Thanks for the Memories!

Has there ever been such a turbulent few days at the Crown Ground as we saw firstly with the news that Club Captain Andy Proctor was joining Preston North End, Andy joined the Reds in 2002 from neighbours Great Harwood Town and would go on to make over 400 appearances for Stanley in that time he helped Stanley to two promotions which saw Stanley’s return to the Football League.

Andy was consummate pro respected by his fellow players and fans alike which led to him becoming Club Captain; he was also the rock in the centre of the park on which Stanley’s success of improving their year on year record of betterment was built.

Then would come the news that would send shockwaves through the Club & every Stanley Fan alike that John & Jimmy were taking over the stewardship at Rochdale leaving behind an outstanding legacy for whoever steps into their shoes at Stanley.

When John & Jimmy came to the Crown Ground in 1999 who would have imagined the rollercoaster journey that the Club, players & fans would go through over the next twelve & half years?

It started in the Unibond First Division and culminated in Stanley’s triumphant return to the Football League but also they defied the odds of budgets and playing against bigger and more established League teams and continued to improve Stanley’s year on year record taking us to the play-offs last season, it can’t have been easy as they virtually had to go about rebuilding  a squad every Summer as players left and new ones came in but every season the Club on the pitch continued to defy the odds and would move on to become an established Football League Cub.

Something which was an aspiration when they both arrived at the Crown went on to become very much a reality under their guidance & stewardship.

Andy, John & Jimmy have all written their names in the history & folklore of Accrington Stanley and have left indelible marks on the Club.

So on behalf of the Supporters Club we would like to thank Andy, John & Jimmy for all they have helped achieve at our Little Club and Thanks for all the Memories.

You have left behind an outstanding legacy and so a new chapter begings...

On Stanley On!

 Welcome to this years First Newsletter

Firstly can I thank you all members old & new for signing up for ASFC Supporters Club for the 2011/12 season.

Well what a season 2010/11 was on the pitch taking us all the way to the play-offs!

For the Supporters Club it was also a season of transition in looking at new innovative ways for fans to become Supporters Club Members by teaming up with the online Stanley Store www.wearestanley.co.uk to offer online memberships that helped grow our numbers and also realise just how far the Stanley name resonates around the World.

We as a group made small but equally important steps last season and would like to add more of a social edge to the Supporters Club for the upcoming season for this we would welcome your suggestions and help in anyway you can offer.

This season we are very proud to announce that the Supporters Club will be shirt sponsors for the Centre of Excellence side meaning www.stanleysupporters.co.uk will be seen far & wide.

For the Supporters Club itself it means we are supporting not just off the field but also on the field at the very core of the Club, which is at grass roots level as the Academy goes from strength to strength.

Via our newsletters we will look to keep you up to date with the progress of the Academy side as well as some player interviews and look to see if there are other ways we can help Phil Hackney, the staff & players at the Academy.

We would like to make more use of our website itself and to those ends wondered if anybody who is creative and knows about websites and would like to help us move that forward please get in touch via info@stanleysupporters.co.uk it offers a great chance to play a key role in helping the Stanley family.

Remember a Supporters Club membership can also make a great gift for birthdays by the membership card being made personal to the member themselves, you can join up via the www.wearestanley.co.uk website or from the Stanley Store 2 in the main stand on match-days or by sending a cheque for £5 (£7.50 if overseas) made payable to ASFC Supporters Club and posting it to the Club marked on the envelope ASFC Supporters Club.

Here’s to another great season

Neil

New Season Memeberships NOW available (Season 2011/2012) click the Join us button on the left for details.

B & M Longworth become the New Sponsor for 2011/12 ofAccrington Stanley Supporters Club

Accrington Stanley Supporters Club are delighted to announce that B & M Longworth Ltd. are 2011/12 sponsors of Accrington Stanley Supporters Club.

About Longworth Process Technology

Longworth Process Technology was created in 1976 when Brian Longworth saw a niche toprovide a contract cleaning service for the polymer industry. Since its inception this has grown into an industry leader in this field.

We are now led by a team with over a 150 years combined industrial experience and offer professional services in component cleaning, engineering solutions and consultancy services. We are recognized internationally as a key supplier of cleaning and testing technology and our experienced design team is able to provide equipment from our product range to meet specific individual requirements.

With a never-changing world of technologies and industries Longworth Process Technologyhas not rested on one sector and developed solutions for a vast range of customers to help not only clean and service their components but also meet with our own commitment to the worlds environmental and energy needs. This is reflected in our quality and environmental management policies.

More detailsabout Longworth Process Technology can be found at http://www.bmlongworth.com/index.htm

The Supporters Club would also like to pass on our grateful Thanks to Dave & Mel from GiftPrint   http://www.giftprint.co.uk  for their kind sponsorship of the 2010/11memberships and they will continue to supply the superb  personalised membership cards for Accrington Stanley Supporters Club for 2011/12.

Can you help make a difference to Accrington Stanley Supporters Club?

The Supporters Club is pretty much as it sounds. It is a group of likeminded supporters who dedicate their time and effort into trying help the Club & Fans alike by organising events whilst liasing closely with the Club to help spread the word about our “Great Little Club”.

What have we done as a group over the last twelve months?

We have initiated a new membership system that enables the membership cards to be made personal to each member and we have linked up with the Stanley Store website www.wearestanley.co.uk to offer Stanley fans anywhere in the world the chance to become Supporters Club Members.

In August we worked alongside the Club at Barrowford Show to help raise the profile of both the Club & Supporters Club.

We worked alongside Paul Mullin’s Testimonial Committee to help set-up and run a Race Night at the Club, which helped raise over £1000 towards Paul’s Testimonial year.

We have contributed money this Season towards the upkeep of the Lounge and work on the Away End.

We have just held the “Stanley’s Got Talent” End of Season Presentation Night which was an unparalleled success.

We have lots of new ideas and initiatives that we would like to take forward for next season this is where perhaps you can help do you have any skills with websites, secretarial skills or would just like to become involved to help the Supporters Club grow?

If your interested in volunteering to help or would just like to come along and see who we are and what we do please come along to the next Supporters Club meeting which takes place on Monday 09^th May at 7pm in the Gazelle Lounge at the Club.

If you can’t make it we would still like to hear from you if you have any fundraising ideas or incentives for how we the Supporters Club can help promote the name of Accrington Stanley by working closely with the Club.

Please contact us via email info@stanleysupporters.co.uk

Is it all hard work? Of course not it is a Labour of Love!

Your Club Needs You

Do you have a skill that Accrington Stanley Football Club can use?

Would you be willing to volunteer a few hours of your time?

Could you help sell 50/50 draw tickets, programmes, push the Gold Bond Scheme, sponsor a game or just generally help out around the Crown Ground?

As a Club we are well aware that our Supporter & Community base is paramount to our continued success on the field and that within that there are those with particular skills such as  plumbers, decorators, roofers, general handy people etc.

We are looking to help set up and maintain a register of individuals who the Club could call upon should the need arise.

This scheme is voluntary and as such you can be assured that any monies saved would be of direct benefit  to Accrington Stanley Football Club

PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2010/2011 VOTING

Voting is now taking place for the Player of the year 2010/2011 please Click below to place your vote on Accrington Web. Voting will close at 1200 noon on Sunday 10th April 2011 when a shortlist will be created.

Football Supporters Federation Launches Safe Standing Petition

The Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) believes that football supporters should have the choice to watch football from a safe standing area, if they so wish, at matches in England and Wales.

If you agree, sign the FSF's petition today.

·  Every week thousands upon thousands of fans stand in front of their seats for the duration of the game while following the team they love - attempts by the authorities to end this practise have failed. Surveys regularly show the vast majority of supporters back the choice to stand or sit. The FSF’s National Supporters’ Survey showed that 90% of fans back the choice to stand or sit.

·  The FSF’s Safe Standing Campaign is not just about those who prefer to stand. By giving supporters the choice, everyone benefits. Those who wish to stand can do so, while those who prefer to sit no longer have to worry about having their view blocked.

·  The FSF does not propose that the stringent safety standards laid down in the Government’s Green Guide be abolished or weakened. But we do think fans in the Premier League or Championship should also be allowed to stand in safety as those in any other division can. The idea that safety depends upon the quality of football played on the pitch is absurd.

·  We are not suggesting that clubs should be forced to provide safe standing areas – only that they should be allowed the choice. Issues around cost and feasibility should be a matter for individual clubs, not for government.

·  Many opponents to safe standing mistakenly cite Hillsborough as a reason not to allow its introduction. However the disaster was not caused by standing; the Taylor Report primarily blamed overcrowding, stadium layout, and poor policing. It did not ban standing nor claim it was inherently unsafe.

·  UEFA regulations state that European competitions must be played in all-seated stadiums. Safe standing areas can be convertible to and from seating, so this is not an obstacle to clubs providing standing accommodation for domestic games.

·  In both England and abroad, ticket prices for standing areas are typically lower than in seated areas, making the stadiums more socially inclusive.

Why now? The clamour for safe standing is ever-growing, so why not now? Don Foster MP for Bath, and Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Policy Committee on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, has launched a Safe Standing Bill which is due for a second reading in Parliament on 17th June 2011. The more signatures we can gather to support his Safe Standing Bill, the better…

·  Read more on the FSF's Safe Standing Campaign here including the aims and objectives of the campaign, the legalities of standing, and some of the Key Designs used in European Safe Standing areas.