Barrow Celtic out to defend Furness Premier title

RIFLEMANS Garage Premier Division champions Barrow Celtic go into 2015/16 looking to defend a trophy that was only presented to them recently following an unusual end to last season.

Celtic drew their final game of last season at Millom, which left them three points behind Britannia.

However, Britannia had a six-point deduction hanging over them and neither side were able to celebrate.

Britannia’s appeal against the deduction – punishment for fielding a player when he should have been suspended – was eventually denied by the Lancashire FA, so belatedly Celtic won their first FPL Premier Division title.

Celtic’s squad remains much the same, though they will have to deal with the losses of Tom Pavett and Chris Cloudsdale. Manager Dave Tomaszko is expecting big seasons from Craig Woodburn and Josh Greenwood, as well as hoping some of their talented youngsters can make the step up.

They have signed James Ryan and are likely to be in the mix for honours come May.

In the close-season, Britannia appointed Brian White as manager as they try to win a title they feel was theirs last season.

White has a good track record, having won the title with Barrow Wanderers twice and having led Celtic to runners-up spot two seasons ago.

They have lost Ross Walker to Furness Cavaliers, but their young squad has been boosted by the arrival of Sean Darby, Ben Johnson, Mark Brown, Damo Thompson and Ronnie Speirs. They also have several talented young players such as Macauley Hammond, Tyler McPherson, Keenan Crossman and Dillon James, who will help the club build on the solid foundations laid behind the scenes by Mark Hammond, Brett Evans and Alan and Ian McPherson.

Askam United reserves are now managed by Marc Ayres and, although they have lost some experienced players, the club have plenty of youngsters with ability who Ayres thinks can fill the gaps.

Third place and finishing as runners-up in the Furness Senior Cup was a good season last year, but they are aiming to win a trophy this time round.

Kirkby United boss Mike Birkett is hoping to improve on their fourth-placed finish and also wants to pick up some silverware after losing in the Terry Clinton Memorial Trophy final. Notable additions to the squad are Scott Dempsey, from Askam, and Jon Marrs, from Swarthmoor, however striker Dave Regan will be missing as he awaits a back operation.

Youngsters Keiron Ottley, Connor Saunders and Andy Doull will be pushing for regular first-team places, with Birkett predicting a tough season with more teams than ever in with a chance of winning the title.

Vickerstown reserves will be defending the two cups they won last season, the Paul Wilson and Terry Clinton Memorial Trophies, while continuing to blend youth and experience.

Youngsters Danny Douglas and Oscar Fleming will hopefully develop alongside the likes of Tony Gooding and Ian Rogers. Like all reserve sides, they will hope first-team call-ups do not disrupt their season too much.

Bootle’s Andrew Marshall is another manager who anticipates a strong league, with as many as six or seven teams being genuine title contenders. Although Bootle have lost a couple of key players, they have some good 16-year-olds coming through, as well as reserve-team players who have done well in pre-season and will be in contention.

The Furness Senior Cup winners will expect to hold their own this season and will again be a side to avoid in cup competitions.

Haverigg United boss Craig Armstrong hopes to improve on last year’s league position and bring some silverware to Wilson Park. The signings of Dylan Edgeler, Jay Cummings and Luke Day, plus the return of keeper Craig Robinson, have strengthened the squad, who have a new captain, with David Foster taking the armband.

Hawcoat Park reserves are now being managed by Stuart Walker, assisted by Tony Rooney, to oversee the development of the young players who have come through in the last couple of seasons and support the first team. Several have already been promoted to the first team, but Hawcoat still have a healthy crop of youngsters to pick from.

Brandon Collins, Michael Chapman and Zach Walker will augment experienced players Chris Hill, Craig Salton and Carl Mackay, plus new signing Lewis Turner, from Holker. Aims are for a top-half finish and a decent cup run.

Tony Bickerdike has returned to Millom reserves after a few seasons away and will have the nucleus of last season’s squad, plus some promising youngsters available.

Jamie Cairns scored for fun in the A-team at the end of last season and is expected to do well in the coming months.

Holker Old Boys reserves welcome Sean Mellen as reserve-team manager, who is fresh from a successful stint in junior football and brings with him some very promising youngsters. He is relishing the challenge and hopes the blend of youth and experience will allow the team to play good football in what will be a very competitive league.

Mellen is excited by the prospect of seeing how well the youngsters will cope with the step up to senior football.

After a dismal 2014, Furness Cavaliers reserves were one of the form sides in the FPL in 2015 and they have kept most of their squad intact. Top-scorer Aaron Holligan promises to be a threat and Marc Curtis will be a key player if Cavs are to break into the top half of the table.

Andy Butler has joined his brother and first-team manager, Gavin, at GSK Ulverston Rangers, where he will run the reserves.

Andy was a key player in Swarthmoor’s promotion drive last season and takes over a youthful Rangers side who are looking to progress after comfortably staying up in their first campaign back in the top-flight last season following promotion in 2014. With the first team starting well, that can benefit the reserves as confidence will be high.

Furness Rovers reserves were saved from relegation by a vote at the AGM to increase the number of teams in the competition, but the club have strengthened their first team and dropped their A-team, so the reserves should not be a stretched as they were last season. The Rovers conveyor belt of young players continues to produce talent and the latest crop will get their chance to shine.

Tom Clynch, Ben Comish, Joe Loughran and Will Heywood are all expected to help push the team to a top-half finish.

Barrow Wanderers have returned to the Furness Premier League after two tough seasons in the West Lancashire League, but a number of their players have moved to other clubs so life will be hard for new manager Paul Speirs, who has stepped up from the reserves. He will bring several promising players with him from the reserves team set-up, plus Matt Hargreaves has returned to the club to give them an attacking threat.

Newly-promoted Swarthmoor Social reserves are now managed by Luke Kafanke, as Darren Stretch has moved up to the first-team management team. He will have to deal with the loss of Andy Butler, who scored plenty of goals last season.

Ben Mooney was also among the goals as promotion was secured and he will expect to trouble Premier Division defences.

After making it to the top-flight, Swarthmoor’s aim will be to stay there.