prammynewsv SKELMERSDALE UNITED 28-12-14

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glenn

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Good afternoon and welcome to the Harry WilliamsRiverside Stadium for this festive cracker. I hope that eachand every one of you has had a fantasic Christmas so farand are looking forward to a very happy and prosperousNew Year. I’d like to extend a particularly warm welcometo all our friends from Skelmersdale United. We hope youenjoy your visit and have a safe journey home later thisafternoon.

Personally I love this time of year, and what makes it thatbit more special is all the games that we have in a shortspace of time. As everyone knows, Christmas is a time forspending with your nearest and dearest, and that countsfor the lads as well. e bond within the camp is unrealand everyone genuinely loves being around each other aswell as with their families.

As it’s the turn of the year, what better time to just havea quick look back over some of the unreal achievementsthat we have shared in recent times. After theunforgettable playoff victories which will stay witheveryone forever, we had a couple of weeks before we gotback to work - our first season in the heady heights of theEvostik Premier Division! e season was soon upon us anddespite the slow start we found our feet and some formwhich in turn started to bring the results..

As we're now halfway through the season we are in a verystrong position in the league and we have a good fewgames in hand after a fantasic run in the trophy whichunbelievably ended at the hands of the Mighty StockportCounty.

So all in all I think it’s been a fantastic journey to date onthe 'rammy rollercoaster'. Here's hoping it will pick upspeed again and push on for an exciting second half of thecampaign.

A big thank you from us all for your fantasic support todate. Please keep up the good work and enjoy today’s game Coyr

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I think we'll all remember our last gameagainst Skem for a very long time, and I keepairing the photo of you crying on the pitch. Isthere anything else about that game that reallysticks in your memory?

at game for most of the lads was the worstgame they had and still have been involved in.But I think if we make it too personal then wemight go into today’s game with the wrongmind set. Only two memories of that day forme - first was Dawson's header because beforethat the game was not all that exciting fromwhat I remember. And their second goal whichfor me happened in slow motion - I saw the balllate and got a hand to it but not enough. Iwatched the ball roll into the bottom cornerand I experienced a feeling that I hope neverhappens to me again in football. It was horriblebut two years on we're all more experiencedand I we are think better mentally now whichmay be partly down to that game.

I remember a cup game a few years ago whereSkem were in the Evostik and us in theNorthwest Counties - they came and gave us a

good seeing to on the pitch. Doyou agree that it's amazing

how far both teams havecome with limitedresources.

Yes. We have been uparound the top of every

league that we havebeen in since I've

been at the club. And the same spplies to Skem- they seem to always be at the top, so bothteams know how to win games. We have twopromotions in three years and there are notmany teams that can say that. If you take intoaccount the gaffers’ budget it's even moreremarkable.

It's been a heck of a first half of the season,our first at this level. Are you pleased with howwe've raised our game overall and at theprogress the club is making?

It’s been a great start, even with dropping thepoints in games we should have won. If wecould have taken where we are in the leagueand with games in hand on teams above us atthe start of the season we would definitely havetaken it. I think we still have more levels andgears to go through as a team yet.

e atmosphere against Stockport Countywas a bit strange and quiet, with a lot ofgroundhoppers from other local clubs comingalong to give Rammy a look. Do you think theywere impressed by what they saw, or do youthink the day could have been better -particularly the weather!

ere was a very good crowd and would liketo thank everyone who turned out on such awet and cold Saturday afternoon. But I thinkwe shown what we are about to the new facesat the game. Even on such a bad surface(because of weather) and hopefully gainedsome new fans.

grant shentonshouting from between the sticks

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Despite rampaging to the top of the table, Skem's recentform hasdropped off (winning just two in their last8 games), on paper at least Rammy must beslightly favoured to win this one - or does itjust not worklike that?

In this league there are no gimmies, anyteam is cable of beating their nextopponents. And it makes for an excitingseason when top of the league havescored same amount of goals as bottom.But I'm expecting a good game against asolid team and a friend in my oppositenumber. A Keeper all rammy fans andme included are thankful for coming in lastseason when I broke my leg. So welcomeback Martin but I'm hoping for non of hisheroics today.

I think the fans were left reeling by the twocup defeats to two vastly different clubs. Howdid those results affect the lads? I know there's the old"we can concentrate on the league" cliche, but with thepostponed fixtures backing up due to cup involvement,there must be an element of truth in that.

We never like losing a game, be it in the Lancashire cupor FA trophy, and the lads were disappointed withboth games. We wouldn't have been as successful aswe have been over last few seasons if we didn't knowhow to come back from defeats. So I have everyconfidence we can come back to winning ways inthe league.

Does being a football player mess upChristmas a bit, when you've got so manygames while the rest of us are just gettingdrunk and eating too much?

I for one enjoy playing on Boxing Dayand having few extra games but the lackof drinking does get to me a tad but Imore than make up for it afterwards asdo the rest of the lads.

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Welcome to the Harry WilliamsRiverside Stadium, and a special welcometo our match officials and everyoneconcerned with our good friends fromSkelmersdale United, for what promisesto be a promotion/play-off chasingcracker!

HALF-TIME REPORTIt’s quite usual at this time of year to

look back on the happenings of theseason so far, as we reach what iscommonly referred to as the half-waypoint.

With the excitement of that wonderfulfour days in May still fresh in the mind, webegan the season in August wonderingjust what lay ahead for us.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that I wasbemoaning the fact that we were still in

the North West Counties League. “Weneed to move up to Evo-Stik North” Iwould moan to anyone willing to listen.“So much more publicity in the likes ofthe Non-League paper, and a greatenhancement of the club’s image” was myargument.

I still remember coming away fromPrescot on that dark February night (DavyJones of the Monkees had died that day,with the news coming on the radio as Iapproached the ground… strange whatmemories come flooding back, isn’t it?)and thinking that we had blown that onepromotion place again. We would needan amazing run to do it now, I thought.Little did I realise what was round thecorner, for victory followed victory as westrove to shake off Runcorn Town, whoseform was equally impressive.

Jordan Hulme scored Rammy’s goal in the 2-1 defeat atfellow promotion chasers Runcorn Town, back in 2012

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the season so far

Tony Cunninghamtalks us through thefirst half of the season

life in the evostik premier

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Of course we did it on that magicalday against Winsford United, and, atlast, my plea for NPL football hadcome true.

I may well have been happy to attainlevel four football in the non-leaguepyramid, but it soon became obviousthat Bernard, Jonno, and the lads werestill not satisfied. ey wanted more!

So just two seasons later, comeAugust just gone, we found ourselveselevated once more to level three. Noteven I had been that greedy!

But, as the season started, here wewere, little ol’ Rammy at the highestlevel we have ever played at. Whatcould we expect?

Into the unknown, and a certainamount of trepidation, although theTrafford Secretary had told me at theLeague’s AGM hat we had nothing toworry about.

After the first five games, I wasquestioning his wisdom! Four defeatswith the only bright spot being a 4-2victory at one of our many “we meetyou for the first time ever” clubs,Rushall Olympic. ere we were as weentered September, near the foot ofthe table. Not a position we havebecome accustomed to over recentyears.

at magical day againstWinsford back in 2012

“Into the unknown, and a cer-tain amount of trepidation”

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Another magical day two yearslater - promotion to the Premierat Bamber Bridge

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Kings Lynn and Nantwich Town hadboth arrived at the HWRS and given usa lesson in finishing. It was more clinicalthan in Division One North. ey bothreturned home with the points, anddefeats at Workington and FC Uniteddid not auger well. en I realised…..wealways start off like this. It’s almostcustomary to get the obligatory bad runout of the way as soon as possible.

September saw us finally finding ourfeet.

Long-established at this level, Marinecame to town, and we thumped themwith a superb display, which was almostruined by a nightmare finish which sawus go from a comfortable 3-0 lead, to a

nerve-wrecking 3-2. e Merseysiderscould not believe their luck! But we hungon to gain our first home points at thislevel, and thoroughly deserved theywere.

League leaders Stamford were next toarrive, and again, we comfortably sentthem packing with a 3-1 victory.

We were, at last, settling in well.en came two away defeats to have

the doubts back nagging. A 0-2 reverseat Whitby Town was followed by adreadful first half display at Buxton inthe FA Cup. 3-0 down, and havingmissed a penalty, we looking like beingon the end of a hammering, butwhatever happened in the dressing

A rapidly extending runof defeats, made worse byGreaves at FC United

“four despairing defeats, but then Irealised: we always start off like this!”

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room at half time completely turned thegame round. We still lost, but we foughtback to 3-2 and had the home fans bayingfor the final whistle….such was our secondhalf dominance.

Back in the league, another long-established club at this level, WittonAlbion left with nothing, except a certainamount of flattery at the 3-2 score-line,whilst a superb effort saw the ladsdominate Ilkeston in Derbyshire and returnwith all three points following a 4-2success.

Curzon Ashton, at home, as usual proveda tough fixture, but we managed to sharethe points with the Nash, before headingover the hills in reasonably buoyant mood.On to the wonderfully old-fashionedsetting that is Frickley Athletic. A greatthrowback to grounds of old, with plentyof character and leaking roofs! Not that itaffected us to begin with, but, oh boy, that

second half performance was as bad as thefirst half was good. To eventually comeaway with nothing from a 4-2 defeat wasprobably one of the lowest points of theseason, and no doubt our managerial duolearned much that afternoon.

So September was an improvement onAugust – it could hardly have been worse– but we were merely warming up for whatwas to be a terrific October.

Five straight league wins saw us shoot upthe table and with it, receive another 4 ½lt bottle of whiskey as we were named“Team of the Month”.

It all began with a crawl along the M60to meet again with our old foes Trafford. Atight game could have gone either way, butRobbo came on late on before slamminghome a half-clearance, much to the delightof his team-mates and the usual healthycontingent of Rammy supporters in thecrowd.

Phil Dean’s goal sentleague leadersStamford packing

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Belper Town were duly dispatched athome 4-2 in a highly entertaining gamebefore we gained revenge over high-flying Buxton, with a comfortable 2-0victory at the HWRS.

Whitby Town arrived on a Tuesdaynight – one of their shorter trips! – andonce again, revenge was sweet as wemade up for the defeat at their placewith another impressive performance,seeing off the north Yorkshire side 2-0.

Four out of four for the month to date,before heading over to Crosby to take onMarine – another early league repeat.Some thought we didn’t play that wellover there, but being 3-0 up at half-timewhilst not being at our best certainlybodes well. In the end, we took our footoff the pedal, but still returned home

with all three points thanks to a 3-1score-line…oh, and yet another missedpenalty! (Our record is so bad fromtwelve yards that I’m sure the lads areimploring with the referees NOT toaward them anymore!)

So the perfect month of Octoberturned into chillier and darkerNovember.

Yet another game against WhitbyTown – our third in less than threemonths – this time in the FA Trophy.Another long trip to the north eastcoast, but again revenge was gained forthat earlier defeat when Robbo yet againcame good by hammering home a late,late winner despite pleas from the homeside for offside.

Steve Howson headedhome during Rammy’s3-1 win at Marine

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Workington arrived in town on a Tuesday– yet again we are one of the far-flungteam’s closest opponents! We were a shadefortunate to pinch a point here, as theformer Football League club were probablythe best organised side we had playedagainst at that time.

A bitterly disappointing performancedown in

Halesowenresulted in adispirited 0-2

defeat, butsurrounding a

comfortable 3-1 homewin over Grantham Town, we were aboutto embark on a run in various cupcompetitions.

West Didsbury and Chorlton, from theNorth West Counties League, arrived in theLancashire Trophy (yes, there were a fewwho wondered what a team from southManchester was doing in the Lancashiretrophy) but they gave a fine account ofthemselves, and although the 3-0 score-linesuggests otherwise, we were fortunate toovercome a gritty display from theunderdogs.

Next came the FA Trophy again, andanother away tie, this time against aNantwich Town side that had hammered usat home in the opening weeks. No mistakehere, however, as we had the homesupporters wondering just how the

Dabbers had recorded such a win,having seen their team completely

out-played by the Rams.

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Burscough arrived for the 1st round ofthe Doodson (League) Cup, but despiterecording a fine away win at Droylsdenjust days before, they were no match forthe rampant Rams, who revelled in a 5-1 victory.

Next came the Rams furthest southopponents ever, when Banbury Unitedfrom Oxfordshire, a mere 250 miles fromthe Scottish border, proved to be ournext opponents in the northern sectionof the Trophy! Banbury were strugglingin their league (the southern – notnorthern! – equivalent of ours), but anypotential banana-skin was easily dealtwith thanks to a competent andconfident display, and a comfortable 3-0 victory.

A short trip to “moneybags” formerrivals Salford City in the next round ofthe Doodson cup saw most Rammysupporters enjoy a fiercely contestedgame (the other Rams supporters werestuck on the M66 and many went backhome!), and a fairly comfortable 3-1 win.

A brief respite from the knock-outcompetitions, saw a return to leagueaction and a trip to the Peak District tomeet Matlock Town. Despite an earlylead, we couldn’t consolidate, and a lateequaliser saw us share the spoils.

e Lancashire FA Trophy was next up,and another chance to meet up withsome old adversaries, this time the shorttrip to Atherton Collieries. Colls hadbeen going great guns, but were still

Grant Spencer heaped even moremisery on the already crushedBurscough with this cheeky goal

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three divisions below us. You wouldn’t havethought so on the night, for they were “upfor it”, whilst our lads looked a little jaded.Deservedly 2-0 up with 15 minutes to go, theColls then had to defend for the last 15minutes, especially after Grant Spencer cameon and planted a lovely free-kick home withhis first touch. But try as they may, thepressure came a little too late, and the homeside clung on for a famous victory. So endethour second cup run of the season.

e third departure was not long incoming….just four days in fact.

Yet another sudden death game (the

seventh such game from the last nineplayed), this time against another formerFootball League team, although with a morerecent and illustrious past, StockportCounty, in the first round proper of the FATrophy.

Arrangements had to be agreed with thepolice to ensure that we could stage thegame at home without it being all-ticket.Such arrangements worked to perfection offthe pitch, but on it some rather debatablerefereeing decisions handed the tie toStockport, as two goals in the first 25minutes swung the tie their way.

A comfortable away win atBanbury, with Jon Robinsonamong the scorers

“Burscough were no match forthe rampant Rams, whorevelled in a 5-1 victory”

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Try as we may, we were unable to breakdown a formidable defence, and County,not too long ago seven divisions abovethe Rams, but now just one, held onbefore snatching a late third to make thescore-line a little harsh on the Rams.

And it is at this point that I break, forprinting deadlines dictate that thisreview must end before our longest evertrip to Kings Lynn, and, of course, thehome game on Boxing day.

So what is the judgement?Pretty good!We did not know what to expect, but

in all honesty, it probably hasn’t beenquite as difficult as we may haveexpected.

Once again, the majority of the squadthat have taken this club up the leagues,have stayed with us. As with any team,

there is a certain fluidity, but the playersthat Bernard and Jonno have brought inat the expense of the handful who havemoved on, have settled into our style ofplay well.

We have seen Jon Robinson notch his100th goal for the club, Grant Shentonnotching his 200th appearance for theRams, and another “Club-of-the-Month”award, plus the recently introducedSupporters Club “Player of the Month”.Not to mention the highest Leagueposition in the club’s history, and thefurthest ventured in the FA Trophy.

On the down side, we have bid atearful farewell to Joel Pilkington, whohas hung up his boots at the early age ofjust 30. 235 appearances for Bernard andJonno’s first, and arguably mostinfluential signing. Club captain AndyDawson has missed the whole of the

Trying, and failing, to break downthe formidable Stockport defence

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season so far through injury, although heis now back in training, and hopefully willbe pulling on the blue shirt before toolong. en, of course, last season’s GoldenBoot winner, Lee Gaskell, strugglingthrough injury to regain a permanent spotin the starting line-up, decided to leave forpastures new at cash-rich WarringtonTown.

Off the pitch, the club continues to gofrom strength to strength.

More seats in the stand, more coverbehind the Railway end goal, the secondbiggest gate at the HWRS in the club’shistory, a programme produced by Robthat is an absolute gem and a credit at thislevel of the game (it wouldn’t be amisshigher up the ladder!), a website thatRichard continues to run so well, RammyTV which gives us a great archive of thegames with excellent highlights, superbmatch coverage from Paul that is witty andhumorous, an ever-increasing band ofsupporters who are creating a great

atmosphere both at home and away, anda special mention to those travelling fanswho are notching up the miles with smileson their faces, proving to be greatambassadors for the club. More publicitythan ever before, raising the Rams profileto levels never previously experienced, anda genuine feel-good factor around the cluband the town.

I think it’s fair to say that so far thisseason has been a huge success!

So what’s on the cards for 2015?Who knows, but we can continue to

dream and continue to hope that ourupward trajectory continues, for whoknows where we can end up. We still needto work off the pitch to keep pace with theteam on it, but I have no doubt thatshould we advance even further,everything that is required will be metthanks to Harry’s determination and thehelp of so many people for whom this clubreally is proving to be a great attraction.

Goodbye 2014, look out 2015!

Just some of the greatsupport that’s nowfollowing Rammy up anddown the country

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2014 was a vintage year to be a

Rammy Ultra, but what have been

the best away days of the year and

what sticks in the memory the most?

In a two-part, top-ten rundown,

like a 1975 edition of Christmas Top

of the Pops (without the dodgy

presenters), Darren ‘Darkside’ Comer

is taking us through his highlights of

being a Rammy Ultra in 2014. You

may not agree with all his ‘Top of the

Trips’, or the order they are in, but it

will make for a good topic of

conversation over that pint of

Wainwrights in the Cricket Club.

Ilkeston – 20th September 2014In this game Rammy not only beat their hosts, 4-2, they also producedsome superb football against a team made up, in large parts, of the creamof Nottingham Forest’s youth squad. And, for a ground that was only builta few years ago, Ilkeston made for a nice little venue to watch the gamefor the large away following. Many of us had travelled up on the coachfor this one and were in good spirits throughout the game, obviously helpedby the performance from the Rammy lads. This really was one of thosegames where everything went right both on and off the field and led tothe first outing of what is now becoming an Ultras standard …….. Bernard,Bernard, Bernard……Jonno, Jonno, JonnoI also found the Ilkeston support amongst the best we have met in 2014.Many of them stopped us after the game to shake our hands,congratulate us and say how much they had enjoyed the game. Mysupporters of the year for 2014, although it would have been nice if somehad come back to the bar after the game which was 99% blue and white.The coach journey home was a boozy and cheery affair, especially asBernard had sent the driver to a local supermarket to pick up a largestash of beers for the trip, cheers Bernard! To top the day off, when we got back home we managed to get intothe Rammy Festival at the Cricket Club free of charge, cheers Jonno!We got a pint and managed to get ourselves nicely placed down near thefront of the stage to watch our very own UkePunk, who did his usual,unique brand of no nonsense rock ‘n’ roll to give us the perfect ending toa perfect day

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Whitby Town - 1st November 2014

We had already visited the beautiful seaside resort of Whitby back

in September, but there was not the usual number of supporters

making the journey, so we decided to make this meeting, in the FA

Trophy 1st Qualifiers, one of our special theme days.

With the game falling on Halloween weekend it coincided with the

annual Whitby Goth Weekender, so to fit in with the many thousands

visiting the town that weekend we decided on a spooky theme for

this away day and the Ram Army certainly did themselves proud. We

were lucky enough to get a sunny day for the trip and by lunchtime

we had filled ourselves with local haddock and chips and were settling

down in a seafront, Samuel Smiths, pub drinking real ales at £1.60 a

pint. To make the day even better, Darlington were playing up at

Scarborough that day and a group of their supporters came in the

bar, spotted us lot, and turned straight back out to due to it being

“full of bloody Ramsbottom fans”

By the time we were all assembled on the Whitby terraces the

locals were greeted by the sight of Ste ‘The Scream’ Heard, Andy

‘Gandalf’ Massey, Hilary ‘The Ice Queen’ Massey, Darkside the Ram

and a whole coven of wizards and witches, all dressed in their

Halloween finery. A special award to Tim Duckworth here who wins

funniest forum post of 2014 with his ‘wizards sleeve’ comment. Well

done, Tim, it made me and Mrs Darkside laugh out loud.

Most memorably, Jonno and Bernard threw Gassy and Robbo on

for the last twenty minutes, to join Jordan in a three pronged attack,

which then proceeded to storm forward in waves. Then in injury time,

with a replay back at The Riverside looking on the cards, Robbo

pounced to give us a dramatic, and controversial winner, setting off

some euphoric celebrations from the travelling ghosts and ghouls.

After stopping at a local shop, to clear the shelves of beer and junk

food, the coach set off back through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales

full of happy and celebratory Rammy players and supporters. As per

usual the day ended with us all going back to the cricket club for

few more pints, and to watch Uncle Dave beat Martin Hulme on the

pool table, yet again

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Lancaster City – 8th February 2014It might surprise some people that this game is so highly regarded in

my opinion, but for anyone who travelled on the Rammy Rocket that

day will understand it being in my top three away games of the year.

We had hired a bus to take us to Kendal in November 2013 which had the

seen the first real wave of Rammy songs and chants, but what

happened at Lancaster took it to another level and for me it is the day

when the Rammy Ultras really came of age. It was also the day I realised,

that after 41 years of marriage, I wanted a divorce from my beloved

Rochdale FC. Oh, we are still good friends and I occasionally still see

them, but from now on I just want to be with Ramsbottom United

Football Club, a sentiment I know is shared by all you ex Bury, Bolton

Wanderers and Preston North End supporters.We visited a couple of town centre pubs and by the time we kicked

off we were in good voice and gathered behind the covered terrace

that Rammy were attacking. In fact, that’s all the game seemed to be,

Rammy attacking, and this added to good feeling in our ranks. I don’t

think we stopped singing during the opening forty five minutes. As the

rain started to fall we decided to go in the main stand, opposed to going

on the open terrace we would now be kicking towards in the second

half. And what a main stand it was as a group of about twenty of us

sang, chanted and bang the team onto a well-deserved 3-1 victory.

One particular memory sticks with me from this game was when we

were having a post-match pint in the Dolly Blue Bar at the ground.

Lancaster manger, Darren Peacock, came in and was quite rightly

disappointed, and it was good to think that an ex- player, and a big name

manager at this level, who had played at the very highest level had been

outwitted by those adopted sons of Ramsbottom, Jonno and Bernard…

………or as Harry likes to call them “those two bloody mongrels”

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Bamber Bridge – 3rd May 2014 – NPL Division 1 North Play Off FinalSo, after losing our first fixtures, and a 3 point deduction from the league,

the beginning of May saw The Rams on the verge of glory in the NPL Division1 North Play Off Final. Standing in our way were local rivals, Bamber Bridge,and on the morning of the game the town of Ramsbottom woke up to glorioussunshine and, I don’t know about others, but I sensed some kind of magic inthe air. We had played Bamber Bridge the previous Saturday, in a tense andturgid 0-0 draw, that saw both teams finish in the play-off positions, andconfidence was pretty high..The Rammy Rocket arrived at Brigg with over two hours to go before

kick-off, but despite this the ground was busy and it already had anatmosphere that a big match was taking place there that day. We had acouple of slow pints in the May sunshine (this was not a day for pre-matchover indulgence in alcohol, that could come later). As we sat about chattingnervously we saw the ground beginning to fill up, and were happy to see manyfamiliar faces who had made the short journey from Rammy. By the time3.00 came round the ground seemed pretty much a 50/50 split in support oftheir respective teams. In total there were over 1,200 people on the ground towitness a five goal thriller that is already part of Ramsbottom folklore. An early Gassy goal was cancelled out mid-way through the first half and

the game stayed this way until three minutes from time when Steve Howsonpopped up to give us, what seemed like, the winning goal. As the game wentinto injury time, Bamber Bridge got a dramatic late equaliser to send us intoanother 30 minutes of high tension. Ironically, much of the injury time wasadded on due to a flare thrown on the pitch by the few morons in the,otherwise wonderful, Brigg support. We all know what happened next and, justbefore the end of the first period of extra time, Dom Smalley went on onehis trademark attacks from defence to smash in what turned out to be thegoal to eventually give us the promotion that our football, throughout theseason, had truly deserved.

The scenes at the final whistle, and the total feeling of euphoria andecstasy, had to be witnessed to be believed. The players ran over to celebratewith the supporters and those memories are amongst my most cherishedones in all my time watching football. The celebrations continued as the playerswent up to receive the trophy, before we retreated back to the bar to waitfor the players and raise a glass or two in their honour. Eventually, we leftour hosts and, after thanking them and wishing them all the best for thefollowing season, we boarded the Rammy Rocket for the short journey homethrough, a still hot and sunny, east Lancashire. How many supporters of leagueclubs could even dream of travelling home with the players and the trophyyou had just seen them win? None, and that’s the beauty of non-league football.

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Darlington – 30th April 2014 - NPL Division 1 North Play Off FinalOh What a Night! The most amazing and unique atmosphere you couldhope for at a game of football.

120 Rammy Ultras made the journey up to the North-East for thismidweek clash (including Martin Hulme who had to travel up from London)and entered into, what has since been described as, the lion’s den. Themighty, ex league, club that is Darlington were obviously going to win thisgame against ‘the tiny team from the village of Sheepsarse’, and nearly2,000 were here to witness their inevitable rise back to where theyquite rightly belong. What they didn’t realise was that the spirit of theRammy team, and the small, but highly vocal, band of Ultras in the cornerwere never going to beaten by a team on reputation alone.

The hostile, but not threatening, atmosphere intensified just thirtyseconds into the game when Owen Roberts went into a wholehearted/reckless (depending on which team you support) tackle, whichsaw the Darlo fans baying for blood. This did not phase the Rammyplayers, or support, and we just went ahead and played the kind offootball that had already seen us chalk up two league victories againstDarlington (3-0 at home and 1-0 away) Two goals in the first half hour, from Billy Priestley and Jordan Hulme,

saw The Rams in total control and some joyous celebrations amongst allof us who were there. Darlington never threatened to get back into thegame and their frustration was only made worse by two red cards inthe second half. Don’t let the red cards fool you though, this was muchdeserved victory and we would still have won without the sending offs.As we celebrated the full time whistle we were offered best wishes

from the genuine Darlo fans although it would have seemed their ‘not-right’ element had other things on their minds and a couple ran onto thepitch to confront the referee. Fortunately, Jonno was hand to escortthe referee to safety and, with just one of those special looks he usuallysaves for any Rammy player not giving his all, the idiots thought betterof their actions. This finally allowed Jonno, and the rest of the team, tocome over to us and take the applause the performance, and effort,had deserved as this particular part of the North East rang out with arousing chorus of ‘2-0 to the tiny team’.The success and style of play has made this a great year, and I’m

sure we all have our own special memories from 2014. It’s not only beena good year on the pitch though, as the Rammy family has grown offthe pitch, I have found myself making new friends with people of allages and backgrounds. Here’s to 2015 and the continued growth of ourmuch loved, little football club, the mighty Ramsbottom United

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1. What League do Kettering Town play in?

2. Chris Venables has scored 100 goals for which Welsh club?

3. Which club knocked Bristol rovers out of the FA Trophy?

4. Wayne Rooney’s brother John plays for which Conference club?

5. Which is the only team from the Northern League to apply for promotion this

year?

6. What was their former home called?

7. Who plays at Hardenhuish park?

8. Which Evo-Stik NPL club conceded 16 goals in two matches recently?

9. Who is the manger of Gateshead?

10. What colours do Cambridge City play in?

. Southern League Div.One Central 2. Aberystwyth Town 3. Bath City 4. Chester 5. Bishop Auckland 6. Kingsway 7. Chippenham Town 8. Brigg Town 9. Gary Mills 10. White and Black

tony’s teasers

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If your face is featured then congratulations, you’ve just won yourself a cup oftea and a Mars Bar courtesy of Rammy United Supporters Club. Visit the teabar now to claim your magnificent prize!

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skelmersdale unitedour old mates from west lancashire

Skelmersdale United Football Club has avery rich pedigree with an extensive list ofhonours since they were founded in 1882.e Club had its genesis in a team of playersbrought together by the teachers of theSkelmersdale Wesleyan Day School and it wascalled Skelmersdale Young Rovers, theheadmaster at the time being Mr Ritson.When he left he was succeeded by Mr Forsterof St Helens, a real football enthusiast. Underhis guidance the team became a muchstronger organisation and the name waschanged to Skelmersdale Wesleyans,subsequently the minister expressed hisdisapproval of this and the team becameSkelmersdale United.

Nearly ten years after their formationUnited joined the newly created LancashireCombination. In 1891-92 Skelmersdale was asmall mining community with a populationof a little over 5,000 and they were paired upwith the reserve sides of clubs that were inthe top flight of English football, BlackburnRovers, Bolton Wanderers and Preston NorthEnd. e club won its first major trophy in1908 when they defeated Portsmouth Roversin the final of the Lancashire Junior Shield.

ey joined the Liverpool CountyCombination in 1909 and won the first oftheir Championship titles in 1911 competingin the League until 1955, during which timethey were Champions on no fewer than tenoccasions, Liverpool County FA ChallengeCup Winners on eight occasions and GeorgeMahan Cup Winners five times. For the

majority of their first seventy years the clubplayed at Sandy Lane that is now the site ofan office block.

For the 1955-56 season the club moved intothe 2nd Division of the LancashireCombination, and in their 1st season theylifted the Championship, also moving to theirnew home at White Moss Park. e most successful period for the club wasbetween 1966-67 and 1970-71 seasons, whichincluded two Wembley appearances in theAmateur FA Cup in 1967 & 1971. e firstfinal was against Enfield which, following a 0-0 draw at Wembley, they lost 0-3 at MaineRoad, Manchester, in the replay. e secondWembley date, in 1971 resulted in aconvincing 4-1 win against Dagenham.During this period the club also won twoCheshire League titles and numerous othertrophies.

One of the everlasting memories of thesuccessful Amateur Cup days was thetremendous support for the club. ephenomenal increase in crowds will probablynever be repeated again, with regular crowdsbetween 1,000 and 1,500 for league games,rising to several thousand for cup games.Indeed the record gate for the club was 7,500for a quarterfinal game in March 1967 thatresulted in a 1-0 victory over Slough Town.e cup final of 1967 attracted a massive75,000, ere is no doubt that the 1967-1971period was a golden era for Skelmersdale withmany players progressing into the FootballLeague.

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Although the club joined the NorthernPremier League in 1971 it was to be anunhappy time with financial problemsarising that the club would have hanginground its neck for over two decades. Afterjoining the North West Counties League in1982 without much success and followingthree seasons of just avoiding relegation tothe 2nd Division in the early 90’s, theinevitable happened at the end of the1995-96 season.

Russ Perkins was named as Manager andthe club quickly regained promotion andthe start of the long road back to the clubsformer glories began. e club left theirspiritual home of White Moss Park in 2002and eventually moved to the newly named

Westgate Interactive Stadium. With Paul Gallagher in charge the club

raced forward with a second place finishand promotion to the Northern PremierLeague in 2006. United appointed theexperienced manager Tommy Lawson totake the club to the new level and apartfrom a mid table position in 06-07 the clubfinished in a play-off position all but oncein the next five seasons, winning the titlein record breaking style in 2012-13. eyalso won the Lancashire Cup in 2010.Despite challenging for the title in theirfirst season in the NPL Premier the clublost ground and eventually finished 6th.Currently Skelmersdale United sit on topof the Premier League table.

Andy Dawson’s goal eight minutesfrom time that everyone thoughthad put Rammy safely into theplay-offs at Skem in May 2013

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last time we met - Skemlifted the trophy on anunforgettable day forboth clubs

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Martin Fearon – Goalkeeper Blackburn born Martin started out withBurnley and Accrington, then moved on toClitheroe. He had three seasons with LancasterCity where he became known as one of the bestkeepers in the league. Eventually he moved toChester. He spent the latter part of last seasonwith Rammy and was highly influential in theclub achieving promotion via the play-offs atthe end of last season.

Dan Mitchley – Centre Forward Signed in July 2014 from Kendal Town, it issomething of a returning home for Dan, as hestarted out with the club as a child and left at15 years old to join Oldham, later moved on toBlackpool where he appeared in the FootballLeague. Dan’s later clubs included; Southport,Wrexham, Mansfield, Nuneaton, Altrinchamand Burscough. He scored plenty of goals forKendal last season and Tommy Lawson hopesfor the same this season.

Kenny Strickland – Midfield/Full Back. Lives in Skelmersdale and arrived as a promisingyoungster with a reputation, having played fortwo of the biggest clubs in the World, namelyManchester United and Chelsea, at the latterhe played in the under 18 team. He is now thelongest serving player on the books and oftencaptain’s the team. Kenny is an intelligentplayer, who can adapt his play to a number ofpositions if required, but is primarily a centralmidfield player, a regular member of theChampionship team, he thrived in the PremierDivision last season.

Phil Mooney – Midfield A player who is in hissecond spell with Skelmersdale. First played forthe club as a youngster and impressed, butneeded more experience, he has since hadspells with Runcorn Linnets and WarringtonTown. He has returned to the club a muchstronger and street wise player. fo

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Appointed joint manager at the start of the2009/2010 season and took the club to theNWCFL title in 2011/12 season, despitemissing much of the season through injury.He has helped guide the club throughanother promotion via the play-offs into theEvo-Stik Premier League in May 2014.

Re-joined the club in January 2009 andbecame joint manager at the start of2009/2010. A Rammy man to his core, acombative and hard-working midfelder whohas occasionally taken over with someprowess in goal. Successful in guiding theRams to two promotions in three seasons.

Anthony JOHNSON Bernard MORLEY

John is the goalkeeping coach atRamsbottom, and was formerly manager atNWCFL side Maine Road, where heconstantly had them pushing for promotion.

John MORREY

Former manager of Atherton LR, leadingthem to 10th place in the NWCL in 2010/11.Resigned from his post with the Crilly Parkclub and joins Ramsbottom United as ahighly rated coach.

Glenn MOSES

rammy unitedmeet the lads

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Born in January 1991, this 6ft 2” goalkeeperjoined Rammy from FC United at the end ofAugust 2010. He was number two at FCUnited, but a superb season in 2010/11 sawhim win Player of the Year for the Rams. HeSigned full-time with the club at the start of2011/12.

Signed from local rivals Radcliffe Boroughafter a spell playing in Australia, the big manis equally at home in the heart of thedefence, or up front poaching goals.

Grant SHENTON

Steve HOWSON

Cedric joined the club in January 2014having impressed the management teamduring his time with rivals Trafford FC.Essentially a defender, Cedric has the abilityto fit in other positions for the team.

Cedric KROU

Signed for the club after impressing themanagers when he played against the Ramsfor Atherton LR. Adds a whole newdimension to the Riversiders’ squad, andequally at home on the right side as either adefender or attacking winger.. Brother ofPlymouth Argyle’s Deane Smalley.

Dominic SMALLEY

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Battling midfield who signed for the club in2011 following the demise of RossendaleUnited, for whom he scored a hat-trick in theridiculous 7-5 Rammy win the previousseason. Won the NWCFL title with the cluband was offered terms with ConferencePremier side Hyde but returned to the clubon loan, eventually signing full terms.

It has taken some two years for themanagement to finally get Scott to join theRams. Bernard and Jonno have followedScott’s career with Runcorn Town and hefinally joined the club in late January 2014.A hard-working midfielder, similar in style toGary Stopforth, and an integral part of thepromotion winning team.

Grant SPENCER

Scott BURTON

e talented left full-back rejoined the clubfrom Chester during the 2013/14 seasonhaving had a short spell here a couple ofyears earlier. His long throw-in is always adangerous piece of his armory.

Lee PUGH

A skilful battling midfielder who signed fulltime with the Rams during the summer of2012 after coming on loan from AFC Fyldethe previous season and dominating themidfield. In his third season with the club hewas a vital member of the promotion set-uplast term.

Gary STOPFORTH

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A constant threat in attack, a solidperformer in defence. Awarded Clubman ofthe Year award in 2011. Continues to causeplentiful problems to defences around theleagues.

Joined the club in December 2011 fromClitheroe via Padiham. Son of a former1990s Rammy favourite Martin, midfielderJordan is highly rated and scored 8 goals forthe Storks before going to Clitheroe. Aversatile player – he can play anywhere fromdefence to striker.

e speedy wingman joined the Rams at thebeginning of the 2014/15 season, havingspent the previous campaign at fellow Evo-Stik Premier club Nantwich Town.

Osebi ABADAKI

Phil DEAN

Jordan HULME

Wing man Tom came on as a sub in the play-off game for our opponents Bamber Bridge.e Rams management team acted swiftlyin the summer to bring him down toRamsbottom

Tom WILLIAMS

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Experienced striker Jon was signed from NewMills and despite plentiful interest fromother clubs has remained loyal to the Ramsfor a number of seasons now, and alwaysfinishes near the top of the goal-scoringcharts. Regarded as a “Rammy legend” ineast Lancashire..

Jon ROBINSON

A 20 year old player who joined fromConference side Tamworth early in the2014/15 season. George is a highly rated full-back capable of playing on either flank,giving the Rams additional defensiveflexibility.

George GRAYSON

A left-back who signed for the Rams in themiddle of September. Previously withC.E.Principado De Andorra, a seconddivision Andorran team with whom heexperienced Champions League football.

Alex PIACENTILE

Club Physio

Haroon ABATTI

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rammy in exilesky sports statto richard isaacs

A very festive good afternoon - I hopeyou have all enjoyed your Christmassesand are now preparing yourself for thesecond of two home games in three days.

Wow, playing on a Sunday ... how veryPremier League of us! It is very rare for theRams to play on a Sunday - in fact, itseems that is only the preserve of Cupcompetitions that we have performed onthe 'Sabbath' (says the occasional Jew -where matches are always played on theSabbath!). We travelled to Worcester Citylast season in the FA Trophy thirdqualifying round on a Sunday and playedagainst Hallam FC in the Extra-PreliminaryRound of the FA Cup on 17 August 2008

because the cricket club had a game onthe Saturday and it was the same situationon 28 August 2005 when we playedMarske United. Going a long way back,we lost 3-0 on Sunday 30 April 1995 toLittle Hulton in the Bolton Hospitals Cup- so matches on a Sunday are pretty fewand far between.

So, I do hope you have all paid your duesin church this morning before headingdown to the Harry Williams RiversideStadium for today's match againstSkelmersdale United. Ah yes,Skelmersdale United - we remember youso very well. 4th May 2013 at the WestLancashire College Stadium, everything to

Richard gets to add stuffup on the telly - with BobWillis and Matt Priorthrowing the darts

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play for. We needed a point to get into theplay-offs. I wasn't there, I was working ona Sky Cricket game at Grace Road, Leicester- a 40-over contest - but my attention wasfirmly on the Twitter feed as I followedevery kick whilst wearing my RammyUnited polo shirt and my Rammy scarf wason the back of my chair. I might not havebeen at the game, but I felt every bump inthe road.Still 0-0 .... still 0-0 .... still 0-0 .... YESSSSS

DAWSE! Goal for Rammy ..... ease it homenow lads. Noooooooooo an equaliser! Fiveminutes to go. Apparently, there is acricket match taking place outside of thewindow but for the next few minutes, I amwatching the computer intently. "Come onAndy, press the send button on the Full-Time Tweet". "It must be time now". "It hasto be time now". "ere can't be muchlonger to go". Arrggghhh the suspense.And then it came. Goal for Skem.Deflation. Despair. Devastation. I excusemyself for a moment to go out of thecommentary box to shout an inaudible"****".

It was the last time these two sides met.Skelmersdale went onwards and upwardsinto the Premier Division and we sat sixth,just missing out on the lucrative play-offberth. ankfully, it was just a 12-monthdelay as, exactly one year minus one day,later, we joined them at the top table andhere we are again, ready to do battle.

I remember my first ever visit to SelbyPlace - it was in the Lancashire FA Trophyin 2009. Dad and I were two of 106 in thecrowd that evening and we were wellbeaten 1-5. One of the Skem goals wasscored by George Donnelly, who I thinknow plays at Rochdale in League One. Ourgoal came just after half-time to make it 1-1 and we got a little excited, Andy Sensaleslotting home but it was a false dawn.

Sadly, I won't be up today as I will still berecovering from doing the Christmasdinner at home - I am chef extraordinarefor the third year in a row. I must be doingsomething right if I am asked to do it again.Ambulance no longer required on standby,although I will have, of course, restrictedmyself to a single Brussel Sprout. Who iswith me in thinking that those vile balls ofgreen awfulness is just devil food?

It will be nice to be at home for a littlewhile after the long Sri Lanka v Englandseries in the Sky studios. A comprehensivewhooping for the England team. Did weexpect anything else? Do weexpect England to win theWorld Cup, which starts onFebruary 14, live on Sky Sports (ofcourse!). Of course we do, likewe expect Rammy to win everysingle game. We live in hope!

Enjoy the game today andgive them a cheer for me!

“A goal for Skem. Deflation. Despair. Devastation”

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Simply email your chosen grid reference to qy@dr.comand the winner will be chosen at random from thosesubmitting the correct answer. You can then have yourvery own personalised rammy mug.

spot the balland win a customised rammy mug

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Sat 16th Aug H KING’S LYNN TOWN 2-3 322 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer Howson PriestleyTues 19th Aug A Workington 0-1 415 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer * Howson PriestleySat 23rd Aug A Rushall Olympic 4-2 161 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer * Howson PriestleyMon 25th Aug H NANTWICH TOWN 1-4 365 Shenton Smalley Abadaki * Spencer + Howson PriestleySat 30th Aug A FC United of Manchester 1-3 1917 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer Howson WarrenderTues 2nd Sept H MARINE 3-2 250 Shenton Smalley + Pilkington Spencer Howson 1 KrouSat 6th Sept H STAMFORD 3-1 357 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer + Howson 1 WarrenderWed 10th Sept A Whitby Town 0-2 265 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer Howson WarrenderSat 13th Sept A Buxton FAC 1Q 2-3 261 Shenton Smalley Pilkington # Spencer Howson Warrender +Tues 16th Sept H WITTON ALBION 3-2 231 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer * Howson Krou 1Sat 20th Sept A Ilkeston 4-2 422 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer * Howson Krou 1Tues 23rd Sept H CURZON ASHTON 1-1 309 Shenton Grayson * Pugh Spencer 1 Howson KrouSat 27th Sept A Frickley Athletic 2-4 215 Shenton Pilkington Grayson + Stopforth Howson KrouSat 4th Oct A Trafford 1-0 294 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouSat 11th Oct H BELPER TOWN 4-2 371 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Stopforth Howson KrouSat 18th Oct H BUXTON 2-0 470 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Stopforth Howson KrouTues 21st Oct H WHITBY TOWN 4-0 237 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Stopforth Howson KrouSat 25th Oct A Marine 3-1 366 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson 2 RobinsonSat 1st Nov A Whitby Town FAT 1Q 2-1 233 Shenton Smalley * Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouTues 4th Nov H WORKINGTON 1-1 250 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouSat 8th Nov A Halesowen Town 0-2 358 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouTues 11th Nov H WEST DIDS Lancs Cup 3-0 132 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer 1 Robinson + KrouSat 15th Nov A Nantwich FAT 2Q 3-1 238 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouSat 22nd Nov H GRANTHAM TOWN 3-1 351 Shenton Smalley 1 Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouTues 25th Nov H BURSCOUGH Lg Cup 5-1 140 Shenton Williams Piacentile 1 Slaven Howson 1 KrouSat 29th Nov A Banbury United 3-0 235 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth + Howson Krou 1Tues 2nd Dec A Salford City Lg Cup 3-1 189 Shenton Smalley Dean Stopforth Howson KrouSat 6th Dec A Matlock Town 1-1 257 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson KrouMon 8th Dec A Atherton Collieries Lancs 1-2 120 Shenton Smalley Grayson Stopforth Howson PughSat 13th Dec H STOCKPORT COUNTY 3-0 907 Shenton Smalley Grayson + Stopforth Howson KrouSat 20th Dec A King’s Lynn Town 1-2 510 Shenton Smalley Grayson Stopforth Howson KrouFri 26th Dec H ASHTON UNITEDSun 28th Dec H SKELMERSDALEThu 1st Jan A Nantwich TownSat 3rd Jan A Curzon AshtonSat 10th Jan H TRAFFORDSat 17th Jan A Belper TownTues 20th Jan H NORTHWICH VIC LgCupSat 24th Jan H FRICKLEY ATHLETICSat 31st Jan A BuxtonSat 7th Feb H BLYTH SPARTANSSat 14th Feb A StamfordSat 21st Feb A Witton AlbionSat 28th Feb H ILKESTONSat 7th March A Skelmersdale UnitedSat 14th March H STOURBRIDGESat 28th March A Grantham TownSat 4th April H FC UNITED OF MCRMon 6th April A Ashton UnitedSat 11th April H HALESOWEN TOWNSat 18th April A BarwellSat 25th April H MATLOCK TOWN

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MATCHBAL

res & results 2014/15

Our Club Needs Our Help

If you can spare as little as half an hour to help Harry Williams keep Rammy’s pitch and ground

in the impeccable condition that we’ve allbecome so proud of then please just come down and

help, any day of the week from 11am onwards.

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I know, I know - there will be accusationsof me being a football tart bandied around,but one of the things about moving aroundthe country (and the world) as a football fanis that you get to see a lot of different clubs.I used to follow Preston home and away fora good number of years while I lived inBradford, London, Essex and Bristol, but withthe travelling distances involved and the factthat I seemed to care more about the resultsthan any of the players, I ended updisgruntled and turning to non-league.

My Banbury affiliations were well ribbed acouple of weeks ago, and I quietly confess towatching three seasons at Atherton Colls -very good seasons infact, under the verycapable management of Phil Brown.

Well, I’m now also going to confess thatbefore moving to Rammy, where we’ve livedfor five years now, I was regularly to be seenon the terraces at Skelmersdale United! ereason - the magnificent Tommy Lawson!

In all my years as a football fan, I’ve seldomcome across a manager as committed,intelligent and as tactically astute as Tommy.With a rapidly evolving squad of players, and

very little money to play with,Tommy has consistently

shepherded Skem tothe top of the table,in whicheverdivision they’vebeen playing. While I was there I

watched some of themost creative and

entertaining football I’ve ever seen at anylevel. I saw the club miss out on promotionat FC United, after some pretty bizarrerefereeing decisions, and then again atCurzon Ashton in 2009. I’ve also seen Tommyhave his squad decimated time and again asother clubs have come in to march off withhis best players.

Despite all of this, the club continues itsrise, and Tommy continues to putSkelmersdale United up there in thepromotion zone time and again. A realtestimony of the talents of this Brent Peterslooky-likey - though while Brent is talkingabout his ten-year-plan to world domination,Tommy Lawson is just quietly going abouthis business of achieving it!

Skem’s progress seems for me to be verysimilar to Rammy’s, and I’d like to hope thatwe’ll see both clubs pushing higher andhigher up the leagues as the years pass by.

I do find that there is one aspect aboutRammy where we have the edge over Skem,and that is through the support of the localtown’s population. Maybe things havechanged at Skem over the last few years, butI really doubt it. e local people haveabsolutely no interest in the fortunes of theirclub, and it’s a strange situation, butSkelmersdale United seems almost to be apocket of the pre-existing Old Skelmersdalethat has been dropped into the Liverpooland Everton supporting environs of a newtown. Moving grounds to a wild and exposedindustrial estate doesn’t help, and my vaguelyuninformed understanding is that the club

supporters clubon the terraces of rammy

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got a little bit had over the ground deal. Intothat bargain the history, soul and character ofSkelmersdale United seemed to almost geterased. ere are still folk who attend matchesthat have broad Lancashire accents, even whensinging “We all come from the land ofroundabouts!”, and on my last visit these peoplestill comprised about a third of the supporters.

ose with new Skem accents are slowlystarting to get behind the club, and realise thatthere is something quite special going on downat the ‘West Lancashire College Stadium’, butfrom my family members that live in the town Ido still very much hear, “Why would I go andwatch that shower when Liverpool are on thetelly?”

In Ramsbottom we are very lucky in that ourlocal town and local population very muchsupport what’s going on down here at the HarryWilliams Riverside, and I hope that today’sattendance helps bear out that assertion.Perhaps it’s a matter of local pride for us millfolks. Despite the obvious comedic value of the

name, the people of Ramsbottom are rightlyvery proud of where we live, and that seems totranslate across to support for our town and ourteam. I’ve yet to meet anyone who is proud tocome from Skem - no, I tell a lie - there’s a big,bushy-haired cricketer called Kevin (I think)who used to stand next to us at the footy, andhe seemed pretty proud to come from OldSkem - is that the same thing?

My relatives tell me that Skelmersdale isevolving as a place however, from the rough andquite scary sink estate that it was when I was akid, to a place that has a little bit more about it,a bit of an identity of its own. If this is true thenperhaps Skelmersdale United will start to getthe kind of support that this great little club,team and manager thoroughly deserve. eirattendances seem to be on the rise, thoughperhaps not as quickly as they ought to be.

And so whatever happens today, I’d like towish all the best to our friends down the roadin West Lancashire, and will continue to watchtheir progress with interest.

Five seasons, four lots ofplayoffs - on this occasiondefeat in the 2009 playoffs atCurzon Ashton

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Martin FEARON Valtor FERNANDESPeter WYLIERob McINTOSHRob BODIEAiden KIRKBRIDEKenny STRICKLANDAlan BURTONDanny MITCHLEY Scott BAKKORConor McCARTHYJames SHORTAlex MEANEYPhil MOONEYCurtis THOMPSONDion CHARLES

Managers: Anthony Johnson,Bernard Morley

Managers: Tommy Lawson

Referee: Matthew BristowReferee’s Assistants: Micheal Johnson, Nik Storey

Next home game: Saturday 10th January 3pm, Rammy v Trafford

Grant SHENTONDominic SMALLEYGeorge GRAYSONGary STOPFORTH

Steve HOWSONCedric KROU

Osebi ABADAKIScott BURTONJordan HULME

Grant SPENCERPhil DEAN

Jon ROBINSONTom WILLIAMS

Malachi SLAVENDavid KUBA-KUBA

Lee PUGHTom BROOKS