The Great Escape St Albans City Football Club 2015/16

A Lost Cause? On February 12 th 2016, St Albans City Football Club were at the bottom of their league. They announced that a new manager would be taking over. Ian Allinson, a former Arsenal player, took up the post of manager for St Albans City. His first match ended in a 2-2 draw at home to Concord Rangers. His second match ended in a 1-0 defeat away to the league leaders, Ebbsfleet. In his third match the team lost 1-0 away to Bath City. Nobody gave St Albans City a hope of staying up! Ian Allinson Manager of St Albans City F.C.

Never Give Up Resilience is an important quality in sport. It is also an important part of your education, and of growing up! We can’t always win! Things don’t always turn out right. Some of the most powerful learning occurs when we make mistakes or get things wrong. However, our effort and attitude can make a massive difference. In sport, team spirit is vital. Everybody at St Albans City was united. They trained hard and worked together as a team. If they were going to be relegated, they would at least give it their best shot and go down in style!

Believe in Yourself! Although St Albans had not won any of their first three matches under their new manager, they had been playing well and there was a real sense of determination and effort throughout the team. Suddenly things started to change. St Albans City beat Whitehawk by six goals to nil. Whitehawk actually finished the league season in a play-off position and enjoyed an excellent run in the F.A. Cup. This shows what a great achievement this victory was. The Saints then defeated their local rivals Hemel Hempstead. At last, the supporters had something to cheer about!

A change of Fortunes After losing that match against Bath City, St Albans City went on an amazing run. They won another match by six goals to nil and, in their remaining 13 league matches they won the vast majority of their games and only lost twice. (These two defeats were against the two teams who were to eventually be promoted to a higher league.) St Albans City had succeeded against all odds. They now knew that if they won their final match of the season they would avoid relegation...

Time to Celebrate! The final match of the season was against Dartford, who still had a slim chance of promotion. St Albans City played superbly. They won by four goals to nil! Their final goal of the season was scored by James Kaloczi, a former pupil at Oakwood School. The end of the season had been an incredible adventure... An now St Albans City Football Club are offering all primary school children in St Albans the opportunity to join them on next season’s adventure!

Saints in the Community St Albans City Football Club have worked closely with primary schools in St Albans in recent years. The club have hosted an annual penalty prize competition, enabled our schools to play their cup finals at Clarence Park, and provided vouchers for school children when their school are taking part in the penalty prize. A number of schools have enjoyed assemblies, sometimes led by players or club officials, and sometimes having the opportunity to meet the club mascot, Sammy the Saint. But next season there will be our most exciting initiative to date...

The Young Saints Supporters Club SIX MATCHES FREE OF CHARGE! For any primary aged child who becomes a member of the Young Saints Supporters Club, you will receive a Membership Card that entitles you to attend any SIX league matches free of charge, with an accompanying adult being admitted at half price (£7.50) You will also receive: A fixture card A team photograph The opportunity to become ‘mascot’ for a home match The opportunity to win a signed football or a signed shirt 10% discount on any merchandise from the club shop

How do I become a Member? You will also receive posters for home matches, regular updates from the players, and the chance to enter competitions (such as football quizzes) over the course of the season. To sign up, simply collect a Young Saints Supporters Club Application Form from your school office. Complete the form and return it with a cheque for £5.00 (the membership fee) made payable to ‘St Albans City Football Club.’ You will then be given a Membership Card. This card can be used to attend SIX LEAGUE GAMES OF YOUR CHOICE over the course of next season. You will then be sent a Young Saints Supporters Pack (including fixture list and team photo) at the start of next season. These will be sent directly to your primary schools. If you are currently in Year 6 then you must put your secondary school on the form and the packs will be sent directly to your new secondary schools.

Working with our Community St Albans City are YOUR local football team. The club want to work closely with the primary schools because we are proud of our local community. Lots of you may already play football for club teams such as St Albans City Youth, Harvesters, St Albans Wanderers or London Colney. Others may simply enjoy watching matches. A number of the current St Albans team attended schools in the area. Ben Herd attended Killigrew, James Kaloczi attended Oakwood, and Ben Martin went to school in Harpenden. Ben HerdBem Martin

An Exciting Season Ahead... Ben Herd is one of many exciting new signings for next season. Another local player, Sam Merson, also went to school in the area. His father, Paul Merson played for many seasons at Arsenal and was also capped for England!

So... Why not join the Young Saints Supporters Club. Join us on next season’s adventure!