Football Focus ISSUE 82 | Page 9

Boldmere St Michaels “I first joined the club in the Summer of 2005 as player and we were Walsall Senior Cup winners in my first year at the Club (05/06). During the following year I ruptured my ACL whilst playing for the Club, effectively ending my playing days. I remained at the Club whilst recovering and took on the role of First Team Coach under then Manager Rob Mallaband. I became First Team Manager in the Summer of 2013, my first game in charge was a Pre-Season Friendly against boyhood Club Aston Villa. That first season saw us finish Runners-up in the Midland Football Alliance. The next few years saw a huge transformation of the Club in many different aspects, Stadia, Youth Development etc. whilst we successfully ensured the First Team continued to compete at its current level. At the end of season 17/18 we became Sutton Charity Cup Winners, beating our neighbours Paget Rangers in the Final 9-0. Having just taken charge of my 287th game as Manager, I couldn’t be more excited about the future prospects of the Club.” Stuart Grosvenor, Current First Team Manager Money is and perhaps always has been the significant player in all levels of football at our club this is no exception. We invested in a 3G pitch two years ago (most of the funding was private investment which has to be paid back) and whilst this has enabled us to build a large junior section and rent the pitch out to many other clubs this is not reciprocated by a vast tread of people using the clubhouse facilities. The pitch itself is operating to almost full capacity and cannot make the club money until the investors are repaid. The clubhouse where beer sales can be volatile is under used. In my playing heyday the club was the be all and end all after matches but every club I speak to says this is not the case these days. To that end we have increased usage of the club by other means, not the easiest of tasks in my view. The rewarding aspects of still being involved is that any good result makes it all worthwhile whilst any appreciative comment to any of us volunteers is worth its weight in gold. My view largely is that from an extremely young age right through to senior football too much is taken for granted. The general mood at the club is that a very youthful first team is making good progress; we currently lie 9th in the league with games in hand over several teams. The next month when we play most of the teams above us will determine if this progress is a false dawn. Our success to date with the youngsters has meant seven-day approaches for our players shows increasing regularity. The club has a tradition of continuity of service with long serving Chairman Trevor Brown (died in 2001) and his successor Keith Fielding setting the mantra that has been followed by Rob Mallaband ‘Boldmere St Michaels will play at the most senior standard that it can afford’. The club has never relied on any one individual to keep the club afloat preventing any chance of disappearing into oblivion due to spending money that it cannot afford. Article provided by Alan Parsons, Football Chairman Here at The Three Tuns, we pride ourselves on providing a diverse selection of drinks, from the well-known to the up and coming new tastes that are fresh on the scene. We have our 4 cask ales with a regularly changing new guest ale, 6 keg lagers on draft, as well as a fridge brimming with a fine selection ranging from American, Belgian and Indian lagers to Timmerman’s Fruit beer. REAL ALE FOR REAL PEOPLE LIVE MUSIC THURSDAY QUIZ SKY & BT SPORTS TELEPHONE: 0121 355 2996 WEBSITE: WWW.THREETUNS.NET 19 HIGH STREET, SUTTON COLDFIELD, WEST MIDLANDS, B72 1XS www.footballfocusmag.com 9