Former Barnsley and York City forward Michael Coulson has left Farsley Celtic to join eighth-tier side Bridlington Town. The veteran joined Farsley in December 2023, linking up with another former York frontman in the club’s player-head coach Clayton Donaldson.
He featured regularly in the second half of the season, helping to keep the Celts in the National League North. However, the 36-year-old has now dropped down two divisions to link up with Bridlington of the Northern Premier League Division One East. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he explained how travel commitments came into the equation when deciding his future.
Chester will host Championship side Stoke City at the Deva Stadium on July 11 at 7.45pm. The game completes the First Team pre-season schedule, with three home games now penned in, two matches during our trip to the Isle of Man and a stern away test at Macclesfield seven days prior to the new National League North season.
Spennymoor Town's groundsman has been working hard to improve the pitch at The Brewery Field for the coming season. Since the end of last season, there has been an installation of 31 new trench drains in problem areas across the pitch to combat some of the issues the club had in recent seasons.
As well as that, work has been ongoing to extend 24 existing drainage lines, and head groundsman Mark Sleightholme then utilised a scarifier to clear matted grass and other waste from the ground, using 12 bags of seed across the pitch along with 87 tonnes of sand.
Former Bull Jack Bodenham, who turned down a deal to stay at relegated Blyth Spartans, has joined The New Saints of the JD Cymru Premier. TNS said Bodenham will be familiar to fans as he spent the second half of the 2018/19 on loan at Park Hall from Cardiff City.
Another playing leaving relegated Blyth is JJ O'Donnell. The former Luton Town midfielder, who spent seven years at Gateshead, is leaving the club after more than three years. He said an offer of £100 a week was insulting despite relegation and him missing half of last season.
Southport's second signing of the week is 26-year-old midfielder Callum Spooner. He left Hyde at the end of the 2023-24 season. The first signing of the week was defender Sam Minihan who was at Buxton last season and picked up the supporters' player of the year award. Signing a two-year deal at Haig Avenue, he also had experience at Stockport County where he played nearly 200 games.