National League North club Farsley Celtic have moved quickly to appoint their next manager amid a crisis engulfing the club.
The West Yorkshire club have been playing seventy miles away from home for most of the season due to pitch resurfacing issues and has gone through multiple managers across the campaign, with former Leeds United boss Neil Redfearn the most recent departure, lasting 20 days before resigning.
Stockdale Joins As Chairman Resigns
The Celtics have now replaced Redfearn with former Wycombe Wanderers, Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper David Stockdale, who was most recently manager of Blyth Spartans. Born just down the road from the club in Armley, Stockdale told the club’s media upon his appointment of his goals whilst in charge:
“It’s about being competitive. I don’t quit and I always keep going until the end. Football is unpredictable, we’re going to do everything we can to improve. Plans are in place for moving forward and I’m looking forward to helping the club get back to its former self.”
“It was great to meet some of the fantastic people connected to the club. Hearing from the women’s team, deaf team and the youth set up about what they have been doing during some unsettled times at the club was inspirational.”
The appointment comes following the resignation of chairman Paul Barthorpe, who stepped down after six years in charge and had drawn considerable fire from the club’s fanbase over recent months.
Writer’s View
With Paul Barthorpe now out of the picture and a new director setup in place, combined with the hope that pitch resurfacing will begin in the near future, things are looking up for Farsley Celtic. They have now appointed David Stockdale, a very experienced figure within the EFL and a leadership figure at many of the clubs he has been at in his career. His stint in Blyth did not go particularly well, failing to get The Spartans off the foot of the Northern Premier League side and was dismissed after a month in charge amid a change in ownership. From that perspective, this is a strange appointment considering he has now moved up a division to take charge. But with the fans all pulling behind the playing staff after the debacles across the season, the 39-year-old will be given full support to try and turn this ship around.
