|
Club Nickname: The Bucks
Shirt Sponsors: TAWS Printers Limited
Home colours: White with red and navy blue trim
Away colours: Maroon with white trim
Official website: telfordunited.com
Unofficial sites: telfordfans.co.uk; Nationwide: Telford
Telford United manager Mick Jones, pictured, has one of the most talented squads in the Conference at his disposal, and their recent transfer activity overshadows that of even Chelsea - they have brought in an astonishing twenty-one players within the last year, including three former Crewe Alexandra players in the shape of Martin Taylor, Tony Naylor and John Grant. Naylor, who scored sixty-six goals in his four and a half year spell at Gresty Road is joined by ex-Portsmouth, Port Vale and Man City attacker Lee Mills, who spent a few months on loan at Stoke City last season in their quest for First Division survival.
Veteran goalkeeper Martin Taylor spent a month on loan at Gresty Road in 1996, and has Premiership experience with Derby County. He also reached an FA Cup Semi-Final in 2001 with Wycombe Wanderers, losing to eventual winners Liverpool. However, he has lost his place to 31-year-old Chris Mackenzie, who has eight clean sheets this season.
John Grant is a product of the Crewe Alex academy who made eleven appearances for the reds between 1999 and 2002, but failed to make any impact so was let out on a free transfer to both Rushden & Diamonds and Northwich Victoria before leaving for Hereford Town.
Second round hat trick hero Christian Moore and top scorer Chris Murphy make up a forward line that are well capable of scoring goals.
In defence, the Bucks have ex-Hereford full back Matt Clarke operating on the right hand side, a player who is apparently thought of as the best defender in the Conference. He was involved with the England semi-pro setup for a while and has first division experience with black country rivals West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Twenty-seven year old centre-half Stuart Whitehead has league experience with Bolton Wanderers, Carlisle and Darlington. He is joined by former Macclesfield Town man Neil Howarth in the heart of defence. On loan defender Andy Wilkinson (from Stoke City) may play due to injuries.
Ex-Walsall, Manchester City and Portsmouth midfielder Fitzroy Simpson provides the Shropshire side with an excellent defensive midfielder by Conference standards. He scored against the Alex in his last visit to Gresty Road when Walsall lost 2-1 in September 2001.
Twenty-eight year old utility man Trevor Challis has league experience with Queens Park Rangers and Bristol Rovers, and will probably play in defence for the visit to South Cheshire.
Probable line up: Chris Mackenzie, Stuart Whitehead, Trevor Challis, Neil Howarth, Michael Blackwood, Matthew Clarke, Robin Hulbert, Fitzroy Simpson, Sam Ricketts, Lee Mills, Christian Moore
Telford United: A brief history
Saturday's opponents are one of the non-league's most successful sides, going to Wembley five times in the FA Trophy, along with countless other honours.
The Telford story begins in 1872, when the Wellington Parish Council Institute was formed. The Institute's football team began running its own football team in 1873, and by 1879 the team had changed its name to Wellington Town.
In 1881, Wellington achieved their first honour, the Shropshire Senior Cup, a trophy 'The Bucks' have won on thirty-two occasions over the years.
In 1938 Wellington entered the Cheshire League after winning the Birmingham League three times, going on to be Cheshire champions for two successive seasons when the Second World War was over in 1945. They won a variety of trophies in the 1940s such as the Walsall and Birmingham Senior Cup, the Birmingham Challenge Cup and the Welsh Cup. They joined the Southern League in 1958, becoming champions on two occasions.
The club changed their name to Telford United in 1969 after the town of Telford was officially designated, and the side celebrated by winning the coveted (!) Midland Floodlit Cup title in 1970.
The Bucks joined the Alliance Premier Football League in 1978. In 1985 they went on a remarkable cup run, knocking out Lincoln City, Preston North End, Bradford City and Darlington before they were beaten by eventual winners Everton at Goodison Park in front of over 40,000 spectators.
The nineties proved to be quite depressing for the Bucks, who were nearly relegated in 1998, when despite finishing in last place, they were handed a lifeline due to eighth place Slough having unsatisfactory ground facilities.
In 2000, the club went full time and the ground went under total re-development, resulting in one of the conference's most impressive stadiums, the New Bucks Head.
|
The construction of Telford United's New Bucks Head began in 2000, a complete rebuild of the ground Telford played at for over a hundred years.
The old Urban Gardens End was replaced by a smart terrace called the David Hutchinson Stand or North End, and an open terrace down the Eastern side of the stadium replaced an old structure called the MIRAS Stand. The club plans to develop that side should the club gain promotion to the third division.
The away stand is called the South Stand, providing covered accomodation for 1300 fans.
The new stadium's centrepiece is the Sir Stephen Roberts stand which all going well should be completed by the summer of 2004.
The ambitious Bucks plan to include conferencing facilities, a hotel development and various other features - where do they get their money from? When completed, the stadium will hold 6700 fans, with seated accomodation for 2200 at a cost of a staggering £12m!