prammynewsv KING’S LYNN16-08-14

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jonnobernard

First of all I’d like to welcome everybody

associated with Kings Lynn Town who have

made the ridiculously long journey to the

Harry Williams Riverside Stadium. I hope

you've had a pleasant trip and enjoy your

stay with us (apart from the 90 minutes that

matter).

It's absolutely frightening to think our last

competitive game was the play-off final

against Bamber Bridge. I'm pretty sure I'm

still hungover after the partying that ensued,

but the whole week prior to the game, in

getting into the playoffs and then beating

Darlington and Bamber Bridge in their own

backyards will live long in the memory.

As normally happens we have lost a

couple of players during the close season.

Danny Warrender has moved to Salford City

- he actually told us six weeks before the

season ended that if we got promoted he

wouldn't be staying as family and work

commitments wouldn’t allow him the extra

traveling time. e same applies with Owen

Roberts who for the time being has stopped

playing due to a promotion at the school he

works at. Martin Fearon who came in on

loan whilst Shents was out with his broken

ankle has also been allowed to move on as

we told him that once Grant was fit he

would resume being our number 1. Martin

has moved to Skelmersdale. We wish all

three players the very best of luck for the

future.

e rest of the squad have all re-signed for

the new season apart from Andy Dawson

who is still recovering from the operation he

had on his knee last year. A lot of the players

had very good offers to move to other clubs

but have all stayed loyal to the cause and we

are very confident of having another good

season. We still have ten players who were

with us when we won the NWC and the

amount of the games this squad has played

together is staggering. at should stand us

in good stead providing us with stability and

consistency a lot of clubs strive for.

We have also bolstered the squad with five

new signings who all fit the Ramsbottom

United remit perfectly. All five are 23 and

under and have shown a hunger in pre-

season that has helped push the current

squad to be as strong as we have ever had.

I'm sure you don't need telling that these

lads will give everything to the Rammy

cause. Please get behind them just like you

have to every player that has ever pulled on

the blue shirt.

is season has the potential to be as good

as the last five, so let's all enjoy the ride

together.

- Jonno

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A special welcome to today’s visitors

and match officials.

We kick off the new season in a new

division for the second time in three

years, and this is testimony to the

excellent job being done by Bernard,

Jonno, the coaching staff and the

amazingly loyal band of players.

is journey began, as has been well

documented, with a 5-0 thrashing at

Newcastle Town, five years ago this

month. Who would have predicted the

amazing journey that was to follow? It

has been achieved on the back of some

of the best football ever seen in

Ramsbottom and an increase in support

from the town of around 250%. e

whole club has moved on in leaps and

bounds over recent times, and we must

now acclimatise ourselves at Evo-Stik

Premier level.

e outlook of everyone here is so

much different from our lengthy spell in

the NWCFL, but the challenges are there

to be overcome. Hard work by many

people has seen us reach this level, and it

is vitally important that, as a club, we

establish ourselves comfortably in the

third tier of non-league football.

e arrival of teams such

as Kings Lynn Town really

does confirm the

reality, and this

campaign will see the Rams double the

amount of travelling that we are used to.

Saying that, it is still nowhere near the

amount Lynn have to do (or the

Workington’s, Blyth’s and Whitby’s of this

world!), so we hope that our visitors have

had a good journey here, enjoy the

hospitality (certainly off the pitch!), and

have a safe journey home. We will look

forward to renewing acquaintances in

Norfolk later in the season.

All this is the reward for that terrific

final week of last season. No-one had us

down as favourites, especially in the

cauldron that was Darlington away. e

lads performed magnificently to silence

the baying crowd. (My lasting memory is

of Harry taunting the moaning home

fans with the comment “Not bad for a

village team”!) e game at Bamber

Bridge will long live in the memory, and

easy to recall thanks to the excellently

produced DVD. It really did go down to

the wire, but again, we thoroughly

deserved the victory and with it the

promotion that followed.

e new challenge is exciting and we

will welcome many a team to the HWRS

for the first time ever over the next nine

months. I, for one, can’t wait!

Enjoy your non-league football!

tony cunninghamand the wonderful world of

non-league football

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Long away tripssuch as last season’svisit to Worcesterare now Rammy’sstaple, reallytesting the mettleof the players andsupporters.

ERIC WHALLEY

We all know that during the summer

we lost a good friend of this club in Eric

Whalley.

Eric was very well known in this part

of the world for his connections with

many local clubs, such as Clitheroe,

Great Harwood Town, and, of course,

Accrington Stanley, where is lasting

legacy will be to have taken this fallen

club back into the Football League.

In his latter years, he was a regular

down here at Rammy thanks to his long-

standing friendship with our Chairman.

His advice was immeasurable, and it

may be no coincidence that we achieved

two promotions during his off-field

support.

His football knowledge was second to

none, but his declining health was sad to

see.

We, and football, have lost a good

friend.

“We, and football, have lost a good friend.”

p

Ramsbottom United gained their second

promotion in three seasons in a thriller at the

newly christened Sir Tom Finney Stadium, in front

of over 1200 fans.

Having disposed of former Football League side

Darlington in a night of high controversy on

Wednesday, the Rams played out another exciting

encounter at Bamber Bridge, bringing the total of

spectators watching the side in four days to well

over 3000.

Saturday’s game was do-or-die for both sides, but

it was the visitors who were victorious, although it

took an extra thirty minutes to ensure a route to

Evo-Stik Premier after a heart-breaking late penalty

appeared to have derailed the opportunity.

e Rams started brightly, and took the lead

after just six minutes. Lee Gaskell sprayed the ball

out to Grant Spencer on the right wing, and he put

in the perfect cross which Gaskell met with his

head to plant the ball firmly into the back of the

net.

Despite the early disadvantage, though, the

home side came back into game and slowly began

to hold the upper hand. Ally Waddecar was

unlucky to see his shot take a deflection past the

far post, before the hosts regained equality on 22

minutes.

e referee played the advantage, allowing the

ball to be played out to Waddecar on the right. His

low cross missed his team-mates in the centre, but

if the Rams thought they had escaped, they were

not so fortunate. e ball was played back into the

area and Greg Johnstone found the space to direct

his header just inside Martin Fearon’s left-hand

post.

Paul Alexander saw his free-kick just clear the

bar as Brig tried to turn their territorial advantage

into a lead.

Having managed to hold out, it looked as though

the Rams had grabbed the next goal, with Billy

Priestley nodding home a right wing corner, but

the referee deemed that Steve Howson had

pushed a defender in the area, and promptly blew

for a free-kick to the home side.

Jordan Hulme fired over from 15 yards for the

Rams before Fearon was called on to produce a

magnificent tip over the bar from a close-range

Matt Lawlor header.

Whilst the first half was edged by Bridge, the

second half belonged to the Rams. For lengthy

periods play took place in the home half, as the

Brig struggled to put any real attacks together.

A long ball in from Owen Roberts found Gaskell,

but his header was tipped over from just

underneath the bar by home keeper Lee Dovey.

Howson then headed a Spencer cross over when

he could have done better, before Gaskell found

acres of space on the left. He sent over a dangerous

cross for Spencer, but some quick defending

snuffed out the danger.

Gaskell’s next attempt was a backward header

from another Spencer corner that went inches

over the top, as the Rams were well in control.

e Rams should have regained the lead with

ten minutes to go. Hulme squared the ball back for

the on-rushing Phil Dean, but he somehow lost his

balance and fired wildly over the top.

In an isolated attack from Brig, Howson threw

his body in the way of a pile-driver from Curtis

ompson which could have given the hosts an

unexpected late lead, but that late lead appeared

at the other end, and it was no more than the

Rams deserved.

An Owen Roberts corner fell invitingly for

Howson on the edge of the box, and he drove it

through a ruck of players and in by the post.

With three minutes of normal time left, it looked

as though the Rams had booked their place in the

Premier Division.

A flare thrown on to the pitch by the home

supporters stopped the game for two minutes, and

that proved fatal for the Rams. With three

additional minutes shown, the game was into the

fifth minute of added time when the ball, played

around the away penalty area was adjudged by the

referee to have been handled by Billy Priestley.

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2 - 3Sir Tom Finney Stadium

3rd May 2014

Att: 1206

Rammy Goals: Gaskell (6), Howson (87), Smalley (104)

Bamber Bridge Goals: Johnston (22), Alexander (90)

Lee Gaskell opens the scoring on 6 minutes

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Despite the vehement protests,

the referee was adamant, and

when the arguments had died

down, Alexander struck the ball

home from the spot to level the

scores at 2-2, with the referee

blowing the final whistle

immediately.

e Rams needed to mentally

refocus after what could have

been a devastating blow, and

fortunately they did so.

After Alex Taylor had screwed a

free-kick wide of the post for Brig,

Scott Burton fired wide from 25

yards, and substitute Jon Robinson

was denied in front of goal by a

defender heading over a

dangerous cross from Gary

Stopforth. From the resultant

corner Hulme headed over.

A minute before the break saw

the game’s conclusive moment.

Chris Marlow looked on

helplessly as his perfect header

from a corner appeared to be

goal-bound only to see it headed

off the Rammy line. Within fifteen

seconds, the Rams re-took the

lead. e ball was played up field,

and Robinson thread it through

on the right where the on-rushing

Dominc Smalley chased it and just

beat Dovey, who had rushed out

of his nets. Smalley dinked it past

the keeper and into the gaping net

to give the Rams the advantage for

the third time.

Seconds later Brig lost Lawlor to

a second yellow card, and with 15

minutes to play, the Rams were

determined to hold on to their

slender lead.

Smalley could have made the

game safe, but Dovey prevented

him adding a fourth, whilst Brig

threw everything at the Rams

defence in the dying minutes.

Fearon held a close-range header

from Alexander before making the

save of the match with just three

minutes to go. Alex Taylor glanced

a header from a left wing corner

towards the far top corner, but

Fearon, at full stretch, finger-

tipped it over to deny the Brig

with their last clear sight on goal.

e Rams played down the last

couple of minutes to gleefully

celebrate as the final whistle

sounded, and the despair felt half-

an-hour earlier was consigned to

history.

Promotion had been assured

with a performance that deserved

the plaudits. Bamber Bridge

justified their position in the play-

off final, but overall the visitors did

enough to justify the victory and

with it promotion to non-league’s

third tier, the highest position in

the club’s history.

After a season which began with

four league defeats, followed by a

three-point deduction for fielding

an ineligible player, to overcome

such odds and gain promotion at

the end of another memorable

season at the Harry Williams

Riverside Stadium has been

nothing short of miraculous, and

all credit must go to the squad

and management team for rising

to the challenge and turning the

season round in such spectacular

fashion.

p

Steve Howson buries goal number 2 with a wicked volley

Dom Smalley fires Rammy to their second promotion in three seasons

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ere’s been a heck of a lot going on

behind the scenes over the summer, not

least the new programme design that’s

been giving me sleepless nights for a

good while now. We hope you like the

new layout and new features. We’re

getting much nearer to what a footie

programme ought to be, and hope that

people will get into the habit of buying a

copy.

e supporters club was set up about

three and a half years ago, if my awful

memory is not letting me down again,

and for the last few years it’s been a bit of

an ordeal getting things moving. We’ve

always had a small band of die-hard

supporters who’ve travelled around some

of those miserable haunts of the

northwest counties, and it’s great that

those long-suffering folks now get a taste

of better days. But with the club’s rising

fortunes, this last couple of

seasons has also seen a huge

influx of new people onto

the terraces, and these

folks have brought with

then a new sense of

excitement and

enthusiasm, with large

numbers taking to the road

and wanting to make Rammy

into a way of life. With the addition of

these people to the already established

Rammy Family we now have the

potential to make the supporters club

into something really special.

After the very well attended fans’

forum back in June, we called a meeting

of supporters, in which a lot of things

were discussed - most notably how we,

the fans, can help to get Rammy United

firmly established at this level, and help

to take the club higher. As a supporters

club we’re always going to be slightly

restricted in how we can help, but some

brilliant ideas came out of that meeting,

and a great board of committee

members was elected who are already

starting to make great strides.

Very shortly you’ll see in the

newspapers the announcement of a

sponsorship deal with SCA, the company

that runs the paper mill in Stubbins

(what used to be Georgia Pacific). Forgive

me for jumping the gun by announcing

it here, but I really want to make sure that

Andy Massey gets a walloping great pat

on the back for working with SCA to

create this partnership.

e deal sees our squad supplied with

full training kit, as well as SCA sponsoring

an ad in the programme, and a pitchside

supporters clubon the terraces of rammy

p

1206 watched theplayoff final atBamber Bridge, andthe lion’s sharetravelled fromRammy

advertising board. It’s fantastic to have

such an iconic Ramsbottom mill involved

with the club, and we hope that this is the

start of bigger things to come.

One of the supporters club’s main

aims is to help raise funds to continue

Rammy’s rise through the leagues, and

hopefully the SCA deal is just the start.

You no doubt found yourself harrassed

to death as you entered the ground

today, as you will a week on Monday

against Nantwich. We need as many

people as possible to sign up to the

supporters club, as this is the season that

big things will be happening off the pitch;

things that will also have a real impact

ON the pitch! For your membership you

get an away travel guide as well as access

to some exclusive content on rammy.tv,

for which we have huge plans. Please sign

up, and help us get things moving.

Right then, enough wittering from me.

e long wait is over, so let battle

commence on a brand new season in a

brand new division, as we take on the

might of King’s Lynn.

Oh no, it’s the drum- albeit played veryproficiently by theRammy Ultras.

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Well, good afternoon everyone. Can

you believe that the closed season has

come and gone and here we are - the day

that no Rammy fan in their rightest of

minds really ever thought they would

ever see - Rammy in the Evo-Stik Premier

Division. I am sure that most of us here

remember those by-gone days of Tuesday

nights in Squires Gate and Atherton LR,

Wednesday nights in Silsden and

multiple rained off days in Bacup. Today

marks a new era of Ramsbottom United

Football Club and, boy oh boy, are we

looking forward to it!

It only feels like a few days ago that we

celebrated the amazing play-off victory at

Bamber Bridge. For me to even be there

was incredible in itself, to actually be

there to watch what happened will live

long in the memory. I was supposed to

be working on the 'rig day' of the first Sky

Sports cricket match of the season at

Chester-le-Street so thought I wouldn't

make it but I was given the nod

from the producer to leave the

ground at just before 1.30pm. It was

manna from heaven and a steady

70mph (!!) down the A1(M), across

the A66 and then down the M6 to

Bamber and I was at the ground just

35 minutes after kick-off (Dear Mr

Policeman, please don't do the

maths!).

What an occasion! A parking space in

the ground, courtesy of Andy Massey

informing the Brig chairman that Sky

Sports were coming to the game (which

wasn't wholly untrue .....) and into the

ground at 1-1 to stand, cheer, sing and

shout along with the other members of

the Rammy Ultras and, as every nerve-

jangling minute passed, you wondered

what was going to happen. And then,

with just three minutes left, Steve

Howson scored. What a feeling. And

then Bamber scored with the last minute

penalty. What despair! It was then that

you thought that it just wasn't going to

be our day - to be so close but still have

to face the sudden-death of another 30

minutes. But we should know better

with this mob of lads and it was Dominic

Smalley - a player we all love - who was

there to fire home the crucial winner

(which I actually thought hit the side

netting from my far-off angle).

e rest, as they say, is history. Sadly,

for me, I had to go back to Durham when

all I wanted to do was come back to

Rammy and join in the long and

wonderfully deserved celebrations of two

promotions in three years. But I raised a

glass in the hotel with the biggest smile

on my face and went to bed very happy

indeed. And I go back to my original

point. Five years ago, when I drove back

rammy in exilesky sports statto richard isaacs

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Winning goalscorerDom Smalley, andYours Truly ready toburst into tears atany moment!south from Newcastle Town in the first

game under the new managers with a 0-

5 loss returned, we all thought, without

exception, that Harry was completely

clueless for appointing these two, who

were just like all the others before them.

4th - 2nd - 1st and promoted - 6th - 5th,

play-offs and promoted. He sure isn't

clueless at all!

And so, to today. I will be at the

ground for this opening fixture. I

wouldn't miss this. We head into the

unknown, a league which will see our

clubs name every single day on Sky

Sports News, featured much more in the

Non-League Paper and in the national

papers too. e third tier of non-league

football and just three leagues away

from the Football League. Get away with

you! Rammy at this level ... we will all

wake up in a minute and it's all a dream.

You know what - it's not, it's real and

today, Ramsbottom United play Kings

Lynn Town for the first time in their

history.

e other thing to take into

consideration is that, despite all that is

going on at Salford City, we have lost just

one player - Danny Warrender, who

didn't fancy all the travelling. Owen

Roberts has decided to give up football

but he certainly made his mark (ahem

Darlington!) while Martin Fearon, he of

the wonder save, is now at Skelmersdale.

Andy Dawson, sadly, remains on the

sidelines with his injury-ravaged body.

But, other than them, it is the same

faces, those same loyal men who have

done the job for the Rams and they will

be here once again. It makes you very

proud to be a part of this magnificent

club when the players show that sort of

loyalty.

Being a statistician, I have done a few

figures. Of the 16 players we have signed

on prior to the Clitheroe friendly - their

appearances for the club total 1,628

matches with 228 "Rub-A-Dub-Dubs"

(Subs) and 423 goals between them.

Two players have played in more than

200 appearances, six have played in over

150 and a full XI have more than 90. You

simply don't get those sorts of stats at

this level of football.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings.

Enjoy the game, enjoy the season - the

Rammy roller-coaster rides again!!!

p

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Tom Williams is a 23 year old

wide midfielder/forward who

started his career at Wigan

Athletic, he also played for

Chorley and Bamber Bridge.

new signings

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Malachi Slaven is a 20 year old

box to box midfielder. He played

last season with Droylsden so has

experience of this league despite

his age.

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Sam Cook is a 21 year old forward

who started at Macclesfield Town

and has played Evo-Stik south

football for Shepshed Dynamo.

new signings

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Porya 'Rio' Ahmadi is a 21 year old

forward who lists Sheffield

United, Chorley and Salford City

as previous clubs.

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Osebi ‘Ossi’ Abadaki is a 23 year

old attacking midfielder who last

season played for Nantwich

Town and has also played for

Halifax.

new signings

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0 - 0Shawbridge

9th August 2014

Att:

Rammy Goals:

Clitheroe Goals:

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WWF preseason

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0 - 0Shawbridge

9th August 2014

Att:

Rammy Goals:

Clitheroe Goals:

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We have a really exciting season in

prospect, now that we are in the "big time"

of the Evo-Stik Premier. Keeping up with the

fantastic achievements of Bernard, Jonno

and the team, our Supporters Club

committee is re-formed and full of

enthusiasm for the new season.

We plan to raise money to support the

team, encourage supporters to come

watching e Rams, and generally help

everyone have a great time watching Our

Team. We have lots of ideas for events and

activities during the season and we hope

that you will join us and become part of the

Rammy footballing family.

is year the Supporters Club has kept the

membership charge at only £5 for the season

- a real bargain! In exchange for this modest

sum, you will receive :

• a handy fold-out pocket guide

showing the Rammy fixtures and details of

the other teams in the league, with

information about how to find their grounds

• a car sticker

• access to exclusive content on

Rammy TV, giving you the chance to watch

extended video footage of Rammy games

• the chance to vote for the

Supporters Club Player of the Month

You can sign up at the game today, or at

any of the next few games (home and away).

Take this exciting chance to sign up. and be

involved in the fantastic things happening at

Rammy FC.

Here's to a great season!

- SIGN UP - JOIN IN -

- TELL YOUR FRIENDS -

AND CHEER ON THE RAMS!

e final Saturday before the football season started saw

the good folks of Ramsbottom waking up to sunshine,

and what better way to spend the day than watching the

mighty Rams finalise preparations for the big kick-off

with a trip to our close neighbours at Clitheroe. is was

a big day for the town of Clitheroe as not only did they

have East Lancashires top non-league side visiting, they

were also hosting a food festival in the town. With this in

mind we decided to set off early to sample the delicacies

on offer, before making our way to the game. So, at 12.30

myself and Mrs Darkside were getting in the Hulme-

mobile with Jordan’s parents, Martin and Joanne, to make

the short journey through the hills of Pendle. Much of

the journey involved me quizzing Martin on the history

of Workington F.C. (which I had been researching the

previous day) and the ladies (probably) talking about

shoes and handbags.

We arrived in Clitheroe and parked up near the ground

before having a walk into the town centre where we were

greeted by thousands of people and not much room to

move. We had hoped the town was this busy due to

people flocking to see what new signings Jonno and

Bernard had made over the summer, but Sam was not

the Cook they had come to see. e only downside to

the food festival was that it was a victim of its own

success and the stalls were too busy and the queues were

too long to have a proper browse round. We quickly

grabbed some food and made our way to the ground,

arriving just in time for a quick pint before the game

started.

It’s not a bad little set up at Clitheroe and I was pleased

to see they had a real ale on in the bar. Armed with a pint

of Jennings Cumberland Ale it was time for a chat with

some of the travelling Ultras, and although some were

still on holiday or watching the cricket back in Rammy it

was quite a good turnout. A special shout goes out to

Mick Johnson who had been holidaying in Switzerland

and had driven up from Dover that very morning.

I had a browse through the programme, which was a

publication that covered all Clitheroe’s pre-season games

Tales from the Darkside

p

the good folks of Ramsbottom waking up to sunshine,

and what better way to spend the day than watching the

mighty Rams finalise preparations for the big kick-off

with a trip to our close neighbours at Clitheroe. is was

a big day for the town of Clitheroe as not only did they

have East Lancashires top non-league side visiting, they

were also hosting a food festival in the town. With this in

mind we decided to set off early to sample the delicacies

on offer, before making our way to the game. So, at 12.30

myself and Mrs Darkside were getting in the Hulme-

mobile with Jordan’s parents, Martin and Joanne, to make

the short journey through the hills of Pendle. Much of

the journey involved me quizzing Martin on the history

of Workington F.C. (which I had been researching the

previous day) and the ladies (probably) talking about

We arrived in Clitheroe and parked up near the ground

before having a walk into the town centre where we were

greeted by thousands of people and not much room to

move. We had hoped the town was this busy due to

people flocking to see what new signings Jonno and

Bernard had made over the summer, but Sam was not

the Cook they had come to see. e only downside to

the food festival was that it was a victim of its own

success and the stalls were too busy and the queues were

too long to have a proper browse round. We quickly

grabbed some food and made our way to the ground,

arriving just in time for a quick pint before the game

It’s not a bad little set up at Clitheroe and I was pleased

to see they had a real ale on in the bar. Armed with a pint

of Jennings Cumberland Ale it was time for a chat with

some of the travelling Ultras, and although some were

still on holiday or watching the cricket back in Rammy it

was quite a good turnout. A special shout goes out to

Mick Johnson who had been holidaying in Switzerland

I had a browse through the programme, which was a

publication that covered all Clitheroe’s pre-season games

and not specifically their

game with us. I fully

understand this as the

margins between making money and losing money on

programmes is a delicate balancing act, so I did not mind

only two pages on Rammy.

Despite the game ending goalless, I quite enjoyed the

90 minutes football (and fisticuffs). I was hoping we

might have got some indication of our starting eleven for

the Kings Lynn game, but was left with more questions

than answers on that front. We enjoyed some banter with

the Clitheroe fans behind the

goal in the 2nd half who had

been shouting at Shents,

although some of our fans

who I spoke to later were less

than complimentary on the

attitude of our hosts.

After a quick pint and a chat

with the players in the

clubhouse we headed back to

Ramsbottom where our

destination was the

Buchanan Club for a spot of

crown green bowling and a

couple more drinks. It would

seem that bowling is

becoming the second sport

of the Rammy Ultras these

days after the success of our

bowling day/Andy and

Hilary’s combined stag and

hen party last month. We

were joined by the

aforementioned Andy and

Hilary, as well as Paul and

Cheryl (Mr and Mrs Wiz) and

I further cemented my place

as the worse crown green

bowler this town has to offer.

After finishing the evening

at e Eastern Eye we came

out and bumped into those You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough

superstars of the New Orleans Jesters, Jordan

and Wiz with some of their mates, including

young Dave Morley. After a quick chat and a

chorus of “ Oh Rammy United”, the young lads

said they were off up to Jordans house to help

themselves to the cans of St Ettiene lager in

Martin’s fridge. is was the cue for Martin to

beat a hasty retreat home to protect them and

the rest of us to go home and watch the

highlights from the opening day of the football

league season on TV.

Tales from the Darkside

p

king’s lynn town

It isn’t known exactly when a King’s Lynn

football club first represented the town, just

that Lynn Town was reformed in 1879 having

gone out of existence a few years earlier. At the

time there were various football clubs in King’s

Lynn including Lynn United, Lynn CEYMS and

Lynn Alexander.

A newly formed club that went by the name

of King’s Lynn Town were formed in May 2010

with the owners completely changing the look

of the previously folded club. Large sums of

money were spent as the club was refurbished

from top to bottom. e starting place was

the changing and function rooms which were

completely gutted, producing very high

standards facilities for both spectators and

guests of the club. New turnstiles were

installed and the old fences being replaced.

e club retained the traditional blue and

gold home colours when reformed in 2010 to

the delight of many King’s Lynn fans.

e newly formed King’s Lynn Town

achieved their highest ever finish during the

2012-2013 season as they became champions

of the Northern Premier League Division One

South.

ey endured a run-of-the-mill season last

time out as they finished the season in 11th

place with 68 points, losing eighteen games

along the way.

p

Captain David Bell is a very talented and

experienced player who is comfortable

anywhere across the midfield. A Republic of

Ireland “B” international, he joined Nott’s

County in the summer of 2013 after playing

five seasons at Coventry City. With

experience in the Championship David will

prove a stern test for Ramsbottom and will

look to supply the forwards with his sublime

forward play.

Jake Jones is an exciting, hardworking and

young attacking/right sided midfielder.

Signing for King’s Lynn in January 2014 after

a loan spell, during the autumn and early

winter, Jake went out on loan to Lincoln City

in the summer of 2013 before moving to

Tamworth.

Sam Mulready is a prolific young striker. A

local lad who left school at the age of sixteen,

he went straight to Grimsby Town on a two

year Scholarship, signing Professional forms

for the last six months of his contract.

Released in the summer of 2012, he joined

Gainsborough Trinity. Sam was an ever

present during the 2013-14 season scoring

goal after goal throughout.

David Bridges is a very experienced

midfielder, and definitely one to watch. He

joined King’s Lynn in July having had

experience at all levels of the game. He was

part of the sucessful FA Trophy team at

Stevenage, the same team that won

promotion to the Football League. David

began his career at Cambridge United, a club

he returned to for a two-year spell after

playing for FK Riga in Latvia. He’s capped for

England’s C-team, and since departing

Cambridge has played at Kettering,

Chelmsford City, Bury Town and most

recently Conference North side Brackley

Town. fou

r to

wat

ch

p

With our promotion last season, e Rams will

now be saying goodbye to visits to our close friends

and neighbours in Radcliffe, Padiham and Clitheroe,

instead hitting the road to an array of exotic

destinations from Kings Lynn in the South to Whitby

in the North. As many of the grounds we visit will

be virgin territory to us, we will be previewing the

away days in the programme this season.

Our first trip has us up in Cumbria with a visit to

Borough Park to take on Workington. Borough Park

is a traditional football ground having been built in

1937 and has cover on three sides of the ground.

Borough Park even hosted the Busby Babes in a F.A.

Cup game just weeks before the Munich Air

Disaster, so the ground certainly has a rich

footballing tradition.

Now, those of us of a certain vintage will remember

Workington being a football league club having

been elected to the 3rd Division North in 1951. ey

remained in the league until 1977 when they were

replaced by Wimbledon, a fact that is still a sore

point with the older supporters of Workington.

ese were the days before automatic promotion

and relegation, and the bottom four teams in the

4th Division were required to apply to the Football

league for re-election. Many feel that the Football

League had an agenda against Northern clubs and

teams did not want to be travelling to outposts such

as Workington, when they could be travelling to the

leafy suburbia of places such as Wimbledon. Now,

some may say this is sour grapes but, the fact that

Barrow (1971) and Southport (1977) also lost their

league status suggests that maybe the Football

League did have an agenda against the northern

clubs.

e current Workington were formed in 1921,

although there was a football club in the town for

many years before then, and their best ever finish in

the league was in 1965-66 when they managed 5th

in the old 3rd Division. Borough Park has been a rich

breeding ground for those starting their managerial

careers having had Joe Harvey (the last manager to

bring a major trophy to Newcastle United by

winning the UEFA Fairs Cup with them in 1969) and

Keith Burkinshaw (Won the F.A. Cup in 1981 and

1982 with Tottenham Hotspurs, along with the

UEFA Cup in 1984). Perhaps the greatest claim to

fame Workington have is that the legendary Bill

Shankley was in charge of the team from January

1954 to December 1955, before going onto turning

Liverpool from a mid-table 2nd Division team to

being the greatest team in England, and ultimately

Europe. Recent years have also seen some

Workington players go onto to play at a higher level

including Grant Holt, Glenn Murray and England

international, Scott Carson.

It’s a shame that this fixture did not fall on a

Saturday as Workington would have made a good

day out or even a weekend away in the Lakes.

However, with most of us having work

commitments we will be faced with a round journey

of 5 hours travelling. e journey is simple enough,

especially if you are used to travelling up to the

Lakes. If you head over Grane Road and pick up the

M65 at Blackburn and carry on to Junction 2 (M61

exit) taking you towards Lancaster/Blackpool. From

here you take the exit onto the M6 and carry onto

Junction 40 (approximately 64 miles) where you pick

up the A66. From the A66, Workington is clearly

signposted and the road will take you straight into

the town. As for me, I will take the easy option and

get on the coach to see our opening away game.

If you are taking a break on the journey, I strongly

advise taking a stop at Tebay Services in

Westmorland. is can be found between Junctions

38 and 39 on the M6. Unlike most service stations

this one is a family run business, without a Burger

King or Costa Coffee in sight. What you do get is a

farm shop that sells a range of high quality, local

produce, alongside a restaurant which has amazing

views of the Cumbrian landscape. e restaurant

also offers high quality food and is quite

competitively priced in comparison to other

motorway services. I highly recommend this for a

stop off point. If you are getting up there early and

looking for a place to eat and drink you could try

e Royal Yew (CA14

4TJ), which

serves

locally

brewed

beers

and

locally

sourced

food.

p

p

Would you like to treat your

customers and/or friends to a day

or evening watching top quality

non-league football at the Harry

Williams Riverside Stadium during

the exciting 2014/15 season which

sees Ramsbottom United playing

in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier

League PREMIER DIVISION? Well

you can with our outstanding

Match Day Hospitality packages in

our excellent Sponsors Lounge.

For just £25 per head - with a

minimum of 5 persons and a

maximum of 50, you will have a

prime seat in the luxury of the

Frank Rothwell Suite Sponsors

Lounge, watching all of the action

in comfort. You will be provided

with a choice of half-time buffet -

the choices being a regular finger

buffet of sandwiches etc or the

traditional Pie and Peas supper or

Fish, Chips and Peas - the choice is

yours. You will also be provided

with one bottle of champagne plus

a selection of wine, lager, bitter,

cider or shots - again, you chose

the combination.

Your company name will also be

announced over the match public address system before, during half-time and at full time. You will also

be provided with programmes and a full player line-up and, of course, entry to the ground.

And you can get this for just £25 per head for an exciting afternoon or evening watching highly

entertaining football by a side on the rise through the leagues - having secured promotion twice in the last

three seasons.

If you wish to take advantage of this great offer, please contact Ramsbottom United's sponsorship secretary

on 07576 390762 or via email at bobsolo37@googlemail.com.

Ramsbottom United have a number of other sponsorship and advertising opportunities.

- ADVERTISING HOARDING AROUND THE OUTSKIRT OF THE PITCH: £250 for the first year then every

year after that for £150.

- PROGRAMME ADVERTISING: £100 for a full page and £50 for a half-page

- MATCH BALL SPONSORSHIP: £40 per match (which includes company name printed in the programme

and announced over public address).

p

ANSWERS: 1. Bradford PA 2. Salford City 3. e Walks 4. e Sulpherites 5. None - they’ve folded! 6. Evenwood Town

7. An artificial pitch has been laid. 8. Rhyl’s Belle Vue stadium 9. Ramsbottom United! 10 Phil Dean and Jordan Hulme

tony’s teasers1. From which non-league club did Bury sign Paddy Kenny?

2. Former Shaker Gareth Seddon has moved from Chester to which other non-

league club this summer?

3. What is the name of Kings Lynn Town’s wonderful home stadium?

4. What is the nick-name of Harrogate Town?

5. In which league are former Evo-Stik North side Wakefield playing this year?

6. Spennymoor Town have gained promotion to Evo-Stik North this season. e

old Spennymoor club (United) folded a few years back. Which other local club moved

into the town to resurrect the club?

7. What major change has taken place at Welsh Premier side Newtown’s ground

this summer?

8. Another Welsh premier side TNS was knocked out of the European

competition last week. Where did they stage their “home” fixture?

9. Which club won the Evo-Stik North “Club of the Month” award for April/May?

10. Which two members of the Rammy squad have spent the closed season

playing in America?

p

Sat 17th Aug H CURZON ASHTON 1-3 254 Shenton Warrender Pilkington Stopforth + Dawson HulmeTues 20th Aug A Ossett Town 0-2 100 Shenton Warrender Pilkington * Drew Dawson HulmeSat 24th Aug A Warrington Town 0-1 192 Shenton Warrender Pilkington * Drew + Dawson HulmeMon 26th Aug H PADIHAM 1-2 309 Shenton Warrender Pilkington Drew + Dawson Spencer *Sat 31st Aug H AFC Liverpool - FA Cup 5-0 238 Shenton Warrender Roberts * Stopforth + Dawson RobinsonSat 7th Sept H NORTHWICH VICTORIA 2-2 212 Shenton Warrender Roberts * 1 Pilkington Dawson RobinsonTues 10th Sept A Ossett Albion 2-1 73 Shenton Warrender Pilkington Morley + Dawson RobinsonSat 14th Sept A Stocksbridge - FA Cup 2-2 129 Shenton Warrender Pilkington Stopforth Dawson Robinson *Tues 17th Sept H Stocksbridge - FA Cup 3-0 127 Shenton Warrender 1 Pilkington Stopforth Dawson + RobinsonSat 21st Sept A Mossley 4-3 173 Shenton Warrender Pilkington Stopforth Robinson Flannery #Tues 24th Sept H DARLINGTON 1883 3-0 396 Shenton Warrender # Roberts Stopforth Priestley Flannery +Sat 28th Sept A Barrow - 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Grant SHENTON

Dominic SMALLEY

Lee PUGH

Grant SPENCER

Steve HOWSON

Billy PRIESTLEY

Tom WILLIAMS

Scott BURTON

Jon ROBINSON

Lee GASKELL

Phil DEAN

Jordan HULME

Sam COOK

Porya AHMADI

Osebi ABADAKI

Gary STOPFORTH

Matthew HAILS

Jackson RAMM

Jordan YONG

David BELL

Ryan FRYATT

Ross WATSON

Shaun STOCKER

Dan QUIGLEY

Michael FREW

David BRIDGES

Jake JONES

Jason LEE

Sam MULREADY

George THOMSON

Chris WARD

Alex STREET

Managers: Anthony Johnson,

Bernard Morley

Manager: Gary SETCHELL

Referee: Matthew Corlett

Referee’s Assistants: Carl Trott and Mick Southern

Next home game: Monday 25th August, 3pm Rammy v Nantwich Town