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The Grampound Times
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Edition 47

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GRAMPOUND FOOTBALL CLUB

At the time of writing, the season has brought mixed outcomes for the football club.

The Under-15s, in their first season and for many of the players their first real taste of competitive , organised football, have made real progress as the season has gone on.  A few new players have been recruited to strengthen the squad and the boys’ enthusiasm has been terrific.  Manager Steve Ridd has developed a wonderful team spirit and I know that everyone at the club looks forward to their continued development.  Many of them will become eligible for adult football during next season and we expect them to come through strongly.  At the moment they are looking extremely smart thanks to a grant gratefully received from the Football Foundation for new kit and they will be wearing proudly the sky blue of the club.

The Reserves have made progress this season, making themselves much harder to beat and becoming a very competitive team in an oddly unbalanced division.  Three of the clubs in their division are playing way below their real level and consequently the only really competitive games they have are against each other.  Grampound Reserves are proving to be one of the best two or three of the rest and although are unlikely to be pressing for promotion have reached the last four of the Duchy League Reserves Cup and are soon due to play a two-legged semi-final against a powerful St Dominick Reserves team from east Cornwall.  A number of young players have begun to make their mark and it is good to see local lads such as James Fryer doing well in the side.  At the other end of the scale, evergreen Ian Varnell at well over the 40 years mark is still turning out regularly and playing with as much energy and enthusiasm as he ever did.  It is good that the youngsters can learn from the experienced players and we encourage them to do just that.

The First Team is having a steady season after gaining promotion last summer and has put in outstanding performances to beat top sides in a very tight and competitive division, but have come unstuck sometimes against some of the lesser lights.  It is certainly a division in which no team wins without giving everything and the Grampound first team squad needs to be on its mettle every game to win points.  The team was unfortunate to exit the county cup in only the second round after giving a top team in the west (Falmouth Town) a real fright, but is still in the Duchy League Cup and hopes to have a good run in this.  A concern for the manager has been the departure of three young players who were key to the way the team plays.   They have been snapped up by senior clubs and although we are disappointed to lose their services, we look at it as a measure of our own progress as a club and we wish them well in their exploits in a higher standard of football.  Others, however, have grasped the opportunity to state their case and the performances of young Joe Dunn ,as he has been thrown into the fray, have been impressive.  A second concern of the manager has been the inability of the team to put the ball in the net.  Approach play has often been outstanding, but the team knows that a finisher is needed to round off all the good work.

The club’s end of season celebration will this year be at the Bosun’s Diner, Charlestown on 10th May.  At the end of the dinner will be the end-of-season awards followed by a disco.  This is always a great evening and we welcome all to join us to celebrate the performances and achievements of our young people.

Although the final few months of the season is always hectic, the club is busy planning for the next stages in its development.  We hope to pursue the vision outlined in our development plan (see below) and part of this includes the recruitment of volunteers to coach, manage or generally help.  If you feel you might be able to contribute, please do not hesitate to contact me or any other member of the committee.

Allan Webb (Chairman, Grampound FC)

Grampound FC Development Plan Themes
(see http://www.grampound.org.uk/football/documents/development_plan1.pdf  for the full plan)

1. To develop a high quality football club as a focus in our community

2. To work in partnership with other community organisations to use football to promote social inclusion and community development

3. To recruit, train and develop coaches, leaders, officials, administrators and volunteers

4. To develop community facilities to permit the other parts of the vision to take place.

Some Important Dates:

Saturday 10 May 2008 :  End of Season Celebration and Awards Evening (at Bosun’s Diner).
Tuesday 20th May : Annual General Meeting.
Tuesday 1 July 2008 : Pre-season training begins for season 2008-9 (we always start on the first Tuesday in July)