By John Baron
Farsley Celtic kick off their National League North campaign in the toughest possible fashion – with at least eight consecutive away games.
The Celts start their campaign with a trip to Rushall Olympic tomorrow (Saturday) and aren’t due to play at home until they entertain Leamington on 21 September due to ground improvements at The Citadel.
After the Rushall game the Celts travel to Buxton, Marine, Scarborough, Warrington, Alfreton, Southport and Needham Market.
Just one of their first 11 league games (which takes us into October) will be at home as The Celts plan to lay a new artificial pitch. More on the pitch later, but Clayton Donaldson’s side face a challenging start to the new campaign.
As I’ve said before, a club the size of Farsley is punching above its weight being in this division. It’s up against some much bigger clubs in terms of attendances (one of the lowest in the league), playing budget (which has increased this season) and facilities (the ground is desperately in need of investment).
For each of the past three seasons the Celts have gone into the final game needing results to go their way in order to avoid relegation. Predictably The Celts are again one of the bookies’ favourites for relegation.
Encouragingly the club has managed to keep hold of the nucleus of the squad which – for more than half of last season – sat in relative comfort in mid-table before a lack of squad depth led to a fall off and an alarming plunge into the relegation zone.
Forward Michael Coulson, midfielder Jack Evans and left back George Smith have departed, along with squad players Jordan Carroll, Harry Sheridan and Harry Allan. Super stopper Zan Luk Leban, who surely has a strong claim to be Farsley’s finest-ever goalkeeper, returned to his parent club Everton after a 12-month loan.
It’s also been a busy summer of activity in the transfer market as the Celts look to avoid a fourth-successive final day relegation reprieve. The number of new arrivals is into double figures, with Manchester United promising U21’s goalkeeper Tom Wooster announced as The Celts’ new number one today.
The boost in numbers is particularly welcome as the squad struggled to cope with injuries and suspensions. There are also plans to set up a B Team and an U23s side to help develop the club’s Emerging Talent Squad, which enjoyed a successful first season.
A busy pre-season has seen only one defeat – at National League promotion hopefuls Gateshead – as the new players bed in. Pre-season is all about fitness so it’s difficult to judge the new arrivals, but midfielder Danny Greenfield has undoubted quality and pacy forward DJ Campton-Sturridge has caught the eye.
One of the issues Farsley had last year was the lack of goals – they found the net just 40 times in 46 league games last season, the second lowest in National League North. Gaffer Clayton Donaldson has already said his side aims to be more attack-minded this season.
The signings of Campton-Sturridge, Dylan Youmbi, Manny Mampala, Robbie Fox and Alex Kiwomya also point to a shift in Farsley’s playing style.
There are signs that Farsley may be moving in the right direction on the pitch. Most Farsley fans would settle for mid-table safety and no last-game drama this season!
Which neatly brings us onto the new pitch.
After securing planning permission for a new artificial playing surface in mid-June, the Celts’ old – and widely criticised – grass pitch has been lifted. The proposals will provide a new pitch for training and for its deaf, youth and women’s teams to use. The move could be transformational to the club and its finances.
But an unspecified delay has meant work hasn’t yet started on laying the new synthetic pitch, with no confirmed start date at the time of writing.
In a statement on club media this week, chairman Paul Barthorpe said the issues had been resolved and he was now speaking to contractors regarding prices and timescales for their availability.
He said: “Although it’s not ideal there is no reason for panic, or alarm. As with all types of construction works there are unforeseen issues, and in fairness to the engineers running the job there are some issues that are uncommon and can’t be picked up on prior to them happening, and this is one of those.”
Much-needed upgrades to the clubhouse are also imminent, and planning applications for LED floodlights and an electronic scoreboard are apparently due to follow once the pitch is sorted. Refurbishment of the changing rooms has also been announced.
The transformation of the sports hall into a soft play area – called Farsley Fun Factory – has been earmarked for some time in the New Year and the Fun Factory is now the club’s official front-of-shirt sponsor.
Plans announced on the club’s website last May to build indoor sports pitches behind the sports hall and resurface the club’s car park appear to have been put on the back burner.
Fans will certainly be hoping spades are in the ground for the new pitch soon.
The club has also announced new away and third kits for the team. More details here.
Tomorrow’s game
In a repeat of the previous season’s opener, Farsley make the trip down to Dales Lane to take on Rushall Olympic, who after a solid debut season in the National League North, remain ready to take another stab at the division as they welcome Donaldson’s side for the second time.
“It’s been all about getting the players up to speed and getting them match fit.
“We tried different formations, different use of personnel in other positions so it was a case of being able to see what worked and what didn’t.
“Overall it’s been good and pleasing to see and that’s what pre-season is all about. It’s not about results but more about performances and players buying into what we’re trying to do with our style of play.
“That was the main thing and everyone is now prepared for the season ahead.”
bout the tough challenge ahead, saying: ” We’re prepared. We’ve done our homework and full preparation and now it’s time to get down to business where the points are at stake.
“Everyone is looking forward to it. No one likes pre-season as there isn’t much to gain other than fitness and sharpness and the physicality can be demanding but everyone has taken to it really well and now we’re up for Rushall.
“It’ll be a strong challenge for us. They’ve changed their manager and brought some new players in, making some solid signings.
“It’s always tough starting the season away from home but we’re prepared for it, we’ll give it our all and hopefully our all will be enough to get the result that we want.”
Skipper Chris Atkinson will miss the start of the season after sustaining an injury before the beginning of pre-season. Alex Kiwomya hopes to be fit after missing the final match against Hull City U21.
The Pics enjoyed a steady debut season in the National League North, finishing in a very respectable 19th position after being tipped by many to be relegated. They have a new man at the helm in Adam Stevens, who will be hoping to get off to the perfect start on Saturday at Dales Lane.
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