West Allotment Celtic
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West Allotment Celtic
FOOTBALL CLUB
ORGANIC GROWTH AT THE ALLOTMENT
For a club on the brink of entering its ninth decade , West Allotment Celtic FC is performing in a very sprightly manner . The Northern League outfit , which plays its home games at Whitley Park in North Tyneside , has added several new teams to its burgeoning youth base this summer .
Four new girls teams , at age levels ranging from U15 to U10 , have joined the boys to give Allotment nine youth sides . Green and white hooped strips are now filled by all ages and genders as the club coaches carefully tend a nursery that should be in full bloom when the centenary celebrations kick-off in 2028 .
It is not the first time that Allotment has put its faith in youth . A junior team set up after World War II helped develop the nucleus of the side that won the Northern Amateur League four times in a row from 1956-60 , a sequence embellished with numerous cups . Back then , the momentum could not be maintained and the Allotment became decidedly overgrown in the sixties before a Rose bloomed to place the club on an upward trajectory that it has , with just the occasional blip , followed ever since .
That “ Rose ” actually Joe Rose , was the former secretary of neighbouring New York United and he took on a similar role at West Allotment in 1969 . He came armed with a full list of contacts and , although ill health meant his time at the club was relatively short , bountiful seeds were sown . A strong team , on and off the pitch , was soon in place and sustained success followed in both the
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