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NEXT MATCH
Sat. 27 July 2024
CHESTER FC (Away) 3pm
Pre-season Friendly

ALTY HEADLINES

OTHER HEADLINES

27 July 2024

TODAY: CHESTER FC

Today, for the second successive Saturday, Altrincham travel to National League North neighbours for a pre-season game. This time the opponents are Chester FC for what will be Altrincham's sixth summer friendly of 2024.

With three wins and two draws so far, Altrincham remain unbeaten this pre-season. In a recent interview manager Phil Parkinson indicated that what has been this summer's customary mass change of players during the game would probably take place at the seventy-minute mark a Chester, the substitutions having taken place after sixty minutes last Tuesday against Salford City.

With the manager having earlier indicated that he was wanting to recruit a defender and a back-up goalkeeper to Ethan Ross for the new season, a number of trialist defenders have been on view this summer but, as yet, the only alternative goalkeeper has been Academy product Louie Fallon, who has acquitted himself well in his appearances so far.

Phil did also include a trialist winger and midfielder last Tuesday against The Ammies so there could also be strengthening of the squad in those areas.

Striker Regan Linney (pictured left, at Warrington), sat out the midweek game against Salford with a "niggle" so it remains to be seen if he will be given game time today.

ALTRINCHAM SIGN GOLDEN

A fourth summer signing has been made by Altrincham FC, as press and media officer John Edwards reports that "Tylor Golden (pictured right at Warrington last Saturday) has become Altrincham's latest close-season signing after turning a highly-impressive trial period with the Robins into a permanent move to The J.Davidson Stadium...

His arrival... has been hailed as a coup by Alty boss Phil Parkinson...

'Tylor is someone who will genuinely push Lewis Banks and Eddy Jones, because he is equally adept at playing right-back or left-back'" stated the Altrincham manager...

The manager continued, "He had a lot of other offers from clubs at our level and the one above for more money than we could pay him"...

"I’ve been a local of Altrincham most of my life, so I’ve seen how much the club have grown" he said....

TYLOR GOLDEN'S BACKGROUND

Tylor Golden was born in Ipswich on 8 November, 1999 and he joins Altrincham after leaving FC Halifax Town this summer. At the time the Shaymen stated "that Tylor Golden will leave the club upon the expiry of his contract.

Tylor made 87 appearances across two seasons and was a key player in both our 2023 FA Trophy win and our playoff campaign last season". He made 36(+10) league appearances for the Shaymen last season and picked up nine yellow cards.

Golden had joined the Shaymen after being released by Salford City in 2022. Earlier, he had started out at Wigan Athletic from where Golden spent time on loan at Droylsden and Nantwich Town before being released in June 2020 and joining the Ammies in summer 2020.

In February 2021 Golden joined Notts County on loan but that move was curtailed by injury in his debut game.

Phil Parkinson has indicated that, at Alty, Golden will be competing with right-back Lewis Banks and left-back Eddy Jones for a place in the starting eleven. Banks and Jones have been two of the most reliable players in the squad, having both featured in 42 of last season's league fixtures

As Golden played at right-back against Warrington Town and Salford City in recent friendlies, it suggests that Banks is the player most directly challengd by the new signing.

ALTY OLD BOYS

Phil Jordan's survey of the activities of former Altrincham players has extended this week to Spain where "In a pre-season friendly against Murcia, DUNCAN WATMORE came off the Millwall bench after 79 minutes with his side leading - but the Spanish side won a penalty within a minute and squared the game. Millwall scored again after 88 minutes to win 1-2.

Having been injured on March 15th in a goalless draw at Dundalk, and missing the next 18 matches, BARRY BAGGLEY was on the Waterford bench this evening at Drogheda. He came into the action after 65 minutes, but his side were already behind and conceded again in the 90th minute to lose 2-0.

'My word, what a goal THAT is! CHRIS CONN-CLARKE from distance with an absolute beauty. Leaves Lakin witn no chance as his effort crashes against the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net' (from Peterborough United X). The goal was the third of five without reply for Posh at Stamford, all scored in the first half - Chris later had a shot cleared off the line".

THREE MORE NAMED FOR STUART'S TESTIMONIAL

Altrincham FC has announced three more members of the Alty squad, from the 2014 play-off era, who will play in Stuart Coburn's testimonial on Sunday (28 July at 3.30pm).

They are central defender Luca Havern, midfielder Paddy Lacey and striker Ryan Brooke. They are pictured (left to right) below in their Altrincham days.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Boston United are reported to have signed Pemi Aderoju signs on loan from Peterborough United for the season. He is a young striker who joined The Posh from Biggleswade in January 2024.

Peterborough Today reports that "​Teenage Peterborough United striker Pemi Aderoju has joined National League side Boston United on a youth loan deal until the end of March...

He impressed at under 21 level and made two substitute appearances for the first-team, at Wycombe Wanderers and Cheltenham Town".

Posh boss Darren Ferguson hinted he would loan Aderoju out to complete his adult football education... Posh have inserted a 28-day recall clause".

According to the Oxford Mail, "Oxford United keeper Jacob Knightbridge has joined Vanarama National League newcomers Braintree Town on loan until January.

Oxford United snapped up the 20-year-old goalkeeper on a free transfer last month, following his exit from West Ham United.

Knightbridge is one of three keepers signed by the U’s this summer... He played 90 minutes as the U’s beat Oxford City last week...

Knightbridge signed his first professional contract in May 2022, but left West Ham without making a senior appearance, although he did play for the Under-21s...

He was also on the bench for West Ham’s Europa League last 16 second leg against SC Freiburg, plus for both legs of their quarter final clash with Bayer Leverkusen".

He replaces Jack Sims who opted to leave Braintree this summer to join rivals Sutton United for the 2024-25 season.

Dagenham & Redbridge "are delighted to confirm that Junior Morias has become our tenth signing of the summer after the striker agreed a six-month loan deal with the club.

Junior previously joined the Daggers in November 2021. Whilst with us, Morias won the National League Player of the Month Award for April 2022 having scored six goals in six matches, including a twelve-minute hat-trick against Barnet.

On 15 March 2023, Morias signed for Notts County".

Notts County confirmed that "Junior Morias has rejoined Dagenham and Redbridge on loan until 1 January.

The forward arrived at Meadow Lane from the Daggers in March 2023 and has since made 14 appearances, scoring twice".

Wealdstone "announce the signing of 27 year old defender Anthony Georgiou.

Having trialled, and impressed in all of our pre-season games so far this summer, the Cypriot international joins Matt Taylor’s side on a permanent deal, taking the number 3 shirt...

Georgiou began his career in Watford’s academy before making the switch to Tottenham Hotspur in 2017, making his first team debut in a 3-0 win over APOEL Nicosia in the UEFA Champions League. He was also an unused substitute in a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium in the Champions League...

After spending time on loan at Levante B, Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers, making a dozen appearances in League One, Georgiou made the move to AEL Limassol in Cyprus...

The left-back would return to England in 2022, joining Leyton Orient. After a brief spell on loan with Yeovil Town in the National League, Georgiou would sign for Enosis Neon Paralimmi in Cyprus.

He made his international debut in 2018 in a friendly against Montenegro and has gone on to earn 8 caps".

26 July 2024

NEXT: CHESTER FC

On Saturday (3pm), Altrincham play their sixth pre-season friendly as they visit Chester FC.

So far they have recorded three wins and two draws.

For their part, it will also be a sixth summer game for Chester. Their previous results have been:

ALTY ACADEMY GRADUATES SHINE

Writing in the Sale and Altrincham Messenger, John Edwards tells us that "Phil Parkinson was full of praise for Altrincham’s emerging Academy graduates after they contributed to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Salford City...

After including keeper Louie Fallon, centre-back Joel Bailey and midfielder Owen German (right) from the start in Saturday’s comfortable 2-0 win at Warrington, Parkinson involved all three of them as second-half substitute... on Tuesday night... against League One...

Parkinson said... "I thought the young players who have come through the Academy really shone.

“Louie in goal was superb, particularly with his distribution, which was spot-on, and Joel was the pick of the whole lot of them, absolutely out of this world for 15-20 minutes after going on. He’s fresh out of the Academy, and we are wondering about the level that would be best for him, maybe a loan, but he will be thinking he is ready for the National League now on that showing.

"Owen as well, just as impressive. He’s a second year pro, but you watch him, and he looks like he’s in his 10th season of full-time football. They have been up against top players from the Football League tonight, but they have all really stood out.'"

ALTY OLD BOYS

Wigan Athletic lost and gained an Alty Old Boy on Thursday.

First to be announced by Wigan Athletic was the news that "GRAHAM BARROW steps down as Wigan Athletic Assistant Manager...

Barrow (left), who celebrated his 70th birthday last month, has stepped away from his Assistant Manager position to improve his work-life balance and spend more precious quality time with his family.

A former player, manager, and coach throughout his two decades of dedicated service to Wigan Athletic, Barrow [said]... 'I’m not in the mood to retire but I need to step back from the role as Assistant Manager... and I just wanted to speak to people and make it clear that there are no issues with the Club...

'I feel fit and I’m not in the mood to give up on football completely. It’s more now about job satisfaction if I do take up a role, whether that’s here or elsewhere. In an ideal world, it would be here, and negotiations are ongoing. It’s been a pleasure'".

Details of Barrow's Altrincham career are to be found in Terry Rowley's "Legends" profile, here.

Wigan Athletic then revealed "the loan signing of exciting forward JOE HUGILL from Manchester United...

Hugill, 20, arrives at the Brick Community Stadium as the Club’s new number nine... The young forward spent his formative years in the North East with both Newcastle United and Sunderland, before joining Manchester United in the summer of 2020...

Hugill was part of the FA Youth Cup-winning squad in 2022... After signing a new long-term deal at Old Trafford, Hugill headed to Burton Albion for his first taste of EFL football... He made 20 appearances for the Brewers...

Joe Hugill said... 'To get the number nine shirt is a massive honour, and I will wear it with pride'".

Footnote: Hugill scored a single goal in 8(+2) appearances for Altrincham during a loan spell which started on 1 February 2023. His National League debut came away at York City before, in late April, it was announced that he had returned to Manchester United.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tamworth "announce the signing of Chris Wreh on a permanent deal, following two successful loan spells last season where he scored 7 goals in 18 appearances.

Chris (27), is the son of former Arsenal star Christopher Wreh and his uncle George Weah won the Ballon d'Or!

The six foot striker has developed a reputation for scoring goals, notably for Banbury United where he hit 21 goals in their Championship winning season...

His prowess captured the attention of National League outfit Southend United, before securing a move to Hartlepool United at the start of last season.

Chirs started his career in the Northampton Town Academy...

Andy Peaks managed Chris when he was under his charge at AFC Rushden and Diamonds and... said...

'I know all about him and he played a big part for us last season. He looked at his other options and ideally he would have liked to have stayed full time, but having enjoyed it with us last season, he has committed to Tamworth'".

In Essex's Daily Gazette we learn that "Former Colchester United striker John Akinde has signed for National League new boys Braintree Town.

The experienced forward, who was released by the U's at the end of last season... had been on the hunt for a new club after leaving Colchester, following the expiry of his contract.

The 35-year-old former Barnet and Lincoln City man spent two-and-a-half years at the U's... Akinde, who has made more than 600 league and cup appearances in his career to date..has played for the likes of Barnet, Lincoln City and Gillingham during his long career.

He links up with fellow former Colchester players Ryan Clampin, Chay Cooper and Marley Marshall Miranda at the Iron, along with former U's players and Braintree management duo, Angelo Harrop and John White".

Gateshead have signed "Blyth Town defender Ben Fell. The 20 year-old pens a one-year deal...

The 6ft 5inch central defender played an integral role in Blyth Town's Northern League Division Two title winning campaign last season...

'I'm delighted, it's a big club and comes with ig expectations' said Fell... 'I think there's no expectations of me being a forst-team established player yet. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I ust need to do well at it'".

The Fans Newtwork reports the news of a ninth summer signing at Rochdale, saying "Another signing out of nowhere as Jim McNulty adds another winger to his squad.

Ody Alfa has joined Rochdale on a one-year deal from National League South side Chelmsford City.

The 25-year-old winger has scored 4 goals in 45 games for Chelmsford along with spells at Billericay, Aldershot, Dartford, Maidenhead and QPR".

Earlier on X Alfa's arrival on a one-year deal, was announced by Rochdale.

25 July 2024

NEXT: CHESTER FC

On Saturday (3pm), Altrincham play their sixth pre-season friendly as they visit Chester FC.

This summer Alty have signed striker Joe Nuttall on a season-long loan from Oldham Athletic and now the hosts have made a similar signing as Chester FC "announce the return of Kurt Willoughby on a season-long loan from Oldham Athletic!

The 27-year-old fan favourite comes back for a second spell at the Deva Stadium to bolster Calum McIntyre’s forward line...

‘King Kurt’ first arrived down CH1 in the summer of 2022 and was a huge hit in his solo season with the Blues.

Willoughby scored 27 goals in 52 appearances...

Kurt joined National League side Oldham 13 months ago and made 17 appearances for the Latics last term.

He ended the season on loan at Scottish Championship side Ayr United...

Manager Calum McIntyre said... 'His record during his time with us was formidable and he has a terrific relationship with our fans'".

LAST GAME: SALFORD CITY

Following the draw against Salford City, Alty boss Phil Parkinson was interviewed by Erin Carroll.

During the interview, which was recorded by Alty TV, the Alty boss described it as a "tough friendly".

He explained that Justin Amaluzor has a "few little niggles" which accounted for his planned withdrawal around the half-hour mark.

As for Regan Linney, he had missed the game due to "niggles" too.

Phil praised his young Academy graduates who came on as substitutes after an hour of the game had been completed. Of keeper Louie Fallon (above, left) the manager said he was "superb", whilst Joel Bailey (above right) was "the pick of the whole game".

Owen German too was praised, stating that he looked like an experienced rather than young player.

STUART'S TESTIMONIAL PLAYERS

Having completed the list of players from the earlier part of Stuart's career who will be participating in the match between the 2005 and 2014 play-off squads, Altrincham FC's John Edwards has turned to unveiling the participants from the latter era.

The first names to be revealed are Tom Marshall, Damian Reeves, Nicky Clee and Scott Leather who are pictured, in left to right order, below.

Tickets are only £5 for adults and £2 for under-18s, and they can be purchased here.

TONY RECOGNISED BY "THE TIMES"

This week in reporting advances in the screening for prostate cancer, no less a newspaper than The Times, paid tribute to the work of Altrincham FC supporter Tony Collier......

The Times writes that "Collier, from Altrincham, has contributed to the new guidance that aims to overhaul NHS procedures in the hope of saving the lives of men in his position.

He said, "I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in 2017... after what I thought was just a runner's groin strain.

"Unfortunately it turned out to be far more serious and the pain was caused by cancer which had spread extensively to my bones. I was originally given just two years to live...

"New treatments mean that I've been able to keep the cancer at bay and have now far outlived my original prognosis.

"That's why I'm so determined to give back and have worked hard over the years to raise awareness and hopefully save lives by getting more men diagnosed earlier".

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Woking "announce the loan signing of Max Dyche. The 21-year-old central defender rejoins the Cards on loan from Northampton Town until the end of the season.

Dyche came through the Cobblers’ academy, making his debut in December 2020... Max would join National League North sides Kettering Town and Brackley Town on loan in 2021-22... He would return to Northampton and play a part in their promotion campaign of 2022/23, making 18 appearances in League Two...

This earned Dyche a new two-year contract at Northampton, which he signed in the summer. A short loan spell at Aldershot Town from September to October 2023 followed...

His initial loan spell with the Cards was quite successful... Max would start all nine games he was available for and played every minute.... He was recalled in early March following an injury crisis at Northampton Town...

Said Woking Manager Michael Doyle 'Max can play right, central or left in the back three, making him even more valuable to the Club. He has the character of an experienced player at just 21'".

24 July 2024

ALTRINCHAM 1-1 SALFORD CITY

On Tuesday night, Altrincham secured a creditable draw against League Two Salford City in a match which saw 45 players used by the two clubs!

Alty started with a strong eleven (seen above) but The Ammies took a 25th minute lead when a neat move up the middle involving McAleny and Taylor led to Nmai being presented with a close range opening which he exploited.

Right: George Wilson pictured during the match against Salford City.

Alty equalised just five minutes later in bizarre circumstances when Salford keeper Jones attempted to dribble the ball when some 35 yards out of his goal. Possession was lost and Justin Amaluzor, with his back to goal, turned smartly and rolled the ball, low, into the unguarded net from that distance.

Salford had the better of the second half but even when deploying a defence of trialists and Academy graduates, Altrincham kept out the opposition impressively to secure a deserved draw.

Alty made 10 personnel changes after 63 minutes, having already substituted Amaluzor straight after his goal in the first half.

Although Altrincham remain unbeaten after five pre-season games, one concern is the lack of potency in front of goal. All of Alty's last three goals have been presents from the opposition, with the brace scored at Warrington on Saturday being, first, a defensive mix-up and then a penalty, before tonight's further gift from the opposition.

ALTRINCHAM, FIRST HALF: 1. Ethan ROSS, 2. Lewis BANKS, 5. Jake COOPER, 4. Lewis BAINES (c), 3. Eddy JONES, 6. Elliot OSBORNE, 8. George WILSON, 10. Tom CRAWFORD, 7. Matty KOSYLO, 17. Alex NEWBY, 11. Justin AMALUZOR (sub. 23 Joe NUTTALL 33")

LAST 27 Mins: 20. Louie FALLON, 12. Trialist (Tylor Golden), 16. James JONES (capt), 15. Joel BAILEY, 21 Trialist (Damola Sotona), 14. Trialist (Ben Kershaw), 18. Owen GERMAN, No Number. Max HAYGARTH, 19. Luke WEAVER, 23. Joe NUTTALL and 20*. Trialist (Kharel Reddin).

Match report here.

ALTY OLD BOYS

From Phil Jordan we learn that "Boston United and Peterborough United met at the Jakeman's Community Stadium, where two 60 minute halves were played with different lineups in each half. Peterborough quickly went 0-2 up before DAN MOONEY reduced the arrears. CHRIS CONN-CLARKE scored twice as the first half ended 4-4, before Peterborough went on to win 4-6.

DUNCAN WATMORE played 71 minutes for Millwall as they lost 1-2 to Nottingham Forest in Murcia.

REAGAN OGLE started for a weakened Oldham Athletic side, who lost 2-0 at Southport.

JORDAN HULME scored the only goal as Radcliffe beat visitors Halifax".

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Maidenhead United "announce that Casey Pettit has signed a new extended deal with the club.

The 21-year old joined the Magpies last summer having captained Luton Town’s various age-group teams. The midfielder was a mainstay in Dev’s side which enjoyed a marvellous run at the end of the season, clinching fourteenth place...

Casey became a real fans favourite at York Road and was voted supporters' player of the season for 2023/24".

Solihull Moors "will don the colours of Solihull Borough, offering a dose of nostalgia for the 2024/24 campaign. The Borough were one half of the historic merger in 2007 which saw them and Moor Green unite forces to become Solihull Moors.

Each year, we change our away kit colours to display our proud heritage... The red and white of the Boro has witnessed plenty of history...

Additionally, our graffiti warm-up top... will be available for supporters to purchase".

Southend United "confirm an additional date has been added to the pre-season schedule with a fixture against Ballyfermot United in Dublin on Tuesday 30th July...

Kevin Maher and the squad will spend several days in Ireland on a pre-season camp leading up to the start of the 2024/25 Vanarama National League season...

Bellyfermot play in the Leinster Senior League, and have this year reached the last 16 of the FA Ireland Cup.

The stadium is around six miles from the centre of Dublin...

CEO Tom Lawrence said 'We are all very grateful to the Shrimpers' Trust for their support which has part funded the first-team training camp to Ireland".

FC Halifax Town "confirm the signing of forward Zak Emmerson from League One side Blackpool.

Emmerson began his career in the Oldham Athletic academy and made his senior debut against Walsall in October 2019, making him the second youngest player to play in the EFL behind former Shayman Reuben Noble-Lazarus. In July 2020, the forward signed for Brighton & Hove Albion’s development squad for an undisclosed fee...

In his final season with Brighton, Emmerson netted 20 goals in 26 appearances for the development squad, before then Championship side Blackpool brought him to Bloomfield Road for an undisclosed fee.

Last season, the forward spent time on loan at National League South side Eastbourne Borough where he netted five times in 11 league appearances".

23 July 2024

NEXT: SALFORD CITY

Right: Matty Kosylo scored twice when Salford City last visited Altrincham and he has scored in Alty's two most recent friendlies of this summer. Here he is seen (no.18), last Saturday, hitting a well-struck shot which the Warrington keeper did well to save with an excellent dive to his left.

It proved to be an easy night for Alty who ran out 5-1 victors against a Salford team that failed to trouble Matt Gould and his defence.

Matt Kosylo played in Tom Peers for a smart finish by the striker to put Alty ahead in the ninth minute.

An excellent long ball up the middle from Tom Hannigan set Kosylo in on goal and he finished well from left of goal, his low shot going in off the base of the far post to make it 2-0 on the half-hour.

Seven minutes later it was 3-0 as an incursion up the right by Joel Senior ended with the ball falling to Max Clayton who scored from six yards or so.

Salford were gifted a penalty shortly before half time after Alty had lost possession by their own right corner-flag. With the linesman flagging that the ball had gone out for a goalkick, play was allowed to continue and a Salford man was upended.

From the resulting spot-kick Humbles, or whoever was wearing no.6 on a night when many of the visitors wore different numbers from those given on their teamsheet, slotted home the penalty to make it 3-1 at the interval.

Straight after the break, the visitors' keeper dropped the ball and Kosylo made it 4-1. And in the 55th minute Kosylo rounded the keeper and, from right of goal, laid on a tap-in for Peers to record the fifth goal for Altrincham.

Alty continued to dominate after the final four subs came on just after the hour mark.

Altrincham fielded a team with several starters who were likely to be deployed in secondary roles when the season started.

ALTRINCHAM: 1. Matthew GOULD, 2. Joel SENIOR, 3. Andy WHITE, 4. Toby MULLARKEY, 5. Tom HANNIGAN, 6. Sean WILLIAMS (c), 7. Matty KOSYLO, 8. Simon RICHMAN, 9. Tom PEERS, 10. Max CLAYTON, 11. Yusifu CEESAY. Subs: 12. Shaun DENSMORE, 14. Connor HAMPSON, 15. Ritchie SUTTON, 16. Jake MOULT, 17. Curtis MILLER, 18. Jordan HULME, 20. Tony THOMPSON

STUART'S TESTIMONIAL: THE EARLY YEARS

Altrincham FC have issued the final names to the list of the former players from the early part of Stuart's career who will be participating in Stuart Coburn's testimonial on 28 July. The match will pit the 2005 and 2014 play-off teams against each other.

The players concerned are Kieran and Kelvin Lugsden, Anthony Danylyk, Sean Smith, Danny Murphy, Ryan Brown and Stuart Wright.



L to R Kieran Lugsden, Anthony Danylyk, Sean Smith, Danny Murphy, Ryan Brown, Stuart Wright and Kelvin Lugsden.

The full list comprises the above seven plus Rod Thornley, Gary Talbot, Gary Scott, Val Owen, Warren Peyton, Eddie Hussin, Chris Adams, Ged Kielty, Richard Acton, Chris Denham, Chris Senior and Greg Young.

ALTY WOMEN'S MANAGER INTERVIEWED

Altrincham FC has Erin Carroll's interview with recently appointed Women's team manager Alex Hilton-Slee.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

AFC Fylde "announce the signing of forward Offrande Zanzala on a one-year contract. Zanzala... reunites with Head Coach Chris Beech, who he played for at Carlisle United.

Offrande, 27 [was]... born in Congo [and] has made over 130 appearances in the EFL during his career to date. Turning professional at Derby County in 2015, Zanzala spent early loans at Stevenage, Chester and Accrington Stanley before moving permanently to the latter in August 2018...

Moving onto Crewe Alexandra in July 2020 prior to being recruited by Beech at Carlisle in January 2021, he represented the Cumbrians 22 times... [before] penning a deal at Barrow in June 2021. Zanzala spent time on loan in Exeter City colours... and was most recently at Newport County...

[The player said] 'I’ve got loads of experience in the leagues which is something I want to bring to the team... I like to speed in play with quick passing and movements in behind. I like to link up with my teammates a lot, I’m direct and hungry and I have a desire to score goals...

Head coach Chris Beech added... 'With next season’s rules seeing it possible to make five substitutions from seven named, we need the strongest squad possible and have depth in all positions'".

Also at AFC FYlde "Jesse Hailwood has penned a one-year deal at Mill Farm after impressing for the Coasters during their pre-season friendlies. Midfielder Hailwood is the second AFC Fylde academy graduate to sign professional terms this summer, following on from Jack Morris."

Meanwhile at Wealdstone the club announce that Jaydn Mundle-Smith has signed to play another year at Grosvenor Vale.

The defender played all but two League games last season and was a crucial part of the defence... A stellar campaign for our no.23 saw him named player of the season, and we are delighted to announce that he'll be part of Matt Taylor's squad for the 2024/25 season.

Deployed mainly as a left-sided centre-back, but occasionally as a traditional full-back, Jaydn's performances earned him... a call up to the England C provisional squad...

Said Mundle-Smith.. 'I'm really pleased with my achievements last season. I've spoken to him [Matt Taylor] and he thinks I'm a good player and good person as well so I'm looking forward to working under him. There's a lot of new faces in the squad so it'll be good to see everyone working under Matt'"

15 July 2024

DUO STILL SIDELINED

Phil Parkinson indicated recently that both Isaac Marriott and Ollie Crankshaw would be out of first team action till at least September.

Marriott missed the last ten league games of last season through an ankle injury which required an operation, whilst Crankshaw played just one full league match last season before an ACL injury ended his season in just his second appearance.

However, both attended as non-participants last Saturday at Warrington. Apart from Justin Donawa, who was invited back for pre-season but has yet to be seen in action, all the rest of the named first-team squad have played a part this summer.

Here (right) we see Ollie Crankshaw with Justin Amaluzor at Warrington on Saturday. Justin's own summer appearances have been limited so far.

NEXT: SALFORD CITY

It's a small world as Salford City play at Altrincham on Tuesday night and, the following day, The Ammies have another pre-season friendly at Warrington Town, who hosted Altrincham last Saturday!

The Ammies seem to enjoy playing friendlies on consecutive days as last Friday a Salford team won 2-1 at Bamber Bridge and, the following day, (another) Salford squad drew 2-2 at FC United of Manchester.

Prior to that Salford had an away game in Northern Ireland where they beat Crusaders 3-1.

Their most recent summer signing was 32 year-old winger Jon Taylor who the Ammies report "has made over 400 senior appearances across all three EFL divisions... during spells at Shrewsbury Town, Rotherham United, Peterborough United, and more recently at Doncaster Rovers.

His time at the Eco-Power Stadium was hampered by injury and illness but, despite this, Jon is now back to full fitness".

Another recent signing by experienced EFL boss Karl Robinson is goalkeeper Jamie Jones, "the 35-year-old shot stopper makes the switch from Teesside to Salford.

Prior to his season at Middlesbrough in the Championship, Jones came through the Everton Academy and went on to make 407 senior appearances for seven clubs". Last season he was third-choice keeper at Middlesbrough so did not play much football.

A more familiar face in Salford's squad is former Robins' defender, Kevin Berkoe (above, left), whilst striker Marcus Dackers is another player who has worn the Alty shirt and is now on the Ammies' books.

Berkoe's brief stay at Alty came in January 2022 when he was on loan from Salford. The loan was ended prematurely by a red card in only his second start for the club.

NEW FACES

Four trialists were in the Altrincham team which kicked off at Warrington Town on Saturday.

Three of them were named by Phil Parkinson in his post-match interview. The fourth was a left-back (no.3 against Warrington on Saturday).

L. to R.: Tylor Golden, Ben Kershaw, Kharel Reddin

ALTY OLD BOYS

Saturday's game at Warrington Town brought a sighting of TOM HANNIGAN. The centre-back did not play in the match but was in evidence with manager MARK BEESLEY during the warm-up.

A Warrington man who did get on the pitch was former Alty loanee from Bolton Wanderers, JEZ SITHOLE.

Phil Jordan reports that JOE HUGILL, who was among a totally changed Manchester United second half lineup, sealed his side's 0-2 victory over Rangers at Murrayfield with "a stinging finish" after MAXI OYEDELE gave him "an inviting through ball". He "lashed his shot passed Jack Butland off the crossbar" according to the Sunday Times. SONNY ALJOFREE was also in the second half team.

In Sunday's friendly match at the Isle of Man Bowl, TOM PEERS (left) scored Chester's third goal against Lancaster City, before being one of eight changes for the second half - MITCH HANCOX was among those replacements. Lancaster used no less than TWELVE trialists, which may have contributed to their 4-1 defeat.

And our unofficial "cricket correspondent" Ian Wilkinson advises us of OLLIE BYRNE's continuing cricket career for Timperley CC's first eleven. Sadly, Saturdaywas not a good day for the recently prolific goalkeeper-cum-batsman. He batted lower down the order, at number seven, and was out for a duck after facing eight balls. However, he did take a catch as Timperley lost by 69 runs to Nantwich CC in the Cheshire County Cricket League.

On Sunday in the Cheshire Cup Quarter Final against Hyde CC, the Tameside club beat Timperley by 8 wickets, with Ollie coming in at number 6 and hitting 13 runs off 13 balls. He also bowled an over, which cost five runs and two wides.

AND THEN THERE WERE 16

Above, in their Alty days, left to right, are forwards Colin Little, Colin Potts and Dale Johnson.

Right: Danny Adams (foreground) in action for Alty at Hednesford in 2000..

With the announcement by Altrincham FC of four more former players who will be turning out in Stuart Coburn's testimonial game on Sunday, 28 July, the total has risen to sixteen.

The latest four to be revealed are: Colin Little, Colin Potts, Danny Adams and Dale Johnson.

The other participants announced so far are:

ALTY'S NEW LEAD ANALYST

Altrincham FC has a video interview, conducted by Brian Flynn, with the club's new Lead Analyst, Jack Farrelly.

Jack has been involved with Alty since last season, in a voluntary capacity at that time, prior to his appointment to this new role.. He is a graduate of Gary Neville's UCFB, where he completed an MA in Performance Analysis.

He has been working alongside Alty's longstanding Sports Analyst, Mark Bushell. Jack also works part-time for Manchester United at their Carrington complex.

21 July 2024

WARRINGTON TOWN 0-2 ALTRINCHAM

Altrincham's sequence of unbeaten pre-season games was extended to four with this win at Warrington. Alty fielded a first-half team which included only Ethan Ross, James Jones and Max Haygarth who had played any National League football for Altrincham last season. New signings Joe Nuttall and Luke Weaver were also starters, alongside four trialists and Academy graduates Owen German and Joel Bailey.

In a competitive match Alty may well have been down to ten men for virtually the whole game after Joel Bailey's error led to his prolonged rugby tackle on the hosts' striker. But being a friendly there was no sanction beyond a freekick.

Town dominated the early stages winning five corners before Alty's unaccustomed mixture of players settled and reached half-time with the game goalless.

The only change at the break saw young keeper Louie Fallon replace Ross but, around the hour mark, Alty introduced ten first-team substitutes and the performance unsurprisingly went up a few notches. It took just seven minutes for Matty Kosylo to put Alty ahead from forty yards out on the right wing, scoring into an unguarded net, after a defensive mix-up between the Town keeper and a defender.

Above: Regan Linney's penalty hits the back of the net. Regan is off the picture to the left.

Alty played some good football in the closing stages, with Tom Crawford again impressing, but they did not score their second goal until added time when a foul on Alex Newby led to Regan Linney converting from the penalty spot.

Match report here.

AFTER THE MATCH AT WARRINGTON TOWN

On Saturday after the match at Warrington Town, manager Phil Parkinson spoke to press and media officer Brian Flynn.

In the interview, Phil confirmed the names of some of the trialists as:

STUART'S TESTIMONIAL

A further quartet of former team-mates of goalkeeper Stuart Coburn have been named as participants in the goalkeeper's testimonial match on 28 July (3.30pm).

Altrincham FC names them as Richard Acton, Chris Denham, Chris Senior and Greg Young.

Above: Richard Acton, Chris Denham, Chris Senior and Greg Young in their Alty days.

ALTY OLD BOYS

Phil Jordan reports that on Saturday...

In a friendly played behind closed doors at their training ground, Poolfoot Farm in Cleveleys, Fleetwood Town withdrew HARRISON HOLGATE from the action at half time, and the same befell CALLUM DOLAN and JUNIOR QUITIRNA after an hour. At that point visitors Rochdale introduced KYLE FERGUSON. The game finished 1-1.

Radcliffe and Lancaster City met a little further afield at the Isle of Man bowl. Radcliffe ran out 4-1 winners with all the goals scored by ex-Robins.

JOSH HANCOCK (left) scored twice - one of them from the spot- and won the Man of the Match award, setting up the other goals for JUDE OYIBO and BRAD JACKSON. JORDAN HULME was also in the Radcliffe starting lineup.

Chesterfield didn't bring RYAN COLCLOUGH into the action until the 68th minute, while JAMES BERRY had to wait until the 81st minute to get a kick - neither could help their side to avoid a 0-3 lesson from a strong Sheffield United squad.

KEVIN BERKOE, despite having started at Bamber Bridge last night, was in Salford City's starting lineup at FC United, while MARCUS DACKERS was on the bench, as was DONTAI GABIDON for the hosts. The game ended 2-2.

Both JOSH LUNDSTRAM and REAGAN OGLE started for Oldham Athletic in a 0-0 draw against visitors Lincoln City.

Curzon Ashton won 1-4 at Prestwich Heys, with CRAIG MAHON converting a penalty.

JONNY MARGETTS was on target as King's Lynn, having trailed at the interval, recovered to win 2-3 at Stamford.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The BBC reports that "Supporters of Southend United said they were 'absolutely ecstatic' after a long-awaited takeover deal was completed...

A consortium led by Australian IT millionaire Justin Rees exchanged contracts with former owner Ron Martin in December, but issues surrounding housing plans stalled the deal.

The group said it was 'delighted' to announce the Essex-based club had been successfully purchased on Friday'...

Labour MP David Burton-Sampson said those associated with the club [now] had 'certainty' about its future".

AFC Fylde "announce that midfielder Jon Ustabasi has signed a new two-year deal at Mill Farm, extending his stay until at least 2026...

Ustabasi, 30... has been at Mill Farm for just over a year after joining from local side Chorley in 2023. A pacey, exciting and attacking player, Ustabasi spent several years in Turkey, the birthplace of his father... before making a return to England to sign for Stalybridge Celtic, where he spent two seasons ahead of a loan and then a permanent move to Chorley.

Now finding a new home at AFC Fylde, Ustabasi... said... 'We want to do a lot better than last season. We had a difficult first half of the season and if we can eradicate that and live up to our second half of the season then we can have a right go this year...

Head Coach Chris Beech added... 'He has been a superb asset and was no doubt a huge part of us retaining National League status. His fast, tricky and skilful style of play aligns with how we want to play and how we want to attack teams'".

Aldershot Town are "delighted to confirm the signing of Australian defender Lachlan Byrd!

The centre-back has signed a one-year deal with the Shots. The 22-year-old spent last season at Welling United in the Vanarama National League South, playing 50 games... and picking up their Player of the Season award.

Starting his playing career in Australia, Byrd moved to Scotland in 2023 and spent half a season with Airdrieonians...

First-Team Manager Tommy Widdrington said 'Lachlan (Byrd) is a lad we looked at last pre-season and were very close to taking him on board. For one reason or another it didn’t happen and he went off and played around 50 games at Step Two... I’m delighted to have him join the group on a permanent basis.”

It was felt we needed improvement in important areas defensively and with firstly, Luke Jenkins, and now Lachie, we have two lads who can both play and are intrinsically good defenders first and foremost... I feel more confident with what we will have behind the ball this campaign'".

20 July 2024

TODAY: WARRINGTON TOWN

Altrincham travel to National League North neighbours Warrington Town on Saturday for the Robins' fourth summer friendly of 2024.

Warrington are managed by former Alty striker Mark Beesley (right, in his Alty days in 2011).

In the last few days the club has just announced that "Striker Joe Rodwell-Grant has become Warrington Town’s third new signing of the summer.

Rodwell-Grant, 21, arrives at the Cal.Delivery Stadium from Wigan Athletic, having previously been in the academy setup at Preston North End.

He has had loan spells at Bamber Bridge, Lancaster City and FC United of Manchester...

Manager Mark Beesley said... 'We tried to sign him a couple of times when he was at Wigan, and so it’s third time lucky!'...

The forward follows the arrival of defender Ollie Southern and the return of fans’ favourite Bohan Dixon...

Rodwell-Grant found the back of the net in the 3-0 win over Rochdale and paid tribute to the fans for their response to his performances.

He added 'It was class coming off and the fans telling me to sign, I loved it!'".

Still listed on the club's books on their website are former Robins Josh Amis, Tom Hannigan, Andy White and Sean Williams. However Sean was signed by Bootle some time ago so the information is not uptodate.

Tickets for the match can be bought online or bought on the day at the stadium.

THREE MORE NAMED FOR STUART'S TESTIMONIAL

Three more former Alty players have been named as appearing in the testimonial match for Stuart Coburn to be played at the J. Davidson Stadium on Sunday 28 July at 3.30pm.

They are James Olsen (left), Barry Crowe and Michael Welch (right), whose portraits from their time at Moss Lane are reproduced below.

For more details seee the Altrincham FC website.

The testimonial will feature players from the Altrincham play-off successes of 2005 and 2014.

The other names announced so far are:

ALTY OLD BOYS

Phil Jordan tells us that Chester followed a path previously trodden by the Robins and played a friendly at Isle of Man FC. MITCH HANCOX and TOM PEERS were in the starting XI. Tom scored twice, assisted another, and hit the crossbar - and that contribution earned him the Man of the Match award as Chester won 2-5.

Salford City visit the J.Davidson Stadium on Tuesday evening, but on Friday night they were in action at Bamber Bridge. KEVIN BERKOE started for the Ammies, and had a hand in the opening goal as they won 1-2.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The Oldham Times confirms that "An agreement has been made which will see Oldham RLFC play their games at Boundary Park for the next 10 years...

It means that the ground will host both Latics and Roughyeds games for at least the next 10 years, as well as other community events such as matches between schools and local clubs....

Luke Rothwell, director at Oldham Athletic, said 'We want people to have a positive image of this site, and this is the start".

Southend United have issued a statement stating that "The Consortium is delighted to announce that the purchase of Southend United Football Club has been successfully completed...

The process, which began in July 2023, was complex and as a result has taken longer than any of us anticipated...

We would like to extend our thanks to Ron and Jack Martin, who have acted with integrity and professionalism throughout our dealings... We also thank the Councillors and Officers of Southend-on-Sea City Council. The three parties have been united in finding a resolution.

We now turn our attention to the start of the new season and hope that the Southend community will unite behind Kevin Maher and the Blues squad".

Ebbsfleet United reveal that "Striker Kwame Thomas is the Fleet’s newest announced signing after he left Aldershot Town...

A physically strong forward with excellent aerial attributes, the 28-year-old is another new arrival at the club who adds plenty of know-how and experience of the National League and higher...

He fired nine goals for Wrexham in the National League in 2020/21 before spells with Sutton United and Dundee, where he helped the latter win the Scottish Championship title in 2022/23.

Thomas... was a big part of Aldershot Town’s rejuvenation last season as he featured 42 times for them... He was offered a new deal at the Hampshire club but instead will be wearing Fleet red for the 2024/25 campaign".

19 July 2024

ALTY "IN GOOD SHAPE" SAYS PHIL

In the Sale and Altrincham Messsenger, John Edwards writes that "Altrincham are showing signs of firing on all cylinders, heading into the new season, after both their main strikers hit the target in their two latest friendly matches.

Right: Ollie Crankshaw.

Summer signing Joe Nuttall underlined the scoring prowess that earned him spells with Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool by marking his Robins debut with a first-half headed goal in a 1-1 draw at Lancaster City on Saturday.

Three days later, strike partner Regan Linney got in on the act with a second-half double, as the Robins followed up with a convincing 3-0 win at Cheadle Heath Nomads".

After the game, manager Phil Parkinson concluded that "Overall there has been a really pleasing work ethic from all the players... I’m not expecting too much more in the way of signings, but don’t forget we’ve got Olly Crankshaw (right) and Isaac Marriott hopefully back in the fold in September, so we look in good shape".

CAN ALTY REPEAT LAST SEASON'S SUCCESS?

For The Deck Callum Moseley asks "Can Altrincham Replicate Last Season’s Success? ...

Altrincham [have] said goodbye to nine players... [but] the club have also made three summer signings so far...

Hartlepool’s Tom Crawford and Oldham’s Joe Nuttall have arrived to add further experience to the Altrincham side, whilst Non-League goalscoring sensation Lucas Weaver (right) has been snapped up from Colne...

Crawford has struggled with injuries and Nuttall has failed to hit the heights he showed in the Premier League 2 with Blackburn Rovers although he did manage to score goals in League One last season.

Although Weaver is unproven at National League level, Altrincham have proven to be a great side when it comes to developing talented young players....

Despite having several strong players like Jake Cooper and Alex Newby, the name that stands out the most to me is forward Regan Linney...

I think Altrincham will once again be pushing for a top-half finish – possibly even top ten".

ALTY OLD BOYS

It may be another three weeks before the National League season starts but a number of Alty Old Boys have already been in European football action as Phil Jordan reports.

He tells us that in the Europa Conference League, having won their away leg in Slovakia, Connah's Quay Nomads were forced to switch the home leg of their tie against Bravo to Bangor.

After JOHN DISNEY became one of five Welsh players booked, the visitors scored in the 88th minute to take the tie to extra time and, with 5 minutes of that period left, they struck again to end Nomads' participation in the competition.

Another ex Robin booked was Bala Town goalkeeper JOEL TORRANCE (seen, left, in his Alty days), just before the interval away to Estonian side Paide. The Welsh team had lost the home leg 1-2, but tonight they led from the 12th minute, and this tie also went into an extra half hour.

Unfortunately, it was much the same story - Bala had a man sent off after 110 minutes, and in the last minute Paide scored to win the tie.

Linfield had started 0-2 behind in Belfast against the Icelandic team Stjarnan, but SAM ROSCOE and his colleagues went ahead early, and, although the visitors equalised, two goals in six minutes gave the Ulstermen a fighting chance. Alas, Stjarnan scored after 88 minutes and, although losing on the night, went through 4-3 on aggregate.

And so the involvement of Alty Old Boys in Europe is over for this season.

SPRUCE UP THE STADIUM

Altrincham FC is looking for volunteers to help spruce up The J.Davidson Stadium ahead of our opening home fixture...

We'd love for as many volunteers as possible to head to the ground from 9am on Saturday, July 20th, as we gear up for our friendly with Salford City on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided and the start time is set so anyone wishing to attend our friendly at Warrington Town in the afternoon will be able to do so, although we will be continuing with the ground work through to 3pm, for those who want to join us later on in the day.

Anyone interested in lending a hand can confirm attendance by emailing here".

MORE PLAYERS NAMED FOR STUART'S TESTIMONIAL

Four more names have been revealed as participants in Stuart Coburn's testimonial game on 28 July.

They are Warren Peyton, Eddie Hussin, Chris Adams and Ged Kielty, who are pictured in their playing days at Alty, left to right, below.

NATIONAL LEAGUE STADIUM SPONSORS: PART 4

As J. Davidson continue their valued sponsorship of the stadium at Altrincham, we consider who is behind the naming of some of our rivals' grounds? We will cast a periodic gaze at the other companies whose names are carried by this season's Vanarama National League stadia.

TAMWORTH, CR MOT Centre Community Stadium at The Lamb:

Tamworth's stadium was historically known as The Lamb; it was named after the Lamb Inn that stood on the site.

However, Tamworth state that "The ground is now sponsored by local company CR MOT Centre and the ground is currently referred to as the CR MOT Centre Community Stadium at The Lamb".

CR MOT Centre state that they "are your local independent tyre fitting business, dedicated to putting your needs first. With access to a huge range of premium, mid-range and economy tyres, we are sure to have the right tyre for you. Whether you drive in or order online our staff will conduct a full inspection of your vehicle and explain in detail before any work is carried out. Our high-quality services and products are the reason customers have put their trust in us.

We supply tyres from world-renowned manufacturers such as Bridgestone, Goodyear, Michelin, Pirelli, Continental, and Dunlop. We can cater for all weathers with a range of summer, winter and all-season tyres.

In addition to supplying and fitting new Car and Van Tyres we also offer the following services: Air-Con Re-gas and Repairs, Brakes, Clutches and Timing Belts, Diagnostics, MOTs and Servicing.

We are based in Tamworth".

WOKING: The Laithwaite Community Stadium:

In 2023 Woking announced that "Laithwaite Financial Services Ltd has signed a further three-year deal as the Club’s main sponsor. The renewed and extended agreement will see the continuation of naming rights for the Laithwaite Community Stadium.

Laithwaite Financial Services Ltd first sponsored the Club in 2014, with the latest renewal seeing the partnership through for more than a decade".

Laithwaite Financial Services "is a firm of Independent Financial Advisers based just outside the town of Woking in Surrey. We have been providing impartial, holistic financial planning for people from all walks of life since the early 1990’s...

We are not trying to grow our business at the expense of giving our clients the best advice and recommending the best products available".

YORK CITY LNER Stadium:

"Planned since 2006 and opened in 2021, the LNER Community Stadium is a state of the art, 8,500 capacity facility built to Championship standards. Owned by the City of York Council, the stadium is home to York City FC and York RLFC Knights" says the club website.

LNER's site says that the organisation "is the rail company that operates on the East Coast mainline. We took over after Virgin Trains East Coast in June 2018 and we have ambitious plans to change the face of train travel. We want to create a service everybody loves, that our people are proud to work for and that helps the communities that we’re part of to flourish".

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The BBC reports that "Woking's owner has said the National League club will go into administration if a buyer cannot be found in the next few weeks - and he is willing to sell for £1.

A £600,000 loan from owner Drew Volpe's parents has given the Cards a lifeline to begin the new season next month. [Their first fixture is at Altrincham!]

Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey, Volpe revealed he had invested 'over £3.425m' in the club since taking over in 2021.

When asked if the club would now be in administration without the loan from his parents, Volpe said: 'Yep, 100%"'...

But Volpe said he was now more confident a deal could be reached for new owners to rescue the club after making "great progress" with takeover talks...

'The reality of it, is that the club's going to be sold for probably £1 - based on the liabilities that we have, the money I sent over will be able to pay off almost all of that and then we'll have games and money will be coming in'..

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire said Woking lost £25,000 a week in their fourth-placed season, and 2023-24 was 'substantially worse'".

Footie on TV claims that "Non-League football’s top division looks likely to start the new season without live TV coverage for the first time in years with its deal with TNT Sports seemingly at an end.

The National League’s four-year deal with TNT Sports for live rights and highlights expired at the end of the season and all the indications are that the two sides have failed to reach an agreement to extend it...

The clearest indication yet that the partnership is now at an end has come with the National League removing TNT Sports’ logo from its images of partners and sponsors on the foot of its official website".

Continuing the trend this summer towards season-long loans from National League clubs, York City announce that Maz Kouhyar has joined National League North side Kidderminster Harriers on a season-long loan.

The 26-year-old joins the recently relegated side...

Kouhyar spent spells of last campaign out on loan too with former side Hereford, making five appearances.

When at the LNER Community Stadium, the winger featured 27 times across all competitions and scored four.

And the York Press adds that manager "Adam Hinshelwood criticised the first-half performance of his York City side after a 2-1 victory over Whitby Town on Wednesday evening.

York failed to manage a shot on target in their first-half performance and headed into the half-time break 1-0 down after Jake Charles’s opener, before goals from Ollie Pearce and Marvin Armstrong helped City to victory at the seaside.

Hinshelwood wasn’t overly satisfied...

'You want it to be the perfect display and it certainly wasn’t that,' Hinshelwood admitted. 'That first-half was pretty poor to be honest, I thought that we were laboured in our possession, our intensity that we played at was nowhere near what we needed it to be...

'Dipo Akinyemi in particular looked the fittest he’s looked since I came to the club really... I’m a bit disappointed that Ty [ex-Alty loanee Tyrese Sinclair] couldn’t finish off some of the chances... Billy Chadwick and Joe [Felix] showed signs of a good little partnership on the right hand side'" he concluded.

There will be an innovation at the London Hive stadium this season, which players will have to get used to, as Barnet announce their "purchase of LED perimeter boards for all four sides of The Hive Stadium.

We expect delivery and installation to be in the next few weeks and would love to invite businesses to apply for our newest LED sponsorship package.

Our exclusive two-season deal includes the following:

Pricing is exclusive of VAT".

18 July 2024

PARKY'S SQUAD PLANS

Altrincham FC has manager Phil Parkinson's post-Match interview with Brian Flynn.

Phil said the "main highlight" was that there were no injuries. Other benefits were having a further look at the trialists and getting time into the squad players' legs

As for the trialists, the manager said he would not make quick decisions but that we have "a couple of slots [in the squad that] we need covering". He went on to indicate that Alty need a second keeper and cover at full back.

He hoped to have a better insight into the trialists when Alty play higher ranked teams than they met on Tuesday.

Regarding Owen German (above, right), the plan is likely to be to send him on a loan to a club in the National League or upper end of the NPL. There are similar plans in mind for Joel Bailey and Luke Weaver too.

As for Ollie Crankshaw and Isaac Marriott, who ended last season injured, Phil suggested that it would be around September before they are in contention for the first team again. No mention was made of Justin Donowa who was invited back to prove his fitness in pre-season.

LAST GAME: CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS

Altrincham remain unbeaten after securing a 3-0 win at Cheadle Heath Nomads on Tuesday night. That result followed a 1-0 win at Colne and a 1-1 draw at Lancaster City in the previous two fixtures.

On the Altrincham FC site, John Edwards writes that "It was a highly satisfactory third pre-season outing for Phil Parkinson's squad".

He added, "On Saturday, at Lancaster City, new signing Joe Nuttall (left) underlined his scoring prowess by marking his debut with a first-half headed goal in the Robins' 1-1 draw.

Three days later, away to Cheadle Heath Nomads, it was the turn of Regan Linney to take centre stage as he rifled home an Alty opener and followed up with a coolly-taken penalty in an emphatic 3-0 win.

With Matty Kosylo contributing an eye-catching solo effort in between, it was a highly satisfactory third pre-season outing for Phil Parkinson's squad."

NEXT: WARRINGTON TOWN

On Saturday Altrincham play their fourth consecutive away game in pre-season. The opposition is Warrington Town who play in the National League North so they will be Alty's stiffest opposition so far this summer.

Right: Jordan Hulme and Josh Hancock in action at a sodden Cantilever Park in October 2017.

The sides last met in league action at Cantilever Park on 21 October 2017 on an afternoon when the squally wind and heavy rain were the only winners in a goalless draw.

That match was actually Altrincham's first competitive match at Cantilever Park; all five of the previous encounters between the two clubs had been at Moss Lane, in the Cheshire Senior Cup.

For Altrincham, Disney, Taylor, Hannigan and Amis were all injured and Miller and Sheridan were also not in the squad. Mason Walsh was included in the squad after his midweek debut.

ALTRINCHAM: 1. Tony THOMPSON, 2. Joel BEMBO-LETA, 3. Lewis SHORT, 4. James JONES, 5. Ben HARRISON, 6. Jake MOULT (c), 7. John JOHNSTON, 8. Simon RICHMAN, 9. Jordan HULME, 10. James POOLE, 11. Josh HANCOCK. Subs: 12. Max HARROP, 14. Tom PEERS, 15 Shaun DENSMORE, 16. Mason WALSH, 20. Tim DEASY

STUART'S TESTIMONIAL PLAYERS

Altrincham FC's press and media officer John Edwards provides more information on Stuart Coburn's testimonial game on Suinday 28 July at 3.30pm.

The two play-off squads, of 2005 and 2024, will face each other both in honour of Alty's leading appearance maker and to raise funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.

Participating players are being announced piecemeal and the first batch to be named comprises Rod Thornley, Gary Talbot, Gary Scott and Val Owen.

Above, left to right in 2004/05: Rod Thornley, Gary Talbot, Gary Scott and Val Owen.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The Essex County Standard reports that Braintree Town "trned in a most impressive performance against a lively home side, Leiston, on the Suffolk coast, on Tuesday evening.

Boss Harrop is pleased with the progress his side are making.. 'It shows that we were much sharper and more clinical in front of goal than in our first pre-season game last week. Nobody's getting carried away with the result because it's how we perform, competing against another good side, but we are improving'...

Harrop used two completely different sides in each half against Leiston, with four trialists lining up in the first half... In the second half, Braintree had eight trialists on show alongside three signed players, Reggie Lambe, Ryan Clampin and Louie Annesley.

Harrop said... 'We've still have other potential signings coming in on trial but overall I'm pleased with the progress we are making. I think training three days a week is beginning to show in our improving fitness levels...

Leiston also hit the bar late on but Harrop's side deservedly held on well to make it two straight wins, in their first pre-season friendlies".

AFC Fylde "announce the signing of left-back Lincoln McFayden, following a spell at Championship side Swansea City, on a one-year deal.

The 22-year-old joins the Coasters following a successful trial period... McFayden, who is from Chorley, has signed a one-year deal at Mill Farm, becoming Chris Beech’s fifth summer signing...

McFayden said... 'It’s local for me and... I’ve seen the stadium, the place, the fans and the support... and it’s a great place for my family to come and watch...

McFayden was part of a Preston academy side which has gone on to have great success in recent years...

He continued... 'The fans can expect an attacking and defensive full-back, I’m very quick, I love to get forward and help the team with goals and assists, but to keep goals out the net as well'".

Meanwhile Ebbsfleet United report that "Defender Tom Dallison becomes the Fleet’s latest summer recruit as the former Colchester United man joins...

The towering 6ft 4in left-sided defender has played most of his football in League Two after... the Premier League academies of West Ham and Arsenal before he signed his first contract at Brighton & Hove Albion...

[He had] loan spells with Dartford and Braintree Town in the National League before he moved up to the EFL with Crawley Town, Cambridge United and Accrington Stanley in further loan deals.

The Dagenham-born defender moved to... Falkirk in 2018 following his departure from Brighton before he rejoined Crawley in League Two on a permanent basis in 2019. Dallison made more than 80 appearances for the Red Devils... He has spent the past two and a half years with the U’s, playing 64 times...

Dallison... told FleetTV 'My relationship with the gaffer goes back a long way to when I was a young boy at West Ham'".

17 July 2024

CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS 0-3 ALTRINCHAM

For this third pre-season game, Altrincham fielded a starting eleven which included just one trialist, Benny Couto, a former Oldham Athletic fullback. The Nomads' starting line up largely comprised ex-Alty youngsters, which was not surprising given that Alty Academy manager Paul Fay is also the Nomads' boss.

However, Paul was away in Northern Ireland with another Altrincham team competing in the Foyle Cup.

After a largely uneventful and goalless first half, Altrincham, with eleven new starters for the second half, took the lead just after the hour-mark when Tom Crawford set Linney in on goal. The striker beat goalkeeper Ford with a low shot.

A Nomads error near halfway allowed Kosylo to run towards goal and finish smartly past the keeper to make it 2-0 (72 mins).

With Alty well on top, a foul on O'Hara on Sotona gave Linney (right) the opportunity to convert a penalty which he duly did to make it three-nil for the Robins (76 mins).

Match report here.

On Saturday, Altrincham's fourth pre-season game will be at Warrington Town (3pm).

ALTY OLD BOYS

Phil Jordan reports on Tuesday's friendly matches:

JOEL SENIOR played the first hour for Bristol Rovers as they hit three goals without reply at Yeovil Town.

JONNY MARGETTS was among the scorers as King's Lynn won by the odd goal in seven at Bury Town of the Isthmian League North.

After they had trailed 1-0 at half time at Alfreton Town, JAMES BERRY equalised in the 51st minute. That was the signal for the Spireites to make 10 changes, including the introduction of RYAN COLCLOUGH and they went on to win 1-2.

CHRIS CONN-CLARKE started for Peterborough United at Spalding United. He set up the opening goal in the 8th minute, and his new team were 0-2 ahead at the break. A different lineup emerged for the second half and romped home 0-7.

MICHAEL GYASI started for Peterborough Sports at St.Ives Town, but the only available information is the score - a 1-5 win.

NATIONAL LEAGUE STADIUM SPONSORS: PART THREE

As J. Davidson continue their valued sponsorship of the stadium at Altrincham in 2024/25 season, we continue our look at who is behind the naming of some of our rivals' grounds.

HARTLEPOOL UNITED The Suit Direct Stadium:

Historically known as the Victoria Stadium, Suit Direct describe themselves as the home of "your favourite menswear designers and bespoke styling services all under one roof".

"Suit Direct, part of the Baird Group based in Leeds, has been expanding rapidly for several years and is home to many iconic designers such as Ben Sherman, Marc Darcy and Limehaus... Suit Direct’s CFO Nick Scott said "We are thrilled to Baird Group has had a presence in Hartlepool since 1945 and we are pleased that we can continue building relationships in this community".

With thirty branches, the company offers "free one-to-one personal styling appointments... plus free delivery and click & collect". You can even "step into the role of designer at Suit Direct’s Studio and create your very own suit. Allow expert advice to guide you along or take full control choosing your own fabrics, linings and lapels".

ROCHDALE The Crown Oil Arena:

Formerly known by its neighbourhood name, Spotland is now branded The Crown Oil Arena.

Based in Bury, Crown Oil is a "family-owned and family-run business, specialising in supplying oils, alternative fuels, lubricants & environmental services for over 75 years".

SOLIHULL MOORS The ARMCO Arena:

Solihull Moors explain that "Situated in the heart of Birmingham, ARMCO is a collection of 11 consultancy businesses - they specialise in a range of sectors including finance and property.

The ARMCO Group of Companies is composed of dedicated teams driven by highly motivated and passionate individuals, leading them to deliver fully integrated and agile solutions... ARMCO’s motto, ‘Smarter Together’, aligns perfectly with Moors, they are forever looking to create long-term partnerships with those who offer their support".

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Tamworth report that "Haydn Hollis has been a professional footballer for most of his life, but he joins the Lambs as he moves into the part time game ...

'I am working as a coach at Chesterfield with their U18 and U23 set up, but it is great to be here at Tamworth... I was at Notts County for 7 years and loved my time there...

'The Manager left County and took me to Forest Green Rovers with him. It was probably a little too far from home, so I linked up with Chesterfield on loan and then joined them on a full time basis and remained there for 4 seasons... Being there in a full time coaching role, it is a perfect combination to be able to play at Tamworth.

'After leaving Chesterfield I went to Ebbsfleet where we won the National League South and I finished last season at Dorking Wanderers. It is a great set up at Dorking...

'It is very new to me playing part time football, but I can’t wait to get going... For Tamworth to stay in this league will be a massive achievement and will be marked as success. We probably have one of the smallest budgets in the league and are one of perhaps just 2 part time teams'".

Meanwhile at Rochdale comes news of "the signing of goalkeeper Luke McNicholas. The 24-year-old joins on a season-long loan from League One side Wrexham.

He commented... 'The way the gaffer wants to play I think will suit me down the ground... I feel like I’m comfortable on the ball and playing out from the back. I like to make big saves, come for crosses and dominate my box. I think my style of play will suit the team...

Head Coach Jimmy McNulty said... 'He is very highly thought of at Wrexham and comes with great character references. Luke is a good goalkeeper with good shot-stopping ability and distribution, which is why Wrexham paid a fee to sign him'...

Born in County Mayo, Ireland, McNicholas began his career with local side Manulla before joining Sligo Rovers... The stopper spent time on loan at Finn Harps and then Cliftonville, where he made 32 appearances in 2021/22.

He returned to Sligo in the summer of 2022 and became a regular... before joining Wrexham on loan in August".

16 July 2024

TONIGHT'S GAME

radioalty Please note that tonight's Altrincham friendly at Cheadle Heath Nomads is advertised as a 7.30 kick-off.

Altrincham are again expected to field two separate starting elevens in each half of the game, which will be covered by Radio Robins on Radio Alty.

SQUAD TAKES SHAPE

Altrincham play their third pre-season game on tonight (Tuesday) at Cheadle Neath Nomads (NB 7.30pm). Five more summer friendlies are scheduled after that.

So, what have we learnt so far about the formation of the squad for the forthcoming Vanarama National League season?

With two pre-season games played, all of Altrincham's declared first-team squad for 2024-25 have so far made an appearance except for Justin Amaluzor, Ollie Crankshaw, Max Haygarth and Isaac Marriott. Max Haygarth was certainly at the Giant Axe last Saturday but did not play.

The four players pictured above, all of whom have been named in Alty's 2024/25 squad, have yet to take to the pitch in the current pre-season. Left to right, they are Justin Amaluzor, Ollie Crankshaw, Max Haygarth and Isaac Marriott.

Of last season's squad, three players were not immediately re-contracted in May but invited to return for pre-season to prove themselves. Since then, two of those players (James Jones and Max Haygarth) have already been rewarded with contracts for next season. But the third such player, Justin Donawa (left), who had an injured interrupted campaign in 2023-24 has yet to make an appearance this pre-season.

Whether he, Ollie Crankshaw, Justin Amaluzor and Isaac Marriott are simply on holiday or carrying injuries is unclear. Both Crankshaw and Marriott ended last season on the injured list, whilst Donawa only started nine National League games last season through injury or international call-ups.

Two young Altrincham players, Sean Lawton and Amaar Hussain, were also invited back for the current pre-season with a view to joining the first-team squad. Neither featured in a league squad last season but did appear in the CSC. Neither has been involved so far this summer.

STAN RILEY'S FUNERAL

The funeral for Stan Riley, the longstanding Altrincham supporter who died recently, will take place at 1030am today (Tuesday, 16th July) at Altrincham Crematorium with mourners gathering afterwards at Ringway Golf Club in Hale Barns.

Parking for the golf club is at the Holy Angels Church opposite.

For the funeral it will be family flowers only. However donations, if desired, may be made to the Alzheimer's Society and should be sent c/o Kenneth Dewey & Sons, Funeral Directors, 2 Grove Lane, Hale, WA15 8JE.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

At Boston United, The Pilgrims "have bolstered their defensive ranks with the acquisition of left-sider Mitch Roberts.

The former Birmingham City youngster, who made one senior appearance for the Blues, spent part of last season in the National League with Oxford City – having enjoyed previous loan spells in the division with Oldham Athletic and Solihull Moors.

The 23-year-old has made 35 National League appearances in total – alongside another 10 across loan spells in League Two with Harrogate Town and Carlisle United.

Roberts, who can operate at centre-half or left-back, becomes Ian Culverhouse's eighth signing of the summer.

Braintree Town who return for a third spell at national non-League level in August, won their opening summer friendly "with a single goal victory at Vanarama North side Needham Market on Tuesday evening. Iron put out two separate sides in each half and the match provided valuable minutes for Angelo Harrop's new look squad.

Braintree had to wait until the 87th minute for the winner to finally come with Inih Effiong steering the ball home from close range from a Chay Cooper cross. Iron continue their pre-season build-up with a trip to Leiston next Tuesday, 16th July".

Ebbsfleet United, who won their recent pre-season football game at Punjab United, 6-1, confirm that their ground will again give their supporters the chance to watch Super League rugby on the club's pitch.

They announce that "The London Broncos will renew ties with the Kuflink Stadium for a third season when they make their return on Friday, 12th July.

The BetFred Super League rugby side will take on Castleford Tigers under the lights. It’s a third summer of rugby league action at the Fleet!

The Broncos continue to host at least one match at the Kuflink Stadium each season following two very successful years hosting previous matches. Last season, a double-header saw the Broncos host Newcastle Thunder and Toulouse – and this season sees a first ever Super League clash at the Fleet".

Solihull Moors announce that "Richard Stearman has joined the coaching ranks at Solihull Moors, working alongside Andy Whing, Craig Pead and Kevin Poole in the dugout at Damson Park...

Stearman said 'I’m really excited to be taking on this role! I got some great experience last year as a player/coach'...

Prior to his retirement from the sport, the 36-year-old turned out 27 times competitively in yellow & blue whilst also being a rock at the back during our 14-game unbeaten run at the start of the 2023/24 campaign".

Hartlepool United "announce our fifth addition of the summer as Irish midfielder Greg Sloggett has penned terms at Victoria Park.

The 28-year-old arrives at Hartlepool having spent the latter portion of last season in League One with Cheltenham Town.

The physical box-to-box midfielder has spent most of his career in his homeland, having come through UCD’s system...

Sloggett stated... 'I’ve had some great years in Ireland but I’m really looking forward to a new challenge. Hartlepool feels like the right fit... The Gaffer wants to play a high-pressing, aggressive game which suits me well...

Pools manager Darren Sarll added 'Greg represents another critical piece in what has been a summer-long pursuit to change our central midfield department... His stature and physical composition also gives the squad some great flexibility; he has previously been used in central defence as well.'”

Traditionally wearers of blue and white stripes, FC Halifax Town will again have an all blue shirt for this coming 2024-25 season.

Again, as last season, it will bear the logo of their sponsors, a bathroom firm, Nuie. Shorts and socks are also blue.

York City "reveal the signing of midfielder Ricky Aguiar on a permanent transfer from EFL League Two side Swindon Town, for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old arrives at the LNER Community Stadium following a near three-year spell down in Wiltshire.

Aguiar broke through into senior football down on the south coast with Worthing under [current York] manager Adam Hinshelwood... The midfielder turned out over 90 times for Worthing... Swindon Town snapped up the midfielder... in 2021.

In his maiden Football League season, Aguiar featured 19 times... Across the 2022/23 season, another 13 appearances in the Football League were added... The midfielder also briefly spent time on loan in the National League with Torquay.

Last season, Aguiar began the season by securing a season-long loan back at Worthing... Swindon activated a clause to recall the midfielder in January 2024".

15 July 2024

NEXT: CHEADLE HEATH NOMADS

On Tuesday night for their next pre-season friendly, Altrincham travel to play Cheadle Heath Nomads, who are managed by Altrincham FC Academy manager Paul Fay

On Paul's appointment in June 2023, Andy Gray, Director of Football at Nomads, said, "Paul was undoubtedly the right choice for us and we are excited to have him and his team on board”.

Altrincham FC said on their website that "Paul’s role as Altrincham FC Academy Manager remains in place... Paul’s coaching and person-to-person skills have played an integral part in the Academy’s enviable success story and have been recognised with his appointment as the new manager of North West Counties League club Cheadle Heath Nomads".

The Nomads "have been central to community life in the Cheadle Heath area of Stockport for more than 100 years. They have also helped to launch the careers of some of the game’s famous names, including Everton legend and local boy, Harry Catterick.

The club was formed immediately after World War 1 in 1919... to acquire a piece of land in Cheadle Heath, in order to establish a sports club for local people.

In 1921, this club opened its doors for the very first time with Cheadle Heath Nomads FC at its core... changing to our present claret and blue strip shortly after the Second World War...

Today we remain a trusteeship owning our own land and remaining the community focal point they envisaged more than a century ago".

NEW FACES

There were many unfamiliar faces in the Altrincham first-half line up at Lancaster on Saturday. Above, we see those eleven players before kick-off.

From left to right they were Lewis BAINES (captain), Ethan ROSS, Ben MIDGLEY, Regan GRIFFITHS, Owen GERMAN, Joe NUTTALL, Jake COOPER, Matty KOSYLO, Joe STARBUCK, Damola SOTONA and Lucas WEAVER.

The new faces are pictured below...

They were, from left to right, trialists Ben Midgley, Regan Griffiths, Joe Starbuck and Dammy Sotona together with two of the club's summer signings in Lucas Weaver and Joe Nuttall.

In the second half more new faces appeared in a completely different eleven. They were, as pictured below (left to right), Academy goalkeeper Lewis FALLON, trialist Dequane WILSON-BRAITHWAITE, new signing Tom CRAWFORD and Academy player Afernee DENISE.

For more on the trialists and Academy players, see yesterday's notes which are reproduced below:

STUART'S TESTIMONIAL

The Non-League Paper reminds us that it is Alty goalkeeping "legend" Stuart Coburn's testimonial game on Sunday 28 July, with a 3.30pm kick off time.

The match features the two play-off winning sides in which Stuart played, those of 2005 and 2014, playing each other at the J. Davidson Stadium.

Stuart, Alty's record appearance maker of all time, told the Paper "I played until I was 40. At first I missed it because I got injured and I wasn't ready to stop when I did".

An injury at Dover Athletic ended Stuart's career in the 2015/16 season.

The match will not only mark Stuart's achievements but will raise funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation. Two of Stuart's team-mates in the 2005 play-offs, Mark Maddox and George Melling both sadly died of Motor Neurone Disease.

Stuart added that "It was always on my mind to do something like this and to generate money for that [charity] will be brilliant.

Admission to the game is only £5 for those over 18, with younger supporters from 5 to 17 years old paying just £2. Under-5s will be admitted free of charge.

ALTY OLD BOYS

Ian Wilkinson keeps us uptodate with OLLIE BYRNE's cricketing exploits. On Saturday, the former Alty keeper struck 13 from 10 balls as his Timperley drew at Alderley Edge. He was promoted to no.5 in the batting order for this game.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

The Oldham Times reports that "Oldham Athletic new boys Manny Monthe, Harry Charsley and Josh Kay all started the first friendly at Boundary Park, while Jes Uchegbulam played the last half-hour.... Alex Reid made his first appearance in 245 days.

The 28-year-old was brought on in the second half against old club Stockport County, and brought in from the cold along with Kurt Willoughby, who last pulled on a Latics shirt on January 6 and ended the season with the Scottish championship at Ayr... With front men James Norwood and Joe Garner currently sidelined... the slate appears to have been wiped clean.

It is up to them if they seize this second chance...

And Mellon said he had seen better attitudes in that regard, having penalised Reid last season for his social media post about training on Christmas Day...

Left back Mark Kitching's first minute goal was enough to beat League Two champions Stockport County, as Latics gave debuts to four of their five summer signings.

Tom Conlon, with the captain's armband and positive pre-season so far, looked like a new signing... while JOSH LUNDSTRAM [was] the only player to complete 90 minutes... [and] played his part in helping to showcase the passing game that manager Mellon is encouraging."

14 July 2024

LANCASTER CITY 1-1 ALTRINCHAM

Altrincham's second friendly of the summer, away to Lancaster City at The Giant Axe ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon.

Alty fielded two separate elevens in each half, kicking off with Ross, Baines, Kosylo and Cooper as the only starters of this game who also played in last year's National League games. New signings Nuttall and Weaver also started, along with four trialists and Academy graduate Owen German making up the remaining numbers.

The second half began with Banks, Eddy and James Jones, Osborne, Linney, Wilson and Newby from last year's league players plus new signing Crawford and three trialist/Academy players.

Alty took an 18th minute lead through a Joe Nuttall header from a left-wing cross.

Above: Joe Nuttall, far right, heads home Altrincham's goal.

The lead was held for just six minutes before a Lancaster trialist equalised with a low shot past Ross.

Alty hit the woodwork twice in the second half but there was to be no more scoring.

The only members of the Alty squad for next season who did not play a part today were Max Haygarth, who was in the stands, Justin Amaluzor, Ollie Crankshaw and Isaac Marriott.

Match report here.

AFTER THE MATCH

After the match, manager Phil Parkinson stated on the Altrincham FC website, "It's... another chance for the trialists to be seen in and around the first team, giving us the chance to compare and contrast with what we've already got in the squad.

"There was a bit of ring rust, which is to be expected, but we've come through injury free...

"I was also pleased with the performance of Afernee Denise (right); he's got a really bright future in the game."

UNFAMILIAR FACES IN ALTY SHIRTS

In Saturday's game at Lancaster 22 different players featured in the new AO sponsored Altrincham shirts.

Right: Trialist right-back Joe Starbuck in Alty's new home shirt for the coming season.

So, who were the ones who had not been in last season's squad?

The line up as shown on the team-sheet was as follows but the numbers have been amended to reflect the actual shirt numbers worn:

FIRST HALF 1. Ethan ROSS, 2. Joe STARBUCK, 3. Dammy SOTANA {i.e. Damola SOTONA], 4. Lewis BAINES (c), 5. Jake COOPER, 17. Owen GERMAN, 7. Matty KOSYLO, 8. Regan GRIFFITHS, 9. Joe NUTTALL, 10. Ben MIDGLEY, 11. Lucas WEAVER.

SECOND HALF 20. Lewis FALLON, 21. Lewis BANKS, 14. Eddy JONES, 15. James JONES, 16. Dequane WILSON-BRAITHWAITE, 6. Elliot OSBORNE, 20* George WILSON, 12. Tom CRAWFORD, 18. Alex NEWBY, 22. Afernee DENISE, 19. Regan LINNEY

Those who did not have a squad number last season included three new signings Joe NUTTALL, Lucas WEAVER and Tom CRAWFORD:

The remaining players were...

ALTY OLD BOYS

Phil Jordan has cast his net far and wide this weekend, starting in Australia where he reports on the NPL Victoria in which Oakleigh Cannons, still without CONNOR HAMPSON, were ahead at the break in their crucial game at Avondale, but found themselves 3-1 down in the 87th minute. However they struck back within 2 minutes, and then snatched a dramatic 97th minute equaliser. Unfortunately for both teams, leaders South Melbourne scraped home by the only goal at 10 man Green Gully, and are now 9 points clear.

CLoser to home he provides highlights of Alty Old Boys in today's pre-season friendlies:

Bromley travelled to Hornchurch, and MARCUS DINANGA featured in their first half lineup. The hosts were a goal up at the break, but the totally changed Bromley side were soon in control afterwards, running out 1-5 winners.

Fleetwood Town led early at St.Mirren but, after the hosts equalised, they made a raft of changes in the 62nd minute. JUNIOR QUITIRNA restored their lead inside 7 minutes and with HARRISON HOLGATE and CALLUM DOLAN also involved they hung on to it until the 87th minute before settling for a 2-2 draw.

KYLE FERGUSON featured in Rochdale's first half XI at Warrington Town, but was on the wrong end of 3 goals. TOM HANNIGAN for the hosts would have been happier with proceedings. The second half was less eventful, and the game ended 3-0.

DAN MOONEY was in Boston United's first half lineup at Spalding Town, where they lost 2-1.

With their game against visitors Nottingham Forest goalless after an hour, Chesterfield brought on RYAN COLCLOUGH and JAMES BERRY, but eventually went down 0-3.

JOSH LUNDSTRAM played the full 90 minutes as his Oldham Athletic side beat visitors Stockport County 1-0.

13 July 2024

TODAY: LANCASTER CITY

Following their narrow win last weekend at Colne with a side largely comprising trialists, Altrincham face higher-ranked opposition today when they visit NPL Premier side Lancaster City (ko 2pm) at the Giant Axe.

The match will feature the debut of Altrincham's new home kit, replete with the logo of new shirt sponsors, AO. For more on this, see below...

ALTY'S NEW HOME KIT

Following the recent revelation of the Robins' new away kit, Altrincam have unveiled their new home kit which comprises a new version of the traditional red and white stripes with new sponsors AO's logo in green on a white panel across the chest.

This season the remainder of the home attire comprises black short and white socks.

The change of sock colour to white is reminiscent of 2021-22 and, earlier, of Lee Sinnott's choice of white socks in 2015-16.

ALTY OLD BOYS

News of a bizarre pre-season game in Spain involving ex-Alty players comes from Phil Jordan who tells us that "Two former Robins were involved in a pre-season friendly at La Nucia, 5 miles north of Benidorm.

CHRIS CONN-CLARKE was in the Peterborough United first-half team in baking heat. There was no score at the break The second-half team of opponents, AFC Wimbledon, included ALISTAIR SMITH, and the Lincoln City loanee scored the only goal of the game in the 51st minute.

Elsewhere, King's Lynn Town, with JONNY MARGETTS (left) in their line-up, fell to a 2-0 defeat at Mildenhall Town, who won the Eastern Counties League last season, and will play this term in the Isthmian League North".

NATIONAL LEAGUE STADIUM SPONSORS

As J. Davidson continue their valued sponsorship of the stadium at Altrincham in 2024/25 season, we continue our look at who is behind the naming of some of our rivals' grounds.

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE Chigwell Construction Stadium:

Historically known as Victoria Road, Dagenham & Redbridge explain that "Chigwell Construction became stadium sponsors in September 2015.

212 of their 287 staff reside in the borough of Barking and Dagenham, with the firm priding themselves on strong links within the local community.

Long-term supporters of the Daggers, Chigwell Construction have seen substantial growth over the past five years and work in almost every single London Borough.

The construction company actively support local labour, local business and are focused on Corporate Social Responsibility".

EASTLEIGH Silverlake Stadium:

Eastleigh's ground is sponsored by Silverlake who are a firm of "automotive recyclers" based in Shedfield, Hampshire. Amongst other things they will buy any car and sell recycled parts, as well as trading in new and used tyres.

EBBSFLEET UNITED Kuflink Stadium:

The Fleet's sponsors are Kuflink, based in Gravesend, who offer "peer to peer lending" services. They are "authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority" but advise customers at the top of their webpage "Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose money. This is high-risk investment. You may not be able to access your money easily and are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong".

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Blyth Spartans "confirm that Will McGowan has completed a move away to Vanarama National League side Gateshead FC.

The midfielder departs after a 20-month spell in Blyth, initially joining.. from South Shields in November 2022...

McGowan featured 76 times for the Spartans across two campaigns". AFC Fylde can confirm that Danny Philliskirk has left the Football Club by mutual consent.

Attacking midfielder Philliskirk has been at the Coasters for the last six-years after signing in July 2018.

In total, Danny made over 200 AFC Fylde appearances in all competitions...

AFC Fylde Head Coach Chris Beech said... 'Dan had an invitation to come across to the dark side of “Coaching” but on reflection, Dan wants to continue playing for as long as possible. Therefore, with our team evolving, the best fit for him was to move on with our best wishes.'”

Amongst the players leaving promoted Braintree Town this summer are Freddie Sears, Jayden Smith and Leon Davies.

Peterborough Sports report that "The club are delighted to announce the signing of exciting striker, Michael Gyasi (pictured below) for the 2024/25 season.

A great addition to our squad".

The former Alty loanee was previously at Boston United.

Footnote: Left-winger Gyasi joined Alty in January 2023 on a season-long loan from Chesterfield...

He made his debut against Boreham Wood on 28 January 2023.

Michael made just two starts and two further appearances from the bench for Altrincham and was an unused sub in a fifth matchday squad. In total, his playing time added up to less than the equivalent to two full ninety-minute games.

On his premature return to Chesterfield, which was announced on twitter on 18 March 2023, The Spireites immediately sent him out on another loan, to Gloucester City.

12 July 2024

NEXT: LANCASTER CITY

Tomorrow, Saturday 13 July, sees Alty travel to face Lancaster City at The Giant Axe. Kick off, for the Robins' second pre-season game is at 2pm.

SPRUCE UP THE STADIUM

Altrincham FC says that it "is looking for volunteers to help spruce up The J.Davidson Stadium ahead of our opening home fixture...

We'd love for as many volunteers as possible to head to the ground from 9am on Saturday, July 20th, as we gear up for our friendly with Salford City on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided and the start time is set so anyone wishing to attend our friendly at Warrington Town in the afternoon will be able to do so, although we will be continuing with the ground work through to 3pm, for those who want to join us later on in the day.

Anyone interested in lending a hand can confirm attendance by emailing here".

ALTY OLD BOYS

It's almost an all-year-round job checking up on Alty's "old boys" so there is barely any respite for Phil Jordan in his reporting on their exploits.

He reports today that "While Altrincham's pre-season continues with relatively gentle outings to Lancaster City and Cheadle Heath Nomads over the next few days, three former Robins were playing in European competition on Thursday evening, as the Europa Conference League got under way

SAM ROSCOE was at the heart of the Linfield defence, as the Belfast club lost their first leg 2-0 in Iceland against Stjarnan.

Connah's Quay Nomads, captained by JOHN DISNEY (left), had a more productive trip, winning 0-1 in Ljubljana against the Slovenian club Bravo.

Bala Town were "at home" against Paide of Estonia, but the game was played at Park Hall, the home of TNS, near Oswestry across the English border. Although they notched a 95th minute penalty, former Robins youth team keeper JOEL TORRANCE, a summer signing from Salford City, had already been beaten twice.

LUKE WALL is no longer at Bala, having moved to Runcorn Linnets.

In a friendly match, Chester, with MITCH HANCOX starting, and. TOM PEERS on the bench, went down 0-3 at home to what was effectively a Stoke City second string".

Phil also advises that Matlock Town report that "Gladiators captain JOHN JOHNSTON has left the club after announcing he is unable to commit to Matlock Town for the coming season.

Increased work commitments for Johnston and his partner mean that he will be finding a club closer to his North Staffordshire home and he is expected to join NW Counties League outfit Irlam.

Johnston (right) was Matlock's top scorer (discounting JONATHAN MARGETTS'S goals) and fans' player of the season last year, a hugely popular figure at the Proctor Cars Stadium who as captain, led by example.

Johnston joined the Gladiators from Guiseley in September 2022...

He said 'Unfortunately since agreeing to sign, work commitments for me and Charl have changed and with having two small kids I've been unable to train for the past few weeks. I've made the decision it's not right to coommit.

I'll be unable to travel to training going forward. The club and me have tried everything possible to make it work but it's just not going to work and it wouldn't be right to half commit to something...

He added 'For now I'll be going back and playing local football for a season...

'I can't thank you enough for the last two seasons. Me and my family have loved every minute of it. Being made club captain will always be a privilege for me.'" Matlock boss Nicky Law... said, 'I had a call from him... stating that... he'd be unable to commit to us because of the travelling from his home in Stoke to training and to games'"

NATIONAL LEAGUE STADIUM SPONSORS

As J. Davidson continue their valued sponsorship of the stadium at Altrincham, we consider who is behind the naming of some of our rivals' grounds.

ALTRINCHAM J. Davidson Stadium:

J. Davidson Scrap Metal Processors explain that they are "Based in Altrincham, Cheshire; J Davidson are one of the North West’s largest & longest established scrap metal dealers, servicing industrial, commercial, & the general public sectors.

Established in 1970 in Broadheath by the late Jack Davidson, the company has grown and developed over the years and now operates from a new 2 acre state of the art, purpose built scrap metal processing site in Altrincham, Cheshire.

The site is now managed by Jack’s son Jamie with the help of his two sons Luke and Lee

Our core business is the recycling of all types of metal products arising from, end of life vehicles, industrial and construction demolition or general commercial and domestic metal waste. We recycle around 40,000 tonnes of metal each year using the most up-to-date equipment available to the Scrap Metal Processing Industry".

ALDERSHOT TOWN EBB Stadium:

The Shots play at the EBB Stadium, which was historically called the Recreation Ground. EBB stands for Elliott Baxter & Company Ltd.

The EBB Group was formed in 1922. This family-owned, local company is now into its fourth generation of Elliott ownership and management. The UK and Ireland’s leading independent paper and board supplier, their aim is to combine service excellence with a people friendly approach, setting the standard for best practice in their industry. They are comprised of three divisions stocking and supplying paper, board and office products across the UK and Ireland from eleven state-of-the-art distributions depots using their own fleet of vehicles.

EBB is proud to have sponsored Aldershot Town FC as both Stadium Sponsor and as a Shirt Sponsor for many years".

BOSTON UNITED The Jakemans Community Stadium:

The Pilgrims' stadium sponsor, Jakemans, is a local company which, as its website tells us, "specialise in quality menthol-based confectionery. Established in 1907 in Boston, England where we remain to this day.

Thanks to our dedication to using quality natural ingredients, we joined the Lanes Health family in 2007. Lanes Health are leaders in providing alternative natural remedies to many common ailments.

We think the reason for our success is simple: we use the finest ingredients to create a great taste and a product that really works".

BRAINTREE TOWN Rare Breeds Meat Co Stadium:

Whilst one club returning to the National League in 2024 is Forest Green Rovers, who are well known for their vegan stance, another team, arriving at this level from the opposite direction, is Braintree Town whose stadium sponsor is a champion of ethically produced meat.

Based in Coggeshall, near Colchester, and established in 2005, the Rare Breeds Meat Company tells us that it "is owned and run by father and son Howard and George Blackwell who wanted to see the very best meat from rare and traditional breeds back on the consumers' table.

'We fervently believe in the quality of the meat produced from these animals that have been reared in totally free range environments and fed only on natural foods' say Howard & George Blackwell"

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Altrincham's first opponents of the forthcoming league season Woking "confirm that centre-forward Reece Grego-Cox has completed a full-season loan move to National League side Dagenham & Redbridge...

The former Ireland U21 international [has] played in 34 matches in all competitions for the Cards since rejoining ahead of the 2022/23 season – finding the back of the net 15 times.

Under the terms of the Loan Agreement, Grego-Cox will not play against Woking in any competitive fixture during his loan".

As with Alty's signing of Joe Nuttall, season-long loans between clubs in the Vanarama National League seem to be becoming a regular occurrence.

11 July 2024

CO-CHAIRMAN BILL LOOKS FORWARD

Altrincham FC co-chairman Bill Waterson writes that "The release of the fixture list makes the arrival of the new season almost tangible and brings a sharper focus to our preparations...

There is so much to look forward to in the coming campaign... Yes, pick out your favourites, but do make sure you get your tickets. Season Tickets are still on sale and are heading, once again for a new record for this season. And tickets for individual games will be going on sale over the coming days. And watch out for the ten-match ticket heading our way soon.

Last season saw us attract an average of 2,340 to The J. Davidson Stadium in league games, a new National League record for the club. And your support made a huge difference for us - Alty notched 14 wins...

Get your Season Tickets and Matchday tickets and get ready to raise the roof once again!"

WOKING AGAIN ON OPENING DAY

Alty kick off the 2024-25 season at home to Woking on Saturday, 10 August. They previously met Woking on an opening day in 2008-09 season when Alty emerged victorious, 2-1, at Kingfield.

Above: Alty go to their supporters at the end of the game in 2008.

Goals at the end of each half secured the three points for Altrincham on that occasion. Alty took the lead after 45 minutes when Dale Johnson's shot was beaten out by the Woking keeper, Worner, only for Alex Meechan to hook the rebound into the net. Meechan was one of six debutants in Alty's starting line-up and two more came on from the bench.

In the second half Woking made a double switch and attacked Alty for sustained periods before levelling through Ledgister (66 mins) but, in the first of the three added minutes at the end of the game, Chris Lane found Colin Little in the Woking box. He expertly jinked past Tom Hutchinson before shooting the ball past Worner.

Alty's six debutants in their starting line-up were Doughty, McGregor, Street, Denham, Johnson and Meechan, with Coburn, Lane, Young, Lawton and Little the only survivors from the previous season. Three more of that summer's signings (Ralph, Danylyk and Elam) were on the bench.

NEXT: LANCASTER CITY

Although, as reported recently, it was 2018 when Alty last played Lancaster City in a league match, the sides did meet last summer in a pre-season game. The clubs are associated through Altrincham co-chairman Laurence Looney who was previously on the Board at The Giant Axe.

In the game last summer it was The Dolly Blues who emerged with a 1-0 victory, the goal ironically being scored by ex-Robin Aaron Bennett in the 28th minute.

Alty fielded a new starting eleven after the break and the new eleven showed a marked improvement after the interval but could not break down a solid home defence.

Of the 22 Altrincham players deployed for this match, just eight had been on the club's books in 2022-23 season. Four trialists were given opportunities.

They included left-back Sean Lawton, who was previously on the books of Crewe Alexandra. Another Robins trialist was right-back Kwame Boateng had also been an Altrincham trialist in the previous summer.

Second-half trialist centre-back Mark Ellis had been released by Barrow over that summer, whilst Kelan Swales was previously at Frickley Athletic.

ALTRINCHAM First Half: 20. Matt Gould; Lewis Banks, Jake Cooper, Sam Roscoe, Sean Lawton (trialist); 4. Joey Jones (c), Elliot Osborne; Justin Amaluzor, Matty Kosylo, Loui Williams; Dior Angus.

Second Half: Ollie Byrne, Kwame Boateng (trialist), Joel Bailey (academy), Mark Ellis (trialist), Eddy Jones; Owen German, Isaac Marriott (c); Tom Jones, George Wilson, Kelan Swales (trialist), Regan Linney.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

Kent Online reports that "Ebbsfleet United manager Danny Searle won’t be rushed into completing his squad before the start of the season.

The Fleet have signed five new faces and kept 13 of the squad that retained their National League status last season...

Searle has already stated he wants to work with a smaller squad than the one he inherited when he took charge in February...

'We’re not desperate,' stated Searle... 'We don’t need anybody... We’re in a fortunate position that we can go and get the ones that we want, as opposed to just panicking and thinking we need to get some bodies in. Obviously, we’ve got a few lads [on trial] that will feature on Thursday [against Punjab United]...

Searle added... 'I’d say it’s a buyers’ market at the minute. At the start we’re chasing agents, players or clubs about availability of certain individuals and now it’s the opposite. We’ve got a depth chart of probably eight to 10 players per position that are available if we wanted to go and get them. I understand they’re available to everybody as they’re getting to the stage where they need a job but in the same respect we’re not going to rush, there’s no need to rush'...

The Fleet will also appoint a new first-team coach to replace Chris Solly, who departed to rejoin his former club Charlton recently, along with a goalkeeping coach".

On the same day as Searle spoke, Ebbsfleet United "added Wes Fonguck to the ranks for 2024/25 as the 26-year-old central midfielder makes the move across the Thames after leaving Southend United...

He was scouted by Barnet and joined their youth academy in 2014... After loan spells with Hendon and Hampton & Richmond, he broke into the Barnet first-team with the club in League Two.

Fonguck made more than 150 appearances in his time at The Hive... He switched the Bees for the Blues in the summer of 2022, signing for Southend United. Across two seasons with Kevin Maher’s side, he played 73 games".

Ebbsfleet United also reported that "Attacking pacy wide man Jephte Tanga is the second new face announced today as the Fleet can confirm the former Leyton Orient youngster’s signature.

The sought-after 20-year-old... spent half a season each with Welling United and Maidstone United – all but ever-present for both clubs, playing 48 games in all competitions...

The versatile Tanga... is usually deployed wide. He came through Orient’s youth ranks".

Relegated Forest Green Rovers "confirm that Amadou Bakayoko has left the club.

The 28-year-old joined the club in January 2023 and made 19 appearances.

He then spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Dundee FC in Scotland".

Solihull Moors "confirm the season-long loan signing of James Gale from Mansfield Town...

The 22-year-old recently signed a new two-year deal with the Stags following their promotion to Sky Bet League One...

The forward was at Derby County’s academy... which subsequently led to his move to Mansfield in 2021".

Also in action and using a large cast off players were Boston United who report that "Sam Osborne scored the only goal of the game as Boston United kicked off their pre-season preparations with victory on Tuesday evening... over Boston Town - in a match where United fielded 22 different players.

United were kept largely at bay by excellent goalkeeping from Town stopper Travis Portas, with DAN MOONEY and Frankie Maguire both striking the woodwork in the second half too.

United (first half): Cameron Gregory, Cameron Green, Michael Bostwick, Keaton Ward, Martin Woods, Adam Marriott, Tony Weston, Jacob Scott, Ed Daffern, Trialist A, Trialist B.

United (second half): Jake Lovelace, Tom Leak, Jacob Hazel, Dan Mooney, Jordan Richards, Sam Osborne, Frankie Maguire, Zak Mills, Dylan Hill, Ellis Perry-Burdett, Trialist A (Oliver Wilson 62)".

Barnet tell us that "First-half goals from Anthony Hartigan, Finley Wilkinson, and Rhys Browne secured an opening pre-season victory against Hitchin Town at Top Field...

Ex-Bees James Callan was called into action in the Hitchin goal with three big saves to keep the score level in the space of 10 minutes.

The Bees took the lead after 34 minutes when Anthony Hartigan’s free-kick slipped through the hands of the keeper and fell into the back of the net.

Just four minutes later, Barnet doubled the lead after... Finley Wilkinson... curled his strike into the bottom corner...

Rhys Browne added a third goal for The Bees".

HT: Hitchin Town 1-3 Barnet FC

11 changes were made at the break, with the likes of Nicke Kabamba, Zak Brunt, and Jerome Okimo coming on.

The second half saw very few chances... FT: Hitchin Town 1-3 Barnet FC

Barnet FC First-Half XI: Gillmore, Oluwo, Grimwood, Kenlock, Tavares, Hartigan, Clifford, Trialist, Wilkinson, Matejko, Browne

Barnet FC Second-Half XI: Hayes, Kizzi, Rye, Okimo, Cropper, Shelton, Blower, Stead, Brunt, Kabamba".

10 July 2024

ALTY KICK OFF AGAINST WOKING

It will be a ninth home fixture in the last ten opening days of a football season when Woking visit Moss Lane on 10 August to kick off the 2024/25 campaign. And Alty won none of those previous eight home matches as is explained below.

The Christmas season sees FC Halifax Town visit Alty on Boxing Day with New Year's Day involving a trip to Rochdale.

There are eight evening matches. They are away at Maidenhead United, Barnet, Hartlepool United and York City, with four home matches under the floodlights against Dagenham & Redbridge, Hartlepool United, York City and Maidenhead United.

During the season there are seven instances of two consecutive away trips and six cases of two home fixtures in succession.

The full list of league fixtures is HERE.

FIXTURES OUT TODAY

Vanarama National League fixtures for the 2024/25 season were released today, 10 July, at 1pm. The season starts on 10 August.

Eight of the previous nine first fixtures of the season have been at home and Altrincham have failed to win any of them!

In fact, despite 12 of their last 18 first-day games having been at home, they last won a home fixture on the opening day 18 years ago in 2006, winning 2-1 against Stevenage!

Whilst the home record on opening day is dreadful, away from home, perversely, Alty have won 50% of their opening day fixtures in the same period.

The overall record is:

The details are as follow:

JAMES RE-SIGNS FOR ALTY

Named as club captain last season, centre-back James Jones's 2023-24 campaign was curtailed by injury. As a consequence, he was one of five players invited to return for pre-season with a view to being offered a contract for 2024-25.

Following an earlier announcement that one of the five, Max Haygarth, has already been offered a contract comes news that another of the five, "James Jones (right) has marked his welcome return to full fitness by signing a new contract at The J.Davidson Stadium".

Altrincham FC press and media officer John Edwards goes on to say that over the summer, Jones "soon set about proving he had recovered fully from the shoulder problem that required surgery as he threw himself into pre-season training with his Robins team-mates

After taking part in last Saturday's pre-season game at Colne, Jones said, 'I'm really pleased to have signed a new contract. I love playing for Alty, and it was great to get some minutes under my belt against Colne'...

Alty boss Phil said... 'His previous season was disappointing for him through injuries, but he's come back more determined than ever and he's in the best condition I've seen him in..

James raise[s] standards both on and off the pitch and it was imperative we were able to retain a player of his experience and affinity with the football club'".

Footnote: As well as James, the other four invited to prove themselves over the summer were Haygarth, Justin Donawa, and youngsters Amaar Hussain and Sean Lawton.

As for James Jones, now 27, he rejoined Alty in July 2022 after he had rejected a contract renewal at Barrow, who he had joined from Alty in summer 2020.

But he had originally arrived at Moss Lane in July 2017, making his competitive debut on 23 August 2017.

Last season, an injury necessitated a shoulder operation in the Christmas period of 2023 and he missed the rest of the season.

To date he has made 166(+10) appearances and has scored 17 goals. He is thus the club's senior professional.

ALTY OLD BOYS

Crawley Town announce the signing of centre-back TOBY MULLARKEY from Grimsby Town for an undisclosed fee. Mullarkey has put pen to paper on a two-year deal.

The 28-year-old has enjoyed an upward trajectory in recent years after his career began in the youth setup at Crewe Alexandra. Spells with Leek Town, Nantwich Town and Altrincham all followed before Mullarkey made the jump into the EFL to join Rochdale.

Toby made over 100 appearances for Altrincham before he joined the Dale. His stint at the Crown Oil Arena didn’t last long as the defender soon found himself at Grimsby, where he impressed during the 2023/24 season".

The player stated "It is another step up for me in my career, so I am delighted to get the deal done".

The BBC tells us that "AFC Wimbledon have signed midfielder ALISTAIR SMITH on a season-long loan from Lincoln City.

The 25-year-old joined Lincoln from Sutton at the start of last season, making 32 appearances... before joining Colchester United on loan in January.

Smith scored twice in his 15 appearances in League Two for the U's.

'He’s a player that we’ve been looking at for a long time,' Wimbledon manager Jonnie Jackson told the club website.

'He’s an energetic attacking midfielder, box to box, dynamic and he’s very experienced at this level'".

Off the field, former Altrincham FC Club Secretary PAUL CARTER is now performing the same role at AFC Telford United.

From Phil Jordan we learn that over last weekend CALLUM DOLAN scored the clincher as Fleetwood won their friendly at Bamber Bridge 0-2.

In Scotland, MILES WELCH-HAYES was not in a Livingston squad which was packed with trialists for their friendly at Motherwell.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

At Southend United "The Club would like to wish David Martin the best of luck as he moves on to join Ipswich Town.

Martin has taken up a role in the goalkeeping department...

Alongside his position as goalkeeper coach to Collin Andeng Ndi, the former MK Dons and West Ham shot-stopper also featured nine times between the sticks for us last season.

Head Coach Kevin Maher said... 'He’s going to be tough to replace'"

Solihull Moors "confirm the permanent signing of Bradley Stevenson... from Billericay Town.

Stevenson recorded 46 goal involvements as his former side just missed out on the play-offs. The 25-year-old netted 26 times whist setting up his teammates a further 20 times...

The attack minded midfielder picked up the Manager's Player of the Season award alongside the Golden Boot... Stevenson started his career at Gillingham... Since then, the midfielder has played for the likes of Chelmsford City and Welling United in the Vanarama National League South before find form at Billericay...

Stevenson said... 'First and foremost, I’m an attacking midfielder. I like to chip in with both goals and assists as much as I can. I’m someone that’s also a good passer of the ball as well.” “The direction that the Club is going in, with some of the signings that the Club have made, hopefully we can push on and get that promotion this season'".

FC Halifax Town "announce the signing of 6’5″ centre back Adam Alimi-Adetoro, following his release from Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, on a two-year deal.

From the Republic of Ireland, Adetoro came through the Leixlip United academy before making the switch to Athlone Town... In the Summer of 2022... the centre back made the move to England with Sheffield Wednesday Under 21s... Adetoro made his first senior appearance in February 2023 ... in the FA Cup 4th round".

Rochdale "announce the loan signing of Aaron Henry.

The midfielder joins from Charlton Athletic until the end of the season. Henry... has League One experience with The Addicks...

[He sadi], 'It was a no-brainer really to come here... I think it will be a perfect fit for me. I like to be in a team that plays the right way, the way I think it should be played'...

Henry joined Charlton at the age of ten, rising through their Academy ranks before making his first team debut in January 2020, aged just 16. He spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign at Wealdstone, making 20 National League appearances and scoring twice.

The now 20-year-old made 14 League One appearances for Charlton the following season... Last season saw Henry make 13 League Two appearances on loan at eventual promotion winners Crawley Town, before rejoining Wealdstone for the second half of their National League campaign, playing 17 times"

9 July 2024

SATURDAY'S OPPONENTS: LANCASTER CITY

Altrincham visit the Giant Axe on Saturday to face Lancaster City who will again compete in the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2024/25 after finishing ninth last season.

Their manager is the experienced Chris Willcock who was appointed in January 2024. As a player he started out in Trafford at Flixton and reportedly played at Altrincham (TBC) as well as Warrington Town, Kendal Town, Leigh RMI, Mossley and Ramsbottom.

His managerial career started as player-manager at Salford City in 2005, then he became manager at Winsford United from 2006-08. After a spells at Mossley and Woodley Sports, he returned to Winsford in 2010 and then to Woodley later that year.

Next came a stint across the Pennines at Stocksbridge Park Steels followed by an appointment at Glossop North End, a team he got to Wembley in the FA Vase in 2015. A return to Yorkshire saw him manage Shaw Lane before managing Ramsbottom United.

He took Workington to second place in NPL West in 2021 but the Reds lost out in the play-offs.

In 2022-23 season he managed Stalybridge Celtic, his local club, but that ended in the only relegation on his CV.

Lancaster City's first summer recruit was "Marcus Cusani. The forward joins after departing fellow Northern Premier League Premier Division side Ashton United.

Above: The characterful Giant Axe has distractions from the football which include the nearby West Coast railway line and the Priory Church of Saint Mary. Here we see Alty in action there in 2018.

Cusani, 29, arrives at The Giant Axe following a season with the Robins, for whom he made 37 appearances and scored four goals.

Previous to that, he had been at Atherton Collieries for three seasons....

Our new man has also had spells at Warrington Town and Ashton Athletic earlier in his career.

Cusani is a versatile forward and can be deployed centrally or on the wings.

He told LCFC Media... 'As an outsider I’ve always been impressed with the togetherness they have and this has no doubt contributed to consistent top half finishes@'.

Then Lancaster City announced that "Chris Willcock’s second summer signing brings a wealth of experience to the Giant Axe.

One of the key areas for Chris Willcock to address during the offseason was experience and leadership, he certainly has secured that in the form of 38-year-old Chris Dagnall.

Having made over 600 senior appearances and scoring over 150 goals since starting his career at Tranmere Rovers in 2003, Chris is exactly the type of player Dolly Blues fans will enjoy seeing".

Dagnall counts Tranmere Rovers, Scunthorpe United (then) in the Championship... He returned to the Championship with Barnsley...

In 2013, he joined Leyton Orient... before a trip abroad to Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League. A brief spell north of the border at Hibernian followed where Chris won the 2015/16 Scottish Cup, the Hibees overcoming Rangers at Hampden Park...

He returned to England and scored 21 goals for Crewe before spells with Bury and Yeovil Town, with a return to Tranmere coming in 2018. After departing Yeovil in the summer of 2021, he helped Hanley Town win the 2021/22 Midland League... and then spent time with Stalybridge Celtic in the NPL.

Traditionally a forward during his career, he will fulfil a midfield role at the Giant Axe as Chris Willcock builds a strong spine to his side with Dagnall expected to [play]... in the centre of the park".

Footnote: Dagnall faced Alty as long ago as 2016 when he played for Crewe Alexandra in a pre-season game at Moss Lane which ended one apiece.

More recently, as a late substitute, he headed home the second goal in Yeovil Town's 2-0 win over Alty in February 2021, a match played behind closed doors.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NEWS

For the forthcoming season, former Alty keeper Matt Gould has been assigned no.22 by Yeovil Town who add "There have been several changes in squad numbers this season: Morgan Williams moves to number 4, Sam Pearson to number 7, Frank Nouble to number 10, and Dylan Morgan to number 17.

Meanwhile, the newcomers have selected their numbers: Ollie Wright will wear number 1, Jordan Thomas takes number 2, Finn Cousin-Dawson is number 5, Aaron Jarvis chooses number 9, Brett McGavin goes with number 14, Matt Gould takes number 22, and Harvey Greenslade is number 27.

A significant change this season is the return of the number 4 jersey, previously worn by Lee Collins, who sadly passed away in 2021. Morgan Williams, a former teammate of Collins, wanted to wear the number as a tribute after surpassing his 100-appearance milestone for the Glovers".

Southend United "are delighted to announce the signing of 26-year-old striker Josh Walker on a two-year deal.

Walker, who joins for an undisclosed fee, has signed from League One side Burton Albion, where he made 35 appearances, scoring three goals for the Brewers.

Walker has plenty of experience in the National League, making a total of 106 National League appearances for clubs including Dagenham & Redbridge and Barnet... The 5ft 9 frontman spent the early stages of his career playing for Fulham and Tottenham’s youth teams before joining Isthmian League side Hendon... [He is] Kevin Maher’s first summer signing".

Walker said "I don’t mind going direct, but I like the ball on the floor. I like running in behind, I don’t mind coming to feet, but I’m more of an off-the-shoulder player making runs in behind".

Manager Kevin Maher said, “We all know Josh very well from his time at Dagenham and before with Barnet. He got a great move into League One that hasn’t quite worked out for whatever reason...

"We’ve been short of players for a while and it’s been frustrating watching everyone else bring players in".

The player added "I want to bring some leadership qualities from the back. I want to put my mark on the team" whilst "Head Coach Kevin Maher added 'He did ever so well for us on loan in the period he was with us, so he was someone I kept in touch with... He’s gone and played over 30 games for Accrington, which will do him the world of good'".

Also at Roots Hall, Southend United "confirm the permanent signing of centre-back Joe Gubbins. Gubbins returns to Roots Hall as a free agent after being released from Championship side Queens Park Rangers. He has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Blues...

Gubbins joined QPR in 2017. He has previously featured in the National League with Aldershot, and was also on loan with Blues in the 2021/22 season. He was on the books of QPR for four years...

Gubbins featured 37 times in League Two last season for Accrington Stanley... The 22-year-old... helped guide the club to 10 clean sheets in the league".

Extra Time confirms that "Harrogate Town have announced the signing of right back Zico Asare from Maidenhead United...

The 23-year-old defender joins on a permanent deal following an impressive 2023/24 season...

Starting his career at Fulham... before moving to Oxford City in 2021. He joined Maidenhead in 2022, where his performances caught the attention of Harrogate Town...

Asare himself expressed enthusiasm about joining Harrogate Town.... 'I like playing for possession-based teams who enjoy being in control of the ball and that are solid defensively.'"

Eastleigh "announce the signing of Richard Brindley following his departure from Notts County!

31-year-old Brindley has been with Notts County since 2019 and was part of their side that earned promotion to the football league... The right back made 147 appearances.

Norwich born Brindley began his career playing for Norwich City’s academy... He moved to Chelmsford City in 2012... before moving to Chesterfield... Following a brief stint with the Derbyshire club, Brindley made another move. This time, to Rotherham United where he spent two years... [and] Brindley made appearances in the Championship as well as League One.

After a successful loan spell at Colchester United during the 2014/15 season, Brindley made a permanent move to the club... He then spent a season at Barnet, followed by a season with Bromley before moving to Notts County".


Click here for EARLIER NEWS

Alty Files Website Index

The following pages, which initially replicate those pages with the same web addresses which formed part of the official Club website, will be re-branded from 2018 as part of this new unofficial Alty Files site.

A/Z Site Index to The Alty Files at www.altrinchamfc.co.uk