October 18, 2017

It was the same old story for the 1s this week, who succumbed to a 3-1 loss, away at Oxford Brookes. In a game where the 1s had seemingly bounced back well from last week, a defensive error, coupled with a stunning free-kick from Brookes put UoNFC on the back foot. A cool finish by Jack Knox livened the team up, and a comeback was on, with Brookes looking increasingly flustered. Unfortunately, a quick counter attack saw Brookes score a third and the game was put to bed. A frustrating result given the improved performance from the week before, with wins surely around the corner for this talented squad. 

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The 2s faced Worcester 1s at home, will scores apiece at 1-1. An even game, as the scoreline suggests, and gives the 2s their first points of the season, but a win was definitely what the team wanted, but will have to wait for next week. 

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The 3s faced Loughborough 3s in a local derby, and came out as 3-1 victors in another stunning performance by Gav Spruin's men. The boys are continuing their fine form from last year and are performing very well after being promoted last year. Keep it up boys!

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The 4s won 2-1 against a tough Derby 3s side, this further shows the quality lower down the club, with all the boys keen to push for movement into higher teams. 

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October 11, 2017

A  disappointing start to the season for the 1s and 2s, with two losses recorded against opposition who proved to be better on the day. The 1s deserved a draw in a tight affair against Oxford, who scored a late 89th minute winner, being one of their only attempts at the UoNFC goal. The squad will look to pick themselves up and prepare for an away fixture to Oxford Brookes next week.

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The 2s faced Derby 1s in a match up similar to last season, physical and slightly scrappy. An early goal from Derby separated the sides and UoNFC just couldn't find the net to equalise. A hard start to the season for the boys but they will no doubt come back stronger next week against Worcester.

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The 3s faced Birmingham 2s away, and came out as 1-3 victors, a stunning start to the season for the squad, who will look to stay at this level throughout the season. 

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The 4s were also away, but to Bedfordshire, and again they came out as 0-5 winners, a breathtaking performance from the team, under the interim coach President Alex Moss. A superb start to the season for the boys, lets hope they can carry this good form forward and into next week.

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October 01, 2017

Next week, BUCS fixtures return for the Club, with the 1s facing their first test in the Midlands 1A league, against Oxford. Sights are well and truly set on a return to the Northern Premier League, after a disappointing run out last term.

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The 2s face Derby 1s in the Midlands 2A league, a tightly contested league with the title again int he sights of this squad. 

The 3s and 4s are both away to Birmingham 3s and Bedfordshire 4s respectively. 

Let's hope all of the hard work during the summer and pre-season pay off, and the boys bring home the victory making it a great first social of the term.

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September 30, 2017

Today marked the end of our Fresher's Trials for this year. Around 500 boys trialled throughout our trial days held on Thursday 28th September and Saturday 30th September, with callbacks held on Sunday 1st October. We were impressed by the high standard that was on display and so were open to allowing as many into the club as possible.

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36 boys were invited back for a final session and a chance to become a part of UoNFC. The boys impressed all who were there to watch, and resulted in 16 boys being asked to join our club. We are very excited to welcome them into the club and are sure they will settle quickly into life at UoNFC.

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We would like to thank all of our trialists for coming down to try out and making the decision such a hard one. There are many other footballing opportunities that the University offers, such as IMS football, Futsal, Jumpers for Goalposts and Gaelic football! If you would like any other information on these clubs then please contact us on Facebook or by email, or visit the respective websites. 

September 24, 2017

Come down and see us at this year's Fresher's Fair, where we will be on the UoNFC stall in the David Ross Sports Village from 10 am to 5pm. Here you will have the chance to sign up for this year's trials as well as being able to chat to the committee and other members of the club about life at UoNFC. Hope to see you all down there! #uonwelcome

September 17, 2017

At the start of the second week of pre-season training, the boys were lucky enough to be visited by Charlie Sherringham, and were put through their paces in an intense and highly technical attacking session. Charlie has a wealth of experience in the football world, having played for clubs such as Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and AFC Wimbledon. Charlie provided an in-depth and entertaining session for the attackers, a great way to kick off the second week's training. All the boys were very grateful to Charlie for giving up his time to come and coach us for a couple of hours, and we hope to see him in the future at Highfields. 

September 09, 2017

Pre-Season training began today, with the boys turning out in strong numbers, eager to kick off the season in style. It's apparent that hard work has gone into the busy summers of all involved with the club, with fitness levels already at a decent level. A tough couple of weeks ahead, with our first few fixtures fast approaching! #OneClub

September 05, 2017

The 2017/18 season looks to be the best for a long while. The club welcome in new Director of Football Nick Tester, who has previously set up the Ardingly academy, along with coaching at semi pro and academy level. Nick will be looking to assert his mark, with an emphasis on fitness in the run up to pre-season. Introducing a new training scheme and pattern of play will be key to getting promotion back to the big league for the first team. It will be an exciting year for all involved, with the 1s now in Midlands 1A against a new set of teams.

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Joining Nick as first team coach this year will be veteran of the Nottingham circuit Tom Hayes. After his first Varsity loss in May, a win in the big derby will be top of his priority list for the season, along with promotion back to where we belong. Leading the Club this season will be the smallest president in history, Alex Moss. He claims to have been very busy over summer and has got the club in a great position ready to start the season. However, with Jack Knox in charge of the budget, who knows what state the club’s finances will be by the end of the year. The club has seen a number of senior players depart across all teams, who will be deeply missed on and off the pitch. This gives opportunity for upcoming players across the board as competition looks fiercer than ever.

The phrase “there will be movement” has been preached about a lot in the past, but with a restructure of training to a Monday and Friday evening, with Nick watching all hours to make sure there is fluid movement within the club. One issue could be the lack of physical centre backs amongst the top sides, giving opportunity for freshers to claim a top spot early on. with over 500 freshers to trial, no spot is secure and everyone will be looking to impress.

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The prestigious role of social secs falls to Robbie Bissett and Rauri Macintyre this year as they look to take the Wednesday night up another level, with some new and improved socials lined up. George Southgate, who has previously worked with Nick and is not turning up to the first week of preseason as he already knows the shape and is doing some (charity) cycling. However, George and Jamie Savage have been hard at work over the summer, sorting the ever important sponsorship, with new deals across town, and we are excited to be working with them all. The captains role is always a hot topic of conversation and preseason will be a big chance to put a foot forward, with Glock, Jake Bedford, Gavin Spurin, and Clark Norton just a few of the names being rumoured around the club. However surprise leaders always come out the woodwork in the first fitness test to see who is taking this season seriously.

With questions about who will score goals, there is high competition in net, with old boys Patel and Savage eyeing top spot, being joined by David Levy who did not play a game in first year, yet has already bought his kit this time round, but with Nick taking everyone on form rather than reputation in his selection, it is all open to play for. Having returned from holiday early, VP Oscar Wagner will be looking to do more for the club than previous VP’s Matt Dicks and Ed Gould. Organising pre-season friendlies against Derby, Trent and Sheffield look to get the boys match fit ready for BUCS.

Will Kit sec Jake Bedford get any stash in on time? Will Seb Lloyd have anything to do with Toland at the helm? Who will take on the role of General and bring the club into line?

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The weather is set to be wet and the running is going to be hard. But pre season will set the club up for what will be the best season on record.

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Jamie Savage