Stockton Town respond to play-off heartbreak with review & 'exciting plans' promised
And the club say they will be fuelled by their heartbreaking end to the season and come back stronger, promising some "exciting plans" for the future.
Stockton were due to be playing Worksop on Monday for a place in National League North next season but were ejected from the play-offs after fielding an ineligible player in last week's semi-final victory over Guiseley, who took their place in the final.
Captain Adam Nicholson was sent off on the final day of the regular season but played against Guiseley, with Stockton saying their understanding was that his suspension wasn't due to start until Saturday, May 3.
They were charged by the FA before attending two hearings. It was then decided by the league over the weekend that Stockton wouldn't be allowed to play in the final.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Stockton then released a fresh and lengthy statement on Monday morning, saying: "Stockton Town Football Club has this week found itself in a difficult position which arose out of an administrative error due to a complex chain of events.
"We admit that this shouldn't have happened and apologise to our players, management, supporters and the wider community of Stockton that we have been left in the position of being disqualified from the end of season play-offs.
"The club shall review and reflect on the causes of this and we are committed to act on findings to ensure as a club we improve and never again end up in this position.
"The club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to all that hold this club close to their heart for their understanding, support and commitment to the club over the past week and we are truly humbled by all your messages of support."
Stockton have enjoyed a remarkable rise over the course of the last decade and club bosses have vowed to learn from this week's setback and continue their upward trajectory.
The statement continued: "Stockton Town Football Club has grown out of adversity and has experienced many difficult days over the years but we have never let any of those define us, and the events of the last week will be another of those.
"We have exciting plans for the future and we believe a future that can bring further success and pride to our club and community, but this will only be achieved with the whole club pulling in the same direction.
"The club is already well advanced with its plans for the 2025/26 season and we hope to be in a position to begin to share news of those plans coming to fruition in the next few weeks.
"Finally we would like to wish both Worksop Town and Guiseley our best wishes for the play-off Final, may the best team win."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Shahar relishing South Shields test
United's second-string were held to a 1-1 draw against their Hull City counterparts in their opening pre-season fixture of the 2025/26 season last weekend and face the Mariners, who compete in the National League North, at the 1st Cloud Arena. Shahar, who was named in a senior matchday squad for the first time during Newcastle United's 2-1 home win against Brentford in April, is one of a handful of Academy products to have trained with Eddie Howe's side, travelling to Austria in the opening weeks of pre-season, and the teenage defender feels he is reaping the benefits of his involvement with the senior squad. The 18-year-old right-back told "I started the first week of pre-season with the first-team and I feel like it's a good way to get into the pre-season flow. Being with the first-team, it gets you fit as fast as possible to be ready for the season. "I've had two games now, one with the first-team and then with the under-21s, drawing against Hull. It was good to get an opening of how my fitness levels are and I feel very good and happy with where everything is going. "To be in and around the first-team is going to benefit me. Training regularly with the squad is going to make me a better player as well as a person." Newcastle's youngsters face the Mariners in a pre-season fixture last season, with teenage winger Johnny Emerson on target in a 1-1 draw for the young Magpies in front of over 1,400 spectators. Shahar, who has captained England at under-18 level, is looking forward to another encounter against senior opposition after featuring in the Magpies' behind-closed-doors win against Carlisle United last month, playing the first-half of a 4-0 win against the Cumbrians. "Playing against men's teams is good as a younger player because that's where you strive to get to," Shahar added. "It's good to get those kinds of different challenges to help my development. "As a younger side playing against senior opposition, we'll have to be smart (against South Shields) in the way we play as we can't always go toe-to-toe with them due to their physicality but it will show the level we're at and how we've done during pre-season. It will be a good test." Kyle Crossley, who joined South Shields from United last summer after a four-year spell at Newcastle's Academy, will not feature in Sunday's friendly as the 21-year-old winger suffered a multi ligament injury after colliding with an opposition player during a pre-season friendly against Carlisle. Shahar offered sympathy to his former teammate, along with the Magpies' second-string squad, ahead of what will be a prolonged period on the sidelines. He added: "I heard the news and I was devastated for Kyle. He's a great lad and was a good character around the training ground whilst he was at the Academy. It's disappointing for him and, hopefully, we put on a good game for him. "It's part of football but it's never nice to sustain a big injury like that so all the lads were sorry for him and we had a chat about how good of a person he is." Tickets for Newcastle United Under-21s' pre-season friendly away at South Shields on Sunday, 3rd August can be purchased here.
NBC Sports
4 days ago
- NBC Sports
Kirby Smart opens preseason camp for 10th season at Georgia with young team after 2024 SEC title
ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart opened his 10th season as Georgia coach with Thursday's first preseason practice knowing he didn't have to worry about his message growing old with his players. More than half of Georgia's players are starting their first or second years. Smart knows his lessons won't quickly sound stale for the defending Southeastern Conference champion Bulldogs. With only seven returning starters, Georgia opened practice with a long list of young players eager to seize their first starting jobs. 'We are young ... but we are hungry,' Smart said Thursday. 'We've got a team that's fun to coach. ... A lot of them haven't had an opportunity to play, and now this is their opportunity. Sometimes when you're coaching, it's a lot more exciting for guys when they're having their first time. Now that being said, the lack of experience sometimes can show, but we're going to try to get through that in camp.' A more experienced Georgia team finished 11-3 last season and No. 6 in The AP Top 25 final poll. It was the team's eighth consecutive top 10 finish under Smart, including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Last season's SEC championship was Georgia's third with Smart. Georgia returns only four starters on offense. That total includes two tight ends — Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie, who made seven starts. Right tackle Earnest Greene III is the only returning starter on the offensive line. Wide receiver Dillon Bell is the fourth returning starter on offense. Quarterback Gunner Stockton took over for injured Carson Beck in the second half of Georgia's 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta. Stockton started in the Bulldogs' 23-10 Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals. Smart says Stockton is still competing with Ryan Puglisi, but it would be a major surprise if the junior doesn't start in Georgia's season opener against Marshall on Aug. 30. Following Beck's transfer to Miami, Stockton strengthened his hold on the job with a strong spring practice and directed the first-team offense in the G-Day spring game. The defense includes only three starters: lineman Christen Miller, inside linebacker C.J. Allen and cornerback Daylen Everette. Fire, passion, energy Smart, 49, was asked if he still lives up to the team's 2025 motto: 'fire, passion, energy.' 'I feel it every day, because if you don't have it, it's hard to be successful,' Smart said. 'You can't keep up. Our staff has it. Our staff has great juice. We've had a chance to reenergize.' A championship standard Delp was a freshman on Georgia's 2022 national championship team. He said he's motivated to help the Bulldogs win another title and has tried to share lessons from that team with new players. 'I came back for a reason,' Delp said when asked why he didn't enter the NFL draft. 'I want to have a great season. 'I know how it was when when we won games and we won national championships. I was here for that and so I just kind of share with them the standard and what those older guys were holding me to when I was younger. I just try to keep it the same, you know, the standard is the standard. You've got to do it certain ways to win championships.' 'Big Mike' finally has his chance Offensive guard Micah Morris (6-4, 330) entered camp as a projected starter. The fifth-year senior was a fill-in starter last season. This is his long-awaited opportunity to be a full-time starter. Morris, who has a nickname of 'Big Mike' and a reputation as the strongest player on the team, said he never considered finding an opportunity to start at another school through a transfer. 'This is my home, this is where I committed,' Morris said. 'This is where I wanted to be when I was a 17-year-old kid. ... I knew I could develop here even if I wasn't starting.' Jackson facing internal discipline Smart said backup offensive lineman Jahzare Jackson, a sophomore, 'is disappointed, obviously, in the decision-making process' following his arrest in Athens on July 16 on possession of more than an ounce of marijuana, a felony. 'He's being disciplined internally, but he's with the team,' Smart said.
Fox Sports
4 days ago
- Fox Sports
Kirby Smart opens preseason camp for 10th season at Georgia with young team after 2024 SEC title
Associated Press ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Kirby Smart opened his 10th season as Georgia coach with Thursday's first preseason practice knowing he didn't have to worry about his message growing old with his players. More than half of Georgia's players are starting their first or second years. Smart knows his lessons won't quickly sound stale for the defending Southeastern Conference champion Bulldogs. With only seven returning starters, Georgia opened practice with a long list of young players eager to seize their first starting jobs. 'We are young ... but we are hungry,' Smart said Thursday. 'We've got a team that's fun to coach. ... A lot of them haven't had an opportunity to play, and now this is their opportunity. Sometimes when you're coaching, it's a lot more exciting for guys when they're having their first time. Now that being said, the lack of experience sometimes can show, but we're going to try to get through that in camp.' A more experienced Georgia team finished 11-3 last season and No. 6 in The AP Top 25 final poll. It was the team's eighth consecutive top 10 finish under Smart, including back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Last season's SEC championship was Georgia's third with Smart. Georgia returns only four starters on offense. That total includes two tight ends — Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie, who made seven starts. Right tackle Earnest Greene III is the only returning starter on the offensive line. Wide receiver Dillon Bell is the fourth returning starter on offense. Quarterback Gunner Stockton took over for injured Carson Beck in the second half of Georgia's 22-19 overtime win over Texas in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta. Stockton started in the Bulldogs' 23-10 Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals. Smart says Stockton is still competing with Ryan Puglisi, but it would be a major surprise if the junior doesn't start in Georgia's season opener against Marshall on Aug. 30. Following Beck's transfer to Miami, Stockton strengthened his hold on the job with a strong spring practice and directed the first-team offense in the G-Day spring game. The defense includes only three starters: lineman Christen Miller, inside linebacker C.J. Allen and cornerback Daylen Everette. Fire, passion, energy Smart, 49, was asked if he still lives up to the team's 2025 motto: 'fire, passion, energy.' 'I feel it every day, because if you don't have it, it's hard to be successful,' Smart said. 'You can't keep up. Our staff has it. Our staff has great juice. We've had a chance to reenergize.' A championship standard Delp was a freshman on Georgia's 2022 national championship team. He said he's motivated to help the Bulldogs win another title and has tried to share lessons from that team with new players. 'I came back for a reason,' Delp said when asked why he didn't enter the NFL draft. "I want to have a great season. 'I know how it was when when we won games and we won national championships. I was here for that and so I just kind of share with them the standard and what those older guys were holding me to when I was younger. I just try to keep it the same, you know, the standard is the standard. You've got to do it certain ways to win championships.' 'Big Mike' finally has his chance Offensive guard Micah Morris (6-4, 330) entered camp as a projected starter. The fifth-year senior was a fill-in starter last season. This is his long-awaited opportunity to be a full-time starter. Morris, who has a nickname of 'Big Mike' and a reputation as the strongest player on the team, said he never considered finding an opportunity to start at another school through a transfer. 'This is my home, this is where I committed,' Morris said. 'This is where I wanted to be when I was a 17-year-old kid. ... I knew I could develop here even if I wasn't starting.' Jackson facing internal discipline Smart said backup offensive lineman Jahzare Jackson, a sophomore, 'is disappointed, obviously, in the decision-making process' following his arrest in Athens on July 16 on possession of more than an ounce of marijuana, a felony. 'He's being disciplined internally, but he's with the team,' Smart said. ___ AP college football: and recommended Item 1 of 3
