B ly t h
“ Last season we had so many positives on and off the pitch despite the few disappointing results , which again was all part of the learning curve .”
management feels could not have been achieved without the ongoing support received .
“ Since we have experienced the leap from Northern Alliance level to Northern League last season , it has been a huge learning curve for all involved on the journey .
“ As a manager , it has been very challenging dealing with individual players and different characters and trying to keep them all happy which is impossible , but every team we come up against brings different challenges . You have to consistently improve yourself and your team ’ s performance from game to game .”
With a host of new players , the club is getting known for its high ambition to move up the football pyramid as quickly as possible and has a goal for this season to reach promotion into division one .
“ There is a real buzz about Blyth AFC and with a new home ground of our own on the horizon , it ’ s a very exciting time . The quality within the squad has been improved throughout the summer from myself and ( joint manager ) Andy Bowman and ( assistant manager ) Ian ‘ ii ’ Irving to bring in the right players on and off the pitch .
“ It is massively important to us that we have a squad with the right values and attitude to take us up the league . The challenge is also to have everyone buy into what we want to achieve instead of any negativity which is sadly too common when you have a club with so much ambition . Success of any club within the town should make us all proud and something to share . “ Last season we had so many positives on and off the pitch despite the few disappointing results , which again was all part of the learning c u r v e . The hard work that people put in behind the scenes has definitely started to pay off for the new season , with a strengthened management team , a new
YouTube channel , regular local radio highlights and a club programme which has gone from strength to strength . That along with the new players as well as the returning ones should see a huge improvement for this season .
“ From a career from a Sunday league manager to a Northern League manager is a great honour and makes all the hard work and heartache put in worthwhile . The challenge now is to have a good run in the Vase and FA Cup games and be in the promotion spots by Christmas .”
With a new training ground and plans to build a home ground of their own by next year to meet the FA ground grade requirements to progress higher through the leagues , Blyth AFC hopes to start academies for youth teams and sees it as an important foundation for the young ones to come though the youth ranks .
Michael continued : “ I personally can ’ t wait until we are in a position to start a youth academy . Being able to see
a young lad come through the youth ranks and end up in the first team and beyond is every managers ’ dream . They would have the same values as they would have been in the club system for a long time .
“ They would progress into the higher teams slowly , firstly by sitting on the bench and have them involved in training , before giving them ten minutes when they are ready or have them play in the reserves at first .
“ With the new squad , they are all lads of a similar age , very talented and have the opportunity to progress within the club .
“ The club is also looking to take on a ladies senior team under the Blyth AFC umbrella – Blyth Lions , so as the club grows , the teams and community can grow with it .
“ The biggest challenges we are going to face as a club over the next few years will be competing with teams with bigger budgets and a bigger fan base . Blyth AFC is still in its infancy , but I think once we have the new grounds built it will give us our own home and strengthen our identity as a new club and hopefully get to at least conference north level within the next five years .
“ The challenge of being a new club and team with high ambitions includes being in the same town as clubs like Blyth Spartans – with their level of support and history , all we can do is try to hang on to their coat tails , go up the pyramid and hopefully catch them up !” ( Laughs ). www . footballfocusmag . com 65