Hempnall FC

Club Personnel

President: Bernard Talbot.

Bernard has been involved with the Club for over 40 years, and looking to the future, the Talbot family purchased a large area of land on the Alburgh Road which has become the home of the very strong Hempnall youth. Bernard and the family continue to support the club most generously.

Chairman: Vic Harwin

Vic has been associated with Hempnall Football Club for a significant percentage of the many years he has been associated with football.
He originally played for Hempnall (in his own words, a cultured defender!) in the Anglian Combination Division 4 before leaving in approximately 1980 to play at nearby Newton Flotman, then a high riding local club.
Since then, he played for a number of clubs before returning to Hempnall in the 80's, becoming First Team Manager and leading the team to some success, the highlight was the Junior Cup Final at Carrow Road in 1995. He then went to Harleston also leading them to success but was denied a Cup Final victory - by Hempnall!!
He transferred his efforts to local rivals, Long Stratton, before returning to his roots at Hempnall.
We welcome Vic to the responsible position of Club Chairman. He has a hard act to follow.

Deputy Chairman: David Pointer.

David has been a Hempnall man since he was in short trousers, as a successful player, latterly taking up the Chairman's position to help push the club to a new era and his success and enthusiasm have been acknowledged by all. At the end of the 2009/10 season, Dave decided to hand the reins to somebody else.

Dave was not only an extremely successful and well liked Chairman, he has also helped manage the Reserves and assisted the A Team, he has also sponsored the first team, assisted on the first team management and line, and become involved in many other things including chaperoning some of the younger club members on their numerous nightclub outings. His role is extensive, he is often seen abroad assessing local players!

Deputy Chairman: Stanley Youngman.

Stanley (nephew of Ray) is another who is a club stalwart, playing for many years on the left.

Stan was well known for his ball holding skills, and giving the ball to Stanley to dribble up and down the line generally resulted in a restful five minutes for the rest of the team.

Stan has also supported the club through his businesses, sponsoring and advertising, and generally being there to help. Another person that the club is most grateful to have.

Treasurer: Sarah Nichols

Sarah has been involved with Hempnall FC for many years, notably at youth level where she has supported her son, Ben, who is now an important part of the first team squad.

Sarah was happy to take on the role of Club Treasurer following the retirement of Ray, and looks forward to keeping the Club's finances in shape.

General Manager: Stu Vincent

Stu has been with the Club for many years, more often in a support role, helping where ever he could, running the line for the first team, helping to organise events, and so on - a real stalwart. Following Pagey's decision to stand down from the General Manager role, Stu has this season taken it on, so far very successfully, increasing his workload tremendously - a great bloke to have around.

Fundraising Manager - Nick Page

Nick Page is one of the current Club personnel who have been with the Club for many years. Born in Hempnall, he was a gifted footballer whose abilities led him away (temporarily, of course!), and he successfully played at a higher level at the time with Wroxham and Newton Flotman.

He has managed both the First Team and Reserves, and during the early 80's, took the club through the leagues to the Premier before taking a back seat after introducing Arthur Chenery to the club.

Nick came to the fore again as club General Manager in 1995, then extended his duties even further by managing the Reserves.

Pagey actually joined in 1973 and scored a total of 492 goals for Hempnall. He is well known and respected in football circles, and has had a huge influence in persuading players to come and play for the club. He continues to be a dedicated club person - long may it continue.

Club Physiotherapist and Welfare Officer: Vicki Potter.

Qualified in physiotherapy several years ago, Vicki enjoyed watching her son play through youth level, then decided physio was for her, and, fortunately for the Club, has never looked back since.

Vicky has not only brought much needed Physio skills to match day and training nights to the club but also a good sense of humour that fits in well with the management team. She is another one who aided greatly in last season‘s success and the club feel very fortunate to have her with us.

Sponsorship: David "Will" Beckett.

David, who played for the club, but retired due to injury, has always been there is some capacity, and in 2006/7 season, took control of club sponsorship and advertising. Will managed to obtain sponsorship for all home matches last season, no easy task. He is hoping to achieve a similar result this season.

Club Captain - Ben Player

Ben Player continues as club captain and brings a rare combination in footballers of Intelligence and genuine leadership skills.

This makes him a guy that can not only inspire and lead people on the pitch, but he also has good diplomacy skills off, which makes him an excellent ambassador for the club.

These skills were a major part of why we have been so successful in recent seasons.

This is Ben's second spell at Hempnall as a player and the club is very pleased he returned.

Club Vice Captain - Ben Cudden

Cuds as he is affectionately known, has now been with the club for over 10 years although he is still only 25 years old.

Not only is he an exceptional keeper he has an old head on young shoulders.

He is a good character to have in the dressing room although at times he deliberately avoided by other players before the game, mainly because he is collect the money for fines!

Club Coach - Marty Fuller

Marty Fuller made a welcome return to the club as Club Coach in the 2009-10 season. Having been with the club for several years earlier both as player and manager, Marty needs no introduction to many and is widely respected.

His commitment is second to none, and he returns having worked hard at his coaching skills, obtaining qualifications which would allow him to run professional sides.

Tim and Frankie are really pleased to have him on board, and continue to be delighted he is working alongside them.

Team Officials

Joint First Team Manager: Tim Clarke.

Tim joined the club in 1974 as a youngster, and has managed both First Team and Reserves for many years. Tim is well known for his footballing and tactical brain, and when Tim is involved, the club goes forward - another great asset to Hempnall FC.

Joint First Team Manager: Paul Franklin.

Frankie is a fine footballer, scoring 38 goals in the 2006/7 season, and 23 in the following season, which was a huge contribution to Hempnall's successful season.

Not only that, he is, of course, joint Manager with Tim Clarke, his fourth season in the job beckons after highly successful first three seasons.

Joint Reserve Team Manager: Ross Potter.

Ross is not only player manager of the Hempnall Reserves team, but was appointed Assistant Manager of Norfolk Under 18s - a role which gives him the chance to work with the best players in the county.

This year he agreed to become Hempnall Reserves Player Manager so will combine this with his Norfolk Under 18s duties. His aims for the squad are to win Division 3, get back to Carrow Road in the Junior Cup with Hempnall and to win the league and FA Youth Cup double with Norfolk.

Longer term aspirations are to manage a team at a higher level so Clarkey look out...

Joint Reserve Team Manager: David Garrod

In his playing career, David primarily played in the Anglian Combination Premier Division with Hoveton where the team's highlights were Senior Cup Runners Up 1978/9, Premier Winners 1980/81, and Senior Cup Runners Up 1980/81; he also played for Sheringham, Wroxham, St. Andrews where the team was Senior KO Cup Runners Up in 1984/85, and Premier Runners Up in 1985/86.

He also played in the Southern League for Bury Town.

His coaching qualifications are FA Preliminary Badge, and UEFA "B" (1999).

A Team Manager: Matthew Oakley

Matt has been dedicated to Hempnall FC since his youth days. After working behind the scenes at the Club for many years, he took up the management reins three seasons ago with his brother, Stu, and had remarkable success when considering the limited squad numbers and the regular call ups from the teams above.

The Club is grateful to Matt for all of the hard work over the years, long may it continue!

Other Non-team specific personnel

Fundraising Committee 2010-11

Jamie Pretty

Lee Emmett

Vicky Potter

Paul Kemp

David Pointer

Nick Page

Groundsman: Ray Youngman

Ray needs no introduction, part of the website is dedicated to him and his wife, Jill. Ray has been involved with the Club in numerous capacities for over 50 years, and we are pleased he has, despite his retirement from his other functions, agreed to continue as our groundsman. Our pitch is excellent for a club of this size, and Ray does a remarkable job with limited resources.