Helping West Allotment Celtic grow
Having romped to promotion in 2013/14, West Allotment Celtic have begun their Northern League Division One campaign in earnest – and Wade Financial are delighted to be part of the team.
We’re not lacing up our boots and taking to the field ourselves – we’ll leave that to the semi-professionals – but we are once again providing support in other areas at Whitley Park.
Established in 1928, West Allotment Celtic have a reputation as one of North Tyneside’s finest amateur teams, its history replete with success in the Northern Amateur League and the Northern Alliance. That winning tradition has persisted into the present day, where the current crop, guided by player-manager Paul Stoneman, have attained silverware and promotion in successive seasons.
All the while, we have been ever-present. We were there when Allotment defied the odds and the numerical disadvantage to lift the Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup last year, and we were in the stands when the club cemented second place and a spot in the top flight with a narrow win against Washington. But our support amounted to more than just waving a green scarf around and applauding wildly on the terraces. Off the pitch, we printed the highly-regarded matchday programmes at our North Shields office. This year, the club is going one better, its professional production values now matching its content, and Wade Financial are behind it every step of the way.
We’re not printers or semi-pro players by any stretch, but we are willing to fulfil any role for the good of the team. We’d even play our Allotment-mad director David Dodds at right-back if need be. However, we operate best behind the scenes, where our financial support helps to keep this local non-league club afloat for the foreseeable future.
“Everyone at West Allotment Celtic Football Club is delighted to have Wade Financial on board for another season,” said club treasurer John Alexander. “Their support has been invaluable, as has their assistance in all matters relating to our superb programme and our various events. Thanks to Wade’s sponsorship, the club can look ahead to what should be a tough but enjoyable season back in Division One, without having to worry too much about having money in the bank.”
We don’t do anything spectacular; we strive to counteract some of the running costs and provide a platform upon which the club can build. If we were a player, we’d be sitting in the Makelele role; made popular by the deep-lying French powerhouse, but executed to perfection by Allotment’s own Ian Dunn. We’ll let the more technically creative members of the Celtic squad perform the eye-catching stuff in the coming months.
The North Tyneside team have retained their strong core of players and currently sit in a respectable twelfth place, having won two of their three opening league games on the road. They progressed to the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup at the second time of asking last week, and a second national cup run remains on the cards. Allotment will make their belated return home to Whitley Park next Saturday, where they host Eccleshill United in the FA Vase, a competition long dominated by Northern League sides.
As ever, we will be there to cheer on the lads in green and white. We sincerely hope that you will join us in the stands to support your local non-league team.