BURY GIRLS & LADIES FC
AGM – Monday 19 May 2014, 7pm at The Pavilion, Philips High School, Whitefield
Present:
John Woodman, Donna Neary, Rob Shields, David Robins, Rob Gandy,
Michael Hargreaves, Lucy Golding, Diana Golding, Shaun Ellison, John Carr,
Graeme Taggart, Rick Law, Kenny Buckle, John McDermott, Steve Shaw
Absent:
Neil Hall
1. Apologies
Apology from Steve Shaw as he was arriving a little late to the AGM due to finishing work at 7pm.
No other apologies. Comment was made regarding Neil’s non-attendance. All teams were represented
except the U15s.
2. Minutes of AGM held on 17 June 2013
Minutes had been circulated prior to the meeting.
3. Matters Arising
No matters arising.
4. Treasurer’s Report
The accounts will be finalised and passed on to the accountant for verification at the end of May. Our
opening balance was £16706.03, total income £25212.07 with an expenditure of £25186.37. Which means
we just about broke even for the season although we still have to pay for kit (estimated cost £5000) and
balls and equipment.
5. Club Constitution and Code of Conducts
 A revised Constitution was sent out prior to the AGM. Changes to 7(d), 8(a), 10, 11(f)b,c,d were
accepted by the Committee. The new Constitution will be added to the website.
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Other Codes of Conduct remain the same and are on the Club Website.
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Team Management and Procedures – this has been circulated, particularly useful to new Managers.
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Proposed Club Structure – circulated and discussed. Need to add 3 members of Bury FC to join the
Committee as per the SLA with Bury FC. Revised copy attached.
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Proposed subscription increase – details of the proposal were circulated prior to the meeting.
Questions were raised regarding the increase to membership fees and a long discussion took place
to explore each of the concerns and questions. We looked at players purchasing their own kit and
the pros and cons associated with this. We also looked at a reduced increase this coming season
with a monthly payment of £18 then a further increase to £20 the following season. The impact
such an increase may have on parents and players was also discussed. Having addressed all the
issues raised a vote was taken on the proposal and this was carried 9 for and 5 against. A further
conversation took place regarding the U9s and training group fees and it was agreed that the
proposal would also stand for this group. There was a request for a note to be written to
accompany the new membership form explaining the increase and the reasoning for it. This will
help Managers to relay the changes and to ensure everyone is saying the same.
6. Team Managers – End of Season Reports
U9 - Players
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Numbers are great, couldn’t field a full team in September – now 3 separate teams
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Numbers continue to grow, new one coming along this Wednesday!
Two teams next year, should be ok numbers wise – approx. 10 moving to U10
Teagan & Khadija – standout players, both moving to U10
Improvement has been steady but noticeable, start of season the team lost to City 12-0 & 15-0 but
by the end of the season the gap had narrowed to just two goals
 The girls have recorded wins against Heyside Angels, Heyside Sharks and AFC Manchester
 They have also managed draws against both Heyside teams and both Ashton teams
 All the girls play with a smile on their faces and a great team spirit has developed and friendships
made
Atmosphere / Team Spirit
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Strongest aspect of the U9
Lot of positive feedback from parents – newcomers feel welcome & not left out
Sunday sessions – regularly have 12 or more attending for 1.5+ hours at a time, now considered
part of the weekly schedule by most of the girls – they never want the session to finish
Parents
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Darren helping with training & match days plus Sundays – couldn’t do U9 without him
Really good bunch of parents, ready to help out, share lifts etc
Regular volunteers help put kit away / carry to car
U10 - We started the year having to utilise some of our Year 4 girls to make up the numbers for the team as
we only had 6 current Year 5 girls at the start of the season. This was something that caused a few issues
as the season progressed. As the season went on and more girls joined we found ourselves with 17 girls
within the under 10’s age group. We tried to rotate the girls as much as we could within the team for
Saturday but ultimately is was a struggle to get so many girls a game when we only played 7 a side
football. Dianna kindly took a couple of girls and fast tracked them to the under 11’s squad.
Having sought advice from the committee I had a meeting with the parents and advised that due to
numbers getting a game every week isn’t going to happen and a rotation system would have to be
implemented. With all that said we didn’t lose any players over the season and numbers continued to
increase. Myself and Steve have learned lots from our first season running the team and have plans to
improve development and rotation from next season.
The team had a great season in the North Manchester Girls League and we finished 4th in the 10 team
league. We also reached the semi-finals of the knock out cup. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their time and
the league and they were greatly supported by their parents. Every game was played by the team and no
defaults were given to the opposing team. Even with the very early morning kicks offs the girls were always
there raring to play. It was a tough league and we played against some experienced teams who were
bigger and stronger than us. Our squad was an even split of year 4 and year 5 girls so some of the year 4
girls had a disadvantage in size which really showed. However they gave it their all and didn’t let that faze
them and it was a great experience for next season.
U11 - Numbers have hovered around the 21/22 mark for most of the season. We ran a core team (Whites)
which were a committed team of 10 players and a development team (Blues) which was mainly made up of
new players. Although there was a section of this that was committed each week, we also had a group
who came and went as the season went on. In the main we still put out two full squads each week and the
girls got plenty of opportunity to play football and to develop at a level that suited the individual.
The Whites finished 6th out of 12 in the league, would have preferred 5th but we slipped up on one game
that meant we lost valuable points and as the difference between 5th and 6th was just one point it made a
difference. The Whites got progressively better as the season went on. Reached one cup final and the
semis of another and had a good run unbeaten in March/April.
The Blues finished 10th out of 12 in the league. The position in the league I feel is irrelevant given that the
team was designed to allow all girls regardless of ability to take part in matches. It was hard to establish a
core team as some of the players did not commit fully to the team, i.e. hit and miss with training and not
turning up for matches. We did however in the second half of the season get 5/6 players who came
regularly and their development was fantastic which saw the girls win a few matches. This was really
rewarding not only for them but for Lucy and I as well.
U12 Blues - This year has, in my opinion, been a resounding success for the Blues. Not only did the girls
surpass the targets set for the season by finishing 4th in the league (only 3 points off second spot) and
runners-up in the KO Cup against Chadderton Park Yellows (a game which the girls dominated and
deserved to win), they have achieved it having played many games with only 5 or 6 players.
More importantly however, Gary and I have been delighted with the improvement in the girls’ technical
ability, their improved understanding of the overall game, and the fact their infectious enthusiasm and
wonderful team spirit has not dwindled.
Gary and I will shortly pass the girls to John Woodman for the purpose of merging the Blues with the
Whites. We both do this with a heavy heart as the girls, without exception, have been a pleasure to work
with and we are both looking forward to watching them improve further in the coming years.
All that is left to say from me is a huge thanks to the parents for their unwavering support throughout the
season and particularly to Gary who’s commitment, humour and positivity have made the season all the
more enjoyable.
Good luck for 2014-2015 girls!!
U12 Whites – The Whites played in the first division of the North Manchester U12s, having finished
runners-up in the second division of the U11s last season.
We started the league season well with wins against Bury Blues and Chadderton Park, a fighting point
against Chaddy Juniors and only losing in the closing seconds against Curzon Ashton who ended up
winning the league by a mile.
We eventually finished 7th out of 8 teams but just 4 points behind Radcliffe who finished 3rd. We failed to
make significant progress in the 3 cup competitions.
To cut a long story short, results-wise it has been the most challenging season we have had. As U9s, 10
and 11s we very rarely lost matches. This season we lost more than we won at times it looked difficult to
see when the next win was coming.
Players wise we have more registered players at the end of the season (11) than at the start (9).
Some of the girls have developed into really good footballers whereas others have struggled to progress.
It has been even more noticeable than last year how various rival teams are becoming much more
physical, fitter, technically skilful and tactically aware.
We have continued our policy of not picking our strongest team, but instead giving broadly equal playing
time to all girls, although slightly more to the stronger, more committed players.
However, as we look ahead to the U13s season we have told players and parents that girls who don’t
consistently display good attitude, effort, fitness, etc (in both training and matches) will get significantly less
match playing time than those girls who do. As we merge U12s Whites and Blues in to one U13 squad, it is
obvious that if we want the U13s to be a competitive team we will need consistent commitment from all girls
at training and in matches.
U13
 This current squad of Under 13s players has its origins in an initial Under 9s squad formed back in
May 2009. It is extremely pleasing to see the great progress made in the intervening 5 years.
 Overall responsibility for this squad has remained with one of the player’s parents, Graeme Taggart,
very ably assisted by Mark Edwards. Both hold full CRB/DBS clearances. Graeme has relevant
qualifications from his involvement with the football clubs used by his two sons and completed his
FA Level 1 Coaching training with Bury Girls during 2009. He has also undertaken further FA
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coaching covering specific ‘age-related’, child protection, safeguarding young people and
emergency first aid training activities in the interim period.
Graeme is also assisted by his wife Eilish as First-Aider (FA qualification and CRB/DBS clearance
held).
It is very pleasing to note that the league squad has remained intact throughout the season and we
have in fact added 3 more league players over recent months to give more cover on match days.
We have also run a training squad all season for any girls who have simply wanted to come and
give football “a try” for a few months. This has been a success and around 15 other girls have
participated in our training at one stage or another.
We have competed this season once again in the North Valley and Unity Youth League-this gives
us the benefit of “pure” Sunday football, so that players, parents and coaches can plan other family
commitments accordingly.
It is very pleasing to report that this season has seen unprecedented success for our girls.
We eventually finished league winners out of 11 teams entered from a wide geographical area
stretching from North Preston to Bury and out to the Ribble Valley and Burnley. Out of 23 league &
cup games, the girls won 21 & drew 2, losing no matches in the whole campaign, scoring 130 goals
& conceding only 28-a great goal difference ratio!
On top of this, the girls appeared in the League Cup Final, with the match being held at the
League’s chosen venue in Towneley Park, Burnley. After a very competitive and sporting match
played against one of our toughest opponents all season, Bury Girls ran out eventual winners with a
3-1 scoreline. This achievement confirmed the team as double winners not only for this season, but
as “double double winners”, given they achieved the same feat last season.
For greater experience, we also entered the Under 14s Lancashire FA County Cup. Whilst we were
competing against older teams (given there was no Under 13s competition being run), we were
proud of our achievement in only losing 10-9 on penalties in a tight quarter final against Leigh
Genesis Girls FC, that had earlier finished 5-5 in the main match.
At the time of writing, the team has not yet taken part in any summer tournaments, but they are due
to compete at the Blackburn CSC event later next month and are looking at other external event
opportunities.
Throughout the season, there has been a core of 11 league squad members, with a further 4
players regularly attending winter training and then being invited to get involved in league fixtures
towards the end of the season. Absolutely everybody has played their part in the success achieved.
2 girls have shared main goalkeeping duties and have been outstanding with their versatility.
Unfortunately, we could not get everybody on the scorecard this season, but there were some close
misses!!
We are now building for the new season, to play again in the North Valley and Unity Youth League
at Under 14s level, once again playing 9-a-side football, in the bigger nets and with the offside rule!!
The enthusiasm and ambition of all the girls will provide us with further strength in depth in the
months ahead.
We will continue to foster links with other clubs and leagues as we have done at various times over
the last 12 months.
New players do regularly come forward seeking a place in our overall structure. Training will
continue through this summer to identify the best strategy in how to encourage and involve these
individuals in our club plans going forward.
As a manager, I would like to record my sincere thanks to: a) my assistant Mark Edwards for his excellent all-round support during the last 12 months;
b) my wife Eilish for all her work as our First-Aider and her general welfare support for the girls
throughout the season;
c) Paul Douglas for his entertaining match reports, which once again captured the entertainment and
excitement experienced at our matches;
d) My own children for using their personal football experience to support training drills, warm-up
sessions before matches and for acting as referee when needed for some of our friendlies. Also for
putting up with Dad and all the time needed to fulfil his administration duties in running a football
team!
e) All the parents for supporting their daughters throughout our adventures in the last season and for
helping with moving equipment and transport!
FINAL THANKS MUST GO TO ALL THE GIRLS IN THE SQUAD FOR THEIR HARD WORK,
ENTHUSIASM, TEAMWORK AND SUPPORT FOR THE CLUB AS A WHOLE. Without that dedication,
we would not have a team to manage.
Good luck to all for a successful and rewarding season in 2014-15!!
U14 - Our squad of 16 Under 14s players, as has been the case for the last few seasons, was made up of
some girls playing in their relevant ‘Under 14’ age category (7 of them) and the majority (9) playing in the
age group above the one that they should ideally be playing in, i.e. the ‘Under 13’ age category and this
makes our progress this season even more remarkable than it ordinarily would have been.
With Lee deciding to leave the club before the start of the new season, Donna and myself were looked at
as the natural replacements (with me having helped Lee out the previous season with reports and training
and with Donna have pretty much single handedly run the team other than on match days and training in
the 2012/13 season) and whilst it wasn’t something that I had ever intended to do, with Donna confirming
her continued support I agreed to take over...it’s fair to say this was the deciding factor for me....had Donna
not agreed to continue I don’t think I would have taken it on.
The difficulty we had pre-season was that there wasn’t much time to organise things, with me very much
relying on Donna to help me out.
The first big decision was whether we continued to play in the North Manchester League or look to move.
My desire was always to move the girls to play on grass (where football should be played) and this was
rubber stamped after the girls had enjoyed the Blackpool tournament so much at the end of last season.
Having sought opinion from players and parents it was decided we would move and with our mixed age
group decided that the West Lancs league would probably be a step too far. We decided that the best
option for us was the South Manchester league and our decision to move there probably proved to be the
best decision we made all season.
With the move to the South Manchester league meaning a change to the 9v9 format, the first priority was to
look to bolster the squad from our finishing group of 11.
With the invaluable help of Graeme Taggart from the then Under 12’s, we were able to secure the services
of Charlotte Rowlands, Mia Needham and Graeme’s own daughter Sophie to play up for us. With the
addition of Kenzie Holland a few games into the new season and with Shania joining us before Christmas
we saw our squad numbers rise to 16 (with Jess Murphy, Lees daughter also signed on for us in case of
emergencies).
With the change to South Manchester came a whole new set of challenges for us as a team. For example
the change from a venue where there is no requirement to set up the pitch/nets/respect barriers/organise
referees etc etc to one where we had pretty much everything to organise including putting away equipment,
sending off matchcards and reporting to the league as well as all the pre match build up organisation.
In this respect Donna Neary was invaluable and whilst we initially had some teething problems we
eventually got our head round things and we were able to organise everything much better as each week
passed.
Graeme & the club allowed us to share the pitch with Graeme’s Under 13’s for the coming season which
again was a godsend. Graeme and Mark have done some fantastic work on the pitch and to allow us to
share it with them got rid of one major issue for us before a ball was even kicked.
With the priceless help of Andy Dunn on Training nights and Match days we felt we had a great team (girls
included) to take into the new season and, as was highlighted in the aspirations for this new season, we
were hopeful that we would again progress as a team.
On the playing side we were to have our best ever season with 4 wins, the first of which being the highlight
with it being our first ever win as a team in the 4 years that I have been associated with the team. Even
more thrilling for the girls, was Laurens fantastic goal to win 3-2 against Reddish after being 2 nil
down....what a way to earn your first ever win.
This seemed to drive our girls on and 3 more wins in the season was followed closely by some fantastic
efforts in other games. Gone were our thrashings, now replaced by close contests with the other
sides....the highlight of which was our 1-1 draw away against Urmston who up until the last week of the
season hadn’t lost a game
I can’t recall a match when we didn’t field a full strength side....this again was a first in my time associated
with the girls...we even offered to play 1 girl down against Hough End when they turned up with only 8 girls.
A great effort all round on our part over the entire season.
We entered the Lancashire County Cup for the first time and after a number of postponements due to
inclement weather we eventually played our game against Leigh Genesis and were unfortunately to go out
to them after taking the lead in a game that we felt we fully deserved to win.
With 1 game left to play in the League Cup Round Robin matches we were in with a chance of making it to
the semi-finals but were unfortunate to lose to Town Green in the deciding game.
Again, as with our previous 3 seasons, it was often difficult for our girls with the majority playing against
girls older than them and in some cases 2 calendar years older. This makes our efforts over the season
even more remarkable and the girls should be proud of what they achieved.
The second half of the season saw us compete with every team we played...evidenced by our results
against the League Champions Urmston (a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 loss at home).
Out of the 14 outfield players regularly used this season....11 of them scored goals!!!!!!!
As with last season credit must go to ALL the girls for their efforts this season!!!!
Training on Wednesdays during the season and more recently after the season finished has regularly
attracted good numbers and we have had a couple of girls looking to train with us and showing an interest
in joining the team.
With our finishing squad of 16 already down to 14, possibly less, we are looking to increase our squad size
for the coming season. We will be joining the South Manchester League again next season with another
change to 11v11 likely. It is important therefore that we look to strengthen as soon as possible.
Our squad have entered just one end of season tournament (at time of writing) and with the success and
enjoyment we had last year at the Blackpool tournament it’s no surprise that we have again entered this
tournament on 31st May 2014.
As always, the plan is that training will continue through the summer and that we will hopefully attract more
players who will help strengthen the squad we already have.
Donna with help from Diana was able to maintain our ‘Team Page’ on the BG&LFC website with the
addition of some photos and match reports, and again we hope to build on this for next season.
We wanted to make the season a sociable one for the girls and with a few birthday celebrations and a trip
to Ten Pin bowling we partly achieved this. We hope to improve on this next season as well as this preseason coming.
John.
Special mentions, Achievements, Highlights & Thank You’s
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In my 4th season with the team as a parent, trainer & now Manager the biggest achievement was to secure
our first ever win as a team. More pleasingly we were able to follow that up with 3 more during the season.
My personal favourite achievement was our 1-1 draw away at Urmston who would themselves go on to win
the league.
As a team we attended every single BG&L FC Club meeting and after missing the first South Manchester
meeting through no fault of our own we attended 2 of the last 3 meetings which would have been 3 had it
not been for illness.
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In December I was fortunate enough to take and pass my Level 1 Coaching Badge at Stockport Sports – a
pre-requisite for managing a team in the South Mcr League.
Following on from that Andy Dunn also took and passed his Level 1 Coaching Badge in April to bolster our
qualifications.
A massive ‘Thank You’ to Donna for all her hard work this season – invaluable and need I say anymore!!
Thank you Donna from me Andy and all the girls!!!!!
A big ‘Thank You’ to Andy Dunn for his hard work and effort at Training and Match days....particularly
towards the end of the season and ongoing now at the time of writing, when I was unable to get to games
and take training. Thanks Andy!!
A very Special ‘Thank You’ to Graeme Taggart for all his help (in a number of ways ranging from simple
support to setting up on match days and general support). Thanks Graeme!!
Thanks again to Donna for her fabulous match day photos and ‘Girls of the Game’ photos (just two of the
many contributions to the team) which were used to supplement the Match day reports produced by me.
Congratulations to Donna on her ‘Special’ birthday during the season which we marked with a presentation
of Flowers and Champagne to Donna after our away game at Town Green.
A Special ‘Thank You’ must also go to 3 girls who not only played regularly for their usual team (Under13’s)
on Sunday, but who regularly played for us as well on Saturday. Sophie Taggart, Charlotte Rowlands and
Mia Needham and just as importantly Mums and Dads, your efforts over the season and, in getting your
girls to games not only on Sunday but Saturday as well, were really appreciated. Thanks Sophie, Charlotte,
Mia and Parents!!!!
Another ‘Special Mention’ must go to Mark Edwards for his help supporting the girls during the season and
also helping out with training and in one case warming our girls up before a game when I wasn’t able to
make it down. Thanks Mark!
Once again thanks to all parents for the continued support in getting the girls to training/matches and for
their ongoing support of the girls.
Thanks to the club and Diana for the support and help during the season. Always there is we needed any
further help/guidance with anything.
Finally ‘THANKS’ to all the girls for your attendance at matches and training – this season has seen training
numbers consistently high....even when the weather has been poor....sticking it out when the heavens
opened on a number of occasions. We’ve had our moments, but that comes with the territory of
Football...but it’s fair to say that it has been a pleasure to manage you this season.
A final, thanks from me to everyone for their support, particularly towards the end of the season when I was
unable to be there as much as I would have liked due to health issues. Thanks to you all for my gift and
best wishes during this time.
I/We look forward to seeing you all in the new 2014/15 season for what we hope will be another
enjoyable fun filled campaign!!
U15 – No report
U16 – All in all the 2013/14 season has been an up and down season. To start half the team was
experienced and half were relatively new to football, but all have developed over the season. At the start
the team got beat quite comprehensively, towards the end of the season this has been reduced to one or
two goals different, with our own team scoring a few themselves. The team will lose a couple at the end of
this season as they go on to do other things. There are potentially a couple of players who could be good
enough for the first team. Shaun took over the coaching when the previous coach went earlier in the
season, training has become more fun and instructional to match day situations. There has been lots of
positive feedback from the girls. The girls have always improved week on week and are always first on the
friendly list for other teams due to their attitude to playing.
U18 – Only one game to go and a win is needed to secure the League title. Had 17 players at the start of
the season and has now finished with 14. All the players played football in the way it should be played.
The improvement in the girls over the season has been tremendous. To finish top of the League is a great
achievement, even more so given the team has had no dedicated goal keeper all season. Next year will
see the girl’s trial for the First Team and no doubt 7/8 will make it in to the team. The help of others added
to a great season.
Ladies - To say this season has been a rollercoaster ride for the Ladies’ team would be an
understatement. In April 2013, the last generation of Bury Ladies decided to walk out on mass, unable to
accept the youthful and dynamic direction the club was heading. An extensive number of trials were then
held in order to create an energetic and vibrant young team, only for a local team to try and poach all the
players. It was a difficult start to the season, compounded by two managerial changes and some heavy
defeats to Accrington, Blackburn Community and Blackpool Wren Rovers.
This begs the question, was it all worth it? The answer is an unequivocal yes. This team is a great team
and there were some outstanding results during the season, such as the 4-0 dismantling of Leigh RMI on
their own turf, the 3-2 victory against Padiham, two successive victories against Woolton 4-1 and 5-3, and
narrow defeats against high flying Stockport and Accrington 2-1 and 5-3 respectively, games which we
deserved to win. Furthermore, it cannot be ignored that some of the heavier defeats sustained during the
season were played with 9 men and Maz in goal with woolly gloves!
Results aside, this is a new team that has developed great resilience and team spirit as the season has
progressed. This does not surprise me as they are a fantastic set of girls and they are now a proper team
with a competitive edge.
I personally cannot wait for next season. This team will get stronger and stronger; there is no question
about that. With a few further acquisitions from the summer trials and an intensive pre-season fitness
programme, John, Kenny, James and I are determined to have the Ladies’ in the best shape of their lives
come the start of the season. The aim is to be highly competitive and send a few shockwaves through the
league in the early parts of next season.
All that remains for me to say is a huge thanks to John, Kenny, Diana and Michael for all their help this
season, and most importantly, to the Ladies who are an absolute pleasure to manage!
Here’s to next season and the exciting prospect of playing at Gigg Lane (The JD Stadium)!!
7. Election of Club Officers
Steve Shaw has resigned as Club Secretary. He was thanked for his time and commitment to the Club.
He has done a great job as Secretary especially given his work commitments and the fact he now works
shifts. Although no longer Secretary, Steve has not vanished completely and will still be involved at the
Club and in particular with the U13s. Rob Gandy will be taking over this role. Please support Rob as he
takes over from Steve.
Steve passed on his thanks to the Club Committee for their support over the last couple of years.
We still require a couple of new coaches to take on the running of the training groups. Any volunteers
should be passed to Diana. We would like these to run from beginning of June especially the 10-13 year
age group as the U10, U12 and U13s have players they would like to join this group.
Rob Shields has now come on board to run the U11s team.
8. Confirmation of Leagues for Season 2014/15
U9 – North Manchester Girls League
U10 – North Manchester Girls League
U11 – North Manchester Girls League
U12 – South Manchester Girls League
U13 – South Manchester Girls League
U14 – North Valley and Burnley Unity Youth League
U15 – South Manchester Girls League
U16 – West Lancs Girls League
U18 – South Manchester Girls League
First Team – North West Women’s Premier League
9. Team Aspirations
U9 –
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Carry on positive start / progress made this year
Maintain vibe / feel amongst the team
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Aim is for two teams – Bury Purples & Bury Whites
Two keepers – Fran and Chelsy for next year
Good nucleus of team finally playing at correct age level, many currently playing up a year or two
Score more goals!!!!
U10 - Myself and Steve have decided to stay with the under 10’s for the 2014/2015 season and we
will retain all the current year 4 girls from this season squad. We are in a great position now that
next season’s team will consist of correct age players. This will help with regards to the size and
experience issue I touched on earlier. The only players coming into the team from the
development squad will be the current year 4 girls they currently have.
From the 2014/2015 season all year 4 girls will go to the development section. If a year 4 player is
extremely talented and would benefit from playing in the under 10’s section this would need to be
identified by the development section. Numbers are looking good already for the 2014/2015
season. Our aims for the forth coming season are again to have a high player retention figure and
keep the girls involved in football. This year we will speak to the parents before the league and
advise them of what our intentions are with regards to the league and teams. Myself and Steve
need to decide if we go with 2 teams and one team and rotate the matches. Whatever we decide
we will advise the parents before the league starts so there are no grey areas.
U11 – new team to be formed under the Management of Rob Shields. They will play together in
the North Manchester Girls League.
U12 - The two U11 teams from Season 2013/14 will now be joined together. We will lose 1 or 2 naturally
and a few girls will stay down at U11s to continue their development. A few others will join a development
group in order to progress at a level that will suit them. The remaining girls approximately 14/15 will make
up the U12s squad.
The U12s will now play the mandatory FA 9v9 format for this age group. To do this we will change to the
South Manchester Girls League as the North is only competing at 8v8 and will remain on a 7v7 astroturf
which we feel will not aid the development of this team. We will also transition back on the grass pitches
and play on a home and away basis. We again feel this will be more beneficial to the team’s development.
Our aim is to get the girls playing together (as some won’t have previously) as one unit. To look at
positional play and increase their leg strength and fitness so they can adapt to the bigger pitch. From here
we can look to push the team on to get the best from them as we know they are quite capable.
Changing formats and leagues in one season always leaves an unknown quantity with regard to the
outcome of the team in the league. However, given how the girls have progressed recently and with our
pre-season schedule we would like to at least reach mid-table and a semi-final during the course of the
season
U13
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To merge U12 Blues & U12 Whites into one U13s squad as smoothly as possible.
To reward players who consistently display good attitude, effort, fitness, technique and impact (both
at training and in matches) with lots of match playing time.
To make training sessions fun, with emphasis on variety aiming to develop the girl’s skills, technique
and enjoyment.
To encourage good teamwork and team spirit throughout the squad.
To encourage all players to try to be the best they can be.
To finish in the top half of whichever Under 13s league we enter.
In addition to league games, arrange friendlies and enter tournaments to give the girls a wide
experience of opposition and formats.
To qualify for the knock-out stages of a relevant age football tournament before the start of the
2015/16 season.
U14
1. To finish the 2014-15 season in one of the top three positions of the “North Valley” Under 14s Girls’
League that the squad has entered.
2. To attract a minimum of 3 new training or league squad members to the overall Under 14s squad at the
Club during the 2014-15 season.
3. To have not more than 3 girls leave our Under 14s squad (and leave the Club) during the actual 201415 season.
4. To get through to the minimum of the semi-final stage of a relevant age football tournament before the
start of the 2015-16 season.
5. To enter the Lancashire FA Under 14s County Cup competition and to qualify for the quarter final stage
as a minimum.
6. To assist the development of the other squads at Bury Girls & Ladies FC by promoting the benefits of
the Club at outside events, and in dialogue with persons outside the Club, between June 2014 and
August 2015 inclusive.
U15
a.
Continuing on from last season we aim to continue to provide/improve on the
environment/atmosphere for the girls that encourages them to remain with the squad for the coming
and future seasons as well as attracting new players.
Leading up to the start of the new season we will look to recruit an appropriate number of new players
(ideally of the relevant age group) to the U15s squad to help with our change to 11v11 and to
hopefully improve our competitiveness.
To continue with the improvement in results that we saw last season and consequently be in a
position at the end the 2014/15 season to say we have had a better season than the previous one but
more importantly that the girls have again improved both individually and as a team.
To continue to encourage team building both on and off the pitch by taking part in more social/fun
activities together as a team.
To build on the work that Diana and Donna have put into the girls team page on the BG&LFC website
this season, in order to make it even more attractive to the girls to use next season.
To take advantage of any opportunities that may arise now and during the season that allows our girls
the opportunity to develop themselves in the field of coaching/refereeing/training etc.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
U16 – No report
U18 – to continue to progress and win more games than the previous season. The team spirit to continue
in the way it has done previously. Undecided as to which league to enter as it is unsure at this stage if
South Manchester will have an U17 league or whether to go in the GMWFL U18 league or go open age in
the Lancashire County Division 2.
Ladies - The aspirations for the 2014-2015 season are as follows:
1
2
3
4
5
to attract and retain the highest level of talent in the Bury area;
to develop and consolidate the players’ understanding of their respective roles in the team,
providing the players with a clear tactical strategy for each game;
to finish in the top half of the league and reach the quarter final of at least one cup;
to further strengthen the excellent team spirit and ‘never say die’ attitude developed in the latter
stages of the 2013-2014 season; and
to instil an extremely high level of fitness, loyalty, commitment and professionalism within each
player.
10. AGM - AOB
Nothing notified in advance.
11. General AOB
Diana gave a quick update on the Bury FC partnership.
Trophy is needed back from Sophie Buckle so it can be engraved.
Photos still needed for the Presentation Evening interval DVD. Must have these by the end of May in order
to put clips together by the 20th June.
No U15s kit sizes – Diana to chase Neil.
Reminder to all Managers to keep pushing Lucy’s Skydive which takes place next Monday 26 May.
John Carr enquired about the grass being cut at Phillips as a girl hurt her ankle whilst training on long
grass. Diana explained that the pitches were cut last Monday/Tuesday but as it started to rain during the
process the Council had to stop before they got to the small pitch. Diana has been advised it will be cut
this week. Diana also suggested that if the Manager deems the training ground to be unfit to train on either
postpone training or move to a different area of the field that is suitable. There is some room on the big
pitch at the moment as Neil is training on a Thursday and Shaun is having a break due to exams.
The dates for the First Team trials will be released soon. We may put them back to mid-June just so
players have finished exams as some may not attend and we could lose out.
Bury Girls & Ladies FC – Volunteers Structure 2014/15
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Chairperson – Diana Golding
Vice Chairperson – Shaun Ellison
Club Secretary – Rob Gandy
Treasurer – Lucy Golding
A Team Managers Representative
CLUB COMMITTEE
Junior Team Managers
U9 – David Robins
U10 – Rob Gandy & Stephen Hughes
U11 - Rob Shields
Youth Team Managers
U12 – Diana & Lucy Golding
U13 – John Woodman & Steve Shaw
U14 – Graeme Taggart & Mark Edwards
U15 – John Carr & Donna Neary
U16 – Neil Hall
Senior Team Managers
U18 – Shaun Ellison
First Team – Rick Law,
John McDermott, Kenny Buckle
Development Group (10-13)
Vacant
Development Group (14+)
Vacant
Team Player Representatives
Vacant
Social/Fundraising Secretary –Leah Robins
Bury FC Representatives x3
Welfare Officer – Diana Golding
Charter Standard Coordinator – Leah Robins