Welcome to another edition of Bucks Bulletin, which is a busy one!
Let’s deal with the big item immediately.
Playoffs
Results over the Easter weekend have helped to make the promotion and playoff picture much clearer, and although our aim was the title, we’ll reset our goals accordingly.
We have started planning for the playoffs, but we won’t have absolute certainty until the completion of all of Saturday’s fixtures. Until then, we will not be communicating about the playoffs other than to say the following:
The playoff dates are as follows:
Semi-finals:
Wednesday, 30th April 2025, kick-off 7.45 pm
Final:
Monday, 5th May 2025, kick-off 3.00 pm
Venue(s):
The semi-finals will be held at the home grounds of the teams finishing in second and third place in the final table.
The final will occur at the home ground of whichever finalist was placed higher in the final table.
- Our planning will start before then, but to avoid confusion, we will only communicate match details when they are confirmed.
- We aim to publish these details no later than Sunday (27th April).
- With only a handful of days before the semifinal tie, we would expect demand for tickets to be high, regardless of whether we are at home or away.
- Restrictions, i.e., all-ticket, are likely to be applied, so please be prepared by reading any published information fully.
There are various ways to ensure that you stay informed, such as following one or more of our social media accounts or having the Bucks smartphone app on your phone, so that you receive our notifications.
The details of any arrangements will be on our website, and we would implore you to read those updates on the website itself, rather than just taking information from our social media posts. You may miss important or helpful details by not reading the website posts.
Forthcoming Fixtures
HOME
Royston Town – Saturday, 26th April 2025, 3:00 pm
Ticket prices are as follows:
- Adults – £13
- Concessions – £10
- Aged 17-18 – £6
- Aged 13-16 – £3
- Aged 12 and under – £1
Let’s bring it home! The Bucks’ final league game in the Southern Premier Central pits us against Royston, and a win will guarantee home playoff semi-final advantage, so there’s plenty to play for. The Bucks will aim to make the Crows take flight and get themselves into a playoff groove, and your support is so important – join us!
Injury Updates
There’s not too much to report from the treatment room.
Steffan Jones dedicates himself to returning to fitness after a foot problem, which has plagued his season. We’re so disappointed that Steff hasn’t been able to contribute as actively as he’d like, but the way he continues to work to overcome his injury sets a terrific example.
Ola Lawal picked up a heavy knock in the unfortunate and accidental collision with Warren Burwood on Good Friday, and we’ll assess Ola ahead of training, as we do with all players reporting injury concerns.
Luke Rowe collected a swelling under his left eye on Easter Monday, but the captain reports he “got through it” despite his eye closing and is in no doubt that he’ll be available to play.
Suspensions
The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Matty Stenson collected a tenth yellow card of the season at Halesowen Town on Easter Monday, and we had at least one follower ask us if that meant a suspension for Matty.
The good news? It doesn’t.
The suspension threshold moves throughout the season, so reaching ten doesn’t mean a suspension for Matty, as the current threshold is fifteen.
If you’re worried about any suspension for Orrin Pendley, you can relax – ‘Oz’ has served his ban and is available once more.
Orrin’s red card at Banbury United attracted only a one-game suspension because it was for the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, sometimes referred to as DOGSO.
All suspensions take effect seven days after the event that triggered them, to allow time for any appeal against them to be made. Orrin was available to face Lowestoft, as this was only six days after his red card, and he served his suspension against the Yeltz.
That also explains why Kevin Wilkin left Oliver Cawthorne out of the side on Friday to avoid him picking up an injury that might have left us with fewer options for Monday.
Special Guests
Our Good Friday Grassroots Day was a great success, but as well as attracting some potential Telford fans of the future, we were also fortunate enough to welcome back a legendary figure from Telford’s past.
Stan Storton, who managed the club to almost unheard of success in the 1980s, made only his second ever return visit to the club since its reformation.
Unfortunately, we had to rethink our plan to introduce Stan to the crowd at half-time, owing to the unfortunate injury and subsequent delay to the match; however, it was a pleasure and an honour to welcome Stan back to the club that he truly helped to put on the football map.
Here’s Stan, renewing acquaintances with long-time supporter and volunteer, Derrick Moore.
Neither was Stan our only special guest. We had an influx of visitors from north of the border, and Derek Carswell and Colin Donaldon, who had travelled that day from Falkirk in Scotland, specifically to see Ola Lawal.
Ola was part of the Falkirk squad that went through the 2023-24 season unbeaten,
“We loved our road trip, leaving at 0550 Friday, then getting home 0020 on Saturday morning. Our journey down and up was smooth with no holiday traffic encountered, which we were really surprised that was so simple. The journey to catch Ola had a few false starts when he was initially left clubless at the start of the 24/25 season, then in September signing for Marine FC; he made one appearance, then vanished from team sheet. Eventually, we got in touch with his brother, who explained the complication which led to our planned visit to Liverpool in November being postponed. It then took till March for Ola to sign for Telford. We jumped at the chance to get down to get the memorabilia signed, so complicated to arrange around Falkirk’s fixtures and offshore work rota.”
“Our adventure was purely a signature collector with in mind but was great. We saw a thrilling match, although it’s a shame Ola got injured, but we were so pleased on him meeting us post-match and how thrilled he was that we’d made that effort. He even called the last player we need, Bromley’s sub goalkeeper this season, Sam Long, and is trying to get this poster completed for us.”
We also welcomed Wendy Anderson, who has become a friend to the club through social media from her home in Glenrothes. Wendy’s enthusiasm for the Bucks eventually led her to earmark the Easter weekend for a visit, and she was rewarded with a big victory and a photo opportunity with her favourites, Jordan Piggott and, who else but Matty Stenson?
From the Dressing Room
We thought you might enjoy this story about our recent signing, Oliver Cawthorne.
Oliver features in the match programme interview for the Royston Town fixture, and, in speaking to us, revealed that his becoming a Bucks player might have an element of fate about it.
Having watched several games in the company of a friend who moved close to the Telford area a few years ago, and before his playing adventures in Venezuela and Panama, Oliver purchased a Bucks hat, which he still owns.
We’re sure you’ll agree that his first couple of displays in the starting eleven suggest he’s a player Kevin Wilkin can hang his hat on…
Oliver Cawthorne (AFC Telford United Defender) plays the ball through midfield
