Six-foot five-inch Ethan Ross initially joined Altrincham on loan for the 2023-24 season from Stockport County in a deal announced on 25 July 2023.

After 15 impressive appearances, which included his saving three of the five penalties that he had faced, Ethan joined Altrincham on a permanent basis in a deal announced on 13 October 2023.

He had come through the youth teams at Arsenal and Cambridge United before joining West Bromwich Albion, from where he played against Alty as early as 2016-17 season whilst on loan at Worcester City. As well as his loan to Worcester he also had a spell with Redditch United whilst at The Hawthorns.

In 2018 he joined Colchester United from where he went on loan to Maidstone United early in 2019.

After Colchester he signed for Lincoln City in summer 2020. The Imps loaned him to Weymouth in January 2021, where he again faced Altrincham.

The summer of 2021 saw him join Stockport County and in spring 2022 he went on loan to Aldershot Town and again faced The Robins.

He spent the 2022-23 season on loan at York City, which remarkably became the fifth club for which Ethan had played in a game against Altrincham, following appearances against the Robins for Worcester City, Weymouth, Aldershot Town and Stockport County. Ethan made his Robins debut at Macclesfield in a pre-season game on 26 July 2023 before becoming an ever-present between the tcikcs to the end of 2023 in the National League.

Altrincham appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 40.

The arrival of left-sided centre-back Lewis Baines at Altrincham was announced on 30 May 2022.

Lewis started out at Fleetwood Town, from where he had loan spells with Bamber Bridge (2017) and Ashton United (2018).

After making his debut for Fleetwood Town in the EFL Trophy late in 2018, loans at Chorley (December 2018) and Stockport County followed (January 2019). After leaving Fleetwood, he signed for Chorley in July 2019. The Magpies were then in the National League but were relegated back to the North division at the end of that season. In all he has made well over 100 appearances for Chorley and has an England C cap to his name, when he was a used sub against Wales in April 2022.

Injury sidelined Lewis for eleven games after starting the first six Alty fixtures of 2022-23 and also caused him to miss games at the end of the campaign. However, he proved dependable through the core of the season.

In 2023-24 he briefly lost his place before returning to the starting eleven but he became dependable rock in the defence to the extent that he assumed the captaincy following Isaac Marriott's injury in March 2024.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 79(+4), 5 goals.

The signing of right-back Lewis Baines was announced on 14 June 2023. He had ended the 2022-23 campaign up at Arbroath in the Scottish second-tier where he had made 12(+1) league appearances. Prior to that he had made 118 appearances for Sligo Rovers, since early 2019, in the Republic of Ireland and had appeared for them in the European Conference League.

However, Lewis had started out at his hometown club of Stoke City where he had played up to under-23 level before leaving to join Stafford Rangers in summer 2018.

Lewis soon established himself as the regular right-back at Altrincham where he was not only reliable but weighed in with a number of goals.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 45(+2), 4 goals.

Centre-half Jake Cooper was signed from Rotherham United in the summer of 2022, the deal being announced on 11 June. However, he had finished the previous campaign (2021-22) at Moss Lane, on a one-month loan from The Millers which started on 1 February 2022. On 4 March it was announced that his loan had been extended till the end of the 2021-22 season.

Raised in Sheffield, he was a forward in the Sheffield United youth system before converting to a defensive role.

At Rotherham he had made three EFL Trophy appearances for Rotherham United before his arrival at Moss Lane.

He has previous non-League experience, having had two loan spells at Gateshead in 2019-20 and 2020-21, making 29 appearances for The Heed before he also made two appearances for Hartlepool United in 2021.

Indeed, in March 2021 he was an unused sub for the Monkeyhangers at the J. Davidson Stadium as Alty hosted Hartlepool behind closed doors.

In 2021-22 season, he made eleven appearances and scored three goals when on loan at National North club Darlington before he returned to Rotherham a fortnight ahead of his arrival at Altrincham, where he made his debut at centre-back on 5 February 2022.

Having played the full ninety minutes in eight successive league games, Jake was sidelined by a tendon injury in early November 2022. On 24 February 2023 it was announced that he was going on a one-month loan to Darlington in National League North. On 23 March it was confirmed that that loan had been extended till the end of the National North season.

In 2023 he established a good partnership with Lewis Baines at the heart of the defence. On 9 February, 2024, it was revealed that Jake had signed a contract extension for a period that was not announced.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 67(+4), 4 goals.

Eddy Jones, a left-back, rejoined Altrincham for a second loan spell from Stoke City on 2 September 2022. The loan will continue for four months till New Year 2023. The previous season Eddy had signed up for a season-long loan from The Potters on 3 February 2022.

He joined the Potteries club from Bury and he went on to make 12 appearances in a loan spell at AFC Telford United before playing three games in EFL 2 for Hartlepool United at the start of 2021-22 season. His loan spell in the North East saw him make six appearances in all for Hartlepool.

He returned to Stoke in January 2022 before his first move to Altrincham, where he made an assured debut at left-back on 5 February 2022.

Eddy has representative honours at under-17 and under-21 for Wales. He went straight into the starting eleven at left-back on his "second coming" to the club and on 10 January 2023 it was announced that Eddy had signed on as an Altrincham player after leaving Stoke City.

A virtual ever-present, Jones made the left-back berth his own in 2022-23, a pattern which continued into 2023-24. He was also ever-present in 2023-24 until injury briefly interrupted his season in late December 2023.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 105(+2), 3 goals .

James's return to Altrincham was unveiled on 28 July 2022 after he had rejected a contract renewal at Barrow.

James first played as a trialist for Alty in July 2017 but, in August, decided to try his luck elsewhere. However, he returned to sign for Altrincham in time to make his competitive debut on 23 August 2017.

Before joining Altrincham, James had spent three seasons with Welsh Premier club The New Saints, progressing from their Academy to first team. His first season at Alty was slightly curtailed by a hamstring injury shortly before the end of the campaign.

But 2018-19 saw him establish himself as the regular partner for Tom Hannigan at the heart of the Altrincham defence.

That season he was a virtual ever-present and started 2019-20, once more, as first choice in the right-sided centre-back role until illness briefly cost him his place in New Year 2020. However, what turned out to be an excellent 2019-20 season culminated in his decision to leave Altrincham for Barrow in the Football League, a decision announced on 19 July 2020.

After starting eight of the first nine games of 2022-23, James lost his place to Jake Cooper but soon re-established himself as a regular starter. For 2023-24 he is the senior professional at the club and it was not surprising that on 22 July 2023 it was announced that James would be the team captain for the season.

He started regularly at the start of 2023-24 before temporarily losing his place. Then an injury necessitated a shoulder operation in the Christmas season of 2023 and he missed the rest of the season.

Out of contract in summer 2024, he was invited back to pre-season to prove his fitness and he was resigned as was announced on 9 July 2024 .

Appearances to end of 2022/23 season: 154(+8), 17 goals.

Announced on 1 July as Altrincham's fourth signing of summer 2024, Tom Crawford is a tall central midfielder who started off with Stoke City before joining his hometown club, Chester's academy as a teenager. His spell at Chester included loans at Runcorn Town and Leek Town in 2017-18.

In summer 2018 Tom moved to Notts County, then a League team, where he made 12 appearances between 2018 and 2020. A three-month loan at Dave Challinor's AFC Fylde completed his season in 2019.

101 appearances at Hartlepool United, where Challinor was then the manager, followed his release by the Magpies in summer 2020. He remained in the North East till the end of 2023-24, at which point he was released by the Pools.

He had missed much of 2022-23 season with an ankle injury but made 39 appearances for Hartlepool in 2023-24, scoring five times but picking up twelve yellow cards in the process!

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season:0 .

A "deep-lying" midfielder, Owen made his debut for Altrincham in the Cheshire Senior Cup on 11 October 2022 at Sandbach. Despite only being seventeen at the time, he had already captained the Altrincham FC Academy side on occasions.

Owen is a product of the Crewe Alexandra youth system, having spent more than a decade at Gresty Road before his release at the age of sixteen. In early 2023 he went on loan at Irlam in the North West Counties League Premier Division. In late April 2023 he was an unused sub for Altrincham in the Cheshire Senior Cup Final at Moss Lane.

Despite not having made a league appearance, his promise was such that he was signed up for the first-team squad for 2023-24. However, on 27 July 2023, it was announced that Owen was going on a season-long loan to Wythenshawe Town. However, that arrangement was curtailed owing to injuries to other squad members.

Consequently he was named in three Altrincham National League squads in October 2023 and also played in the CSC tie that month against 1874 Northwich in which he also converted a penalty in a shoot-out.

On 20 October it was announced that he was commencing a one-month loan at Warrington Rylands in the Northern Premier League's Premier Division. That loan was extended to the end of 2023-24 season but on 2 February it was announced that he had gone on loan at Stafford Rangers.

In summer 2024 he was granted a further contract.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 2(+1), 0 goals.

Central midfielder Isaac's signing from Bradford (Park Avenue) "for an undisclosed fee" was announced on Christmas Eve 2021.

A former Huddersfield Town product, a club he joined as a nine year-old, he was loaned to Larne in Northern Ireland in January 2019 before joining the Bradford club on loan in 2019-20 season. He made 25 appearances for the West Yorkshire club that season before returning to Huddersfield.

Before his spell in Northern Ireland with Larne, Isaac has also had loan spells at clubs which included Brighouse Town and Warrington Town.

Following his release by Huddersfield Town in summer 2020, he returned to Yorkshire and signed for Bradford (Park Avenue) where he had made fifteen appearances in 2021-22 before signing for Phil Parkinson at Altrincham. At Bradford he also played as an attacking midfielder and was rewarded with several goals.

However he completed ninety minutes just once in the first eight league fixtures of his Alty career, only actually appearing four times in that period. But once he had regained fitness he became an ever-present starter for the final sixteen games of the 2021-22 campaign.

A pre-season injury in summer 2022 meant that Isaac missed the start of the 2022-23 season and it was league game 18 before he started a game, on 8 November 2022. However, he soon re-established himself as a key figure in the team and was rewarded with a two-year contract extension, announced at the end of March 2023.

On 22 July 2023 it was announced that James would be the Altrincham team's vice-captain for the 2023-24 season. A serious ankle injury curtailed Isaac's appearances in March 2024 and a remedial operation ended his season prematurely.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 88(+4), 2 goals.

On 6 January 2022, following his release by Stevenage of EFL2, Altrincham announced the signing of centre-midfielder Elliot Osborne.

Osborne is one of Phil Parkinson's many Altrincham signings who had formerly played under him at Nantwich Town. Elliot started out in the youth system at Port Vale but, after the Valiants released him, he joined Staffordshire club Newcastle Town as an 18 year-old in 2014.

In February 2015 he moved across the county border to Cheshire to sign for Nantwich Town where he netted 22 times from midfield. In summer 2016 he signed for Fleetwood Town of League One but in September 2016 he went out on loan to Tranmere Rovers.

In January 2017 he went on another loan, to Stockport County and then Morecambe in League Two at the start of the 2017-18 campaign. However, in early 2018 he was transferred from Fleetwood to Southport for an undisclosed fee.

In late September 2018 he again went on loan to Stockport County and in November he signed for the Hatters, where he went on to record 79 appearances and 11 goals.

In summer 2020 he was signed by League Two Stevenage and played 30 games there in 2020–21 season.

He played every minute of all but two of his 23 league appearances for Altrincham in 2021-22 and was an ever-present starter in 2022-23 by October 2022 but, in the latter part of the season, he was often a used substitute. However, 2023-24 saw him playing well as a regular starter once again.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 106(+13), 2 goals.

George was announced as a new signing on 24 June 2023, with manager Parkinson stating that he would go out on loan for the 2023-24 season at National League North level. The Alty manager described him as a "box to box midfielder" though earlier in his career he had been a right-back.

Before joining Coalville in summer 2022 on a season-long contract, George had played for Loughborough University and for third-tier Swedish club Ljungskile SK. However, an injury sidelined him after his second appearance in September 2023 before he returned to action in late November and established himself as a regular starter until red-carded near the end of the season.

He was re-contracted in summer 2024.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 17(+10), 2 goals.

Justin's arrival from Aldershot Town for an undisclosed fee was unveiled on 22 June 2023.

Having started at Luton Town and, after a brief spell at Dartford, Justin spent three years at Barnet (2015–2018) where he made 19 appearances.

Loans at Hayes & Yeading United, Hemel Hempstead Town, Hampton & Richmond Borough and Bognor Regis Town preceded his departure from The Hive for Braintree Town (2018/19), which was followed by a spell with Maidstone United (2019/21).

2021–2022 saw him up in Scotland at Motherwell, where he played 13 times, before he spent 2022-23 season at Aldershot.

In 2016, whilst at Barnet he changed to using his current name having previously been known as Justin Nwogu.

As a winger he is said to prefer to play on the right flank but to cut in and deliver with his left foot, skills he soon displayed in the 2023-24 campaign. He wears the name "Justin" on his shirt-back and he made an impressive start to his Altrincham career with his electric pace and a number of goals.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 34(+6), 7 goals

The signing of Oliver Crankshaw from Stockport County for an undisclosed fee was announced on 30 August 2023; it was the eleventh signing of the summer.

A winger, he started out at Preston North End before having spells with Ramsbottom United, Clitheroe and Colne as well as for Morecambe under-23s.

From there he joined Curzon Ashton and then Wigan Athletic, in early 2019, before he was loaned back to The Nash.

A loan move to Dundee followed, a year later. He left Wigan for Bradford City in February 2021 before joining Stockport County.

Ollie returned to Scotland in January 2023, again on loan.

He had made more than fifty appearances for his previous employer, Stockport County, before leaving for Altrincham. However, in only his second appearance for Altrincham he suffered an ACL injury which prematurely ended his season.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 2, 0 goals

Max was announced as a permament signing on 28 June 2024 but the previous season, on 12 March 2024, he had previously been revealed as a short-term addition to the Altrincham squad.

His favoured position is as a number ten but he can also operate as a winger.

After youthful spells at Manchester United and Brentford, Max joined Northern Irish club Linfield, where he spent just over a year making nine appearances. He left the club by mutual consent in January 2024 and made his Alty debut as a substitute on 12 March 2024. Although he made no further appearances before the end of the season, he was invited back for pre-season in summer 2024.

Before joining Linfield he had had trials at Luton Town, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 0(+1), 0 goals.

On 16 August, 2020, Matty Kosylo became the fourth new arrival of the close season as he signed a two-year contract after leaving AFC Fylde. He had joined The Coasters in summer 2019 but had not replicated the success he had enjoyed over a three-year spell at FC Halifax Town, his previous club.

Earlier in his career, wingman Kosylo had played previously under Alty manager Phil Parkinson. That was back in 2014-16 at Nantwich Town, with Matty having begun his career at Stockport County before spells with Salford City, Ashton United, Hyde United and Vauxhall Motors (2013/14).

He left Nantwich for FC Halifax Town, for an undisclosed fee, in July 2016. At the time he was the Evo Stik NPL Young Player of the Year. Kosylo made a great impression in his three seasons at The Shay (2016-19), during which he scored 24 league goals in 74(+5) league appearances for The Shaymen.

Kosylo then joined AFC Fylde in 2019 but relegation in 2020 meant that The Coasters were prepared to release him from his contract to sign for Altrincham.

After his debut at home to Weymouth on 3 October 2020, he was a lively performer till injury limited his appearances in the second half of the campaign. In 2021 he missed a number of games through injury but in 2021-22 he had a successful season, netting ten times.

In May 2022 it was announced that he had re-signed for a further season. However, a pre-season ACL injury meant that he was out of action for the entire 2022-23 season but he returned to action in 2023 pre-season. He suffered another injury after half a dozen appearances before returning to action in late November 2023.

Another injury sidelined him until he retured over the Christmas period of 2023 but he was offered a new deal in summer 2024.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 79(+24), 19 goals

On 3 February, 2023, it was announced that Regan had become the club's ninth signing inside a three-week period. However, he was the first of that clutch to be a permanent signing, for an undisclosed fee, rather than a loanee.

Linney joined from NPL side FC United of Manchester FC United, a club that he had joined in 2019 from Bamber Bridge for whom he made his debut in 2015.

The striker had made 133 appearances for FCUM and netted 61 goals before signing for the Robins. His debut came off the bench against Wrexham on 4 February 2023 and he soon impressed, scoring three times (including two penalties) in his first five outings for Alty, two of which were games in which he was a substitute.

But in 2023-24, having scored three times in the first six fixtures, he was sidelined by injury and missed eleven league matches before returning to action and scoring regularly, including a number of penalties.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 39(+16), 23 goals

Left-winger Alex arrived at Altrincham on loan from Colchester United. That move was announced on 21 September 2023 as, initially, a loan until 2 January 2024. But it ws subsequently extended by a month. Alexd previously played against Alty, notably for Chorley.

A Barrovian, he is the twin brother of Elliot Newby who had two successful loan spells at Altrincham.

Alex arrived at Moss Lane with a wealth of higher level experience, having made 108 EFL appearances. For Rochdale he made 54(+20) appearances and scored 12 goals. At Colchester United he played 17(+17) matches and scored three times. So, overall he had 71(+37) EFL appearances to his credit and had scored 15 goals in those matches.

Alex scored for Alty within five minutes of his debut, against Ebbsfleet United, on 23 September 2023. His permamnent signing by Altrincham was revealed on 30 January 2024 by which time he had made 20 appearances, all but two of them being in the National League. In those 18 league games he had scored six times at the time of his signing for the Robins.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 37(+1), 13 goals

Joe was the second arrival of summer 2024, being signed on a season-long loan from Oldham Athletic, as was announced on 20 June 2024.

He started out at Manchester City's academy before spending 2015-17 on Aberdeen's books. He had loan spells whilst in Scotland at Stranraer and Dumbarton.

The next five years were split between spells at Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool, where he made 28 and 27 appearances respectively for the Lancashire clubs.

He joined Scunthorpe United in 2022, and, following the Lincolnshire club's relegation from the EFL he played against Alty for The Iron, scoring a penalty in a 2-2 draw at Moss Lane.

He moved on to Oldham Athletic for whom he also scored against Alty in another 2-2 draw, on Good Friday 2023.

Appearances to end of 2023/24 season: 0

The signing of Lucas from Colne was announced on 15 May 2024. He started out with Preston North End before signing for Preston club Fulwood Amateurs with whom he won the West Lancashire League and the Lancashire Amateur Cup.

He joined Colne in summer 2022. A winger, Lucas has been a prolific goalscorer for the Lancashire club, netting 42 goals in 2023-24 season.

Appearances to end of 2023-24 season: 0

• Chris CONN-CLARKE
• Matt GOULD
• Sam ROSCOE