We are delighted to announce the appointment of James Baxendale as our new First Team Manager.
James will be joined at Frickley by assistant manager Matthew Flanagan and coach Andrew Steptoe.
James came through the ranks at Leeds United where he spent 10 years in the academy before signing as a first year pro at Doncaster Rovers. He made his professional debut for Doncaster in the Championship before moving on to Walsall, where he played for the bulk of his career. He later had spells at Mansfield and for Orange County in the USL in America.
Upon his return to England, James moved into Non League with spells at the like of Alfreton, Worksop, Sheffield FC and Pontefract Collieries.
His coaching career began at Worksop and then at Pontefract, where he was First Team Coach for a number of years. Ponte was a good schooling where he became a part of a team that was full of strong characters that have gone on to become managers in their own right at higher levels.
The opportunity then arose for James to become First Team manager at Armthorpe Welfare alongside Matthew and Andrew. They took Armthorpe from the foot of the NCEL Division 1 table, without a single player in the squad, to a comfortable league position and a good base for them to work with going forward.
James commented on his appointment: ‘I am very happy to be manager of this famous club and I couldn’t be more excited to get going and produce a team that puts pride into the shirt and operates at the top end of the table!’
Welcome to the Wezzie Bax!!
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#forzafrickley
