Ryton & Crawcrook Albion are thrilled to confirm that Louis Anderson has agreed to join the club for the upcoming season.

A powerful centre forward who needs no introduction, Louis returns to Ryton following a successful spell with Heaton Stannington.

Manager Nathan Beckham shared his thoughts on the signing: “I’m absolutely delighted to bring Louis back to the club.

“He’s a centre forward with real pedigree and securing his signature is a major coup for us.

“This is shaping up to be an exciting season, and Louis is the first of several new additions we’re looking forward to announcing.”

Welcome back, Louis!

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion are delighted to announce the appointment of Mark Pae as the club’s new Assistant Manager.

Mark will work closely alongside Manager Nathan Beckham and will also take on the role of Lead Coach, playing a pivotal part in the club’s football operations and player development.

Currently working towards his UEFA A Licence, Mark arrives with a wealth of experience, most recently enjoying great success at Heaton Stannington. His knowledge, professionalism, and dedication to coaching will be a huge asset to the Club as we look to move forward.

Speaking on the appointment, Beckham said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to have Mark on board as we begin to rebuild after a disappointing season.

“The depth and detail he brings to his coaching is already evident, and his experience will be invaluable in the months ahead.

“We’ve got some exciting signings lined up this summer, but I’d say this one will take some topping. Mark’s arrival has given me a new lease of life, and that energy and enthusiasm will only drive us forward.”

Welcome to RACA, Mark!

Ryton & Crawcrook Albion are pleased to confirm the second addition to our management team this summer, with Andy Taylor joining the Club to work alongside Manager Nathan Beckham and Assistant Manager Mark Pae.

Andy arrives following a successful spell with Hebburn Town Reserves, bringing with him a strong understanding of the local non-league scene and a clear drive to grow and succeed in senior football.

Manager Beckham commented on the appointment: “I identified Andy early on as someone I wanted to bring into the Club.

“I followed a similar path myself in my first role as a manager and enjoyed great success — I believe Andy is ready to take that same step.

“He has excellent knowledge of the non-league landscape and his energy, enthusiasm, and eagerness to learn are a breath of fresh air.

“Off the pitch, we’ve now built a really strong foundation heading into pre-season. The hard work starts now — and Andy, Mark, and I are all buzzing to get going.”

Welcome to the club, Andy!

A Weekly Look At What Our Division 2 Rivals Are Doing Pre-Season

ALNWICK TOWN– have a pre-season friendly at home to Whickham on 5th July

BILLINGHAM SYNTHONIA– are ‘away’ to landlords Stockton Town on Tuesday 15th July

BILLINGHAM TOWN– host Stockton Town in a pre-season friendly on Friday 11th July

BOLDON CA– confirm that joint managers David Palmer and Dan Crooks have committed to being in charge at the Villa for the start of the 25/26 season with skipper Chris Spence joining the management team in a player / coach role. They also host Newcastle Blue Star on Friday 4th July in a pre-season friendly.

CHESTER LE STREET TOWN- have arranged five pre-season friendlies, 2nd July A Thornaby, 5th July A South Moor, 8th July A Washington, 18th July H Birtley Town, 22/07 A Newcastle Blue Star

DARLINGTON TOWN– announce Will Maddison has earned a one year contract with Darlington FC

ESH WINNING– are away to Brandon United on Saturday July 5th in a pre-season friendly

PARK VIEW ACADEMY – confirm The Riverside will be their home venue for their senior side during the 2025/2026 season.

PRUDHOE YC– have a pre-season friendly at home to Whickham on July 19th

SEAHAM RED STAR – have arranged six pre-season friendlies. They play Whickham on 2nd July, venue tbc, are away to Willington on 8th July, away to Burradon & New Fordley on 12th July, play Leam Rangers on 15th July the venue to be decided, host Heaton Stannington on Friday 18th July and Nottinghamshire club Ollerton Town on Saturday 19th July.

TOW LAW TOWN– have a pre-season friendly at home to Whickham on July 12th

YARM AND EAGLESCLIFFE– are away to Brandon United on Saturday 12th July in a pre-season friendly

A LOOK AT RACA’s POST COVID SEASONS

While the 24/25 season undoubtedly finished with a whimper, it gave the lasting impression of a worse season than it actually was. Albion’s final league form was-

P42 W19 D9 L14 F74 A63 PTS 66 Finishing Position 7th while the 23/24 season finished as below

P42 W19 D5 L18 F99 A68 PTS 62 Finishing Position 11th

So we gained 4 more points and finished 4 places higher than the previous season despite badly missing the goals of Aaron Costello. We also broke our record home attendance for a league game against Prudhoe on 23/08/24 when 475 spectators attended that game beating our previous high of 473 against Whickham during the Northern League Groundhop back in April 2014.

Just for info the two other post COVID seasons finished as below

2022/23 P40 W11 D8 L21 F56 A91 PTS41 Finishing Position 17th

2021/22 P40 W23 D5 L12 F87 A60 PTS74 Finishing Position 6th

Some stats that may be of interest to Albion fans from last season

Players who started more than 10 times in our 51 league and cup games– B Colquhoun 47 +1, L Calvert 42, F Lynch 40+1, J Skivington 37+5, S Oldfield 37+3, J Errington 36+1, J Ledger 31+5, M Dart 30+3, R McLeod 28+5, G Caygill 28 +4, D Burrell 26+3, J Groves-Forbes 23+10, M Hayton 21+5, C Grieveson 20+6, D Bissett 18+5, M Harrison 15+9, D Craggs 14+8, A Salim 11+12

Goalscorers in our 51 games- L Calvert 22, A Salim 11, M Dart 10, G Caygill 7, M Hayton 6, R McLeod 6, D Burrell 5, M Harrison 4, F Lynch 4, J Errington 3, M Todd 3, D Craggs 2, J Groves-Forbes 2, L Page 2, N Adotey 1, D Bissett 1, Fletcher 1, D Lawson 1, J Skivington 1

Durham Challenge Cup- Preliminary Round H Darlington Town Won 3-0, 1st Round H Horden CW Won 2-1, 2nd Round H FC Hartlepool Lost 0-2

FA Vase- 2nd Qualifying Round H Garstang Won 5-2, 1st Round H Barnoldswick Town Won 3-0, 2nd Round H West Didsbury & Chorlton Lost 0-2

League Cup- 1st Round H Kendal Town Lost 1-3

Ernest Armstrong Cup- 1st Round H Billingham Town Won 2-0 (RACA awarded game after opponents refused to finish the game following floodlight failure) 2nd Round H Billingham Synthonia Lost 1-3

Note that all 9 cup ties were drawn at home!

RACA have had next season’s opponents confirmed by the FA today

While we lose Horden CW and Thornaby to Division One we welcome back Tow Law Town and Seaham Red Star who were relegated to Division Two. At the bottom end of the table we lose both Washington and Bedlington Terriers with Grangetown Boys Club reprieved from relegation. Replacing them are AFC Newbiggin and Durham United who are promoted into Division Two from the Northern Alliance and the Wearside leagues respectively, so the number of teams in Division Two remains at 22.

To summarise, our opposition for the 2025/26 season are AFC Newbiggin, Alnwick Town, Billingham Synthonia, Billingham Town, Boldon CA, Chester le Street Town, Chester-le-Street United (although they may be known as Park View Academy next season) Darlington Town, Durham United, Esh Winning, FC Hartlepool, Grangetown BC, Jarrow, Newcastle University, Prudhoe YCS, Redcar Town, Seaham Red Star, Sunderland RCA, Sunderland West End, Tow Law Town, Yarm & Eaglescliffe.

Albion’s long term hold on the Ernest Armstrong Cup is over with Yarm & Eaglescliffe the new holders having beaten Horden CW 2-0 in the final played at FC Hartlepool today. Congratulations to the Eagles but we will be playing them next season, unlike Second Division champions Horden & play-off winners Thornaby who we congratulate on their promotion to Division 1.

Coming down are Tow Law Town and probably Seaham Red Star while coming up from the feeder leagues are AFC Newbiggin and Durham United from the Northern Alliance and Wearside League respectively. Dropping out of the Northern League are Washington and possibly Grangetown Boys Club, though lateral transfers and ground grading issues could well change the landscape of the relegations between now and the start of the 2025/26 season.

Photo (c): Yarm & Eaglescliffe

This month’s lucky winners are-

1st prize No 99 R Carradice who wins £100

2nd Prize No 20 H Le Patourel who wins £75

3rd Prize No 27 K O’Donnell who wins £25

next draw is on 07/06/2025

Well done to our three winners, if you’d like to take part in this monthly fundraiser from just £5 a month, please contact us via the usual channels on the foot of the homepage or contact Paul le Patourel at the club on 07720 413390 . Thank-you