Football Ashton & Backwell decide to drop out of Toolstation League
Our situation, and we’re not the first to have made this type of decision, has to be a warning to anyone who loves their grassroots football that they have to get involved
MIKE Thomas insists he understands Ashton & Backwell United’s “pragmatic” decision to withdraw their flagship first team from Toolstation Western League competition.
Despite emerging impressively from a testing last season battling it out at the bottom end of the Premier Division to become a midtable force under Tony Beecham’s leadership this time around, Ashton & Backwell will kick off their 2023-24 campaign in the Somerset County League’s second tier, provided their reserve team’s hopes of avoiding the drop are realised.
Whatever the outcome there, the West Town Road club will now operate with just the one senior side, having decided to relinquish their place in the Toolstation League altogether.
Thomas explained: “I’ve been involved in local football for 32 years, from managing P&W United in the Bristol Suburban League in the early 90s right through to seven years of coaching with Ashton Boys, our merger with Backwell United in June 2010 and my subsequent roles as vice-chairman, then chairman, over 13 years with Ashton & Backwell.
“I informed our committee earlier in the year with plenty of notice that I planned to step down at the end of the season, but that I’d be happy to continue looking after the pitch as groundsman. The nice thing is the whole thing has been amicable.
“The nuts and bolts of it is the club just doesn’t have enough volunteers on the committee. It had been getting frustrating and I needed to stop.
“I wasn’t behind the idea to remove us from the Toolstation League. The remaining committee members took the only realistic and pragmatic decision available to them which I understood, as first and foremost the club needs to be sustainable. As it stands, the committee simply doesn’t have enough volunteers to sustain Western League football.”
The 61-year-old emphasised: “Our situation, and we’re not the first to have made this type of decision, has to be a warning to anyone who loves their grassroots football that they have to get involved.
“I drew a complete blank trying to entice more volunteers to come and help behind the scenes at Ashton & Backwell. We had an advert in our matchday programme all season urging people to come and join us and didn’t get a single response.
“It’s all credit to our manager Tony Beecham and his team that we’ve competed so well this season. But all the long-distance travelling to and from away games, and the rising associated costs, haven’t helped anything.
“We were all looking forward to the merger of the Toolstation and South West Peninsula leagues, and the helpful geographical reconstruction that would have come with that. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened.”
Thomas explained: “Tony (Beecham) was informed a couple of weeks ago of my decision to leave and the club’s decision to withdraw from the league. He in turn told the players at the end of our (2-0) victory over Ilfracombe when I was also present.
“Naturally, Tony was disappointed with the news. I tried to explain to him, the rest of the management team and players the reasons behind it all, and because it meant so much, I ended up getting emotional and having to go out of the room.
“You don’t take these decisions lightly. It’s been on my mind for some time. To be fair, from the moment our players were told of the decision they’ve responded in a positive manner.
“It’s sad, as we’ve provided the best player pathway of any club in the Western League over the years. More young lads have had an opportunity to play senior football with us than they would have had elsewhere.
“Hopefully our reserves, who were promoted from Division Two of the Somerset County League last season, will retain their place in Division One, as looks likely. Their management team of Nick Smart, Mike Radnedge and Matt Southern will continue to take charge next season as we go to just one team. I do admire how much work all our managers and others at this level put in.
“Backwell as a club have always struggled to forge strong community ties, and I feel it would have been more beneficial to have based the club in and around the Ashton Boys catchment where there’s more community presence.
“For me, the future is spending more time watching local football, enjoying a beer in the company of familiar faces without the stress, and watching my son Sam Thomas continuing to play for whoever he signs for next season.”
While Ashton & Backwell face their final game at step 5 status at home to Torpoint Athletic tomorrow, Cadbury Heath get one final chance at Springfield on Monday afternoon, against visiting Barnstaple Town (3pm), to lift themselves off the foot of the table and swap places with their near neighbours, second-bottom Keynsham Town, who have already completed their campaign.
Clevedon Town concluded their Premier Division programme in 10th place following Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat by Barnstaple, while Welton Rovers, defeated 3-2 at West Clewes HQ by Falmouth Town on Tuesday night to complete their 36 fixtures, nonetheless finished a challenging campaign comfortably clear of any lingering relegation threat in 14th spot.
There’s all to play for when it comes to elevation from Toolstation Division One. While Brislington, who embroil themselves in a Les Phillips Cup semi-final encounter away against Shepton Mallet on Wednesday night, are confirmed champions but unable to gain promotion this season, Shirehampton are preparing for a play-off final clash on Monday afternoon away against either Oldland Abbotonians or Wincanton Town (3pm).
Liam Greening’s sixth-spot Shire came safely through their semifinal bout at Wells City on Tuesday night, as two Scott Bamford goals, boosting his tally for the term to 40, and Ryan Radford’s strike saw them impressively past their third-placed hosts 3-0.
Shirehampton have had to unexpectedly wait to learn who they will face in Monday’s winner-take-all cruncher, as Oldland’s own semis showdown on Wednesday night with Wincanton, who they’d crushed 5-0 in Saturday’s final league encounter, was abandoned after 13 minutes due to floodlight failure at Castle Road.
That game has now been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 3pm when there will be last outings of the season, all at home, for AEK Boco (v Odd Down), Hallen (v Radstock) and Portishead Town (v Hengrove Athletic).
Of Shire’s splendid campaign, which could yet reap a second successive promotion triumph, boss Greening remarked: “It’s been a fantastic season with the most honest, hardworking, group of players I’ve ever worked with.
“They’ve earned the right to compete for promotion by having a great desire and attitude to succeed, and I trust them to leave everything on the pitch Monday when hopefully it will be enough to see us promoted back-to-back.
“We’ve come a long way in the two years I’ve been at the club, and to win on Monday would be the icing on the cake for me personally.
“The pressure was on after losing all of our games in March and handing the momentum to FC Bristol and Bishop Sutton.
“But in true Shire style we managed to pull it back around and only lost once in our final seven games, 2-1 against Brislington, after performing well and deserving something from it.
“We’ve had to push our players hard and get every last bit of effort from them to get to where we are.
“But whatever the outcome on Monday afternoon, I’ll still be extremely proud of the players.”