.
On moving forward both the Manager and Assistant re-affirmed a desire to work even harder to make the changes necessary for the club to positively move forward.
Ten-man Bradford (Park Avenue) suffered an eight-goal drubbing at the hands of goal-hungry Brackley Town.
Marcus Wood was shown two yellow cards inside half an hour for Avenue, who could simply do nothing to stop a rampant home side.
Brackley enjoyed a lot of pressure early on and twice went close through top scorer Jimmy Armson.
Shane Byrne delivered a deep corner which beat Avenue goalkeeper Rhys Taylor but Armson could only volley wide of the post.
Pacey attacker Lee Ndlovu then got in behind on the right hand side and his low ball looked set to hit the back of the net, but Armson ended up on the ground and Avenue managed to scramble clear.
Brackley did manage to open the scoring on 19 minutes, as a result of Wood’s first booking.
The midfielder put in a poor challenge out wide and was duly cautioned, with Byrne delivering and the ball ending up in the back of the net following a flick from Glenn Walker – though the final touch may have come from an Avenue head.
Armson was almost gifted a goal as Taylor fumbled an innocuous low cross, but the number eight couldn’t quite squeeze the ball home.
Just before the half-hour though, Avenue went down to ten as Wood was sent off, shown an unquestionable second yellow card for a very poor challenge in the centre of the pitch.
It took the hosts just two minutes to make the extra man count, as Matt Lowe grabbed the second, Bradford failing to clear before the midfielder neatly finished from the edge of the box with Taylor scrambling for position.
The goals looked like they were going to come raining in as Ndlovu got in behind once more, but Taylor did excellently to keep his low effort out.
Brackley had the ball in the back of the net on 36 minutes as Lowe’s cross was touched in by Armson, but the flag was up on the far side.
However Armson only had to wait five more minutes to get in on the act, as he made the simplest of near post runs and nodded in Byrne’s corner for his side’s third.
And as Avenue were begging for the relief of the half-time whistle, Brackley struck a fourth, Ndlovu getting in behind before working some space and lashing home off the underside of the bar.
A double change couldn’t do anything to change Bradford’s fortunes, as the impressive Byrne netted a fifth on 54 minutes, latching onto Ellis Myles’ through ball before rounding a helpless Taylor and slotting home.
Carl Baker struck the woodwork with a header before forcing Taylor into a save, parrying out a long-range strike before the goalkeeper did brilliantly to keep out Dan Holman’s follow-up.
Another free kick proved Avenue’s downfall again on 67 minutes, as centre back Thierry Audel rose highest to head home from Baker’s delivery.
The substitute looked desperate to get on the scoresheet, and he came close again as he ran 60 yards with the ball before lashing just over the bar.
Baker then hit the woodwork himself, following up on an excellent save from Taylor, keeping out a long-range Lowe strike.
The seventh finally came with 10 minutes to play, Ndlovu getting a deserved second as he touched home an excellent Luke Fairlamb cross.
Substitute Holman rounded off the scoring with just over five minutes on the clock, Ndlovu beating Taylor to a long ball over the top before squaring to his strike partner to add his name to the extended list of scorers on a sorrowful afternoon for Bradford.
Brackley Town:Lewis, Myles, Franklin, Byrne, Audel, Dean (c, Langmead 67), Lowe, Armson (Baker 46), Ndlovu, Fairlamb, Walker (Holman 62)
Subs not used:Noon, Worby
Goals: Walker (19), Lowe (31), Armson (41), Ndlovu (45, 80), Byrne (54), Audel (67), Holman (84)
Bradford (Park Avenue): Taylor (c), Lund, Calder, Wood, Cresswell (Bazeley 46), Lowe, Dockerty (Knight 46), Marriott, Sweeney, Hurst, Agustien (Holmes 57)
Subs not used: Bennett, Johnson
Booked: Wood (19), Dockerty (40), Marriott (47), Hurst (59)
Sent off: Wood (29)
Referee: Daniel Locker
Attendance: 490
Words: Joe Cockburn
Image: John Rhodes
