St Helens Town v Bootle by John McKiernan

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Executive Programme Sponsor

Executive Executive Programme Programme Sponsor Sponsor

North West Counties Football League Premier Division North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners Programme Year Five Time Winners of of Programme of of thethe Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Today’s Team News CLUB INFORMATION Honorary Life President: Alan Wellens

Vice President: Jim Barrett Chairman: John McKiernan (07713 339682) Vice Chairman: Glyn Jones Hon. Secretary/Treasurer: Jeff Voller (07843 692695)

Full Committee: John McKiernan, Jeff Voller, Jim Barrett, Ste Ball, Chris Ford and Glyn Jones. Trustees: John McKiernan and Eric Bond Club Manager: Ian Price

Assistant Manager: Nick Matthews Physiotherapists: Nicole Garner Jess Pritchard & Ben Fletcher U21 Team Manager Alan Gillespie U21 Asst Manager: John Whelan

Saturday 7th February 2015, kick off 3pm North West Counties League, Premier Division St Helens Town Red & White Shirts White Shorts, Red & White Socks No

Gls

St Helens Town Rory Crowther James Halpin Jack Hont Ryan Duffy Aaron Morris Gareth Grant Jack McKay Matthew Davidson Andy Gillespie Kris Bell Ed Richardson Marcus Perry Jamil Saleh James Rushton-Woods Chad Whyte Lewis Coyle

Bootle Blue Shirts Blue Shorts & Socks No

Gls

Bootle Jack Mano Neil McQueen Shaun Harris David Taylor Jamie Hay Adam Burton Emini Adegbenro Samuel Wilkie Tom Peterson Joshua Hamilton James McGrane Sean Coulton Daniel O’Connor Conor Christiansen Michael Roberts James Cairns

U18 Team Manager: Cairns Hardie U17 Team Manager: Nick Matthews Veterans Team Manager: David Platt Email: sthelenstownfc@hotmail.co.uk Main Club Sponsor: Johnsons Toyota Liverpool

Manager: Ian Price Assistant: Nick Matthews

Manager: Joe Doran Assistant: Neil McQueen

Referee: Mr N Cox (Blackpool)

Assist: Mr K Martin (Preston) & Mr S Doherty (Preston) Today’s Executive Match Sponsor:

Main Shirt Sponsor: Eciguk St Helens Legal: St Helens Town Limited Private Limited Company Company No. 04392840 Date of Incorporation 12.03.2002 Company Directors: Jim Barrett Parent Company: A wholly owned subsidiary of Sporting Club St Helens Limited

Cover: Jack McKay inaction v Atherton Collieries (2014-15)

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Executive Programme Sponsor

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Talk of the Town Good afternoon and welcome to Brocstedes Park for this North West Counties Football League, Premier Division contest against Bootle. May I open by welcoming our visitors I hope they enjoy the short time they will spend with us and have a safe journey home after the game. It has been a while since we last convened here at Brocstedes Park for a home game with the previous occasion being two months ago when we exited the FA Vase at the Third Round stage to NCEL, Premier Division leaders Tadcaster Albion. The visitors for Yorkshire set off at a pace and netted early before a couple of golden chances were wasted by Town and they were made to pay as Taddy doubled their lead and effectively ended the game as a contest when they added a third with half an hour on the clock. Albion added a fourth after the restart and last consolation goals from Skipper Andy Gillespie & Marcus Perry gave some respectability to the scoreline. Tadcaster have since been victorious over Brocton in the 4th Round and will this afternoon visit fellow NCEL outfit AFC Mansfield for a place in the Quarter Finals. We were then thwarted by the weather the following weekend as the scheduled game here against 1874 Northwich was called off due to a waterlogged pitch and the same fate befell the “home” game against Ashton Athletic a fortnight later this time it was snow which was the major issue in the cancellation. In between we ventured to Nelson and after a slow start again fell behind early and never really recovered going down 4-0 to round off 2014. The January road trip then began with four games scheduled and all being away trips. We started with our longest trip to Yorkshire to take on Silsden and an encouraging start saw the visitors take the game to the hosts and rightfully break the deadlock when Marcus Perry rounded off a good period of play. We were dominating possession and creating chances but we were caught with a sucker punch for the equaliser as Silsden’s first real effort levelled matters and we were made to pay for our first half wastefulness as the hosts netted what turned out to be the winner in the second half. We recovered from this disappointment the following week when we took the trip to Blackpool taking on Squires Gate, the two teams battled out their second stalemate of the season as they followed up the 0-0 draw at Brocstedes Park with a 1-1 scoreline at School Road. The hosts took the lead in the first half but a free kick wonder strike from James Rushton-Woods ended up securing Town’s first point of 2015. We then took the trip to Cheshire taking on Alsager Town who seem to be somewhat of a bogey team for St Helen Town recently. We dominated the early exchanges only to somehow find ourselves 2-0 down, a goal from Chad Whyte reduced the arrears before the break and a strike from what seemed an impossible angle by Gillespie levelled matters. Gillespie then struck the bar at 2-2 before an Alsager fight back saw them run our 4-2 winners. The month was rounded off in Greater Manchester as we visited West Didsbury & Chorlton and a slow start cost us dear as we ended up going down 3-0. Turning our attentions to this afternoons contest we face one of the in form sides in the Division in Bootle and will need to be “at the races” from the off if we are to secure a return from the contest and push ourselves away from the sides below us in the relegation battle. Let’s get behind Town this afternoon and hopefully cheer them onto victory your support is vital to the cause!

Enjoy the game . . . Jeff Voller

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

In Town Today The original Bootle Football Club was formed in 1880 and played at Hawthorne Road. In the season 1889/90, the club became a founder member of the Football Alliance and managed to reach the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, where they lost to Blackburn Rovers. When the Alliance merged with the Football League in 1892, Bootle became founder members of the new Second Division. However, despite finishing a respectable 8th place, the club dropped out of he league after one season, were replaced by neighbours Liverpool FC and seemingly, disappeared. The current Bootle side were formed in 1953 as Langton FC, the side played at Edinburgh Park and dominated amateur football in the Liverpool area as members of the Liverpool Shipping League and subsequently the Liverpool County Combination until the mid seventies. The club was massively successful winning the County Combination on nine occasions, The Liverpool Challenge Cup three times, the Liverpool Amateur Cup three times and the George Mahon Cup six times. The club made the move to The Lancashire Combination in 1974 and finished a creditable third in their inaugural season. They followed this success but winning back to back championship in 1976 and 1977. Their final season in the Lancashire Combination saw them finish third again. In 1978 Bootle moved to Bucks Park the club joined the Second Division of the Cheshire County League, which they won in their first season, and were promoted to the First Division. The “Bucks” spent three season in the First Division before in 1982 the Cheshire County League was one of the leagues that merged to form the North West Counties League, which Bootle duly joined, becoming a member of the First Division. The club spent the next ten season as a member of the First Division until disaster struck in 1992 and they were relegated to the Second Division. The rebuilt side bounced straight back finishing Runners-Up to regain their rightful pace in the top fight of the North West Counties League. In their first season back they finished in a creditable sixth place and won their first silverware for 15 years when winning the League’s Floodlit Trophy. With the onset of money entering into the equation on an even greater scale Bootle found it hard to survive and with the loss of some key personnel, were unfortunately, merely delaying the inevitable for couple of seasons. They were finally relegated into the Second Division after a four year stay. The team had finished the season in 12th place but were relegated after failing a ground grading.

Bootle bounced back again at the first time of asking as they gained from Chadderton, Warrington Town and Darwen failing their ground grading and after a 7th placed finish were promoted. Their stay lasted just two season’s and after struggling in both terms they were relegated. Another two seasons passed before they were to be relegated again on ground grading and after the loss of Bucks Park they returned to the Liverpool County Combination. A long and arduous trek then ensued to find a new home, whilst at the same time trying to keep the team functioning. Fifth & third place finishes whilst at the Dockers Club was promising and after a lot of hard work the club found themselves elected back in the North West Counties League in 2006. With the club now play housed at “New Bucks Park” in Vesty Road, Bootle. The first season back in the North West Counties League was one of consolidation and the team finished 10th in the 18 team division. They also re-entered the FA Vase for the first time in seven years but exited at the hands of Salford City. The 2007/8 season saw the club advance on all fronts with the club entering the FA Cup, again falling at the first hurdle in Manchester this time at Flixton. A run to the FA Vase 2nd round saw Bootle account for Padiham and AFC Emley before Winterton Rangers proved too strong for the Merseysiders. The cup runs continued as Bootle were runners up in both the Division 2 Trophy and the League Challenge Cup.

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Bootle Football Club In 2008/9 Bootle were crowned champions of the Division 1, beating Padiham in second place but seven points. An excellent FA Vase run saw them advance to the fourth round before being defeated by eventual winners Whitley Bay. 2009/10 saw a successful return to the top flight as they secured a third placed finish in the Premier Division. Bootle started the 2010/11 season looking to build on the previous terms achievements season but after a poor start to the season plagued by injuries and inconsistent form their realistic chances of challenging the front runners was gone by the festive season and they did well to recover and finish in a respectable 6th position. Last season saw them equal their third place finish of 2009/10 but they were never really in the title chase. The summer saw a change of direction as the club parted company with long time manager Chris Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien, replaced by Neil Prince. The 2012-13 season saw the Bucks in the title chase for most of the season but they ended up finishing in a disappointing 3rd place. The bright spot of season saw the Bucks claim the Liverpool Senior Cup with a penalty shoot out win over AFC Liverpool. The 2013-14 season started off well but a poor spell saw Neil Prince replaced by Joe Doran in the managerial hot seat at New Bucks Park. The Bucks however could not recover from their indifferent form and finished the season in 8th place their worst since returning to the top-flight in 2008-09 Season 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

League NWC-1 NWC-2 NWC-2 LPL-CC LPL-CC LPL-CC LPL-CC NWC-2 NWC-2 NWC-1 NWC-P NWC-P NWC-P NWC-P NWC-P

P 42 38 40 34 34 30 28 34 34 34 42 42 42 42 42

W 6 11 19 18 5 9 16 14 18 25 26 21 24 26 21

D 8 8 7 3 12 2 2 8 6 5 7 9 13 8 7

L 28 19 14 13 17 19 10 12 10 4 9 12 5 8 14

F 29 70 82 80 54 51 65 63 86 78 92 78 87 79 87

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

A 90 76 64 56 92 94 43 48 53 27 41 56 43 43 57

GD -61 -6 18 24 -38 -43 22 15 33 51 51 22 44 36 30

Pts 26 41 64 57 27 29 50 50 60 80 85 72 85 86 70

Position 21/22 16/20 6/21 5/18 17/18 12/16 3/15 10/18 6/18 1/18 3/22 6/22 3/22 3/22 8/22

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

How We Compare? St Helens Town - last 6 matches All Competitions

Home

Most recent

Away

Collated

Bootle - last 6 matches All Competitions

Most recent

at St Helens Town

Previous Meetings

at Bootle

30/10; 5-0

1999-00

17/08; 1-1

NWC-D1

2000-01

NWC-D2

NWC-D1

2001-02

NWC-D2

NWC-D1

2002-03

LPL-CC

NWC-D1

2003-04

LPL-CC

NWC-D1

2004-05

LPL-CC

NWC-D1

2005-06

LPL-CC

Home

NWC-D1

2006-07

NWC-D2

Away

NWC-D1

2007-08

NWC-D2

NWC-PD

2008-09

NWC-D1

11/08; 0-0

2009-10

15/04; 0-3

2010-11

07/09; 1-2

Collated

St Helens Town games since...

Bootle games since...

03/01; 1-0 30/08; 1-2

2011-12

08/11; 1-5

All Competitions

04/05; 0-0

2012-13

21/08; 2-2

15/03; 1-2

2013-14

24/09; 2-1

07/02/2015

2014-15

23/09; 0-3

Clean sheet

Goal Scored

Loss

No score draw

St Helens Town Scores First Games Played

St Helens Town Wins

Draws

Bootle Wins

Score draw

St Helens Town Goals

Win

Percentage Town Wins

Bootle Goals

21 23.08

All Previous Meetings All Competitions P

Win %

Home

41.18

Away

-16

27.27

Collated

-6

34.33

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

From the Chair Good afternoon and a very warm welcome back to Brocstedes Park for our first home game of 2015. Today we welcome our friends and neighbours Bootle FC and hope they’ve had a safe journey and enjoy our hospitality for their short stay. It may be our first home game of the new year but we’ve played four away league games with generally poor results despite a number of good performances. Jeff Voller’s notes review the January fixtures so I won’t repeat too much here. However, we all realise that we need to start turning good performances into points as we sit just a couple of places above the relegation zone with just one third of the league campaign remaining - there’s certainly been enough on display from the lads to show they are capable of avoiding a late season worries. There’s plenty to play for and it would be good to start our 2015 home campaign with a victory. Today’s see the launch of our support for our main sponsors Johnsons Toyota Liverpool’s Red Nose Day fundraising. Toyota are Red Nose Day official partner and we will be holding a number of fundraising events across our home fixtures as well as promoting other Johnsons Toyota Liverpool activities on our website and social media. We will be adding further details to our website www.sthelenstownafc.com over the next few days. Needless to say we will be looking for all your support as ‘Every £1 Counts’ and we have official Car Red Noses available for £5, all money goes to RND.

Off the field we continue to chase for updates on our proposed move to Ruskin Drive; unfortunately we are still waiting for information to filter through to us but we are hopeful that despite some delays work will commence soon and we can look forward to a much needed return to our home. Without a home fixture since our FA Vase exit at the beginning of December means we’ve lots to catch up with - match reports, photos, club news, sponsorship. We will endeavour to do this over the next couple of match programmes,. In the meantime out twitter account and club website will keep you fully updated. We are still looking for sponsors with a number of match packages still available for our remaining home games - if you can help please contact me on 07713 339 682 for further details - sponsorship starts from just £50 and provides great value for money. Next Saturday afternoon (14th February) we have a massive game (not that all games aren’t massive) when we travel to Barnoldswick Town who currently occupy one of the three relegation spots. Hopefully a few of you will make the journey north to cheer on the lads to a much needed victory. Enjoy the game and don’t forget to join us this clubhouse after the game for the usual post match debate. John McKiernan Chairman St Helens Town AFC www.sthelenstownafc.com

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Player Appearances Player Aaron Morris

Jack McKay

League Starts Sub On Gls 28 0 4

Cup Starts Sub On Gls 8 0 0

Starts 36

Total Sub On Apps 0 36

Gls 4

Hamish Falconer

24 27

2 0

7 7

1 0

1 1

31 34

3 0

34 34

3 1

Andy Gillespie Rory Crowther

23 21

1 0

5 0

6 7

1 0

4 0

29 28

2 0

31 28

9 0

Chad Whyte James Rushton-Woods Marcus Perry

14 19 12

4 3 9

6 2 4

3 2 2

5 2 2

6 0 1

17 21 14

9 5 11

26 26 25

12 2 5

Karl Bergqvist Paul Cook-Hannah

7 8

8 6

4 0

3 4

1 1

2 0

10 12

9 7

19 19

6 0

Chris Cottington Gareth Grant

14 10

0 0

1 0

2 5

0 0

0 1

16 15

0 0

16 15

1 1

Ryan Duffy

James Halpin Jack Hont

9 10

1 0

0 0

3 3

0 0

12 13

1 0

13 13

0 0

Kristian Bell Edward Richardson

6 8

2 1

5 0

4 1

0 1

3 0

10 9

2 2

12 11

8 0

Lewis Coyle Neil Hulme

6 7

0 0

2 0

3 0

0 2

0 0

9 7

0 2

9 9

2 0

Cole Ashton Chris Brinksman Matthew Davidson

8 7 4

0 0 2

0 0 0

1 1 1

0 0 1

0 0 0

9 8 5

0 0 3

9 8 8

0 0 0

Jamil Saleh Nathan Ogden

3 4

1 0

0 0

3 3

0 0

1 1

6 7

1 0

7 7

1 1

Lewis Saunders

Tom Lightbody

Lee Harrison Sam Coulter Michael Houghton

0 2 2

3 2 1

0 0 0

0 0 1

2 1 0

0 0 0

0 2 3

5 3 1

5 5 4

0 0 0

Alex Gillespie Dominic Whelan

1 0

3 2

0 0

0 1

0 0

1 1

3 2

4 3

0 0

Thomas Barton

Joseph Peers

Daniel Vincent

Stevenson Sam Pullinger Moore

0 0 0

1 1 1

0 0 0

1 1 1

0 0 0

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

NWCFL News Barnton manager Allan Glover is aiming to ensure his side maintain their run of good results for the remainder of the season. Since joining the club from Runcorn Town in mid-November, Allan has seen his side move to a current high of third place in Division One, with victory over Widnes on Saturday clocking up his side's sixth win in eight games since he took over. However, he admits that having played more games than most of the other clubs chasing promotion is a frustration for him and his management team. "Our only disappointment is that we didn't come in earlier", he admitted. "The number of games we have played is probably going against us at the moment. We've played more than anyone else at the top, and maybe if we had got in earlier we would have been able to make more of a push at the top of the table. But we have to be happy with the position we are in". The squad has been strengthened in recent weeks with some additions, although Allan says he never set out to make wholesale changes when he came to the club. "We had the basis of a decent side, and all we had to do was maybe professionalise them a bit, get them a bit fitter and give some lads some opportunities", he said. We've brought in some good lads, and we brought in experience with James McShane and Kurtis Gill. That was a statement of intent to let people know we wanted to do something, and people now back us and we have a completely different type of pressure on us". Although recent results have been good, Allan is looking to address what he sees as a slight slip in the level of performances. "We had a friendly game against 1874 Northwich and won 5-1, and I don't know if that really helped us, as since then we've become a bit complacent", he said. "In the last two weeks we've not really performed. We got wins but we weren't good, some of our younger players were making poor decisions. The mind set going into the Irlam game wasn't good, no matter how much we tried to reinforce that it was a different game and worth three points as opposed to a friendly, and it was the same at Widnes on Saturday. We had words at half time and made a substitution, which I think changed the look of the side. Mentality is everything and if we don't get that right, we won't be competing and winning games for long".

As far as the rest of the season is concerned, Allan is now focussing on keeping the squad together and ensuring that the team collect enough points to finish in the top six. "The challenge now is keeping guys happy", he said. "When you are on a winning streak, it's hard to mix things up or change things, unless you have injuries.

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Club News We are looking for supporters to become Goldline members which will provide the club with a valuable source of income which will help us to achieve a bright future by assisting us in our goal of making a return to St Helens. In addition, you will have the chance to win up to £5,000 . . . so we could all be winners! As a lottery partner, St Helens Town Football Club will receive a massive 70p of your £1 weekly subscription. As a Goldline member you will receive your membership card which includes your membership number, 10 sets of Goldline draw numbers and 4 unique rollover draw numbers:

Your 10 sets of Goldline draw numbers will be entered into the Goldline draw every weekday for your chance of winning. Each week 5 prizes of £500 are paid out, that’s a total of £2,500 paid out every week. Your 4 rollover draw numbers will be entered into the weekly draw for your chance of winning up to £5,000. The rollover draw starts at £250 and each week rolls over and increases by £250 until won or until it reaches £5,000 at which time it will be drawn and redrawn until a winner is found. £100s in £10 consolation prizes are paid out every week. Goldline pays out over £170,000 in prizes every year to members. In addition your Goldline membership card will entitle you to exclusive deals available at St Helens Town Football Club. No claim is necessary. Prizes will be sent automatically and either delivered by post or by your agent. Club Chairman John McKiernan said, “Having joined forces with Bolton Wanderers in the Goldline Lottery we can ensure big cash prizes are dished out every week but the Club also wins too – with the possibility of raising thousands of pounds each year.

“We hope those who have previously supported our monthly 500 Club lottery will now join our new venture. We are going to start canvassing this week with a view to entering our first draw at the start of March. In the current climate, this income through the Goldline Lottery will be crucial to the club. If people are able to give up £1 a week to enter then we think this is ta great way to support the club – but also give yourself a real chance of winning some cash too!” For more information on how you can join call John on 07713 339 682 or email sthelenstownfc@hotmail.co.uk. Club officials will also have details on match days.

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Silsden v Town

NWCFL Premier Division action at the Angel Telecom Stadium Silsden 2-1 St Helens Town Saturday 3rd January 2015 Photos courtesy of David S Brett

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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Town Managers Between 1946 and 1962 the club, like many, didn’t have a ‘manager’. Town officials would liaise with first and reserve team captains over team selection. In 1962-63 ‘First Manager’ Pat Murphy came from Burscough with a nucleus of his team which won the Lancashire Combination Division One title for Burscough but the formulae didn’t work for Town despite financial backing of a brand new 200 seat supporters club opened by John Connelly in spring of 1962. 1963-64 Sam Cottingham came after success with Pilkington's in a move to rebalance the squad with more local players. 1964-66 Jimmy McKiernan became the club's first commercial manager and team boss after arriving from Earlestown via a successful playing career which included a spell on the North Wales circuit. 1966-68 Jackie Dewsnip, cousin of Town player Jimmy Dewsnip who along with the latter’s son Neil meant the Haydock based family served Town well over a couple of decades. 1968-71 Peter Jones took the reigns in the wake of the Northern Premier League being formed which reduced Town’s league (Lancs Combination) to one division. He moved on after three years to a position on the staff of Preston North End. 1971-77 Alan Hampson arrived from South Liverpool after a distinguished playing career at Holly Park and became a mini ‘Messiah’ as Town won the Lancs Combination title in 1972 along with the Bass Charrington and Watson trophy in quick succession. He also oversaw Town’s step into the Cheshire County League in 1975 as by then, the Lancashire Comb had become a pale imitation of its former self. 1977-79 The aforementioned Jimmy Dewsnip took the reigns after ‘Hampy’ had moved on and became the first ex Town player to become manager. He combined this with work for the Liverpool County FA with the latter eventually claiming his services after two years. 1979-80 Player manager Geoff Robinson hailed from the new overspill at Laffak where he also ran the increasingly successful ‘Starting Gate’ pub team in the blossoming new Sunday League. Many of his squad were ‘Town’ players but the ‘conflict’ of interests was seen as detrimental to the senior club. 1980-82 Jack Prytherch had been at Wigan Athletic and he brought in players from that area including new club skipper, his son in law, Steve Murfin. Jack’s reign saw the formation of the North West Counties League and Town’s first season was a struggle in the new league’s top flight resulting in a change in mid-term. 1982-84 Peter Rutherford. After the success of Alan Hampson a decade earlier, the Town board returned to South Liverpool again for their next appointment. Peter Rutherford was number two at Holly Park at the time but he also found it hard going in the NWCFL inaugural season and his charges only escaped relegation on a ‘technicality’. Things got a little better the following season and he bowed out just before glory arrived. 1984-87 Alan Wellens had skippered Town’s Lancs Combination title team and went on to become the club’s top appearances holder after making his debut at Great Harwood in 1966. His playing career was ended by a broken leg against Hyde in 1981 at Hoghton Road. Alan went on to Town history with the club’s historic journey to Wembley in 1987 before he and the vast majority of Allan Wellens receiving the Lancs the FA Vase winning side sought pastures new. 1987Combination Championship Trophy 92 Alan Aspinall (pictured opposite) took over the from Wesley Bridge in 1972 mantle of manager following the departure of the Vase squad and management team having been Reserve team boss and spent a successful five seasons in charge.

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Past & Present 1992-93 Mick Holgate presided over just one season at Hoghton Road before moving on to Leigh RMI. 1993-2002 Jimmy McBride stepped up from his position as Reserve team boss to take the reigns of the first team for almost a decade which saw the club’s move from Hoghton Road to Saints. Took the club to its first cup final since the visit to Wembley but lost out in the League Cup and Floodlit Trophy finals in the mid 1990s. 2002-2003 John Davison and Peter King arrived from Burscough having presided over a very successful period in the ‘Linnets’ history. After a disappointing first campaign despite significant financial backing the club’s need to tighten the purse strings led to the pair’s departure at the start of the 2003 campaign, along with most of the squad. 2003-04 Ex-Everton professional Paul Lodge became Town manager as the club reeled from financial cuts but unfortunately his youthful side struggled at the bottom of the league and he was replaced in January 2004. 2004-05 Former Town ‘keeper Joe Paladino took over the reigns from Lodge and secured the club ’s safety from relegation before going to challenge for the title during most of 2004-05. Joe resigned in March 2005. 2005-06 Assistant to Paladino, Joe Gibiliru took over the manager’s position and presided over a period of on the field stability for the club before resigning in September 2006. 2006-07 Alex Wright, who had previously been assistant manager to Paul Lodge returned to the club as manager but his tenure was short-lived as family commitments led to him stepping down in September 2007. 2007-08 John Fletcher, Wright’s assistant, was given managerial responsibility and he steered the club away from the relegation battle with a 19th place finish at the end of 2006-7. Despite the club’s off the field problems and financial difficulties the following season saw Fletcher’s charges finish fourteenth after only one defeat in the last nine games. However Town remained rooted in a relegation spot for most of the following season and Fletcher departed with weeks of the season remaining. 2009 – 2010 Gary Bickerstaffe was appointed in March 2009 and secured the club ’s safety with some ease recording six victories from the final eight games. Bickerstaffe’s fine form as manager continued throughout 2009-10 eventually finishing in 9th place. 2010 – 2011 Lee Riley steps up from assistant manager when Gary Bickerstaffe steps down at the end of the 2009-10. Lee resigned in March 2011 due to work commitments and Iain Dyson took over the managerial reigns before he too stepped down at the end of the season. 2011-12 season saw Jimmy McBride make a return to Town but it proved a difficult season and Town parted company with him as we narrowly avoided relegation. 2012 - 2013 Ian Granite became manager following success with neighbours Wigan Robin Park FC. A challenging 2012-13 season saw Town eventually steer clear of relegation, in doing so maintaining their unique 30 year stay in the North West Counties League top division. Despite an excellent start to the 2013-14 season Ian stepped down at the end of November due to business and family commitments and Ian Price (left) took over the managerial reigns with Paul Jones as his assistant. Many thanks to Jim Barrett and Eric Bond for their input in compiling the information.

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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2014-15 Fixtures, Facts an Date Aug 2 Aug 5 Aug 9 Aug 13 Aug 16 Aug 18 Aug 23 Aug 26 Aug 30 Sep 6 Sep 9 Sep 13 Sep 16 Sep 20 Sep 23 Sep 27 Sep 30 Oct 5 Oct 11 Oct 18 Oct 21 Oct 25 Oct 28 Nov 1 Nov 4 Nov 8 Nov 15 Nov 22 Nov 25 Nov 29 Dec 6 Dec 20 Jan 3 Jan 10 Jan 17 Jan 24 Feb 7 Feb 14 Feb 17 Feb 28 Mar 3 Mar 7 Mar 10 Mar 14 Mar 21 Mar 24 Mar 28 Apr 4 Apr 6 Apr 18

Opponents Maine Road AFC BLACKPOOL ALSAGER TOWN Bacup & Rossendale B ATHERTON COLLS Runcorn Town Colne STOCKPORT SPORT BARNOLDSWICK TN Irlam (*AET) ABBEY HEY AFC LIVERPOOL RUNCORN LINNETS Winsford United Bootle W DIDS & CHORLTON Burscough NOSTELL M.W. SQUIRES GATE Congleton Town AFC Blackpool Widnes RUNCORN TOWN YORKSHIRE AMS Stockport Sports COLNE Runcorn Linnets Alnwick Town AFC Liverpool BACUP & ROSSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; B TADCASTER ALBION Nelson Silsden Squires Gate Alsager Town West Dids & Chorlton BOOTLE Barnoldswick Town ASHTON ATHLETIC NELSON 1874 Northwich Abbey Hey GLOSSOP NE CONGLETON TOWN Glossop North End SILSDEN 1874 NORTHWICH WINSFORD UNITED Ashton Athletic MAINE ROAD

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Comp NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL FAC EPR NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL FAV 1QR NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL LSC 1R FAV 2QR NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL LCC 2R NWCFL FAV 1R NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL FAV 2R NWCFL NWCFL FAV 3R NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL NWCFL

KO 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 3.00 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 8.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 7.45 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 7.45 3.00 3.00 7.45 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00

Result 1-2W 3-0W 0-4L 2-6W 2-5L 7-2L 4-0L 2-4L 4-3W 1-2W* 1-0W 0-9L 0-1L 3-0L 3-0L 0-3L 4-1L 2-0W 0-0D 2-0L 2-1L 4-4D# 2-2D 3-1W 0-2W 2-5L 1-0L 4-5W* 7-3L 2-0W 2-4L 4-0L 2-1L 1-1D 4-2L 3-0L

GK Brinksman Brinksman Brinksman Brinksman Brinksman Brinksman Brinksman Brinksman Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther

Name1

2 Cottington Cottington Cottington Cottington Cottington Cottington Cottington Morris Saunders Morris Cottington Saunders Duffy Cottington Duffy Duffy Whelan Duffy Duffy Duffy Duffy Halpin Halpin Duffy Duffy Halpin Duffy Halpin Halpin Halpin Halpin Halpin Halpin Halpin Halpin Halpin

3 4 5 6 7 Saunders Falconer Morris1 McKay Lightbody Lightbody1 Saunders Falconer Morris1 McKay Saunders Falconer Morris McKay Lightbody Houghton Falconer Morris1 McKay Rushton-Woods Houghton Falconer1 Morris McKay Andy Gillespie1 McKay1 Houghton Falconer Morris Peers Morris Falconer Ogden McKay Andy Gillespie Richardson Falconer Ogden Cottington1 Coulter Bergqvist1 Richardson Falconer Morris1 Cottington Bergqvist1 Saunders Falconer Ogden1 McKay C Morris Falconer Ogden McKay Bergqvist Richardson Falconer Morris McKay Andy Gillespie C Morris Falconer Grant McKay Perry Al Morris Falconer Grant McKay Perry Richardson Falconer Morris Cottington McKay Saunders Falconer Morris McKay Cottington Morris Falconer Ogden McKay Saleh Morris Falconer Ogden McKay Saleh Morris Falconer Ogden McKay Bergqvist Morris Falconer Grant McKay Cottington Morris Falconer Coyle1 McKay Saleh Saleh1 Morris Falconer Coyle McKay Hont Falconer Coyle Morris Saleh McKay1 Hont Falconer Coyle Morris Hont Falconer Coyle Morris McKay Bell1 Hont Falconer Morris Coyle Hont Falconer Morris Coyle Bell Hont Falconer Morris Coyle McKay Coyle1 Hont Falconer Morris McKay Hont Falconer Morris Duffy McKay Hont Duffy Morris Grant McKay Hont Falconer Duffy Morris Davidson Hont Falconer Duffy Morris Davidson Hont Morris Vincent Davidson Ashton Richardson Falconer Morris Davidson Vincent Hont Falconer Morris Ashton McKay Rus

Player name and number of goals scored

Name

Player name and CAUTION

Name

Player name and DISMISSAL FOR 2 CAUTIONS

Name

Player name and DISMISSAL

Name10

Player name and number of replaced player

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

nd Figures

8 Hulme Hulme Coulter Hulme Hulme Hulme Hulme Hulme McKay1 Cottington Hulme Cottington ex Gillespie Ashton Ashton Ashton Ashton Grant Grant Ashton Grant Grant Grant Grant Grant Duffy Grant Grant1 Grant Grant Davidson McKay McKay McKay Ashton shton-Woods

9 Whyte1 Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Whyte1 Whyte Whyte Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Whyte Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Whyte Bergqvist Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Cook-Hannah Whyte Whyte Whyte2 Whyte1 Whyte1 Whyte Whyte1 Whyte Whyte2 Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie1 Andy Gillespie1 Whyte Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Whyte1 Andy Gillespie

10 Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Bergqvist3 Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods1 Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Bergqvist1 Ashton Andy Gillespie Bergqvist Bell1 Bell1 Bell1 Bergqvist Andy Gillespie McKay Bell1 Bell2 Bell1 Bell Perry Perry1 Perry Andy Gillespie1 Bell

11 Perry Perry1 Perry Perry1 Perry Andy Gillespie Perry Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie1 Perry Andy Gillespie Perry Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Bergqvist Andy Gillespie1 Andy Gillespie Saleh Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie1 Perry Andy Gillespie Andy Gillespie1 Richardson Richardson Richardson Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods Rushton-Woods1 Rushton-Woods Richardson

12 14 15 16 Pullinger Alex Gillespie7 Bergqvist11 Cook-Hannah9 Pullinger Alex Gillespie Houghton Bergqvist9 Pullinger Houghton3 Alex Gillespie8 Bergqvist11 Pullinger Coulter10 Barton11 Andy Gillespie91 Barton11 Pullinger/Saunders Whyte9 Peers/Crowther Pullinger Coulter6 Perry7 Cook-Hannah Pullinger10 Bergqvist11 Cook-Hannah Richardson7 Bergqvist7 Cook-Hannah3 Alex Gillespie Perry9 Harrison10 Alex Gillespie Peers Brinksman Peers5 Hulme11 Whyte9 Harrison Peers Whyte91 Perry11 Alex Gillespie Peers3 Alex Gillespie11 Cook-Hannah9 Peers Ogden Whyte9 Saunders Saunders Harrison9 Barton7 Whelan Cook-Hannah Bergqvist9 Whelan10 Cook-Hannah10 Saleh11 Perry7 Andy Gillespie9 Lightbody10 Whyte91 Saunders Harrison8 Whyte9 Lightbody10 Saunders Rushton-Woods11 Harrison Whyte9 Cook-Hannah Bergqvist11 Bell10 Rushton-Woods8 Halpin2 Harrison6 Bell11 Harrison Bergqvist10 Cook-Hannah Bergqvist9 Rushton-Woods McKay7 Ogden Rushton-Woods Bergqvist Perry Saleh Perry81 Bell Cook-Hannah Peers Nicholson Ogden Halpin Rushton-Woods Perry9 Whelan Richardson11 Davidson10 Perry9 Duffy Davidson8 Perry9 Rushton-Woods11 Davidson8 Coyle Rushton-Woods7 Perry10 Coyle Saleh Rushton-Woods8 Perry9 Cook-Hannah8 Bell Grant Andy Gillespie Cook-Hannah6 Whelan2 Whyte Cook-Hannah Whelan Whyte10 McKay7 Perry8 Hont Stevenson8 Moore3 Whyte Price

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

17 Crowther Crowther Crowther Crowther Coulter7 Crowther Crowther Crowther Brinksman Saunders

Halpin

Whyte11

Executive Programme Sponsor

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

North West Counties Football League Premier Division

Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 2-2

1-2

x x

0-2 0-1 0-0 5-0

Winsford United

0-5 0-4 2-2 4-1 1-2

0-2

7-2 1-2

1-0

3-2

2-0 4-3

3-1

3-0 2-4

0-2

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2-1

0-1 2-2

2-0 0-4 2-3

1-3 0-1 2-2 2-5

1-2

0-0

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x 3-0 3-3

3-0

1-2 1-4

2-4 0-3 3-0 6-0

0-2

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0-0 2-1

3-1 2-7 7-2 2-0

2-2 4-2 1-0 3-2 6-0 2-0

2-1 1-1 2-3 3-3 4-0

2-2

6-0 6-0 4-0

3-0 4-0 3-0

4-1 1-3 2-2 4-1 2-3 1-2 2-2 1-1 2-1 0-1

5-1

1-2 1-0 4-2 0-0 2-0

5-5 0-8 1-3 1-5 2-8 1-6 1-3

3-0

2-0

0-1

0-0 2-0 2-1 1-2 3-4 2-6 1-3 1-3 1-6 0-4 1-3

2-2 4-2 2-0 2-0 1-1

0-0 7-3

0-1 0-0 2-2 4-0 1-2 0-3

0-2 3-1 3-0

0-0 0-3

1-3

1-3 0-6

1-3 2-0 3-2

2-5

2-1

0-1

2-3 1-4 2-1 2-1 2-2

2-1 0-5 1-4 1-1 1-1 0-2 1-0 1-1 3-0 3-0 1-2

2-1 0-0

0-0 1-0 0-0

2-0

4-2 4-0 0-4 6-0 2-1 3-4 2-4 3-4 2-2 0-6

3-2 6-2 2-1 1-1 4-3

3-2 2-0 5-0

1-1 2-1

3-1 2-1 1-3

0-1 3-0 1-1

2-1 3-2 1-3 1-4

4-1

1-2

1-2 0-2 1-3 0-4 0-2

0-1 3-0 0-5

1-1 1-2 3-1

1-2 1-4 1-3

1-0 4-2 0-4 4-0 3-0 3-1

1-1

2-0 2-1

1-1 1-0 1-2 2-3 1-1

3-0 2-2 5-0

1-0 3-0 0-9 0-4

1-1 1-0

0-2 4-1 2-0

2-3

2-0 2-1

0-1 2-3

West Dids & Chrltn

Stockport Sports

St Helens Town

Squires Gate

Silsden

Runcorn Town

Runcorn Linnets

Nelson

1-0

2-0 1-0

4-0 2-0

0-1

Glossop NE

3-1

2-2

1-2 1-1 0-4 2-0

Maine Road

3-4 1-1 3-0 3-1 0-1 1-5

1-2 3-2 1-1 2-1 1-6 0-0

1-0 5-0

2-0 0-1

Congleton Town

Colne

Bootle

Barnoldswick Town

Abbey Hey

0-4

AFC Blackpool

Ashton Athletic

AFC Liverpool

Bacup & Rossendale

Alsager Town

1-1

Ashton Athletic

Alsager Town

Bacup & Ross

Barnoldswick T

3-1 4-1

Colne

1-2 2-1

Squires Gate

AFC Liverpool

Bootle

2-4

Congleton Town

3-0 2-1 1-4

Runcorn Linnets

2-2 1-4 1-1 1-1

St Helens Town

Silsden

2-2 4-2 2-4

0-4

Glossop NE 0-0

Stockport Sports

AFC Blackpool

Maine Road

1-0 4-2 0-0

Nelson

3-1 1-0

Runcorn Town

1-0

WD&C

0-3 1-2

1874 Northwich

Winsford Utd

Abbey Hey

3-0 0-1

1874 Northwich

North West Counties Football League Premier Division 2014-15

Head to Head

Executive Programme Sponsor

Statistical History ST. HELENS TOWN AFC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; A STATISTICAL HISTORY by Glyn Jones Part 45 - Season 1991-92 North West Counties League Ashton United Great Harwood Town Eastwood Hanley Blackpool Rovers Prescot Penrith Skelmersdale United Flixton Clitheroe Darwen Atherton L.R. Nantwich Town (-3) Vauxhall GM Bacup Borough St. Helens Town Maine Road Bradford P.A. Bootle Opponents Ashton United Atherton L.R. Bacup Borough Blackpool Rovers Bootle Bradford P.A. Clitheroe Darwen Eastwood Hanley Flixton Great Harwood Town Maine Road Nantwich Town Penrith Prescot Skelmersdale United Vauxhall GM Aug 31 Oct 5 Oct 19 Nov 30 Nov 26 Dec 3 Feb 4 Feb 25 Nov 21

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P 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34

W 24 22 18 16 15 15 11 11 11 10 11 11 10 9 9 9 10 9

Home Oct 12 Aug 26 Oct 1 Mar 21 Mar 28 Dec 21 Apr 11 Feb 15 Jan 4 Sep 21 Nov 2 Mar 7 Feb 8 Dec 7 Sep 3 Feb 1 Sep 7

FA CUP Preliminary Round FA VASE Preliminary Round NWC LEAGUE CUP 1st Round 2nd Round NWC FLOODLIT LEAGUE Group Group Group Group LCFA SENIOR CUP 1st Rd.

D 5 8 9 7 6 5 11 9 9 11 8 10 10 11 9 9 5 8 Result Won 6-0 Drew 0-0 Drew 2-2 Lost 1-2 Drew 1-1 Won 2-1 Lost 0-1 Lost 0-1 Won 4-1 Lost 1-2 Drew 2-2 Drew 0-0 Won 3-1 Won 4-3 Drew 1-1 Lost 1-2 Won 2-1

L 5 4 7 11 13 14 12 14 14 13 15 13 14 14 16 16 19 17

F 61 68 54 73 48 57 48 46 44 56 38 44 42 41 49 40 57 41

A 30 38 35 57 43 58 52 50 55 55 45 49 51 45 55 60 68 61

Away Feb 22 Dec 28 Aug 24 Sep 28 Sep 17 Oct 26 Sep 14 Apr 20 Nov 9 Jan 18 Feb 29 Nov 16 Mar 14 Apr 18 Dec 14 Dec 26 Nov 23

BORROWASH VICTORIA BURSCOUGH Ashton Town Nantwich Town Prescot BOOTLE Bootle PRESCOT Marine

Home Home Away Away Away Home Away Home Away

Pts 77 74 63 55 51 50 44 42 42 41 41 40 40 38 36 36 35 35 Result Lost 0-1 Lost 2-4 Lost 0-3 Lost 0-4 Won 4-2 Won 2-1 Lost 0-2 Lost 0-2 Lost 0-1 Lost 0-2 Lost 0-1 Drew 3-3 Drew 1-1 Won 3-1 Lost 1-2 Lost 1-2 Drew 2-2

Lost Lost Won Lost Lost Lost Lost Drew Lost

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

1-3 2-3 4-3 0-3 0-1 0-3 0-1 2-2 1-3

Season 1991-92 Player

App

Almond, Andy Aspinall, Dave Blasbery, Paul Bradbury, Kris Brown, Andy Carragher, Steve Collins, Dave Crompton, John Dillon, Kevin Dixon, P Dyer, Lee Eaves, John Fahey, Jamie Gavin, John Hart, Steve Hayde, Mick Hill, A (Tony) Howard, Alan Humphreys, Stu Iley, Steve Laird, Gary Lawson, L Lawrenson, Damon Lowe, Gary Lowe, Martin McClatchey, Derek Mayers, Kenny Paladino, Joe Parker, Brian Phoenix, Stu Reilly, Adie Rigby, Darren Shaw, Mark Shaw, Neil Skidmore, Ian Smith, Peter Stocks, Jason Ungi, A (Tony) Worthington, Paul Own goal Totals

27 31 2 1 10 13 39 2 2 9 10 6 10 8 17 12 15 27 1 31 35 10 1 7 4 3 1 9 23 40 3 32 25 1

467

Prov

Sub App

1 1 1

1 1 3 6 3 4

1 1 1 2 2 2

1 1

1 1 2

2 4 1

13 1

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Total App 27 31 2 1 11 1 13 41 3 3 2 15 13 4 6 11 9 18 14 17 29 1 1 33 37 10 1 7 4 3 1 11 28 42 3 32 38 1 1

525

Goals

1 3 11

2 10 2

7 3 2 5

1 59

Executive Programme Sponsor

A Brief History The original Town club was in existence from 1901 to 1928, but George Fryer and a number of local businessmen decided to re-form the club in 1946. They obtained a lease on the Hoghton Road ground in Sutton, adjacent to St. Helens Junction station on the Liverpool to Manchester railway line, took over a local St. Helens Combination team, Derbyshire Hill Rovers, signing a number of players from other clubs and entered the Liverpool County Combination in the 1947/48 season, playing against Everton “A” and Liverpool “A” and several reserve sides from the leading non-league clubs in the Merseyside area. Success was first attained in May 1949 when Runcorn were defeated in the final of the George Mahon Cup, played at the Prescot Cables ground. The following season, 1949/50, Town were elevated to the Second Division of the Lancashire Combination and they were promoted as Champions in only their second season to the First Division, where they ran up against teams such as Ashton United, Nelson and New Brighton, newly relegated from the Football League. Sadly, Town were themselves relegated in their first season and although promoted briefly again for the 1955/56 season, they spent most of their early years in the Second Division. Improvements were quickly made to the facilities at Hoghton Road in the early years, but in November 1952 the decision was taken to re-locate to the former St. Helens Recs’ rugby league ground at City Road in order to further their ambitions of reaching the Football League. Initially, the move resulted in some encouraging crowds, but the club had a change of heart and returned to Sutton in the October 1953. The ground was purchased and further developed and a social club and floodlights were added in later years. Town were Champions of the Lancashire Combination in 1971/72 season, losing only one game, finishing 6 points clear of Accrington Stanley. 1975 brought a switch to the Cheshire League, where they remained until the formation of the North West Counties League in 1982 and St. Helens Town is still the only club to feature in the top division of that league throughout its existence. The club’s major achievement was to win the FA Vase at Wembley in 1987. After a stuttering start in the Preliminary Round with a 5-4 extra-time win over Colne Dynamoes, further home successes over General Chemicals, Wren Rovers, Guisborough Town and Wythenshawe Amateurs, led to wins at Wisbech Town, at home to Rainworth Miners Welfare, away to Falmouth Town (after a replay) and in the away leg at Emley when, following a 1-0 home defeat in the first-leg, a 2-0 win in Yorkshire secured a Wembley Final against local rivals Warrington Town, who were dispatched 3-2 with goals from Phil Layhe (2) and Brian Rigby. St. Helens Town boast an impressive “Hall of Fame”, including legendary goalkeeper and former German Prisoner-of-War Bert Trautmann, who signed for Manchester City over 60 years ago and who went on to play the game of his life in the 1956 FA Cup Final, despite breaking his neck in the latter stages. Bill Foulkes was transferred to Manchester United, where he had a glittering career, surviving the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, in which he bravely rescued some of his stricken team-mates. John Connelly, an England squad member in the victorious 1966 World Cup campaign, was sold to Burnley and he later moved to join Foulkes at Old Trafford. Sadly, all three have passed away in the last few years. Other future stars, groomed at St. Helens Town, include John Quinn (Sheffield Wednesday), Geoff Nulty (Burnley, Newcastle United and Everton) and, most recently, ace goalscorer Dave Bamber, who began and ended his league career at Blackpool and who played in all four divisions of the Football League. Captain of the FA Vase winning team was Tommy O’Neil, who began his league career playing alongside George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton at Manchester United.

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

of St Helens Town AFC

Town sold their Hoghton Road ground in 2000 to move in with St. Helens Rugby League Club at their Knowsley Road base. Their farewell appearance at Sutton produced a 1-0 win over Champions Vauxhall Motors and the initial campaign at Knowsley Road got off to a cracking start, with Town leading the table for most of the season, before finishing in a rather disappointing fourth place. Recent seasons have been more of a struggle, ninth place in 2009/10 being the best finish since. Season 2010-11 saw Town slide to 16th and next to bottom in 2011-12, when they would have been relegated, but for Flixton’s decision to resign from the league.

Town began the 2012-13 season under new manager Ian Granite, who brought in a new team and coaching set-up and they battled well to avoid relegation, their status being confirmed with a couple of games remaining. 2013-14 was a mirror-image of the previous campaign, with a 14-game unbeaten run between September and December putting the club just behind the front runners for two thirds of the campaign. Granite resigned in November 2013 due to work and family commitments and his assistant Ian Price took over the reins, assisted by Paul Jones and Nick Matthews, but the long breaks caused by the winter weather interrupted their earlier rhythm and Town finished the season once again in the lower reaches, although never in any serious danger of the drop.

Club Honours: 1949 George Mahon Trophy Winners 1951 Lancs Comb Division 2 Champions 1972 Lancs Combination Champions 1973 Bass Charrington Cup Winners 1974 Watson Trophy Winners 1978 St Helens Hospital Cup Winners 1979 St Helens Comb Div 1 Runners Up 1979 St Helens Hospital Cup Runners Up 1980 St Helens Comb Div 1 Champions 1985 NWCFL Reserve Div 2 Runners Up 1986 NWCFL Reserve Div 1 Runners Up 1987 FA Vase Winners (Wembley) 1994 League Challenge Cup Finalists 1994 NWCFL Reserve Division Runners Up 1995 NWCFL Reserve Division Champions 1996 NWCFL Reserve Division Runners Up 1998 Floodlit Trophy Finalists 1999 REALCO Fair Play Award Winners 2009 Bert Trautmann Trophy Winners Record Appearances: Alan Wellens Record Goal Scorer: Steve Pennington Record Attendances: 4000 at Hoghton Road v Manchester City 1723 at Knowsley Rd v FC Utd Manchester 9000 at Prescot Cables v Runcorn (1949) Programme Awards 1993-94 NWCFL Programme of the Year 1995-96 NWCFL Programme of the Year 1997-98 NWCFL Programme of the Year 1998-99 NWCFL Programme of the Year 1999-00 NWCFL Programme of the Year 2000-01 NWCFL Programme of the Year 2009-10 NWCFL Premier Division 2010-11 NWCFL Premier Division 2011-12 NWCFL Premier Division 2012-13 NWCFL Premier Division 2013-14 NWCFL Premier Division

Wirral Programme Club National Survey 1996-97 NWCFL Programme of the Year 1997-98 NWCFL Programme of the Year 1998-99 NWCFL Programme of the Year Programme Monthly 2007-08 NWCFL Programme of the Year

Following the demolition of the Knowsley Road ground in 2010, Town have led a nomadic existence up the road in Soccer Club Swap Shop National Awards 2010-11 Placed 28th Ashton-in-Makerfield, sharing Ashton Town’s Edge Green 2011-12 Placed 8th Street ground for three seasons before moving across town 2012-13 Placed 7th to Brocstedes Park as the guests of Ashton Athletic in 2012. 2013-14 Placed 8th The current season is scheduled to be the club’s last in exile, as plans are in place for re-location back to St. Helens for the 2015-16 season at the Council-owned Ruskin Park site, currently undergoing massive redevelopment and a brand-new facility awaits. In readiness for the move, the club is undergoing a radical re-branding, adopting the town’s coat of arms as their badge once again and reverting next season to their traditional blue and white colours in preparation for a return to the town in 2015.

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

NWCFL News Despite his side’s inconsistent form, Widnes manager Steve Hill is still targeting a Division One play off place at the end of the season. After a creditable 14th place finish in their inaugural League season last year, the club are now just seven points short of last season’s tally with 12 games still to play, and Steve believes that the players have developed and built on the experience gained last year, to the extent that a play off place is still a realistic target. “We learnt a lot last season for our first season in the league”, he said. “We are better off at this point than we were at the same stage last season, and there are signs of progress. It's about the lads adapting, realising they have got to keep good concentration levels, because you are playing against good players. “The North West Counties is an excellent level for any footballer to be playing at, and you are coming across lads who have more experience and know how”. The youthfulness of the squad is one area that Steve is looking to address, and admits that it has been their undoing at times. “I'd like to get more experienced players in as the young lads do need a bit of guidance on the pitch”, he said. We have got a lot of young lads and we have had a habit of shooting ourselves in the foot. It's a steep learning curve for them, and at any level you are going to get punished for your mistakes, not just in this league. “We blow hot and cold, and sometimes we have been saying "how can we play as well as we did there, but then revert back to type", it's as if the penny hasn't dropped. So it's just a case of plugging away but it's important that the lads don't become deflated. It's our job as a management team to keep them believing in themselves and hopefully the results will come. “They are young lads and while it's great experience for them, we need to make it a positive experience for them by winning more games. If we start feeling sorry for ourselves we are going to get nothing. “I've said from day one that I can't fault their effort, we're just lacking that bit of quality in the final third as well as in the defensive third that occasionally lets us down”.

In the meantime though, Steve is adamant that the squad should aim high and that competing in the Division One play offs is still a possibility. “We are looking at trying to get in one of the play off positions, that is our aim but we have to be starting to be picking up points as often as we can”, he said. “We went to Oldham who were bottom of the league, and they beat us, so that proves you can't take any game for granted in this league, otherwise you will get punished. We have to look after ourselves, and whatever happens elsewhere happens, but it is a great incentive for us and all the clubs in the league to be able to aim for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place”.

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

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North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Tea Break Teasers Q1. In what year did David Beckham transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid for £25m? Q2. Which team has beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford the most times in the Premier League? Q3. Who was Real Madrid manager when Liverpool won 1-0 at the Bernabeu in February 2009? Q4. Which current Premier League club lost 17 out 19 matches in the 2009/10 Premier League season? Q5. Who became the first team other than Real Madrid to win the European Cup in 1961? Q6. Which England player netted four times against Norway in 1966? Q7. Who played in the 1990 FA Cup Final and went on to manage a team 24 years later in the 2014 Cup Final? Q8. Which club have reached the most FA Cup Semi-Finals but have never gone on to win the Cup? Q9. Which former Liverpool player was top goalscorer in Euro 2004? Q10. Which English player scored a hat-trick against Switzerland in 1963? Q11. Which team scored the first goal of the current Premier League season? Q12. Which player did Everton pay £4.5m for in 2005 who signed on for Pembroke League side Solva FC in September 2014? Q13. Which former Liverpool player became the oldest World Cup Final Debutant in 2010 at 39 years and 321 days?

Q14. Wayne Rooney is currently the third highest Premier League goalscorer who ranks above him? Q15. Which grounds are the most Northerly, Southerly, Easterly & Westerly in the Premier League?

1) 2003 2) Chelsea 3) Juande Ramos 4) Burnley 5) Benfica 6) Jimmy Greaves 7) Steve Bruce 8) Birmingham City 9 Semis 9) 10) Bobby Charlton 11) Milan Baros 12) Simon Davies 13) David James 14) Alan Shearer & Andy Cole 15) N – St James Park, S – St Mary’s Stadium, E – Upton Park, W – Liberty Stadium

North West Counties Football League Premier Division Five Time Winners of Programme of the Year 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14

Executive Programme Sponsor

Meet the Players

Alex Gillespie 06/08/1997 Midfield

Rory Crowther 29/12/1996 Goalkeeper

Gareth Grant 16/08/1990 Defender/Midfield

Marcus Perry 16/08/1996 Forward

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