57 Ramsbottom United v FC United of Manchester

rammy news

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v FC UNITED 04-04-15

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THE STRONGEST

ADHESIVE YOU CAN BUY!

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Grant SHENTON Kyle HARROP Lee NEVILLE Jamie ROTHER Alex FROST Mark AYRES Osebi ABADAKI Matty BURKE Lee GASKELL Vinny MUKENDI Donal McDERMOTT Ian BENNETT George BOWYER Tom WILLIAMS Luke HERON Malachi SLAVEN Callum JONES Tom BROOKS Phil EDGHILL Jon ROBINSON

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Manager: Jon ROBINSON

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Manager: Karl MARGINSON

David CARNELL Liam BROWNHILL Greg DANIELS Joe FOX Lewis LACEY Chris LYNCH Matthew WOLFENDEN Shelton PAYNE Callum BYRNE Tom GREAVES Jerome WRIGHT Craig LINFIELD Dean STOTT Rory FALLON Nia BAYUNU omas BROWN Luke ASHWORTH Dave BIRCH Matthew KAY

Referee: Helen Byrne Referee’s Assistants: Philip Howard, Mark Ryder

Next home game: Wednesday 8th April 7:45pm, Rammy v Farsley (LgCup Semi-Final)

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I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our match officials and to everyone connected with FC United, a club that we are once again honoured to welcome to the Harry Williams Riverside for a third visit during their relatively short history.

It’s been a frantic couple of weeks for us trying to fit in all the rearranged fixtures, and with Curzon Ashton postponed and Trafford being under threat as I write this, things look to only get worse. A congested fixture list doesn’t ever seem so bad when your team is on the up, and although Monday’s postponement provided a rest, the lads would have prefered to get out there and get playing. e performance down at Grantham was so good for our confidence, particularly on top of the last few results, that we all just wanted to play the match and get posting some more points on the board.

People ask about how your game preparation differs depending on who you are facing, and this week has seen the fixture list throw up second placed Curzon away, then second from bottom Trafford at home, then a huge crowd for today’s game against table-topping FC United - it doesn’t come much more extreme than that. As far as we’re concerned we don’t prepare any differently. e quality in this league is incredible, and due to four getting relegated each season there are no walkover games and no done deals. We’ll treat all of the remaining matches exactly the same as they are all big games in my eyes. We will carry on with the preparation that we believe in, and which is starting to really pay dividends for us.

Today’s big game and big crowd will affect different people in different ways. I always find that this kind of game gets me pumped up, and I’m always stuck in there happy to play pantomime villain! Today we could really do with the points, and it would be lovely for us and for the supporters to bag the win. I think that we are more than capable, and fingers crossed today’s result goes our way.

Some feel that the relegation pressure has eased a bit with our recent performances and results along with the number of games we still have in hand, but I’m not counting any chickens yet. When the maths is correct then I’m happy that we’ve done our job!

If we do manage to get ourselves safely midtable then nothing will change on the pitch. We can still very much improve on what we’re doing at the moment, and I’d like to continue the impetus that we’ve built.

Midfield has been especially strong over the last few matches and it was great to see Ian Bennett take the Man of the Match award on Saturday. He’s a high quality experienced midfield who hasn’t played previous to Saturday as we thought he needed a rest after returning from injury. Kuba-Kuba has been an inspiration in the middle as have Jamie Rother and Matt Burke. It’s great to have all these lads playing so well and beefing up the squad.

Facing FC United today brings back some great memories, perhaps the best being when I was at Salford City and we played FC at the Willows in front of about 4500 in the Counties.

We beat them 2-1 and there was a massive pitch invasion at the end - it was crazy!

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tony cunningham and the wonderful world of non-league football Welcome to the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium. A special welcome to today’s match officials, and of course, our visitors, FC United of Manchester.

When the rebel team last came here in the North West Counties days, one of their supporters left the HWRS with the comment “Of course, you won’t be seeing us again”. at could have been taken as a matter-of-fact statement, or sheer arrogance. I’m sure it was meant as the former, and most people at the time would probably have thought the same.

Strange then, that here we are meeting again! Somehow reminds me of the old fable about the tortoise and the hare!

It could well be that next year our paths won’t cross, so as we will no doubt be regarded as under-dogs today, our lads will have to be at our very best if we hope to gain anything out of the game.

WHEN WILL IT END? As the heavens opened on Monday afternoon, the omens were once again on yet another postponement.

By my reckoning, that’s the ELEVENTH game we have had called off this season, surely some sort of record. I’ve never known a winter like it, not for the adverse weather conditions,

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but the outcome of the same. As I write this, we are in the hands of the League as to when the game will be replayed, but there is very little time left. e end of April really cannot come quick enough.

WELL DONE I have to pass on my congratulations to two teams from not a million miles away who have already tasted success this season. e FA Trophy was won – on penalties – by Conference North side North Ferriby United, who overcame favourites Wrexham in a classic England v Wales final at Wembley last weekend. For a team from a village that makes Ramsbottom look like Manchester, that really is a remarkable achievement, and they deserve all the plaudits for so doing.

Over the same weekend, our former player Chris Wilcock’s side, Glossop North End, reached the Wembley final of the FA Vase. at’s the second time they have achieved such a trip in just six years, and that in itself is an amazing feat.

Having returned north the week before with a 2 goal cushion, it appeared to be a case of putting the tie to bed against a travel-weary St. Austell team. e crowd of over 1300 at Surrey Street turned up in anticipation of a goal-fest, but it was not to be, and for the last few minutes were no

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We’ll never play you again... until next time.

Billy Priestley celebrates his 13th minute goal against FC United last season

doubt biting their finger-nails as the Cornish side reduced the deficit to a single goal.

However, the final whistle blew and the Hillmen now travel south on the 9th May for what is sure to be another memorable trip.

Oh, and before then they just have a little matter of around 50 (OK, OK so I’m exaggerating) league games to fit in as they attempt to round off a wonderful season by pipping Runcorn Linnets to the one promotion place in the NWCFL. We have always had a good relationship with Glossop. A fine old traditional football club which still holds the record as competing at the top level of English football in a town with the smallest population.

Whilst wishing no ills against Runcorn, who themselves have come back from the

dead in fine style, I hope Glossop can manage to overcome the mountain of matches (now where have I heard that before?!) and finally clinch a place in the EvoStik League. ey would be an excellent addition to our ranks.

COMING UP….

Don’t forget on Monday we make the short journey to Ashton United, whilst on Wednesday we entertain Farsley in the semifinal of the Doodson Cup. Hopefully the Rams’ fans will turn up in numbers for both games. A Cup Final against Warrington awaits the victors.

Wouldn’t a piece of silver-wear be a fitting end to this testing campaign?

Enjoy your non-league football!

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I would like to welcome everyone to the Harry Williams Riverside Stadium for this afternoon’s game against FC United of Manchester.

Our recent results have been really encouraging. e lads have worked hard to grind out results and also played with quality and scored tremendous goals along the way.

We had to play four games in seven days, starting with a disappointing defeat at home to Stourbridge were we had a man sent off for two yellow cards after 35 minutes. It was always going to be an uphill battle after that - though in the second half we put them under massive pressure and their keeper had to make a number of saves to keep them in front. To play like we did with ten men for 45 minutes showed the character of the lads and gave us a lot of belief at the start of a busy week.

Buxton away was an industrious, hard fought performance were we rode our luck at times.

We had to put bodies on the line and with Shents in goal making vital saves we came away with a deserved point. e home game against Blyth was probably our best performance since Robbo and I took over and it was disappointing in the end to only come away with a point against a strong side who we dominated for 85 minutes. We tired near the end and they threw everything at us to score two late goals and gain a point which felt like a defeat. e final game of that busy week saw us travel to bottom side Belper where after a good first half leading 1-0 we sat back and invited pressure before conceding late on, but we had the courage to keep going to the end and managed to get a winner. We showed fatigue in the second half and with the majority of the team having played all four games we showed great commitment and character to come away with five points from four games.

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On the Tuesday evening Barwell made the trip to us and took all three points with a determined well organised performance. It was disappointing for us as we let our recent standards drop.

We asked for a reaction at Grantham on the Saturday which we definitely got! With tricky conditions on a bobbly, hard pitch we controlled much of the game, especially second half, and probably should have scored more than the one goal, which was a great strike from David Kuba-Kuba who has been brilliant since he came into the side. In the end we were delighted with the three points. e squad is really starting to gel now and with lads coming back from injury and suspension we should have pretty much a full squad to pick from for today’s game. Mark Ayres return has been a big boost - he’s a great defender and a top lad around the club and knows Rammy inside out.

Our opponents are currently riding high at the top of the league and will give us a real big test with the quality they have all over the pitch. ese are the sort of games as a player you love to play in, so our lads will need no motivation. A big noisy crowd, a chance to prove yourself against, who I think will go on to win the league this year after a few failed attempts at the play offs in recent seasons. We need to thrive on these occasions and take the game to them on our own pitch and hopefully get another vital three points for us as we enter the business end of the season.

It’s always a big game when FC United visit they bring great support in numbers so no doubt Harry will be kept extremely busy!

Enjoy the game!

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Before the match on seeing the Barwell keeper Liam Castle pull off a brilliant save in the warm up some wag in the crowd shouted that would be the last save he would make made all night. Be careful what you wish for might have been the retort because in the 90 minutes of actual football the keeper was not called on to make another save. To be fair Tom Brooks was twice unfortunate to see shots hit the outside of the post with the keeper beaten as was Vinny Mukendi who saw a neat header bend wide of the post with Castle grasping nothing but air.

And then almost on the final minute Tom Brooks, sent clear by a delicious dummy by Jon Robinson, went too wide in evading the keeper and as the ball bobbled could not direct his shot on goal. So ended a very frustrating and disappointing match in which neither team contributed much that pleased the eye and the fatigue of the previous week's exertions finally caught up with the Rams.

As always the effort was there but against teams with the ability to move groups of players around the ball , such as Barwell, the Rams struggle - players in possession are too often isolated the Rams will always struggle. For Vinny Mukendi to be effective a way has to be found to get someone close to him to feed off his knock ons - and the right kind of ball has to be played to him. Tom Brooks has done a great job in the last couple of week playing in a narrower position on the right hand side. Need as needs must has the time arrived for the Rams to abandon the policy of playing two out and out wide men and concentrate more on a tighter mobile midfield quartet?

On the night Lee Neville was again the mainstay of a resilient back four and Grant Shenton pulled off two good saves to keep the Rams in with a chance of the equaliser.

But the Rams remain vulnerable to the high ball. Just before the half hour Jamie Towers, who certainly does, rose unimpeded at the far post and redirected a firm header back across the goal for Dominic Brennan to score at the near post.

So the good ship Rams battered bruised and weary but still afloat, sails tattered and jury rigged, ploughs on through stormy seas -next port of call being Grantham on Saturday.

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î Łe Harry Williams Riverside Stadium 24th March 2015 Att: 182 Rammy Goals: Barwell Goals: Brennan (27)

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is afternoon’s mascots are Rammy United Jedis (Under 8s) who lifted two trophies last year, the Woodbank Mini League trophy and the Walshaw World Cup 2014. e team is managed by Andy Entwistle and his assistant Steven Plummer, and

comprises omas Garofalo, Luke Barlow, Josh Eccles, Michael Norris, Oscar Price, Lewis Crossthwaite, Niall Plummer, James Wilson and Charlie Entwistle.

We hope you enjoy your day.

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T: 01706 281145 T: M: 07970 184876 M: W: www.bespoke-landscapes.com www.bespoke-landscapes.com W: E: gordon@bespoke-landscapes.com gordon@bespoke-landscapes.com E: Fencing

Driveways

Wrought Wrought Iron Iron

Patios

Walling W alling

Lan Landscape dscape Design

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Artificial Grass

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fc united are back a return trip on the rammy rattler FC United of Manchester were formed in 2005 as part of a protest against Malcom Glazier’s takeover of Manchester United FC, although this was not the sole reason, it was the final straw. Many fans had become disgruntled at how their club had changed, including varied kick-off times due to TV, heavy handed stewarding and to top it all off, the ever increasing ticket prices.

Enough was enough and in May 2005, a group of fans formed a group and the new club was born. eir main ethos was to have a one member one vote philosophy; now with over 3000 ‘co-owners’, this is as far away from the multi-million pound institutions that exist in professional football in this country can be. e Red Rebels soon appointed Karl Marginson as manager and their historic first game against Leigh on 16th July 2005 was watched by a crowd of 2552 fans. After successfully applying to the North West Counties Football League, they secured a ground share with Bury FC to use Gigg Lane as their home ground. e first season was a triumph, as FC United lifted the Division 2 Championship in front of 6000 fans at their last game in April. e following year saw this achievement eclipsed as they secured a League and Cup double, only losing two league games all season. e Unibond League was the next step for FC United and an assault on the Division One

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North title, the 2007/08 season also saw the club enter the FA Cup for the very first time. e Reds had a disappointing start to the season, but with an end of season fixture pileup to contend with, they somehow battled to gain a Play-off place. After conceding first against Skelmersdale United in the Final, FC United eventually sealed a four one win to gain their third promotion in a row.

FC United’s first year in the Northern Premier Division proved to be a thrilling one, with the fight for a Play-off place going down to the last game. With the club locked on 71 points with both Bradford Park Avenue and Kendal Town, they were denied another promotion by Kendal scoring an 88th minute winner in their game. e 2009/10 season starting with Karl Marginson having to rebuild his squad. e League campaign was a disappointing one, as FC United finished in 13th place, although they just missed out on a place in the FA Cup First Round Proper, being beaten by Northwich Victoria in the Fourth Qualifying Round.

With the side boosted by a number of new additions, Karl Marginson was optimistic that FC United could mount a real challenge for promotion. With the club near the bottom of the league for most of season, this seemed an impossible task, but with a late run of excellent form, a Play-off place was confirmed. After dispatching Bradford PA in the Semi-Final, FC United were beaten one

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Tom Greaves scoring his first of two goals against Rammy back in August

nil by Colwyn Bay, in a match that failed to live up to its expectations. 2010/11 will be forever remembered for the Red’s FA Cup run, which included a three two away win at Football League Rochdale in the First Round Proper. e Second Round saw them take on Brighton and Hove Albion, who showed their class, winning the tie after a replay at Gigg Lane, which was watched by a crowd of 6700 people. e next two seasons saw FC United gain a top six finish and a place in the end of season League Play-offs, but yet again it was all to end in disappointment. 2011/12 saw them come up against their old rivals Bradford PA in the Final, but a last minute winner meant they were condemned to a one nil defeat. e following year a Matthew Wolfenden wonder strike from the halfway line, enabled the Reds to set up yet another Final, this time against Hednesford Town, but lightning struck for

a third time and Town ran out worthy winners.

Last season FC United finished in their highest ever League position of second place, giving them yet another crack at promotion. is time round FC were defeated in the Semi-Final by near neighbours Ashton, who scored a late winner in extra-time. e future looks now looks far brighter for FC United as they get ready to move into their own purpose built ground at Broadhurst Park in the Moston area of Manchester. e Reds had a steady start to this season, but a real surge of form in the new year has seen them shoot up the league table, where they now have a seven point cushion over their nearest rivals.

Surely this year will finally see FC United promoted to the Conference North, after so many near misses.

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Jerome Wright (Defender/ Left Winger) Aged 29 Previous Clubs; Maine Road & Griffin Growlers.

After being released by Oldham Athletic at 16, Wright’s career really began to sparkle at Maine Road. His form for the Manchester club soon attracted the attention of FC United and since joining he has never looked back. He is FC’s record appearance holder and this season has seen him hit the 300 game mark. Jerome’s pace sees him flying down the wings, but he is equally at home shoring up the left side of defence.

Tom Greaves (Striker) Aged 28 Previous Clubs; Bradford Park Avenue, Garforth Town, Guiseley, Woodley Sports, Bridlington Town & Ossett Town.

An experienced striker who has scored goals wherever he has played. FC United have seen this both for and against them, in 2012 it was Greaves last minute winner in the Play-Off Final for Bradford Park Avenue that denied the Red Rebels promotion. He top scored last with a final tally of 34 goals and this season has been no different as Greaves has found the net on 18 occasions so far this year.

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three to watch

Matthew Wolfenden (Attacking Midfielder/ Striker) Aged 27 Previous Clubs; Oldham Athletic & Wrexham.

Wolfenden started his career at Football League Oldham Athletic and he made his debut at the age of 16 years and 115 days, making him the second youngest player to ever play for the Latics at that time. Matty ended up at FC United via Wrexham in 2010 and has now made over 170 appearances for the Red Rebels. He has the ability to change the game in a second and known for his spectacular long range goals, which have left many goalkeepers grasping in thin air.

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Malachi swapping shirts with Callum Byrne during August’s 3-1 defeat over at Stalybridge

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meet the away fans simon ‘the weatherman’ king What's the mood like in the camp at the moment?

If you’d asked me in the first half of the season I would have gone with ‘tetchy’.

We’d had a lot of draws, performances weren’t fantastic and there seemed to be no end in sight for our new ground. A lot of people seemed to forget we’re always slow starters though, and in the last few months we’ve gone top of the league playing some lovely football, the ground is tantalisingly close to opening, and the mood has swung all the way to ‘giddy’. ough speaking as a pessimist, I‘m terrified this giddiness is going to come back and give us a proper slap in the face.

Are things going to plan would you say?

Aside from the ground being about a year late, then yes. It’s nearly ready now, aside from a few finishing touches and the need for security to stop city fans sharing their joy at the ground being built by daubing goodwill messages on the stands. On the pitch (at the time of writing) we’re seven points clear at the top with a game in hand, so after four consecutive years of ending up in the play-offs, it’s nice to have our fate in our hands for once.

For you who are the players to watch at the moment, and why.

Tom Greaves has been scoring goals for fun, and Craig Linfield is always impressive

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on the wing, but for me Shelton Payne is one to watch out for. And I’m not just using this as an opportunity to promote a song about him to the tune of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re so Vain’ that a group have of us having been trying (and so far failing) to get going. Honest...

How long have you been a supporter?

Since we were formed in 2005. Prior to that, my Saturday’s were spent at Old Trafford.

What are your most memorable times with the club, and what sticks out for you this season?

Considering we’re only ten years old, we’ve crammed a lot in. Winning the league in our first season, beating Rochdale and taking Brighton to a replay in the FA cup in 2010, all the European aways we’ve played in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland; we’ve been spoilt for choice.

For me though, raising £2 million through community shares and building our own ground takes some beating.

As for this season, it's got to be the game against Torquay in the FA Trophy. We took 1400 down there and we didn’t look out of place against a team from two leagues above us. ough my mate looking over the platform at the train station and his glasses falling onto the track after playing Barwell runs it a close second.

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How would you change the club if you won the lottery?

Our manager Margy has an obsession for jeans, but the quality of them are always questionable at best. I’d take him shopping for the best denim money could buy.

How would you describe your supporters?

We were once described as ‘a right bunch of d*cks’. is was from one of our own supporters. I can’t really disagree.

What are your hopes for the rest of the season? at this is the year we don't fall at the last hurdle and we go and get ourselves promoted. As fun as it is each April with our annual 'trudging away from the ground feeling like going home and crying in a corner', it really is time for a change.

What's your connection with the club?

As well as being a supporter (obviously), I’m also a volunteer and this season I ran for the board. I’m putting the fact I didn’t get on down to an antiginger bias in our membership, rather than the fact they just thought I’d be bobbins.

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F D Y F o p o

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goal sponsorship

We’d like to thank the following people who have already pledged to sponsor the team for every goal scored for the remainder of the season.

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Trigger Stephen & David Ste, Angie & Ethan Maria Mr & Mrs Darkside TobyTrotter Little Katie smiffylad Rammy Blue Chris S Johnno & Bernard Tony Cunningham Lui Delverto Rob Moss John Ayers Richard Isaacs Emma James Ian McCool Frank Crook Paul Gaskell Tanners Croft

£2 £2 £4 £1 £2 £1 £1 £1 £1 £2 £2 £1 £1 £2 £2 £2 £2 £2 £2 £5 £2

If you’d like to join in (you get your name in the programme and receive your very own signed team photo as a thankyou) then please make your pledge on the club forum, email rob.sax@musician.org or call Rob on 07944 038512 e Fans Fund total currently stands at £623

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Sat 16th Aug Tues 19th Aug Sat 23rd Aug Mon 25th Aug Sat 30th Aug Tues 2nd Sept Sat 6th Sept Wed 10th Sept Sat 13th Sept Tues 16th Sept Sat 20th Sept Tues 23rd Sept Sat 27th Sept Sat 4th Oct Sat 11th Oct Sat 18th Oct Tues 21st Oct Sat 25th Oct Sat 1st Nov Tues 4th Nov Sat 8th Nov Tues 11th Nov Sat 15th Nov Sat 22nd Nov Tues 25th Nov Sat 29th Nov Tues 2nd Dec Sat 6th Dec Mon 8th Dec Sat 13th Dec Sat 20th Dec Sun 28th Dec Thu 1st Jan Tues 27th Jan Tues 10th Feb Sat 14th Feb Tues 17th Feb Sat 21st Feb Tues 24th Feb Sat 28th Feb Sat 7th Mar Tues 10th Mar Sat 14th Mar Tues 17th Mar Thurs 19th Mar Sat 21st Mar Tues 24th Mar Sat 28th Mar Weds 1st Apr Sat 4th April Mon 6th April Weds 8th April Sat 11th April Tues 14th April Thur 16th April Sat 18th April Tues 21st April Sat 25th April

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H KING’S LYNN TOWN A Workington A Rushall Olympic H NANTWICH TOWN A FC United of Manchester H MARINE H STAMFORD A Whitby Town A Buxton FAC 1Q H WITTON ALBION A Ilkeston H CURZON ASHTON A Frickley Athletic A Trafford H BELPER TOWN H BUXTON H WHITBY TOWN A Marine A Whitby Town FAT 1Q H WORKINGTON A Halesowen Town H WEST DIDS Lancs Cup A Nantwich FAT 2Q H GRANTHAM TOWN H BURSCOUGH Lg Cup A Banbury United A Salford City Lg Cup A Matlock Town A Atherton Collieries Lancs H STOCKPORT COUNTY A King’s Lynn Town H SKELMERSDALE A Nantwich Town H NORTHWICH VIC LgCup H HARROGATE RA LgCup A Stamford H RUSHALL OLYMPIC A Witton Albion A Blyth Spartans H ILKESTON A Skelmersdale United A Stourbridge H STOURBRIDGE A Buxton H BLYTH SPARTANS A Belper H BARWELL A Grantham Town H TRAFFORD H FC UNITED OF MCR A Ashton United H FARSLEY LgCup SemiFinal H HALESOWEN TOWN H ASHTON UNITED A Curzon Ashton A Barwell H FRICKLEY ATHLETIC H MATLOCK TOWN

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Ahmadi * Cook Ahmadi # Cook Cook Williams Krou + Morley Morley Johnson Morley Johnson Morley Krou * Johnson Morley Johnson Morley Slaven * Cook + Slaven * Cook Robinson # Cook Morley Abadaki Pilkington Dean * Robinson 1+ Gaskell # Robinson # Pugh Robinson #1 Pugh Slaven * Piacentile Robinson + Pilkington * Gaskell + Robinson * Mota Piacentile Hulme # Mota Piacentile Kuba-Kuba Piacentile Dean * Johnson Piacentile Kuba-Kuba + Brooks Grayson Brooks Hartley Morley Kuba-Kuba Slaven Slaven Brooks # Slaven Morley Slaven # Morley Robinson Robinson # Smith Heron Lazenbury Lazenbury Frost Lazenbury * Grayson Slaven * Brooks # Bowyer # Williams * Edghill Edghill Edghill # Rother Mukendi +

Smith Slaven * Heron + Bowyer + Robinson # Bennett Robinson Robinson +

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Burton Burton Burton Burton Slaven Burton * Burton Burton Burton Burton Burton 1 Stopforth Burton Burton Burton Burton Burton Pilkington * Burton Burton Burton Williams Burton Burton Kuba-Kuba Burton * Burton + Burton Burton Burton Burton Burton Burton Bennett +1 Bennett Rother + Rother 1 Burke Burke Rother * Rother # Rother 1 # Rother Bennett * Kuba-Kuba Kuba-Kuba Kuba-Kuba Rother #

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Hulme 1 Hulme Hulme 1+ Hulme Abadaki + Abadaki Abadaki Abadaki Abadaki Abadaki Abadaki + Abadaki # Mota 1* Abadaki * Abadaki 1 * Abadaki 1 * Abadaki + Abadaki 1 Abadaki # Abadaki + Robinson # Abadaki * Williams 1* Williams * Abadaki Williams # Abadaki Williams 1 Williams * Williams * Abadaki * Abadaki Abadaki + Abadaki Lazenbury + Brooks * Abadaki * Abadaki Abadaki Abadaki Williams Abadaki * Abadaki * Williams + Williams + Brooks 1 * Brooks Brooks*

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iestley iestley iestley iestley arrender ou arrender arrender arrender + ou 1 ou 1 ou ou ou ou ou ou obinson ou ou ou ou ou ou ou ou 1 ou ou ugh ou ou ou ou nes ugh 1 ugh nes nes # arrop nes eville yres yres owyer owyer owyer owyer owyer

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tony’s teasers 1. Which two clubs will contest this season’s FA Vase final.

2. Which Evo-Stik League side plays at Turnbull Ground?

3. What colours do Kidsgrove Athletic play in?

4. Who is the manager of Mossley?

5. Which club won the first-ever NPL title?

6. In what year?

7. What is the nickname of Caernarfon Town?

8. Now defunct Kirkby Town changed their name to what (and they are also defunct!)?

9. Which club won Evo-Stik North last season?

10. In which League do Charnock Richard play?

ANSWERS: 1. Glossop North End and North Shields 2. Whitby Town 3. All Blue 4. Peter Band 5. Macclesfield Town 6. 1968/69 7. e Canaries 8. Knowsley United 9. Curzon Ashton 10. West Lancs. League 0 24

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ANSW 5. Mac

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rammy in exile sky sports statto richard isaacs Good afternoon everyone - and, for the first time in a very long time, I can actually say it's great to be here! Yes, the southerner decends upon you and is looking forward to this game immensely.

For, I actually missed both matches when these two clubs met previously back in 2006-2007 - and I was actually living up north then too. I wasn't at the Boxing Day game at Gigg Lane as I was working on the notorious 2006/07 Ashes Series in Australia (that was the first one we lost 5-0 under the captaincy of Andrew Flintoff) and the second game, on the Easter Saturday here, I was seconded to score Ramsbottom Cricket Club's first pre-season match of the season against Ormskirk so my dad could help out with the stewarding at the game. So I am genuinely excited about being able to watch this game.

Well, I was excited. I was really looking forward to Monday night's game at Curzon Ashton, which is only down the road from Cath's house but that, of course, fell to the weather. e last time I came up, I didn't see anything either so I am wondering if it is me. Ouch ..... sorry, the last time I came up, I came to see my lovely lady and it just so happened that Rammy's games were called off due to the weather (is that better, love?!?).

My excitement has been tempered quite considerably by

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the antics of some of the FC United of Manchester supporters over the price of admission for this game. Our twitter feed has gone berzerk with disgrunted supporters of the nomadic team and our Facebook page has also taken a hit. And, as the club stated at the time, the reasoning for it is exactly the same as the reasoning for the Stockport County game. I am sure that you wouldn't like to be stood in the car park still queuing to get in at 3.15pm, eh? I will be here nice and early, getting comfortable and enjoying the atmosphere. It is our home game, this is our home ground, enjoy your stay with us FC United of Manchester supporters.

And relax .... e Cricket World Cup finally came to its conclusion last Sunday morning with a rather disappointing final between Australia and New Zealand. For those of you who were not up at 4.35am, you missed the games end ... Brendon McCullum being dismissed fifth ball of the game. e blaster of cricket balls at the top of the innings knocked over before the coffee had even brewed and the writing was on the wall.

It has been a very long tournament - as good as seven weeks long - and with all the games overnight, my body has taken a real pounding but it was nice to come up here and relax for a few days, take a bit of time out before preparing for the next Sky Cricket assignment, the Indian Premier

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add) and we have started to make progress up the table again, which is a big relief as it has been a worrying time for everyone involved with the club. So let's continue to get right behind the lads and see if we can take something today in front of a partisan crowd - of which I will be one cheering hard for my team.

Just a few games to go now and we can see the end of this season - a season of mixed emotion.

Some big highs and some crippling lows. But we are still here, little Rammy, still ďŹ ghting hard and proving many wrong.

COME ON YOU RAMS!

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League and England's tour to the West Indies which start next week. I did enjoy telling Jacques Kallis that I once batted two days after he did on the same wicket at Pontypridd in 1999 - he scored a spectacular 155 while I followed in his footsteps with a pleasant on the eye 10!

But I hope anyone who was watching it saw that it was a decent tournament - and I think we did it quite well considering the timings of the matches here in the UK. Have been really encouraged by our recent run of form, culminating in a very good win at Grantham on Saturday (entrance fee ÂŁ10 I will

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from the darkside darren comer reports on the latest rammy ultras adventures Buxton is becoming a real home from home for the Darksides recently. To start with we had the F.A. Cup game back in September, where we lost a pulsating game by the odd goal in five after being 30 down in the first half hour. Next up we were due to play our league encounter against the Bucks of Buxton a couple of months ago but, a heavy snowfall the previous day meant the game was called off. e main problem with this, apart from the backlog of fixtures that were building up, was that I had booked myself and Mrs Darkside into the Buckingham Hotel (e Kim Bassinger Suite to be precise, I kid you not) for a romantic weekend in the beautiful, Peak District spa town. Yes, it was a romantic weekend, not a dirty weekend in a Sid James and Barbara Windsor style, as suggested by those forum users with filthy minds (Hello Richard the Voice, Hello Sir Paul of Cropper).

So, after a couple of visits to Buxton already this season, I found myself picking up Mrs Darkside at 4.30, from her hard graft at TNT, for our third visit in six months. We had a lovely, early Spring

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afternoon, with the sun shining as we hit the road, and apart from the expected delays around the M67/A67 turn off it was more than pleasant drive, although I’m not sure Mrs Darkside enjoyed the punkrock/dub reggae megamix on my IPod, as much as I did. As we drove over the hills, high above Glossop, I was able to point the lay-by in the middle of nowhere, where a few years I had taken a desperately needed pee, on route to watch Rochdale playing at Chesterfield (Darksides glory hunting years, indeed) On that day, in the middle of nowhere, a police car drove past, just as I was mid leak, and with not much crime in those parts they stopped to investigate my actions. Luckily, they understood my predicament and I didn’t end up on the front page of the Buxton Gazette.

We arrived at Buxtons, Silverlands ground at 6.00 and parked up in the street outside. We had a quick look around the ground, and spoke to a couple of friendly stewards, before making the short walk into the town centre for something to eat.

We headed to the Lone Star Grill, where we had eaten on our previous visit, and ordered ourselves Burritos and Burgers.

Now, I’m no Egon Ronay (sorry for that reference, teenagers) but, next time you visit Buxton this place is well worth a visit with first class food, friendly staff and an excellent real ale bar next door to help

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wash it all down. After eating we made our way back up to the ground and headed to the bar to see who had made the trip. As always, we had a good turn out and I had a chat with Toby Trotter, who thanked me for getting him a programme from the Stourbridge game. Also in attendance were three generations of the Davies family, with Roger, UkePunk, Jake and Joel. is was good to see as they had to miss the last two midweek away games, at Blyth and Stourbridge, due to the long distances on school nights. And, for the first time in a few weeks we even had both of e Worsicks, with neither Andy nor Little Katie having to work. I also had the pleasure of meeting regular forum poster, tannerscroft for the first time and we spent the match talking with him about all things Rammy. e Derbyshire Branch of e Ultras are born and TC is actually making his first visit to e Riverside today….. Hello TC, and I’m sure that win, lose or draw you will have a great day And so on to the game itself, where we got battered for ninety minutes, yet came away with a 1-1 draw. is probably does the players an injustice as they battled away from the first minute till the last and those of us who travelled concluded later that we were now really starting to gel as a team. e goals, when they came, were within a couple of minutes of each other, just after the hour mark. Buxton had many chances in the opening hour but, a mixture of bad finishing and some top drawer saves from Captain Shents, had some of us believing that this just might be our night. When we did concede in the 64th minute, our hopes seemed dashed and our spirits dropped, however they were ignited, more or less, immediately when the true Rammy legend that is Lee

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Gaskell popped up to equalise for us. is sparked off some unexpected, yet delightful celebration on the terracing where we were gathered, especially from Paul and Rita Gaskell, along with Grandpa Gaskell, who were stood with us. We somehow managed to hold on for the last twenty minutes and if we thought Shents had been playing well, he saved his best for the last few minutes when he pulled off a double save that had some of the more vintage supporters in our midst mentioning Jim Montgomery and the 1973 F.A. Cup Final. is still was not enough to gain him the MOM from the travelling Ultras, which we were pretty unanimous in awarding it to Tom Williams, who had been our creative spark all evening, giving their left back a torrid time in the process. As you can imagine, the team got the usual ovation from the Ultras at the final whistle, as Silverlands rang out with the cry of ‘We Love you Rammy, We Do….Oh, Rammy we Love You’ After the recent midweek trips to Stourbridge and Blyth, the journey home was relatively short and sweet, well maybe apart from the dark, winding road leading us back down into Glossop. We passed the time listening to 5Live and their round up of the evening’s football, which seemed to consist of so-called experts slagging off Arsenal for going out of Europe, but to be honest, I couldn’t care less and was more interested in checking on the Evo-Stik results to see if our point had moved us further away from the dreaded relegation zone. All in all, a good evening was had by all and to top it off, we were back in Rammy just before 11.00, so we were able to pop into e Railway, say hello to Joe, and have a quick pint of Cumberland Ale, yum yum!

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grant shenton shouting from between the sticks You were involved for a good while with FC United. How did you find the club and their supporters?

I loved being there as a young lad. I enjoyed all my time with the club and was lucky enough to play in a few league games -I know how hard it is as a young player to get game time at this level. And the fans are brilliant - I spent many games in the stands with them when I could. So I hope they will make lots of noise and enjoy the match and a little banter with myself.

Yet another postponement on Monday night, which leaves us trying to squash a tenth game into April.

Although it's a real pain in the backside, is it a blessing in disguise, giving the lads a rest before the big games against Trafford and FC United?

I think it will help us. e lads will have a bit of time to recover with not playing that game so i believe it's a blessing.

With 48 points on the board and Rammy six places above the relegation zone with three games in hand, it feels safety is almost secured. Is that how it felt after the excellent display and result at Grantham?

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We got three massive points from that game which give us some breathing room. I was never worried about relegation and I think some of the lads share that same mentality. at being said there is an element of caution from some players who are yet to be convinced.

Conditions at Grantham seemed tough, with a strong wind to contend with, though Rammy seemed to cope and exploit it better. Would you agree?

It was very hard to deal with the wind and the pitch was very dry and patchy so playing football was difficult. In the end we played the elements much better than our opponents and I didn't have a single save to make in the game so I think that speaks volumes.

In a ground that's got a big running track, and even a hammer-throwing net, how does it feel playing so far away from the supporters?

It's non league which is a long way away from a Champions Leagues night under floodlights with fifty thousand fans cheering. I enjoy being close to the fans and having a good bit of banter with them so it’s just not the same.

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We feel like the team is now starting to settle down really well, after the upheaval of Salford making off with the managers and team, is that how it feels on the pitch and in the dressing room?

True to Rammy ways the gaffer and his staff have kept that same mentality as before and all the new lads have settled in really well. e coach trips feel the same and everybody is enjoying it on and of the pitch! e disciplinary record took another hit with Kyle Harrop calling the referee something unpleasant last week. Is it annoying when players get such stupid sendings off?

Players get frustrated in games. it's going to happen, but that doesn't justify it. Kyle knows what he did. He said his apology in the correct manner and we move on.

Are you looking forward to playing in front of a bumper Riverside crowd, and of keeping goal in front of your own fans for once (due to the segregation)?

It’s the reason we all start playing football, to play in front of big crowds so I'm very excited about the game. And yes, it will be good to experience two sets of fans in one game. It also means I've got at least 45 mins of no abuse - that is unless I through one in!

Fingers crossed.

Enjoy the game everyone feel free to have a chat in bar after game. COYR!

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supporters club on the terraces of rammy As I write this I’ve just arrived home from yet another postponement - this time away at Curzon Ashton. With the rain tipping down in Rammy I’m even starting to wonder whether Wednesday’s game against Trafford might be in jeopardy or, if that game IS played then just how well the pitch can recover for today’s game against FC United. United fans of a certain age will remember some of the great mud-bath games that took place at Old Trafford in bygone days, perhaps we’ll be in for one of those this afternoon.

Although a Liverpool fan by birth, and a bit of a secret scouser, I’ve had a soft spot for today’s opponents since they formed ten years ago (blimey that’s gone quick!) ere’s no love anywhere in my heart for the Big United, that’s for sure, but a group of supporters with so much passion and drive that they can take on the task that they have, and not only top the Evostik Premier whilst being as yet homeless, but also get there with so much gas yet in the tank.

I think that, in contrast, a good number of us Rammy fans are a bit bemused about happenings down the road at Salford. Yes, we’ve had our management team and entire squad ripped away from us by the ‘class

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of 92’, so we’re a bit biased in it all, but the question keeps cropping up in my mind, “Just what are they trying to achieve?”

If you look at FC United’s fan base then you see one that is huge, and capable of growing and growing as they climb up the leagues and more people fall out with the corporate crap that is Premier League football, but what does Salford City have? ey have a shed-load of money in the shape of a Singapore businessman, but their crowds are as poor now as they have ever been. eir ground is spacious, but surrounded on all sides by housing, and access is pretty awful.

I can only assume that their billionaire sugar daddy is after getting himself a third (or possibly fourth if FC United have their way) top flight team in Manchester, but does he not realise that the people of Manchester are not the people of Milton Keynes - they won’t just turn up in large numbers to watch a team that they have no spiritual connection with... or maybe I am wrong. rough their bargain bucket season tickets Blackburn Rovers certainly managed to fill their ground with spectators rather than supporters - people who bought a season ticket in order to watch Arsenal, Chelsea, United etc visit Ewood and give Blackburn a hiding.

Johnno tells me that the scale of plans that Salford City have for their future is absolutely frightening, and so perhaps I do them a disservice from a position of

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Salford City’s usual bumper crowd when they still played in Traditional Tangerine

that game, and I’ll confess that we as Rammy fans never thought that we’d be playing FC United again, but perhaps for our visitors today is a chance to re-live those great Football Special away days once more, and for Rammy it’s a chance to play in front of a huge crowd and maybe build ourselves another couple of turnstiles like we did with the proceeds from the last game. It would have been nice to be up there knocking at the door of promotion ourselves, but for this season we are content with mid-table obscurity (or as mid-table as is possible in this incredibly tough league).

And so I’d like to thank everyone for their support today, on both sides of the completely unnecessary segregation fencing, and here’s hoping we get to watch a top quality football match that sees Rammy post another three points on the board.

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ignorance, but in my head football thrives on the passion and community of its supporters (as well as the stack of money that funds its ambition). FC United have shown that they have the former, and that they are capable of raising the latter, at least to the extent that they can build a £6M ground from scratch - in my eyes they are the club that are most likely to make a success of their venture and, despite my lifelong dislike of Manchester United, I really do wish them the best of luck with it all. I have to confess that I’ve even put my hand in my pocket a few times to help fund some of their progress, but don’t ever mention that to my folks or I’ll be excommunicated!

And so to today’s game, a rematch of that classic Rammy v FC United clash that took place way, way back when we were crap and they were shiny and new. A lot of time and water has passed under bridges since

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BUILDERS

SWEAR

BY IT !

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