Non-League Football Day - 29th August

The "non-league football day" is the brainchild of James Doe, a lifelong football fan and supporter of Harrow Borough FC.

Its aim is to promote the semi professional game in this country by virtue of a fortuitous break in the football calendar. In James' own words:
"WITH ENGLAND PLAYING THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THE PREMIER LEAGUE AND CHAMPIONSHIP TAKING A WEEK OFF, I URGE ALL FANS OF THE BIG CLUBS TO GET OUT AND WATCH THEIR LOCAL NON-LEAGUE TEAM INSTEAD ON SATURDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER. GIVEN THE CURRENT FINANCIAL CLIMATE, CLUBS OUTSIDE THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE NEED ALL THE SUPPORT THEY CAN GET, SO YOUR PRESENCE AT A GAME WILL BE GENUINELY APPRECIATED. WITH TICKETS AND REFRESHMENTS AT A FRACTION OF THE COST IN THE PROFESSIONAL GAME WHAT'S STOPPING YOU?"
The UHLSPORT Hellenic League is pleased to be support the initiative and we urge everyone connected with the League to spread the non-league word, tell your friends about the website at: www.nonleagueday.co.uk, or better still take them to a local match on September 4th.

From Vets To Hoops - 7th July

Former Hellenic Veterans League player Garry Parker has targeted a clean sweep of trophies in his first season at Celtic.

And for the former Aston Villa and Leicester midfielder, who is the club’s new first-team coach, it completes a remarkable few months. The 44-year-old has joined his old teammate Neil Lennon to complete the Celtic manager’s backroom staff. But it could have been so different, for Parker had his wife Petra not acted swiftly and called an ambulance when she noticed he had suffered a stroke.

It happened in March while he was recovering at home from a badly broken leg which he suffered while playing at Oxford City Veterans for Kidlington in the Hellenic Veterans League. Just to add to his woes, Parker was diagnosed with a heart problem while his leg was being operated on.

“I was back home having a kip and Petra noticed one side of my face had dropped,” he said. “She had seen the TV campaign and recognised the signs immediately. If she had not been so quick, I could have died or been left disabled, she was great.” Parker, who won the League Cup with Leicester in 1997, said: “I’m in shock about the whole thing. I’m still not out of danger because of the irregular heartbeat and I’m having all sorts of tests.”

Parker, who has also played for Hellenic League clubs Kidlington and Abingdon Town, added: “If I have to take tablets for the rest of my life, so be it. I’d never broken a bone in my professional career then this happens. But you have to put everything into perspective. I had treatment in the John Radcliffe, which is where they carry out post-mortems on the lads who have died in Afghanistan. I saw the bodies come in and you value even more what they are doing out there.”

Parker’s main aim is to wrest the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title from rivals Rangers’ grasp and prevent their Old Firm rivals from claiming a third successive championship. Parker said: “Your aim is always to win everything you enter. The hardest thing in football is winning matches, but that is what we want to do, and we want to win as many as we can.”

Former Secretary Responds - 2nd July

Gordon Varley, secretary at Cirencester United for almost two decades, believes the club’s demise after 41 years was inevitable. Varley stepped down two months before the end of what proved their final season after a dispute with manager Dave Tyler and was not surprised that the club did not re-apply for its Hellenic League status.

In Tyler’s first season in charge, Cirencester United finished bottom of the Hellenic League Division One West with just one win in 30 games and with neither a chairman, secretary nor committee in place, Tyler decided the club could not afford to pay the registration fees to carry on in the Hellenic.

The club was founded in 1969 as ‘The Herd’ under which title they won the Cirencester and District League and Cup double for both the first team and reserves in the 1974/5 season – a feat not equalled before or since. In 1990, they were renamed Cirencester United. "We had been living hand to mouth for a few years now," said Varley. "We only managed to survive the season before last because of the crowd that came to one game as part of the Hellenic Ground Hop scheme”.

Varley continued; “When our clubhouse burnt down in an arson attack at Four Acres Field three years ago, we should have closed the club there and then. It was a struggle before, and then we lost our home and with it the money to carry on from bar takings. Meanwhile, it cost much more to play, £40 a game in rent for the Army Camp ground at South Cerney. United did not even have compensation from insurance having stopped their premiums 12 months before the fire in a cost-cutting exercise.

"There are many reasons for the demise," said Varley. "We have gradually lost good people at the club who had volunteered time and, in some cases, donated money. There are the unreasonable demands of the FA on a club like us playing at Step 6, as well as the spiralling costs for things like officials (£116 per home match).
The loss of Four Acres was significant but perhaps the major blow was the premature death from a brain haemorrhage of former chairman John Austin, a local architect.
When I became involved in the club it was run on a £5,000 overdraft but within two years John had paid off the debts. If he had lived, we would not be where we are now."

Varley is angered by former manager Dave Tyler’s comments in the press and his suggestion of financial irregularities at the club. "Accounts have been presented to the Gloucestershire Football Association and the Hellenic League every year and Dave saw the balance sheets at our monthly meetings," said Varley. "Yes, there was little in the bank and there are some outstanding debts to the Hellenic League and the Army Camp, but Dave did not help matters. When both he and the previous manager Chokri Kartit came in, the club’s management committee gave them a clear mandate that players would have to pay match subs, £5 a game, but it was never imposed. Dave also took the team training at the Cirencester Arena which was expensive and what broke the camels back for me was when he decided to cancel a first team match due to, in his opinion, a lack of suitable players. That cost us a £250 fine and that was when I resigned."

Varley, who remains secretary at Stratton Youth FC, believes Cirencester United will never be resurrected despite going to the wall for the sake of a few hundred quid.

Herd Turmoil - 29th June

Former Cirencester United manager Dave Tyler (pictured) has revealed the true, extraordinary extent of the club’s problems which forced the ex-Hellenic League side to fold. Tyler was only at The Army Camp for a matter of months, having joined Ciren midway through the campaign, but he was soon thrust to the forefront of the club’s day-to-day functionality.

By the middle of May, he and his partner took sole responsibility for every aspect of the team’s existence, from groundskeeping to accounting to funding. And that was hard enough as it was,allegedly, with only £16 in the coffers.

“Towards the end of the season, we were in a bit of trouble,” said Tyler to the Swindon Advertiser. “It cost me and my missus about £700 to keep the club going for a bit but I was just the manager, and that’s all I wanted to do. Money had gone missing and there were no explanations.”

The deeper Tyler dug, the more extreme the situation appeared. With nothing by way of formal records of business or account books to be found, dating back several years, it was nigh-on impossible to trace the avenues down which the club’s finances had seeped away. Then, to compound an already overwhelming set of circumstances, Tyler began opening backdated bills, stretching over a period of time which included both last season and the term previous.

“Those bills amounted to something like £3,000,” said Tyler. “Then, if we wanted to go into the league for next season, we were looking at another £600 to £700 in fees before we kicked a ball. I was not prepared to put my hand in my pocket. We couldn’t find funds and we couldn’t find a chairman so the club has folded. It’s been run very poorly for an awful lot of years, by the end of it there was only £16 something left in the bank.”

That Tyler and his partner were unable to discover the identity of the second signatory on Ciren’s account typified a bizarre series of events. For all his endeavour and personal investment, the former boss was forced into making the decision to abandon any kind of salvage project.

Although he left the defunct club with a heavy heart, Tyler knows it was the only choice possible as he prepares to move into his next managerial role. “It had fallen on our heads to pay fees, pay for the food, pay for the programmes and everything else,” he said. “I don’t like walking away, and I thought over it for a while before I made the decision, but there was no chance we could keep it going. I was brought there to be manager, but I couldn’t concentrate on managing when I was doing everything from sorting the pitch to doing the food. Now I’ve been asked to go to a team in the Northern Senior League, and they’ve assured me I’m just going there to manage, and that’s all I want.”

Brian King confirmed to the League website. " The Hellenic League Executive committee is in discussion with the Gloucestershire FA regarding outstanding debts in respect of the former club."

Constitution Of Leagues - 22nd June

Leagues for the Hellenic League competition, season 2010/2011.

Wembley Appointment - 21st June

Deep, Crisp & Even - 3rd June

You may recall back in the 'White Winter' weather that clubs were asked to submit their 'White Weather' scenes for a League Competition.

Such was the quality and work put into this competition the League Board has agreed to reward each club that entered into the spirit of the competition by awarding each of the nine clubs that submitted an entry a Free Bench Jacket.

The top three Clubs, Hook Norton, Penn & Tylers Green and Shortwood United, will also receive a free box of 50 Christmas Cards with the image depicted on the front of the card.

Should clubs require further copies they may be ordered via the League Office, clubs who did not make the top three may also purchase cards with their image depicted on the front of the card. Price available on application and at a very reasonable price.

The League is looking at producing a 2011 Calendar and the three winners will be included in the calender.