Season Preview
Toolstation NCEL Division One
Hall Road Rangers
Two years ago Leon Sewell inherited a relegated club with only two players from the previous season. The side he built during the curtailed 2019/20 campaign is still around and that gives Hall Road a platform to push on from in the coming months.
Manager
Leon Sewell
One of the most under-rated managers in the NCEL and someone who deserves success. Probably the go-to man in Hull if you want miracles achieved on limited resources – as his work with Westella and East Yorkshire Carnegie testifies.
Opening Five Fixtures
Worsbrough Bridge (h), Glasshoughton Welfare (a), FC Humber United – League Cup (a), Ollerton Town (h), Selby Town (a).
Notable Movement
In: Tom Bennett, Chris Spinks
Out: Connor Boyd and Will Broadley
One to Watch
Chris Spinks
The 2017 title-winning striker is back with Hall Road for another hurrah in NCEL football.
Interview
Now is the time for Hall Road Rangers to launch an assault on returning to the NCEL Premier Division.
That’s Leon Sewell’s call to arms with less than 48 hours remaining until the visit of Worsbrough Bridge to Haworth Park
Hall won the title in 2017, but fell back into Division One in 2019 and Sewell wants a push for glory.
“If we didn’t want to win the league there would be no point us being in it at the end of the day,” Sewell told Non League Yorkshire.
“The players all believe in their own abilities and abilities as a collective squad.
“I do as well as Burkey (assistant manager Chris Burke) and (first team coach) Matt Gray and the chairman (Darren Sunley) and vice-chairman (Dave Reader).
“We all have high expectations of winning the league.
“Winning the league is the target, but play-offs are more realistic.
“If we were to get in the top five we’ll have done well and got in the play-offs positions.
“It is a challenge, but no-one wants an easy challenge.
“The club has been in the Prem before and that’s where we want to get back to.
“Our form last season proves we are capable of giving it a go.
“We were beating Hallam 2-0 at home until the wheels fell off through a lack of experience and game management.
“We’ve got that now. The players know what is expected of them.”
Hallam and North Ferriby are the favourites for the Division One title, but Hall Road are not fazed by any opposition.
“Curtis Woodhouse said ‘fear no-one and respect everybody’ and that’s true,” he said.
“There’s no point playing someone and rolling over and having your belly tickled.
“That’s not in my make-up or anyone associated with the club.
“When you look at the likes of Hallam and North Ferriby; they have great facilities, lovely pitches, well respected with great following and it makes it easy for them to attract stronger and experienced players because they have disposal funds to do so.
“We don’t have the facilities, the playing surface or the disposal funds to match them, but we’ll compete no matter who we play.”
One key factor for Hall Road is Sewell has continuity in his side.
Nearly all of the team have been with him for two seasons and Sewell reckons that counts for a lot.
“It is really important (to have kept the squad together),” he said.
“My main ethos is commitment and consistency and (retaining the squad) helps.
“You know what you’re dealing with, you’ve got the player relationships, you know how to manage people’ expectations and ultimately it allows the players to further develop their own relationships with their own team-mates.
“Some clubs have recruited heavily, some others not so heavily and if you keep that togetherness and changing room buzz that everyone wants to be part of then you’re halfway to being successful.
“You can work on formations, set-pieces, patten-plays (because you have a settled squad).
“There’s nothing worse than cobbling 15 lads together and putting them out on a pitch.”
Prediction
Top half, pushing for play-offs
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams.
Our work is playing an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.