Although the summer break has been rather short, it is still too long for those who crave their weekly football fix and even though pre-season friendlies will go some way to suppressing the sporting appetite, it is the main course of competitive football that is finally fills the gap.
Competitive football that starts this Saturday for plenty of clubs up and down the non-league pyramid and one of those is Newcastle Blue Star – a team not only embarking on a new campaign but at a new level as well.
Although there was end of season disappointment for Marc Nash and his players just a couple of months ago, the weeks that followed meant plenty of celebrations for those connected to the Scotswood outfit.
A playoff final defeat to Easington Colliery denied Blue Star promotion out of the Northern League’s Division Two. A re-allocation of clubs at Step 5 of the pyramid would mean entry into the Northern League’s Division One just a few weeks later.
Not the ideal way to move up the league ladder but not an opportunity that anybody would turn down either and although there were all manner of celebrations within NE15 when the news was broken, it also meant the hard work would have to begin once again.
Hard work that comes in not only putting players through their paces but also the acquisition of new faces into the squad. As is always the way in non-league football, the summer is a period for plenty of change and Blue Star are no different to many other clubs in their current division.
The transient nature of recruitment means a slew of familiar faces have moved on with best wishes but that also means an influx of talent has arrived for 2024/25 and now they have a chance to write the next chapter of this club’s incredible story.
An incredible story which has seen them swap Step 7 to Step 5 in the space of two years. A story that has had many twists and turns to date and is likely to have plenty more along the way as this ambitious Tyneside outfit look to continue their upward trajectory.
Of course, such upward mobility is not a given and the class of 24/25 will have their first lesson against Marske United – a team also playing in new surroundings and after the past few months of inactivity, they will be itching to take to the field once again.
Something which sets up this upcoming clash rather nicely. A warm welcome goes out to the visiting Marske United team and support and for those who lend their voice to the home team, make sure to bring the noise throughout not just on Saturday but throughout the season as a whole.
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