Brighouse Town - the story so far
Brighouse Town vice-chairman Ray McLaughlin takes a mid-season look at how the club is faring
THE general feeling at Brighouse Town Football Club is that both the season and the club itself are right on track to continue the progress made in the last few years both on and off the field.
Outside, the club we will always be judged for the strength and success of its first team and rightly so, but people within the club realise success for the first team can be made so much easier if it is under-pinned by the firm foundations of well run and well coached teams below them.
This year more so than anytime in the past, the club feel the overall structure on the playing side of our three senior teams is at its strongest.
Taking the decision to join the Northern Counties East League last season will always be regarded as one of the biggest decisions the club has ever made, but the decision to form an U19's team to play in the Northern Alliance League could turn out to be one of the smartest.
Simon Wood came to the club not only to play for the first team but to take up the managers role with the U19's and everyone has been hugely impressed by this young man's sheer professionalism in every aspect of his duties; from his expert coaching as you would expect from a Level 3 FA badge holder, to the way he instils discipline into his young players without being overbearing and stifling this talented squads natural desire to go out and enjoy their football.
Rick Addy as well as being reserve team manager, doubles up as Woody's assistant for the U19's and he can draw on his own experience as being one of the top juniors in the area in his playing days to pass on his knowledge to these up and coming lads and help prepare them for the ultimate goal of playing for the first team.
Phil Baker's vast knowledge, gained with years of involvement with Brighouse Juniors FC, has not only forged a valuable close link with that club but also a link with other Junior clubs within the area who can feed players into our U19's set-up, so he is a valued addition to the set-up.
Ex-Scunthorpe Utd junior, Danny Box provides specialist goalkeeping coaching for the U19's, something that must be the envy of several senior teams playing at levels above Town.
Finally, on the administration side, Town are delighted to have Andy Dawson on board this season as Match Day Secretary for the U19's.
Andy needs little introduction with his excellent work within football in the local area and he just takes everything in his stride and exudes professionalism.
The team on the field have proved equally as talented as the team off it and currently sit on top of the league and are through to the quarter final of the prestigious league cup.
The challenge is to keep this fantastic start going and make sure the players fulfil the enormous potential they possess.
Town Reserves coaching team of Rick Addy, Daz Laycock and Colin Tomkins have vast experience of the WRCAL and this has proved invaluable as the club have decided to blood as many U19's as possible this season in the reserves to give them experience of playing open age football at a high standard against strong opposition.
On average six or seven U19's turn out for the reserves each week and hopefully this will help with the transition towards eventually playing for the first team.
Although positioned towards the lower half of the table at the moment, there's a feeling a more settled looking team for the second half of the season could see a climb up the table in what is the most competitive Premier Division for many years.
The Brighouse Town half-term report is perfectly timed this year as the NCEL side have played 17 games of a 34 game season.
They currently sit sixth in the League so are on course to significantly improve on the 15th finishing position of last season if this form can be continued.
It's worth noting that of the six league defeats so far this season they have all been by a single goal which shows Town have been competitive in every game and there is a fine line between success and failure at this level.
It's to their credit that Mark Brier and Daz Attwood have taken a couple of set backs in losing players to higher League clubs in their stride and have enough contacts at this level to hopefully plug the gaps and keep Town near the top of the table. Town are also through to the quarter final of the NCEL Cup with a trip to high flying Emley on January 20 – a game everyone is looking forward to.
Town's Junior U14's team follow perfectly the club's ethos of attracting good footballers and giving them quality coaching to reach their potential, and Neville Hamilton and his coaching team do exactly that.
They have a talented squad that has already seen Tom Stewart picked up by Bradford City and Angus Hastings sign for Huddersfield Town and this can only reflect well on all those involved in their football development and on the club itself.
Off the field, without mentioning them all by name, the usual people put in an incredible amount of work to keep the club going.
Led by chairman Chris Lister, who has nurtured a real team spirit amongst the committee, Malcolm Taylor takes the lead in the general day to day administration of the club and then Wally Hemingway, on top of his many other duties, does an exceptional job as Match Day Secretary.
Unlike some clubs who like to set targets, Town's policy of continuous improvement both on and off the field continues to serve them well and half way through the current season everyone can feel confident that things are progressing in the right direction while the club is living within its means in these difficult financial times.
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Weather for Halifax
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
