Evening all, I say evening as I’m pulling this together in the evening but this is just the start who knows where it will get finished, it could be whilst eating breakfast. I hope this one again finds you well. We’ve lots to update you on this month so let’s dive in.

Committee

At the recent AGM a number of members expressed their intention not to continue their roles as members of the Club Committee.

They are Chris Emmerson, Shirley Reid, Terry Reid and John Ryan

They have over a period of 20-30 years made significant contributions both as members and volunteers

In recognition of this we would like to say a massive Thank You to each one of them for all of their involvement in the development of the club into what it is today.

Football Update

Well what can I say, it’s  been quite a month  on the football side where the first team is involved, there have been 8 matches since we last updated you. Starting where  we  left off the 24th September saw us unfortunately bowing  out of the Vase when Campion paid us a visit from Bradford, but we bounced  back from this 4 days later when we off Prudhoe in the Northumberland Senior Cup, setting up a next round tie against Ashington.

On the 1st October we welcomed Bishop Auckland to Grounsell Park for what was anticipated to be one of our toughest challenges in the league this season and although  we went down by 2 goals, it could have easily  gone the other way as the lads more than held their own, creating enough chances but  we just couldn’t find the net.

This however marked  a  change in our fortunes as we went on a 5 game winning streak starting with a superb midweek away win at Benfield where we saw the off 4 goals to 1. Next up we hit the road  in great numbers to Northallerton where some of the travelling Stan Army took the opportunity to visit the market and we got to meet up with Manchester Stan aka Matt and Vicki again. A fantastic day was had by all and we made out way back north with 5 goals and 3 points in the bag.

The following Saturday another near neighbour West Allotment were the visitors but another cracking performance from the Stan saw the lads applauded off the pitch once again after a 4-1 win.  2 days later we paid our annual visit to Ironworks Road  to have a tussle  with Tow  Law. It’s not always been the happiest of places to come home from Ironworks Road and it’s not just because it’s normally 30 mins before you can feel you fingers and toes, but on the night a “nuts and guts” effort say us burning the point home with us after a 2-1 victory.

Finally I think we’re all still basking in Saturdays away win at Ashington. Another of what will be the toughest challenges this season and you have to say a tactically brilliant win as we played to our strengths and frustrated Ashington from the start.  So much so they made a triple substitution at half time. The goal came from a stunning counter attack after Greg Purvis saved a colliers penalty and they then hit  the post with the rebound. A very swift Stan break saw us go straight down the other end and score. All in about 28 seconds.

On Friday night Whitley Bay will be the visitors to Grounsell Park and there will be a pizza van with us, so get yourself along, give the lads your backing and treat yourself to a quattro formaggi.

Penrith Away Travel

On the 12th November we travel to Penrith and once again we will be putting on a coach. There’s always a good laugh to be had on the road with the Stan Army so if you’re free and can get along to support the lads, please do join us. Seats are limited with on 8 remaining at  the very good value for money price of £25. Click the link below to book your seat.

https://heatonstan.co.uk/product/penrith-away-travel-12-nov-2022/

We need Your Help

In order to support the growth of our Club, we are looking to re-enforce our team of volunteers at the Stan. Our ability to grow, keep prices low and reinvest in our facilities is the result of many people volunteering their time to keep the Club operating. We are looking for volunteers to fill two types of role:

Bar Manager

We are looking for someone to take on the management of our bar, on a voluntary basis. This role would require around 5 hours per week, excluding any shifts on the bar. Key duties include:

• Create, maintain and communicate a bar rota covering all times the bar is open (i.e. standard opening, match days and for any events/functions)
• Grow the pool of bar volunteers so we have sufficient options to cover all events
• Responsible for onboarding new bar volunteers covering all training required
• Liaise with other persons responsible for bar stocks to ensure they are aware of when new stock may be required
• Close liaison with the Events Team around the co-ordination of any functions or events
• Close liaison with the Football Chairman and Secretary around the co-ordination of match days

Bar Staff

We are looking for more people who wish to volunteer time to serve on our bar. This could be for standard opening, on match days, or at events – there is no minimum commitment expected, as all help is greatly appreciated. Our standing opening is 7-10:30pm on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays.  Match days tend to be Saturday afternoons, Wednesday evenings and occasionally Friday evenings.  Full training to be provided, ideally including shadowing of an existing volunteer. Duties include:

• Preparing and opening the bar
• Serving customers drinks & taking payment
• Restocking the bar where needed
• Rotating glasses through the glass washer
• Closing down the bar at the end of a shift

Interested?

If you are interested in either role please contact us via heatonstan@gmail.com or speak to a member of the Committee.

World Cup

During the forthcoming World Cup we will be opening the clubhouse on the days when England games are being televised, starting with:

England v Iran – Wednesday 21st November. 13:00 Kick Off

England v USA – Friday  25th November.  19:00 Kick Off

Wales v England – Tuesday 29th November. 19:00 Kick Off

Junior Football Camp

Over the second half  of the October half term the club launched the Heaton Stannington Juniors with a football camp run by Peter Osgood Coaching. Provided completely free to the juniors and involving drill sessions as well as mini World Cup tournament, quizzes and a question and answer session with Dean Nicholson  and Andy McBride which from all accounts was tougher than a lot of  MP’s TV interviews. 

It was a great success with spaces filling up in no time and we ended up with a very long waiting list in case anyone was able to attend.

We were assisted in funding the 3 days by the generosity of the local Liberal Democrat councillor s and is an important step both towards our launch of the junior teams next season and building relationships with the local community.

 

 

 

 

 

On that note I will leave you in peace for another month. Enjoy Halloween and Bonfire night and don’t forget to come down and support the lads when you can, starting tonight.