The club can today reveal that Midfielder Paul Mleczek has officially left the club. The 29 year old had been training with Thetford Town FC in attempt to get fit and sign for the brecklanders. It means he returns to the club who he played for many years before the move to Athletic. Manager Mark Dolman said “Paul contacted late last night to notify me that he had decided to sign for Thetford Town, it’s something he had been working towards all summer, and he and the coaching staff at the club obviously feel that he has done enough. I’m disappointed to lose not only a player of his ability but genuinely nice bloke. He had a big impact on our club in the 2 years he was with us, but football clubs are like revolving doors and when one leaves undoubtedly another will arrive. I wish Paul well with his new club and really hope he continues to enjoy his football, he leaves on good terms with everybody at the club and Thetford Town are getting a really good person”. Everybody at Thetford Athletic Football Club wishes “Polski” all the best for his new challenge.

There was further good news on the player front on Tuesday night when 20 year old defender Martin Carter signed for the club, Carter had been training with the reds for the last 2 weeks and signed forms after training on Tuesday. Last season Martin was an ever present in the Thetford Rovers Reserves side that ran away with the division 4 title and beat Athletic in the Ambulance cup final at Aldiss Park Dereham.

The league have realised the opening fixtures for the new season, the reds take to the field for the first time on September the 3rd when they face a tricky home tie at home to local rivals Bridgham Utd. Once that’s out of the way the squad face home ties against North Elmham and Hingham Athletic followed by a trip to Mulbarton.

The 2008/2009 season got under way for the Athletic players last night. Pre-season training begun at Hockham with a good turn out. On the player front, the team had to start the season for the first time without Paul O’Brien who has retired and Richard Croome who has left the club, and probably the most noticeable absentee was midfielder Paul Mleczek who has decided to train with Thetford Town with a view to playing for the Ridgeons League division 1 club this season. However there were 4 new faces who all showed quality on the night and looked well capable of improving the squad ahead of the new campaign. There was also good news regarding last seasons top goal scorer and player of the year, when Mark Fowler committed himself to the club for another season despite a lot of interest from other clubs. Athletic will now train every Tuesday at Hockham and every Thursday at the sports centre in Thetford, and the clubs pre-season fixture list will be released shortly. Speaking after the session manager Mark Dolman said “it was a superb session tonight, and the squad is looking really good for the new season, I’m delighted that Mark has decided to stay with us, and that most of last seasons squad have also agreed to stay with us, they gave the club a great season last year, and I hope they will all push on this time round. I’d like to go on record as saying a big thank you to the players who have left or retired and wish them well with their future challenges. I’d also like to welcome Joe Hannah and Jordan Parish to the club, both players trained and signed forms last night, and I’m looking forward to seeing them in action. As for the other two new faces, I don’t wish to name them at this moment in time, as neither have committed to me or the club, and both have several options, but from what I saw last night, I hope both will sign for the club.”

There was some excellent news last night when the club was named the Leagues Club of The Year a the AGM. The award was presented to secretary Steve Dickens along with a cheque for £125 pounds. John Turner presenting the award said it was recognition for the teams excellent season which saw them scoop their third successive league title in as many years, and reach three cup finals. Speaking to the clubs website, secretary Steve Dickens said “this is excellent news for the club, and something that we are honoured to receive. It just shows that all the hard work on and off the pitch can pay off”

Thetford Athletic held their third annual presentation dinner at the Norfolk Terrier on Saturday night. Amongst the usual awards, there were two new trophies up for grabs, which were the “unsung hero” and “supporters player of the year” awards. There was also a special presentation to Athletic centre back Paul O’Brien, who has recently decided to hang up his boots.

The award winners on the night were………

Top Goal Scorer: Mark Fowler

Clubman of The Year: Margret Calver

Unsung Hero: Paul O’Brien

Most Improved: Jack Denniss

Supporters Player of The Year: Jack Denniss

The Drivers Elite Players Player of The Year: Mark Fowler

The Men’s Room Player of The Year: Mark Fowler

Thetford Athletic can today reveal that Dickleburgh striker Joe Hannah has agreed to join the club in division 1 next season. The 6ft plus striker has scored several goals against the club in recent seasons and becomes the clubs first signing of the summer. Manager Mark Dolman said “ It’s a massive signing for us, as we look to strengthen in all areas ahead of next season, he’s been a thorn in my side for three years, and now I get to put him on our team sheet, I’ve been chasing him for a while and I made an approach to Dickleburgh just before Christmas, back then Joe made it clear he would remain loyal to his team mates and see the season out with them, but agreed in principle to sign for us in time for the new season. Now the title is in the bag, I need to start work straight away on strengthening, and with the blessing of his current club I was able to finalise the signing today. I would like to thank Jamie Scales at Dickleburgh FC for being so understanding and allowing us the chance to speak to Joe and announce the capture. Joe is a natural goal scorer who has an exceptional record at Dickleborough, and I’m sure together with the other top drawer players we are lucky to have here, he will have a great season, on behalf of everybody at the club I would like to welcome him”

When asked if the new arrival meant other players would be leaving Harling Rd he said “ there is always speculation regarding good players at this point in the season, and to be honest we have to deal with clubs tapping up our players all year round, and there are one or two that may feel the time is right to have a go somewhere different, and if that’s the case good luck to them, my job is to build a team capable of competing in division 1 and today’s news signals my intent to do so, nobodies place is safe at this stage, players need to report for pre-season, prepared to work hard and fight for their places, but having sat down with most of my squad, I’m confidant the players who are wanted here will remain, and work well with the players who will be arriving very soon”

Athletic defender Paul O’Brien has announced his intention to hang up his boots this summer, the 41 year old has been an ever present since the club was formed, but has struggled with injury this term. A club statement said “ Everybody at the club would like to thank Pob for his outstanding contribution over the last three years, and wish him all the best for the future, its hoped he will remain involved with the club at some level.”

The central defender made 82 appearances for the club in total with 76 starts and 6 substitute appearances, scoring 1 goal in the process.

Thetford Athletic FC were crowned Division 2 Champions last night following their 7-0 demolition of Yaxham Reserves. It means Athletic have clinched their third league title in their three year existence which also see’s the club promoted to the top tier of the Crown Fire Central & South Norfolk Football League. Following the match Athletic Manager Mark Dolman said “ its an excellent achievement for every body involved, three titles in three years is an exceptional return from the players, who have had to deal with many set backs this season. We’ve been the victims of our own success in some ways, and the amount of league fixtures we have had to play in the last month could quite easily of cost us. But the lads have dug deep and been first class in terms of their attitude and commitment, having lost three cup finals in one season it would have been easy for them to throw the towel in, but we stuck together and battled to become league champions again. I would like to go on record as saying a big thank you to EVERYONE who has supported this club over the last three years, as there have been plenty that have wanted to mock, or knock us down, whatever the standard, whatever players have played, we have represented this Town in the right way on and off the pitch, and when players pull on the shirt, they enjoy what its all about, we have a really good team spirit here, and whatever happens in the summer we will carry all our hard work and effort into the new season.”

Athletic still have two league fixtures to play against Saham Toney Reserves and Attleborough Town A, before the players go off on their summer break.

With the remaining fixtures for April and May having been released it’s going to be a big ask for the Thetford Athletic squad to achieve their goals. Some weeks leading up to the end of the season will see the reds in action 4 times in a week, followed by 3 games the following week! It’s been suggested by many that this fixture pile up could cost Athletic dearly as they approach the climax of another exciting season. When asked for his opinion on the situation manager Mark Dolman said “to be honest, we have no choice in the matter, so we have to get on with it, we have been victims of our own success. We still have so many vital games to play including next weeks league cup final against Dickleborough. After the final against Toftwood three weeks ago the players were shattered, and it would have been a big ask for them to go and get a result against Yaxham Reserves 2 days later, as it worked out the game got called off, but that’s only contributed further to the situation we are in now!. Players just need to look after themselves over the next month or so, and be honest with me, we have a good squad and I’m sure I will be forced to “rotate” at some stage before the end of the season. But the one thing that is for sure is that the group of players we have here are fully focused on the task in hand, and against Bridgham on Saturday we proved just how strong we are. There are Individuals like Mark Fowler and Polski who are match winners, and they are both playing as well I’ve seen them play, but if it wasn’t for the 12 other lads in the squad, they wouldn’t be able to produce what they are currently producing. Paul O’Brien is enjoying an Indian summer in terms of his career, and Rob Sims finally looks settled in his new surroundings. We have players like Zipfel and Rawlings, both ever presents this season, but found themselves on the bench Saturday due to other players taking their chances. So all in all we are in very good shape, and I know my players well enough to know that they will give everything they have to ensure more silverware is bought to this club.”
With the manger in such high spirits Thetfordathleticfc.co.uk also caught up with Captain Daniel Fowler and asked him for his opinion on the fixture pile and also asked if he thought he would be at the club next season. Fowler said” We are in a fantastic position in the league and we are fortunate enough to know exactly what we need to do without relying on other teams to do us any favours. The number of games we have will physically be difficult but in the tight games we have many match winners so we may have to grind out a few results, but that is no different to the back end of last season were we had a similar situation and still went on to win the league. We really have to take each game as it comes and work together as a squad as every player in our squad now has a role to play. So far the lads have shown great focus and have not been distracted by the cup finals and to the players the league title is what we want, but there is still a long way to go, and I’m sure many ups and downs. I have been impressed with the quality of many of the teams in this division and that is reflected in how tight the top 4/5 is. Hopefully next season we will be playing division one football and having had a taste against a very good Toftwood side the players want that week in week out. I believe that the teams in division one are equal to teams in at least division ¾ of the Anglian Combination so it will be a much tougher challenge than the last 3 seasons. Hopefully we can add to the squad we currently have and increase competition for places and who knows where we could finish. For me personally I will be hear irrespective of where we finish this season and whilst my new arrival in late August may affect me a bit, I plan on being an integral part of the team and by myself committing to next season hope that others will soon follow. I know the gaffer has his eye on a few decent lads he would like to bring over and in adding them to some of the existing players we could have a very good side. No doubt other clubs may be taking a look at some of our lads and rightly so after some of their performances, however every player has enjoyed this season and naturally the success that comes with it, would that be the case elsewhere? I’m not sure! Next season competition for places will be fierce but its up to individuals to take there chances and use the remaining games this season to give the gaffer a headache with his plans for next season.

It was announced today that TAFC have won the Club of the Month award for February. The club held a 100% record in all league fixtures, and also had wins in the Primary League Cup and the Ambulance Cup. Congratulations must go to all invlolved with the club.

Thetford Athletic FC will be holding their annual Presentation Dinner at the Norfolk Terrier in Thetford on Saturday 24th May. Tickets are £15 pounds a head and menu’s are available from Steve Dickens or any of the management team. The event will start at 7 o’clock with the first course being served at 8 o’clock.