News archive!

This page contains mainly items that appeared on the home page at a previous time. We set this page up as the home page was becomining increasingly large.

Don't forget, if you represent a local company or organisation and you'd like to have an advertisement (or link) from our website, please contact the website author in the first instance.

 

Collect Tesco Vouchers for our club! (Nov 2007)

Our Social Secretary (Tracy) has signed us up to the Tesco Voucher scheme so our club can benefit from some of the offers available.

This is an excellent scheme aimed at helping schools and clubs with the purchase of sports equipment. Please help support our club by collecting these vouchers each time you visit a Tesco store and please pass them on to a member of the club comittee. All vouchers must be handed in by 10th January 2008 so they can be exchanged by Tesco's deadline. Thank you for your continued support!

2007 Squad photographs available (Sep 2007)

The U11 squad recently posed for their team photograph in their new all-white away kit. This kit is sponsored by ODL Securities. Please contact the website author if you'd like a copy of the photo.

Photos will be available for each of the other squads in the coming weeks, once the new kits arrive.

Once again, our thanks go to ODL Securies for sponsoring the new kits and to SX Sports for the excellent job they've done preparing the kits ready for use.

It's hoped that wearing a kit resembling that of Real Madrid will inspire our players to turn on the football style. Email the club to get your very own picture of the Dunton Dynamos "Galacticos"!

Watch Charlton Athletic (Sep 2007)

We've done it again! We've managed to get another stonking deal to watch Charlton Athletic at home. The game we've selected is against Ipswich Town on Saturday 8th December 2007, kick-off at 15:00. Tickets are £15 per head and include coach travel to and from the game! It costs more than that to watch Dunton Dynamos each week!

If you're interested in attending, please book your seats early to avoid disapointment. Places will be allocated on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. Please speak to your respective team manager in the first instance or contact the club via the usual address: info@duntondynamos.com.

New club sponsorship deal! (Sep 2007)

ODL Securities has stepped in as sponsor for the Dunton Dynamos club away kit. This coincides with the release of the new 2007-9 away kit as shown in the picture, featuring white shirts with red and blue trim, white shorts and white socks - just the ticket for those muddy Sunday mornings.

ODL Securities offer round the clock trading in foreign exchange, CFDs, equities, futures and options and are committed to supporting non-profit organisations such as ours.

Our thanks go to the team at ODL and especially to Paul Groves (U7 Coaching Assistant) for organising the deal.

Players required (June 2007)

Our 2007/8 U11 side is looking for a couple of extra players to join their squad for the coming season. Following a successful season last year, the team gained promotion to the Premier Division of the Thundermite League. The coming season will be the boys' first playing 11-a-side football, having now "outgrown" mini-soccer. It will therefore present a major challenge to both players and coaching staff alike!

If you'd like to become part of this successful squad and have experience of playing in a team, please contact the team manager (Paul) on Basildon 411632. We'll be continuing training through much of the summer break in order to ensure we're ready for the new season commencing in September.

Also, the squad will be getting a new team kit for the coming season. We've yet to secure a sponsorship deal for this kit. So, if you represent a local company or organisation and wish to have your corporate logo splashed across the front of our shirts, please contact us to discuss further. We look forward to hearing from you!

Upcoming events (June 2007)

Our Social Secretary Nicky Bax has been hard at it again - she's organised another selection of events to whet your appetite. Here's details of a couple you may be interested in:

Firstly, there's a trip to the Harrods store in London's Knightsbridge on Saturday 17th November 2007. A coach will pick-up from Great Berry Primary School at 08:30 and drop you off outside the store. The return journey is arranged for 18:00. The cost for this will be £12.50 per head - exceptional value we're sure you'll agree.

The second event is a day-trip to Bruges (Belgium). Departing on Sunday 2nd December 2007 at 05:30 (!), you'll be whisked away in a coach and onto a ferry. It's expected you be returning very much later that same day. The price for this is £33.50 per head (£20 deposit required). Both these events have proven to be very popular in the past therefore book early to avoid disappointment! Please contact Nicky Bax for more information.

Presentation evening success (Jun 2007)

Following a long, hard season, the club held its annual presentation award dance on Saturday 9th June 2007. This event was extremely well attended with everyone present appearing to enjoy themselves. All the club's players were presented with a medal in recognition of their footballing achievement during the season.

The club uses opportunities such as this to help raise funds to keep the club viable - this event was no exception with a raffle and auction helping to make this one of the most successful events yet.

Our thanks go to everyone involved in organising this event (mainly Nicky Bax!) and to all those that demonstrated their support for our club by attending.

U11's give "Old Gitonians" a lesson in football (Jun 2007)

The 2007/8 U11 side played an exhibition match against a select eleven called the "Old Gitonians". This side was made up of friends and relatives of the U11 side, and on paper looked like they'd give any U11 side a run for their money! The match was refereed by Paul Duffell - Dunton's very own Pierre Luigi Collina lookalike! He was clearly taking it all very seriously and brandished no fewer than thirty-five yellow cards - quite an achievement, especially considering twenty-eight were given to the same player!

The match itself was a close affair. The "Old Gits" took an early lead and held on until half-time with the score at 3-2. In the second half, Dunton adopted a 2-2-6 formation, giving them a more attacking edge. At the end of normal time, the score was tied at 6-6. As is normal under such situations, the referee called for extra time to be played. After ten extra minutes, the sides could still not be separated. The lottery of a penalty shoot-out then followed. Both sides converted two of their five penalties meaning it was sudden death. Despite the heroic efforts of Dave "The Cat" Confrey between the sticks, the U11's managed to hold their nerve to take the victory.

This was a great event, enjoyed by all who took part. Our thanks go to the mums, dads, brothers and sisters who took part and to the supporters who came to cheer on their favourite team. Thanks also to Great Berry School for the use of their pitch during the summer break!

U6's shine at Forest Glade Tournament (May 2007)

Dave Chesney and his squad of superstars took part in the recent Forest Glade Summer Tournament. They played a series of five 10-minute games managing to win four, scoring sixteen goals in the process!

Coach Dave was delighted with their performance. "They were absolutely superb..." he said "...this is the best I've seen them play!". Their success no-doubt has something to do with the colour-coordinated hairstyles modeled by the players as well as the lucky Teddy mascot (see the picture on the right)

Our thanks go to the Forest Glade Football Club for inviting our teams to take part. This was a very well organised event giving valuable experience to our youngest team before their first season in the Thundermite League.

U7 Exhibition match (May 2007)

Our plucky U7 team played their final "official" game of the season at this age group in the Thundermite League Presentation Day. Next season they'll be playing bin the Thundermite U8 League with all matches being competitive (i.e. points awarded for wins and draws, etc). Let's hope they do as well next season as they've done this. Click on the picture (left) for a larger version. Unfortunately, some members of the squad are not present in this picture - we'll get a complete team picture before the start of the new season!

Well done to all involved with this team. They've established themselves as a hard-working, enthusiastic outfit capable of giving most teams a run for their money! Keep up the good work!

2007 Presentation Evening Update (Apr 2007)

The club will be holding its Annual Presentation Evening on 9th June 2007. The club will be seeking to raise money through the auction of sporting memorabilia. One of the items up for auction is a signed 2007 Chelsea away shirt (as shown in the picture). This is a white Adidas adult shirt and will be framed together with a certificate of authenticity signed by Peter Kenyon (Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club). So, all you Chelsea fans should start saving up for a shirt signed by the potential winners of the "Quadruple"! - it could be worth a fortune if they win all four trophies! Also on offer is a signed match ball signed by the same players.

Our thanks go to Paul Groves (U6 Assistant Coach) for organising this through his Chelsea contacts. Let's hope the auction of these items raises plenty of money for the club!

A brand new Dunton Dynamo! (April 2007)

Congratulations go to our U10 midfield supremo George whose mum Sharon recently gave birth to a beautiful bouncing baby girl. The child (whose name is not yet known) weighed in at an eye-watering 10lb 14oz - ouch! Mother and baby are said to be doing very well, although father Simon is looking a little fragile! A delighted George said "She's lovely - I have a lovely new sister!". A man of few words is George - he tends to let his football do the talking! There's no doubt George will be scoring a goal for his new sister in the next week or two!

Everyone associated with the club would like to congratulate Sharon and Simon on their recent addition. There was a rumour that had it been a boy it would have been called Thierry after a certain well-known centre-forward. We'll have to wait to see if George has any influence over his parents' choice of name!

Sponsorship required by U10s (April 2007)

Our present U10 side will be making the transition from 7-a-side mini soccer to 11-a-side youth soccer next season. They'll therefore need a new kit to replace the one they've had for the last two years. If you represent a local company or organisation willing to provide financial support to our U10 side, please contact the team Manager (Paul Stansfield) in the first instance. We'll advertise your company details on our website (10,000 hits per annum), have your logo printed across our shirts and provide a framed team photo for your office wall - all for less than David Beckham spends each week on hair products!

Please help us to provide this essential new equipment for our players and get yourself a commercially favourable deal too!

Annual Presentation awards 2007! (Feb 2007)

We may only be half way through the present season, but arrangements are already being made for the Club's Annual Awards Presentation evening. It has been decided that the event will take place on the evening of Saturday 9th June 2007, commencing at 19:00. The venue will be the Laindon Community Centre in Aston Road (near the train station). There is a licensed bar in the hall and there will be a DJ, so wear your dancing shoes!

All players will be presented with a medal recognising their achievements through the season. There will also be special awards presented to the Players' Player of the Season, the Manager's Player of the Season, the Most Improved Player of the Season and the Sportsman of the Season for each of our four teams. It is hoped that a local celebrity will be on-hand to make the presentations to the players. Last year, the Southend United winger Mark Gower kindly agreed to do this for us, and a super job he made of it too!

Tickets will be on sale shortly and will be available from the respective team managers. They will be priced at £5 per adult and £2.50 per child. Players will of course go free!

Dunton Dynamos supports Great Berry School (Nov 2006)!

The Great Berry School recently hosted a special event to celebrate the official opening of their newly built outside classroom as well as the newly supplied goalposts (organised through a partnership arrangement between the school and our club). A member of the local press was on-hand to capture the events though unfortunately, our club wasn't specifically mentioned in the final report.

The picture on the left (click for a larger version) shows Mrs Morley (Office Manager at the school) lined up with players from all our teams. The event was a major success, well supported by pupils, players, parents and the Great Berry Friends Association. Thanks and well done to all involved. Click here for a more in-depth report.

Dunton Dynamos visit Charlton Athletic! (Dec 2006)

Charlton Athletic football club invited players and supporters of the Dunton Dynamos club to support them at a recent home game - a local derby against their Premiership rivals Fulham. This was the first match in-charge for the new Charlton manager Alan Pardew, making the match all the more significant.

The fixture took place on Wednesday 27th December 2006, kicking-off at 20:00. A bargain-basement price of £15 per head was charged to enjoy this experience, including transport to and from the stadium!

The game itself was a cracker, ending in a 2-2 draw to send both team's supporters home reasonably happy. Our thanks go to Charlton Athletic for their hospitality and assistance arranging this event. Let's hope we can arrange another one soon.

Harrods Shopping Trip (Nov 2006)

Nicky Bax (Social Secretary) has reported that everyone attending the trip to the Harrods store in London had an enjoyable time.

The coach picked everyone up as planned at 08:15 on Saturday 18th November 2006 and dropped them off outside the Harrods store. Several hours of "retail therapy" was then enjoyed by all before the coach returned to take our weary shoppers home.

The trip managed to raise a small profit for the club. Our thanks go to Nicky Bax for organising yet another successful event and to everyone who attended, helping to support our club.

U6 team update (Oct 2006)

Here's the first picture of our U6 team in their new kit. Click on the image for a larger version. The kit is sponsored by D.R. Chesney decorators - a business run by team coach Dave Chesney. Our thanks to Dave for his generous donation enabling us to purchase the kit.

The team will be playing friendlies this season as preparation for joining the Thundermite League next season in the U7 league. If you represent an U6 or U7 team and fancy a game, give Dave a call. We have a pitch available most weekends - we look forward to hearing from you!

Website update (Sep 2006)

Finally, and in readiness for the 2006/7 season, a newer, fresher website has been launched for the Dunton Dynamos teams. The old version has served us well for the last three years or so and has attracted many visitors during that period (in excess of fourteen thousand in-fact!) and received much praise for its simple, easy-to-read format. The new version hopes to build on the successes of the old version and will hopefully remain serviceable for the next few years.

The old version used frames, and these are becoming increasingly difficult to support on modern browsers, especially the mobile browsers found on PDAs and mobile phones. It is for this reason that the website now employs such trickery as SSI, CGI scripts and CSS helping to keep it modern and up-to-date (well, almost!).

As ever, if anyone has any comments or feedback about the change, please drop us a line at the usual email address.

Under 6 and Under 7 update (Jul 2006)

Our newly-formed Under 6 and Under 7 squads are now really taking shape. The boys and girls train every week getting ready for the new season and even at this early stage it's easy to see we've attracted some exceptional footballing talent! The team spirit is impressive too, judging by the number of beaming smiles in the picture above (click for a larger version).

The Under 7 team will be playing in the Thundermite League next season, whilst the Under 6's will be playing friendlies against local opposition. So, if you represent a local U6 side and would like a match in the coming season, please contact the club via email (info@duntondynamos.com) or contact the team coach Dave Chesney directly on Basildon 411372.

Sponsorship Update (Jul 2006)

The Dunton Dynamos Club has been awarded a generous donation from the BP organisation working in conjunction with the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

Our sincere thanks go to Mushtaq Master (a BP employee and player's parent) and his colleagues at BP and the CAF for arranging this award. It's generosity like this which enables small clubs like ours to provide opportunities and entertainment for members of our community.

The money is likely yo be put towards the purchase of new goalposts (see above) and also to fund professional coaching for our players.

New season, new pitch! (Jul 2006)

Dunton Dynamos has teamed up with the Great Berry Primary School to agree a mutually beneficial arrangement for the coming season.

The U6, U7, U10 and U11 teams will all be playing on the pitches at the Great Berry School from next season. Our U16 girls will continue to play on a full-size pitch at the Pavilion. As an extra bonus, Dunton Dynamos and Great Berry Primary School have been successful in their joint bid for a grant from the Football Foundation. Our thanks go to Mr. Figg, Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Pipe from Great Berry School for their assistance in arranging this We'd also like to thank Nick Perchard from the Essex Football Association and the Football Foundation for supporting our application. This grant will be put towards the purchase of two new sets of goalposts to be used by the School and the Club.

U9 Tournament Success (Jun 2006)

Our Under Nine squad ended their season with a fantastic tournament win in the Copeland Colts Annual event. The boys were required to play in a league competition with the top two meeting each other in the final. They won the majority of their matches, playing some determined, stylish football. Well done boys on an excellent team performance.

Also, well done and thanks go to the Copeland Colts club for the organising and planning that went into making this another superb event!

Presentation Evening Success (Jun 2006)

The Club's Annual Club Presentation Awards Evening took place in June 2006 at the Laindon Community Centre. The event was a huge success, made all the more special thanks to our guest of honour, Mark Gower, the ace Southend United winger. Mark presented all the awards to our players and signed shirts and footballs for our players. We even managed to make a small profit on the night, the proceeds of which will be put towards new goalposts required for the coming season.

Thanks go to everyone for making this evening such a success, particularly our Social events organiser Nicky Bax and our guest of honour, Mark Gower!