South Shields FC boss Mike Williamson relishing reunion with former Newcastle United team-mate Andy Carroll
A whole host of former Premier League stars will feature in a Diabetes UK charity match at South Shields FC’s Mariners Park next weekend.
South Shields FC head coach Mike Williamson is looking forward to reuniting with former Newcastle United team-mate Andy Carroll in a Diabetes UK charity match being held at Mariners Park on Sunday, August 2 (2pm kick-off).
The Mariners boss will feature alongside the likes of former Magpies defender Olivier Bernard, former Hull City manager Phil Brown and ex-England international Steve Stone as the National League North host a game to benefit Diabetes UK for the second successive summer.
Williamson will be team-mates with Carroll during the game just over 16 years after they played a part in helping Newcastle claim the Championship title and returned the Magpies to the Premier League under former manager Chris Hughton. Carroll, who will feature for Dagenham and Redbridge in a friendly against Williamson’s South Shields next Saturday, left to join Liverpool just eight months after securing promotion with United and went head-to-head with the Mariners boss during his time with the Reds and West Ham United over the coming seasons.
However, Williamson, who brought down the curtain on his playing career with National League club Gateshead just over three years ago, will team up with Carroll in next weekend’s charity game and he joked an injury issue means he will be looking for his former team-mate to roll back the years and take the pressure off him during the game.
He told The Gazette: “I was trying to keep that on the down low because I coach a bit differently to how I played and I don’t want our boys knowing. I don’t want them having any ammunition to use against me when we return to training on the Monday morning. But it’s a great cause and it has worked so well with us playing Dagenham on the Saturday and then the charity game is on the Sunday. I am looking forward to it and to playing alongside Andy - although I’ve only got one cruciate at the minute and that’s a fake one so we will see how it goes. I’ll be relying on Andy taking some of the pressure off me and holding the ball up. He’s big enough to do that.”
Tickets on sale now
Clare Howarth, Head of the North region for Diabetes UK, has praised the efforts of South Shields FC and highlighted how important the money raised is to the charity.
She said: “As a huge football fan myself, it’s great to see funds and awareness being raised through a match like this. Every pound raised helps to fund our vital research, provide support services for people living with diabetes and goes towards creating a world where diabetes can do no harm.”
Tickets for the charity match cost just £5 and are available via the South Shields FC website here. South Shields are also encouraging supporters to make donations direct to Diabetes UK as they look to raise £10,000 here.