Sliema Ponderers
| Sliema Ponderers (59908) | ||||||||
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Sliema Ponderers was established towards the end of season 25, founded in April 2005. Starting in a challenging English VI, Sliema steadily improved season on season before eventually securing the title and automatic promotion to division V in their fifth full season. In their first season in the league, they were crowned champions. Their second season they recovered to second place after a poor start, but falling short of retaining their trophy. The third season saw them claim the title for a second time and promote to IV.
In addition to their league performance, Sliema has a strong cup pedigree, reaching the fourth round in season 28, eliminating an IV side and narrowly losing to a III side. A strong run in season 31, eliminating one III side, was brought to an end in round five at the hands of a second. Their best cup performance is season 32, where they reached the ninth round, eliminating two sides from III and a side from II before eventually falling to a second II side.
Club History
| Season | League | Season Record | Cup Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |||
| 34 | IV.49 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 36 | 27 | 20 | Round 3 |
| 33 | V.2 | 1 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 16 | 37 | Round 5 |
| 32 | V.2 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 47 | 24 | 31 | Round 9 |
| 31 | V.2 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 20 | 31 | Round 5 |
| 30 | VI.476 | 1 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 80 | 6 | 39 | Round 2 |
| 29 | VI.476 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 9 | 34 | Round 3 |
| 28 | VI.476 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 57 | 18 | 32 | Round 4 |
| 27 | VI.476 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 12 | 31 | Round 2 |
| 26 | VI.476 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 37 | 26 | 23 | Round 1 |
| 25 | VI.476 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 9 | 9 | - |
Ground
Sliema have been based at Contemplation Park since their formation. The small ground became immediately unsuitable for the club's growing ambitions. An immediate expansion of 3,000 seats was made to take the ground to a 15,000 capacity. A further 5,000 seats were added for the start of season 29, and the ground was expanded again to 35,000 capacity at the start of season 30.
While suitable for VI, it soon became clear that this was no longer adequate for their new league, and modernisation work was undertaken at the start of season 33, which would bring the ground up to 45,000 capacity. Club officials have further plans to complete the second phase of this reconstruction of Contemplation Park by the end of season 34, when it is expected to have a 60,000 capacity.
Current Squad
| Number | Position | Nationality | Name | Acquired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Template:Flag/ENG | Amos Kavanagh | Signed for £831,330 at the end of season 31 |
| 2 | DEF | Template:Flag/ESP | Iker Giménez | Signed for £9,334 late in season 25 |
| 3 | DEF | Template:Flag/SWE | Per Börjesson | Signed for £1,334 late in season 26 |
| 4 | MID | Template:Flag/ENG | Phil Cresswell | Signed for £61,330 in mid-season 28 |
| 5 | DEF | Template:Flag/ENG | Jonathan Taylor | Signed for £866,670 in mid-season 33 |
| 6 | MID | Template:Flag/BUL | Angel Georgiev | Signed for £204,000 in mid-season 28 |
| 7 | WNG | Template:Flag/POL | Konrad Galiński | Signed for £666,667 in mid-season 28 |
| 8 | MID | Template:Flag/ENG | Gregg Donnelly | Signed for £1,214,670 at the end of season 33 |
| 9 | FOR | Template:Flag/ENG | Jon Ansell | One of Sliema's original players. |
| 10 | FOR | Template:Flag/ENG | Jimmy Connolly | Signed for £694,000 early in season 32 |
| 11 | WNG | Template:Flag/MEX | Agustin Zúñiga | Signed for £496,000 in mid-season 28 |
| 12 | MID |  |
Ivica Pavlin | Signed for £167,330 in mid-season 28 |
| 13 | GK | Template:Flag/EST | Valdeku Laidroo | Signed for £310,000 in mid-season 28 |
| 14 | WNG | Template:Flag/ISR | Eli Gabay | Signed for £45,000 in mid-season 28 |
| 15 | DEF | Template:Flag/URU | Manuel Llosa | Signed for £12,334 late in season 25 |
| 16 | MID | Template:Flag/ENG | Michael Stubington | Signed for £918,670 at the end of season 31 |
| 17 | FOR | Template:Flag/ENG | Scott Thomas | Signed for £520,670 late in season 32 |
| 18 | FOR | Template:Flag/ENG | Andrew Jarvis | Signed for £393,330 early in season 33 |
| 19 | Coach | Template:Flag/ARG | Julio Monserrat | Appointed internally beginning of season 30 |
| 20 | FOR | Template:Flag/ENG | Andy Patterson | Signed for £407,330 early in season 33 |
Club Records
| Record | Occurance | Holder | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Competitive Appearances | Jon Ansell | 104 | |
| Most Competitive Goals | Jon Ansell | 107 including a record 7 hattricks | |
| Most Goals in a Game | 27/08/2006 | Jon Ansell | 5 vs Buckinghamshire United |
| Most Goals in a Season | Julio Monserrat | 18 league goals in season 28 | |
| Most Clean Sheets | Valdeku Laidroo | 33 including a record 789 consecutive minutes without conceding | |
| Highest Transfer Paid | 11/03/2007 | Gregg Donnelly | £1,214,670 from Zaidia |
| Highest Transfer Recieved | 05/02/2006 | Grigore Ştefan | £1,088,000 to Tropicaliente F |
| Record Victory | 10/09/2006 | 10-0 vs TFalcons | Equalled on 27/03/2007 vs Bedfordshire Athletic FC |
| Record Defeat | 22/05/2007 | 6-0 vs Cobra Elites |
Youth Academy
Sliema Ponderers founded their youth academy at the beginning of season 31 and soon started to discover several talented players. Among the most promising was 16 year old striker Danny Mullan who showed a composure and ability beyond his years.
Upon promotion to the senior side no place could be found for him in Sliema's immediate plans, but he was sold for a decent fee. Other youngsters who have followed in his footsteps include Desmond Williams, Andrew Sheridan and Neil Wilmer.
