Season Preview
Toolstation NCEL Division One
Hallam
Hallam are likely to go head-to-head with North Ferriby for the title. Craig Denton has assembled an excellent squad full of previous promotion winners such as Danny Patterson and they’re going to be strong.
Manager
Craig Denton
Denton is hoping add further success to his managerial CV which already contains the outstanding NCEL Premier Division title success with Worksop Town in 2019.
Opening Five Fixtures
Nostell Miners Welfare (a), Brigg Town – League Cup (a), Rainworth Miners Welfare (a), Rossington Main (h), Brigg Town (a).
Notable Movement
In: Adam Baskerville (Armthorpe Welfare), James Gregory (Worksop Town), Ed Bollington.
One to Watch
Kieran Watson
Watson is a key retention for Hallam due to knack of scoring multiple goals on a weekly basis.
Interview
Craig Denton is aiming to end Hallam’s long exile from the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division.
Despite some close runs with promotion during the Ryan Hindley and Scott Bates eras, Hallam have been marooned in Division One since 2011.
Former Worksop Town title-winning Denton is entering (hopefully) his first full season at Sandygate and he has high hopes.
“I’m positive with the group of players we have got and I’m not going to hide the fact we want to be right up there this season,” Denton told Non League Yorkshire.
“We want promotion and a lot of clubs will say that.
“I feel we are equipped with some really good players and I think if it comes together they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
“There’s no excuses for us not to be challenging.
“I think I have put the strongest side I possibly can together for this level of football.
“I think we have to be realistic as there’s some good sides in league so no club is guaranteed to win promotion.
“But I genuinely feel I have been given the tools to do it and that I have recruited the players to compete.”
The race for top spot is certainly challenging itself.
With only one promotion place open, Denton concedes that the race will be far from easy.
“As a manager I want as many promotion spots as possible,” he said.
“The league have had to do it a certain way, I’m just glad it is not just one up.
“Two years ago back in the Premier when I was with Worksop and only one went up.
“It kills the league. Budgets go if teams are nowhere the top.
“Having the top spot and the play-offs opportunity it keeps teams and the league alive.
“It will be interesting who will be in and around it.
“I think there’s some fantastic sides who have recruited well.
“North Ferriby are certainly expected to be challenging, but you look at Selby as well because of who they have recruited.
“I don’t think you should be writing anyone off.
“There’ll be some surprises like there always is every season.
“Some teams might start off really well and then fall off mid-season and then there’ll be teams who start poorly and finish off well.
“I think consistency is going to be key.”
Nearly 600 people watched Hallam’s final pre-season friendly with Sheffield FC and crowds are bound to be high at Sandygate in the coming months.
Off-the-pitch, Denton agrees Hallam are ready for the move up.
“Over the last few years Hallam have had some great managers who have taken them to the top of the league and missed out (on promotion) by a few inches,” he said.
“I think the club off-the-field are doing their best in terms of the fan-base and generating income through the local community.
“They’re trying to get younger faces up to watch the games and our job is obviously to win games.
“I think it is a great facility and great club with lots of history.
“Being the second oldest football club and the oldest ground, it would be great to get that history and heritage into the NCEL Premier.
“But it doesn’t give you the right to do it.”
Prediction
Title Contenders
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.
