Squires Gate FC V Congleton Town by SquiresGateFC

OFFICIAL 32 PAGE MATCHDAY PROGRAMME OF SQUIRES GATE

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CONTACT US Squires Gate Football Club School Road, Blackpool, FY4 5DS Good afternoon, and a warm welcome Congleton currently sit 13th in the to the fans, committee and staff of league, but they may feel like they Email: squiresgatefc@gmail.com Congleton Town. haven’t quite got started just yet and Website: www.squiresgatefc.co.uk I’m sure towards the end of the season We’re a week into December, and Twitter: @squiresgatefc games will start coming thick and fast they will be competing for top 8. over the Christmas period. A win last They faced high flyers Longridge Town Facebook: Squires Gate FC week over Northwich Vics, which saw on Wednesday night for the second us take all 6 points off them this term. time in a week in the FA Vase. After a EXECUTIVE: Our previous game against Congleton 2-2 draw on Saturday, they were Chairman: John Maguire a month ago saw us come out as 3-2 beaten 2-0 in the replay. Jay Hayden, Programme Editor

winners.

Co-Chairman: Tony Jo Treasurer: Mark Ashmore Secretary: John Maguire First Team Manager: Luke Evans Assistant Manager: Shane Hudson Director of Football: Jimmy Salthouse Physio: Lucy Gray Club President: Brian Addison

IN TODAY’S ISSUE 4

FROM THE DUGOUT

VIEW FROM THE AWAY END

MEET CONGLETON

Committee: John Maguire, Mark Ashmore, Steve Bellamy, Brian Addison, Colin Smith, Karl Townson, Spencer Leader, Chris Chadwick, Nick Grindley, Tony Jo Media: Albert Cooper, Mark Ashmore

Q&A WITH DAN COPE

MATCHDAY CENTRE

NAME NAMES

Programme Editors : Jay Hayden, Dan Hayden

DIVISION 1 LATEST

NWCFL STATS

Gate Attendee: Jay Hayden

ESTADIOS DE ESPANA

GAMES OF THE DECADE PT.3

GROUNDHOPPING

ACTION REPLAY

FROM THE ARCHIVE

TODAYS SQUADS

Groundsman: Brian Addison, Steve Bellamy, Roy Frost Bar: Denise Gibson and Chris Chadwick

NOTE: The words in this programme are NOT those of Squires Gate FC or Congleton Town FC, and facts and stats are as accurate as can be at the time of writing. 3

HERE’S WHAT THE GAFFER SAYS: A

LUKE EVANS

Welcome one and all to today’s game, as we entertain Lastly, I’d just like to say thank you so much to all our fans and Congleton Town. We hope our visitors have travelled safe and committee who work tirelessly at the club to give us what we we hope that they enjoy the game. need. Without them and our chairman Tony we wouldn’t be anything. Keep supporting the boys and let’s get another 3 We come into today’s game on the back some very good points performances culminating in a great victory last weekend away Up the Gate! at Northwich Victoria. The attitude and togetherness of this Luke good group is growing and starting to show in games. To come back from two goals behind away from home shows huge character and I am proud of the entire squad. As we look towards our next few fixtures I feel there is a good opportunity for us to get some wins under our belt and pull ourselves away from trouble and we can start looking up the table. The effort levels in training have been good and we are applying these things in games. The players are pushing each other and the competitive nature of the group is creating fierce competition for places. On the playing side we are delighted to learn this week that Dean Ing is November Player of the Month for the premier division. I’m told this is the first time that an outfield player has won this award in our history which is great for Dean, his family and also the club. He has worked very hard for the team and has grown into an integral part of our team. . Up the Gate!

DEAN ING WINS PLAYER OF THE MONTH

A special mention to Dean Ing who picked up the player of the Luke month award for November after some cracking performances which influenced our win away at Northwich Victoria, as well as a late fight back against Whitchurch Alport.

He scored a late equaliser away at Whitchurch Alport and a further 2 goals against Northwich Vics where his power, quality and work rate was too much for the Vics defence. He has put in some outstanding performances and he is developing into a Ing played 5 games during November, picking up 4 Man of the top class player. Match awards, netting 3 times. Taken off the NWCFL website, He is also maturing into a leader in the dressing room and is on why Dean was nominated for the award: the player that his colleagues look to for inspiration. We have “Dean has been in brilliant form this month, since our manager some really good performances this month and one of the main reason, is the massive contribution Dean has made.” Luke Evans played him further forward supporting the main striker as opposed to a central midfield role. Well done Dean! 4

Pic by Albert Cooper

HONOURS

Cheshire County League Division Two Champions: 1981-82 Mid Cheshire League Champions: 1973-74, 1975-76,1977-78 Crewe and District League Champions: 1901-02, 1902-03, 1903-04 Macclesfield and District League Champions: 1939-40 North Staffordshire and District League Champions: 1919-20 Cheshire Senior Cup: 1920-21, 1937-38 Mid Cheshire Senior Cup: 2006-07 Cheshire Saturday Cup 1977-78 Crewe and District Cup: 1903-04

WE WELCOME CONGLETON TOWN Events which led to the formation of Congleton Town Football Club, began in the 1890’s, the St James’ North Street School amalgamated with another local club, the Messrs Pointons Joiners Shop. They played on West Heath before housing was built in that area, and then became Congleton Hornets Football Club. The Hornets played at the Willow Street ground famed in Congleton, and competed in the South Cheshire League and recorded its’ record league win, 10-0 against Audley in the 1897/98 season. Congleton Town Football Club succeeded the Hornets in 1901, playing in the Crewe and District League for four years, the first three of which saw the club lift the League Championship. The Club then moved into the North Staffordshire League in 1905, and won the League in the 1919/20 season. The following year they joined the Cheshire County League, regarded at the time as the best League outside the Football League. The following season they finished runners-up and won the Cheshire Senior Cup in their first appearance in the Final. The Club then suffered a barren spell until the Senior Cup was won again in 1938. 2000s The early season of 2001/02 saw the club take just 9 points from 17 league matches and early exit from FA Cup and FA Vase. Sean Connor was replaced as manager by Kevin Langley, ex Everton and Man City. The club made a fine revival and had reached virtual safety before Langley’s shock move to Kidsgrove Athletic. Bryan Griffiths took over as manager and gained the points to make safety a certainty and stake a strong claim to keep the manager’s job. He was formally appointed at the end of the season. Gary Bickerstaffe joined him as assistant and in September 2002 he invited Kevin Langley to return as a player and to help with coaching. When Griffiths left to join Rossendale Utd, Kevin Langley was re-appointed as manager and Mark Cox joined to complete an experienced management team. Off the field the club continued to enjoy growing support from sponsors and steady improvements in its facilities, culminating with the signing of a twoyear deal with Macclesfield based SSG Group of Companies during the summer of 2003. During the summer of 2002, the clubhouse underwent major refurbishment and is seen by the club as a major step towards increasing its revenue potential. The changing facilities were redesigned and upgraded. The team reached the fifth Round of the FA Vase, beat three higher league sides in reaching the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, the semi-finals of the Cheshire Senior Cup and the Mid-Cheshire Senior Cup. In all cup competitions other than the FA Cup, only the eventual finalists beat the Bears. With promotion missed, a number of players left the club in the summer of 2004 leaving Kevin Langley with the task of rebuilding the side for the 2004/05 campaign. After a poor start and early exits from all major cup competitions, Karl Wilcox replaced Kevin Langley after he resigned in November 2005. In a further twist in an already difficult season, Karl Wilcox resigned after 11 defeats in 12 games. Paul Moore was appointed for the remainder of the season and he guided the team to safety before confirmation of his appointment signalled the start of rebuilding of a side aiming to challenge for honours.

After a reasonable season, despite a poor final run in, both Anthony and Darren stayed with the club and continued to build a side with promotion the target within the next couple of years. That plan was maintained in 2008/09 as the Bears ended a creditable 4th, just 1 point away from a 3rd place finish. A final run in of just 1 league defeat in the last 20 matches encouraged everyone. 2011/12 saw the club jointly managed by Joe Paladino and Adriano Rigoglioso. Assisted by Joe Gibiliru, the playing side were completely reformed but indifferent results led to Dean Sibson placed in temporary charge in early November before Jim Vince was appointed in February 2012. His was tasked with rebuilding the side ready for a real push for promotion in 2012/13. With the addition of Gateley Solicitors and PKF Accountants forming new partnerships with the club, the erection of a new spectator covered standing area and strengthening off field organisation, the club starts the new season with a new found enthusiasm and optimism for 2012/13. Having been awarded grade E for their ground in March 2013, ready for the next tier in the pyramid, strengthening of the playing squad was a priority and over the close season some additional players were brought in to complement the majority that were staying. Both Jim and Steve Hardy, now with Andy Alston on the coaching staff, look to improve on last year’s achievements with promotion still the obvious goal. That wish just failed to materialise and the club once more looked to change direction with the replacement of Jim Vince. Steve Hardy and Mike McDonald have taken over the running of team affairs with Andy Alston and team captain Andrew Langford able to add their experience to the redeveloping of the side. With a number of players departing in the summer, Mike and Steve have started the rebuilding which may take a few matches to get 2015/16 in full swing. After a string of disappointing performances and results, the club board moved to appoint Andy Alston and Griff Jones as joint managers. Although neither have a track record of management, the club felt they had the right credentials to bring the best out of the squad. That was proved in an excellent run of 14 games unbeaten in March and April 2016 but work commitments meant Griff could not give the time to his role and during the close season, Andy appointed Tom Baker, from Prescot Cables (and an ex-Bear) as his assistant. Both were tasked to continue the work to build the strength and quality of the squad to try to improve on the 6th place finish in 2015/16. Sadly season 2016/17 proved to be disappointing, culminating in the Bears ending 16th and Andy Alston stepping down.

The Bears moved quickly to appoint Ian Street, who had left 1874 Northwich in March, as manager and he in turn appointed his assistant Brian Pritchard, who played for Witton and is their record appearance holder before he went on to manage them. They are joined by Paul Johnson, an A Licence coach with Port Vale Academy. The appointments have rekindled the enthusiasm among fans. Ian's tenure was brief with results disappointing, leaving in November 2017 and Brian Pritchard stepped up with Paul After a steady start to the 2006/07 campaign, Paul Moore left to manage Johnson as coach. They built the squad ready for 2018/19 and a third Leek Town and Andy Lee took over the managerial reins as the club place in the Premier Division and semi-finalists in the Macron Cup was a strived to maintain continuity. The Bears lifted their first piece of silverware fine return on a good season. Paul Johnson opted to step down for season for some time when they won the Mid-Cheshire Senior Cup after defeating 2019/20 and captain Anthony Griffith (ex Port Vale and Leyton Orient) Witton Albion 3-0 at Wincham Park. stepped up as coach. The Bears also won the Premier Division Overall At the end of the season Andy Lee stepped down as he announced a Respect Award for the third year running. proposed move to Blackpool and Anthony Buckle and Darren Twigg were appointed with the task of rekindling the on-field performances. 8

Saturday 16th December 2006 / Congleton Town 2 Salford City 3 / NWCFL Division 1 / Att: 128 Going back to 2006 this week, and from thegroundhog.blog we found this from Congleton’s game vs Salford City. How many bears fans can remember this?

Williams, on the left of the penalty area, having been set up from the left winger. A few minutes later a low shot from Congleton went just wide but then on 34 minutes it was 2-0. Johnson on the right outran the Salford left back to leave “At two o’clock on Saturday I still hadn’t decided between Nantwich Town v Curzon Ashton or Congleton Town v Salford himself one-on-one with the keeper and buried it low in the net. Buoyed from these two goals, Congleton really should City, both in the North West Counties League Division One and both top of the table clashes; all four teams in contention have put the game beyond Salford, but they weren’t helped by for promotion to the Unibond First. I plumped for Congleton’s a dubious penalty decision on 43 minutes. From a curled in free kick (where a Salford player was apparently offside) the Booth Street. ref pointed to the spot for pushing. A low drive to the right Congleton is a fairly affluent and pleasant little town, home to a fooled the Town keeper. lot of Manchester commuters. It is often referred to as Beartown and their team is nicknamed the bears. This stems The second half saw Salford push for an equaliser which from the slightly apocryphal story that during Elizabethan times made for an entertaining, open game. Salford’s equaliser was when bear baiting was a popular sport, the town sold its bible always on the cards. A corner was only cleared to the edge of the box, where Robinson took a touch to the left and banged it for a bear. Apparently this isn’t quite true, though. In about 1620 the town had an old decrepit bear that wasn’t much of a in the net for 2-2. crowd puller, so decided to spend the money set aside for a The game could have gone either way in an exciting and wide new town bible, on a new town bear instead, a lean mean high open last 15 minutes, but somehow Salford’s last gasp winner quality bear capable of bringing in the crowds, as a kind of was almost inevitable. Teams with this attitude always seem to investment. Heathens! get the breaks in any league. And what a break it was today. In the fourth minute of injury time the ref pulled back play for a There were a large number of Salford City fans about, with their dark blue scarves and hats on. One Booth Street regular free kick despite having previously waved play on. A twenty five yard free kick was hammered ferociously at the keeper, said, in the queue for drinks at half-time, that he reckoned who could only parry it, and the rebound was smashed in by there were more of them than there were Bears fans. If this were true then that would be an impressive following. On the Moses. There was much whooping from the Salford bench and subject of refreshments the coffee was a tad pricey at 90p in the celebrations around the ground led me to believe that the comparison to similar venues that I’d visited recently; Market bloke in the coffee queue was right. Drayton 50p and Buxton 70p.

Just 5 minutes before, Congleton had missed the biggest I liked the board room too, a small white portacabin. The goal chance of the game to win it. A woeful back pass by Salford, nets were quite shabby too. I liked the style of them a lot. They played square across goal, landed at the feet of an onrushing attacker. He just needed to kick it in the net. Instead he were unusual; white stanchions and nets strung back a long way past the back of the stanchions. The nets looked ready to vacillated interminably, waiting and hoping for the right moment, until the keeper just picked it up. It was agonising to spring some holes though and wondered whether any goals might roll under and out the back of the net, like in traditional watch, even for a neutral. It must have been a cringeworthy teeth-gnashingly awful moment for the regulars. The winner school matches. was handed to them on a plate, but in the same way as things Salford started off the more lively and confident side, several go right when you’re on your uppers, things go like that when times going close, noticeably with a close range header that your confidence is a bit down. I did feel for the Bears at the was well saved. Towards the half hour mark Congleton started final whistle.” to wake up a bit and opened the scoring with a nice firm 20 yard chip over the keeper and into the bottom corner from

Judie Tingle @JudTPhotography

Speaking to The Gate from Congleton Town this week is Julie photography with my camera. Tingle, who takes photos for the club and has been a massive What has been your most memorable Congleton moment? part in the club for many years. She gives her thoughts on her Apart from getting my first lot of photos in the programme and time at the bears, and her time supporting the club. on the cover. Beating Sandbach 6-1 was a great game. First of all, what got you into football and more importantIs there any grounds that you enjoy visiting? ly what got you into supporting Congleton Town? Who did you support growing up? I think Whitchurch Alport has to be up there from all away What got me into football? Well my Dad did (Derek Oldham), he used to play for Congleton Town in around 1963 (and Macclesfield Town reserves). So he is quite a well known bloke around these local parts with all the oldies. I decided to get into photography about 6 years ago now and I love action type photos in particular, so I chose to ‘keep Congleton Town FC in the family’ and go to take photos of the football for them, so now I have joined an even bigger family and I am really enjoying it there. Don’t ask me why but I kind of supported Man City growing up, I think I just liked the shirt at the time. What were your expectations at the start of the season? How does it compare to now?

games that I have been to. Happy vibes, lovely friendly people, nice food and drink and it is in the countryside. What makes non league unique to you? Well I have been offered to work for an agency in Premier League footy and I have turned it down. Being in non league, I have made new friends, I enjoy the game so much more and you feel much more involved. I don’t know but there is a great vibe at Congleton that I would miss too much if I left. Which 3 teams do you think will get promoted from the NWCFL this season?

Tough one, but 1874 Northwich are probably favourites to go up this year. I’d say possibly Irlam and Longridge too.

I thought Congleton may have been on a roll from last season, You are manager of a 5 a side team. You can pick 2 Conbut sadly their good luck didn’t continue quite the same. But we have had a swap round of some of the players so hopefully gleton players and 3 PL legends. Who do you pick? start to move up the table. Well I know I would pick Dan Cope and Tom Morris from Congleton, as for the PL legends, I have no idea who I would pick. What was the first game you went to?

The first game I ever attended was a Macclesfield Town v Man Have you visited Squires Gate before? City match in the 90s but I can’t remember my first game at I haven’t but I look forward to meeting you all there sometime. Congleton. I was too interested in practicing sports 10

Q&A with the Bears’ top scorer

Talking to The Gate from Congleton Town this week is Daniel Cope. Their target man has already netted over double figures for The Bears this season and he speaks to us about his career, his favourite goal and what got him into football as a kid. Here is what he said: What was it that got you into football? Which team did you support when you were growing up? Early years at school and my mates were what encouraged me to play football, seeing everyone playing it at a young age, I wanted to be able to do the same and I found a love for it as soon as I got involved. The team I supported growing up and still do now is Newcastle United. Did you own any football shirts when you were a kid? Who was your idol? I owned quite a few Newcastle strips, first one being around 4 years old. The main reason for supporting Newcastle, was because of Alan Shearer. I watched an England game when I was young and loved him and so followed him at Newcastle. Could you give us a brief insight into your career? My career started out playing junior football, then playing for Stoke City for a year, I had trials for port vale, Everton and Celtic through the ages of 12-16. Then signed for my local side Leek Town at 17/18, then moved on to Stafford Rangers, from there to Newcastle Town, then to Hanley

Town and now Congleton Town in whom I am playing my second season for at the age of 28.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals that you have to do before a game?

Do you remember your first game for The Bears?

Not really one for superstitions or rituals, but one thing I notice I do before a game is when walking out onto the pitch I jump up for a header as I step Yes it was an FA Cup game in which we won 1-0, over the line, but that’s about it. I came on off the bench to play final 15 minutes. I You are manager of a 5 a side team. You can cannot remember who it was against though. pick 2 Congleton players, and 3 PL legends. What was the first game you attended as a Who makes your team? kid? My two Congleton players would be Tom Morris First game I attended would of been a Leek Town and Josh Ryder, then PL legends would be Jay game, then first professional game would of Jay O’kocha, Frank Lampard and Alan Shearer. probably been a Stoke City game with school. It was at young age so again not sure who against. What is your most embarrassing moment as a footballer? You can pick any player in the world to play alongside, past or present. Who do you pick? Most embarrassing moment would have to be getting injured doing a celebration, my celebraFor me, it has to be Alan Shearer. The qualities tion is a backflip, and on this occasion I twisted that he had would have been amazing to play my ankle as I was about to start my backflip and I alongside with, being a striker myself. and his had to be carried off past all the fans. goal scoring record wasn’t bad either was it. Which 3 PL players would you bring to ConWhat has been the best goal you have gleton Town on a free transfer? scored? James Maddison, he has a superb ability to Hard one this as I have scored some pretty create something from nothing. Marcus Rashford, decent goals over the 10 years of playing nonhis pace and skill would destroy any defence in league football, I scored quite a few overhead this league every game. Virgil Van Dijk, as no kicks, some good volleys, but the one that stands one would get past him and would be clean out for me would probably be a goal I scored for sheets nearly every game. leek town, in which I received the ball on the half turn, and just decided to have a pop at goal from Prediction for today’s game? around 35/40 yards, and it flew into the top cor4-1 Congleton. You probably won’t like it but we ner and won us the game. are hungry and I am raring to go. Up the bears! 11

A PREVIEW OF TODAY’S GAME SQUIRES GATE

CONGLETON TOWN

Gate go into today’s game on the back of a fantastic comeback at Northwich Vics, where they completed the double over the trickies this season.

Congleton were beaten by Gate last month, perhaps a game that they will feel they dropped points. Dan Cope will be the man to watch today, the forward is the bears’ top scorer and he could be the difference today.

Today, they will be looking on completing another double against another good side in Congleton.

GATE FORM GUIDE

RYLANDS FORM GUIDE

LOST 2-1

LOST 4-0

LOST 3-2

WON 3-2

LOST 3-0

WON 3-2

LOST 3-2

WON 3-1

LOST 1-0 DREW 2-2 LOST 2-0

29/10/19

02/11/19

04/11/19

09/11/19

23/11/19

30/11/19

02/11/19

09/11/19

16/11/19

23/11/19

30/11/19

04/12/19

League

Vase

League

Vase

Vase (R)

LAST TIME OUT CONGLETON TOWN 2

3 SQUIRES GATE

Cope (7, 45+1)

Boyd (39, 83)

Saturday 9th November 2019 / Booth Street / Attendance: 158 Squires Gate travelled to Congleton looking to turn their form around and get their first win of November after a run of two defeats. Daniel Cope dented them hopes within the first 7 minutes as he put the bears ahead from close range, but the visitors were given a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty before the 40 minute mark. The clubs top scorer James Boyd stepped up, and levelled for Gate. It was then Congleton who found themselves a chance to restore their lead as they were awarded a penalty before the break. Cope scored his and Congleton’s second of the game. A much better second half display from the Gate, and they got their reward when Jack Iley got his first goal for the club, and equalised again. 6 minutes from time, James Boyd scored the deciding goal of the game.

GATE v CONGLETON: HEAD TO HEAD

Played

Gate Wins

Draws

Congleton Wins

Gate Goals

Congleton Goals

Highest Score

SG 4-4 CON

29.75%

40.5%

1.27GPG

1.56GPG

26/08/06

BY DAN HAYDEN

Test your knowledge on some of the famous results in football history, can you name the starting XI for each team? Going back to Euro ‘96 this week, when England played the Netherlands. Can you work out who started from each team from the clues given? Some names are scrambled.

ENGLAND

NETHERLANDS

Played for Fulham and United

Famous for his ponytail

CRAZIER HIM LIEGE

United right back, now pundit

DANDY LB INN

Managed Forest, and City

REFERENCED COALS

United defender, managed MK

RELOADER BOND

Former Arsenal captain

10 Arsenal legend

Watford born, ex M’boro manager

11 STROKER THE APE

Famous for his celebration v SCO

12 WRITER ANON

Legend on the Tyne

14 CARTRIDGES WHICH

10 Former West Ham, and Pompey

15 BOWSTRING ANODE

11 299 apps for Spurs

17 FJORD ICY FUR

17 Played for Liverpool, City and RM

1 2

THE LATEST FROM DIVISION 1 DIVISION 1 NORTH TEAM

DIVISION 1 SOUTH PTS

TEAM

PTS

Lower Breck

+37

Vauxhall Motors

+34

AFC Liverpool

+35

FC Oswestry Town

+18

Emley AFC

+12

Abbey Hey

+10

Ashton Town

+17

Stone Old Alleynians

+16

AFC Blackpool

Eccleshall

Daisy Hill

-6

West Didsbury & Chorlton

+11

Holker Old Boys

-9

Cammell Laird 1907

Nelson

-8

Cheadle Heath Nomads

Pilkington

Wythenshawe Town

+23

10 Prestwich Heys

-3

10 Sandbach United

-1

11 Atherton LR

-11

11 Abbey Hulton United

-20

12 Golcar United

12 Maine Road

-2

13 St Helens Town

-2

13 Stockport Town

-3

14 Chadderton

-10

14 Wythenshawe Amateurs

-4

15 AFC Darwen

-15

15 Barnton

-16

16 Shelley

16 New Mills

-19

17 Bacup Borough

-1

17 Cheadle Town

-10

18 Cleator Moor Celtic

-2

18 Alsager Town

-12

19 Garstang

-20

19 St Martins

-15

20 Steeton

-27

20 Ellesmere Rangers

-30

RESULTS

Bacup Borough

Lower Breck

Barnton

Abbey Hey

Nelson

Chadderton

Abbey Hulton United

Eccleshall

AFC Darwen

Atherton LR

Cheadle Heath

Cammell Laird 1907

Cleator Moor Celtic

Emley AFC

Vauxhall Motors

West Didsbury

Daisy Hill

Pilkington

Abbey Hey

Wythenshawe Amateur

Garstang

AFC Liverpool

Abbey Hulton United

Stockport Town

Holker Old Boys

AFC Blackpool

Cheadle Heath

New Mills

St Helens Town

Ashton Town

Ellesmere Rangers

West Didsbury

AFC Darwen

AFC Blackpool

FC Oswestry Town

Stone Old Alleynians

Ashton Town

Steeton

Maine Road

Barnton

25 ASHTON ATHLETIC

AUGUST 3

RUNCORN TOWN

2-1

FEBRUARY

BURSCOUGH

0-1

RYLANDS

10 WEST DIDSBURY (FAC)

1-2

LITHERLAND REMYCA

17 WINSFORD UNITED

5-2

15 BARNOLDSWICK TOWN

20 PADIHAM

1-2

29 BURSCOUGH

26 BARNOLDSWICK TOWN

2-2

MARCH

31 WHICKHAM (FA VASE)

1-2

SEPTEMBER 7

BOOTLE

7 RUNCORN TOWN

14 HANLEY TOWN

A H

2-4

21 PADIHAM

14 W. A CELTIC (FA VASE 2Q)

1-4

APRIL

24 LANCASTER CITY (LCT 1)

1-6

28 AVRO OCTOBER

3-2

12 1874 NORTHWICH

1874 NORTHWICH

SKELMERSDALE

16 LONGRIDGE TOWN

1-5

23 CHARNOCK RICHARD

0-4

30 IRLAM

15 NORTHWICH VICS

2-1

19 EMLEY AFC (MACRON CUP)

2-1

23 LITHERLAND REMYCA

0-0

29 HANLEY TOWN

1-2

IRLAM

NOVEMBER

TEAM

PTS

1874 Northwich

+30

Charnock Richard

+17

Bootle

+12

Irlam

+18

Longridge Town

+15

Rylands

+14

ASHTON ATHLETIC

0-4

WHITCHURCH ALPORT

3-2

CONGLETON TOWN

2-3

23 RYLANDS

0-3

Whitchurch Alport

30 NORTHWICH VICS

2-3

Ashton Athletic

+12

Winsford United

Northwich Victoria

+12

Avro

-4

Runcorn Town

DECEMBER 7

CONGLETON TOWN

14 SKELMERSDALE

17 WINSFORD UNITED

Congleton Town

-1

21 CHARNOCK RICHARD

Barnoldswick Town

-10

26 LONGRIDGE TOWN

Hanley Town

-9

28 AVRO JANUARY

Padiham

-18

Squires Gate

-19

Skelmersdale United

-8

4 BOOTLE

Burscough

-29

11 WHITCHURCH ALPORT

Litherland REMYCA

-41

FACTS & FIGURES FROM THE PREMIER DIVSION MOST CLEAN SHEETS

HIGHEST ATTENDANCES

MOST 2ND HALF GOALS

G. McCall (Rylands)

1874 v Winsford

403

Irlam

B. Barnes (Skem Utd)

Bootle v 1874

351

1874 Northwich

A. Reid (Runcorn Town)

Whitchurch v Hanley

333

Charnock Richard

D. Taberner (N.Vics)

N. Vics v Burscough

310

Whitchurch Alport

A. Woolrich (Hanley Town)

Whitchurch v Congleton

294

Northwich Vics

MOST CARDS (Y / R)

TOP SCORERS (ALL)

HIGHEST SCORES

Padiham

41 38 / 3

Paul Turner (LON)

REMYCA v 1874

0-9

Lither’ REMYCA

40 33 / 7

Carl Grimshaw (WIN)

Winsford v Gate

5-4

Avro

38 34 / 4

Sam McGowan (1874)

Bootle v Avro

7-2

Barnoldswick Town 36 31 / 5

Jake Parker (1874)

N. Vics v REMYCA

8-0

Skelmersdale Utd

Daniel Cope (CON)

REMYCA v Ashton Ath

1-7

36 33 / 3

GATE v CONGLETON: LEAGUE GOALS IN MINUTES 6 5 4 3 2

0-10

11-20

WHERE TO SEE GOALS

21-30

31-40

41-45

46-50

51-60

61-70

FORM TABLE (LAST 6)

71-80

81-89

90+

GATE TOP SCORERS

1 Congleton Town

1 Charnock Richard

Dean Ing

2 Charnock Richard

2 1874 Northwich

James Boyd

3 Winsford United

3 Rylands

Riccardo Egidi

4 Avro

4 Runcorn Town

Jack Illey

5 Longridge Town

Josh Westwood

5 Squires Gate

6 Northwich Victoria

7 Rylands

8 Irlam

9 Runcorn Town

10 Ashton Athletic

FORM TABLE (LAST 6)

GATE MOST APPS

16 Squires Gate

Jake Higham

17 Lither’ REMYCA

Sam Staunton-Turner

18 Whitchurch Alport

James Boyd

19 Hanley Town

Josh Pollard

20 Burscough

Dean Ing

PART THREE Ever wondered what non league football is like in Spain, and the types of grounds you could expect to see in the lower divisions of Spain? From a blog we came across called “Estadios de Espana”: Club Esportiu Europa

Campionat de Catalunya on three occasions (1920-21, 192122 & 1923-24). Three further second place finishes followed between 1926-29 and based on this success, the club was invited to take part in the inaugural season of the Spanish Football League. Europa’s La Liga adventure began on 1 December 1929 with a 5-3 defeat away to Atlético Madrid. Home matches were played at three venues; their Guinardó home, but also at Barcelona’s Camp de Les Corts & the new stadium at Montjuic. Europa’s first two seasons in La Liga saw them finish in 8th & 9th position respectively but they eventually fell to La Segunda in 1930-31. This coincided with a financial crisis which saw the club merge with Gràcia FC to form Catalunya FC for the 1931-32 season. It was not a marriage made in heaven and the club folded before the end of the season, failing to play their away matches at CD Castellon, Celta de Vigo and Sevilla FC.

The northern district of Gràcia is home to one of Spain’s most historic, but often overlooked clubs, Club Esportiu Europa. Founded as Club Deportivo Europa in 1907 following the merger of Madrid de Barcelona and Provençal, the club played at a number of grounds during its first 15 years, including one at Carrer Marina, in the shadows of the Sagrada Familia. Club legend has it that Antoni Gaudí would watch the team train whilst working on his masterpiece.

Europa went to the amateur leagues and played on a plot of land at the top of Carrer Sardenya. Gràcia FC kept playing at the Campo de Guinardó and continued in the Catalan youth leagues for a few seasons more. Guinardó was converted into a velodrome in 1942, before closing in 1964.

After the Civil War, the pitch on Carrer Sardenya was unusable, so the club moved around for a year or so, playing home matches mainly, but not exclusively at the ground of FC In 1923 the club bought a strip of land between Carrer Marina Martinenc. Finally, on 1 December 1940, the club opened a & Carrer Encarnacion and set about building its first ground. new ground back in the district of Gràcia. The ground was The Campo del Guinardó, as it would become known due to called the Camp de Sardenya and was a basic enclosure of its proximity to the barracks in the neighbouring district, would terracing with a dirt pitch. Three years later the club built a be the home of the club during its most successful period. 1,000 seat grandstand from the proceeds of the transfer of Guinardó had a capacity of 19,000, including 2,000 seats. Antoni Ramalletts to FC Barcelona, and it was Barça who were the guests on 26 January 1944 when the new stand was It was inaugurated on 8 Dec 1923 when Europa entertained officially opened. 1960 saw the installation of a grass pitch Hungarian side Szombathelyi Haladás in a friendly. Europa along with FC Barcelona were the dominant forces in Catalan (later removed) and floodlights followed in 1963. football in the 1920s. Their golden season occurred in 1922-23 The Sixties also saw the club win promotion to La Segunda when the club won the Championat de Catalunya and reached and their first season back in the second tier in 1963-64, the final of the Copa del Rey, only to lose 0-1 to Athletic Bilbao almost saw the club win promotion back to La Primera. They at Barcelona’s Camp de Les Corts. Under the tutelage of finished in third position, one place and two points off a playoff Englishman Ralph Kirby, the club also finished second in the berth. Europa survived for four further seasons until the reorganisation of La Segunda from two regional to one 22

@squiresgatefc

national league, saw the club return the Tercera. Apart from a rather sorry performance in Segunda B in 1994-95 and two visits to the Catalan Regional League, Europa has spent the majority of the past 50 years in the Tercera. In the 1980s, the urban sprawl of Barcelona began to strangle the Camp Sardenya and with the construction of the northern ring-road, the club saw some of its offices and terracing reduced. Finally, in 1992, the municipality decided to completely redevelop the site and Camp Sandenya was demolished. For two seasons, the club shared its home matches between the Camp del Carrer Feliu i Codina (Home to UA Horta) & the Camp Municipal del Guinardó (Home to FC Martinenc and not to be confused with the original Campo del Guinardó) However, what the club returned to was a vast improvement on Camp Sardenya and an ingenious piece of urban architecture. Officially opened on 4 May 1995, Nou Sardenya occupies the site of the former ground, only it is approximately 4 metres higher. That is down to the fact that the stadium sits on top of a municipal sports centre and underground car park. Along the north side of the ground is a modern 1,144 seat cantilevered stand, whilst five steps of blue and white terracing surround the remainder of the ground. Not an inch of space is wasted as the club offices sit in the vaults under the west terrace. Completed at a cost of 360 million pesetas (€2.2m), the Nou Sardenya has a capacity of 4,000, 1,165 of which are seated. The whole complex still looks spruce and when I visited it in March 2011, it was being utilised by every conceivable agegroup, from local school kids on the artificial turf to pensioners doing aqua-aerobics in the sports centre’s pool. Europa is a genuine community club that is proud of its history but still wants to make its mark as a football club. Just as they did in 1997 & 1998 when they beat FC Barcelona, containing the likes of Stoichkov, de la Pena, Couto, Sergi & Reiziger, to win the Copa Catalunya. You can read more about this historic club on their Official Website. Europa added a third Copa Catalunya in 2015, beating Girona 2-1 in the final.

Pictured above: The Campo del Guinardó in 1930

Pictured above: Europa play Deportivo La Coruna

Pictured above: Camp Sardenya in the late 1980s

Please note: Squires Gate does not claim to own any of this article and it is taken directly from the Estadios De Espana blog, you can follow his Spanish travels on social media! @estadios_Spain

PART THREE As the decade draws to a close, at Squires Gate, Dan Hayden looks back on some of the best games of the decade. In part three of four, we have a look at some of the Premier Leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most entertaining games. A decade which has seen Blackpool play in the Premier League, Leicester go from being relegation favourites to winning the title as 5000/1 winners, and we have seen the demise of clubs like Bolton, Blackburn and Charlton who continue to play in the lower leagues of the English pyramid. In our next issue, we will be counting down the top 5 games of the decade, which have some thrillers, some high scoring derbies and some unbelievable comebacks. Can you guess what game is at number 1?

10. WATFORD 3 LIVERPOOL 0 20 December 2015, Vicarage Road This has to be a top 10 game for me, purely based on the fact Watford were going up against a very strong Liverpool side and were wrote off before the game even started.

As a Watford fan, this has to be one of our greatest results during our spell in the Premier League too. An early goal from Nathan Ake, who pounced on a ball dropped by Adam Bogdan within the first 3 minutes. The partnership of Ighalo and Deeney struck again as Deeney played a through pass to Ighalo, who outmuscled Skrtel before putting the ball past Bogdan.

Ighalo got his second 20 minutes from time to finish the game.

9. BOURNEMOUTH 4 CHELSEA 0 30 January 2019, Vitality Stadium Bournemouth got promoted in the same season as Watford, with both teams having a share of top 6 scalps but I think Bournemouth have pulled off some of the biggest results as they have cemented themselves as a top Prem side. In January of this year, they faced a very average Chelsea side who were struggling to get results under Sarri. At half time, the game was goalless but the second half saw an onslaught from the cherries. Goals from Josh King, David Brooks and Charlie Daniels sealed the fantastic victory for Bournemouth over the eventual Europa League winners. 24

8. MAN CITY 2 C PALACE 3 22 December 2018, Etihad Stadium Towards the end of this decade, when a team wins at the Etihad, you expect the away team to have scored 1 goal and have parked the bus for the remainder of the game, but not this Crystal Palace side. Roy Hodgson took his Eagles, and stunned the City crowd after the home side took the lead on 27 minutes. A Schlupp equaliser, followed by a volley from Andros Townsend put the away side in control. They made it 3-1 from the penalty spot early in the second half, to put City at risk of losing their home record. De Bruyne scored a consolation, but a great win for Palace.

7. MAN UNITED 8 ARSENAL 2 28 August 2011, Old Trafford This has to be one of the weirdest results of the decade, any game between the top 6 sides is expected to be a tight game. But this game had everything, in a 10 goal thriller. United arguably at their best, raced into a 3-0 lead before Walcott scored a penalty on the stroke of half time. A hat trick from Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young scoring a brace and Welbeck scoring against his future employers. This was surely one result Wenger would want to forget during his time at Arsenal, along with their 6-0 defeat to Chelsea in his 1,000th game in charge.

6. C PALACE 3 LIVERPOOL 3 5 May 2014, Selhurst Park Sorry, Liverpool fans… The reds had a famous night in Istanbul when they came from 3-0 down to win the Champions League, but this was one to forget for Liverpool. Sitting comfortably 3-0 up, and putting pressure on title faves Manchester City. 11 minutes remaining and it’s almost as if they self destruct. A Dwight Gayle brace in the last 10 minutes was enough to end Liverpool’s hopes of winning the league.

At the end of the game, Suarez was seen in tears holding up his shirt to his face while being consoled by captain Steven Gerrard. 25

“The 94th Minute” blogger, Clint First of all, what encouraged you to get into football and more importantly groundhopping adventures?

Which non league clubs do you live closest to? Can you give us a brief insight into them?

I have always been a fan of football since I have been young and as I have gotten older, I have become more and more interested in local and lower league football, and outside of the Premier League ‘bubble’. I got into groundhopping as a way of getting myself out of the house, especially after a low mental health episode and also exploring the local clubs around me as I was aware that there were plenty of clubs around which I hadn’t visited. I visited Colwyn Bay in October 2014, and I was immediately hooked.

I live closest to the club I support, Holywell Town, who are just a five minute walk away from the house. They currently play in the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Premier Division, which is the third tier in the Welsh football pyramid after being relegated last season. Their ground, Halkyn Road, is a blend of old and new, with a new covered stand being constructed last season at one end of the ground. The old school main stand running along the town side of the pitch. It is set for a refurbishment and potential rebuild, so there is not too long to admire the benches in the main stand for too long.

You run the blog ‘The 94th Minute’, can you tell us a bit about why you started it, and what readers can expect to find on the blog?

I initially started it as a way of promoting North Welsh clubs and providing information about them through my own journey around them. When I was looking for information for the Colwyn Bay trip (to calm my anxiety) I couldn’t find much info. Therefore I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts on Welsh clubs for other people who wanted to visit the clubs. In time however, the blog has developed from just a groundhop blog, to one where I have written articles about other leagues How many grounds have you visited? and things that interest me in football. At the last count, I have visited 117 grounds, with the majority Did you have any football shirts growing up? Who was of them being in North Wales. Obviously I would like to visit your footballing idol? Who did you support growing up, more and reach 200, but reaching 100 was a good enough and what was the reason behind it? tally for me at the moment. I had a load of Liverpool and Welsh shirts when I was growing up although I was also given some Everton shirts by my dad’s side of the family, who wanted me to become a toffee. My mum’s brother however was a committed Liverpool fan, and determined to convert all of the nieces and nephews into Liverpool fans, so he is the reason for me initially supporting Liverpool. Although today, I am not so fussed about Liverpool, mainly due to my apathy towards Premier League football, but I still want them to do well.

Do you remember the first game you attended? What was the score? I think I remember the first game I attended. I’m not sure of the year but I know it was Holywell Town against the old Chester City in a pre season friendly. I remember Chester won the game 2-0 that day, and I remember walking back home absolutely gutted that the Wellmen lost. The best game you have ever watched? The worst? In general, and ones you have attended on your travels?

My idol growing up was Ian Rush - playing for Liverpool and The best game I have ever watched was the 2015 FAW Wales was always going to endear me to him, plus he came from Flint, which is a town not too far from where I grew up. In Trophy final between Holywell Town and Penrhyndeudraeth at the neutral venue of Llandudno’s Parc Maesdu ground. It was addition, his brother managed Holywell Town for a bit. an amazing atmosphere that day with nearly half of the town

taking the train journey down the coast to the seaside resort. It was a sunny day, and many pre-game drinks were had in the town’s many pubs, which gave a superb atmosphere in the stand during the game.

What is your usual matchday routine when visiting a new ground?

The worst game I saw was strangely a week before the Llandudno trip, between Glan Conwy and Llanrug United. A dire game which involved both teams hoofing the ball as far as they can, or launching it out of the ground completely on many occasions. It ended 1-0 and we were lucky to see that! Such a bad game!

idea what to expect when I get there.

I usually will check the route to the ground through google maps, to ensure I am going the right way, and also see where Holywell Town won the game 4-2 in the end, so a cup victory would be best for parking (if I am driving there). I will also always helps there. Plus the sight of inflatable crocodile (which check on Twitter to ensure the game is still going ahead, has since become the club’s mascot) getting ‘sent off’ by the especially in winter time, so that it’s not a waster journey there. match referee, and then bouncing off the head of the FAW Finally I will have a look at other groundhopping blogs that I Chairman during the presentation, will stay with me for life. follow, to see if they have been there previously, so I have an

What makes non league unique to you? It’s the friendly atmosphere which I absolutely adore, and that everyone is always very welcoming whichever ground you visit. Every club in the same situation, so there is a lot more co operation and community feeling between the fans of clubs. In addition, it is much more calming at a non league game, being able to walk around a pitch and sitting wherever you like. What is the best goal you’ve ever seen, live and in general? I’ll be honest, I can never remember goals during games. However, I do remember a goal ay Mochdre Sports where the left winger flicked the ball up, and curled it into the far top corner. As I was stood right by him as he hit it, and saw the flight of the ball, I knew it was going in before it zipped past the keeper. Your favourite grounds? I love the Mid Wales grounds, so places like Llanfair United, Caersws and Rhayader Town are always special places to visit. I do enjoy visiting Conwyn Borough’s ground, mainly for the excellent food there, although I think I love Porthmadog’s ground the most. An excellent town to visit, a superb ground and a really welcoming atmosphere. It’s just a shame it has rained every time I have visited there.

Any rituals or superstitions when supporting Holywell? No, not really. I will wear my scarf and/or shirt to the game, but that is about it. Have you visited any obscure grounds? What made them different to the others? I have visited a ground on the Isle of Man, in Port Erin. My mate and I did a day trip to the IoM, where we flew from Liverpool to the island and spent a long day there. We watched Rushen United against Ayre United, and saw the home side win 13-1, although it was absolutely freezing there because it was the middle of January. However, I love the grounds on the Isle of Man, and the island in general. I think it is an untapped source for groundhopping, although when FC Isle of Man enter the English leagues, I’m sure more people will become aware of the island’s beauty. Have you visited Squires Gate before? If not, can we expect to see you up here at some point in the future? Sadly not, although it is certainly a ground I would love to visit in the near future. I have certainly neglected visiting north west English grounds, so that is something I need to rectify in the next few years. What grounds are you planning on visiting in the next few months? I don’t have any particular plans really. I will just see if any interesting games appear at grounds I haven’t been to. I would like to visit Llanuwchllyn’s ground sometime soon, as it’s one of the grounds in the Welsh National League that I haven’t been to yet. The same goes for Overton Recreation’s ground, although I don’t think there are a lot of facilities there for either ground. In terms of England. Whitchurch Alport is a club I need to visit soon. I work with someone who supports them, and they are always talking about how I need to visit them soon, so they are certainly on the “must visit” list. A big thanks to Clint from The 94th Minute for taking his time to answer our questions! We hope to welcome him to Squires Gate soon! 27

PREMIER DIVISION, THE BRIAN ADDISON STADIUM, 30.11.19 NORTHWICH VICS Burns (8, 25)

NORTHWICH VICTORIA 1

Daniel Taberner

Robert Henry

Brandon Barski

Ryan Winder

Kieron Kenny

Michael Anthony Wilson

Jack Dorney

Kevin Pollard

Aaron Burns

Saul Henderson

Matthew Clarke

2-3

SQUIRES GATE Ing (39, 75), Higham (67)

After just 8 minutes, Aaron Burns outmuscled the Gate defence after chasing down a ball over the top, rounded Jordan Gidley, and slotted the ball home.

GATE 1

Jordan Gidley

Vics extended their lead after 25 minutes when Jack Dorney did well down the left and crossed low to the near post where Aaron Burns just managed to stretch out and poke the ball into the back of the net. Gate finally got one back after 39 minutes when Taberner did brilliantly to stop first a Boyd strike, and then a Higham effort but couldn't do anything to stop Dean Ing heading in the rebound. On the stroke of half time, Vics nearly regained their 2 goal advantage when Kev Pollard won the ball in midfield and laid the ball through to Saul Henderson but his shot from the edge of the area was well saved by Gidley.

Ryan Dodd

Jake Higham

Sam Staunton-Turner

Cameron Gourley

Matt Farnworth

Ryan Riley

A quiet start to the second half, with most of the play being in the midfield. Gate managed to get an equaliser when they earned a corner from the right, which Vics failed to clear properly, and despite another fine initial save by Taberner, Jake Higham was quickest to react and fired in the rebound. Just 8 minutes later, with Vics pushing forward. they lost the ball on the edge of 'Gate's penalty area and Sam Staunton-Turner burst away and found Josh Pollard, his shot was saved but Dean Ing was there to fire in the loose ball.

Josh Pollard

Jack Iley

Dean Ing

James Boyd

A precious victory for Gate.

Pic by Albert Cooper

Pic by Albert Cooper 28

Pic by Albert Cooper

A LOOK BACK TO 1990/91 RESULTS - 8 DECEMBER 1990

DIVISION ONE 1990/91

Bournemouth

Hayes

Swansea

Walsall

Arsenal

Chelsea

Crystal Palace

Tottenham

Sunderland

Norwich

Luton

Wimbledon

PTS

+56

Liverpool

+37

Crystal Palace

Southampton

Leeds United

+18

Arsenal

Manchester City

+11

QPR

Manchester United

+13

Everton

Coventry

Wimbledon

Man Utd

Leeds

Nottingham Forest

+15

Portsmouth

West Ham

Everton

Hull

Blackburn

10 Tottenham Hotspur

Watford

Plymouth

11 Chelsea

-11

Bristol City

Sheff Wed

12 Queens Park Rangers

-9

13 Sheffield United

-19

14 Southampton

-11

15 Norwich City

-23

16 Coventry City

-7

17 Aston Villa

-12

18 Luton Town

-19

19 Sunderland

-22

20 Derby County

-38

FA CUP FINAL 1991 Tottenham Hotspur

Nottingham Forest

DID YOU KNOW? 3 July ‘90

Chelsea pay a club record fee of £1m for midfielder Dennis Wise from Wimbledon.

4 July ‘90

England lose World Cup semi to West Germany.

16 July ‘90

Graham Taylor is appointed England boss replacing Bobby Robson.

20 July ‘90

Man City sign Tony Coton for a club record £1m.

25 August ‘90

Liverpool and United share the Charity Shield after a 1-1 draw at Wembley.

27 October ‘90

The Manchester derby at Maine Road ends in a 3-3 draw between City and United.

TEAM

29 November ‘90 Manchester United offer 17 year old trainee Ryan Giggs a professional contract. 15 January ‘91

Liverpool sign 17 year old Jamie Redknapp from Bournemouth.

22 February ‘91

Kenny Dalglish resigns as Liverpool manager.

2 March ‘91

Ryan Giggs makes his debut at United, as a sub which ends in a 2-0 defeat to Everton.

6 May ‘91

Liverpool are beaten 2-1 by Nottingham Forest, which hands Arsenal the title who beat Arsenal 3-1. 29

Assistant Referees

Ben CHAPMAN

Jordan GIDLEY Jacob DAVIES Jacob HIGHAM

Referee Zharir Mustafa

Paul CONNOR Ricky BRIDGE

Joseph MULLEN

Joshua RYDER

Dave ROSSALL

Thomas MORRIS

Josh WESTWOOD Robert PARKER

James BOYD

Anthony GRIFFITH Ben Moorcroft-Moran James Milburn

Ryan DODD Dean ING Matthew FARNWORTH Josh POLLARD

Kyle DISKIN

Daniel COPE Jordan COLE

UP NEXT AT HOMEâ&#x20AC;¦

WINSFORD UNITED 17th December 2019

Sam STAUNTON-TURNER

Stuart WELLSTEAD Luke HORROCKS Paul SPEED Thomas RUTTER

Riccardo EGIDI

Liam MORGAN Other fixtures Avro v Hanley Town Barnoldswick Town v Burscough Charnock Richard v Northwich Vics Irlam v Winsford United Longridge Town v Skelmersdale United

Lewis BERGIN