Ashton Town AFC V Atherton LR FC 2/4/22

THE nwcfl 1st division north - ASHTON TOWN AFC V Atherton lr Fc SATURDAY 2nd april 2022 - 3PM

ASHTON TOWN AFC PROFILES PARK,

# Onward Onwards s & Upwards

Edge Green Street, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 8SL

COMMITTEE President - Jimmy Cahill Chairman - Mark Hayes Vice President - Stephen Barrett Secretary - Stefan Ochwat Treasurer - Peter Williams Committee Members - Joanne Round, Joanne Bourne, Chris Wright, Mark Wright, Mark Lomax Catering Manager - Denise Brady Commercial Manager - Mark Cowley Programme Editor / Advertising - Ian Pomfrett Welfare Officer - Peter Lanes Grounds Team - Jimmy Cahill, David Bourne

www.facebook.com/ashtontownafc Twitter - @ashtontownafc This Club is Unincorporated

Remaining Fixtures 05/04/22 DIV 1 CUP- Sth Liverpool (H) 19:45

Sponsorship Opportunities Available Contact: Atfccommercial@yahoo.com

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Welcome

to our club Good afternoon and welcome to Profiles Park for this final, and vital North West Counties tie against Atherton LR. This certainly is going to be the hardest Chairman notes that I am ever going to write, as sadly my last.

After 14 Seasons and 9 Managers, over 500 league games, and over 800 first team fixtures it is time to move on, and onto another challenge having taken over Ruskin Sports Village in St Helens as General Manager.

Never that I honestly thought it would , but all good things do come to an end.

A roller coaster it may have been, but I have certainly enjoyed the ride and I hope that you all have too, whether that be Pascal, Emmerson, Kone, Martinez coming every year, cup wins, England Deaf, Hollyoaks, ladies teams, etc etc.

Together we brought this little club alive.

Thank you so, so much to all those whom have trusted, supported, followed and invested in me. You all mean the world to me and were all part of an absolutely amazing journey with me at the helm of Ashton Town AFC. If a script was to be written, then it would have been what we have here today. Not a simple game that I can enjoy with nothing to play for, but one that both teams must on paper win to guarantee to stay in the division.

Besides of course today, I wish Atherton LR well, and all the clubs, players and committees that I have come across over the 14 years. I will miss the away days and the banter.

Stay safe all.

Thanks again from the bottom of my heart, Mark.

Proud Club Chairman Ashton Town AFC

@northernpromise

Notes from the first team MANAGEment Good afternoon

battle from both. Today

Firstly I just want to thank you all from

isn’t all about the footy

me, the staff and the players for your

for us, it’s also the day

great support since we come in. Home

our chairman (Mark

and away your support has been fantastic

Hayes) steps down after

and it’s much appreciated. Not the end of 14 years of brilliant service to the club. the table we wanted to be fighting at come the end of the season but we are

The club have lost a few

here. It’s been a tough month with a lot of

great people these last couple of months

away games but we have picked up some

Clare, Gordon, Kieran, Jon. So me, the staff

good results and that continued Tuesday

and lads thank them all for their time at

when we went to Blackpool. Their a top

the club but the biggest loss will deffo be

side and their league position shows that so Mark. I personally can’t thank him enough to come away from the game disappointed

for giving me the opportunity to manage

not to have won shows that we have moved

this great club and always been there

in the right direction. The lads were

supporting me and the lads. From me, the

fantastic Tuesday they really worked their

staff and all the players we wish you all the

socks off and played some impressive

best for the future and thank you for

football but we just couldn’t get that goal.

everything you have done for the club.

That being said, that point could be massive I hope you all enjoy today’s game and we come 5pm today. Today will be tough, will give our all to get that right result for Atherton like us, are fighting for their lives

you the fans ⚽⚽

so we need to be right at it from the off.

Thanks, Biggs.

They’re coming off a brilliant result last week and we are unbeaten in our last 3 and P.S we still have 2 big cup games to play away at Holker on Tuesday 5th April 8pm kept back to back clean sheets in the league for the first time in a very long time. KO and at home to South Liverpool on I know all the form goes out of the window Saturday 9th April 3pm KO and so in a game this big but I am expecting a good hopefully see you then aswell ⚽⚽

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HISTORY OF ASHTON TOWN a Ashton Town Association Football Club originally joined the Div 2 of the Lancashire Combination in 1903 and were promoted to Div 1 in their 1st season. However, quickly relegated back to Div 2 after finishing 16th. Towards the end of 1910/11 season the club withdrew from the league and fixtures were taken over by Tyldesley Albion.

The Club was reformed in 1953 as Makerfield Mill FC and after a short spell in the Wigan Sunday School League. They played in the St Helens Combination League for three years before joining the Warrington and District Amateur League in 1958.

The founder was a persistent man named Derek ‘Mick’ Mycock. In 1962 the Club was forced to move from its original ground at Windsor Road due to land development and it was at this point the Club name was changed to Ashton Town AFC. Home games were played on a public park pitch at Whithill Street Recreation Ground in

Bryn until 1964 when the Club purchased a piece of land at Edge Green Street which was previously the home of Stubshaw Cross Rovers.

This became the Club`s new home, and development of the ground began. In 1969 the Clubhouse was completed, and was opened by Liverpool and England star Roger Hunt.

Then in 1975 the present dressing room facilities were built.

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association football club section. As did the arrival of our current Chairman, Mark Hayes, who has helped build the profile of the club both locally and nationally.

Other volunteers to mention are Steve, Stefan, Denise, Ian, Dawn, Peter, Clare, Joanne and more recently, Keith whose dedication and work rate is second to none on quite often a day-to-day basis. It would go amiss if I didn’t mention at this point Brian Cunliffe (pic below), who has on and off, over the years worked behind the

The formation of the North West Counties Football League 1982 saw Ashton Town join as founder members, and the Club has remained in the league ever since with the exception of season 1985-86, when they played in the Manchester League while essential ground maintenance work was carried out to bring the ground up to stringent ground grading requirements for the NWCF League.

Throughout the years there have been many custodians of the club, owned by no-one, powered by volunteers. I’ll surely miss out a host of names here but….Notable is the involvement of Jack Longstaffe, Pat Dooney, Barry & Sandra Longstaffe, Gordon Ellis, Les Bailey, Len Riley, Malcolm Magrath, Billy Pomfrett R.I.P 5/5/20 (right pic far right) and Jimmy Cahill (pic below far right). The latter two who have clocked up over a hundred years’ service to Town and Jimmy is still here on a daily basis.

In more recent times, Clare and James scenes painting, digging or mending often Horner made a massive boost to the club without the right resources for the with the long overdue formation of a Junior job…..it’s people like this who really make a place what it is.

So Many to mention, others to forget, but we are here and that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for those who give up their time and effort to keep the club alive.

m/clubs/ashtontownafc

Our motto ......

‘Onwards & Upwards’, sums us up as we now strive for promotion.

HISTORY OF At Laburnum Rovers were founded in 1956 by Joe Riley as an under 14s side and after a difficult first season in the local Briarcroft Junior League, they went on to enjoy much success in League and Cup competitions. Joe was persuaded to carry on into Senior football and after a brief spell in the Leigh League the club joined the Bolton Combination.

More success followed, but the ground at Hag Fold prevented further progress so a farmers field was found and despite footpath criss-crossing and duck ponds either side, hard work by everyone at the club turned this unpromising field into a football pitch. In 1966 the club moved into its new ground and were able to take their place in Division One of the Combination.

Jack Crilly succeeded Joe as Chairman and worked tirelessly for the club, supervising the erection of new changing rooms (an improvement on the old air raid shelters they had been using) and a small social club. Jack died suddenly in 1980 and as a tribute to the work he did the ground was renamed from Greendale to Crilly Park.

In the summer of 1980 the club joined the non-league pyramid when their application to join the Cheshire County League was successful. A stipulation of the League was that the towns name had to be in the clubs title, so links with the past were retained with the new name of Atherton Laburnum Rovers.

In 1982 the club became founder members of the North West Counties League, being placed in division two until the league was reorganised in 1987 when ongoing ground improvements saw them placed in division one. 1989 saw floodlights erected and the club enter the FA Cup for the first time,

while in 1991 the changing rooms and clubhouse were completely rebuilt.

Towards the end of 1990/91 season Dave Morris took over as team manager and it was the start of the best period in the clubs history. In 1992/93 the club won the League title with 106 points from 42 games and also won the League Championship Trophy. Promotion to the Unibond League was denied them because of grading requirements, but undaunted the club repeated their double the following season as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase. This time the club was promoted to the Unibond League.

Two good seasons saw steady progress, but then financial troubles struck and the club was relegated for the first time in its history.

Three seasons of struggle back in the North West Counties League culminated with the relegation to Division Two. However, the appointment of Alan Lord as manager saw a remarkable turnaround in form and nine successive victories helped the club win back promotion to Division One at the first attempt. In November 2002 Tom Foster and Dennis Haslem took over as managers after having to rebuild the team from scratch, they secured Division One football for another season.

Dennis moved on in the summer and Ian Street joined the club.

A period of stability and success followed but at the end of 2004/05 season Foster and Street left the club to be replaced by Mike Lester and Darren Ford, They set about building a new squad but, in February 2006, Lester and Ford resigned sparking a difficult time for the club on the pitch with no less than six managers at the helm over the next two years. The

www.athertonlabu

therton lr FC most successful period came in spring 2007 under Roy Sweeney when the club moved away from the relegation zone after doubling its points total from 21 to 42 in the final two months of the season, finishing in 16th place and having a record league attendance of 1,325 for the visit of FC United of Manchester.

Sweeney resigned in December 2007, with Malcolm Anderton taking temporary charge for four months until ex-LR player and Leigh RMI manager Stuart Humphreys was brought in to ensure the club retained its top division status and it was fortunate that 21st place was enough. With changes elsewhere in the pyramid system, LR avoided relegation from Division 1 by finishing 19th at the end of 07/08 season.

The club then brought in Dave Hughes as the new manager with a brief to keep the team in the now rebranded Premier Division while the club was reorganised behind the scenes. Hughes brought in a very experienced coaching team and set about building a squad which has proved very successful. The season ended with one of the highest league placings for several years, victory in the Goldline Trophy and another Reebok appearance in the Hospital Cup final. This season the side had a promising opening to the campaign recording another FA Cup giantkilling before injuries took a severe toll, with the team battling in the relegation dogfight. Victory once again in the Goldline Trophy Final gave the team enough belief to collect the points they needed to stay in the Premier Division.

Dave Hughes resigned as manager at the beginning of September 2010 and the position was immediately offered to the Head Coach Glenn Moses to ensure stability within the team. Moses led the

urnumroversfc.co.uk

club to its third Goldline Final in three years and our highest mid-season points tally for the past few seasons. Phil Priestley was appointed as manager at the start of the 2011-12 season and remained in charge until he resigned in the summer of 2013.

One week before the start of the 2013-14 season the club appointed Michael Clegg as manager who took the team to a 7th place finish, but resigned as manager at the end of the same season to take up his the managers position at Atherton Collieries. The next four seasons saw new management teams each season with Ross McNair taking charge for the 2014-15 season, the management duo of Craig and Adam Jones for the 2015-16 season and Shaun Lynch took over for the 2016-17 season.

The 2018-19 season proved to be one to forget, with a number of managers taking charge of the team and the team being reprieved from relegation from Division 1 North. However off field issues were being brought to a head towards the end of the season that resulted in significant positive changes in how the club was to be taken forward. Shaun Lynch was appointed Chairman and together with new committee members set about regenerating the club.

David Jones was appointed manager for the start of the 2019-20 season before returning to the USA in October 2019.

David’s assistant Mark Robinson was promoted to Manager with the team competing at its most effective for 6 seasons. Mark remained in position for the 2020-21 season, replaced this season by Nick Mathews.

League table

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FIXTURES &

MAN OF THE M

LRLJOB

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www.lrlj

& RESULTS

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Club merchandise

Massive thank you to Pure Class Vinyls-Print & Embroidery for their fast and great embroidery on our hats and scarves.

These are on sale behind the bar.

Hats £12 Scarf £12 Hat & Scarf £20.

Cash & Card payments accepted.

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MANAGER: LEE BIGNELL ASST: MICHAEL SMITH HEAD COACH: ADAM JAMES GK COACH: BEN PURDHAM COLOURS: RED SHIRTS, RED SHORTS, RED SOCKS GK: GREY

OLLIE CULKIN GEORGE CHADWICK BEN DOOLEY ZYDANE MCCARTNEY-BROOKES MITCH ROBERTSON LEWIS RAWSTHORN (C) LEWIS BRADLEY JORDAN DAINTY DAVID MOORE JOSH ABBOTT FENTON REEVES JACK BUCKLEY LUKE NICHOLL SAM HOWELL CONNER IKIN ALEX O’NEILL DANIEL RUSSELL MANAGER. NICK MATTHEWS ASST. CONNOR DALY PHYSIO GAIL STEWART COLOURS: SHIRTS YELLOW SHORTS: BLUE, SOCKS: YELLOW GK: GREEN

Referee: Joshua Mitchell, Assistant 1: Philip Brennan, Assistant 2: Aaron Rhodes

NEXT HOME GAME V SOUTH LIVERPOOL FC - 9/4/22 - KICK OFF 3PM