By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington skipper Karl Ross was philosophical about what ambitions lie ahead for the Woodhorn Lane based outfit.

The 27 year-old – ready to embark on a ninth consecutive season – was quite happy to state that his team-mates would be looking to push on and finish as high as they could in the East Division of the Pitching In Northern Premier League.

However he went on to state that every club in the league, unless they have expectations of winning the division outright, will be eyeing a play off position – and he sees no reason why Ashington should be any different.

“We finished quite strongly at the end of last season and I don’t mean just the last game when we beat Lincoln United 6-3 at home,” he said, “I think we won a good six out of our last 13 games and we played some of our best football during that time. We won convincingly against Lincoln because I think everybody was just so relaxed with no fear of relegation hanging over us. There was no weight on our shoulders, we knew we were safe and we played our normal game. We were much the better team on the day against Lincoln – as we were during other games during the run in.”

He continued: “We are having our first training session tonight and it’s always good to get the group back together and to get going. Next season we need to push on and aim as high as we can – but to be honest, aiming for the play offs is our ambition because every other team in the league will be having similar thoughts. So it’s just a case of keeping the good squad together which we had and adding a couple of new signings to make us a little bit stronger to compete in what is a very competitive league.”

For the long serving Ross, who is based in Cramlington, putting pen to paper again for his home town club was an easy decision. “I’ve always said that I’ve never thought about going elsewhere because from the moment I first walked through the doors at Ashington, the club have been unbelievable for me and that includes the fans who are always fantastic and no doubt will be with us every step of the way again this year.”

By Brian Bennett

Kev Chapman says he has not said goodbye to his time at Ashington Football Club – far from it!

The Woodhorn Lane club announced last week that they were on the lookout to recruit a new physiotherapist due to Chapman’s increasing workload which meant he was unable to fully commit to the role.

The 47 year old – who runs his own business KSC Physiotherapy – has secured a full-time job in Musculoskeletal (MSK) with the NHS Trust and with the travelling involved in the Northern Premier League, time was going to be an issue.

Speaking at the weekend, North Shields-born Chapman who recently completed his first season with the club said: “Away games usually involves a full day of travelling and working Monday to Saturday, I was going to be hard pushed to give up my weekends. It would only have left a Sunday to see my wife and the kids. However I’ve agreed to work with the club on an ad hoc basis so I’ll still have some involvement and I’ll see the lads if I need to come in on training days.”

Chapman – who is based in Blyth – took over as physio last season when Nick Gray was manager and he added: “Although it’s been a brief time with the one season, the club is class and I enjoy working for them. Everyone made me feel so welcome. It’s very daunting going into a new club but everyone at Ashington – including the fans – made me feel at home and that’s very humbling.”

He went on: “I’ve enjoyed it. When I was physio in the Northern League, we were commuting to the likes of Middlesborough and possibly further afield if drawn away in the FA Vase. However being in the league above with Ashington, you are not only meeting different teams and physios and seeing how other clubs are run, you also see the whole structure of how it is to move up a level and how it’s done. For me at Ashington, it’s been a growing experience and having rehab strategy with the players.”

On behalf of everyone at Ashington AFC, I would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Kevin Chapman, who has had to step away from his role as the club’s physiotherapist due to increased work commitments.

Since joining the club, Kev has been an invaluable member of the backroom team. His professionalism, knowledge and commitment to the players and staff have been outstanding, and he has played a huge part in supporting the squad both on and off the pitch.

Kev has recently been offered a full-time role within the NHS Trust and, alongside running his own practice, he understandably feels that he can no longer give the role at Ashington the time and commitment it deserves. Whilst we are disappointed to see him step away, we are incredibly proud of the opportunity he has been given and wish him every success in this next chapter.

Typical of the person he is, Kev has already offered to continue helping the club on an ad hoc basis whenever he is able, and I know that support will be greatly appreciated by everyone involved.

Kev will be greatly missed around the club and I would like to thank him personally for everything he has done for Ashington AFC.

As a result, the club will now begin the process of recruiting a new physiotherapist. Anyone interested in the role, or wishing to find out more, is invited to contact me at ian.skinner@ashingtonafc.com.

Ian Skinner
Head of Football
Ashington AFC

The FA yesterday announced the dates for the Emirates FA Cup and Isuzu FA Trophy.

The Emirates FA Cup

Extra Preliminary Round – Saturday 8 August 2026

Preliminary Round – Saturday 22 August 2026

First Round Qualifying – Saturday 5 September 2026

Second Round Qualifying – Saturday 19 September 2026

Third Round Qualifying – Saturday 3 October 2026

Fourth Round Qualifying – Saturday 17 October 2026

First Round Proper – Saturday 7 November 2026

Second Round Proper – Saturday 5 December 2026

Third Round Proper – Saturday 9 January 2027

Fourth Round Proper – Saturday 13 February 2027

Fifth Round Proper – Saturday 6 March 2027

Quarter Final – Saturday 3 April 2027

Semi Final – Saturday 24 April 2027

Final – Saturday 22 May 202

The Isuzu FA Trophy

Preliminary Round – Saturday 15 August 2026

First Round Qualifying – Saturday 29 August 2026

Second Round Qualifying – Saturday 12 September 2026

Third Round Qualifying – Saturday 26 September 2026

First Round Proper – Saturday 24 October 2026

Second Round Proper – Saturday 14 November 2026

Third Round Proper – Saturday 12 December 2026

Fourth Round Proper – Saturday 16 January 2027

Fifth Round Proper – Saturday 6 February 2027

Sixth Round Proper – Saturday 6 March 2027

Semi Final – Saturday 3 April 2027

Final – Sunday 16 May 2027

Some dates for your diary

Friday 26th June 2026 – The FA will release details of all clubs accepted into each competition, list of clubs receiving byes and the prize fund.

Friday 3rd July 2026 – The FA will release the draws for the initial two rounds of each competition

Ashington AFC are delighted to announce a new football structure at the club, designed to strengthen and modernise the football operation both on and off the pitch.

As part of the restructure, the club has introduced the new position of Head of Football, a strategic leadership role that will report directly to the Board of Directors and oversee all football-related matters across the club.

The club are pleased to confirm the appointment of Ian Skinner as Head of Football.

Ian returns to Ashington AFC with extensive experience across coach development, football leadership and elite player development, having worked across the grassroots game through to the professional game.

In his new role, Ian will provide strategic direction and leadership across the football department, supporting the continued development and progression of the club on and off the field.

The new structure will see the Head of Football oversee:

• First Team Management
• A newly created Head of Recruitment role
• A newly appointed Analyst position
• The Medical Department

As part of the restructure, the club are in discussion with Kevin Chapman around the role of Head of Medical.

The club would also like to confirm that recruitment is currently underway for both the Head of Recruitment and Analyst positions as Ashington AFC continues to build a strong infrastructure to support long-term success.

Speaking on his appointment, Ian Skinner said:

“I’m delighted to return to Ashington AFC in this new role. This is a football club with fantastic people, strong community values and huge potential. The introduction of this structure demonstrates real ambition from the Board to continue moving the club forward in a sustainable and progressive way.

I enjoyed supporting Mark and Karl during their interim tenure last season and I’m looking forward to working closely with the staff, players and supporters this coming season to help build an environment that gives the club the best possible opportunity to succeed.”

Further announcements regarding the new appointments within the football structure will be made in due course

Our club volunteers have recently undertaken accessibility training as part of our new Audio Descriptive Companion initiative, supported through funding from the Football Supporters’ Association. The programme is another positive step towards making our club more inclusive, welcoming, and accessible for all supporters.

The training has equipped volunteers with the understanding and practical skills needed to better support fans with visual impairments and improve the overall matchday experience. Through the Audio Descriptive Companion initiative, we are helping remove barriers so every supporter can feel more connected to both the game and our club community.

A huge thank you to the Football Supporters’ Association for their support of this initiative, and to our fantastic volunteers for their continued dedication to making football accessible for everyone.

More information on the initiative can be found at Fans for Diversity fund: Audio descriptive training at Ashington – Football Supporters’ Association

By Brian Bennett

Ashington Football Club’s recently appointed manager Marc Ellison admitted that he has begun the close season feeling in ‘uncharted waters.’

Ellison, along with skipper Karl Ross, was placed in interim charge of the Colliers in late January after Nick Gray and his assistant Liam McIvor left the club by mutual agreement.

The Woodhorn Lane outfit were fifth from bottom of the East Division of the Pitching In Northern Premier League, two points above the drop zone but under Ellison and Ross, Ashington won seven and drew four of their remaining 16 games.

Ellison was named as the permanent boss – his first ever role in management – less than 24 hours after Ashington had cemented a 6-3 victory over Lincoln United on the final day of the season with the club finishing the campaign in 14^th place.

In his playing days, the midfielder would now been enjoying a well earned period of rest and recuperation from the game – but approaching a month in his new role, Ellison said: “It’s certainly not something I’m used to, being busy with football at this stage of the year. Normally by now I’ve switched off completely and am enjoying a good six-week break, so this is definitely uncharted waters for me. That said, it’s been good to stay busy — maybe not quite to the rhythm the wife was expecting — but hopefully all the work going on now will be worth it come the start of the season.”

He continued: “As everyone knows, there’s a fairly small pool of players in our area and a lot of clubs are competing for the same lads, so naturally conversations are taking place. But it’s important to remember we already have a really good squad here. We finished last season strongly and the priority is to keep hold of that group and build on what they achieved. All of our lads deserve that opportunity and they’ve all been offered the chance to stay, so hopefully that works itself out positively.”

He went on: “Having only recently come away from playing myself, I understand how important it is for players to switch off during the summer, and I also know good players won’t be short of options. Because of that, without trying to press too many buttons too early, I’ve spoken to a handful of players I’d like to bring in. But as I’ve said before, we’ve already got a strong group in place, so if we can add the right people and the right qualities, hopefully we can improve again this season.”

He went on: “I mentioned before how I’d found my excitement and enjoyment for football again towards the back end of last season, and that feeling hasn’t changed at all. I’m really looking forward to getting back to it in a few weeks’ time.”

By Brian Bennett

Liam Henderson’s strike against Blyth Town at Gateway Park was voted by the Ashington supporters as being their ‘goal of the season’ – only the forward found it a mind-boggling experience!

An honest and totally shocked Henderson said afterwards: “Listen I will happily take the award and I appreciate it but I do genuinely think I’ve got that award because it was one of our most recent goals. If you look back Craig Spooner had his own individual ‘goal of the season’ competition with probably three or four (goals) that in my opinion deserved the award.”

The competition closed on Friday. If not, 36 year-old Henderson would surely have had another contender included after his fired the Colliers in front in Saturday’s 6-3 win against Lincoln United. Describing the goal, a tongue-in-cheek Henderson said: “I’ve made a run from the half way line to get onto a ball played over the top by Ryan Donaldson and I think I was just tired at the end and swung a leg and luckily it’s gone in! As much as I joke about that, my goal contribution this year probably hasn’t been what it should be as a striker. Not just me but as a team we haven’t scored enough goals. So when you don’t score enough goals it puts more pressure on the team defensively because when we are not scoring or creating and then you’re conceding, it’s a hard way back.”

Gateshead-born Henderson continued: “We’ve had some really low times this season where you think ‘how do we come back from this?’ I love Nick Gray to bits and I would never have a bad word said about him but since Marc Ellison, Karl Ross and Ian Skinner came in we’ve had a bit of structure to us as a team and we’ve had a game plan. Again I want to stress that I’m not having a dig at Nick (Gray) who took me to Morpeth. I don’t want this to come across wrong because it’ll come out in words and it can be misinterpreted and I don’t want Nick to think I’m having a go at his managerial style because I would never do that but under Marc. Karl and Ian, the likes of Ryan Donaldson has taken to playing in defence like a duck to water because he’s got a bit of footballing intelligence. I also think that Chris Reid has been a massive signing. He was my choice for player of the year just in front of Ryan (Donaldson) and what a signing he has been for us. If we can pin him down for another year, then we have got a solid base.” Henderson’s second of the game which came ten minutes from time made the score 6-3 and he said: “It’s probably a long time since I scored a brace but it was nice because my wife and kids were there watching.”

By Brian Bennett

Karl Ross won the Ashington Supporters Player of the Season award on Saturday – and the long serving midfielder was taken aback when his name was announced.

The 27 year-old said afterwards: “I’ve got no words really. When you come here you want to be a part of the whole club and the fans have been excellent for me so it’s an absolute pleasure to get the award. I didn’t expect it to be honest. I haven’t had the greatest of seasons because I’ve been out injured and had a couple of red cards so it means a lot to me.”

Meanwhile Ross who is based in Cramlington, thought the Colliers produced some of their best football of the campaign in their 6-3 success against Lincoln United at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday: “Obviously, it was one of those games where we were disappointed with some of the goals we conceded but then we’ve scored six so we can’t really complain,” he added, “I think we played some of our best football all season so that just shows when the pressure is off, we can put in performances like that and it was an absolute pleasure to part of it today.”

Presentations were made to groundsman Scott Robson and Chairman of the supporters Ian Reid before the awards to the players.

By Brian Bennett

Tributes have poured in following the sudden passing of a former director and football secretary at Ashington Football Club.

A family man as well as a passionate football supporter, Brian Robson died at the end of last month aged 63.

Lewis Robson, Brian’s elder son, 28, said: “Dad got diagnosed with stage four lung cancer on March 13 and passed away on the morning of March 30 at NSEC (Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington).

Brian who was born in Ashington, worked for Piramal (formerly Searle) for 31 years as an engineering stores co-ordinator before he moved to AkzoNobel in Ashington carrying out the same role for 11 years.

He was a mad keen supporter in footballing circles with England, Newcastle United and Ashington all of whom he followed home and away and was planning to go to the 2026 World Cup in the United States – where he already had a ticket for the final.

Brian was a season ticket holder at Newcastle United for over 40 years and was operations manager at Cramlington Juniors where he organised Sportsman’s dinners – a task he also did for Ashington Football Club.

Lewis added: “Dad massively supported me. He was the biggest influence in my life. It was  always me and him with the football as he took me to training in rain and snow with late nights and early mornings, whilst with my younger brother Alex, dad supported him with his music and rock concerts. Dad had nothing left on his bucket list – anything he wanted to do he would do it and he lived life to the full. He went to four European championships with England and it would have been to three World Cups– Quatar, Russia and the US as well as to countless nation league games and friendlies.”

Garford Beck manager of the England fans’ football team said: “The first time I met Brian was in the departure lounge at Stansted Airport on 14^th October 2008. We were going to watch England play Belarus in Minsk. I said to him I’ve got a fans match tomorrow in Minsk do you fancy giving me a hand and we hit it off straight away and became firm pals. I got him involved with the fans team and made him assistant manager. I also got to know his family. It was almost 20 years of almost brotherly love and people often asked if we were brothers. We had such a good laugh together and were there for each other. The last time I saw him was in Tirana in Albania in November last year but we kept in touch by phone. I am based in London but I am travelling up for the funeral. I shall miss the laughs and camaraderie we shared – a bond broken only by his untimely passing.”

Brian Shotton, former chairman at Ashington said: “It is very sad and a massively untimely death. Brian had a lot more to give, not just to his family and friends but what he did following England everywhere as well as Newcastle United. Brian didn’t want to make a fuss, so not many of us knew about his illness and as much as it is sad, it’s also a blessing that he didn’t suffer for too long. I worked closely with Brian for a number of years and he contributed a lot to Ashington Football Club and we’ll continue to recognise that as we have done with others – and we’ll mark his passing with the wake here on the day of his funeral. There was also a minutes’ applause for Brian before our home match against Heaton Stannington which was a nice moment.”

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery – who was chairman at the Woodhorn Lane club when Brian was football secretary said: “I’ve know ‘Pop’ since we were kids. He was a smashing friend then and has been a smashing friend since. He didn’t have a bad word for anyone and was ready to help when needed. Brian lived his life for his family and his football. He was a lad with a great sense of community spirit. He never forgot his roots and was a living encyclopaedia on football cliches. He was always great craic and always in a decent fettle. Brian will be a huge miss.”

A funeral service for Brian was being held at the Northumberland Woodland Burial and Crematorium at Bockenfield, Morpeth on Wednesday of this week.