Altrincham Football Club News Archive
3 to 8 October, 2004
8 October 2004
FRIDAY
WELL DONE
The Altrincham stewards who dealt with last night's pitch invasion at Moss Lane by Manchester United supporters are to be congratulated on doing an excellent job in minimizing the disruption. The demonstraters interrupted the Man Utd Reserves' game against Birmingham City to protest about the potential takeover of their club.SPORTSMAN'S DINNER
A very successful Altrincham FC Sportsman's Dinner was held last night at a packed Cresta Court Hotel. The guest speaker, former Man. Utd and England captain Bryan Robson, who lives in Hale, had very generously given his time to be present. He hosted a lively question and answer session. Other sporting stars present included Arthur Albiston, the former United defender and City heroes Ken Barnes, Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart. Also there were two world stock-car champions, the Altrincham FC Board, members of STAR, the Altrincham Supporters' Trust, and countless other guests with an interest in football. The Club thanks everyone who supported this important fundraising event, which included the auction of items of sporting memorabilia.GRAHAM'S VIEWS
In SAM Graham Heathcote comments on being Nationwide North Manager of the Month: "It is acknowledgement of all the hard work of everybody in the club over the past two years. Off the pitch it is nice to get recognition for everybody but we still have a lot to do".As for Monday's defeat at Ashton, "Heathcote praised Ian Senior for stepping in at the last minute: 'The ten who played in front of him didn't perform at the level we expect them to perform at and Ian was the last line of defence'. Confident that Coburn will recover after a week of rest, Heathcote revealed the latest injury to blight the side is to Chris Adams's hamstring". Regarding new signing Steve Torpey, Graham added "I had a close look on Monday night he lacked a bit of fitness and a bit of organisation but showed signs in quality crosses. It is another angle for us, another option".
ALTERNATIVES
Altrincham have no game this weekend, owing to the Halton Stadium at Widnes being unavailable for the use of Runcorn FC Halton as there is a rugby match taking place there. Alty now meet Runcorn on Tuesday night.Anyone looking for alternative action this weekend will find a variety of kick-off times on Saturday. One possibility is Warrington Town v Ossett Albion at 1pm; this is an FA Trophy match which determines who visits Moss Lane next month.
Further afield, Skelmersdale United meet our neighbours Trafford, with Skem's ex-Alty striker Lee Thompson in prolific form for Skem.
On Sunday Altrincham's youth players turn out for the Altrincham & District FA side at Shawe View, Trafford, 2pm in the Cheshire FA District Cup. Admission free.
On Saturday Droylsden v Southport (1pm). Please check k.o times before travelling.
FA CUP
Hucknall Today says that "Hucknall Town have been handed another exacting away draw in the...FA Cup... They must now travel to meet rivals, Altrincham... The Cheshire club were beaten twice by Town during last season's Unibond League championship-winning campaign – 2-1 at home and 3-2 away. But Altrincham have made a flying start to the new league campaign... And they boast a proud FA Cup pedigree that once made them one of the best-known non-league clubs in the country. They have defeated no fewer than 15 Football League clubs in their FA Cup exploits and even reached the Fourth Round proper in 1986".As for the last round of the Cup, Farsley Celtic's website generously reports that - "Despite a promising early start and Farsley taking the lead... Alty then went on to boss the game".
OLD BOY
Vauxhall Motors report that ex-Alty "Midfielder Steve Porter, who became one of Owen Brown's first signings from Droylsden last season has made a surprise move to Australia. He came back from a coaching course where he missed the first few games and told his manager that he was emigrating. This has surprised us all and has left us short in this centre of midfield, however we wish him all the best in his new life down under".NATIONWIDE NORTH
"The Barrow board survived a no confidence vote on Wednesday but "three independent candidates were also all elected to the board" reports the Barrow Forum."Asa Charlton, the former skipper of Halesowen Town, has been snapped up by Redditch United. [He is a] left-sided defender, who also played for Worcester City... Redditch's assistant-manager Gary Whild said: 'The bonus is he is naturally left footed - the only other in the team at the moment is Luke Prince'" reports This is Worcs.
Worcester City confirm that "goalkeeper Danny McDonnell is likely to be out of action for a long period following the injury that he suffered in Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Cambridge City. It has been confirmed that McDonnell... cracked three ribs and suffered a punctured lung, the same injury that forced him to miss the last 6 games. He only made his return to the first team on Saturday following that injury, which he suffered at Hucknall on August Bank Holiday Monday".
On the Stalybridge Forum webmaster Iain Benson updates fans on the seven transfer-listed players. "Phil Eastwood was officially removed [from the list] by the board after the departure of Dave Miller. The others are still officially on the transfer list, but no action will be taken until the new manager is appointed... However, as Lee Connell and Ian Monk were both on the list, and neither are now with the club, this leaves the official list with Scott Bonsall, Terry Bowker, Darren Bowman and Gregg Pearce".
Kettering Today quotes the manager after defeat this week to Stafford. "This is most probably the lowest of lows since I have been with Kettering".
Harrogate Today says that "Town look set to stay at Wetherby Road for the forseeable future – leaving the club in potential jeopardy. And the situation may leave officials looking at crisis options such as merging with York City to help Harrogate Town progress. Town say they have been told the council cannot help them relocate until at least 2007. Deputy chairman Andrew Thirkill admits "It's looks very bad for the whole town if the club win the league but aren't allowed to go up – the national coverage would be embarrasing". "York City, however, gave a muted response to any suggestion of a merger. Communications director Sophie McGill, said: 'Merging with Harrogate Town is not an idea that we've heard about before'". Neighbours Harrogate Railway's "Chairman Dennis Bentley also quashed any hopes of a joining of forces... it's basically a non-starter". Town's "Unwillingness to train on, and possibly ruin, the Wetherby Road pitch means the team have to train in Barnsley".
CHESHIRE NEWS
"Northwich Victoria have signed Alex Higgins and there may be more newcomers in the frame... Recent acquisition Fahrudin Kuduzovic from Notts County has already left and joined Irish side Sligo Rovers... Manager Steve Burr admits some players see the situation as hopeless and are dubious about joining... Meanwhile, the contract of centre-back Shaun Came has been cancelled by mutual consent" reports IC Cheshire.7 October 2004
DEMO AT MOSS LANE
The BBC reports that "A protest against the potential takeover of Manchester United by US tycoon Malcolm Glazer disrupted a reserve team game on Wednesday. A 30-strong group of supporters came onto the pitch during the match against Birmingham at Altrincham's Moss Lane ground holding a 'Not for Sale' banner. The demonstration lasted around three minutes, ending when the fans were shepherded off the field by stewards". United, fielding Louis Saha and David Bellion lost 3-2. The events were shown on national TV news tonight.JOEY GOES
Alty Reserves' midfielder Joey Roberts has been released by the club, reports SAM. He was on the bench for three first-team league games this season but did not get onto the pitch.BPA RES. 2 ALTY RES 2
Alty Reserves drew 2-2 with Bradford PA Reserves last night.UNITED
Man. United Reserves play Birmingham City Res. at Moss Lane tonight (7pm). Entry is £3 (£1 for concessionaries).PHIL SURFACES
The NL Daily site reports that "Former England semi-professional international [and Altrincham] striker Phil Power has made a surprise return to the non-League scene with NW Counties League club Bacup Borough... Work commitments have limited the 37-year-old's senior appearances in recent years". After leaving Alty, Phil had a spell at Radcliffe Borough where he was involved in a bad road accident which sidelined him for some time.FARSLEY PHOTO
Right: The Farsley keeper gets the ball in the face as Colin Little (right) closes in. This is another of Gavin Rathbone's excellent photos; his work is for sale in the Robins' Shop.
FOUR-FOUR-TWO
The Four-Four-Two soccer magazine has five illustrated pages on the glory days of Altrincham FC, entitled 'The masters of mayhem'. With many quotes from Graham Heathcote and John King, it chronicles Alty's rise in the 1960s under the stewardship of White & Swales, the Cup games in the 70s to 90s against opposition such as Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool and the unconventional tactics employed by John King against Ossie Ardiles and others. The article also covers the narrow failure to get elected to the Football League - it's well worth a read. The magazine costs £3.60.ASHTON GAME
The Tameside Advertiser reports "Altrincham were knocked for six as Ashton United put on a five-star show in the second half of Monday night’s Carthium Cup tie. Alty had taken the lead when Eddie Hussin [i.e. Colin Little] hit a 25-yard screamer past the helpless Danny Trueman... Ashton dominated the second half which saw Colin Alcide notch his first for the club". Also "Ashton will sport their new kit on Friday night when they entertain high-flying Harrogate".OLD BOYS
Anthony Hargreaves and [David?] Holt scored for Flixton last night in front of just 25 spectators - a sad total for our friendly local neighbours in NW Counties 2. Lee Thompson netted again for Skelmersdale.NATIONWIDE NORTH
"Mark Beesley will not be moving to Droylsden according to Forest Green Rovers’ boss Alan Lewer" reports This is Glos. "'Mark Beesley is not going anywhere at the moment', Lewer stated. "Droylsden showed an interest... but he is staying at Forest Green and I want to set up a fight for places'". But Mark Danks has left The Lawn for Stafford Rangers. "The 20-year-old striker [hit] 24 goals in 42 matches for Hednesford Town last season".As with Alty's Rod Thornley's recent games for Trafford, the NW Evening Mail reports that Barrow's "Mark Salmon will be playing for Thornaby in the Northern League". Manager Lee Turnbull said: 'We’ve taken the opinion that Mark needs games now'". Barrow "have agreed a deal with Jonathan Smith’s club Accrington Stanley and the player is now mulling over the terms offered to him by Turnbull.. but he’s also considering offers from Stalybridge and Harrogate Town".
IC Cheshire says of Vauxhall Motors' FA Cup win last week, "It was only the heroics of goalkeeper Tim Dittmer that kept the Motormen in the competition with a string of superb saves, but even so, they were still staring defeat firmly in the face, trailing 1-0 with barely five minutes remaining, when suddenly they found their touch in front of goal, to coast to a seemingly comfortable 3-1 success... Making his Motors debut in that tie was former Chester and Northwich player Lee Woodyatt, who joined the club last week having recently returned from trekking around the world". Until then, in every single game this season Vauxhall had scored no more and no less than one goal per match.
Loan striker Scott Rickards has now signed permanently for Redditch United from Kidderminster Harriers.
6 October 2004
GED GOES
Altrincham have released central midfielder Ged Kielty (left). With the signing of Eddie Hussin, Ged has been unable to command a place in the starting line-up this season. He started one game and was a used sub in five matches this campaign. Graham Heathcote had an amicable parting of the ways with Ged before Monday's game at Ashton. Graham paid particular tribute to Ged's role in our strong form at the end of last season. The manager's priority is to strengthen the attacking left-side of the team and with the arrival this week of Steve Torpey, there was a need to balance the playing budget once again by trimming the squad. In his two spells at Alty, Ged made 26+9 appearances and scored once. The Club wishes him well in his future career.STUART DOUBT
Stuart Coburn may miss the games against Runcorn and Hucknall Town due to a trapped nerve in his knee. Manager Graham Heathcote is assessing his goalkeeping options should Stuart not be available. It is believed that he will certainly be fit in time for the Droylsden game on October 23.IN THE PICTURE
Right: Another of Gavin Rathbone's excellent photos. This time it shows Barry Shuttleworth against Farsley Celtic as Graham Heathcote and Dalton Steele look on.
CHESTER
Alty meet Chester in the Cheshire Senior Cup on 9 November. IC Cheshire says that "Chester City are considering the possibility of entering financial administration, following demands from the Inland Revenue for historic debts. It is likely that City will file an application for administration... while they continue discussions with the appropriate authorities. 'This is the old saga of debts we accrued from the previous ownership', said chief executive David Burford... Stephen Vaughan has ploughed over £3million into Chester City Football Club, and now he is being asked to stump up more money, a lot of which is required for problems we didn't create'... It normally takes up to four weeks from applying until administration is entered"NATIONWIDE NORTH
On This is Worcs "John Barton, manager of Worcester City, has hit back at the ‘boo-boys’ who barracked his side off the pitch after Saturday's disappointing FA Cup defeat to Cambridge City at St George's Lane... Barton said: "I hear people saying 'get some fit players' and making wisecracks, but it's just impossible to cover what we have. We can't bring anybody in and that's about it. In fact, it has got to go the other way. We are above the budget that was agreed for the season and the first stage of cutting has got to start next week... It's not the best time to do it because there are eight players injured".Accrington's "Steve Flitcroft has rejected a move to Barrow after being on-loan at Holker Street for the past month... But Turnbull is still hopeful of landing Flitcroft’s team-mate Jonathan Smith, who is also listening to offers from Barrow’s rivals Harrogate Town and Stalybridge Celtic", says the NW Evening Mail.
"Five FA Cup ‘stars’ have been nominated for the FA’s prestigious FA Cup ‘Player of the Round’ award... Completing the line-up is Stalybridge Celtic’s Paul Sykes, who scored a dramatic equaliser in the 7th minute of added time, enabling his side to draw 3-3 away at Barrow" reports NL Daily. Sykes also got a late winner in the replay last night.
5 October 2004
IT'S HUCKNALL
Tuesday's FA Cup replay results:Two goals in the last five minutes saw Hucknall through to play Alty at Moss Lane on 16 October.
CARTHIUM CUP
Carthium Cup Prelim. R'dNEWCOMER
Right: Steve Torpey, who made his debut last night. Picture kindly provided by Gavin Rathbone.
Carthium Cup: ASHTON UNITED 6 ALTRINCHAM 2
Fielding a strong side but without the injured Stuart Coburn, Altrincham looked to be in control and led 2-1 as late as the 62nd minute. Then, the side which had conceded just 8 goals in almost 1000 minutes of league football this season let in 5 in the last 28 minutes of this game!Colin Little put Alty ahead with a great goal after 8 minutes before Carty headed home from close range to level after 34 minutes. Seconds after the miss of the season by Hardy when he airkicked from three yards, the Alty striker won a penalty which Aspinall hammered home to make it 2-1 (35 mins).
Ian Senior (44), keeping goal for Alty after a gap of four years, made a good save from a freekick but could not hold the ball and former Alty player Colin Alcide scored at the back post to make it 2-2 (62 mins). Rod Thornley came on as a sub after 63 minutes but Garvey made it 3-2 three minutes later, after Senior got stranded near the edge of his box. Then, Aspinall smashed the ball into his own net as he attempted to clear another Carty effort off the line (76 mins). Garvey netted again (82 mins) after Clee had got behind the square Alty defence. As the Alty defence fell apart, Clee then rounded Senior to make it six (90 mins). I think this was Alty's heaviest defeat since November 1996 (1-7 at Woking). Report to follow.
4 October 2002
FA CUP3QR
This morning's draw for the FA Cup 3QR has pitted Altrincham at home to Gresley Rovers or Hucknall Town on 16 October. The prize money is £5,000 for the winners. It is Alty's 9th home draw out of the last 12 FA Cup draws. Alty have not played either of these sides in the FA Cup before but they did play Gresley Rovers in the Trophy in 1996-97 when Alty won a home replay 1-0 after a 3-3 draw away.PLAYER NEWS
Altrincham are due to play at Ashton United tonight (7.45pm) in the Carthium Cup, the Conference's league cup competition.Stuart Coburn will be rested tonight to enable to complete his recovery from the injury picked up last Tuesday night. Kurt Edginton will probably keep goal at Ashton tonight but this depends on his work commitments allowing him to get to the game in time, so Ian Senior is on stand-by. Once confirmation has been received that Steve Torpey's registration has been processed, it is likely that he will be involved tonight. Colin Potts and Mark Maddox have knocks.
ALTRINCHAM YOUTH 6 EUXTON VILLA YOUTH 2
Altrincham progressed in the NWYA Open Cup with this impressive win on Sunday. Report in Youth section.FA CUP: ALTRINCHAM 4 FARSLEY CELTIC 1
Above: Curtis Bernard is in possession as Barry Shuttleworth (11) turns to challenge and Gary Talbot lies in wait behind the Farsley player. To the left are Aspinall, Hussin and Maddox, with Coburn in goal.
VOTE FOR MARCUS!
The Conference Player of the Month contest is between Alty's Marcus Hallows and Paul Barnes (Hinckley), Peter Duffield (Alfreton) and Darren Lynch (Kettering). Use the above link to vote for Marcus - who has now scored six in his last six league and cup games,RESERVES REVERSE
Alty Reserves lost 4-2 at Chorley on Saturday. More details of this later.ALTY PLAYERS IN THE NWCFL
The NW Counties Football League site says that Flixton have registered a Ryan Hutchinson and Chris Adams. Presumably the former is the ex-Alty midfielder but the latter is presumably not the current Alty left-back! Also in the NWCFL, Rod Thornley played for 66 minutes of Saturday's game for Trafford. The Trafford site says that "Rod Thornley put them ahead with a glorious goal, spotting Paul Masher off his line and chipping in from 35 yards. Two minutes later the Shawe View youngsters struck again when Thornley crossed from the left and Mark Fitton volleyed gleefully into the bottom corner".UNIBOND
The UniBond League says that "Blyth Spartans Football Club have announced the appointment of Harry Dunn as their new manager... Graham Fenton will revert back to his role as player/assistant manager". Dunn managed Whitby until early this season and is "a popular former Blyth player and manager".MORE NEWS
The FA Cup draw should appear here later this morning.3 October 2004
CUP DRAW
The draw for the FA Cup 3rdQR, to be played on 16 October, will be on Monday, live on the FA Competitions Newsline, 09066 555888 at 11.00am and available elsewhere after 11.30am. Prize money is £5,000.BUCKETS
The STAR bucket collection raised a very good £83.05 at the Farsley match.UNIBOND
The UniBond Press release says that "Spennymoor United boss Tony Lee has become the fifth UniBond League managerial casualty of the campaign with the season not even two months old! [He] quit after a difference of opinion with the club's Directors over the way forward for the club. Tony was interviewed for the Alty job a couple of years ago.GARY'S ROLE
Physio Gary Thompson has recently been helping out at Moss Lane as Altrincham continue to seek a permanent replacement for him. Gary left over the summer to join Halifax Town as their physio. He will continue to help out when available.ROD'S PROGRESS
Rod Thornley scored the opener for Trafford yesterday in their 5-2 win over Atherton Collieries. He also laid on another goal.OLD BOYS
Lee Thompson scored for Skem v Burscough in the FA Cup and Chris Downey netted for Mossley. Danny Adams missed Stockport's draw with a virus. Darren Lyons scored for Salford City whilst Paul Edwards scored for Blackpool.NATIONWIDE NORTH
Runcorn report that their draw at Fleetwood in the FA Cup "is a financial blow to the club, since the cost of hosting the tie on Tuesday evening will now offset any potential winnings from the match".FOR EARLIER NEWS, CLICK HERE