FOOTBALLCV ACADEMY LATEST NEWS
Mahon enjoying life in the Football League!
Former footballcv academy player, Keiran Mahon, has started pre-season training at First Division Northampton Town and is thoroughly enjoying himself at the club. "I've been made very welcome at the club and hope to establish myself in the youth team although i miss the academy lads and will be looking foward to seeing them soon!"
The seventeen year old from Guernsey is the first player from the academy to sign for a pro club although Paul Tocco hopes to follow him with an opportunity to impress at Lincoln City this weekend.
Keiran is seen here with Sean Parrish, Under 18's coach for Northampton Town, and footballcv academy Managing Director, Graham Starmer at Sixfields Stadium.
17 Jul 08
Academy Team Manager in Masters
Over the weekend Academy Team Manager Kevin Wilson was involved in the Screwfix Midland Masters Football Competition live on Sky Sports at the Nottingham Arena. Kevin who over the previous season’s has represented Chelsea, won the competition in 2004 beating Wolves in the Grand Final 2 – 1, with Kevin scoring both goals.
Over the years Kevin has also represented Ireland in the Home Nations Masters, which in 2001 saw Ireland beat Wales 2 – 1 to become overall Competition Winners. This helped gain revenge over Wales who had managed to beat Ireland in the final of the previous two competitions in 1999 and 2000.
This year he represented one of his former clubs Walsall at the Midland Masters, unfortunately they were unable to qualify past the group stages, firstly drawing 1 – 1 with eventually winners Wolves, before losing in their final group match 5 – 3 to West Brom. Kevin though did managed to get himself on the score sheet though with a tidy finish at the far post.
16 Jul 08
FCV Reds in FA Youth Cup
The forthcoming season for the Footballcv Academy will see FCV Reds enter the FA Youth Cup for the first time in the Academy history, along with 42 other new entries the number of clubs who have entered the FA's competitions has reached an all time high of 762 teams.
The FA Youth Cup which started in the 1952-1953 season has showcased over the years some of the great emerging talents, players like George Best, Paul Gascoigne, along with current England internationals David Beckham and Wayne Rooney.
In it's first season the competition was one by arguably the biggest club in the world, Manchester United and the up and coming 'Busby Babes', during this run in the Second Round they slaughtered non-league Nantwich 23-0 which still remains a competition record.
FCV Reds have been drawn in the First Qualifying Round at home to Stewarts and Lloyds FC who's senior team player in the United Counties League, this game is due to take place week commencing Monday 22nd September, the exact date is to be finalised.
Along with it's debut in the FA Youth Cup the Academy for season 2008 - 2009 has also entered into a new league and further cup competitions, whilst also remaining in the Football Conference Youth League and Cup. Along with the Conference U19 League the forthcoming season will see FCV Reds play in The Central Conference League, this will see them play against senior reserve teams such as Burton Albion, Worcester City and Nuneaton to name a few.
Alongside this will run The Central Conference Cup which will also feature in the draw Kidderminster Harriers, Tamworth, Hednesford and other clubs.
The Academy will also enter the Northamptonshire U18 County Cup and the English Schools FA U18 Colleges Trophy, making in total the entry in all competitions to two Leagues and five cups.
Further good news was received at the Academy yesterday with FCV Reds Paul Tocco receiving an invite for a pre-season trial at Coca Cola League 2 side Lincoln City FC.
The Red Imps who play their matches at Sincil Bank have invited Paul to the club from July 15th where he will also represent Lincoln in at least a couple of pre-season fixtures.
01 Jul 08
Top coach joins academy team!
Paul Holden MBE has joined the academy coaching team bringing a wealth of experience to the footballcv academy.
A distinguished career to date includes previous roles as Academy Director at Crystal Palace, Director of Football for the Gibraltar FA, Youth Development Monitor for the Football League, Director of Coaching for the Armed Forces and several managerial positions at non-league level.
In 1997 Paul was awarded the MBE for Services to Football in the New Years Honour List in 1997 and holds the UEFA ‘A’ Licence, FA Academy Directors Licence and is a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
He specialises in fitness and strength and conditioning coaching and is currently undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence.
19 Jun 08
End of season awards!
With the first year of the Footballcv Academy coming to a close, the players had a busy final day to finish.
Firstly they took part in a new venture competition called Penalty Kings, this saw each player taking part in the penalty competition with some outstanding spot kicks being taken. The competition whittled it's way down to two players remaining, Alistair Wiltshire and Paul Tocco, with over thirty successful penalties being taken by each of the two finalists, the unfortunate Wiltshire saw his final penalty saved to give Tocco the title of Penalty King.
Next the players were then put into two teams and played against each other on the main stadium pitch at Nene Park, this also saw Premiership and International referee Peter Walton officiate, who five days later would be fourth official for England v USA at Wembley. The match itself was played at a very high tempo with many of the players parents and family in attendance to watch.
The whole day culminated in the End of Season Presentation Awards Ceremony which took place in the Kimberley Suite at Rushden and Diamonds Football Club. Each player was given a memento of their and the Footballcv Academies first year,
hen it was onto the main awards of the afternoon, with many of these being tightly and closely fought, this proved the case with joint winners of the Players Player of the Year in Brian Ngulube and Michael Thompson.
Kieran Mahon who not only had been told earlier that afternoon of Northampton Town's offer of a one year scholarship, then proceeded to collect the Academy Player of the Year award. The full list of winners were as follows:
Sportsman of the Year - Ben Hanrahan
Most Improved Player of the Year - Dylan Hawkridge
Top Goalscorer of the Year - Alistair Wiltshire
38 Records Sponsors Player of the Year - Gurtej Bhullar
Players Player of the Year - Brian Ngulube and Michael Thompson
Academy Player of the Year - Kieran Mahon
The Presentation was closed by Chairman Peter Mallinger who wished the players a well deserved break and pleasant summer before their return in the new season.
02 Jun 08
Academy star signs on the dotted line
FootballCV Academy player Kieran Mahon has rounded off a successful first season, with the signing of a one year scholarship contract at Coca-Cola League One side Northampton Town.
Kieran, from Guernsey, completed a successful trial with the League One outfit in March of this year and has been monitored closely by the club ever since - culminating in the recent offer. The talented midfielder has impressed throughout the inaugural campaign for the FootballCV Academy, becoming the first of twenty seven players to make the step up to league football.
On hearing the news of his signing, Kieran said: “It is a dream come true for me to have been offered a place at Northampton Town and I intend to give it my all when I start on July 7th. I owe everyone at FootballCV Academy a huge thank you as I would not have had this opportunity without their help and guidance.”
The FootballCV Academy squad started their season back in September 2007 with the much publicised Academy launch attended by Aston Villa and England star Ashley Young. This was followed by daily training and regular competitive games in the Football Conference Youth League in addition to studying at a local college, where the lads completed Referees and FA Coaching Level 1 courses.
As part of their wider experience of the game of football, the lads went on an exclusive trip to Carrington, the training complex of Manchester United FC, and were also given the opportunity to show off their skills at St James’ Park - the iconic home of Newcastle United. They also enjoyed high profile visits from Peterborough’s Director of Football Barry Fry, former Premiership referee Dermot Gallagher and fitness guru Daniel Caines.
Kieran’s signing is not the only success of the FootballCV Academy season with a number of other players receiving trials at Football League and Conference clubs. These players will be looking to build on that experience when they return for next year’s campaign in September.
FootballCV Academy’s Managing Director, Graham Starmer, commented: “It has been a fantastic first season for everyone and Kieran’s signing is the icing on the cake. All of the lads have improved their skills and knowledge of the game since joining us thanks to a full-time professional approach. We can’t wait for the squad to return in September, complete with a few new faces, ready to prove that Kieran is the just the first in a long line of FootballCV Academy successes. ”
Trials are currently underway for the 2008/09 squad and anyone interested in taking part can call 0870 034 3877 or visit www.footballcvacademy.com
31 May 08
Academy players grace St James Park!
Most of the footballcv academy players had the opportunity to play at one of the UK’s greatest stadiums last week when they played at a trials match at St James Park, home of Newcastle United.
The Newcastle United FC trials day on Saturday 10th May 2008 attracted a lot of interest from clubs covering the whole of the UK.
Clubs who attended included Premiership giants Newcastle United and Sunderland as well as Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Carlisle United, Hartlepool United, Bristol Rovers and Scottish First Division side St Johnstone to name but a few.
The experience gained playing at the the 52,000 capacity stadium will be invaluable and hopefully one or two players might have caught the eye of the scouts.
17 May 08
Academy impresses against pro club!
FCV Reds, the footballcv academy team, recently played against two professional clubs and put up a great performance in each match.
Last week Northampton Town returned with their Under 16’s and an Ashley Civil winner gave the academy a 1-0 victory. The First Division’s coaches were very impressed with footballcv academy performance and set-up.
This was followed with a 6-3 defeat against Rushden & Diamonds.
Meanwhile Michael Thompson and Paul Tocco were invited to attend a trial match for Conference Premier club Kidderminster Harriers. Both put in good performance in front of the clubs First Team Manager Mark Yates and are hoping for some positive news soon.
10 May 08
Academy players watch Manchester United train!
The footballcv academy was today invited to watch the Manchester United first team train at their training headquarters at Carrington.
The academy players were given a tour of the top class training facilities of the world’s richest club and the renowned academy that has produced so many great stars over the years.
The highlight however was the opportunity to see Christiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha performing their fitness work and Carlos Tevez, Patrice Evra and Si-Jung Park in training who also took the time to have photographs with the footballcv players. Also present was United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
This was followed by a tour of Old Trafford where the United players had two days previous beaten Barcelona 1-0 to earn a place at the Champions League Final.
Managing Director of the footballcv academy, Graham Starmer, was very grateful for this unique opportunity - "We have developed some strong links over the years with various clubs and the chance to watch one of the top teams in the world train at such an important time in the season is one to savior. We are very grateful to the club for inviting us."
The footballcv academy has already started it's recruitment for 2008/9 for 16-18 year old footballers.
The first trials were held in February and several budding footballers have taken up the offer of a place starting this September.
The next trials and open day is being held on the evening of May 19th.
Any interested parties should download the 'Open Day and Trials' form from the website or telephone 0870 240 0523 to register your interest.
01 May 08
Four academy players on trial!
With the latter stages of the season looming the footballcv academy is hopeful some of the players currently on trial may be signed up by the end of the season.
Keiran Mahon, who has already generated interest from Northampton Town will be off on a three day trial at a fellow First Division club this week and this will be followed by a week's long trial at a Championship club. Both clubs wish to remain anonymous at the moment.
Michael Thompson will be spending this week at Conference club Weymouth who are currently managed by ex-Chel;sea boss John Hollins. AFC Bournemouth will also be running the rule over the foward this weekend.
Ross Crawford returns to Scottish club Ayr United for two weeks after impressing them in an initial trial match and Joseph Warden has been invited back to Northern Premier club Hednesford Town to attend first team training.
06 Apr 08
