Brighouse Town manager Grant Black has added three more players in the past week following his capture last week of Knaresborough Town striker Danny Edwards.

Ahead of pre-season training commencing on Saturday morning at the Heffernan Utilities Stadium he has signed experienced goalkeeper Kyle Trenerry who has previously played for Farsley Celtic, Albion Sports, Silsden, Yorkshire Amateur, Campion and Pontefract Collieries. This will now give Town two excellent custodians as Trenerry joins Jamie Hassall who kept goal for two thirds of last season.

The manager has also landed a prime target of his in striker Niah Payne who has played for Peterhead, Spennymoor, Matlock Town, Stafford Rangers and Ossett United.

Also joining the club from Selby Town is another striker or midfielder, namely Roy Fogarty.

According to chairman Chris Lister his manager is now pretty much there, but looking out for an experienced centre-back with last season’s incumbent Jorge Sikora having left for pastures new.

Another player who has left is striker Mo Qasim who has signed for NPL East Division new boys Emley who have been rocked with the departure of Reuben Jerome and Iyrwah Gooden to Bury. Former Brighouse Town, Workington and Ramsbottom United goalscorer Jerome bagged 34 goals in Bury’s NCEL Premier Division title success last term and Gooden bagged 26 goals as well for the Villagers.

Saturday’s training session is expected to draw a good number of supporters keen to see the work that Black and his assistant Mick Norbury have put in over May and June so far in bringing so many new faces and exciting ones at that to the Hove Edge base of the club.

It will be mid-July before the fixtures are out but the first process took place on Sunday when the club sent in their agreement with Emley for the August Bank Holiday Monday and New Year’s Day fixtures.

Town had hoped to also land Bradford Park Avenue for festive fixtures on Boxing Day and Easter Monday but the former Football League club tried for Emley and then went with Pontefract Collieries. Town are now in the hands of the League’s fixture planners and could land new boys Garforth Town, Liversedge or Ossett United for those holiday games.

Town officials have been encouraged by the interest shown from potential sponsors over the past week and will be meeting up with them in due course. Available this season is a company name across the shoulders of the shirt and also on the shorts.

Under 23s coach and committeeman Mark Ellis will represent the club at the NPL  AGM and evening dinner and cabaret evening at the New Hilton in Blackpool on Saturday, June 22.   

Phase one of the pitch extension at Brighouse Town’s ground has been completed with phase two-readjustment and installation of new floodlights- to follow next week.

Life-vice president Ray McLaughlin in charge of the project is delighted with the way the work has been carried out by three stoic members of the Brighouse-based Heffernan Utilities Company.

“They have reported to the ground from 7.30am each day since last Tuesday and worked in all weathers to remove the pitchside posts at the Quarry End of the ground and also the one metre wide concrete pathway at the back of the goals and then scoop out a trench to take the topsoil ahead of the turf which went down this past Tuesday,” informed McLaughlin.

Adding: “I cannot on behalf of the club thank their Managing Director Luke Heffernan and his co-directors enough.”

He continued: “All we need then is for some, dare I say, rain to assist with our normal pitch watering to get the turf bedded in with its rootage.

“I would like to thank Darren Muhl, James Moore and Joe Gill for their unstinting efforts and our groundstaff of Peter Hirst, Barry Thomas and Darren Laycock for their work also and also ensuring we got prepared at the quarry end for the old goalmouth area to be dug out to take new turf as well. 

“We have also worked to plans left by our groundsman Wally Hemingway to seed the touchline and the clubhouse goalmouth along with the necessary dressings that are put down in the close season.”

This added work has all come about after the the new ground grading team from the FA at their Wembley HQ came to inspect the pitch last summer and found that it was not 100 metres in length, but fine width-wise. If the work had not been carried out the Town, who have to adjust the positioning of their dugouts and the new half-way line, they would not have been allowed to kick-off the 2024-25 season and in all probability been left with having to leave Step 4 of the Football Pyramid system.

With the extension it means the floodlights are not near the corners of the new pitch markings and it means phase two will see new lighting on the pylons and to also meet the Lux requirement.

Kevin Allsop, father of the club’s defender Jamie Allsop, and managing director of Wakefield company Living Smarter Limited, trading as Eco Energy Saving Solutions, has been on site to work out with his electrical engineers what was needed. This, and the cost of it, has been given to the club and with the lights in stock, it is hoped they can commence work next week and complete before the end of June.

There had been fears that the project could be a timely affair and that was why all pre-season friendlies for July had been fixed up away from home and a pitch-hiring contract sorted with Pontefract Collieries for a league or cup game had it not been ready intime, but now by mid-July the pitch could well be playable.

      

Town are helping their assistant physio Charlotte Biggs all they can to get her fully qualified.

The Queensbury-based B-Tech student of physiotherapy at Huddersfield New College, Salendine Nook, now only needs her basic First Aid qualification to go with what she has already got to act at Step 4 Level. 

Charlotte has been with the club now for over two and half years and besides helping physio Nathan Fennell, she has been last season physio for Cara Mahoney’s Brighouse Town Women’s side who gained promotion in their first season.

The former Brighouse Town Women’s side in Step 3 of the Women’s game, who left Brighouse Town just over a year ago and changed their name to Halifax Town, have agreed a ground share with Bradford Park Avenue at the Horsfall Stadium for next season after previously being with Liversedge and then Yorkshire Amateur at their Chapel Allerton base in Leeds.  

 

Brighouse Town have made a major capture in the past few days with Knaresborough Town striker Danny Edwards coming on board. Former manager Vill Powell tried twice last season to snare Edwards but failed to Lure him away. Edwards, who also made a name for himself at Nostell MW, ended up as the leading goalscorer for Knaresborough. Manager Grant Black said he was delighted to have him board and added that the supporters would be quick to welcome him.
Black has also re-signed Jamie Hassall and midfielder or striker Kieron Ceesay who came to Town midway through last season From Wakefield.
The players will report back for training on  Saturday June 15 at the Heffernan Utilities Stadium
They will have further sessions at the ground on June 18th, 20th, 22nd, 25th, 27th and 29th before their first pre-season friendly away to South Yorkshire outfit Athersley Recreation on  Tuesday July 2
Four days later they are away to Tadcaster Albion and then on Wednesday July 10 away to Worsborough Bridge Athletic followed three days later with a trip to Worksop Town.
It’s back to training on July 18 two days ahead of playing away to Wombwell Town and then the clubs last planned friendly is at home to Stocksbridge Park Steels on Saturday July 27.
The manager had a very fruitful meeting last Friday with his U23 manager, Mark Ellis who envisages a promising season ahead as result Pontefract Collieries have appointed their experienced player Jimmy Williams as manager to replace Craig Rouse who surprisingly left Towns close rivals in NPL division one East for Cleethorpes Town

Action behind the scenes aplenty this past week at Brighouse Town AFC.

Work has commenced on extending the pitch to 100 metres as per the FA’s ground grading ruling and it will mean for the next season the Heffernan Utilities Stadium ground is a three-sided one- with FA permission. Behind the stadium perimeter fence at the Quarry End there is ample room for some terracing or even a small covered stand, but until the club’s extended lease is finalised with ground owners, iRAMA, the feeling is to go with three sides although it will mean the ground’s capacity is reduced.

Just in case the work isn’t completed by the first week of August, Town have agreed a one-off match contract with Pontefract Collieries to play a home game there in August.

Manager Grant Black is hoping he gets at least one of his pre-season friendlies at home so the players, old and new, can get a feel for the pitch ahead of the NPL East Division League start on Saturday, August 10, although with Town’s temporary relegation they could well have an extra preliminary round of the Emirates FA Cup on August 3, home or away.

In the meantime, Black has arranged another pre-season friendly away to Frickley Athletic FC on Tuesday, July 16 (7.0pm) and he is also talking with Stocksbridge Park Steels and Golcar United. He had been hoping his assistant Mick Norbury could have forged a friendly with his former club FC Halifax Town and there was contact with Sheffield Wednesday for their U-23s to meet Town, where former player Sam Reed now plays, but they are full up. His father Stacy was asking the question of Chesterfield FC’s Community team, where it all started out for Sam before he came north to join Brighouse Town. Word has also gone out to Huddersfield Town with contacts there and Bradford City are being contacted having sent their full squad when former chairman and ground sponsor James Howard of Yorkshire Payments was also a sponsor at Valley Parade and later their academy side from which Town have since loaned players.   

Season tickets are now on sale and with the usual `Early Bird’ offers. With two extra fixtures this time (22 in total) and with ground admission staying the same at £10 for adults, £7 for concessions and £2 for Juniors, the price is £160.00 and the Early Bird offer to end of June is £130. Concessions are £110 and Early Bird £90.00.

Town officials are now looking to recruit some more volunteers from the Junior section-boys and girls guardians- to work on ground maintenance over the summer months and ensure all is looking pristine as they move forward with the new management team and player personnel.

Town have also signed in midweek Danny Edwards, the prolific Knaresborough Town and former Nostel MW FC striker. Former manager Vill Powell was keen to snap him up last season but the North Yorkshire club managed to hold onto him. 

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Get yours before 1st July to get it cheaper!

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