Wakefield Athletic "A"
26 Aug 2011

Over the past few seasons Wakefield Athletic "A" have shown plenty of promise without ever actually meeting expectations. Under the leadership of manager Gary Kidd they had someone with plenty of experience and know how within the game to take them in the right direction. Inconsistency was to be the "A" teams main downfall over the years. One week they would play teams of the park where as the next they would look like a team that barely knew each other. Defensive frailties were constantly exposed which put added pressure on strikers to produce on a regular basis in order to take points away from games.

Heading into the 2011/12 season Gary Kidd suffered a serious knee injury that would rule him out for several months. It was at this point that club owner Sal Habib made the decision to put Andy Ladley & Darren Barnes (The Dream Team) in charge of team affairs. This made sense, not only in covering Gary Kidd while he recovered from injury but also to give Gary the chance to work closer with the up and coming youngsters in the B team when he returned.

Andy Ladley has been with the club for over 13 years, so offers vast experience and also understands how the club works. Darren Barnes is currently taking his FA coaching badges and will be looking to put in to practice what he learns from the course. Both managers will also continue to play for the club.

Their first task was to strengthen the back four which they did in the form of Jason (Chopper) Firth. This was Firth's second spell at the club and was seen as someone who could lead from the back and provide some much needed experience. The second main signing of the summer was midfielder Gavin Heppinstall. Again a former player who will provide experience and has a keen eye for goal.

Early signs in preseason seem to suggest that progress has been made in terms strengthening the defence as only 5 goals were conceded in 8 games and 6 clean sheets were kept in the process. Hopefully this will continue in to the season ahead.........................