prammynewsv BURSCOUGH25-11-14

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Good evening and welcome to the Harry

Williams Riverside Stadium for this evening’s

League Cup fixture against Burscough. We’d like to

offer a warm welcome to everyone connected

with the club and hope you all enjoy your visit and

have a safe return journey home later.

To still be involved in three cup compertions at

this stage of the season for us is a positive as we

feel winning becomes a good habit to get into, as

well as giving us the chance to get minutes for all

the lads. e main thing is that when you get a

good draw, like we have had this last week in all

three competions it brings a welcome escape from

the bread and butter of the league. Don’t get me

wrong the league is of massive importance to us,

but we also look forward to the cup games..

With us being drawn away at Banbury next

Saturday, Atherton Colls in the Lancashire trophy,

and with the winner of this evening’s game getting

the chance to pit their wits against the new Salford

City - a fixture which is very appealing for us as it

holds many connections - I’m sure the lads will be

giving everything to proceed this evening.

Saturday we welcomed Grantham Town to 'Little

Rammy' and it was another test as it was 5th v's

6th. Overall we were made up with the result - we

went in at the break 0-1 down but the message

was to stay patient, keep playing the football, and

we felt that with a little more quality in the final

third we would win the game. Fair play to the lads

as we looked a slicker, well oiled machine in the

second half, scoring three really good goals. e

only blot was the late penalty miss which would

have capped a really pleasing half for us..

Again the support on Saturday was class and

there is an atmosphere really building at home

these days. Let’s hope for some of the same

tonight. I hope you enjoy the game

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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 CupSat 29th Nov A Banbury UnitedSat 6th Dec A Matlock TownMon 8th Dec A Atherton Collieries LancsSat 13th Dec H RUSHALL OLYMPICSat 20th Dec A King’s Lynn TownFri 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 TownSat 24th Jan H FRICKLEY ATHLETICSat 31st Jan A BuxtonSat 7th Feb H BLYTH SPARTANSSat 14th Feb A StamfordSat 21st Feb A StourbridgeSat 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

fixtures & results 2014/15

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MATCHBAL

fixtures & 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 all

become so proud of then please just come down and

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

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Welcome to the Harry Williams Riverside

Stadium, and a special welcome to today’s

match officials and our visitors from West

Lancashire, Burscough.

A tasty fixture awaits tonight’s winners,

a trip to “money-bags” Salford City, and a

tie that we all would look forward to here

in Rammy, as we have had many an

entertaining battle with the Ammies over

the years.

But first of all, there’s the little matter of

Burscough to be dealt with! I suppose it all

depends which Burscough side turns up

tonight. ey lost at home to Farsley on

Saturday, yet just seven days before, as I

was away from work too late to make it to

Nantwich, I popped down to in-form

Droylsden to see Burscough deservedly

come away with all three points. e

Greens impressed me that day, so if they

turn up here with that attitude, then we

had better be on our guard. Let’s hope for

an entertaining encounter, with the Rams

hopefully venturing down to Moor Lane in

a couple of weeks time.

3G OR NOT 3G

e on-going saga relating to artificial

pitches continues to rumble.

After refusing to accept

them last season,

Conference clubs have

now had a change of

heart, and recently voted to accept them

into the competition. is was apparently

done on the understanding that the

Football League would follow suit

(pointless allowing clubs with 3G surfaces

into the Conference if they could go no

higher, was the supposition). e other

week, the Football League did vote on the

matter….and confirmed the ban! I have no

doubt a further vote will be taken soon,

and as this one was so close, I expect a

“Yes” vote will be the outcome next time.

Many still remember the original

surfaces laid in the 1980’s at such places as

Luton Town, Preston North End and

Oldham Athletic. ey were bad! But

today’s versions are miles better.

I watch a lot of Welsh football, and two

Welsh Premier League clubs have installed

the new 3G pitches this summer –

Newtown and Airbus UK – and to watch

games being played there, you could not

tell the difference between artificial and

turf.

Now that the improvements have

become so realistic, the financial benefits,

along with the lack of postponements,

really do embrace a future where such

surfaces will almost become the norm.

Yet ironically, grass pitches have also

experienced the massive strides forward

too. Bury’s pitch for years suffered criticism

(when I was a lad – OK many years ago! –

tony cunninghamand the wonderful world of

non-league football

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the Gigg Lane pitch under the stewardship of

the Marshall brothers, was recognised as one

of the finest in the land), but this summer a

new grass pitch was laid, and it looks

magnificent.

When England was on TV last week, I had to

get out of the house, so went to see some

proper football as Accrington Stanley knocked

Notts County out of the FA Cup. It wasn’t that

long ago that Stanley took deserved criticism

for the state of their playing surface. I have to

say, last week it looked amazing.

Strange isn’t it, that as progress is made with

the artificial playing surfaces, the “real thing”

has also undergone a massive transformation.

Looking at old clips of football from a

generation ago, playing surfaces that were

acceptable then would not only be frowned

upon today, but probably banned!

Whilst I expect there to be many more 3G

pitches laid in the years to come, it’s good to

know that those who wish to continue to play

on grass will also enjoy the benefits that

modern horticultural technology can bring.

Enjoy your non-league football!

Everyone loved Deepdale’splastic pitch - especiallywhen the seams startingpulling up like at QPR

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3 - 1e Harry Williams Riverside Stadium

22nd November 2014

Att: 351

Rammy Goals: Smalley (53), Hulme (64), Robinson (90)

Grantham Goals: Bilyk (11)

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It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks how the

Rams carry the weight of expectations from this result

because this was an assured win over a team on a good run.

Let it be clear that on this form the Rams are serious

challengers for promotion. ey dominated possession

throughout, but having fallen behind after only 11 minutes

to the visitors only effort on target for the next 50 minutes,

it looked as if Grantham would take the long and winding

road back to Lincolnshire with all three points. .

As is too often the goal was a function of self inflicted

harm. Grant Shenton failed to heed Steve Howson's shout

to come and get it and was fortunate to see the referee

award a corner rather than a penalty as he barrelled in to

Paul Grimes. e Rams then should have known better than

to leave a diminutive Stefan Bilyk free as a bird on the 6 yard

line with the easiest of headers.

For the remainder of the half with Tom Williams and Phil

Dean well shackled down the flanks most of the Rams play

came through Grant Spencer, but the final ball and first

touch too often went astray. He could have worked the

keeper harder when clean through only to see his shot

saved, and Phil Dean went for power rather than direction

and sliced wide from a promising position. Apart from that,

for all theirt intricate play, the Rams did not look like scoring.

Jordan Hulme was given little help and no time at all on the

ball by a pair of towering defenders and crosses went either

direct to their head, the goalkeepers hands, or for no one at

all.

ere is something about the Rams refusal to give up

though. What was looking like a very hard day turning into

a sorry night suddenly changed into renewed optimism

when seven minutes into the second half Scott Burton's

instant pass found Dominic Smalley flying into acres of

space wide on the right to send a beautiful dreamer of a shot

across the keeper and in to the corner of the net.

All of a sudden Jordan Hulme broke the chains and was

here there and everywhere. e crowd were saying that it

won't be long before a second goal and ten minutes later

Jordan Hulme obliged them with a low shot inside the near

post having wriggled and wormed his way into space on the

edge of the area.

Cedric rampages throughthe Grantham midfield tofire just wide

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Robbo bags another -we reckon he wouldprobably score even ifhe didn’t take the field

3 - 1e Harry Williams Riverside Stadium

22nd November 2014

Att: 351

Rammy Goals: Smalley (53), Hulme (64), Robinson (90)

Grantham Goals: Bilyk (11)

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Grantham abandoned their deep sitting approach in

search of an equaliser but failed to bring any sustained

pressure. On 90 minutes they were unable to get back in

response to a quick break. Hume found Jon Robinson in

the box who, untroubled by any semblance of marking,

made no mistake. ere was still a chance in added time

for more misery to be heaped on the visitors with Lee

Gaskell being unceremoniously upended in the penalty

area but Jordan Hulme's penalty ballooning over the stand

leaves the Rams searching for someone consistent from

the spot. A fourth goal would have been unfair on the

visitors who in the end were glad all over to hear the final

whistle.

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Dom’s beautiful dreamer of a shot finding the net

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OsebiAbadaki, the

Can we start by running through

where you fellas have worked before

joining Rammy.

Glenn Moses - “I started as coach at

Chadderton, then Oldham Town. Just

before joining Rammy I was managing

Atherton LR for a season. It was difficult

at LR as there was no budget, but we

managed a top ten finish which I was

really pleased with. Johnno phoned me

when John Hunter was struggling with

work commitments, and asked if I

fancied the job, so here I am!”

Darren Green - “I came in for the game

after we lost at Runcorn Town in the first

promotion season. I’d been coaching at

Glossop and had a disagreement with

the gaffer there. I got in touch with

Johnno and he asked me to go and do a

scouting job for him up at Bootle. I came

down to the next home game, met the

lads, and that was it.”

John Morrey - “I’ve been managing

Maine Road for the previous two

seasons. We finished second and then

fourth, but the frustration of losing

player after player to other teams who

wave the cheque book around is

just too much. All bar two of

our promoted side got

tempted away close-

season. You’re

constantly rebuilding

and getting nowhere. e lads deserve

the chance to progress and you can’t

stand in their way, but it is very

frustrating. Regarding Rammy, I saw an

advert on the Evostik website for a

goalkeeping coach and I got in touch. It’s

something I used to do at Maine Road as

I used to be a keeper myself.”

With the wealth of experience you’ve

all got, is it hard to work for a couple of

young upstarts like Johnno and Bernard?

John - “Not at all. My mate up at

Mossley asked me why I was going to

work with the two angriest managers in

football, but when you see how they are

in the dressing room you know straight

away that they’ve got something really

special here. It’s very different to how I’ve

ever seen it done - they really get the lads

playing for them because of who they

are and the way they are.”

Glenn - “We’re a team, and we all work

together. ey listen to what we have to

say and they value our opinion on stuff.

Bernard and Johnno are just like us.”

Darren - “ey’re learning on the job

just as we are, and we’re all improving as

we go along. ere’s no ‘us and them’, we

all work together. It’s like a big family and

we all go to everything - players’

christenings and parties and things, it’s

lovely and very different.”

the backroom boyswe talk to rammy’s accomplished

backroom coaching team

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John, you’re obviously responsible for the

goalkeeper coaching, but Darren and

Glenn, how do you split the jobbetween

you, or do you just work together?

Darren - “We get together over summer

and get the pre-season all sorted out. We’ll

have a talk with Johnno and Bernard and

see if there’s anything special that they

want us to do. Training sessions we

concentrate on being fast and expansive,

which we can do with the small training

facilities that we have. We split the warmup

between ourselves, but on the whole we

work together.”

Glenn - “ere’s no magic formula for

what we’re doing. ere’s a hell of a lot of

ability in that dressing room, and coupled

with the work that we get them doing, the

teams gets the results. e season we won

the Northwest counties we had them in

training Christmas Eve and New Years eve -

that commitment from the squad is what

gets the results, and that’s the kind of work

ethic that we try to instil in the players, and

that comes down from the top.”

We’re finding a lot of teams coming to

Rammy with pre-prepared set pieces. Do

you think that the lack of a full-size training

pitch is a big issue?

Darren - “It’s not ideal, but when we have

just a couple of hours to work with the lads,

we have to work out where the priorities lie.

At the moment we have so much to work

on that set pieces are not a huge worry, for

me at least.”

John - “Being a goalkeeping coach I can

look at it from the other side. I think we do

need to put some work into how we, for

example, run short corners so that we can

make sure players time their runs to take

players out of the game. ese things will

become more and more important the

higher we climb up the leagues.”

Glenn Moses casts his

expert eye over the lads

warming up pre-match

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Glenn - “ere’s no doubting that as

we begin to face teams like Stockport etc

we’ll need to get things like set-pieces

really nailed, but our priority at the

moment, with the limited time and

facilities we have, is to keep our football

quick, tight and dynamic. It’s that

approach which is frightening teams

that we come up against.”

Darren - “Another important thing for

us is fitness. We put the lads through a

really tough pre-season, and their fitness

is right up there with full-time

professional players. at’s a very big

thing at this level, particularly with the

ability that these lads have got.”

John - “Johnno said to me, and you can

see it, that the footballing side of the

club has come a very long way in a very

short time, and the club infrastructure

has quite a bit of catching up to do - I

think that’s probably true. Decent

training facilities has to be part of that

catching up, even if it’s just now and

again.”

“If we manage some consistency then whycan’t we inish top three this season?”

UEFA B trained coach

Darren Green, part of

Rammy’s expert

backroom team

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Predictions for the finish of the season -

where do you think Rammy will finish up

come May?

Glenn - “Beginning of the season I

would have said that we could be looking

at the playoffs. e way the season is going

now, I can see us more than capable of

making the playoffs. We’ve got no-one to

be scared of in this division.”

John - “Relegation and playing Bacup in

a couple of years! Nar - I expected us to

come up against a couple of sides that

would have us thinking, ‘that’s what we

need to aspire to this year,’ but we haven’t.

We’ve not really had a lesson off anyone

we’ve played over 90 minutes. Curzon gave

us a good run, but they didn’t teach us

anything. I think that we’re definitely top

eight. It’s a long season and a lot can

happen, but we’re looking at top eight.”

Darren - “Injuries have been the main

issue, but I think we’ve got through the

worst of that already. We have 24 fit players

turning up to training and have last

season’s top strikers only just returned to

fitness over the last couple of weeks. We’ve

also got really good players coming in for

trials and joining the squad. e strong

squad will make a huge difference over the

length of the season. I thought coming into

this season that it’d be really tough, but it’s

not. It’s about consistency, and about

putting together a run of games. Anyone

can beat anyone in this league so a couple

of wins or defeats can make a huge

difference. If we manage some consistency

then why can’t we finish top three this

season.”

John - “I’m going to give a note of caution.

Disciplinary is really important as there are

lots and lots of yellows, and that means we

lose consistency in the team and have to

turn-out with slightly weakened sides.

Disciplinary is the main lesson that we

need to learn to make sure we’re up there

at the end of the season.”

John Morrey, formerly

manager at Maine Road

now coaches Grant

Shenton at Rammy

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burscough fcan amazing history for a non-league club

e first Burscough Association Football

Club was formed in 1880, playing in Liverpool

& District League football before folding in

1900. en, in 1905 Burscough Rangers were

founded and moved to the present Mart

Lane ground in 1908. ey established many

of the traditions carried on by the current

club, including playing in green and being

known as the Linnets. In the 1920s they had

tremendous success winning the Liverpool

County Combination Championship three

times. In 1926 Rangers purchased a

grandstand from Everton and erected it on

Victoria Park. e following year they joined

the Lancashire Combination but never

experienced the same level of success and

began to run into financial difficulties, finally

folding in 1935.

Following the Second World War the

present Burscough club was founded in 1946,

starting life in the Liverpool County

Combination and by the end of the decade

had made a major impact in the non-league

soccer world. In only their second season,

1946/47, they achieved a unique treble,

winning the Lancashire Junior Cup, George

Mahon Cup and the Liverpool Challenge

Cup.

Another milestone was reached in 1959

when they reached the First Round Proper of

the F.A. Cup for the first time before going

down 3-1 to Crewe Alexandra in front of a

4,200 gate at Victoria Park.

e Linnets reached the F.A. Cup First

Round Proper on three other occasions. In

1977, a 1-0 defeat at Blyth Spartans, in 1979,

a 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United in front of

14,000 spectators and in 1980, a 2-1 defeat

against Altrincham.

In 1982 the Club became founder members

of the North West Counties Football League

and had the distinction of becoming the

Leagues first ever Champions under Bryan

Griffiths.

A new grandstand seating 250 was built in

1986 to replace the old wooden stand which

had stood for 60 years and no longer met

ground safety regulations.

In 1992/93 Burscough lost 2-1 to Conference

bound Southport in the Liverpool Senior Cup

Final at Goodison Park before 2,000

spectators. Success was achieved by winning

the League Challenge Cup with a 2-1 victory

over Nantwich Town.

1993/94 was one of the most eventful

seasons in Burscough’s history as three

players, Gary Martindale, Kevin Formby and

Alex Russell, joined Football League clubs for

substantial fees. Further covered standing

accommodation for 500 spectators was

erected at Victoria Park during the close

season.

In the 1997/98 season, after finishing

runners-up in the North West Counties

League the club made history by being

promoted to the Unibond League. ey also

won the League Floodlit Trophy and reached

the final of the Liverpool Senior Cup against

Liverpool. Promotion to the dizzy heights of

the Unibond League Premier Division in

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1999/2000 season exceeded most

supporters wildest dreams as Burscough

went through the season unbeaten away

from home, and lost only two games in

total.

Following the resignation of John Davison

the club appointed Shaun Teale as

player/manager in May 2002 and the ex-

Aston Villa defender went on to

sensationally lead the club to its greatest

ever achievement as Burscough became

the smallest club to ever win the FA Trophy

following a tremendous 2-1 victory over

Tamworth at Villa Park on Sunday 18th

May 2003. Played in front of a crowd of

14,296 spectators and televised live on Sky

it was the Linnet’s twelfth game in an

unforgettable cup run that had included

one incredible result as the 400-1 outsiders

shocked the non-league world by beating

runaway Conference winners Yeovil Town

2-0 at Huish Park in the quarter-finals.

ere were incredible scenes as almost

2,000 fans welcomed the team home to

Victoria Park that evening but celebrations

were dampened less than six weeks later as

the club found it necessary to relinquish

Teale of his managerial duties. Former

Liverpool, Galatasary and West Ham

United midfielder Mike Marsh was

appointed manager but after a poor start

to the season Marsh resigned and ex-

Southport defender Derek Goulding took

over in October 2003.

An incredible end to 2003/04 season saw

Burscough finish with a remarkable run of

victories that saw them claw their way out

of the bottom three into the play-offs for

Conference North. Despite playing all their

games away from home the Linnets went

on to reach the play-off final where they

only went down at Bradford Park Avenue

following extra-time. During the summer

Frank Parr stepped down after 30 years as

chairman with local businessman Chris

Lloyd taking over at the helm.

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e following season ended in controversy

as the Linnets were denied a play-off place

following a widely ridiculed decision to

award three points for unplayed games

against Spennymoor United who could not

complete their fixtures.

Season 2005/06 was another historic one

for Burscough F.C. as they went on to reach

the Second Round proper of the F.A. Cup for

the first time in their history. In reaching that

milestone they defeated League One side

Gillingham 3-2 on a never to be forgotten

day at Victoria Park. Further excitement was

to follow as a postponed 2nd round tie at

Burton Albion allowed Burscough to appear

in the ird round draw. at draw, should

they have overcome Burton Albion, would

have given the Linnets a home tie against the

mighty Manchester United. Sadly that

further dream never materialised as Burton

Albion overcame the Linnets in the re-

arranged tie. Having started the season

impressively, with Burscough being amongst

the favourites for promotion, the season

unfortunately never quite reached the

heights of the F.A. Cup run and long term

injuries to key players meant the team

finished 7th.

Derek Goulding`s tenure as manager

ended in June 2006 when he was replaced by

former Southport manager, Liam Watson.

e 2006/07 season was Burscough F.C`s

Diamond Jubilee and one of the ways the

club marked the event was by playing in a

predominantly white kit with a specially

designed badge. e season was one of the

most succesful in history when the Linnets

won the Unibond Northern Premier Division

and the Lancashire Co-Op Trophy, formerly

the Lancashire Junior Cup, for the first time

in 40 years when neighbours Marine were

defeated. e league success was only

confirmed after a thrilling climax. On the last

day of the season the Linnets won at A.F.C.

Telford United in front of nearly 6,000 fans.

e victory meant they overhauled the New

Bucks Head side at the top of the table and

won the title on goal difference by just 1 goal

from Witton Albion. Further and final

success came when Unibond First Division

champions Buxton were defeated 3-1 in the

Peter Swailes Memorial Shield to round off a

great season and confirm Burscough as

Treble Winners.

In their first season in Conference North,

Burscough finished in a very creditable 8th

position but manager Liam Watson and

many of the players departed during the

close season. Assistant manager Joey Dunn

took over as manager.in July 2008, but was

replaced by Andy Mutch at the beginning of

October. Burscough finished next to bottom

of the league and were relegated back to the

Unibond Premier with Andy Gray taking

over as manager for the start of the 2009-10

campaign.

e season was completed under difficult

circumstances after chairman Chris Lloyd

stood down and withdrew all funding. e

Supporters Club accepted the raising of

funds to complete the seasons fixtures, and

were successful in this objective.

burscough fcan amazing history for a non-league club

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During the close season the ground was sold

to Chequer Properties Ltd who in turn leased

the ground back to the football club at a

peppercorn rent, at the same time the

property company purchased Chris Lloyd’s

majority shareholding, but did not wish to be

involved with the day to day running of the

football side of the business, and asked Frank

Parr to return as chairman and form a

committee to carry out these duties.

New Chairman Gary Wright appointed at

the end of the 2010-11 season to oversee the

temporary move to groundshare with local

neighbours Skelmersdale United. e

groundshare however would be short-lived,

and the club would move back to Victoria

Park half way through the season.

One of Wright's first major decisions during

his tenure was to find a replacement for

manager Chris Stammers, who's tenure ended

with his resignation after a poor start to the

2011-12 season. After many applications,

former manager Derek Goulding would make

a return to the club.

Goulding started to galvanize the side

during the season, but his efforts would not

be able to stop the inevitable, and despite a

promising end to the season the Linnet's were

relegated from the NPL Premier division.

August 2012 would see renewed optimism

for Burscough. It would see the Supporters

Club get back on board and help in the

rebuild of the club. Goulding would spend

the summer rebuilding the team on the pitch,

and a hard working Football Club committee

would start to rebuild the club off it.

Although in Season 2013-2014 the team

found itself in midtable the future of the club

is bright with the club now on a sound

footing.

Remember this fella back in 2012?

He booked almost everyone on the

pitch during a good-natured tie!

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1. Name the six former Football League sides currently competing in Conference

North

2. Which is the odd one out of the six and why?

3. What League do Dorchester Town play in?

4. Which Welsh club had to cancel a game due to a fire below their main stand?

5. Which Evo-Stik League club plays at the Aspire Stadium?

6. Neville Southall has joined the coaching staff at which club?

7. Who knocked Trafford out of the Doodson cup by 6-0?

8. What colours do Mickleover Sports play in?

9. Name the head coach of Lancaster City?

10. By what name were Kendal Town known as for many years?

ANSWERS: 1. Barrow, Stockport County, Boston United, Gainsborough Trinity, Bradford PA, Stalybridge Celtic

2. Bradford PA – they were reformed when the original club folded 3. Southern League Premier 4. Rhyl 5. Newcastle Town 6.

Bangor City 7. Droylsden 8. Red and Black 9. Darren Peacock 10. Netherfield

tony’s teasers

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If your face is featured then congratulations, you’ve just won yourself a cup of

tea and a Mars Bar courtesy of Rammy United Supporters Club. Visit the tea

bar now to claim your magnificent prize!

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rammy in exilesky sports statto richard isaacs

Good evening everyone, hope you are

all keeping well and keeping warm too ...

its pretty chilly down here in the deep

south so it must be pretty cool up there

in the frozen north! Oh ... and I see we

won again on Saturday and I wasn't

anywhere to be found! I can see posters

appearing around the town ... keep this

person away from the Harry Williams

Riverside Stadium. I am going to get a

complex, you know!

It has been quite a busy week as I

prepare for the first of the seven one-day

internationals between Sri Lanka and

England, which start at 8.30am tomorrow

morning (live on Sky Sports 2 ... plug

plug!!!) so have been up to the Sky studios

to ensure all is ready and we have all that

is required. It is going to be a very

interesting series as Sri Lanka have just

been mauled 5-0 by India and England's

record in the sub-continent isn't exactly

the best. But then, the weather on that

beautiful island in November is more

Colne on a Tuesday night than

Colombo (rain wise, not

temperature!!). I worked out that in

the last 10 one-day internationals

played in November in Sri Lanka ...

only 36% of the overs have actually

been bowled! So what the bloody

hell are they doing there in the Asian

mid-winter!?

Whatever happens, I will be confined to

the studio throughout, offering assistance

to the producers and the 'talent' all the

way through to December 16th. But,

while I was in the office on Friday last

week, I did find out that our scheduled off

air time is 1pm on Saturday. e AA

website says it is 71.2 miles from Osterley

to Banbury and will take 1hr 25mins.

Sooooooooooo .... need another shouting

voice for the game?! If I am allowed in, of

course!

Dad and I have also watched a handful

of rugby games over the last few days and

I saw something that I never really

thought I would on a rugby field, certainly

not at the age or level that it was. It was

Sunday afternoon and the third round of

the National Colts Cup competition,

played by players aged around 19 or so

and it was a match between Winchester,

the only remaining club in the

competition from Hampshire and

Cobham, a small town in Surrey. On a

very sticky pitch, courtesy of the heavy

rains of the last few days, Winchester won

the match quite comfortably by 38 points

to 12.

It is always said in oval-ball circles, that

it is footballers who are the 'fairies', whilst

rugby players are made of sturner stuff.

We have all seen the pictures (and seen it

in evidence) of players rolling around on

the ground in 'agony' on the football pitch

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whilst rugby players continue to play

with broken limbs, re-arranged noses and

cauliflower ears - England coach Graham

Rowntree being the perfect example of

the delightful mauling the face and

particularly the ears can receive.

But on Sunday afternoon, as

Winchester ran in their fourth and fifth

tries in quick succession in the second

half, this strapping young lad from

Cobham - a fly-half - strolled around

behind the goal line, kicking and cursing,

swearing and chuntering and then ....

began to cry! Yes, honestly!! It was

absolutely unbelievable. He has already

got into a bit of a punch-up after

Winchester's first try and tried again as

they crossed for a second but as his team

proceded to get further and further

behind, his emotions overflowed and he

was subsequently replaced with a

comforting shoulder around him. Wow,

have never seen anything like it.

I guess that is how much sport effects

some people. I know I have cried as a

supporter - I was pretty damn close at

Bamber Bridge back in May and on

occasion at big cup finals when watching

Hampshire Cricket back in the day. But

as a participant, well, that was something

new to me and bless him - it was actually

quite sad to see.

Enjoy the match tonight, it should be a

very interesting match as Burscough are

on a bit of a good run but they will want

to right the last time they came to the

HWRS, just a year and two days ago in

the the league as we tucked into a 7-1

victory with a couple of goals for

Warrender and Spencer as well as Gaskell,

Pilky and Dean. I won't be there ... so we

are likely to win!!

See you on Saturday, all being well.

COME ON YOU RAMS!!!!!!

Suffering the slings and arrows ofoutrageous rugby

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Simply email your chosen grid reference to qy@dr.com

and the winner will be chosen at random from those

submitting the correct answer. You can then have your

very own personalised rammy mug.

spot the balland win a customised rammy mug

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A B C D E

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Born in January 1991, this 6ft 2” goalkeeper

joined Rammy from FC United at the end of

August 2010. He was number two at FC

United, but a superb season in 2010/11 saw

him win Player of the Year for the Rams. He

Signed full-time with the club at the start of

2011/12.

Battling midfield who signed for the club in

2011 following the demise of Rossendale

United, for whom he scored a hat-trick in the

ridiculous 7-5 Rammy win the previous

season. Won the NWCFL title with the club

and was offered terms with Conference

Premier side Hyde but returned to the club

on loan, eventually signing full terms.

Grant SHENTON Grant SPENCER

rammy unitedmeet the lads

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Signed for the club after impressing the

managers when he played against the Rams

for Atherton LR. Adds a whole new

dimension to the Riversiders’ squad, and

equally at home on the right side as either a

defender or attacking winger.. Brother of

Plymouth Argyle’s Deane Smalley.

Signed from local rivals Radcliffe Borough

after a spell playing in Australia, the big man

is equally at home in the heart of the

defence, or up front poaching goals.

Wing man Tom came on as a sub in the play-

off game for our opponents Bamber Bridge.

e Rams management team acted swiftly

in the summer to bring him down to

Ramsbottom

It has taken some two years for the

management to finally get Scott to join the

Rams. Bernard and Jonno have followed

Scott’s career with Runcorn Town and he

finally joined the club in late January 2014.

A hard-working midfielder, similar in style to

Gary Stopforth, and an integral part of the

promotion winning team.

Dominic SMALLEYSteve HOWSON

Scott BURTONTom WILLIAMS

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Experienced striker Jon was signed from New

Mills and despite plentiful interest from

other clubs has remained loyal to the Rams

for a number of seasons now, and always

finishes near the top of the goal-scoring

charts. Regarded as a “Rammy legend” in

east Lancashire..

A constant threat in attack, a solid

performer in defence. Awarded Clubman of

the Year award in 2011. Continues to cause

plentiful problems to defences around the

leagues.

Signed at the end of August 2011 from

Manchester League side Walshaw Sports and

has taken his opportunity with some relish.

Last season the 29 year old won the Golden

Boot accolade for being the highest scorer in

the Division One North.

Joined the club in December 2011 from

Clitheroe via Padiham. Son of a former

1990s Rammy favourite Martin, midfielder

Jordan is highly rated and scored 8 goals for

the Storks before going to Clitheroe. A

versatile player – he can play anywhere from

defence to striker.

Jon ROBINSON Lee GASKELL

Phil DEAN Jordan HULME

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e speedy wingman joined the Rams at the

beginning of the 2014/15 season, having

spent the previous campaign at fellow Evo-

Stik Premier club Nantwich Town.

Cedric joined the club in January 2014

having impressed the management team

during his time with rivals Trafford FC.

Essentially a defender, Cedric has the ability

to fit in other positions for the team.

Osebi ABADAKI Cedric KROU

A skilful battling midfielder who signed full

time with the Rams during the summer of

2012 after coming on loan from AFC Fylde

the previous season and dominating the

midfield. In his third season with the club he

was a vital member of the promotion set-up

last term.

Gary STOPFORTH

e talented left full-back rejoined the club

from Chester during the 2013/14 season

having had a short spell here a couple of

years earlier. His long throw-in is always a

dangerous piece of his armory.

Lee PUGH

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A 24-year old forward player who signed for

the Rams in the middle of September.

Previously with FC United of Manchester

and Salford City. Prior to that he had spells

at Niort, Lilas, DH Saint-Maur and Paris DC

in France, as well as Tercera in Spain.

A left-back who signed for the Rams in the

middle of September. Previously with

C.E.Principado De Andorra, a second

division Andorran team with whom he

experienced Champions League football.

Nelson MOTA Alex PIACENTILE

A 20 year old player who joined from

Conference side Tamworth early in the

2014/15 season. George is a highly rated full-

back capable of playing on either flank,

giving the Rams additional defensive

flexibility.

John is the goalkeeping coach at

Ramsbottom, and was formerly manager at

NWCFL side Maine Road, where he

constantly had them pushing for promotion.

George GRAYSONJohn MORREY

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Appointed joint manager at the start of the

2009/2010 season and took the club to the

NWCFL title in 2011/12 season, despite

missing much of the season through injury.

He has helped guide the club through

another promotion via the play-offs into the

Evo-Stik Premier League in May 2014.

Re-joined the club in January 2009 and

became joint manager at the start of

2009/2010. A Rammy man to his core, a

combative and hard-working midfelder who

has occasionally taken over with some

prowess in goal. Successful in guiding the

Rams to two promotions in three seasons.

Anthony JOHNSON Bernard MORLEY

A highly respected coach who has

experience at all levels of the game, from

local football with Walshaw to League One

time at Bury. Highly respected coach and a

coup for the club to have secured him. Also

a holder of a UEFA B Coaches badge.

Darren GREEN

Former manager of Atherton LR, leading

them to 10th place in the NWCL in 2010/11.

Resigned from his post with the Crilly Park

club and joins Ramsbottom United as a

highly rated coach.

Glenn MOSES

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e Rams’ road to cup glory continued

recently with a trip to take on Nantwich

Town. It was our shortest journey since our

visit to Trafford in early October and the

Hulme-mobile pulled up at e Darkside’s

Kay Brow residence a little after 1.00. With

a belly full of Mrs Darksides full English I

was more than ready for the day ahead and

had a good feeling about our chances of

progressing to the next round.

Talk in the car soon turned to the day’s

main event and it turned out we were all

feeling confident that this would be the day

we saw the team back to their true form.

e M62 was a little busy, but we were

due to turn off before hitting e Trafford

Centre and we were soon making good

progress crossing over the Cheshire border.

As the conversation turned away from

football, Geoff got bored and started

treating us to some whistling like he was

some kind of Lancastrian Roger Whittaker.

Before we knew it

we were pulling

into the Nantwich

car park, just

behind Harry and

Sophie, and Paul

and Karol, and

judging by the cars

already there it

seemed that we

had another

healthy following of Ultras already inside

the ground. is was confirmed when we

walked into the rather spacious bar they

have at Nantwich and were met by around

30-40 familiar faces.

Before joining the Rams Army I went to

the bar and ordered myself and Martin a

couple of beers, and so begins my only

moan of the day. If I want to pay nearly

£7.00 for a couple of pints I will go along to

e Etihad or some trendy little bar, but I

don’t want to pay that. One of the many

advantages of watching football at this level

is that you rarely pay over the odds for

refreshments, so please take note

Nantwich.

I had a bit of a chat with e Carlsberg

Family and UkePunk while downing my

drink and we made our way out onto the

terraces to welcome the lads onto the

pitch. We waited to see which way we

would be kicking and, just as our luck

would have it, we were going to be

attacking the far end of the ground, so a

mass exodus started to make its long trek

around the perimeter. e majority of

Ultras were soon in place behind the goal,

but I stood down the side with a few others,

which was quite good as we were soon

singing songs back to each other

throughout the first half. Our singing

seemed to wake up the Nantwich fans who,

backed by a drummer, were soon joining in

from the darksidedarren comer reports on the latest

rammy ultras adventures

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from the darkside

with a few of their own (I particularly

enjoyed their humorous and self-

depreciating we’ve got more flags than

fans). It was a close-run sing off between

both sets of supporters, although the same

cannot be said about the contest on the

pitch. Rammy looked up for it right from

the start and after several forays forward

we eventually took the lead on the quarter

hour, much to the Rams Army’s pleasure,

with a goal from Tom Williams.

With a lead behind us it looked like it was

only a matter of time before we extended

it and just as I was making my way round

back to the bar, Whizz scored a Marco Van

Basten style special to make sure we went

in at half time with a well-deserved two

goal lead.

As Martin went to get the overpriced half

time pints in, I went to the refreshment

kiosks where they were serving some rather

tasty looking chips and curry which

seemed to be going down well with the

Rammy faithful. I opted to go for the,

rather dry, chicken balti pie, served by a

rather surly teenager who had been having

etiquette lessons from Harry Enfield’s,

Kevin the Teenager character (check out

the Nantwich post on the forum to see

Carlsbergs snapshot of the aforementioned

dry chicken Balti pie).

e massed ranks of the Ultras assembled

behind the goal for the 2nd half and luckily

for me I had on my new Winter coat as it

seemed to be a little chilly in this particular

spot. We were joined by Richard for the

2nd half and, for those who know

Hampshires finest, he made sure we

drowned the Nantwich fans and drum (A

special mention to Richard’s Mother who

was making her Rammy watching debut).

Now we know what they spend the beer takings on...

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I did speak to her after the game, without

realising who she was, so a special Darkside

hello to you, Mrs Issacs and welcome to e

Rammy Family). Richard’s late arrival was

due to a puncture on the M62 and we were

worried that his presence might lead to

Rammys downfall as his recent

appearances have coincided with our

recent dip in form. is fear was soon

dispelled when Spenner added a third goal

early in the second half and the Rams

progress into the next round was signed,

sealed and delivered.

Although Nantwich pulled a goal back

twenty minutes from the end we never

really looked like letting the lead slip and

the celebrations on the terraces had begun

in earnest. Chairman Harry left his seat in

the stand to have a stroll round and a chat

with the Ultras (eat your heart out, Mr

Abramovich). is saw a new song added

to our repertoire and we burst into a

chorus of “Harry’s

going to Wembley,

His knees have

gone all trembly,”

and lets hope this

song will be ringing

around e Cow

Field End at

Banbury this

coming Saturday.

At 90 minutes it

was a very happy, and quite hoarse, bunch

of Rams fans celebrating and as always the

players came over to celebrate with us. On

the rare occasions that I watch football

from the English Super-Dooper Corporate

Premier League, I often wonder, when the

players applaud their supporters if they are

just paying lip service to them. I think we

can safely say that when our players, and

management, come over to us it is with

genuine passion and that they love playing

for this club as much as we love supporting

them.

We had a quick post match pint back in

the clubhouse, leaving before having to

endure any of the England - Slovenia game

that was about to start on the big screen.

We also had to get Geoff home for his

Saturday night ritual of Tommy Toppings

finest sirloin steak cooked by his wonderful

wife, Annie.

We were so interested in the England

game that we didn’t even put 5Live on the

radio until just before half time, and why

would we when we had our Rams to chat

about. Now, this might be a bit

controversial and feel free to argue with me

on it, but I actually like Alan Green’s

commentary on 5Live. e England game

sounded woeful and who else but the BBC’s

Mr Cantankerous to commentate on it. Yes,

I know he moans a lot, but I would much

rather have him than the majority of awful

from the darksidedarren comer reports on the latest

rammy ultras adventures

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from the darkside

TV Commentators, especially on ITV.

Myself and Mrs Darkside were dropped

off back at e Kay Brow residence at 6.15,

and after a quick change we met up again

with Martin and Joanne for a hastily

arranged Ultras night out in Radcliffe and

Prestwich. We made our way to e

Sparkling Clog in Radcliffe where we met

up with Paul and Cheryl Whizz, e Gaz

and Mary Chain, Uncle Dave, Young Dave

and later, Jordan and Whizz. Unfortunately,

Carlsberg could not make it, but next time

we will kidnap him so that he has no choice

in the matter. As you can imagine we were

all in high spirits after another great victory

on the road and the beers (or brandies in

Paul and Dave’s case) were flowing. We

ended up going for an Italian at Peradas in

Prestwich, which is well worth a visit,

before ending up with a couple of more

beers in the White Room. At close to 2.00

we arrived back in town as very tired, but

once again very happy travelling Rams.

So, we were back to our true form on and

off the pitch and if you couldn’t manage to

be there Rob soon had the highlights on

RammyTV. is was the first away game for

Stephen and David in their roles as

RammyTV camera operatives and I have to

say that the footage was extremely

impressive, so massive thanks to you both

from all the Rammy faithful.

A slack handful of Ultras, just a few of the thousands that made the trip

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Well, if the travelling Rammy support do not

know Derbyshire like the backs of their hands yet

they certainly will by the end of season. Already

we have had trips to Ilkeston and Buxton and we

play away at Belper in less than two months’

time. To that list we can also add Matlock, who

e Rams visit on the first Saturday in December.

Matlock Town, or e Gladiators as they are

known, play at Reynolds Stadium, although I

prefer to call it by its original, and more

evocative, name of Causeway Lane. e ground

has undergone renovation in recent years and

now has a main stand that holds 500, as well as

a large social club for the thirsty Ultras. ey

were formed in 1878 as plain old Matlock and

added the Town to their name in later years.

eir current manager, Mark Atkins, is well

known in our little corner of Lancashire as he

was a member of the Blackburn Rovers side who

famously lifted the Premier League in 1995 (in

the days when a Harry Williams type of person

could take his local side to national glory and

not have to rely on dodgy Russian roubles or

Eastern oil cash to win silverware).

e Gladiators have had success of their own,

although not on such a grand scale, winning the

F.A. Trophy in 1974-1975 with a 4-0 win over

Scarborough

in the final.

Two years

later they had

their best ever

run in the F.A.

Cup by reaching the

3rd Round, beating the then Division 3 side

Mansfield Town along the way. is was a golden

era for Matlock and they followed up their cup

exploits by lifting the Northern Premier League

Cup in 1978, meaning they qualified for

European football in the, then semi-professional,

Anglo-Italian Cup. ey lost 2-1 to Chieti and

Pisa over in Italy but managed to beat

Juniorcasale and Cremonese 2-0 at home and

only just missed out on the final by coming 2nd

in the English group to eventual winners Sutton

United (a few ideas for Tony and his Non-League

Quiz section in the Rammy programme there).

It should make for good away trip and I am sure

many of you reading this have already visited

Matlock before on more than one occasion. An

early start should be in order for this one and the

town has a range of real ale pubs and fine dining

in one of the most beautiful areas in the U.K. If

you get there early enough, Matlock Bath is just

up the A6 and it is an amazing little town that

Mrs Darkside recommends highly. e Peak

District around Matlock is such a beautiful area

that is has been used as the setting for several

films including Ken Russell’s, 1969 Academy

Award winning Women in Love and more

recently Shane Meadows 2004 classic Dead

Mans Shoes, which I highly recommend you

check out some time.

So, with plenty to see in Matlock and the

mighty, mighty Rammy being in town there is no

excuse not to be there on December 6th (sod

the Christmas shopping, have you not heard of

online shopping?), especially when the journey

is only around 90 minutes and takes you through

the heart of the stunning Peak District.

the boogie buson the road with rammy

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“I would like to take this opportunity

to thank the managers, players and

staff, the fans and everyone involved

with the club for making my time with

Ramsbottom United FC a thoroughly

enjoyable and rewarding one.

“I have decided to retire as I feel I no

longer have the consistent desire and

hunger needed to perform at the level

that I expect of myself and feel

everyone involved has the right to

know and understand the reason,

instead of being left wondering what's

happened.

“I am immensely proud and

honoured to have been Jonno &

Bernard's first signing and been a part

of Rammy's history, rising through the

leagues to their highest level yet. Let's

hope we continue this progression,

playing the way everyone has come to

love and expect.

“I have played for a few clubs at a

decent level but can honestly say that

playing at Rammy for the last six

seasons has been by far the best time

of my career. is is thanks to Jonno &

Bernard, all the players and staff, the

fans and everyone connected to this

great "little" club, for all of whom I have

a huge amount of respect and

affection.

“I now look forward to watching

games at the Riverside (don't worry

Harry I'll pay my £9 to get in!!), cheering

the lads on their march to another

promotion.

Wishing everyone connected to the

club all the very best, and one more

massive thank you!”

- Joel Pilkington

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You might have noticed that in amongst

Saturday’s 351 supporters we had a good

number of children, many of whom have

never been to a Rammy match before.

Most of this is due to the incredibly hard

work put in by Karol over the last couple

of weeks as she’s been out and about

around the schools of Rammy helping to

promote the club.

As a child, football for me was always a

family thing - traditionally for the blokes

and a bit of male bonding. I was born in

Liverpool and my Uncle Freddie

thankfully got to me first as I left the

maternity ward, flinging my first ever

Liverpool scarf around my neck before I

was even two days old - I dread to think

the years of childhood misery if Uncle Al

had got to me first! I’m not even sure I can

spell ‘Gwladys Street End’!

Uncle Bill took me to my first ever

match, and I’ll never forget walking up the

steps of the Kop before emerging into the

ground for the first time. e pitch was a

neon green, just like it is on Sky Sports

and amazingly small - it looked

huge on the telly! ere in

the middle of the pitch

was a big Crown Paints

advert - a pot of paint

that was about 8ft tall. I

remember the (pretty

unpleasant) smell of

drunk bloke, the rolling,

billowing smoke escaping the

enormous kop roof, and the moment I

was presented with my first ever

programme, before getting it nicked.

How many kids of 5-6 get the

opportunity that many of us had when

we were that age - the chance to

physically go to a match every week, or

even get a season ticket? How many get

the chance, not only to talk about players

or collect stickers, but have their heroes

within touching distance. Most think

football is something that happens

elsewhere, on the telly, or at best is a thing

that you go to now and again. With

Rammy football is real, local, and it comes

with the exact same extremes of

emotions that I felt watching Liverpool, or

Preston: the despair of relegation, or of

losing to the cockneys, the joy of Ian Rush

banging home the winner in injury time

at the Kop end, or of Northend going

three up against the donkey lashers after

only twenty minutes.

I think that I have a tendency to harp on

about this subject, and for that I’d like to

apologise, but I really do feel that we

desperately need kids and families down

at Rammy. e kids need heroes - real,

local heroes that they can identify with,

not plastic heroes that they see on the

telly. ey need an identity - to be able to

say that they’re from somewhere, that

they belong somewhere (have you

noticed how we’ve all started to feel a

little bit of pride when we say we’re from

supporters clubon the terraces of rammy

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Rammy?). ey also need the chance to

spend a bit of time with their families,

doing something together and bonding,

just like I did with Uncle Bill and Uncle

Freddie, it’s an important part of growing

up.

On the reverse side, Rammy need these

kids to keep coming, and tell their mates.

e atmosphere on Saturday was fantastic,

and this is what we need in order for the

club to progress off the field. We need

these kids, and we need their families.

I’ve looked everywhere for a photo of

Joanne Hulme’s that I scanned, which

shows a very young Jordan Hulme kicking

a football around on the terraces while his

dad Martin ‘Tommy’ Hulme turned out

for the first team on the pitch. ere’s no

more stark illustration of the continuity

that a club gets from the kids than you can

see in that photograph - the fact that a

young lad can grow up to become the

team’s top scorer.

And so I’d like to finish by saying “Well

Done” to Karol. She did a brilliant job

striking up relationships with the schools,

and I hope that it’s just the start of a long

and rewarding partnership for all of us.

The future of Rammy: a huge proportion ofSaturday’s gate wasyoungsters - the way itshould be.

p

ere was a great buzz on the terraces after

the fantastic second half performance on

Saturday. Was it the same in the dressing room?

It was exactly the same in changing room all

the lads were on a high. It was a very good

second half performance against a physical side,

something that’s caused us problems this

season, so it's a good result and the last league

game for a couple weeks which is very

important.

What changed in the second half? First-half

we created the better chances in a tight game,

but in the second we steam-rollered them!

Well it was just a case of being patient. We

had the chances first half, we just didn't convert

them. e second half was a result of the hard

work we are putting in at training - you could

see how fit we were compared to them. Plus we

kept the ball very well.

John Hunter said to me after the game that

he's seen twelve Rammy matches this season,

and all twelve have been wins. It feels to the

fans as though we're invincible at the moment,

is confidence through the roof in the team too?

e whole team including

management know how

good this squad is. I

believe there aren't

many teams in non-

league that can pass a

ball and attack the way

we do. It's just a case

of taking every game

as they come and beating the eleven men in

front of us. We have a lot of games coming up

and two games a week is what we want as a

team.

Billy Priestley came along on Saturday to

watch, and there was speculation that he might

fancy coming back to Rammy. As good as he is

though, we can't see him deposing Howson and

Cedric. Are you as happy with the current back

four as we are?

I'm very happy with our back four. Each player

brings something different to the table and I

think they compliment each others very well.

Ste is very strong and has got bags of

experience, Cedric is so calm and has

unbelievable feet and recovery for a big lad.

Dom has shown for me why he is arguably the

best right back in the league, and Lee is very

solid at left back, gives us a great out ball down

the left and is very strong in a challenge. If billy

was to come back (which would be great for

the team) he would have his work cut out

getting back in.

e atmosphere at games is starting to get

better and better as we get our head round

some Rammy songs. Is that coming across?

Yes 100%. It's great to hear the songs from the

fans and I sing along to most of them if I'm not

shouting or trying to thwart an attack. So keep

it up with the songs and get banging that drum

more, it's great to be playing with that being

banged!

grant shentonshouting from between the sticks

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Burscough are reputedly

playing some very good

football at the moment, and

we've always found them to be

tough opposition. Do you think

that we'll have a tough game

on our hands tonight?

I think so. It's going to be a good

game tonight as they’re a good

side who like to play football. And

I'd agree with you there not an easy

team to play so it's got makings for

a good game. And here’s hoping we

come away with a win.

A big, big game away to Banbury on Saturday

in the FA Trophy. Is the distance likely to affect

our performance or will the great mood on the

coach spur the lads on to bigger and better

things?

It’s all dependent on how much money

some lads lose playing cards, but it

shouldn't affect us to much haha. But no

we are starting to adapt to the long

journeys before games. It does make it

a bit more difficult but not enough to

lower our quality and mentality. I

would never use a long coach

journey as an excuse for not

winning. So we are travelling

and looking to come back with

our name in the hat for the

next round. And an

unforgettable journey home!

COYR!

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Grant SHENTON

Dominic SMALLEY

Lee PUGH

Gary STOPFORTH

Steve HOWSON

Cedric KROU

Osebi ABADAKI

Scott BURTON

Jordan HULME

Grant SPENCER

Phil DEAN

Jon ROBINSON

Tom WILLIAMS

Lee GASKELL

George GRAYSON

Calvin HARE

Joe CAMOZZI

Paul WILLIAMS

Nick RYAN

Anthony BROWN

Wade JOYCE

Michael MANAGHAN

Eddie TONER

Will JONES

Mark BEESLEY

Jordan WILLIAMS

Danny DUNLEAVY

Matty DEVINE

Phil QUIRK

Ryan SCHOFIELD

Danny SMITH

Managers: Anthony Johnson,

Bernard Morley

Manager: Derek Goulding

Referee: David Fisher

Referee’s Assistants: Mark Hughes, Abid Hussain

Next home game: Saturday 13th December 3pm, Rammy v Rushall Olympic