| Presentation Night 2003-04 |
On Saturday 12th June 2004, Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC held their presentation night at White's, Paxton Road, Tottenham. With Chairman Glenn Weaver introducing Guest of Honour, former Spurs manager, Keith Burkinshaw, Club Patron and former Spurs captain Gary Mabbutt and rising Spurs star midfielder Rohan Ricketts to an excited audience, a busy evening to celebrate the success of the club got underway. With the managers of the Under-10s, Under-11s, Under-12s, Under-14s, Youth team and the Reserve team and First Team captain Jackie Fearon running through the season for their respective teams, it was clear that the future is bright for the club. Wyart Lane rounded up the media interest in the club and how the success had been reported and thanked guests Mark and Judy Neville from "Everyone's A Winner" for their coverage of the Ladies' teams this season, along with all the other publications and websites that have carried news of Tottenham Hotspur Ladies. With the silverware waiting to be handed out, it was straight into the awards and medals to be presented by our esteemed guests. |
| First up
among the teams was the Under-10 side, who became the youngest side the
club had fielded and had started their careers in the Ladies game with a
fine season, ending runners-up in league and cup, which they can rightly be proud of. Manager Jayne
Foster recounted the way the girls had set about playing the game and
she was delighted to have been in charge of them in their first year
together.
The players
who had formed the core of the Under-10 side this season were :
-
The players voted for their player of the
year and this season's winner was The Most Improved Player of the Year
award went to |
| For
the Under-11s side, it had been a successful season and one that they
will have to go go some way to better in their time in football.
Having reached
the London Youth FA Cup final, only to lose on penalties to Long Lane,
they set about ensuring that the silverware their play deserved came
their way. The league had been sewn up long before the end of
their unbeaten season and the 4-1 win over QPR in the Herts. Girls League Cup
Final sealed the Double for Kevin Fenn's side.
The players who
were instrumental in taking the
Under-11 side to the Double are : - Winning
the vote for Player's Player of the Year was Most
Improved Player for the Under-11 side was |
| For
the Under-12s side, it had been a successful first year in 11-a-side
football, making third place their own after last season's disappointing
mini-soccer campaign. Manager Glenn Weaver is sure that the
experience gained and progress made in adapting to the bigger game
will be taken forward into next season.
The main players in the
Under-11 side had been : - Winning
the vote for Player's Player of the Year was Most
Improved Player for the Under-11 side was |
| The
Under-14s showed progressive improvement with a fourth place in the
league and a place in the semi-final of the League Cup, where they gave
unbeaten QPR a fright by taking them to extra time, in a season when
Alex Fearon's side began to put together some very impressive football.
Those who regularly turned out for the
Under-14s were : - The winner for the
2003-04 Player's Player award went to For the Most Improved
Player of the Season, the trophy went to |
| The Youth
Team picked up where they left off last season as Under-15s when they
won the Herts' Girls Football League
Cup Final.
Moving up to a senior league against older and more experienced sides was to be a test for them, but one that they passed with flying colours, taking the league title at their first attempt. Manager Dave Green meshed the players from last season with some new arrivals in the close season to form a potent scoring outfit, who looked solid in midfield and defence too.
The regular members of their side this season who gained appearance
awards were : - Having polled most votes among her fellow
players, the Player's Player award went to |
| The Reserve
team were unlucky not to win their league title, losing out by just
three goals at the top of the table and June Clarke's side gelled
together as a unit even though there was the difficulty of many players
passing through their ranks.
The players who represented the Reserve
side in the majority of their games were : - The winner of the Player's Player award
for the Reserves in season 2003-04 was |
| It
was a successful season for Pete Skinner's First Team, but one that ended in
disappointment on two fronts.
With their biggest points and goals scored totals for three years, the team still finished third in the League and were unlucky to lose out to Dagenham & Redbridge in the League Cup Final. However, with the movement of players through the ranks to the first team, blended with the players brought in this season with great ability and top level experience, the team can make another assault on the title next season. One player that the team will miss greatly is Jackie Fearon, who is retiring from playing and has been a marvellous servant of the club over 10 years. The players who
most often represented the senior side this season were : - Voted
by her team-mates as Player's Player of the Year for the First Team was |
| A special presentation took place when Gary Mabbutt handed KAY LOVELOCK an inscribed salver to commemorate and thank her for her 10 years of service in the devoted role as Club Secretary. |
| The Sue Sharples Memorial award
is one that means a lot to the club, being made in honour of Sue
Sharples, the co-founder of the club, who died while training. The
award is given to the person or persons who have made the greatest
contribution to the success of the club, be it on or off the field and
is not awarded every year - only when the club feel it is merited.
For the 2003-2004 season, it had gone to THOMSON HOLIDAYS for their shirt sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC and providing match kit for all the teams at the club, a contribution to the club worth a great deal in financial terms, which the club would not be able to afford in other circumstances. Glenn Weaver welcomed sponsorship manager for Thomson Holidays Chris Marking to the stage to accept the award on behalf of his company from Keith Burkinshaw. Chris was also presented with a montage of photographs showing players of the club wearing the strip in action during the 2003-04 season as a token of appreciation from the club. |
| The
Manager's Award goes to the player in each team, who has deserved the
title for the way they have conducted themselves throughout the season -
both in matches, in training and away from the game.
This season the trophies went to : - Under-10 winner - NICOLE BAILEY Under-11 winner - LINDSEY COCKLE Under-12 winner - ROBYN DOWNIE Under-14 winner - ROCHELLE ALEXANDRA Youth Team winner - MEL BERRY Reserves winner - DI GARDINER First Team winner - GILL BLACKMORE |
| The
Lucy Pinnock Award for the Most Improved Player of the Year for the
Senior section, named after the promising young Spurs Ladies player who tragically
died in a motorcycling accident, this season went to KERRY DANIELLS. |
| The awards
were completed with the awards for appearance milestones being
reached. Since records began in 1997, the following players have
reached these totals of games for the club at all levels ...
50 Appearances 150 Appearances |
|
With a huge turnout of over 300 people, the evening celebrated the growing size and importance of the club in women's football. The efforts put in over the years are starting to pay off with the success achieved this season. Special thanks must go to June Clarke, Kay Lovelock and Glenn Weaver for putting in so much time and effort to make the event such a success. We hope that everybody had an enjoyable time and that the players and parents will have a good rest during the summer to come back recharged for the 2004-05 season. |
| Some of the best photos of the winners from this season's presentation evening appear on the pages accessed by clicking here. |