Article courtesy of Gloucestershire football association (Simon Parkinson):
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cHIPPING Sodbury Town will gear up for life at the higher level with some intriguing pre-season spectacles in their own Ridings backyard on the Wickwar Road.
Bath City, who recently agreed terms with Gary Owers to remain in charge of the National League South side, kick-off Sodbury’s pre-season home fixtures on Wednesday, July 6 (7.30pm) while a fortnight later, on Wednesday, July 20 (also 7.30pm), local rivals Yate Town, themselves under relatively new management in Paul Britton, are the visitors.
Town will face another severe test of their new-found credentials on Saturday, July 30 (3pm) when Brimscombe & Thrupp, impressive fifth-place finishers in the latest Hellenic Premier Division shake-up, travel south to the Ridings.
Sodbury have been enjoying something of a meteoric rise themselves in recent times, their first XI clinching a second straight promotion to land a place in next season’s Toolstation Premier Division for the first time in their history on the back of their exciting Division One title success, which led to their young boss Karl Reese collecting manager of the year for the section.
Not content with that Chipping Sodbury Reserves, under the shrewd stewardship of manager Les Theobald, gained a place in the Bristol Premier Combination via a District League Senior Division championship-winning route, while Richard Bisp’s A team cemented a commendable tenth position in Division Two, foundations they hope to build upon next time around.
Hardly surprising, then, that club manager Scott Gibson, who celebrated his 49th birthday this week, has been finding the achievements hard to absorb along with the rest of his delighted Sodbury comrades.
“To be honest we hadn’t expected to come this far so quickly,” he confessed of his first team’s accomplishments.
“We’re enjoying it though; it’s massive for us. We’re making further improvements to our ground, by erecting a second 50-seat stand and another enclosure with 80 standing spaces.
“There’s more hard standing going down on the far side of the pitch and the dugouts are being revamped. The terrace in front of the clubhouse is also being extended to enable more spectator standing.
“How will we fare in the Premier Division? The target has to be to try and stay well out of trouble, in and around mid-table. We have to make sure we’re not in a relegation battle.
“Then you look at what Barnstaple have achieved. Like us they won the first division (in 2014-15) and are now about to ply their trade in the Southern League.
“We’re on a high and hoping to sign some good, well-established Western League Premier Division players in time for next season, so it’s all positive.
Town will face another severe test of their new-found credentials on Saturday, July 30 (3pm) when Brimscombe & Thrupp, impressive fifth-place finishers in the latest Hellenic Premier Division shake-up, travel south to the Ridings.
Sodbury have been enjoying something of a meteoric rise themselves in recent times, their first XI clinching a second straight promotion to land a place in next season’s Toolstation Premier Division for the first time in their history on the back of their exciting Division One title success, which led to their young boss Karl Reese collecting manager of the year for the section.
Not content with that Chipping Sodbury Reserves, under the shrewd stewardship of manager Les Theobald, gained a place in the Bristol Premier Combination via a District League Senior Division championship-winning route, while Richard Bisp’s A team cemented a commendable tenth position in Division Two, foundations they hope to build upon next time around.
Hardly surprising, then, that club manager Scott Gibson, who celebrated his 49th birthday this week, has been finding the achievements hard to absorb along with the rest of his delighted Sodbury comrades.
“To be honest we hadn’t expected to come this far so quickly,” he confessed of his first team’s accomplishments.
“We’re enjoying it though; it’s massive for us. We’re making further improvements to our ground, by erecting a second 50-seat stand and another enclosure with 80 standing spaces.
“There’s more hard standing going down on the far side of the pitch and the dugouts are being revamped. The terrace in front of the clubhouse is also being extended to enable more spectator standing.
“How will we fare in the Premier Division? The target has to be to try and stay well out of trouble, in and around mid-table. We have to make sure we’re not in a relegation battle.
“Then you look at what Barnstaple have achieved. Like us they won the first division (in 2014-15) and are now about to ply their trade in the Southern League.
“We’re on a high and hoping to sign some good, well-established Western League Premier Division players in time for next season, so it’s all positive.
Article courtesy of Gloucestershire football association (Simon Parkinson):
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Published: 27/05/2016
