BELMONT SIXES

Congratulations to Rich on the birth of his son

Thursday 5th March 2009 by Dan Mullen

Huge congratulations to Rich "Ponyboy" Hodges on the birth of his son.

Best wishes from all the Belmont Sixes - hope mother and baby are doing well.

Cancelled due to severe weather

Thursday 12th February 2009 by Dan Mullen

Football is off this week due to the severe weather conditions. The Belmont complex is closed so the Sixes will reconvene on 19th Feb.

Happy New Year!

Thursday 1st January 2009 by Dan Mullen

All the best to everyone for 2009. Let's hope it's a goal-filled, action-packed year at the Bellidrome!

Good luck to all the North East teams for the rest of this season too, (especially SAFC).

Best regards,
Your friendly neighbourhood webmaster.

Ponyboy becomes a stallion

Sunday 26th October 2008 by Steve Gilbert

Rich "Ponyboy" Hodges recently announced that his better half is expecting and he is going to be a father early in 2009. Good luck to them both from all the Belmont Sixes... they will need it!

New stadium a massive improvement

Tuesday 16th September 2008 by John Bagley

Ian Pattison had a walk around the Belmont pitch recently and was mightily impressed with the ground improvements. Apparently, even Stevie G will find it difficult to launch balls over the fence now. Mind you, Ian has always been a bit of an optimist, so Stevie might well prove him wrong.

New features added to the website!

Friday 5th September 2008 by Dan Mullen

There are two new pages on BelmontSixes.com - VIDEOS and GAMES.

The video gallery will contain a selection of football-related videos from Youtube, as well as footage from the Belmont Sixes personal collection.

The games page will be home to a selection of online Flash games to help you pass the time.

If you have any videos or games you'd like to add to the site, please contact us and we'll be happy to add them.

Bellidrome closed for another two weeks

Wednesday 3rd September 2008 by Dan Mullen

Belmont Infants School is off limits for another fortnight as essential repair work is carried out to the pitch.

The Belmont Sixes home ground has already been closed for two weeks while the badly damaged fencing is replaced.

This means that The Pitz in Gateshead will again play host to the Sixes. Kick off time for tomorrow evening's game will be 6:30pm.

Keegan and Newcastle part company

Tuesday 2nd September 2008 by BBC Sport

Manager Kevin Keegan has left Newcastle United after only eight months in charge, BBC Sport understands.

Keegan held talks with the club's board on Tuesday amid reports he was unhappy with a lack of control over transfer activity, notably James Milner's sale.

Newcastle's only business on transfer deadline day was a £5.7m swoop for Spanish striker Xisco and the loan signing of midfielder Ignacio Gonzalez.

The ex-England boss, 57, only rejoined the club in January for a second spell.

Angry supporters gathered at St James' Park to protest at the reports of Keegan's impending departure.

The manager's relationship with owner Mike Ashley was reported to have soured in May this year, after Keegan claimed that Newcastle were unlikely to break into the top four during his time in charge.

One appointment two weeks into Keegan's tenure that caused controversy was that of executive director of football Dennis Wise, taken on board to oversee transfer activity.

BBC Radio 5 Live's Juliette Ferrington reported that the sale of players and the failure to replace them had brought the meeting to a head.

The transfer window saw the arrival of six players at Newcastle, with five players leaving the club.

Milner was one of those who left last week, transferred to Aston Villa for a fee of £12m, with Keegan admitting it had been difficult to see the 22-year-old leave.

Keegan had also supported Joey Barton, after the controversial midfielder spent 74 days in jail for an assault conviction.

Barton will also be attending a personal hearing on Friday after admitting a Football Association violent conduct charge.

Newcastle are 11th in the Premier League having picked up four points from their opening three games.

Back post!

Monday 11th August 2008 by Chris Riley

Rumours are currently circulating that Dan Robinson could be due for a return to action.

He's been spotted cycling heading towards Blyth recently. The Bellidrome could be witnessing some serious scissor kick action sometime soon...

Boro fined for discipline record

Thursday 31st July 2008 by Dan Mullen

Middlesbrough have been fined £20,000 and a suspended £30,000 after finishing with the worst disciplinary record in the Premier League last season.

Gareth Southgate's men racked up 85 yellow cards and two reds.

Their worst individual offender was George Boateng - who has since moved to Hull - who was given nine yellow cards.

Burnley, Darlington and Macclesfield were all also fined after finishing bottom of the disciplinary tables in their respective leagues.

Championship side Burnley were fined £10,000 with a further £10,000 suspended, League Two's Darlington were fined £3,000 with £5,000 suspended and Macclesfield received a suspended £3,000 fine.

SAFC sign Steed Malbranque

Wednesday 30th July 2008 by Dan Mullen

Sunderland today clinched their sixth new signing of the summer as Steed Malbranque joined the club from Tottenham.

The 28-year-old midfielder has signed a four-year deal with the Black Cats after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.

Malbranque, a Belgian-born French international, joins Finnish midfielder Teemu Tainio and countryman Pascal Chimbonda from Spurs, Senegal striker El-Hadji Diouf from Bolton as well as Irish duo Nick Colgan, the goalkeeper, and young midfielder David Meyler from Cork.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane said: "Steed is another signing which will excite our supporters and we're delighted to have him here."

"He's played in the Premier League for six or seven years now and has been a consistent performer for both Tottenham and Fulham - he creates a lot for the team and can chip in with a goal or two."

"Steed is a very tricky player and is always looking for the ball and looking to open teams up. He'll certainly offer something different to our team and will further increase competition for places in the midfield area."

Barton stays with Magpies

Tuesday 29th July 2008 by Dan Mullen

Newcastle United have confirmed that midfielder Joey Barton will be staying with the club.

Barton was released from Strangeways prison in Manchester on Monday after serving 74 days of a six-month sentence.

He had been found guilty of assaulting a teenager in Liverpool city centre in December.

Manager Kevin Keegan pledged to give Barton a second chance over the weekend amid speculation that he might be sacked.

And the club have now made it clear that he will be handed the opportunity to resurrect his footballing career at St James' Park.

"Newcastle United officials can confirm they have met with Joey Barton today (July 29) following which it has been agreed by everyone involved that Joey will remain with the club", read a statement on the club's official website.

Barton will now resume training and look to return to first-team action as soon as possible.

Two Dereks to return?

Monday 28th July 2008 by Dan Mullen

Rumours are rife that former Belmont Sixes stars Derek Hancock and Derek Johnson could be making a shock comeback this week after years away from the game!

Although no official word has been made by either the club or the players, it is thought that at least one of them will turn up at Belmont this Thursday.

Mullen returns from injury

Thursday 24th July 2008 by Dan Mullen

Dan Mullen will make his long-awaited comeback tonight following a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Mullen tore his calf muscle in early May and has been out of action since.

The bizarre injury was picked up whilst Dan was at work:

"Someone threw a stress ball towards me, so I caught it with my right foot and did a few keepy-uppys. After 5 or 6 I decided to volley the ball at a spectator's head. Unfortunately, as I planted my foot, I felt my calf muscle tear and I fell to the ground with a lady-like shriek".

Mullen will be hoping to get through the full 60 minutes tonight unscathed.