The year 2015 will certainly go down as a memorable one for Spalding United Football Club.
Both on and off the pitch, the Tulips were perhaps the chief headline-makers in our sports section.
The year started and finished with Spalding gunning for promotion from Evo-Stik League First Division South – but plenty happened inbetween.
Manager Pat Rayment, the most successful chief in Spalding’s recent history, quit twice over the calendar year – with his second resignation in November finally signalling the end of his 180-game reign.
Marcus Ebdon replaced him in the hot-seat and has continued the great work done by his predecessor.
The Tulips also missed out on a money-spinning FA Cup tie with FC United of Manchester, but had plenty of reasons to celebrate commercially.
A takeover from a forward-thinking consortium signalled the end of Chris Toynton’s 13-year stint as club chairman, while a record three-year sponsorship deal with EMG Motor Group highlighted their growing stock as a club.
We’ve highlighted six big moments of Spalding’s 2015 in our review of the year…
JANUARY – Rayment’s U-turn
2015 had barely begun before Spalding United’s first major drama of the year took place.
Pat Rayment shocked the club by resigning as boss on Friday, January 17 – with chairman Chris Toynton admitting he “had no clue what was going on”.
Rayment, who had just guided his side to the UCL Premier Division title, quickly performed a U-turn and returned to extend the Tulips’ unbeaten Evo-Stik League First Division South run to 13 games with a 2-2 draw against Norton United.
But he said: “My resignation wasn’t a threat. The structure of the club has to change and I’ll be watching to make sure it does. Hopefully my action will kick things into gear.”
APRIL – Promotion dream ended at Romulus
Boss Pat Rayment promised a massive summer revamp after seeing his Spalding United side miss out on the Evo-Stik League First Division South play-offs with a 3-0 loss on the final day of the season at Romulus.
Goals from Joel Grandison (25 and 89) and Jordan Francis (86) did the damage at Coles Lane, meaning Sutton Coldfield and Gresley took the last two play-off positions.
To make matters worse, Stafford Rangers’ 1-0 win over the Gresley meant that a Spalding win would have been enough to clinch them fifth place.
In the end, they had to settle for seventh place – a very respectable achievement for a side promoted from the ChromaSport UCL Premier Division the season before.
However, Rayment was left fuming over his side’s end of season form.
He said: “This has been a new experience for me. I can’t ever remember seeing a team, be it as a player or a manager, capitulate like we have during the final four games of the season.
“We’ve made great strides as a club this season. But I’ve been absolutely shell-shocked by the recent performances.”
JUNE – Record EMG deal
The Tulips were given a major boost on the eve of the 2015/16 campaign as they announced a record sponsorship deal with EMG Motor Group.
Hyundai sales and Ford authorised repairer EMG, based on St John’s Road in Spalding, signed a very generous three-year deal to sponsor the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field club.
The agreement marked Spalding’s biggest commercial coup in their 94-year history.
The much-needed backing also arrived weeks after a new consortium took charge of the club, meaning Chris Toynton’s 13-year spell as chairman at the Sir Halley Playing Field club was over.
JULY – Moreman was pick of signings
The promised summer revamp saw Spalding United add a host of fresh faces to their squad over the summer.
Of the new recruits, speedy striker Josh Moreman was the most high-profile, with the Tulips pinching him from under the noses of higher-graded rivals Stamford.
The Tulips also added the likes of Adam Millson, Dan Lawlor, Neal Spafford, Sam Murphy and Michael Frew to their ranks.
But there was some despair for boss Pat Rayment, with highly-rated defender Jamie Stevens a high-profile departure. He made a return to South Holland rivals Holbeach United.
OCTOBER – Fine FA Cup run killed by Khalsa
The Tulips narrowly missed out on a plum FA Cup tie with FC United of Manchester after suffering a surprise loss to Sporting Khalsa.
Having been pegged back by an injury-time leveller in the third qualifying round tie, step five Khalsa came from behind to win the replay 2-1 at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field.
Mitch Griffiths had put Spalding ahead, but a first-half red card awarded to Ross Watson turned the game on its head.
Marvin Nisbett (41) and Simeon Townsend (78) struck to earn Khalsa a dream home tie.
It was harsh on the Tulips, who had beaten Radford, higher-graded Nantwich Town and Coalville Town to reach that stage.
NOVEMBER – Ebdon installed as boss after Pat quit
Pat Rayment left his position as Tulips manager on November 3 by mutual consent – saying he’d taken the club as far as he can.
Rayment’s exit ended a hugely successful near-four year stint as Tulips chief, during which time he won two trophies and earned promotion back to Evo-Stik League First Division South.
The former Peterborough United professional left Spalding in a much better position than when he arrived – and will go down as one of the best managers in the club’s recent history.
However, three league defeats on the spin and a lowly league positon sparked speculation about his future – and he admitted that he was looking for a new challenge.
Rayment said: “It’s been a brilliant four years and there is no ill feeling whatsoever.
“But I feel like I’ve taken the club as far as I can. I also feel like I need a new challenge.”
Rayment, who won 120 of his 184 games in charge, was replaced by his number two Marcus Ebdon, with coach Danny Hussey stepping up to the role of assistant manager.
Ebdon said: “I look forward to the challenge of taking the club forward with Danny as my assistant. From our short time as caretaker managers we have made a good start with the team playing some good football.”
Ebdon enjoyed a fine start to his Tulips reign, winning five and drawing one of his first six league games before a loss at leaders Stafford Rangers – reviving the club’s hopes of reaching the play-offs.
- A Holbeach United review of 2015 will follow next week.
