June 2009

Last night in Mayesbrook park our pre-season training commenced - there was a healthy turnout of players which Steve Munday (First Team) and Rob O'Brien (Reserves) will be running an eye over in the coming weeks as we build up to season 2009-10. All of the players hit the ground running - literally with a brisk run around the park coupled with situps and exercises and some ball work was included too.

Our man on the spot Mark Harris snapped some photos which are laid out below

click on any image to enlarge:

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The Under 15's side have decided to extend their open trials to every Saturday for the foreseeable future

In particular Keepers, Defenders and Strikers are being sought.

Players must bring boots, shin pads water and a snack. Those in attendance should be presently in year 9 or going into year 10 in September 2009.

Should anyone need further information please contact the Under 15's manager Paul Rodney.

As mentioned below we were awaiting confirmation of Bethnal Green United's participation in next season's Essex Senior League - their inclusion has now been confirmed in a e-mail from the league chairman Robert Errington :-

I am delighted to confirm that the FA National Leagues Committee have, today, sanctioned the promotion of the Champions of the  Middlesex League, Bethnal Green United, playing at the Mile End Stadium,  to the Essex Senior League and, therefore, having wished good fortune to  our own promoted club, Romford, with the welcome addition of Tiptree  United and Witham Town  this means that our constitution now stands at 18, the highest in our history.

Have a good summer!
 
Rob Errington
Chairman

This means we can now publish our cup draws and we will be facing new boys Bethnal Green a minimum of five times in league and cup encounters. The draws in full are:

League Cup
 
Group A Enfield  (1893) : London Apsa :  Burnham Ramblers
Group B Takeley : Witham Town :  Stansted
Group C Basildon United : Clapton : Eton  Manor
Group D Mauritius Sports : Sawbridgeworth  Town : Barkingside.
Group E Tiptree United : Bowers & Pitsea  : Hullbridge Sports
Group F Bethnal Green United : BARKING  : Southend Manor.
 
Gordon Brasted Trophy
 
First Round
 
A) Hullbridge Sports v London Apsa
B) Eton Manor v Bowers & Pitsea
 
Second Round
 
Bethnal Green United v BARKING
Burnham Ramblers v Basildon United
Game B v  Sawbridgeworth Town
Clapton v Tiptree United
Witham Town v Mauritius Sports
Takeley v Game A
Stansted v Barkingside
Southend Manor v Enfield (1893

Two new screensavers have been added to the download section - both contain photos from various matches of last season. They can be found by clicking here or by navigating to the downloads page via the link on the left of this page.

At last weeks AGM of the Essex Senior League the 'Secretary of the Year' for 2008/09 was announced and it went to our very own John Faherty (pictured left). Chairman Gill Faherty commented "John is obviously over the moon at winning this but would like to say that this would not have been possible without all the marvellous help he gets from everybody at Barking and he says a big thank you to them all."

Well done John

Three new teams are joining the Essex Senior League for season 2009/10: Tiptree United from the Eastern Counties League, Witham Town relegated from the Isthmian (Ryman)League and Bethnal Green United as champions of the Middlesex League. There is however a proviso that Bethnal Green's inclusion in the ESL is still be ratified by the FA - this means until this occurs any cup draws made at the league's AGM last week are provisional. Hopefully, the ratification of Bethnal Green will be a formality and we can welcome them into a 18 team league for next season.

Following on a previous article - Mark Harris has provided another update of the latest situation with the work being carried out at the ground:

"The latest score from Mayesbrook is Barking supporters 4 Weeds 0. All areas of terracing have been cleared of weeds and industrial amounts of weed killer is being put down to hopefully restrict them from growing back. We are also getting very busy with the paint brushes and the pitch perimeter is almost finished (pitch side at least). The new coat of white paint (the first for a few years - courtesy of Steve Munday) has made a real difference and to compliment this we now have royal blue behind both goals and a very eye catching yellow being applied to the terracing steps. Next Monday the Monday club will turn their attention to the dressing rooms which will receive a new coat of paint and any general maintenance tasks as required. We still have some painting to do as well as some building work and some rubbish clearance tasks to undertake. If anyone wishes to pop down on a Saturday (or any other day for that matter) for a few hours we will be very grateful for the help - please keep an eye on the forum for details of when someone can be at the ground or feel free to advise us of when you can make it and we will do our best to accomodate your plans."

Mark has again kindly supplied some photos - click on any image to enlarge:

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Below is a short video taken of how the ground looked on June 6th 

 

Following the announcement of the pre-season programme of games we can confirm the date our pre-season training starts. It will Thursday June 25th at our Mayesbrook Park ground. Players should be at the club 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start.

The club are pleased to announce the following pre-season games:

July 2009
Tuesday 14th - Home to Redbridge – for the Peter Webster Trophy
Saturday 18th – Home to Cheshunt
Tuesday 21st – Home to Waltham Forest
Saturday 25th – Home to Phoenix Sports
Tuesday 28 – Home to Grays Athletic *

August 2009
Saturday 1st – Home to Leyton

* The Grays game is still subject to confirmation. Other dates for your diary - Saturday August 8th - Essex Senior League starts and Saturday August 15th the 'March to the Arch' begins with the first games in the FA Cup.

In a follow up to our first FA skills day held in April the Essex FA's press & publicity officer Chris Evans has written an article about the event which will be appearing on the EFA's website. The article is reproduced below:

LIFE’S A PITCH FOR FA SKILLS YOUNGSTERS
By Chris Evans

Soccer starlets aged nine and ten were introduced to eleven-a-side football for the very first time as part of an FA Tesco Skills Day at Barking Football Club’s Mayesbrook Park venue in Lodge Avenue to help them in their transition from the mini-soccer format in preparation for season 2009/10.

Rob O’Brien and Andy Edmunds from the Skills Team joined forces with Barking F.C. Secretary John Faherty, to train the Under 10s from local FA Charter Standard Community clubs Dagenham United and Upminster Park Rovers in the fundamentals of the full-sized game recently in readiness for when they step up an age group next year in the Echo Junior League. The FA Tesco Skills Programme was launched to raise standards in coaching for players aged 6-11 as part of the FA Strategy for 2008-2012.

O’Brien, a weathered footballer himself around the West Essex scene, was only too pleased to pass on the benefits of his knowledge, claiming: “It was a very enjoyable day and there was a great deal of positive feedback from the coaches involved. The children took a lot away from the coaching as eleven-a-side is a big challenge after playing mini-soccer and making the change doesn’t happen overnight. Players need to learn about the extra space and time on the ball they will get, as well as the need for enhanced team work. The good news is there are plenty of experienced coaches to help them out!”

The players met in the dressing rooms at Mayesbrook Park before taking part in a ‘white board session’ to help them visualise basic eleven-a-side positioning ideas and concepts, including the offside law, followed by a question and answer session. Training on the main pitch preceded a warm-up where movement, passing and supporting team mates were the subjects, moving on to the small-sided games they were more used to. In addition, there were practicals based around shooting, to acclimatise the youngsters to the different heights of the goalposts at Under 11s level.

A full-sized match took place in the afternoon in three twenty-minute periods prior to a de-brief from the coaches about what they had learned. Rob added: “Barking F.C. got involved when we learned that they wanted to reach out to their community and create a pathway for players in their youth section, which they hope to grown by 200%. They intend to raise awareness that they’re more than just an adult senior club by applying for FA Charter Standard status and John Faherty was pleased to see the players from Dagenham and Upminster enjoying themselves.”

The players who took part were treated to free Barking F.C. season tickets and future Skills days are also planned, although fixed dates are yet to be confirmed. To learn more about the FA Tesco Skills Team or Barking F.C. contact Rob O’Brien on (07943) 862303 or E-Mail rob.obrien@thefa.com. Details can also be found at www.essexfa.com, www.thefa.com/skills or www.barking-fc.co.uk.

Next season we shall be fielding a Under 15's team in the Eastern Junior Alliance league as we look to expand our youth academy development programme for the 2009/2010 season.

The U15s manager Paul Rodney has advised that there will be open trials held on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of  June 2009 in Mayesbrook Park, next to the Athletics arena. Registration begins at 09:30 am and the trials will start 10:30am until 1pm on both days.

Players are expected to attend both days, but if they are not able to make both sessions they must attend Saturday for registration. They must also bring boots, shin pads and lots of water. With regards to age requirements players should be presently in year 9 or going into year 10 in September 2009.