Tel: 01454 324994

A warm welcome to Arnall Drive to

theplayers, spectators, and management team

of this afternoon’s visitors.

As we all know I has been an indifferent start to the season, although we have played some decent sides and today will be no different against a free scoring Sharpness side who have had a good opening to their season. Our remaining 4 Saturday sides end their preseasons this week and will all be starting their various league seasons next week with the 1^st team in Gloucestershire County League Cup action.

If you can help with sponsoring a match, player, or pitch side advertising board, or would just like to help and get involved with the running of the club please speak to myself or to another committee member who will be pleased to speak to you about any potential involvement.

Finally, please remember ‘we win together, we lose together but most importantly we stick together’.

Andrew

Chairman

  AUGUST - DECEMBER 2024

  JANUARY TO APRIL 2025

SENIOR AMATEUR CUP

Round One

FIRST TEAM v BRADLEY STOKE TOWN

Winners Away versus

OLD COTHAMIANS or HALLEN RES

Round One

HAMBROOK v RESERVE TEAM

Winners Home versus

BRISTOL BARCELONA or FILTON ATHLETIC

Round One

'A' TEAM v ST.VALLIERS

Winners Away versus

PORTLAND OLD BOYS

FIRST ROUND MATCHES 21st SEPTEMBER

SECOND ROUND 19th OCTOBER

TODAY'S MATCHES

Broadwell Amateurs v Almondsbury

Frampton United v Gala Wilton

Henbury & Rockleaze v Sharpness

Quedgeley Wanderers v Chalford

Stoke Gifford SGS United v Ruardean Hill Rangers

Totterdown United v Wick

Sharpness A.F.C was founded in the 1900-1901 season. Their home ground was The Port which they rented from British Waterways for a pepper-corn rate of one pound per year.

During 3 seasons of the mid 20's Sharpness won the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League. Although no football was played during both wars Sharpness players regularly wrote home to tell of their footballing achievements while they were away on duty.

After the 2nd World War Sharpness were very much to the fore and played at the highest standard in Gloucestershire football. The Sharks were very successful and in the 1962-63 season the 1st XI won the GNSL whilst the 2nd XI won the Stroud League Div 1 without losing a game, a remarkable achievement.

In 1974 a clubhouse was built and from that point Sharpness went from strength to strength. They won the Gloucestershire County League and joined the Hellenic Premier League where they were very successful for a number of years winning the title in 1986. In the 1985-86 season they got to the last 16 in the country playing in the F.A. Amateur Cup.

It was at this point that British Waterways decide they wanted to develop on the land where The Port was situated so the club had to leave in 1988 its home of 88 years. Following World War 1 a Grandstand had been built in memory of those who perished in the war, alas this was bulldozed when The Sharks had to leave The Port.

For three seasons they played on Forest Greens pitch at a price far too high for that time. It became impossible to cover the costs of playing at Forest Green so the club had to revert to 

playing at a lower level. Reduced to one team now playing in GNSL Div 2 they got promoted in their first season 1991-92.

Since leaving Forest Green Sharpness have played their games at Berkeley Vale School & now at Hamfields Leisure Centre where we have put a lot of effort into improving the facilities so we could once again ply our trade in the county league.

Sharpness 1st XI have retained their position in GNSL Div 1 since 1992, even winning the league in 2001-2002, 2009-2010 & 2015-2016 for a record 11th time but alas their facilities prevented them getting promoted.

We finally started the development of new changing rooms at Hamfields in May 2018 completing the project in March 2019 just in time for inspection. The 1st XI still had to do the business on the field to secure promotion and did just that by winning the league for a record 12th time in 2018-19 which secured promotion to the Gloucestershire County league.

During our first season in the County League, we gave a good account of ourselves lying in 3rd position in the league and making it to the Semi Final of the Les James Cup before the season was curtailed early.

In our 1st full season in the Glos County League we managed to finish in a creditable 3rd place having recovered from a slow start. We also managed to take two scalps from higher league opposition in the Glos FA Challenge Trophy.

Sharpness are entering their 6th season in the Glos County League and have secured a top half finish in each season. We’ve also made it to the Les James Cup Final in 2022-23 but were beaten on the day by Broadwell.

Ben Gibbs –

Ben was the club captain when we were won promotion to the County league but has now stepped up into the role of joint manager due to numerous knee injuries.

James Priday –

James has stepped up to the role of joint manager alongside Ben for the 2024-25 season as player manager. Quick, strong left footed defender who likes a physical battle.

Truan Taylor (GK) –

Young goalkeeper who has been in and around the Sharpness setting for many years. Looking to build on an impressive season last time out. .

Jamie Holder (GK) –

Good shot stopper who’s very comfortable with the ball at his feet.

James Litten –

A no nonsense defender who can play in a couple of positions. Extremely hard working player who will be looking to establish himself in the first team.

Will Payne –

A quick athletic full back who loves to bomb forward and join up in forward play.

Isaac Thurston -

A central defender going into his second season with the club. Isaac is a monster when it comes to defending 1v1 situations and loves to join in attacks.

Sean Heal -

An experienced defender who joins us from Henbury. He will add key leadership qualities to the squad this year and is already proving to be a good fit with the lads

George Thomas –

A young left sided defender who will be pushing to establish himself in the first team this season.

Brad Gibbs –

A young player with bags of energy, keeps it simple, not scared of a tackle & has an eye for goal.

Brad Hewer –

Attack minded midfielder with composure on the ball. Likes a strike from distance when the opportunity arises.

James Tainton –

Talented young winger, with great technique, an eye for goal and looks like he’ll have a promising future ahead.

Tom Palmer -

An old but new signing for the club this season. TP has been involved at Sharpness for several years on a part time basis but has now joined us full time. Excellent CM with great composure and does the basics really well.

Callum Dummelow –

Callum is an established midfielder and is a good leader on and off the pitch.

Tom Frankham © -

Club Captain for the 2nd season who has shown excellent leadership qualities. Covers the entire pitch, has quick feet and is difficult to stop when in full flow.

Korbin Walker –

A young direct winger with bags of energy who is making the step up after scoring 20+ goals for Wotton in Stroud League Division 1.

Archie Mears -

Another new signing joining us from Gala Wilton. Archie is an energetic young winger with great work rate and a great crosser

Alfie Jones -

Another young local attacker who is stepping up from the reserves this year. He has played himself into the first team plans with some impressive performances.

Tom Paterson –

Our most senior player who is entering his 23rd season with the Sharks. Competitive and always up for a battle.

Kieran Bennett -

A very exciting local young prospect who will be looking to establish himself in the men’s game this year. Kieran possesses excellent technique with bags of energy. A big future ahead of him at SAFC

Photographer: Brian Rossiter

ORDER FORM

Almondsbury the only team with a 100% win record in the league. At the other end Cheltenham Civil Service and Totterdown United are yet to register a point.

To The Field Almondsbury took on Quedgeley Wanderers and a strong wind had an impact on the quality of the game and an early goal for Almonds proved to be enough for all three points. Four minutes in it was Sam Burgess who made a full-blooded tackle on the edge of his box to break up a promising Quedgeley attack. Hughes then played an inch perfect ball out to the right for an Almonds counter which Nicholls latched onto and clipped the ball past Nath Charnock for 1-0. Just after 30 minutes Quedgeley had the ball in the net but unfortunately the ball had gone straight out from a corner. Into the second half and Burgess made a good stop to deny Quedgeley. After a triple substitution for Almonds they twice went close around the hour, a looping cross from Lancastle was headed back by Harmer for Mannings to fire wide, Alrawi was causing all kind of problems for the Quedgeley backs, and won a corner which was headed over by Coote. Almonds Nicholls crossed to Alrawi whose drive flashed just wide, and a minute from time Brown was one-on-one with Charnock who stood tall to shut down the attack and 1-0 it ended.

Sharpness are on Almondsbury’s heels and took on Totterdown United at Hamfields. The first half was devoid of any meaningful goalmouth action, but right on half time Sharks Korbin Walker drove forward into the box and squared to Will Tainton who worked a yard of space and shot inside the far post for 1-0. Early into the second half Kier Bennett made his way into the box and squared to Will Tainton who added his second. Totterdown responded with a good run down the left, the ball squared to Ollie Love who side footed home. The scores were level on the hour, a ball played to Chaz Hemming on the edge who spun and  

hit a looping shot for 2-2. Sharpness were sparked into life and went in front on 70 minutes when Tom Frankham threaded the ball to Bennett to slot into the far corner.Sharks made sure of the points when Brad Hewer’s deep cross was met by Frankham who headed back to Liam Harper to tap home for 4-2.

At Arnall Drive Henbury and Rockleaze took on Chalford in bright sunny but gusty conditions and had the better of the early chances with shots by Dan Webb and Jordan Buckett narrowly wide. Chalford responded with close efforts by Ryan Harry and Andrew Maryon, and indeed were in front soon after with George Parker played in and finishing with a good shot from just inside the area. Chalford finished the half well on top with a few close efforts. The second half started with both sides going close. A Chalford corner was met with a good header Jonathan Davis but H&R broke quickly with good build up down the left and Nick Jones’ cross was controlled and hammered home by Marcus Williams for 1-1. Both sides probed for control and Chalford had a series of corners which were defended with difficulty in the gusty conditions and in time added on Jones’ cross glanced off the Chalford crossbar and to safety for an evenly contested 1-1 draw.

Joint leaders Gala Wilton had a difficult game at Filton Athletic’s Pen Park. Early on Fraser Venables forward ball was defended well by Gala, who themselves went close with Jamie Creed’s shot well saved by Barry Phillips. It was Filton’s Trey Merrett who scored first latching onto Venables through ball and rounding Oscar Bignell. Kyle Thomas went close for Athletic well saved by Bignell who also saved Cooper’s follow up. A good cross from Venables was headed out for a corner from which bounced around the area before ending up in Bignell’s hands via a defender. Fifteen seconds into the second half Trey Merrett scored his 

second assisted by Cooper and it was nearly three when Venables went close. It was three when Venables went on a skill run cutting in from the right and firing past Bignell. Gala looked for a way back in but Creed shot just over. Filton’s fourth came from Kyle Thomas who fired in after Abdu Rahem’s shot was blocked and Filton seeing out a fairly straight forward 4-0 win.

After a good win at Hanham in midweek Bromley Heath United came unstuck at Broadwell Amateurs Hawthorns. It was a bright and lively afternoon with both sides delivering an intense and competitive first half. In an end-to end affair a few half chances were created by both sides but resolute defending and sharp goalkeeping kept the scoreline goalless. Bromley almost scored when a stinging shot spun out of Jack Watkins grasp and fortunately for Broadwell struck the post. The second half was similar to the first with both teams struggling for some sort of control. The game seemed to be heading for a draw but, in the 92^nd minute when Nathan Davies made a determined run into the Bromley box and was upended for a penalty duly converted by Jordan Locke. Bromley pressed for an equaliser but Broadwell remained resolute and held on for a 1-0 win.

After disappointment in midweek Hanham Athletic found their form at the Hallett Construction Pavilion against Cheltenham Civil Service. Hanham almost scored inside three minutes but Karim Rendall’s header from Josh Gibbs’ cross was brilliantly saved by John Dix. Rendall made it 1-0 a few minutes later finishing when put through by Brandon Barnes. But Service levelled on 13 minutes when Hanham gifted them an opportunity on the edge of the box, allowing Mico Rewczuk to lob Sam Brown. 

Hanham had a chance in the 37^th but Rendall’s rather tame spot kick was saved by Dix. Hanham made it 2-1 on 58 minutes Rendall with his second after a fantastic one-two with Barnes. Hanham got their third and Rendall’s hat trick back heading into the net after Dix’s poor punch. Hanham made it 4-1 a minute from time, when Jamie Johnson’s free kick was finished by a great strike from Paul Coles.

On a bright and breezy afternoon Stoke Gifford SGS United and Frampton United played a played out a five-goal thriller. After a quiet opening 10 minutes Frampton’s Jacob Geddes headed home from 10 yards for 1-0. It was 2-0 on seventeen with Ellis Danes-Rutherford on the scoresheet and indeed, it could have been three in the 20^th minute with Danes-Rutherford’s shot well saved by Oli Gargett. Stoke Gifford slowly got their way back into the game and were dominating possession when Spike Weaver turned and shot for 2-1. Gifford came flying out of the traps for the second half and Harvey Morgan had the ball in the net but was judged offside. Gifford carried on dominating and good interplay saw Weaver brought down and he got up to convert the resulting 58^th minute penalty. Frampton came back into things and Danes-Rutherford broke the line for a one-on-one which Gargett saved as he did in the 85^th minute from Dom Brown. But, in the 93^rd minute Weaver popped up in the box to slot home the match winner and his hat trick, SGS winning 3-2.

By Gregor Robertson

Almost two years have passed since it emerged that the EFL were ready to offer three promotion places to the National League as part of the “New Deal for Football” — the proposed financial reset  resulting in more Premier League funding for the lower leagues, which instead ended in deadlock, squabbling, self-interest and silence. 

When Wrexham and Notts County were embroiled in their record-breaking battle for the National League title in 2022-23, a light was shone on the inequity of a structure that grants only two promotion places to the National League, but four to League Two. 

And there are still faint hopes, perhaps, that the forthcoming independent regulator can force the hand of the EFL to right this wrong, but there’s no shying away from the fact that, in the fight for “three-up, three-down”, momentum has ground to a standstill.

And yet it has become a familiar sight at this time of year to witness the National League’s promoted clubs attacking League Two with the same sense of adventure that earned them a place in the Football League, despite the margins for error being gossamer-thin and narrower than pretty much any other league on the planet.

Chesterfield and Bromley’s starts to this season have been no different, with Paul Cook’s buccaneering Spireites side sweeping aside Crewe, last season’s League Two playoff finalists, with a 5-0 win at Gresty Road last weekend, and Bromley, thanks to the sharp-shooting Michael Cheek, winning the opening two games of their first-ever EFL campaign.

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That the teams joining League Two are good enough has never been in doubt. In the past ten seasons, the median finish for the National League champions and playoff winners has been 11th and 14th and, as I’m sure you are aware, no promoted team has been immediately relegated since the system of re-election came to an end in 1987

It’s not just fallen EFL giants like Bristol Rovers, Lincoln City, Tranmere Rovers, Wrexham, Notts County or Stockport who tend to hit the ground running, though: Harrogate Town and Sutton United thrived in their first season in League Two and, while gravity may pull them down eventually, to have won promotion from the National League you had to be a bloody good side.

This is the point. The status quo has shackled aspirational, dynamic clubs and rewarded mediocrity for far too long. For a change to be ratified, of course, there would need to be a vote of all 92 Premier League and EFL clubs, with 50% being the threshold for change. We’ve heard the line about “Turkeys voting for Christmas” enough already. Why should the National League be no more than a bargaining chip in money-hungry negotiations between the EFL and Premier League?

If you’re reading these pages, you probably know that this has been a war decades in the waging. When automatic promotion and relegation was finally introduced between the old Fourth Division — now known as League Two — and non-league’s top tier in 1986-87, Scarborough were the first non-league side to earn the right to play in the Football League via promotion, while Lincoln City became the first team to be relegated from Division Four. The National League had to wait another 16 years for a second 

promotion place to open up to the winner of a playoff, and two decades later the division remains an outlier for no discernible reason.

I know all about the unique challenges of the National League. I played for Grimsby Town in two promotion chases in 2014-15 and 2015-16. The first year, we held onto the coat tails of Martin Allen’s title-winning Barnet side until the death, before finishing third and losing on penalties to Bristol Rovers in the playoff final at Wembley. The nextseason we finished fourth, 21 points adrift of Gary Johnson’s Cheltenham Town, whose 101-point haul made them deserving champions. This time in the playoff final we beat Forest Green Rovers, who had run Cheltenham closest, to secure a joyous promotion.

So I know that the margin between joy and despair adds to the drama and excitement of the league. I know, too, that the standard of football at the top end is far better than the lower end of League Two. You have to be woeful to be relegated from League Two; you have to be near-faultless to win automatic promotion from the National League.

Yet that disparity isn' healthy. It can’t be right that teams like Gillingham, Colchester United and Stevenage have stunk out League Two in recent years, but were saved from relegation because of clubs like Oldham Athletic or Scunthorpe United withering under negligent regimes.

Broadening the promotion picture would not be diluting the excitement of the National League or the quality of League Two; on the contrary, it would improve the spectacle in non-league and standard of football in League Two — and reward success instead of failure. 

Let’s not forget how imbalanced the relationship between the leagues already is. Quite often, as the National League bids farewell to a successful, upwardly mobile club heading for League Two, it’s inheriting a relegated side whose demise is the result of mismanagement that occurred while a member of the EFL.

And players like Cheek, who at 32 is embarking on his maiden League Two campaign, underline how fine the margins can be for players at this level of the game too. Cheek has scored bucket loads of goals in the National League for Chelmsford, Braintree, Dagenham & Redbridge, Ebbsfleet United and now Bromley. Last season he scored 26 times, including two in the playoff final against Solihull Moors, and a penalty in the all-important shootout victory

Yet despite a promise from Andy Woodman that he would make Cheek a Football League player one day, he must surely have begun to think that his chances of appearing in the EFL were fading in the rear-view mirror.

After scoring Bromley’s first-ever Football League goal in the 2-0 win at Harrogate on the opening day, however, Cheek scored another in the win against AFC Wimbledon last weekend to show that he and his teammates — like many more in the National League — deserve a fair chance step up and prove their worth at the next level.

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GLOUCESTER COUNTY  LEAGUE

Saturday 31st August 2024 Kick Off 3.00pm

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