News

This is a big season for Stretford Paddock FC. Being our inaugural season with fan ownership and having 900 fans already becoming members, the scope for growth is ever expanding.

There are a number of roles available within the clubs four teams (First Team, Reserves, Development Team & Under 21s) including:

• Reserve Team Assistant Manager
• Development Team Assistant Manager
• Under 21s Manager
• Under 21s Assistant Manager
• Coaches (all teams)
• Analysts (Remote or In Person) – Including Professional Training on Hudl Sportscode Software

Although not necessary, experience and/or FA (or foreign equivalents) coaching qualifications are very much welcomed. If you would like to get involved, please send an email to hello@strefordpaddockfc.com stating the role, your experience, qualifications and what you can offer to the club.

As well as the launch of the Clubs Fan Ownership scheme, the 1^st Team have been accepted into the Cheshire League for the 2022/23 season – It’s going to be a big year for Paddock.

If you would like to become a Founder Member of Stretford Paddock FC and join 900 others in shaping a football club with the values you hold close to heart, click here to see how you can join.

This Saturday, Stretford Paddock FC will be holding trials for all 4 of their sides this season:

• 1^st Team
• Reserves
• Development Team
• Under 21s

Last week, the club launched their fan ownership scheme and numbers are already through the roof. With 900 members already on board as well as acceptance into the Cheshire League, the scope for the club is already expanding.

If you want to be part of the club in an integral season, please email hello@stretfordpaddockfc.com with your playing experience and other information you deem necessary. You will then be sent a link to book onto this Saturdays trial.

Trials start at 12pm and will be running to around 5pm.

Location:

Nicholls Academy

Football Campus

Dalberg St

Ardwick

M12 6BN

Please remember to email before attending the trial.

If you would like to become a Founder Member of Stretford Paddock FC and join 900 others in shaping a football club with the values you hold close to heart, then click here to see how you can join.

At 10:00AM on Wednesday, Stretford Paddock FC hit the ‘LIVE’ button on its Fan Ownership scheme. The members came in their numbers. Within only 24 hours, the tally of members hit 700, and that’s before the launch of the club’s app. It’s been a great start and there’s plenty to come.

Become a Member using this link; https://stretfordpaddockfc.com/fan-ownership/

Launching the Fan Ownership model is a monumental achievement for the club. What started as colleagues and friends having a kick about quickly became a competitive Saturday League side with a huge online following. With more exciting news on the horizon, the club’s goal forming a fan-owned, community-based club where kids and young players can improve, is well on its way to being achieved.

Waiting on final approvements from the Google Play and App Store is the Stretford Paddock FC App. The App will allow Members to vote on club business, access news and fixture lists, behind the scenes access, early merchandise releases and exclusive interviews. The App will also give new members the option to pay the membership fee in smaller instalments – just £5 a month. It’s going to make being a part of the Stretford Paddock journey even more accessible.

It won’t be long until the ball gets rolling amongst the club’s members. Plans have already been put in place for key decisions to be made surrounding ticket prices, sponsors, core values, academy structures, services, and expansion into a Women’s team. On the pitch, ongoings have also started with a pre-season friendly against Hashtag United well in the works.

When the club find a permanent home (a goal hopefully not so far away), Founder Members will have their names engraved somewhere within the stadium’s vicinity – further showing who this club really belongs to – the fans!

If you want to join the 700+ members already in shaping a football club by the value’s you hold close to you then check out the links below to find out how you can get stuck in – this is your club! Something special is happening within the grassroots of football and it’s on it’s way to becoming something we can all be proud of.

The Cheshire Football League last night voted to accept the application of Stretford Paddock FC to join their ranks. After a lengthy and thorough application process, the vote was cast by existing clubs to admit;

Atherton LR
Bollington Town
AFC Haydock
Lymm Rovers
Mersey Valley
St Michaels DHFC
Stretford Paddock FC

Into the league for the commencement of the 2022/23 season.

The players were informed of the decision together, at the Player of the Year awards, Nosa Iyamu managed to give us his thoughts on the news, “The new league obviously brings new challenges and a lot of changes for us, I think for me and every other player it’s a welcomed challenge because we thrive under this type of pressure, every team wants to play their best against us, every team will want to come and put a performance on against us, in the stadium, too but like I said, we want the challenge. The new league also means we have to recruit more players to add to what we already have, being able to bring in experienced quality players will help us a lot through the course of the season not just on the pitch but off the pitch too.

I think for any team looking at us now it’ll be hard for them to see us as just a team from YouTube anymore, I think we’ve made it clear that we have goals and we want to fulfil our potential, I think we’ve also proved that I can feel the buzz around everyone for pre season with the games we have coming up and for the season to start already. Our plan is to simply keep reaching new heights and finish at the top.”

Manager Stephen Howson had the following to add, “I was very stressed waiting for the decision, it’s brilliant for the club to be where it is, after just two seasons. There’s real momentum on and off the pitch, and I think it’s infectious. There’s a real vibe about the place at the moment, everyone is excited about what this means, and the challenge it presents. The next few weeks are going to be hectic, we’re launching fan ownership on 1st June – I’ve had so many enquiries about it I can’t keep up – so can I just say, June 1st all information will be available, we’re announcing a new sponsor. Very soon. We have a new director of football who used to be head of academy at a professional club, which is enormous for bringing in some experience.

The club is moving fast. Our job right now is to keep the recruitment drive going, and prepare the teams for that start date. The league have told us to be ready to play come 30th of July, and we will be ready.”

Club Secretary David Pritt also added, “This is brilliant news for the club and is all down to Ste’s hard work getting the application and inspections ready. The club will go a slight reconfiguration now, the club will have teams staying in the L&C which will be renamed to Stretford Paddock Amateurs. The U21s and Development teams will retain their titles.”

Stay tuned for an exciting month of announcements from the Paddock as it’s set to be the biggest season yet.

Stretford Paddock as a club have just completed their second season, showing growth and development in all areas as the club is beginning to go from strength to strength. This season the club further expanded into four teams: Firsts, Reserves, Development Squad and U21s. An impressive collective that received rightful accolades on awards night – players, coaches and staff alike.

Stephen Howson started this project with lofty ambitions, and it looks as though those aspirations are slowly coming to fruition. The hosting of the first Stretford Paddock Awards night is a definitive milestone and a chance to show appreciation for all of those involved who made the season what it was.

There were 16 awards given out on the night, rewarding stand out performances and commitment for all involved.

The first award given out was the club’s goal of the season which went to Mikey Burke for his ridiculous solo effort against Abacus Media, indicative of the attacking season he had, marauding runs from right-back that became a staple of his game. The second award on the night was clubman of the year, which went to Mark Dempsey for his outstanding commitment and attitude. He helped to keep the development squad afloat early on in the season, acting as the glue that kept everything together whilst also being a standout performer on the pitch. Performances that also earned him development player of the year and players player of the year on the night. The third award was a staff award the club’s coach of the year which went to Matt Ahern for his continual growth in coaching and the remarkable job he did this year with the reserves this past season. The next awards of note were the U21 player of the year which went to Jeanpierre Balagazi and players player of the year which went to Ethan Handley for their impressive performances throughout the season. Reserve player of the year and players player of the year went to Ben Pearson and goalkeeper Johnny Hart who has been a mainstay at the club since its creation in 2019.

Now onto the first team awards on the night, a squad that endured an exciting but eventually disappointing season as they narrowly missed out on title glory. Nonetheless, there were some exhilarating individual performances this season that deserved accolades on the night. The first of the awards was the Young Player of the Year which went to Bouba Jenkins who electrified the first team this season with his all action midfield play, showing decision making and composure well beyond his years. Fans player of the year went to Mikey Burke whose bits of individual brilliance made him a walking highlight-reel all season, a fan favourite and a household name. But in the end, unsurprisingly, Kieron Molloy walked away with Stretford Paddock’s Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year for his outstanding return this season with 20 goals and 6 assists this season in 26 games as he was the catalyst for everything great paddock did this season.

Last but not least Stephen Howson awarded Josh Smith and Ieuan Evans with a Paddock Medal as a show of gratitude for their dedication. The Paddock Medal is for players or staff who exemplified the Stretford Paddock ethos, which is a team above self attitude – Ieuan, who played for basically every squad and accumulated the most minutes of any player at the club last season, and Josh Smith, who travelled to training and games all the way from Wolverhampton playing with spirit and commitment which changed the whole aura of the squad this season.

It was a truly special night and a first of many as the club looks to advance its way up the footballing pyramid.

Full List of Award Winners;

Goal of the season – Mikey Burke

Clubman of the year – Mark Dempsey

Coach of the year – Matt Ahern

U21 player of the year – Jeanpierre Balagizi

U21 players player of the year – Ethan Handley 

Development player of the year – Mark Dempsey 

Development players player of the year – Mark Dempsey 

Reserve player of the year – Ben Pearson

Reserve players player of the year – Johnny Hart 

Young player of the year – Bouba Jenkins

Fans player of the year – Mikey Burke

Players player of the year – Omar Sinclair

The Paddock Medal  – Josh Smith + Ieuan Evans

Stretford Paddock FC player of the year – Kieron Molloy 

Stretford Paddock finishes their season with an astonishing 8-0 win against Manchester Polonia. Despite a few up and downs, Howson’s side managed to secure a top 3 finish. They last played Polonia back in February, with a 2-0 win but, an underwhelming performance however, that wasn’t the case this time around.

Paddock made it clear they were out to be much more clinical this time around, looking to put Polonia to the sword from the beginning. As in the early embers of the Paddock broke the deadlock as Kieran Molloy received a precise ball over the top from Nosa, splitting the defence and slotting home cooly, adding to his growing top goal-scoring tally. The number 7 then sets up Sinclair with a 2-yard pass, where he places it top bins just inside the 8th minute. The Stretford side looked composed, as they played it out from the back. Burke then pings one over to Molloy, where he does what he does best and finds the back of the net.

Not even a quarter of the way into the match and Nosa makes it 4. Half time comes round fast and Howson gives his half-time pep talk, which clearly motivated Molloy to go on to get his second hattrick in two games and his 20th goal of the season. Super-sub Hamza Abuzour, despite fasting during Ramadam, strolls on the pitch to make it 6-0 and assist Joao De Andrade to make it 7-0. Joao De finishes Manchester Polonia to make 8-0.

Howson is overall satisfied with the player’s progress this season but is wanting to push them to their limits next season in the Cheshire League, believing that the club has come a long way and material success could be just around the corner.

Stretford Paddock returned to form in scintillating fashion as they dispatched Abacus Media 8-3 in their final home game of the season, a performance of energy and freedom, two things that have been a staple of all the better performances of Paddock this season. Howson couldn’t have asked for a better showing in the penultimate game of the season, convincingly beating one of the stronger teams in the league.

The main takeaway from the game were the quality of the goals, as at least two of the goals scored were goal of the season contenders in an attacking masterclass from the Paddock players. Much of the talk going into the game was star man Kieron Molloy and his urge to break Josh Smith’s all-time leading goal scorer record, and that’s exactly what he did; he didn’t just break the record, he shattered it. As he walked away with the match ball after a clinical display, notching his first hat-trick for the club and encapsulating what has been a stellar individual season. The game also saw a sensational solo effort from Mikey Burke and a screamer from Cam Watters from the edge of the area, undoubtedly two of the best goals this season and were illustrative of the confidence Paddock played with throughout the game. Joao Andrade also capped off a strong performance with a brace, rewarded for his energy and endeavour in what was a very complete attacking performance from the team, with the only disappointment being the goals that were conceded, all of which were avoidable as Gimenez was at fault for the goals.

It was a day that also saw the debuts of Nico McGrath, Joe Kelly and Josh Hollobon as more and more new faces are expected going into the new season as Stretford Paddock continue to expand and improve, with big things anticipated within the next 18 months. It’s a club that continues to build and will look to continue its way up the football pyramid.

Stretford Paddock returns to action in what feels like a miniature hiatus, after suffering back to back defeats to their two biggest rivals, ending their season in the process. A season that promised so much has had a bitter end, a season without silverware wasn’t one that Howson anticipated but the season, in summary, isn’t all doom and gloom as it’s another season in the books for what is still a very new and ambitious football club.

Paddock now have two games remaining, the first one being against an Abacus Media side with enough quality to be a tough game. However, both teams have little to play for so the concern is the game takes on a bit of a ‘testimonial’ feel, but there is also the opportunity for both sides to take some momentum into the offseason and finish the season strong. Abacus Media are coming off a back to back defeat themselves, including a 6-1 defeat to North Walkden last time out. With the added confidence of beating Abacus Media 4-2 in the reverse fixture and will be looking to repeat that feat on the weekend.

One thing we will once again be looking out for will be for Kieron Molloy on record watch as he is still one goal away from coming Stretford Paddock’s all-time leading goal scorer, a record he will be keen to break before the end of the season. Especially after drawing blank in his two previous games, he will be looking to finally get over the line.

It’s the final home game of the season before Paddock look to play at potential new pastures next season, so Howson will undoubtedly want to see his men finish strong.

It was another crushing defeat as Paddock have now suffered back to back losses for the first time this season, in arguably the two biggest games of the season. Howson’s men were knocked out of the Rhodes Cup after suffering a 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals De La Salle Reds, which ensures that Paddock will end the season trophyless. It was also the third time De La Salle had beaten Stretford Paddock this season, with this particular loss being bound to hurt the most.

There was no love lost between the two sides in a game filled with hostility which for the most part overshadowed the actual quality of the game. Howson reiterated all week the need to keep things tight early as Paddock have picked up the habit of starting slow and giving themselves a mountain to climb, but once again, Paddock found themselves 2-0 in the first 11mins, and it was all but game over. The first goal was a goalmouth scramble, but absolutely nothing could have been done about the second; a 30-yard wonder strike that nestled into the top corner and sucked the life out of the visitors. It was a scrappy affair after with Paddock struggling to create chances for the majority of the game with the only lease of life coming from a dubious offside call against Kieron Molloy that prevented him from going in on goal and possible beginning a potential fightback for Paddock. Where highlights then showed that Molloy was at least two yards onside and was unlucky to see the linesman’s flag.

This result all but put an end to the season as Paddock also debuted their highly touted green and gold kit, which proved to be no good omen as the lads bowed out in disappointing fashion—hopefully bringing about a chip on the shoulder for Howson and his men as they go for glory once again next season.