30 October - Club Statement - First Team Manager
After a brief conversation with Mick Marsh it was agreed that he would be stepping down as manager. Mick has a demanding job and I think he was finding it increasingly difficult to fulfill his duties as manager. On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Mick for all the good work and time he has donated to the club over the past decade and wish him all the best for the future.
I will be taking over as manager with immediate effect and Dave Fear has been asked to stay at the Club. A further statement will be made from the club regarding long term plans over the next few days - Dave Diaper
28 October - Red Insure Cup Second Round
Sholing have been drawn away to Southern Premier team, Weymouth, in the second round of the Red Insure. The "Terras" are currently 5th in their division and it will be a very tough test for the Boatmen. Game will take place on Tuesday 11th November, 7:45pm
24 October - Mick Marsh on Taunton & Byron returns
It's back into league action after a number of cup games where we have seen back-to-back victories, one being last Saturdays FA trophy win at Bashley. We need to take the recent cup form into the league as we have had a number of inconsistent performances which has cost us in previous Evo-stik League Southern South & West games.
As we know, we are in rebuilding stage with the first team and the long term aspirations is to trying to emulate the class of 2013/14 successes. A key component of this journey is confidence and we are beginning to see green shoots of this within the team, so hopefully Saturday's game will help us grow in confidence even more.
The cup games has come at a cost with a small number of short-term injuries and the recent departure of our clubs talisman and captain Byron Mason to Conference South Gosport Borough. However, Gosport have a FA Cup tie this weekend and with him being cup tied they have agreed to loan him back to the club for a very short period. Therefore, we welcome him back to the Silverlake for the encounter with Taunton Town - Mick Marsh.
23 October - Russell Cotes Cup 2nd Round Draw & Ballboys wanted
Sholing will be away to either local rivals Follands or AFC Totton in the next round of the Russell Cotes Cup
25/11/14 19:45 Gosport Borough FC -v- Bashley FC
18/11/14 19:45 Folland Sports or AFC Totton -v- Sholing FC
18/11/14 19:45 Blackfield & Langley -v- Overton United
18/11/14 19:45 AFC Portchester -v- Baffins Milton Rovers
18/11/14 19:45 Moneyfields -v- Horndean
18/11/14 19:45 New Milton Town -v- Cowes Sports
18/11/14 19:45 Lymington Town -v- Bemerton Heath Harlequins
18/11/14 19:45 Ringwood Town -v- Fleet Town FC or United Services Portsmouth
Calling Sholing Youth! - The first team require ballboys & ballgirls to help us out on matchdays at the Silverlake Arena. If you are a parent (or manager of one of our youth teams), please get in contact with Greg Dickson (secretary@sholingfc.com) or via Carly or Dave Fear, if your youngsters are interested in getting involved.
The first 15 parents who are able to help us out will receive FREE admission to the home game their child is ball assistant at. Refreshments are provided & the names of the Ballboys/girls will appear in the Matchday Programme.
13 October - Bashley and errr... Bashley again, preview
This week see's a double trip into the New Forest for two Cup games against Bashley FC. First up on Tuesday is the Red Insure Cup game (Southern League Cup competition), then on Saturday it's the FA Trophy Preliminary Round. The winners of Saturday's game will be at home to either Tiverton or Wantage in the First Qualifying Round.
After a turbulent last season, things are still taking time to settle at Bashley this season. They currently find themselves second from bottom of the South & West Division after being beaten 6-1 on their own ground by fellow strugglers Wantage last Saturday. There have been more managerial changes in the past week also, but the team is perhaps capable of better results, as proven by an impressive recent away win at highflying Taunton. The Cup games give both teams the opportunity to forget about the league for a week, with the FA Trophy always a target for earning some much needed revenue. The winners of Saturday's Trophy tie will bag a very useful £2,500.
With it being a relatively short away trip by recent standards, a few Sholing fans are expected to journey into the Forest. Directions : Take the A35 towards Bournemouth and continue through Lyndhurst towards Christchurch. Turn left onto the B3058 towards New Milton. Once you are on the B3058, bear right at the Rising Sun Public House and you will soon come into Bashley village.The ground is on the left shortly after the Esso petrol station. Parking for Fans is opposite the Garden Centre next to the ground. Sat Nav: BH25 5RY. Admission Prices: Adults £8, Concessions £6, U16's £2.
We will have score updates on the club's Twitter account, mobile signal permitting!
9 October - Chairman's Statement : Byron Mason joins Gosport Borough
"I must inform all our supporters that our Captain Byron Mason will be leaving the Club to join Gosport Borough in the Conference South. Byron will be available for our fixture against Bishop Cleeve as Gosport have a FA Cup fixture this weekend. However, Byron picked up an injury last night in our game with Didcot so he might be doubtful for Saturday. I must stress that the move to Gosport has nothing to do with the recent events that happened against Clevedon."
"Sholing Football Club have a player progression policy that we are committed to and we are proud that we can produce players that are capable of playing at a higher level. We wish Byron all the very best for the future and I personally thank him for all his good work and full commitment shown to me during my tenure as Manager" - Dave Diaper, Sholing FC Chairman.
Byron joined Sholing (VTFC as it was then) when he was 18 after being at Eastleigh FC. A year later he made his first team debut and was soon a fixture in the team. For the past three season's he's been club captain and that culminated with lifting the FA Vase at Wembley in May this year. All the very best to Byron in the future and thanks for his huge contribution to the Boatmen.
In other player news, Braiden Hamilton has dual signed with Brockenhurst for the rest of the season. This will make him able to recalled in the event of squad injuries, but since the signing Sam Wilson and return to fitness of Alex Baldacchino, currently the first team has a full compliment of strikers. Joining Brockenhurst will give Braiden further chance to gain first team experience after a successful spell with the Badgers last season.
7 October - Coach to Bishops Cleeve / Merchandise / Foxy
Coach - We are running a coach to the away game at Bishops Cleeve on Saturday. Cost is £15 per person, please contact Greg on secretary@sholingfc.com or 07948 832944
Merchandise - the club has entered into an agreement with local firm "SportsMania" to stock Sholing FC merchandise online and in their shop on Bitterne Road East. Whilst the full catalogue is being loaded onto their website, if you wish to purchase any Sholing shirts, scarfs & hats etc, then please contact Dave Diaper on 07770 873555. We will let you know when the online option is live and there will be a permanent link from our website.
On sale soon will be a limited edition FA Vase Winners Pinbadge. Full details to follow.
Club Mascot - "Foxy" our club mascot requires a new "handler".
If you would like to give Foxy a good home, in return for bringing him out to Sholing home games & club community events, then please contact Greg or Dave (numbers listed above).
He's house trained, popular with the ladies & requires minimal feeding... just keep him away from chickens.
2 October - FA Charter Standard Status Achieved
Congratulations to Sholing Youth FC who following their successful renewal of FA Community Charter Standard Status a few months ago, their U13 Team were anonymously monitored recently by an FA assessor, who scored them an amazing 96%!
Once again this proves that our work in the local community is well regarded & having your child playing football for one of our age-group teams, means they receive the best care & coaching. A lot of hard work goes into making sure the Club complies with all the Rules & Regulations to run Youth & Child Football teams, so well done to all involved and thank you.
28 September - Tribute to Arthur Fox
The club has been inundated with tributes to Arthur from individuals & other clubs. You can read them all, along with a special video tribute from Dave Diaper, Bill Boyle & Trevor Lewis on this special tribute page.
R.I.P. Arthur Fox
Message from Dave Diaper: "I am sad to announce the passing of Sholing FC legend & Vice-President, Arthur Fox, R.I.P Arthur you were a true gentleman. Our thoughts are with his family."
Arthur has been involved with the club for more than 50 years. He played as a goalkeeper from 1963 to the 1980s, and even after that he still brought his boots to games just in case his talents were called upon.
R.I.P. Arthur, you will be sorely missed by everyone at Sholing.
The club has been inundated with tributes to Arthur from individuals & other clubs. You can read them all, along with a special video tribute from Dave Diaper, Bill Boyle & Trevor Lewis on this special tribute page.
Donations can be made to Countess Mountbatten Hospice, via Johnathan Terry Funeral Directors, 101 Peartree Avenue, Bitterne, Southampton, SO19 7JJ, Tel 023 8043 4444
22 September - Matt Le Tiss & Ex-Saints & Sholing stars in Charity Match
This coming Sunday (28th) There is a the chance to see a host of ex-Saints stars, as well as a few familiar Sholing names at Eastleigh FC in a Charity match for the Evelyn Rose Appeal. Among those appearing will be Matt Le Tiss, Wayne Bridge, Darren Anderton, Ian Baird, Jason Dodd & Dave Puckett. The ex-Eastleigh stars will include our manager, Dave Fear & current player, Kevin Brewster, plus the recently retired, Lee Bright & Tyronne Bowers.
All money raised will go to Evelyn Rose Nolan, who is 2 yrs and 8 months old. She has been diagnosed with an incredibly rare genetic disorder which affects 1 in 168 million children and Evelyn has spent a large part of her short life very unwell or in hospital. Apart from holes in her heart, acute reflux, broad development delay, breathing difficulties and kidney stones she has intractable epilepsy, which her parents and doctors are only sometimes able to get some measure of control of, with the use of a lot of drugs. Her condition is likely to be life limiting. The epilepsy has led to broad brain damage.
She has recently come out of hospital after a 10 month stay and requires full time care. Her father has quit his work as a teacher to be her full time carer. You can help by attending an event celebrating little Evelyn’s life and her tremendous courage. or if you cannot attend then a donation, no matter how small, a raffle or auction prize would be gratefully received.
Tickets are available from Eastleigh FC, plus Dave Fear has a few as well if you see him before or after the Sholing home game this Saturday. You can pay on the day at Eastleigh too. Tickets are £5 for Adults & £1 for Under 15's. The Match kicks off at 2pm.
20 September - Fenners-no-more
Lewis Fennemore has been released by Sholing FC and has signed for Moneyfields FC in the Wessex League. It marks a return to his hometown of Portsmouth for Fenners after a disrupted start to the season for the Boatmen due to injury. He joined Sholing in 2012 and became a key member of the strong midfield unit that helped us win the Vase & Wessex League last season. The club thanks Fenners for his contribution to Sholing and wish him all the best in the future.
15 September - Sam Wilson signs
Sholing are delighted to announce the signing of striker Sam Wilson following an official approach to Winchester City. The 19 year Southampton born striker came through the Portsmouth FC Academy but left when the Pompey academy was suffering badly due to the club's Administration. He was snapped up by Eastleigh and whilst at the Spitfires, Sam had a trial at Premier League Fulham, who for a while, had an option to sign him. Despite being prolific for Eastleigh Reserves, Sam's 1st team chances were limited, so last season he joined Winchester City. In the Wessex League, he scored 15 goals in 16 appearances, including 6 this season.
Sholing made a 7 day approach to Winchester City for Sam and he was very keen to speak to the Boatmen to enable him a chance of playing at a higher level in the Southern League. Sholing are grateful to Winchester for granting his release. His signing will boost the forward options available to Mick Marsh & Dave Fear, who so far this season, have always been at least two strikers short due to injuries & suspensions. Welcome to the Silverlake Arena, Sam!
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Contrary to reports in the local paper, goalkeeper Rory Anderson has not left the club. He has joined Brockenhurst short-term to allieviate their shortage of keepers due to injury, but remains registered to the Boatmen.
15 September - Hampshire FA Youth Cups Draw
Pace Pumas v Sholing U12
East Lodge Youth v Sholing Youth U13
Sholing Red U14 v Meon Milton
Sholing White U14 v Crookham Rovers Youth
Sholing U15 v Tadley
Sholing U16 v Winchester
Sholing U18 v Romsey Panthers
All fixtures to be played 12 October
2 September - Sholing v Chippenham Town Preview
736 teams entered this season's FA Cup Competition... just let that number sink in for a moment. The magic of the FA Cup maybe on the wane amongst some of the Premier League clubs, but for most teams in this country, it's still the most exciting Cup competition to be a part of in their season. To have a chance of playing against a Football League Team in the First Round, the winner's of Saturday's tie (or the replay) will have to play another three Qualifying Rounds. But with Prize Money ranging from £3,000 for winning this round up to £12,500 for getting to the First Round, this is very welcome income to any Non-League team.
Sholing welcome Chippenham Town, it's officials, players & supporters, to the Silverlake Arena on Saturday. The "Bluebirds" are an established Southern League Premier team, having been in that division (one up from Sholing's) for over 10 seasons. The vast majority of that time they have been one of the best sides, often challenging for Promotion and the play-offs. Last couple of seasons have been less successful, with a lowest finish of 18th in May. This year they are currently 11th, having won 4, drawn 2 and lost 3, although they have been handy on their travels, winning 3 away games. Being in a league above Sholing will make the visitors the favourites, but it's a knockout competition and anything can happen on the day. Come on you Boatmen!
9 September - Respect Presentation
FAO of Youth Teams U7 - U18. There is a Respect Presentation next Tuesday 16 Sept at Oasis Academy.
U7 - U11 is 6.30pm to 7.15pm and U12 - U18 is 7.30pm - 8.15pm. Could all parents please attend. Children under 14 are not allowed to attend. Please therefore only parents & spectators.
8 September - Youth Seasons Underway
As well as the First Team, Reserves & Ladies team, Sholing also has FIFTEEN Youth & Mini teams playing under the Boatmen banner. The age ranges from Under 7's up to Under 18's and most of them kicked off their season last weekend, with the rest starting this week. This commitment to the local Eastern Southampton community wouldn't be possible without the hard work of the many volunteers who coach, look after and administer our many teams. The club fully complies with the Football Association codes of conduct in order to give youngsters the best structured environment for playing... and most of all... enjoying football. The club has received & maintained the FA Charter Standard Community Club award and despite there being bigger & richer football clubs in the local area, we believe none can match our scope and enthusiasm for community football.
The links on this website to the individual teams have now been updated with details on how to get involved, along with links to external websites that hold the Youth Team fixtures & results.
Youth Section Contact Details can be found HERE
5 September - Sholing agree deal with Airlynx Express
Club Chairman Dave Diaper secures the deal that will see Airlynx become the Club's Sole Travel Provider for season 2014/15 in return for sponsoring the Sholing FC away strip. Dave said, "I was really impressed with the way Airlynx looked after us on our trip to the FA Vase at Wembley and I am pleased that they have now become our away strip sponsor and Sole Travel Provider and I look forward to working with Steve in the future."
Airlynx Express have been in operation for over 15 years and are based in Chandler’s Ford – aligned perfectly for Airport transfers into Gatwick, Heathrow and Eastleigh. Equally, to distribute anywhere around the South of England.
Their new 16 seat luxury mini coaches have arrived and add to the fleet of executive 53, 48, 40, 36, 35, 32, 29 and 22 seat coaches. Plus a range of MPV’s and large fleet of cars, they can transport any number of passengers from 1 upwards. Whatever your requirements, they can have a vehicle and driver available for you.
Sholing FC used one of their fantastic Executive Coaches for our trip to Wembley, which provide the absolute pinnacle of luxury.
Website: www.airlynxexpress.co.uk Telephone: 023 80 736 823 Out of hours : 07850 347476
Contact: gary@airlynx.co.uk
4 September - Sholing Ladies
Sholing Ladies kick off their season this Sunday at home to Bournemouth Sports Ladies. Kick off is 2pm and home games are played at the Oasis Academy, just down the road from the Silverlake Arena on Grove Road (behind the Vauxhall Garage).
The "Boatwomen" play in the 3rd division of the Hampshire County Women's Football Team. This will be their third season since being formed and with results improving year on year, will be looking to build upon a mid-table finish in 2013/14. They rounded off pre-season with a thumping 8-2 win away at Poole Town Ladies Reserves last week.
You can follow how the team progresses on the Ladies Section of this website. The team is always on the look-out for new players, contact details on the Ladies Section. Good luck for the season!
2 September - Reserves Friendly
Our young reserve team gained a very creditable 2-2 draw away to Hythe & Dibden from the Wessex League with another very good team performance in an excellent game. We used a total of 20 reserve players during the game to give the whole squad playing time. Both goals were scored by Cain Prentice. On Saturday we entertain Ringwood Town in the Wyvern Premier league with a 3pm kick off.
1 September - Non League Day
This Saturday is the 4th annual "Non League Day". With no Premiership football due to the International break, it's a good chance to shine the spotlight on Grassroots football up and down the Country and encourage football fans to go watch their local clubs.
The Non League Day website has a useful map to help you find a match taking place in your area.
Our local Grassroots teams receive almost no financial assistance from the billions of pounds floating around the game at the very top. Despite promising to give 10% of TV income to improve grassroot facilities, the Premier League in reality has given less than 0.3% in recent years. Clubs such as Sholing are not asking for handouts for ourselves, but to improve coaching standards and build more 3G pitches in the local area. This will benefit schools, youth football and in turn, the health of the sport as a whole... and you never know, may even produce a better England national team in years to come.
So even if you are not supporting Sholing FC this weekend, please try to take in a game at one of your local teams, where your support is appreciated, not exploited and taken for granted.
To increase pressure on the Government to insist the Premier League provide 7.5% of Broadcasting income to Grass Roots Football, an official online petition has been set up and has over 10,000 signatures already. To add yours, click here
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