It’s been 6 months since Carlisle Futsal Club rounded off their 2014/15 campaign with a 5-4 victory over FS Derby at the Sands and in that time there have been huge changes at the Club driven by the FAs announcement that the Club would be selected to play in this seasons FA Futsal Super League.
Sunday 13th September will see a new look Carlisle head south to play former National League North champions Sheffield Futsal Club. It will be a new look Carlisle squad, the Club has been busy recruiting new talent for new head coach Frank Chiarella and first team coach Chris Hodgson to work with.
Chairman Al Tindall has overseen the changes and is pleased with the progress being made ‘we are working to a long term plan here and there’s a strategy in place to make sure we deliver it. It will take time to achieve but we are well on course. We have a strong Club structure and a big presence in the local community already. We were conscious as a Club that our performances on court last season were not where they needed to be, even when we were beating everyone in the second half of the season. That was because of a lack of knowledge, Carlisle is a remote location and we are at a distinct disadvantage to our rivals who can benefit from the expertise of foreign players and coaches who live locally, these guys all grew up playing Futsal and have a wealth of knowledge. We’ve addressed that by bringing in Frank Chiarella and Steve Chatilla in key roles. They are giving our first team squad, academy coaches and players the knowledge they need to play Futsal to the standard required to compete in the Super League and beyond. We are under no illusion that it’ll take time but competing against the best in the country this season will speed up this process and allow us to get to the level we need to be.’
Chiarella and Hodgson took charge of their first pre season game last weekend against FS Derby and used it as an opportunity to test the players in different positions and try out the new systems of play that had been worked on in training. The squad will head to Newcastle for a tournament this Sunday with a similar plan as Chiarella looks to finalise his squad for the season opener in Sheffield.
You can see Carlisle take on last seasons Grand Final runners up Birmingham United in the first home game of the Super League at 6pm on Sunday 20th September.
