Chew Valley FC have once again completed a very successful season with much happening on and off the pitch (both locally and in Istanbul).

Interest in our junior coaching is at an all time high and the Saturday morning sessions are regularly attended by around 80 boys aged between 7 and 10. Once again our development of young players has provided Bristol City Academy with 4 new players for their development and Under 9’s Squad. The move is seamless for the boys as club coaches Dave Hedges and Ian Rossiter also both coach at the Academy.

The strength and quality of our junior coaching is demonstrated by our Under 8’s team who were unbeaten for the whole season.  They also won the Brislington Tournament and finished as runners-up in the Sportscene International Tournament, narrowly losing to a team from London in the final.  Our Under 9’s A and B teams reached the cup Quarter and Semi Finals in another season of continued improvement and development.

All of our teams who competed in the Midsomer Norton Youth Football League enjoyed a successful season. Both the Under 10’s and Under 13’s retained the League Titles, a fantastic achievement and showing real quality and commitment over consecutive seasons.

Four of our other teams, Under 11’s, Under 12’s, Under 14’s and Under 16’s all finished as League Runners-up. A further demonstration of the quality and commitment shown by our boys over the season.

A special mention must go to the Under 15’s who really raised their game to beat Street and Glastonbury in a very competitive cup final.  The win was a great reward for departing manager Mark Bartlett who had struggled for players throughout the season.

Roll of honour 2004-05

Under 10s

League Winners

Under 11s

League Runners-up

Under 12s

League Runners-up

Under 13s

League Winners

Under 14s

League Runners-up

Under 15s

Cup Winners

Under 16s

League Runners-up

It is great to see all age groups again enjoying success of some kind. The coaches at the club all provide top-level coaching in accordance with FA guidelines.  As can be seen, the boys can develop their football, self-confidence and team skills whilst experiencing success along the way.

The close links that we share with Bristol City as a Development Club, ensured that we had representation at our Presentation Evenings.  Our thanks go to young first team players – Dave Cotterill, Stephen Gillespie and Ryan Harley for attending.

We also had a number of boys from the club who have played in the Leagues U12s and Under 16s representative teams and also two boys – Lee Hedges and Jamie Smithies who represented BANES at the National County Finals.

A significant development towards the clubs future has seen the formation of our Mens Team.  Under the leadership of Alex Holcombe, they will compete in the Bath and District League this season.

The exciting thing about this is we now have ‘Football for Life’ at our club. Three players who have been with us from day one (Simon Parfitt, Chris James and Chris Dark) will move from youth football to adult football.  Another eight players from last seasons Under 16s and Under 17s will also continue with us into mens football, we wish them every success. The club is now in a great position to see players move into the mens squad each season. Our aim, is to see this team develop into a high standard of football, with a strong reserve team, both supported by the feed of players from our youth section.

Our special and unique link with Turkish Champions Fenerbahce again provided unforgettable experiences for coaches at the club.  At the start of the season, coaches Dave Hedges and Ian Rossiter accompanied the team throughout the stay in England for the Champions League game v Manchester United.

We were treated like official members of the club. Our great friend, the Fenerbahce Football Coordinator - Volkan Balli, the Manager Christoph Daum and all of the other staff and players treated us with great respect. This included, attending all training and team meetings, eating and relaxing with the team at the Mottram Hall Hotel in Cheshire. Our coaches also trained with the team on the ‘hallowed turf’ at Old Trafford on the evening before the game. 

Other coaches came to the hotel to meet the players and then travelled to the game.  A group of around 20 people connected with our club attended the match at Old Trafford, sitting with the Fenerbahce fanatical supporters. We witnessed a Champions League learning experience for Fenerbahce and a great individual display by Wayne Rooney (hat-trick) in the disappointing defeat. However, there was still the re-match to be played in Istanbul!

Once again, Volkan Balli showed fantastic hospitality to our coaches and provided them with a truly memorable experience.  Dave, Ian and Mark Bartlett travelled to Istanbul for the return game with Manchester United, staying at the home of Volkan Balli. On the evening before the game, our coaches were in a select group that were allowed to watch Man Utd train behind closed doors.

The evening of the match was a very special occasion, the atmosphere created by a very passionate crowd in the packed stadium was amazing.  Fenebahce played a great game and a Tungay hat-trick ensured a win of 3 – 0 , the victorious scenes inside the stadium will stay with us forever. We celebrated into the early morning with Volkan and goalkeeping coach Eike Immel (ex Man City and Germany).

Our congratulations go to Fenerbahce who have once again been crowned as Champions of Turkey. Having qualified for the Champions League for this season, we hope to enjoy some more great times with this fantastic club and their people.

Later in the season Dave returned to Istanbul to accompany Michael Stephenson (son of club sponsor Dave Stephenson) during a weeks training and trial with the Fenerbahce youth team.

We have received the congratulations of FA Development Director Trevor Brooking on our continued commitment to the FA Standard Charter. As a club with this prestigious award we have been praised for the high level of coaching and care that we provide to our members.  We have been placed on the FA website as a select club that the FA will recommend for its high standards.

“When taking your child to a club, look for the FA Charter Standard.”

David Beckham – England Captain and Real Madrid.

It has been another memorable season, we thank all of our coaches, players, parents for their commitment and support.  We also would like to thank the sponsors that give financial support to our teams and the club, without them it would be so much harder.

We continue to develop as a club and all look forward to further enjoyment and good times in football. If in reading this summary of our season you feel that you would like to help our club with further progress please contact the Secretary or any Team Manager.

Ian Rossiter

August 2005.