Tag: cornwall

Darren Buckley Mousehole AFC
by Kevin Bishop

DARREN BUCKLEY APPOINTED AS NEW COMMERCIAL MANAGER OF MOUSEHOLE AFC

Mousehole AFC is delighted to announce the appointment of Darren Buckley as the club’s new Commercial Manager, a significant move that promises to elevate the club’s commercial operations and community engagement. Darren joins Mousehole AFC following successful tenures at Truro City and the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, where he demonstrated exceptional skills in commercial development and stakeholder engagement. His appointment with Mousehole comes on the day he also takes up a new role as Cornwall Business Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses. 

With a passion for football and an extensive background in business management, Darren brings a wealth of experience to his new role. At Truro City, he successfully reinforced the club’s commercial foundation, forging impactful partnerships and increasing revenue streams through innovative strategies. His leadership at the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce saw him bring in substantial financial support, further highlighting his capability to generate growth and sustainability for organizations.

Darren expressed his enthusiasm for joining Mousehole AFC, stating, “This is an exciting challenge for me. I know I can get my teeth into this project and help the club grow both commercially and within the local community. We have a fantastic opportunity to engage with supporters and local businesses to create a thriving environment for everyone involved with the club.”

Darren Buckley (c) with (L to R) Tim Richardson (director), Billy Jacka (Chairman), Ben Gibson (director), Simon Taylor (Vice Chairman)

One of Darren’s main objectives will be to enhance community involvement and boost attendance at matches. He aims to foster strong relationships with local businesses and organizations to generate support for the club, believing that a collaborative effort will yield great results both on and off the pitch.  Darren visited Trungle for the win over Bemerton Heath Harlequins and was quick to praise the achievements of the club to date and the incredible work of the volunteers behind the scenes.

“Those volunteers are fantastic. Everybody that works in that football club, the fans, everybody I’ve met, you can see right away that their hearts are in the right place and they’re trying to move it forward. We just need to go to that next level in everything we do. It’s not a big jump, believe it or not. It’s only a small jump to get to that next level.”

Originally from Oldham, Darren came to Cornwall 41 years ago. As well as Truro City and CCC, he has had roles at Cornwall Gold, Truro and Penwith College and The Richardson Hotel Group. He’s also been prolific on the pitch – playing in every role from goalkeeper to forward during spells with Perranwell and Falmouth Town. 

As he steps into his new role, Darren is eager to leverage his extensive network and marketing expertise to elevate the club’s profile. He recognizes the potential for growing the club’s brand and aims to implement strategies that will appeal to a wider audience. “Mousehole AFC has a rich history and a dedicated fan base. My goal is to bring in new supporters and partners who can contribute to our vision moving forward,” he added.

Darren Buckley (c) with Charlie Davis (Asst Manager), Jake Ash (manager), Andy Graham (coach), Adam Fletcher (Director of Football)

Club officials are equally optimistic about Darren’s arrival. Director of Football Adam Fletcher remarked, “When we saw Darren had left his role at Truro we knew we needed to reach out and explain the project we have here, We have many fantastic parts of the club but commercially we are lacking and after 3/4 meetings with Darren I genuinely could not think of anyone better to take the department on and help grow the club in a different way. Everyone is super excited to welcome Darren properly and we can’t wait to see some of his ideas come to life..”

Darren Buckley officially joins the club immediately and is ready to hit the ground running. Fans and local businesses alike can look forward to new initiatives, increased engagement opportunities, and a commitment to fostering a vibrant football culture in the heart of our community. 

Welcome aboard, Darren!

by Jeff Richardson

JAYLAN WILDBORE JOINS MOUSEHOLE AFC

Mousehole AFC are delighted to announce the signing of 19-year-old forward Jaylan Wildbore.

Wildbore joins Mousehole having recently played for Southern League Premier Central side Stratford Town at Step 3, and before that two years at Fulham’s academy.

He has also benefited from having an early football education at Leicester City before bursting into a fantastic spell at Burton Albion, attracting the interest of Fulham. Wildbore is described as having a tremendous character and desire at such a young age and is a tall and strong forward with an eye for goal.

He will join two other former pro-club Academy players who arrived at Trungle Parc and took up residence locally in the summer – defenders Ryan Barrett (ex-Newcastle United) and Morgan Lewis (from Cardiff City). They will work together within the club’s unique technical coaching programme under the expert guidance of vastly experienced Head Coach, Andy Graham, supplemented by the remaining part-time players’ twice-weekly training sessions.

The Seagulls’ latest addition to the group shared his first thoughts as a Mousehole player after training on Thursday night:

“I want to get back to full-time football and training every day to keep sharp. I’ve been looking at a lot of the games and I just think, we get in great areas and keep possession well, we’re just lacking that final product and hopefully I can come in and score some goals. I’ve settled in really well – there’s a great attitude from the boys and you can see they really want to win.”

On what the coaching staff have asked of him during early conversations and his skillset as a forward:

“I think they just want a bit of energy upfront, someone that’s always looking to help the team secure the ball but also someone who can get in behind as well and score some goals. I’m very quick off the line – I love to play off a centre-back’s shoulder – constantly threatening, running in behind and being in and around the box looking for goals.”

On his excitement at getting started and potentially debuting this weekend:

“Honestly, I can’t wait. It’s been a while since I’ve had a flow of games and I’m really looking forward to seeing the fans and getting started.”

Manager Jake Ash expressed his delight at Wildbore’s signing:

“We are really excited Jaylan is here. Having seen a lot of footage of him, he has been everything we expected this week. His movement is excellent. He’s one of those strikers I used to hate marking in that he’s always on the move, looking for the next pass or action. He’s added a real energy and voice into the sessions this week and I love his genuine enthusiasm and hunger to be better.”

Ash continued: “He’s still got lots of areas of his game to develop and I’m confident he will do that here and be a great addition to the squad.

Mousehole’s Head of Football Adam Fletcher shares Ash’s optimism with Wildbore’s addition to the squad:

“Jaylan is a really exciting addition to an already strong group of forward players. We have been looking for a striker who enjoys scoring all sorts of goals for some time now and Jaylan is that type of number 9. After speaking to him it was obvious he was going to be a good fit for the group. He’s ambitious, confident, and raring to go.”

Jaylan Wildbore will be sponsored by Gary Hocking. The newcomer will be available for Mousehole’s next home game this Saturday (20th January, 3pm) against Yate Town in the Southern League Division One South.