Workington A.F.C

Football in Workington has a very long history.[4] Close by and adjacent to the home of Workington A.F.C the folk game of “Uppies and Downies” is still an annual event. There are records about the game from 20 April 1775 in the “Cumbrian Pacquet” which is one of the earliest reports of a football match ever. This report says the match on which it is reporting is “long contended” thereby noting an even longer unwritten history of the game in this Cumbrian Town.[5]

Formation of the club

Association football was introduced to Workington in the 1860s and further popularised when a group for steel workers migrated to the town from Dronfield, Derbyshire. They were workers of the Charles Cammel and Co steel works that arrived in the town in 1884. It is estimated that 1,500 townspeople moved to Workington. ‘Dronnies’, as the people of Workington called the newcomers, formed Workington AFC in 1888.[6] This is also confirmed in a short history of the club which was produced as part of 16 page brochure in the club’s application to the Football League in 1951.[7]

The original Workington A.F.C. were one of the founder members of the Cumberland Association League in 1888 and played at Lonsdale Park. In 1894 they moved to the Cumberland Senior League, and in 1901 joined the Lancashire League. However, the league closed two seasons later, and they returned to the Cumberland Senior League. In 1904 the club were admitted to the Lancashire Combination, but in 1910 seasons they decided to economise and join the North Eastern League. However, after only one season, the club folded.

The new Workington A.F.C. was born in 1921 and immediately joined the North Eastern League. During the 1933–34 season, the club managed its best-ever FA Cup performance, reaching the 4th round, before losing to Preston North End. Later in the decade, the club moved to its present home, Borough Park. In 1951 the club was voted into the Third Division North of the Football League replacing New Brighton.[8]

The early Football League Years of Workington Reds are chronicled in a series of books entitled So Sad So Very Sad – The League History of Workington AFC part 1 (1951–58), part 2 (1958–64) and part 3 (1964–65).[9]

Football League years

Their first season in the League was a sign of things to come: the club finished rock bottom, and only improved by one place the following year.

From 6 January 1954 to 15 November 1955 the club was managed by Bill Shankly.[1][10][11] who would achieve fame between 1959 and 1974 with his success at home and abroad as manager of Liverpool.[12]

During the 1957–58 season they played the great Manchester United team known as the Busby Babes at home in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, attracting a record crowd of 21,000.[1][13] This was just a month before eight of the United players lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.[3][14] However, at the end of that season, the club dropped into the newly formed Fourth Division after a reorganisation of the Football League which saw the abolition of the regionalised Third Divisions.

Programme from the Blackburn Rovers 1 Workington 5 game on 22 October 1964 Ogilvie and Lindsey penciled in for Brown & Ower

In 1964, player-manager Ken Furphy led them to 3rd position, earning promotion to the Third Division. During both the 1963–64 and 1964–65 season, they made it to the quarter-finals of the League Cup, where they lost to West Ham United and Chelsea (in a replay) respectively.[2] During the latter cup run, the club beat Lancashire neighbours Barrow 9–1, a record which remained until the mid-1980s. The club’s proudest night was at Blackburn Rovers on 22 October 1964 in a Football League Cup 3rd round replay.[15] A Workington team of seasoned professionals such as Keith Burkinshaw, Dave Carr, Ken Furphy and Kit Napier[16] and a few young upstarts, like John Ogilvie who went on to a have a long career at the club that reached 430 appearances,[17] beat the Blackburn team 5–1 at Ewood Park.[18] The Blackburn team that night were full of England internationals, such as Ronnie Clayton, Mike England, Newton, Byrom etc. This was reported in one newspaper as “Incredible Fantastic Workington rubbed Rovers elegant noses in the mud of Ewood park to produce the finest result in their 80 year history”[19]

On 3 April 1965, Workington gave a debut to one of the youngest players ever to play in the Football League: Tony Geidmintis, who was ony 15 years 247 days old.[20] Geidmintis went on to play 328 games for Workington, scoring 37 goals, and made 452 league appearances in all before retiring at the age of 31. He died prematurely from a heart condition at the age of 43.

The mid-1960s also saw Workington give a debut to one of the earliest black professional footballers in the Football League. This was Peter Foley, who played over 80 games for Workington as a forward and scored some 16 goals for the club, before moving on to Scunthorpe where he kept a young Kevin Keegan out of the team for a couple of years.[21] Later, Foley became an ambassador for racial equality in football, receiving an Order of the British Empire for his work.[22]

In 1966, Workington finished 5th, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Second Division, but the next year they finished bottom and were relegated back to the Fourth Division. Manager Ken Furphy had moved on to Watford, taking some of Workington’s key players such as Dave Carr and Dixie Hale with him. This marked the start of Workington’s downward spiral back to non-league status.

In the 1968–69 season Workington gave a Football League debut to one of the game’s legendary goalkeepers, John Burridge.[23] Burridge, born locally, made his debut against Newport County on the last day of the 1968/69 season; in an inauspicious debut, one of his very first touches saw him punch the ball into his own net from a Newport corner.

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, Workington had “Johnny Martin on the wing”, a statement that became the most popular chant for Workington supporters. A cult hero at the club, Martin was often dubbed the “poor man’s George Best”, but to older supporters with longer memories, his tricks were reminiscent of the Clown Prince of Football Len Shackleton. Martin would, for example, dribble past two or three opponents, then sit on the ball and ask who wanted it next.[24][25] Martin played 224 league and cup games for Workington, scoring 33 goals. He joined the club in 1969 and was transferred to Southport in 1974.[26]

In 1974 and 1975 the club finished second from bottom, and in 1976 they finished bottom.[2] In 1977 the club won only four games, and again finished bottom of the League with attendances falling well below the 1,000-mark. This poor run led to the club being voted out of the League in the summer of 1977, replaced by Wimbledon.[27][28] Workington were the penultimate team to fail the re-election process before it was scrapped in 1986; Southport, who were voted out the year after Workington, were the last.

The club’s appearance record for the whole period of time that Workington played in the Football League was achieved by Bobby Brown. Born in Motherwell, Brown played for Polkemmet, Motherwell and Workington.[29] Brown, who was selected for the Third Division North representative team while at Workington, made a total of 469 league and cup appearances for the club between 1956 and 1967.[30] Bobby Brown, Malcolm Newlands, Jimmy Fleming (footballer, born 1929), Dennis Stokoe and Jack Bertolini were all recognised by the Football League and represented Workington A.F.C. in the Football League Third Division North vs. South Representative Games during 1950s.

Modern Non-League years

The club dropped into the Northern Premier League (NPL), but failed to trouble the top teams, never finishing higher than 7th, before they were relegated to the NPL First Division in 1988. They continued to struggle, eventually being relegated to the North West Counties League in 1998. However, the club managed to win the League at their first attempt (This was also their first ever championship).[31] After a 2–0 defeat at Kidsgrove Athletic on 27 February 1999, manager Peter Hampton set the squad a challenge, win their last 14 games and they would win the league. Sure enough after winning the next 13 games Workington squared up to league leaders Mossley at Borough Park in front of a 2,281 spectators, a league record only beaten by the formation of F.C. United of Manchester. Workington ran out 2–1 winners with goals from Stuart Williamson and substitute Grant Holt. Workington became the first club to return to the NPL First Division at the first attempt.[7]

As a result of a 7th-place finish in 2004, the club moved up to the NPL’s Premier Division during the non-league restructuring. They then continued their upward movement by winning the first-ever NPL promotion play-offs (after finishing in 2nd place) to win promotion to the Conference North.

Following a mid-table finish in their first season in Conference North, the 2006–07 season saw Workington finish in third place and qualify for the promotion play-offs where they lost 2–1 against Hinckley United. After two mid table finishes the following seasons, Workington made the play offs again in 2009–10 this time going down 4–1 on aggregate to Alfreton Town in the semi finals.

The Club’s longest serving manager Darren Edmondson left the club in December to take over at Barrow. Former player Ian MaDonald took over as manager prior to Christmas. He was unable to save the cub from relegation as Workington finished 22nd in Conference North.

Ian MaDonald resigned as manager at the end of the 2013/14 season. Gavin Skelton was appointed as his replacement in May 2014. Derek Townsley joined the club as Skelton’s assistant.

Skelton led the Borough Park side to the Northern Premier League Play-offs in his first full season in charge, finally falling to Ilkeston Town in front of 1,500 supporters at Borough Park. Skelton left Workington in June 2015 to take a coaching role with the Dumfries club Queen of the South. Derek Townsley was appointed as his replacement a couple of weeks later.

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Whitby Town

Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Founded in 1880, Whitby are one of the oldest clubs from the North Riding of Yorkshire, the club has spent their entire history in the amateur and semi-professional leagues, though they have reached the second round of the FA Cup in both 1983–84 and 1985–86.

The level which the club are at now is the highest they have been throughout their history, rising up from the lower sections of non-league footballduring the 1990s, winning the Northern Premier League First Division on the way as well as the Northern League Cup six times. However, the formation of the Conference North/South Leagues at step 2 in the non-League pyramid effectively relegated Town back to step 3. Whitby most prestigious honour is arguably the FA Vase, which they won in 1996–97 after defeating North Ferriby United at Wembley Stadium.

Whitby play their home games at the 3,500 capacity Turnbull Ground on Upgang Lane. The club’s colours are somewhat distinct in English footballand are intentionally similar to Italian side Sampdoria[1] wearing a blue shirt with a touch of white, black and red.

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Sutton Coldfield Town

The club was founded in 1879 and played its first match against the 2nd XI of Birmingham F.C. (no connection to the modern Birmingham City) on 1 February of that year. In their early years they played in Sutton Park and competed in the Central Birmingham League, Aston and District League, Small Heath League and Suburban League. In the 1930s, now playing at Coles Lane, they competed in the Birmingham Alliance and Birmingham Combination, but met with little success.

After World War II the club, at the time playing under the name Sutton Town (a name which lasted until 1964) played in the Walsall League and Birmingham Combination before joining the Birmingham & District League (soon to be renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League) in 1954. During the next decade they struggled in the league, with financial problems caused by a devastating fire at their ground forcing them to field only amateur players, before switching leagues to the Worcestershire Combination (soon to be renamed the Midland Football Combination) in 1964. They were champions of this league on two occasions before rejoining the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1979, where they were champions at the first attempt. In 1982, after a second-place finish, they stepped up to the Southern League. At the very first attempt they were promoted to the Premier Division but were relegated straight back to the second tier where they remained until the end of the 2009-10 season, before being transferred to the Northern Premier League Division One South. In 2015 they won promotion via the play-offs to the Premier Division.

On 10 May 2011 Sutton Coldfield took part in their first ever Birmingham Senior Cup Final which they won with a 1–0 win over Nuneaton Town. During the summer of 2011 the club installed a new third generation (3G) football pitch.[clarification needed]

After 12 years at the helm Chris Keogh resigned as manager on 15 September 2012. Within 48 hours Keogh’s assistant Neil Tooth was promoted to the manager’s role.

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Stourbridge

The club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard. By the late 1880s it is known that that they had changed its name to simply Stourbridge and competed in the Birmingham and District League, where reasonable success was achieved without actually gaining the league title, although the Worcestershire Senior Cup was won on three occasions.

The 1923–24 season was one of the best in the club’s history, as they clinched the Birmingham League championship and also won the Worcestershire Senior Cup yet again.

After World War II, The Glassboys enjoyed their greatest period of success in non-league football, as they carried off the Birmingham Combination Championship in 1952 and also won the Birmingham, Worcestershire and Herefordshire Senior Cups. The club returned to the Birmingham League in 1954 on the disbanding of the Birmingham Combination and were runners-up in 1955–56. The Birmingham Senior Cup was won for a second time in 1958–59 and the 1967–68 season saw the club achieve their own “double” in lifting both the Worcestershire and Birmingham Senior Cups.

Into the Southern League

In 1971 the club was elected to the expanding Southern League and met almost instant success under manager Alan Grundy in the 1973–74 season, with the Division 1 (North) title and the Merit Cup (for the league’s highest goalscorers) coming to Amblecote. Twin strikers Ray Haywood and Chic Bates each notched 50 goals that season and were transferred to Shrewsbury Town, where Bates served 13 years as both player and manager. Another highlight in 1973–74 was a tremendous run in the Welsh Cup, in which the team disposed of both Swansea City and Wrexham on their own grounds and then faced Cardiff City in a two leg final. A record crowd of 5,726 saw the Glassboys lose the home leg 1–0 and they also lost 1–0 at Ninian Park.

Stourbridge spent ten seasons in the Premier Division of the Southern League between 1974 and 1984, two centre-forwards were also sold in the 70s, Steve Cooper to Torquay United and Tony Cunningham to Lincoln City. Finishing reularly in the top six and under the management of Tony Freely, they won the Worcestershire Senior Cup for the 9th time with a victory over close rivals Kidderminster Harriers in 1981 with the Stourbridge born Brendan Drummond getting the winning goal in the second leg away to the Harriers to win 2–1 on aggregate. Stourbridge were one of the first English semi-professional clubs to tour the South East of the USA in the early Eighties.

Subsequent Midland Division form was mediocre too, despite three good FA Cup runs, and a disastrous run of results in 1987–88 led to a relegation spot, however fortune was on the club’s side and they were re-elected to the League in the close season. Stourbridge then went on from strength to strength, culminating in winning the Midland Division championship in 1991, although Southern League officials refused promotion due to the shared use of the ground by the local cricket club.

October 1997 saw a new Chairman at the club and his early enthusiasm in refurbishing the social club continued with many signings for the 1998–99 season under the guidance of new manager, Steve Daniels. The Glassboys spent much of the early part of the season in the top 3 whilst also reaching the FA Cup 4th qualifying round for the first time in 15 years, but the success was short lived as budget cutbacks saw many of the more experienced players moving on. In 2000 a new owner came to the club, and swiftly appointed Mark Serrell as chairman, along with FA Qualified coach and ex-Birmingham City player Mark Harrison as manager. Despite an influx of new players, continued poor results meant Stourbridge’s 29-year spell at Southern League level ended with defeat in the last game of the season at Hinckley United in May 2000.

Re-grouping in the Midland Alliance

The club house end of the ground

The club began its first ever spell in the Midland Football Alliance by finishing in fifth place and claiming the League Cup by defeating Bridgnorth Town following a dramatic penalty shoot-out after the final had finished in a 1–1 draw. The 2001–02 season began well with the lifting of the Joe McGorian Cup after a 2–1 victory at league champions Stourport Swifts, however in November 2001 the club parted company with Mark Harrison, with the former Bilston Town boss Joe Jackson taking over as manager. On the final Saturday of the season, the Glassboys were crowned champions in dramatic fashion as a last gasp stoppage time goal by Brian Gray earned the point needed at Stafford Town to pip Bromsgrove Rovers to the title. Although Serrell left the club the following January, to be succeeded as chairman by Stephen Hyde, Jackson once more led the club to the Midland Football Alliance championship in 2002–03, although promotion was refused due to the ground grading regulations in place at the time.

Jackson declined to try for a hat trick of titles in 2003–04 and was replaced by well-known local duo, Jon Ford and Gary Hackett, who had enjoyed two successful seasons in charge at Bromsgrove Rovers. With many players moving on, the new management team had to rebuild the side from scratch, but an encouraging second half of the season saw the Glassboys finish a creditable 9th. The following season saw a memorable run in the FA Vase, culminating in a quarter-final defeat at A.F.C. Sudbury in the quarter-final before finally succumbing to a 4–1 defeat after extra time. In May 2005 Hackett took sole charge of the team after Ford decided to step down due to work and family commitments. With the likely re-organisation of the non-league pyramid at Step 4 level, the club looked to mount a strong push for promotion, however a mixed start to the campaign left Stourbridge lying in mid-table by December. After a poor start, a run of 14 league games unbeaten was enough to clinch a runners-up spot and with it promotion back to the Southern League. Victories over Burton Albion and Moor Green also saw the team reach the Birmingham Senior Cup Final for the first time in 30 years, although they succumbed to a 1–0 defeat to Willenhall Town.

Back in the Southern League

Stourbridge’s first season back in the Southern League Midlands Division in 2006–07 saw them finish in seventh place. The team also reached the final of the Worcestershire Senior Cup, but following a goal-less draw at Amblecote in the first leg of the final against Evesham United, they were beaten 2–1 after extra time away in the second leg to again suffer cup final disappointment.

The 2007–08 season saw Stourbridge seal a third-place finish in the Midlands Division to reach the play-offs. A narrow 1–0 win at home to Sutton Coldfield Town took Stourbridge through to the final away at second placed Leamington and in front of a crowd of 1,634, a goal from Leon Broadhurst four minutes from the end of extra-time sealed a 2–1 victory to earn Stourbridge a second promotion in three seasons and a return to the Premier Division of the Southern League after a gap of 24 years.

After a difficult start to life in the Premier Division which saw Stourbridge lie at and around the foot of the table, they eventually acclimatised to life at the higher level and secured another season in the Premier Division with a final placing of 16th. Stourbridge also reached their third senior cup final in four seasons in a Birmingham Senior Cup run which included a 4–3 home win after extra-time over Wolverhampton Wanderers and a semi-final victory on penalties at Tamworth after a goal-less 120 minutes. However Stourbridge once again suffered heartbreak in the final as Hednesford Town defeated the Glassboys 2–0 at Burton Albion‘s Pirelli Stadium.

In the 2009–10 season, Stourbridge reached the FA Cup first round for the first time in their 133-year history and were drawn at home to Walsall. The game ended in a 1–0 defeat for Stourbridge in front of 2,014 fans (the biggest gate at Amblecote for 35 years).[1]

In the 2010–11 season, Hackett guided the club to eighth in the league after a solid season, and also the final of the Worcestershire Senior Cup, where they defeated Worcester City 2–0 at Aggborough Stadium. In the 2011–12 season, the club won their way through four qualifying rounds to again reach the first round of the FA Cup.[2] They were drawn away to League Two side Plymouth Argyle where they drew 3–3 at Home Park to earn themselves a replay and a place in the second-round draw.[3] The replay at the War Memorial Ground was chosen for live coverage by ESPN, netting the club over £33,000. Two temporary stands were erected and a highest crowd for 37 years of 2,519 attended the game that saw Stourbridge win 2–0 thanks to goals from Paul McCone and Sean Evans.[4] The victory meant it was the first time the club had reached the Second Round of the competition, and the club were dealt a home tie against League One club Stevenage.[5] The game ended 3–0 to Stevenage, with the game being played in front of 3,067 following the erection of a third temporary stand.[6][7] In the 2012–13 season, Stourbridge had excellent league form throughout the season and finished 2nd behind champions Leamington, but there was heartbreak in the playoff semi-final when they lost to Gosport Borough 2–1 at home. In the 2013–14 season, Stourbridge were the lowest ranked team in the second round proper of the season’s FA Cup. They produced a strong showing in the league, and although the heights of the previous season were not reached, 5th place was achieved and Stourbridge once again had a shot at promotion in the end of season playoffs. This time, Chesham United defeated The Glassboys 2–1 in the semi-final to again dash hopes of promotion.

During the close season, Stourbridge were moved across to the Northern Premier League from the 2014–15 season.

In the 2015–16 season, Stourbridge again made their way through four qualifying rounds, to reach the first round proper of the FA Cup for the fourth time in seven seasons. Along the way they beat rivals Kidderminster Harriers 3–0 at home in the fourth qualifying round. In the first round of the FA cup they were drawn away to Dover Athletic, the game finished 2-1 in the Glassboys’ favour. The second round draw gave them a home tie against Eastleigh, which Stourbridge lost 2-0.

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Skelmersdale United

The Club had its genesis in a team of players brought together by the teachers of the Skelmersdale Wesleyan Day School and it was called Skelmersdale Young Rovers, the headmaster at the time being Mr Ritson. When he left he was succeeded by Mr Forster of St Helens, a real football enthusiast. Under his guidance the team became a much stronger organisation and the name was changed to Skelmersdale Wesleyans, subsequently the minister expressed his disapproval of this and the team became Skelmersdale United. Nearly 10 years after their formation United joined the newly created Lancashire Combination in 1891-92 Skelmersdale was a small mining community with a population of a little over 5,000 and they were paired up with the reserve sides of clubs that were in the top flight of English football, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. The club won its first major trophy in 1908 when they defeated Portsmouth Rovers in the final of the Lancashire Junior Shield They joined the Liverpool County Combination in 1909 and won the first of their Championship titles in 1911 they competed in the League until 1955, during which time hey were Champions on 10 occasions, Liverpool County FA Challenge Cup Winners on 8 occasions and George Mahan Cup Winners 5 times. For the majority of their first seventy years the club played at Sandy Lane that is now the site of an office block. Tom Tinsley who played for just four seasons (either side of the war) created a record by scoring 214 goals this despite many games missed due to Army call ups.

For the 1955-56 season the club moved into the 2nd Division of the Lancashire Combination, and in their 1st season they lifted the Championship. and also found a new home White Moss Park.

A new team for a new town

Skelmersdale became a designated new town in 1961 and ushered in a whole new era for the area. Coincidentally, around the same time, in August 1961, Wesley Bridge was made Secretary/Manager of United and began the radical restructuring the club. In 1966–67 the changes began to pay dividends on the pitch. The FA Amateur Cup quarter final victory against Slough Town was a record gate for Whitemoss Park (Sandy Lane) – 7,500 – in March 1967. That year United won their way to the FA Amateur Cup Final at Wembley in front of 75,000 spectators (which, at the time, was the biggest Wembley attendance for any game other than an FA Cup Final, League Cup or International game). A nil-nil draw with Enfield resulted in a replay at Maine Road, Manchester. Whilst United lost 3–0, the whole experience was the basis of an extraordinarily successful period in their history. The following season United lost away to football league club Scunthorpe United in the first round proper of the FA Cup. In 1968–69 United again qualified for the FA Cup first round only to lose away to football league club Chesterfield. The same season, after transferring from the down-graded Lancs Combination to the Cheshire County League, United won the league championship, a feat they would repeat the following year. The club also got through to the semi finals of the FA Amateur Cup, another feat that they would repeat the next year. In 1970–71 United finally won the FA Amateur Cup in a 4–1 thrashing of Dagenhamat Wembley. Despite only finishing third in the Cheshire County League, United also secured promotion to the Northern Premier League, the highest level the club had ever played at. In 1971–72 United qualified again for the first round proper of the FA Cup where they were beaten at home by football league club Tranmere Rovers. They finished in the top half of the Northern Premier League.

Decline and revival

By 1976 United had dropped into the Lancashire Combination. In 1982, when the Combination was amalgamated with the Cheshire County League to form the North West Counties League(NWCL), United found themselves in Division Two of the NWCL. The club reached the inaugural League Challenge Cup Final, only losing in a replay to Darwen. In 1987 the NWCL was restructured when a large number of clubs left to join the Northern Premier. This restructuring saw the club move up to the NWCL First Division. United struggled for three seasons before being relegated.

West Lancashire College Stadium, home of Skelmersdale United since 2004.

Russ Perkins was named as Manager and the club quickly regained promotion and the start of the long road back to the clubs former glories. winning the League Challenge Trophy in May 2000, The club left their spiritual home of White Moss Park in 2002 and eventually moved to the newly named Westgate Interactive Stadium Stuart Rudd smashed the goalscoring record netting 230 goals With Paul Gallagher in charge he took the club forward and with a second-place finish and promotion to the Northern Premier League in 2006.

Northern Premier league to present day

United appointed the experience manager Tommy Lawson to take the club to the new level and apart from a mid table position in 06-07 the club finished in a play-off position all but once in the next 5 seasons, In 2008, Skelmersdale United finished third in the inaugural season of the Northern Premier League Division One North. They were only 4 points off the top spot and won the semi final of the playoffs against Curson Ashton 3-1. The final was against FC United. Despite scoring first in front of 4000 fans at Bury FCs ground, they lost 4-1. The 2009 season saw Skelmersdale finish 2nd by 1 point and lose in the semi finals of the playoffs to Newcastle Blue Star 1-0. Both teams that were promoted that season went into administration in the off-season. The 2010 season saw Skem finish in 5th place and lose in the semi final of the playoffs 2-0 to Lancaster city. In the 2011 season Skelmersdale again finished in 2nd place to Chester. They were on the same points but were placed second on goal difference. The final day of fixtures saw Skem needing to win by 7 clear goals and for Chester to lose. Chester did in fact lose to the bottom team, but skem only won their game 7-2, so missed out on promotion by 2 goals. Their misery was completed by losing in the semi finals yet again to AFC Fylde 1-0. The 2012 season saw Skem finish outside the playoffs for the first time in 7th place. Skelmersdale continued to improve under manager Tommy Lawson. In the 2013 season they finished top of the league, being promoted to the Northern Premier League Premier Division which sits under the conference and is level 7 in the National League system. They won it by a 16-point margin from second place, scoring 110 goals in the league alone that season. This is their highest position in non-league football ‘pyramid’ to date.(see the National League System).

On 5 March 2011, Skelmersdale entertained Chester in an Northern Premier League Division One North fixture and broke the attendance record for The Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College Stadium when 1,171 attended, it had previously been 1,002 for an FA Cup tie in 2004 against Burscough. winning the title in record breaking style in 2012-13. They also won the Lancashire Cup in 2010. Despite challenging for the title in their first season in the NPL Premier the club lost ground and eventually finished 6th.. After a good start to the 2014-15 season, the club lead the table until after the Christmas period but United found themselves in a serious financial problems and only by the efforts of the players supporters and sponsors the club managed to see the season through. The season however ended on a high as victories over Champions FC United and a Liverpool Senior Cup win offered the club optimism for the current campaign.

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Rushall Olympic

Although football had been played in the village for at least 20 years previously, the earliest known reference to Rushall Olympic Football Club is in local newspaper reports on matches from the 1893–94 season. The club joined the Cannock & District League in 1895, finishing as runners-up in their first season and later joined the Junior (where they were champions in 1903–04), Amateur, Parks and Senior sections of the Walsall & District League.

During the inter-war years the team won a number of local honours. At this time the team comprised mainly local colliery workers and played on a field behind the Miners Arms pub in Rushall and changed in the pub itself. However, some time prior to World War II the club disbanded.

Post World War II

Dales Lane, home of the Pics

In 1951, a group of local young men decided to reform the club. They approached the proprietor of a local fish and chip shop for permission to use his premises as their headquarters and secured the use of Rowley Place as a home ground. The club joined the Walsall & District Amateur League, where the team won the Second Division championship in 1952–53, and later the First Division championship in 1955–56, after which they gained promotion to the Staffordshire County League (South) where they won the Second Division title at the first attempt.

Following promotion to the First Division, the club won four championship titles between 1960 and 1965. In 1975, in a bid to gain a higher league status, the club decided to move three miles away to the Aston University Sports Ground, just off the main A34 Walsall to Birmingham road. Meanwhile, the club obtained the lease on some land in Daw End, Rushall, and the new Dales Lane ground was officially opened on Sunday 14 August 1977.

The club were accepted into the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1978, and won the First Division title in 1980. The club enjoyed fourteen seasons of moderate success in the Premier Division, with a highest finish of fifth place achieved in season 1988–89. In 1994 the Pics became founder members of the new Midland Football Alliance. Although the late 90s brought only mid-table performances in the league, the Pics did defeat the then Southern League club Rocester at the Bescot Stadium, home of Walsall in a penalty shoot-out to lift the Walsall Senior Cup in 2000.

After finishing in second place in both 2000–01 and 2002–03, the Pics finally claimed the league title in 2004–05 and with it promotion to the Southern League Division One West. They were then transferred to the Southern League Division One Midlands for the 2006–07 season where they stayed for two years, qualifying for the playoffs in their last season by finishing 5th.

Due to the restructuring of Northern Premier League Division One, they were transferred yet again to the NPL Division One South for the 2008–09 season where they again finished 5th and qualified for the playoffs. They were also unsuccessful in achieving promotion this time. Manager Paul Holleran then left the club to be replaced by Neil Kitching who started his first season brightly before tailing off to finish in mid-table and lost in the final of the Walsall Senior Cup.

Despite further budget restriction Kitching supported by a restructured support and relatively youthful support team including Nick Amos and Ian Cooper, they went on to finish 3rd in the 2010–11season and reached the playoff final, beating Brigg Town 3–0 in the semi final. A 2–0 victory over Grantham Town in the final saw Rushall Olympic to reach Northern Premier League Premier Division and Step three football for the first time.

The first season at this higher level saw Rushall Olympic finish 8th in the league. They reached the final of three cup competitions; the league cup (where they lost to North Ferriby United after extra time), the Staffordshire Senior Cup (where they lost to Kidsgrove Athletic) and the Walsall Senior Cup which they retained. Rushall also equalled their best ever performance in the FA Cup reaching the fourth qualifying round where they suffered a defeat at the hands of Stourbridge.

In 2012–13 Rushall made their debut in the first round proper of the FA Trophy having qualified with victories over Woodford United, Chasetown and Droylsden. Their reward was a trip to Wrexham where they suffered a defeat against a team that went on to win the final of the competition. In the League Rushall again were on the verge of the play offs finishing in 6th position but failed to make the end of season competition.[2]

In 2013–14 Rushall Olympic made the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup before losing out at Grimsby Town. Rushall eventually finished in 7th place in the league narrowly missing out on the play offs. However, there were two cup final appearances. The Pics lost out in the final of the Walsall Senior Cup but won the Staffordshire Senior Cup beating Port Vale at Vale Park by two goals to one.

At the end of the season the club amicably parted company with manager of five years Neil Kitching. His assistant Nick Amos also left the club on the best of terms. Rushall soon moved to appoint former West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Richard Sneekes as manager with Steve Hinks as his assistant.[3]

Credit: Wikipedia

Nantwich Town

Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed The Dabbers, a reference to the town’s tanning industry.[1] The club is currently a member of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, with home matches played at the Weaver Stadium.

Nantwich Town won the FA Vase Final on 6 May 2006. Two goals from Andy Kinsey and one from Stuart Scheuber produced a 3–1 win over Hillingdon Borough at St Andrew’s.

In 1995, in an F.A. Cup preliminary round tie against Droylsden, Andy Locke scored the fastest ever F.A. Cup hat trick. Locke completed his hat trick in 2 minutes 20 seconds. This record still stands for a hat trick in any round of the F.A. Cup, including the preliminary rounds before the First Round Proper.

Nantwich followed up their FA Vase winning season of 2005–06 with another successful campaign in 2006–07 (their last at Jackson Avenue). Finishing 3rd in the North West Counties League Division One they were promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One South for the 2007–08 season and then gained a second consecutive promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Nantwich also progressed to the Semi-Final stage of the FA Trophy in their 2015-16 campaign, losing 6-4 over two legs to Halifax Town.

Marine

The club was formed in 1894 by a group of local businessmen and former college students. Marine takes its name from a hotel on the River Mersey sea front at Waterloo, seven miles to the north of Liverpool city centre, where the founders of the club met.[citation needed] Marine moved to its present ground, the Arriva Stadium (formerly known as Rossett Park), in 1903.[2]

Marine quickly made an impression on local football, winning numerous titles in the I Zingari League and the Liverpool Combination. The club’s greatest success as an amateur team in this period culminated in an F.A. Amateur Cup Final appearance in 1931–32, when they lost 7–1 to Dulwich Hamlet in front of a 22,000 crowd at Upton Park.

In 1935–36 the club moved to the all-professional Lancashire Combination and enjoyed limited success before moving to the Cheshire County League in 1969–70. In 1972 Roly Howard was appointed first team manager and completed 1,975 competitive games over a 33-year period before he retired at the end of the 2004–05 season. He was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest serving manager in world football as Marine enjoyed its most successful period, winning some 30 trophies.

The club relinquished its amateur status and became professional in 1974. Three Cheshire League Championships were won in five seasons, before Marine progressed to the Northern Premier League in 1979–80. They have twice been Champions (1993–94 and 1994–95) as well as twice being runners-up and have won the League Cup on four occasions (1984–85, 1991–92, 2002–03 and 2015–16).

In 2001, Marine were the subject of a six-part television series for Granada TV, titled Marine Lives. The series included footage of former player Jason McAteer returning to visit the club.

Under the new management team of Alvin McDonald and assistant Peter Carroll, Marine twice qualified for the Northern Premier Division play-offs twice in succession (2005–06 and 2006–07), losing to the eventual winners each time. In the 2007-08 season, the club finished seventh and won the Liverpool Senior Cup. McDonald left the club partway through the 2008-09 season following a poor run of form,[3] with players Kevin Lynch and Phil Brazier being appointed caretakers. At the end of the season, Lynch was appointed permanent manager with Brazier as his assistant.[4]

Lynch departed the club at the end of the 2012-13 season to become first team coach at Chesterfield FC,[5] and was replaced by Brazier. However, Brazier was sacked at the end of the following season with the club having narrowly avoided relegation.[6]

Former Vauxhall Motors boss Carl Macauley took over at the beginning of the 2014-15 season,[7] but a poor run of form saw the club in the relegation zone, 11 points from safety, and he was sacked.[8] Defender Sean Hessey was placed in temporary charge until the end of the season, and guided the club to a remarkable escape from relegation, with only one defeat in their final twelve games. The club were reprieved from relegation despite finishing in 21st place, due to having the highest average points per game of clubs in the highest relegation spots across the three equivalent divisions. This meant that the club continues to hold their record as the longest-serving members of the Northern Premier League.[9]

Hessey was confirmed as the club’s permanent manager prior to the end of the 2014-15 season.[10]

The club’s best performance in the FA Cup was reaching the 3rd Round in 1992–93 when they lost 3–1 to Crewe Alexandra. Marine have also achieved ten first and two second round appearances in the FA Cup and have beaten two Football League Clubs (Barnsley and Halifax Town) in the competition. Marine have twice reached the semi-finals of the F.A. Trophy in 1983–84 and 1991–92 and have been winners of 13 senior county cups.

The club has its own supporters association knows as the M.S.A (Marine Supporters Association).

Credit: Wikipedia