Season: 2017/18

2017/18

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]

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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).

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Ilkeston FC

The club was established in 2010 as the successor club to Ilkeston Town, whose record was expunged on 8 September 2010 as they were subject to a winding up order in the high court over an unpaid £47,000 tax bill.[1] Two months after liquidating, a new club was reformed as Ilkeston F.C. and were admitted into the Northern Premier League Division One South in May 2011.[2][3]

The club won promotion at the end of its first season by beating Leek Town 2–0 in front of 1,670 supporters in the play off final after finishing 3rd behind runaway winners Grantham Town. The Robins suffered a bad start to their 2012–13 campaign winning only two games in their first seventeen, although a turnaround later on in the season saw them pick up a further thirteen victories which led them to a mid-table finish in their first season in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Halesowen Town

Halesowen Town FC was formed in 1873, making it one of the oldest clubs in the Midlands, and initially played in the Birmingham Combination. In 1946, it joined the Birmingham and District League and was champions in its very first season. The 1960s saw it consistently finish high in the league, but by contrast the 1970s saw it struggle, finishing bottom of the table twice.

In the 1980s there was a sudden reversal of the Yeltz’ fortunes, with four successive championship titles between 1983 and 1986, as well as three appearances at Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Vase. The 1983 final saw the club lose 1–0 to VS Rugby, but in 1985 it returned to Wembley and beat Fleetwood Town 3–1 to win the Vase, before retaining it the following year with a 3–0 win over Southall.

In 1983, the club also beat Heybridge Swifts in the final of the Thorn EMI six-a-side tournament at the Alexandra Stadium and won a £20,000 set of floodlights for their ground.

In 1986, the club’s successes in the newly named West Midlands (Regional) League were rewarded with promotion to the Southern League, with promotion to the Premier Division following in 1988–89 when the club was crowned Midland Division champions.

The early 1990 were dominated by players leaving to join league clubs, including Dean Spink (Aston Villa), Stuart Cash (Nottingham Forest), Andy Pearce, Tim Clarke, Sean Flynn (all Coventry City) and Evran Wright (Walsall).

For its first eight seasons at this level Halesowen never finished outside the top 10, including being narrowly beaten to promotion by Rushden and Diamonds in 1996. Financial difficulties, however, led to a slump which culminated in relegation in 2001. Although Halesowen bounced back in style, winning the Western Division championship at a canter, the club was relegated once again in 2003. The club failed to return to tier two of the non-league pyramid the following season, finishing fourth and missing out on the new Conference North.

New manager Paul Holleran led the club to the FA Cup first round in 2005, losing out to Yeading in a closely fought contest,[1] but the club failed to make any impact in league competitions in the next eighteen months and Holleran was dismissed.

The club appointed the former Walsall and Birmingham City captain Martin O’Connor as manager in late 2006. Halesowen came close to gaining promotion in 2006–07, losing to Hitchin Town in the last game of the season, which meant missing the playoffs.

In October 2007, the club was sold to an unidentified owner who brought in former Kettering FC manager Morell Maison. On October 18, former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson was appointed as a consultant to the new manager.

In autumn 2009, insolvency experts Marshman Price were appointed as the club’s administrators. The team enjoyed a successful start to the 2009–10 season after receiving a 10-point deduction for entering administration. Brendan Phillips left the club and the club rose to fifth position by the turn of the new year but overall ended up in eighth place despite only losing 4 games all season.

The 2010–11 season started with Rob Elmes and former Luton Town forward Tony Thorpe being appointed joint managers, the side impressed with a string of decent results and England Schoolboy’s Under 18’s Manager Phil Nardiello was brought in as Technical Director to work alongside the managerial partnership. However, Elmes stepped down due to work commitments and Thorpe also decided to take a lower level of responsibility at the club by becoming an occasional coach resulting in Nardiello gaining full control of first team affairs.

Unfortunately for the new manager, the side saw several important regulars leave the club in quick succession including top goalscorer Stefan Moore and winger Daryl Taylor, this led to a run of nine consecutive defeats and Nardiello soon left the club by mutual consent.

Tony Thorpe returned to the club as Manager, bringing in former West Brom player Shaun Cunnington as his number two, results improved and fan-favourite Nick Bussey returned to the side in goal, however in the face of a relegation battle, Thorpe made the decision to step aside and allow Cunnington to take the helm. Shaun Cunnington appointed Paul Tomlinson as his assistant manager and made staying up his top priority.[2]

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Grantham Town

The club was established in August 1874. Grantham’s first match was a 2–1 friendly win against Third Lincs Volunteer Rifles on 29 October 1874. In 1877–78, the club became one of the first to enter the FA Cup, playing at home to Clapham Rovers in front of a gate of 650. On 7 April 2012 the club became champions of the Northern Premier League Division One South.[citation needed]

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Frickley Athletic

Although the club itself claims it was formed in 1910, the team was active as early as 1908 when it was a member of the South Yorkshire League. The football team was only one arm of the Frickley Athletic Club, which had been formed to give miners at the Frickley Colliery a recreational outlet. In a 1908 Yorkshire Telegraph and Star newspaper article the club was referred to as Frickley Colliery Athletic, but as the years went by the Athletic suffix was used less often.

In 1910, after joining the Sheffield Association League, they entered the FA Cup for the first time, their first game ending in a 0-3 defeat to Rotherham based Atlas Hotel.[1] Frickley returned to the South Yorkshire League for the duration of the First World War, but rejoined the Association League in 1919, and in 1921 they were crowned league champions, pipping Eckington Works to the title. Although they lost the title to Gainsborough Trinity reserves a year later, they did reach the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time, and in the summer of 1922 they were accepted as new members of the Yorkshire League.

Colliery soon established themselves as one of the league’s top sides, finishing in third place in their inaugural campaign in the competition, and going one step further to finish as runners-up a year later. In 1924 they applied to become members of the Midland League, and they were gladly admitted by a competition that had lost a lot of its members the previous year.

The club found the going tough in the Midland League, and for many years struggled against finishing in the lower reaches of the competition – in 1931 they conceded 137 goals and unsurprisingly finished bottom of the league.[2] By 1933, gate receipts had dwindled and they withdrew from league football for a year. They returned in 1934, but were still often found propping up the league table. In 1936-37 they again finished bottom of the pile, but the season had provided a highlight when Frickley reached the 1st round proper of the FA Cup for the first time ever – although they lost 0-2 to Football League side Southport at Westfield Lane, a bumper crowd gave the club coffers a much needed boost.

Frickley returned to play in the Sheffield Association League for the duration of the Second World War, but rejoined the Midland League in 1945. Their second appearance in the FA Cup proper came in the 1957-58 season, when they were knocked out by South Shields away from home.

In 1960 the Midland League disbanded, and Frickley, having finished bottom of the table, opted to join the Cheshire League, a competition they remained in for the duration of the 1960s, despite the Midland League having been restarted only a year after folding. Colliery were far more competitive in the Cheshire League, although they never troubled the top places in the division. In 1963 they beat Macclesfield Town away in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup to set up a mouth-watering First Round tie at Meadow Lane against Notts County, the Third Division only just progressing after beating Frickley 2-1. In 1969 the club entered the FA Trophy for the first time.

In 1970 Colliery returned to the Midland League, which had lost a lot of its members to the recently formed Northern Premier League. Frickley soon became one of the more accomplished sides in the league, with third and second-placed finishes (in 1971 and 1973 respectively) sandwiching another trip to the First Round of the FA Cup. Rotherham United journeyed to Westfield Lane and had to settle for a 2-2 draw in a thrilling encounter before seeing off the non-league side in the replay at Millmoor. Two years later the Blues faced another Yorkshire derby in the FA Cup proper, but the encounter was less memorable for Frickley, who were trounced 1-6 at The Shay.

In 1976, two years after changing their name to Frickley Athletic, the club was admitted to the Northern Premier League. At first they became whipping boys, finishing fourth bottom in the inaugural campaign, but they soon turned the tide, and in 1980 finished in third place. The club committee took the decision to apply for membership of the recently founded Alliance Premier League (APL), the highest level below the Football League, and were rewarded with a place in the competition for the 1980-81 season.

Any fears that Frickley would find the APL too tough were soon allayed, and the club was to embark on a golden era. The club reached the FA Cup proper in four successive years from 1983, reaching the second round in 1984 (losing to Darlington at Feethams) and going one better a year later. After beating Hartlepool United away in the second round (their first ever win over Football League opposition), Frickley got the home draw they wanted in the third round, wth local rivals Rotherham United the visiotrs to Westfield Lane. The Millers came away with the spoils, winning 3-1 in front of a ground record crowd of 5,800, but Frickley’s season would only get better – they would come within a whisker of taking the APL title, with only Enfield able to finish above them in the league table and take the championship.

The APL was renamed the Football Conference for the following season, and Frickley’s golden era had come to an end. They finished second bottom of the division and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League (NPL) Premier Division. They have remained in the NPL Premier Division since 1987, only once looking like winning promotion again in 2006, when they finished as league runners-up but were beaten in the end of season play-offs. On more than one occasion Frickley have finished in the bottom three but have been reprieved from relegation.

Frickley’s last appearance in the FA Cup proper was in 2000, when they were beaten 0-4 by Northampton Town atv Sixfields.

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