It looks like Trowbridge have beaten the Letcombe record of different goalkeepers this season as they fielded the eighth different keeper in their fixture against Cricklade Town on Tuesday evening.
Reuben Spong was selected and listed as Goalkeeper Number 8 this season in the match program. Can Letcombe equal this before the season ends on Saturday?
Trowbridge Town Chairman Steps Down - 3rd February
After much reflection, Andy Mackinder has made the difficult decision to stand down as the Trowbridge Town Football Club Chairman.
Andy Mackinder
(Chairman Statement – Jan 2010)
After much reflection, I have decided to stand down as the Trowbridge Town Football Club Chairman. Many of you will be aware that I have an enormously stressful job that increasingly consumes much of my time. As a result, I find that can no longer dedicate the time that the people in this Club deserve.
I have been involved in the Club for around fifteen years, with most these as the Chairman of the Youth. In that time I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with a large number of likeminded people and I have been very fortunate to have forged some fantastic, strong and enduring friendships.
It has been a huge privilege to be a part of a Club that has grown from 5 Youth Teams, and the idea of a re-launched Senior Team, to an enterprise that now provides football to around 400 boys and girls as well as the adults who play for the First and Reserve Teams on a Saturday. I look back with enormous pride at the colossal growth this Club has enjoyed and do not regret, for one minute, the hard work that went into making this happen. To become the first Charter Standard Development Club in Wiltshire, to have seen teams win league, cup and county honors, to have helped youngsters become referees and coaches, and to watch young people develop into responsible adults, are the hallmarks of my time with this Football Club. It is these successes that have built bonds between families and provided enjoyment to so many.
You all know that I am Trowbridge through and through and I owe a huge debt to my family who have made an enormous personal sacrifice to support me in leading this Club. I have always found this has been made possible through the support of the wider football family. However, now it is the case that I must give what little spare time I have to those that matter most.
I have been hugely honored to have been able to coach some fantastic players, to organise some great events (including dances, dinners, football tournaments, trips within the UK and abroad) and to have had immense fun raising funds. As I look back I realise that my children have grown up with this Football Club and many of the lessons they have learnt here have made them confident and positive individuals. As a family we have been dedicated to Trowbridge Town and have received so much in return.
Many of the conditions that brought about the merger of the Senior and Youth Clubs and our plans for a new chapter, were based on commitments from others. In many ways I took on the role of Chairman with this in mind. Sadly, some have not followed through, but nevertheless, I have subsequently led the transition from two separate clubs into a larger endeavor. We now have a refreshed lease on Woodmarsh and developed a clear, open and deliverable plan for developing the ground. I still believe that this is crucial in order to build an enduring Club that Trowbridge deserves. I have secured permission from both the Landowner and the Town Council to proceed and have outline plans ready to go. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to engage more fully with the local community, the Council, the FA and others to deliver this vision.
We have in place a strong management cadre across the whole Club, looking after each of our many teams, and a sound and well founded Executive Committee who I am confident will continue to manage the Club on a day to day basis and will continue to enjoy the fullest support of the Membership until such time as a new Chairman can be identified It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to Chair Trowbridge Town Youth and subsequently the merged Trowbridge Town Football Club. Unfortunately, other pressures prevent me from giving it the deep personal attention I think it deserves. I trust that you will look back on my lengthy stewardship and recognise the huge growth and success we have had during my time leading this Club. We have become a Football Club that has set the standard both at Youth and Senior levels. We have delivered football to countless individuals and set a path to delivering the enduring football this town deserves. I sincerely hope that the Club continues to make progress, that you enjoy your sport and that the friendships that my family and I have formed will continue for many years to come.
It's Known As Woodmarsh For A Reason! -22nd January
As the image shows there may not be many trees in the area, but the reason why the area around the Trowbridge ground was named in times gone by as Woodmarsh is plain to see.
A call late on Friday morning from Andy Meaden of Trowbridge was followed by a number of images of Trowbridge Town's Woodmarsh ground.
Andy stated: "The pitch is without doubt the worst i have seen in the last two seasons, there is in my opinion no way it will drain off in time for tomorrow and therefore have to recommend postponement which I would not do lightly under the current circumstances. What is especially worrying is that the water is running from the ditch by the main road back across the path and into the car parking area which of course is where the water from the pitch also runs into".
This causes the second postponement of the weekend following the advice of the waterlogged ground of Cirencester United.
Kicking Heels - 25th December
Trowbridge Town will have been kicking their heels for three weeks by the time they next take the field at Cirencester United on January 2nd 2010.
Last weekend’s home clash against Lydney and the midweek trip to Wootton Bassett were predictable victims of the weather, Trowbridge do not have a fixture on Boxing Day, leaving Chris Carr resigned to an end-of-season fixture pile-up.
The manager, who has seen Mark Hunt return to his squad after a period away, said: “It’s going to be manic in the second half of the season. Our reserves are in the same boat so a lot of our lads are going to be playing a lot of football.”
Confidence Low - 30th October
Chris Carr (pictured) says confidence at Trowbridge Town is at its lowest point this season after their third league defeat in a rowlast Saturday.
The Woodmarsh side shipped two goals in each half with their only goal coming via a cross-come-shot from Tarick Yachou.
After an encouraging start to Carr’s reign, Trowbridge are now fourth from bottom in the Hellenic Division One West and he says there is no quick fix to the problem. “We’ve just got to hold our hands up and say they were a better side,” he said, of Wootton Bassett. “Partly I mean just on the day but overall if you look at their side they are going to be right up there this season. We’re on a bad run and confidence is at the lowest point it’s been for a while. We train for an hour on the astro turf at John of Gaunt school on Monday nights normally. This week we did an hour before hand on the grass and then as we went on the light went out, because they forgot to change their clocks back. Things like that make it difficult as that’s where you build team spirit but we know where we are what we have to do to get out of it.”
Trowbridge play Hellenic Premier side Shortwood United tomorrow in the Bluefin Insurance Challenge Cup and visit Corsham Town for a friendly on Tuesday night. “Shortwood are second in the Premier Division and doing well so I’m not expecting anything,” Carr added. “We’ll treat both like pre-season games.”
Improvement Target - 18th July
New Trowbridge Town boss Chris Carr has begged the club’s fans to be patient in their pursuit of success but has targeted immediate improvements in his first season in charge.
Carr, 24, became the youngest manager in the club’s history when he was officially appointed on Monday and replaces the recently departed Paul King who felt he could not commit enough time to the role. The former reserve team boss also believes the Woodmarsh supporters will have a big role to play if the team is to better their 14th place finish in Hellenic League Division One West last year.
“My aim is to try and better what Kinger did last year,” he said. “He did a great job to keep us in the division after losing a lot of players before the season. “However we lost a lot of games by the odd goal. If we can turn a couple of those losses into draws, and a couple of those draws into wins, then we’ll be looking at mid-table or slightly higher. This club has a lot of history but at the moment it’s about slow progress. We’re not going to get to where we want to go overnight.”
Trowbridge had the highest attendance figures in the league last year with a healthy average of 121 fans per game. He added: “My message to the fans would be to please carry on supporting the club. The crowds stayed strong last season even when we weren’t doing well and hopefully that will continue. It makes a difference to the players and gives them a boost that people are still interested.”
Carr showed an aptitude for management at an early age and founded a side in the Chippenham Sunday League at the age of just 16. Originally called Kings Arms FC, the team achieved three successive promotions under the young boss before winning the WG Parr trophy in his fourth year.
Carr has also achieved success with Trowbridge’s reserves in that time. “We finished 12th in my first year and eighth last season after being joint bottom in February,” he said. “If we had won the last two games then it would have been our highest ever league finish.”
Carr was interviewed for the job by chairman Andrew Mackinder last Wednesday and was given an immediate chance to prove his credentials with Saturday’s friendly game against Larkhall Athletic, who were promoted to the Western Premier League last season. “We drew 0-0 which was a very good result,” he said. “Macca came straight up to me after the game and offered me the job.”
Carr will be assisted in the role by player/coach Dan Barnes. “It’s all down to the positive response from the players,” said the chairman. “Chris will have strong support in his new role.”
Trowbridge are looking for a replacement reserve team manager. Call Andrew Mackinder on 07875 463982.
Carr Announced As Trowbridge Manager - 14th July
Trowbridge Town FC have announced on their web site that a new manager has been appointed to the FTL Futbol One West club.
After a difficult few weeks a number of Players have showed their loyalty to the Club. Dan Crease, and Dan Barnes have been superb ambassadors, keeping players engaged and providing feed back on potential managerial candidates. Both have taken a leading role in helping with pre-season training and matches.
The Club have now built on this player support by appointing Chris Carr into the First Team role. Over the weeks since "Kinger" resigned Chris has gone out of his way to engage with players across the club. He has showed great enthusiasm, commitment and his ambition can only be commended. Although relatively young for such a job, the Committee and Supporters can now play their part by supporting him throughout next season.
The club is now looking for a reserve team manager and will remain open to further appointments in support of the first team.
Paul King Resignation - 24th June
Trowbridge Town are sad to announce that Manager Paul King has decided to resign.
Paul (pictured) would like to be able to spend more time with his very young family. Despite finding the Managers role hugely enjoyable and very rewarding, he has concluded that it takes an enormous amount of time to do the job properly and that this conflicts with the time he would like to spend with his young family. Paul’s choice does not affect our other coaching staff; Ade Hiscock is remaining as a coach, Chris Carr and David Burrows both remain committed to the Club.
Chairman Andy Mackinder said “It is sad that Paul has decided to step down, he has made a significant contribution to Trowbridge Town, particularly since the merger with the Youth. He has provided a strong platform upon which others can build. This is impressive given that he built a squad to support three teams from nothing at the start of last season. Everyone at the Club is enormously proud of the contribution he has made, but equally they all fully support his decision to move aside. He has been more than a manager and we are pleased that he has agreed to stay very much involved in the Club.”
The Club are looking for a replacement Manager to head all three of their adult’s teams and to continue with the policy of presenting Adult football as the pinnacle of a strong Community Club; a focus that extends down through the youth and into mini-soccer. Anyone who is interested in taking on this exciting role should contact Andy Mackinder on 07875 463982 (or e-mail info@trowbridgetownfc.com). The Club are looking to agree a new manager by end July, so early notice of interest would be very welcome.
In the meantime preparations for next season remain in place, with pre-season training at Woodmarsh on 7th July at 7.00pm. All players are welcome.
As the image shows there may not be many trees in the area, but the reason why the area around the Trowbridge ground was named in times gone by as Woodmarsh is plain to see.
Chris Carr (pictured) says confidence at Trowbridge Town is at its lowest point this season after their third league defeat in a rowlast Saturday.
Paul King Resignation - 24th June