A New Year's Thought for Ryton FC

In mid-December, an 8-0 defeat at Ashington left Ryton Football Club anchored to the bottom of the Northern League. It was another humbling loss in a season of them, leaving the club on just three points with a goal difference of minus-68 after twenty games.

This was not how the season was supposed to unfold. The club, from a village on the western edge of Gateshead, had survived its second year in the league’s top flight and enjoyed a cup run to the final of the Durham County Challenge Cup, where they were narrowly beaten by Billingham Synthonia.

That raised profile was meant to be the foundation for stability. Secretary Ken Rodger secured several promises of sponsorship over the summer and set the team’s budget accordingly. The money, however, never arrived. “We’ve sent letters and invoices to people who promised that they would sponsor the club, but we’ve heard nothing back from them,” Rodger told the Northern Echo back in September.

A Club Undone

The consequences were immediate and catastrophic. Manager Barry Fleming and his assistant Paul Brown departed, with the club committee regrettably asking them to vacate their positions after they signified it would be difficult to continue under such financial restrictions. In their wake, every single player except one followed them out of the door.

Peter Craggs, formerly an assistant at Ashington, was brought in from managing a Sunday League team in Wallsend to pick up the pieces. His first task was to assemble a team. For an FA Vase tie against South Shields, the new squad had largely met for the first time on the morning of the game. They were thrashed 8-0 at home. The club had been unlucky to lose just 1-0 to Scarborough Athletic in the FA Cup Preliminary Round only weeks before.

The Longest Season

Craggs’s stated aim was to bring in youngsters to generate more local interest, but the reality was a desperate scramble for players. He tried thirty-five in one month alone, none with any previous Northern League experience. This approach proved unpopular with feeder league clubs, who complained their players were being poached without the required seven days’ notice.

The results on the pitch did not improve. A 7-0 loss to second-bottom Esh Winning was followed by an 8-1 mauling at champions Spennymoor. Shildon recorded a 10-0 victory at the end of October. Even a struggling, under-strength Sunderland RCA side put six unanswered goals past them in the Durham Challenge Cup. David Wansell, who signed from Chester-Le-Street’s youth team in May and is now the club’s longest-serving player, described the situation as “a bit weird really, but we’re dealing with it in the right way.”

No Surrender

December 31st is the final day for clubs to give provisional notice of resignation from the Northern League. Folding after giving notice avoids a £1,000 fine, but Ken Rodger is defiant. “There’s no way we’re going to resign,” he insists, explaining that the club will be in a better financial position by the end of the season. His aim is simply to field a team and avoid fines for not fulfilling fixtures.

Craggs, for his part, admits that “going down wouldn’t be the end of the world”.

The secretary remains resolute. “There’ll be a Ryton Football Club in the Northern League as long as I’m alive,” Rodger states. “It may be that we won’t get another point this season but we’ll get to the summer, regroup, and try to get back on track.” Weather permitting, the team’s next challenge is an away trip to the FA Vase holders, Whitley Bay.