Grassroots Plus

A member of Bourne Town's record breaking Class of '91, playing for The Wakes for 12 years. Having played and managed in Grassroots football Tony is now involved with Newark Town's men's side who are enjoying their highest ever level of pyramid football. We look back to a cold winter of postponements as well as this weekend's upcoming Vase games. A quick trip to the Isle of Wight and a few stories you may have missed.

Cotgrave FC
Adam Flint, Vice Chairman, Adult Club Secretary and First Team Coach talks about a club at the heart of their community, plans for the future, ambitions on and off the pitch with 37 teams across the club attracting local players who play for the love of the game and three figure attendances. We look at another Yorkshire league, the non league manager merry-go-round and a few odd stories you may not have heard. 

Gav Rice returns, we look at his Park Run bug, sport in Schools and the new innovations at Step 7 such as body cams and disciplinary points system. Gav also talks about a law he'd like to see changed. We review last week's Vase activity, a North Yorkshire League with a team of medics and dentists, David v Goliath in Northern Ireland plus the winners and losers. We catch up on Mick's favourite team but mysteriously run out of time to mention a New Forest win in Cornwall. 

This week we look at the stories outside the pyramid, and a comprehensive look at this weekend's Vase games and a peek at the draw for the FA Cup First round proper. We update the winners and losers, visit North Riding and discover a UEFA competition we had not heard of, and International football's longest losing streak changes hands twice.

Craig Embleton - Ollerton Town. followed the club since childhood having gone with his Grandad, helped Liam out with the media whilst he was at uni. Joined the committee whilst still in school & became secretary 7 years. We look at a new start after a torrid few years and the way forward. We make a trip to North Yorkshire and round up the news you may have missed. Plus info on how to vote in the Non League Bible Awards.

Just Mick and Dave this week, A UCL Premier North round up, some bizarre postponements and a few derby names. We discuss a new disciplinary points system in the feeder leagues as well as teams promoted and relegated out of the UCL. We look at the Leicestershire Senior league and some of the news you may have missed around the country.

Dean Williams returns as he celebrates his first year as chairperson of the Wheelchair Football Association. We look at his role and the important work of the WFA within Powerchair Football. We also discuss disability sport and inclusivity. Dean also reflects on being able to watch grassroots football as a fan rather than being involved in the day to day running of a club, we also talk about the importance of sustainable financial planning at clubs.
You can find more info here:@The_WFA  - XThe Wheelchair Football Association - FBthe_wfa - Instagramhttps://thewfa.org.ukhttps://m.youtube.com/@TheWFA

Bartley Ramsey, Long time Finn Harps supporter and club historian joins us. He explains the differences between the League of Ireland and The Irish league, we look at the European conference league, and following Harps across Ireland, How the game competes with Rugby and GAA Sports. We review the forth coming Vase and have your answers to last week's big question.

Gary Small -Long time fan of Stranraer talks about his involvement with the club his father played for, starting a walking football team. We talk about Scottish Football and Gary's experience of Policing Professional matches and his work as a regional officer with Versus Arthritis. A league look and a meander down a canal plus the usual review.
Anyone interested in joining a walking football club can contact g.small@versusarthritis.org or livewell@versusarthritis.orghttps://versusarthritis.org/news/2024/july/what-is-walking-football-and-how-can-it-be-helpful-for-people-with-arthritis/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwBzImiIR2chttps://www.facebook.com/profile/100031660668046/search/?q=walking%20football
https://versusarthritis.org/

We catch up with South West Peninsular League Secretary Phil Hiscox, We look at the long term future for parks football, and the availability of council and community facilities. We also discuss whether too much focus is being put on facilities than pitches themselves. Phil answers the question "Who'd be a league secretary" as well as a couple of sporting achievements. All the usual reviews and your usual football fix.

Clay Cross Town - Secretary: Nobby Clark returns to talk about life at Mill Lane after a torrid end to last season and hectic summer, He dispels some of the rumours regarding the business model at the club and looks at improvements to the pitch and facilities. We also review the Vase and look forward to a busy weekend.

Rob Hornby owner of "AroundtheGrounds" charity blog joins us to talk about his work with the Nottinghamshire FA and Nottinghamshire Senior League. Rob has some big news to announce regarding the NSL this season. We look at Feeder League football in the County as well as reviewing the weeks action and looking forward to the weekend

United Counties League Facilities Director Ian Hughes returns, We look at last week's action in the FA Cup. We talk about the Lincolnshire leagues and some of the leagues that feed in to the United Counties. Ian also has a few predictions.

This week Max Bailey from Emma's Ground guide joins us as we look at the first week of UCL action. We look at the activity over the summer and have a few predictions for the new season. The FA Cup starts this weekend and we pick out some of the choice ties.

Max Bailey joins us as we look at the season as it finishes. We look at our local Step 5 and 6 Club's seasons. We have the GRP season awards plus all the usual news and reviews. A big thank you to our sponsors for 2024 - Gusto Homes, all our guests and most importantly the listeners.