Welcome to Norton Nomads Football Club

Nomads have arranged two pre-season friendlies so far as preperation for the 2009/10 season. The opponents for both games are FC St George, on 9th August it'll be a second string side selected by Jeff Glasson (pictured) before his first team take on Nomads on the 23rd of that month. The games take place on the same pitch in Warminster as last year when FC ran out 7-5 winners.

Paul Tarrant is also in negotiations to play Paulton Rovers on 16th August, though if this can't be finalised the players are considering entering a 5 a-side tournament at Twerton Park the same day. Other opponents are still in the pipeline before the season starts on Sunday 7th September.

Training also starts again on Sunday 12th July on the pitch adjoining the Bearberry Club.

Norton Nomads hosted their annual Season Awards Presentation Evening at the Redan Inn last night. With the season being the best in the clubs history, it turned into fun night with the usual quiz and killer skittles playing a part.

First to the awards. Players' player turned into a tight tussle which was won by goalkeeper turned defender/midfielder Luke Tucker. It was the first time he'd won this award. He finished ahead of last years' winner Jas Cripps in second and Kev Lake's impressive debut season saw him claim third place. Managers' player went to Liam Hunt - the defensive midfielder producing a string of consistently above average performances and proving to be a vital member of the team. Most improved was a trickier decision with the entire squad performing well over the past two seasons. In the end the award went to Nath Witcombe. Despite scoring his lowest number of goals in a season (3), his all-round game improved, particularly defensively. Clubman of the Year went to Kev Page, the utility player formed the club four years ago this month and it's produced a close knit group of friends as well as a good side on the pitch. Page himself also donned the goalkeeper gloves without complaints during Tucker's injured spells. Unfortunately Page wasn't at the evening but will receive the award in due course, him and Cripps were both unable to attend.

The quiz was devised by Manager Paul Tarrant and Andy Coombs. It proved to be a popular one with "Lennnnnaaaaarrrrddd" (Tucker, Craig Maidment, Adam Simmonds and Mark Stillman) winning following a strong round in "Football". They just beat off a brave challenge from "Liamky" (Hunt, Witcombe, Coombs and Dave Chedgy). Witcombe rounded off a fine evening by winning killer skittles.

Norton Nomads will spend a fifth season in Division Two. Despite finishing in a third place, which has been enough to guarantee promotion in the previous three seasons, the lack of new teams joining, probably due to the credit crunch, means that it was impossible to shift Nomads up another Division.

Witham Friary and Coleford United have resigned from the Premier Division. Badgers Hill and The Artisans were promoted to that League which will remain with 9 teams. No teams were relegated. In Division One, Timsbury Cricketers and Ston Easton were relegated with Westfield and Elm Tree Inn taking their places. That leaves that League with 11 teams. Division Two will have its fewer number of teams since it was re-introduced in 2005 - just 9. SureSet Rangers and Twelve Bells have called it a day whilst a new team from Westbury (name unknown) have joined the bottom Division.

Manager Paul Tarrant attended the meeting with Kevin Page as almost the entire rest of the squad were at Butlins in Bognor. No-one managed to get arrested or start a fight so the weekend can be considered a success.

The 2008/09 season ended in comedy fashion at Ston Easton as Norton Nomads and Twelve Bells played out a somewhat unusual 9-4 scoreline in sweltering heat.

Nomads drew names out of the hat beforehand to decide positions with Mark Stillman the lucky recipient of the number 10 shirt and captain's armband. Twelve Bells adopted a similar "we're here to enjoy it" attitude, led by goalkeeper Zack Manna who trecked forward on several occasions. He let in the first goal of the morning on 8 minutes when Paul Tarrant's ball following a corner took a deflection off two Bells players, the second swinging out a boot to divert it into the corner of the net. The visitors equalised within 10 minutes - Jason Harvey's free-kick was touched onto the crossbar by keeper Craig Maidment and the rebound was slammed into the back of the net from 10 yards. Bells continued to show a relaxed performance in stifling conditions and were made to pay as they fell 2-1 down. Manna played the ball to his centre-back, who hesitated which saw Stillman's interception fly into the far corner from 18 yards. It was 3-1 soon after with another laughable goal - Maidment's boot forward was flicked on by Stillman to Kev Lake who easily lobbed it over Manna, who was some 20 yards off his line. Twelve Bells pulled a goal back in a crazy first half. Manna, now switched to outfield, caused a few problems before the ball fell to his team-mate to emphatically hammer the ball into the roof of the net. It was 4-2 on the half hour mark with the possible goal of the game. Adam Colbourne won the ball in defence and played it down the wing to Stillman, left in oceans of space. The goal-shy usual full-back scored his second in 15 minutes by running towards the corner of the penalty area, spotted Harvey off his line and curled the ball exquisitely into the far corner. Kev Page had a deflected cross turned onto the post by Harvey and Maidment made a neat save at the other end with the rebound astonishingly placed wide from six yards. The final goal of the half was again on the counter attack. Good play from Dave Chedgy saw him get to the byline, play it back to Martin and the striker kept his cool to ram the ball into the roof of the net, his first goal for the club.

The second half saw more bizarre antics with each side enjoying the morning with players smiling throughout. Right back Liam Hunt won the ball in the opposition half, played it to sub Jas Cripps who in turn laid it off for Tarrant. The converted striker easily dispatched his first ever goal for the club, his first competitive goal in over 10 years, to make it 6-2. Substitute Jamie Gulliford made it seven on the hour when he ran forward from the back, collected Chedgy's pass and held off an opponent before whacking it past Twelve Bells' fourth different keeper of the morning. Maidment appeared to bring down Manna when he broke through on goal but referee Tim Mackay waved away all protests. It was 8 halfway through the second half - winger Cripps threading it through to Lake who showed neat trickery before thundering a shot into the far corner. With both sides pouring players forward and leaving huge gaps at the back, more goals were inevitable. Manna made it 8-3 when he climbed above Page to head home at the far post and it was 8-4 with three minutes left - a Bells player was adjudged to have been tripped by Nath Witcombe as he was about to shoot. The resulting penalty was scored and saw huge celebrations from the Trowbridge outfit who were still enjoying the game no matter the result. They fell asleep and conceded a ninth almost straight from the restart - Cripps collected the ball on the wing, played it to Luke Tucker who turned and saw his shot from close range wrong-footing the fifth different keeper and creeping over the line. A rather unusual morning of football but thoroughly enjoyable and Nomads will now wait and see if their third place will see them play in Division One next season, the AGM takes place on Sunday 7th June.

Before Sunday's match there will be an event for us all to savour. It's a dash from goalposts to goalposts between two Nomads players - Luke Tucker and Kevin Martin. The two have discussed this event for weeks and it's being eagerly anticipated by all associated with the club.

21 year-old Tucker goes into the race as favourite. He's played that last three games in central midfield and hasn't looked short of fitness. He's also lost a few pounds in recent years due to his steadier diet and consistent exercise. That said, he still doesn't wear Nomads' shorts when outfield, stating that they're "too uncomfortable", which presumably means tight (Adam Colbourne has described them as "hot pants". He's started 21 games this season (17 of them in goal) and has scored three goals. He's recently been going on a few longer runs which could prove vital when the team-mates stand alongside each other on the starting line. Andy Coombs has given him odds of 1/3 to win this race.

Martin will be a more relaxed figure when entering the race as he's the massive under(mad)dog. The right back, who has compared his looks to Phil Mitchell from EastEnders, has started 20 matches this season but is yet to find the back of the net. He drinks more than his opponent and is also partial to the occasional cigarette. He's also just over two years older than Tucker. Despite all these attributes which could cause a hindrance, Martin did used to attend a running club (well, this was around 12 years ago), came second in the Year 6 Sports Day 100 metres race at St. Julians (well, this was around 12 years ago, illustrated more by the fact that I won) and had a short spell of training in the Marines. A former boxer, he'll need this mentality to upset the odds as he did on Sunday with a dramatic win at Killer Pool against far more experienced players. Coombs' best price for Mad Dog is 7/2.

The race should start at 10am before Nomads face Twelve Bells in their final game of the season. Come along and see if either will reach the finishing line...

The Frome & District League Division Two comes to a close on Sunday as the final match sees Nomads take on Twelve Bells at Ston Easton. Only a 55-goal salvo for Nomads will see the league table alter - it would see them rise about Elm Tree into second and see Twelve Bells slip a place on sixth on goal difference below Bearberry. That's not going to happen so it's a typical end of season game.

Twelve Bells have had their most impressive season to date following two seasons propping up the league, though they rose slightly to ninth last year. A brand new squad, kit and ground (they're finally based at Trowbridge) have sparked a mass improvement. They've been in the top half of the table throughout the season, though their recent form has seem them stutter towards the finishing line. In fact, they haven't won in seven games, picking up just two points out of a possible 18. Their last win was back in February - on the day that Nomads were thrashing Westfield 5-0, Bells beat Griffin 8-4 at Horningsham. They failed to build on that though - in fact they pulled out of their next game against Bearberry and forfeited the points. One of their better results this season saw them beat Fox & Hounds 2-1 despite playing the entire game with 10 men. Other than that, Foresters Arms have felt the full force of the Trowbridge side, losing 6-1 and 6-3 in their two league meetings. On the other hand though, Dilton Rovers have picked up almost half their points this season against Twelve Bells, doing the double over them. Jason Povey is the team's top scorer with an impressive 18 goals from 17 games. Zack Manna (pictured) has also weighed in with an impressive 14.

Nomads go into this game in a relaxed and confident mood now that third place has been secured following Sunday's narrow win over Dilton. As a one-off, manager Paul Tarrant will be picking numbers out of a hat for players to wear on Sunday. That's for the outfield players only as Craig Maidment has offered to go in goal, the first time he's appeared between the sticks for Nomads, his brother Nath was the reserve goalkeeper for two seasons at the club. Tom Ross and Adam Simmonds are the only definite absentees and Nath Witcombe could miss out due to work commitments. Adam Colbourne returns to the fold to make his first appearance since the Cup Final. The starting XI will also depend on those who aren't behind in paying their subs.

After racing into a 2-0 lead through goals from Jamie Gulliford and Kev Lake, Nomads contrived to draw 2-2 with Twelve Bells back in March. Povey made the difference for the visitors, he came on at half-time to score once and provide another on the sloped pitch at Seymour Road. Last season, Nomads did the double over Twelve Bells with a 5-2 win in February 2008, Witcombe scoring three in the rout, and a 3-1 win on a scorching day in May. Nomads' scorers were Craig Maidment, Paul Matthews and Colbourne.

Nomads picked up the win they needed to confirm third spot in the League, but they did it the hard way with a below average performance against Dilton Rovers.

A strong wind affected both teams' football in the opening stages. Jamie Gulliford had Nomads' first chance - Paul Eastwood played it inside to Kev Lake who arrowed a pass towards his fellow striker. Gulliford ran past Talan Barras but placed his effort wide of the far post. Lake was next to have an attempt on goal with the same three combining. Eastwood's cross was brilliantly flicked into Lake's path by Gulliford, but Lake went for glory and skewed his first time shot wide. Dilton looked lively in Nomads' half but lacked a fox-in-the-box type forward to scrap around after loose ends. Adam Collier saw a free-kick go just wide in a rare opening as Nomads' central defensive pairing of Jas Cripps and Dave Chedgy stood firm. Cripps launched a ball towards Gulliford, who held off Luke Witcomb before seeing his shot well blocked by David Raine in the visiting goal. Nath Witcombe also saw an effort well turned away after he skipped past a few opponents before firing in a powerful drive. This was all papering over the cracks though as Nomads looked fairly sluggish and paid for this by falling a goal behind on 44 minutes. Adam Collier was allowed to dance past half-hearted challenges and then fired an effort into the far corner from 20 yards past Kev Page.

The second half again saw Nomads fail to perform to their standards. Adam Collier threw himself towards the ball from Marcus Humm's cross but couldn't divert it past Page and was deemed offside anyway. Luke Tucker came closest to equalising for Nomads when his deflected looping effort thudded off the face of the bar with Lake and Gulliford unable to capitalise. Andy Coombs and Mark Stillman replaced Liam Hunt and Paul Tarrant to give Nomads a new look left-side and it seemed to work with Witcombe able to add a creative side to the middle of midfield. Rovers continued to press Nomads with Kye Collier a lynchpin in midfield and his tireless brother Adam causing problems in attack. He burst clear from Andy Morton's pass, rounded Page but was taken out wide. He evaded challenges from Stillman and Witcombe before firing wide with players in support. Nomads equalised with 15 minutes left - Lake and Coombs combined down the left before the former saw his low cross only half-cleared. Tucker and Gulliford scrapped away and it was Gulliford who finally found room to shoot into the roof of the goal. Soon after, Gulliford escaped Witcomb down the left, rolled it into the six yard box where Lake couldn't connect but Tucker could, only he contrived to put the ball over from little over a yard out. Adam Collier nearly stole it for his side when he found himself in space but saw his drive well turned away by Page's legs. This was a lucky escape and Dilton paid for it with five minutes left. Cripps went on a barn-storming run when Nomads cleared a corner, played it through to Gulliford who coolly curled the ball around Raine to seal the three points against their gutted opponents. Shortly after the game, news filtered through that Elm Tree had beaten Twelve Bells 5-1 so Nomads are confirmed to third spot, unless they score just under twice the number of goals they've scored this season in 90 minutes.

Nomads' penultimate game of the season sees them take on struggling Dilton Rovers at Ston Easton. The Wiltshire side haven't been in action since 19th April when they lost 3-2 at home to Fox & Hounds and finish their season this weekend.

That defeat was their third in a row, the previous two being a 2-0 loss at Bearberry and a 6-1 thumping at the hands of The Griffin. Before that though they appeared to have finally kick-started their season as they completed the double over Twelve Bells with a 3-2 win in March thanks to goals from Adam Collier, Tom Wheeler and Luke Witcomb. This was followed up by a 3-1 win over Bearberry, Adam Collier again on the scoresheet, but their latest run of results sees them slip to 9th place. They will escape the dreaded bottom spot following SureSet's resignation from the League and could finish as high as 7th depending on Griffin's result at Bearberry this weekend. Dilton's heaviest defeat this season was an 8-0 humbling at home to Elm Tree, this just a fortnight after they lost by a more respectable 4-2 scoreline at Norton Hill. Mark Deeks' side have struggled for goals this season as well, netting just 26 in 17 league games thus far which is over 20 short of the team above them, The Griffin. Then again it's only 12 less than Nomads' goals for column this season. Top scorer for Rovers is Nick Whyte with 8 from 15 games, nine players on their books have netted just the once this season.

As things stand, Nomads know that a win will see them overtake Foresters Arms, who've finished their season, and propel them into third place. If Elm Tree win their replayed game at Twelve Bells (which was abandoned earlier in the season due to a mass brawl), they'll almost certainly claim second spot unless Nomads can overtake their goal difference, which is around 50 goals better. If they slip up however, Nomads know that a win over Twelve Bells in their final game will see them clinch runners-up spot. Back to this weekend though, Paul Tarrant has a few more players at his disposal for this match. Kev Lake, Gareth Edwards, Nath Witcombe and Andy Coombs are all available after missing last Sunday's win over The Griffin. Tom Ross has returned to Uni and won't feature again until next season. Craig Maidment misses the game to recover from what'll probably be a slightly heavy night out. The only other absentees are Adam Simmonds and Adam Colbourne, though Colbourne returns for the final game of the season.

Nomads and Dilton have crossed paths a few times before. Nomads defeated last years bottom club twice last season, 4-1 and 3-0, and kept up this 100% record with a league win back in September. It was Dilton's opening game of the season but it proved to be one for them to forget. Jamie Gulliford's first half long range effort was followed up in the second half with goals from Lake, Witcombe, Gulliford's second and Jon Girvan rounded off the scoring. In the midst of all this Rovers grabbed a consolation through Ben Morton. This was followed by a real saga in the Kevin Lucas Memorial Cup where the clubs spent November trying to complete the fixture. The original game finished 1-1, Gulliford scoring for Nomads and Jas Cripps levelling it up with an own goal. With the pitch in such a shocking state, referee Martin Chivers consulted both managers and both agreed to go straight to penalties. Nomads won this shoot-out 3-1, Luke Tucker saving two efforts in the process. However, a week later, the League ordered that the tie should be replayed as the original game didn't go to extra-time. Nomads traipsed back to Dilton Marsh on 16th November only for the game to be waterlogged off in the last minute. The same outcome, albeit before Nomads set off, postponed the game again a week later, before it was finally played on the 30th November. A Lake brace and one for Gulliford finally saw off the Wiltshire side, who pulled a goal back late on through an Adam Griggs penalty.

A Luke Tucker brace and Jamie Gulliford's first goal in five games was just enough to complete a second successive 3-2 win over The Griffin, who despite having a number of first team regulars missing gave a good account of themselves.

In fact Griffin were down to the bare 11 which meant Nomads subs Mark Stillman and Paul Eastwood both had to run the line. Nomads looked surprisingly sluggish in the gorgeous weather, closest they came to scoring early on was when Griffin defender Ed Jones sliced a clearance onto the face of the crossbar. Kev Page made two decent saves with his legs, but was left red-faced on 25 minutes. A through ball looked harmless enough and Page came out to collect, but the ball slipped through his fingers and Michael Hill capitalised to beat the Nomads keeper to the ball and tap in from close range. Gulliford dragged a shot wide and Jas Cripps' free-kick seemed to be inadvertantly headed away by the aforementioned Nomads striker in a few forays forward. Nomads still looked off the pace as Griffin attacked in numbers, though didn't really test Page further. Griffin were hit by a sucker punch right on half-time - Chris Rogers out-strengthed his opponent, set it up for Tucker who swivelled and smashed the ball into the roof of the net from 18 yards with his weaker right foot.

This moment of inspiration seemed to spur on Nomads as they took the lead just three minutes into the second half. Dave Chedgy's clearance turned into an excellent ball for Gulliford as Paul Wilkes mis-judged the bounce. Gulliford turned inside of the Griffin defender and appeared to mis-hit the ball, though it managed to sail into the top corner to give Nigel Hamilton no chance. The game appeared safe 10 minutes later. Gulliford ran past Simon Cardnell to the byline, crossed it into the middle where it found Tucker, who turned on a sixpence and saw his shot squirm through Hamilton's grasp and into the back of the net. Nomads brought on Stillman, his first appearance in six weeks, and Eastwood for Rogers and Kevin Martin midway through the second half, Eastwood slicing a shot wide shortly after his arrival. Gulliford also skewed a shot off target following good work by Liam Hunt and Craig Maidment. Tucker searched for his hat-trick but couldn't register another shot on target as Nomads started to look more of a force. Maidment sprung the offside trap but his driven effort was well turned away by Hamilton. He became even closer shortly after, Gulliford rounded Hamilton, rolled the ball across goal where Maidment came steaming in at the far post, but he was prevented from scoring by a superb Wilkes block on the line. Nomads were to pay for these missed chances. Paul Wilson took advantage of several Nomads players being caught out of position, ran down the wing and played across the perfect centre for Steve Mytton who drove in from six yards. This proved to be too little for too late for the Frome side as they had to mull over their second success defeat to Nomads in the odd goal in five.