61 Ramsbottom United v Frickley

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rammynewsv FRICKLEY21-04-15

Frickley Programme_Layout 1 19/04/2015 21:10 Page 1

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Sat 16th Aug H KING’S LYNN TOWN 2-3 322 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer Howson Priestley Hulm Tues 19th Aug A Workington 0-1 415 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer * Howson Priestley HulmSat 23rd Aug A Rushall Olympic 4-2 161 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer * Howson Priestley Hulm Mon 25th Aug H NANTWICH TOWN 1-4 365 Shenton Smalley Abadaki * Spencer + Howson Priestley Hulm Sat 30th Aug A FC United of Manchester 1-3 1917 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer Howson Warrender Aba Tues 2nd Sept H MARINE 3-2 250 Shenton Smalley + Pilkington Spencer Howson 1 Krou AbaSat 6th Sept H STAMFORD 3-1 357 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer + Howson 1 Warrender AbaWed 10th Sept A Whitby Town 0-2 265 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer Howson Warrender AbaSat 13th Sept A Buxton FAC 1Q 2-3 261 Shenton Smalley Pilkington # Spencer Howson Warrender + AbaTues 16th Sept H WITTON ALBION 3-2 231 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Spencer * Howson Krou 1 AbaSat 20th Sept A Ilkeston 4-2 422 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer * Howson Krou 1 Aba Tues 23rd Sept H CURZON ASHTON 1-1 309 Shenton Grayson * Pugh Spencer 1 Howson Krou Aba Sat 27th Sept A Frickley Athletic 2-4 215 Shenton Pilkington Grayson + Stopforth Howson Krou Mot Sat 4th Oct A Trafford 1-0 294 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Sat 11th Oct H BELPER TOWN 4-2 371 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Sat 18th Oct H BUXTON 2-0 470 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Tues 21st Oct H WHITBY TOWN 4-0 237 Shenton Smalley Pilkington Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Sat 25th Oct A Marine 3-1 366 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson 2 Robinson Aba Sat 1st Nov A Whitby Town FAT 1Q 2-1 233 Shenton Smalley * Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Tues 4th Nov H WORKINGTON 1-1 250 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Sat 8th Nov A Halesowen Town 0-2 358 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Rob Tues 11th Nov H WEST DIDS Lancs Cup 3-0 132 Shenton Smalley Pugh Spencer 1 Robinson + Krou Aba Sat 15th Nov A Nantwich FAT 2Q 3-1 238 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Will Sat 22nd Nov H GRANTHAM TOWN 3-1 351 Shenton Smalley 1 Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Will Tues 25th Nov H BURSCOUGH Lg Cup 5-1 140 Shenton Williams Piacentile 1 Slaven Howson 1 Krou AbaSat 29th Nov A Banbury United 3-0 235 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth + Howson Krou 1 Will Tues 2nd Dec A Salford City Lg Cup 3-1 189 Shenton Smalley Dean Stopforth Howson Krou AbaSat 6th Dec A Matlock Town 1-1 257 Shenton Smalley Pugh Stopforth Howson Krou Will Mon 8th Dec A Atherton Collieries Lancs 1-2 120 Shenton Smalley Grayson Stopforth Howson Pugh Will Sat 13th Dec H STOCKPORT COUNTY 3-0 907 Shenton Smalley Grayson + Stopforth Howson Krou Will Sat 20th Dec A King’s Lynn Town 1-2 510 Shenton Smalley Grayson Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Sun 28th Dec H SKELMERSDALE 0-3 372 Shenton Smalley * Grayson Stopforth Howson Krou AbaThu 1st Jan A Nantwich Town 2-3 285 Shenton Hulme Grayson Stopforth Howson Krou Aba Tues 27th Jan H NORTHWICH VIC LgCup 3-1 158 Shenton Grayson Pugh Harrop Krou Jones AbaTues 10th Feb H HARROGATE RA LgCup 3-1 131 Shenton Slaven Grayson Kuba-Kuba Jones Pugh 1 Laz Sat 14th Feb A Stamford 1-1 319 Shenton Bowyer Grayson Harrop Frost Pugh Broo Tues 17th Feb H RUSHALL OLYMPIC 2-3 223 Shenton Bowyer Pugh Burke Heron Jones Aba Sat 21st Feb A Witton Albion 1-2 349 Shenton Bowyer Pugh Harrop Frost + Jones # AbaTues 24th Feb A Blyth Spartans 0-2 364 Shenton Bowyer Pugh Slaven Robinson Harrop AbaSat 28th Feb H ILKESTON 1-2 290 Shenton Harrop Pugh Burke + Robinson Jones AbaSat 7th Mar A Skelmersdale United 0-3 229 Shenton Harrop Pugh Edghill + Frost Neville WillTues 10th Mar A Stourbridge 2-1 230 Shenton Harrop Neville Edghill Frost Ayres Aba Sat 14th Mar H STOURBRIDGE 0-1 261 Shenton Harrop Neville Edghill + Frost Ayres Aba Tues 17th Mar A Buxton 1-1 197 Shenton Harrop Neville Burke Ayres Bowyer Will Thurs 19th Mar H BLYTH SPARTANS 3-3 234 Shenton Harrop Neville Burke Ayres 1 Bowyer Will Sat 21st Mar A Belper 2-1 221 Shenton Harrop Neville Burke # Ayres Bowyer Broo Tues 24th Mar H BARWELL 0-1 182 Shenton Harrop Neville Burke # Ayres Bowyer BrooSat 28th Mar A Grantham Town 1-0 191 Shenton Harrop Neville Bennett Ayres Bowyer BrooSat 4th April H FC UNITED OF MCR 0-2 2104 Shenton Harrop Neville * Bennett Ayres Bowyer KubMon 6th April A Ashton United 0-1 237 Shenton Bowyer Neville Burke Ayres Frost Aba Weds 8th April H FARSLEY LgCup SemiFinal 1-2 189 Shenton Pilkington Robinson Bennett + Ayres Jones Aba Sat 11th April H HALESOWEN TOWN 1-1 242 Shenton Bowyer Neville Burke Ayres Frost KubTues 14th April H ASHTON UNITED 0-3 212 Shenton Bowyer Neville Burke + Ayres Frost HarThur 16th April A Curzon Ashton 0-1 183 Shenton Bowyer * Neville Edghill Ayres Frost HarSat 18th April A Barwell 4-3 175 Shenton Harrop Neville 1 Burke Ayres Frost KubTues 21st April H FRICKLEY ATHLETICThur 23rd April H TRAFFORDSat 25th April H MATLOCK TOWN


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robbo

Hello everyone, and welcome to the HarryWilliams Riverside Stadium for thisevening’s league game against Frickley. I’dlike to extend a warm welcome the matchofficials as well as everyone associated withFrickley - I hope you enjoy your short visitto East Lancashire and that you have a safejourney home after the match.

Saturday saw us finally post the necessarypoints on the board to stave off our fears ofrelegation - which it was a relief for us toachieve ahead of this week, and eases thepressure for us enormously. We know alltoo well how Frickley must be feeling at themoment and how they will need toapproach tonight’s game. As for us, nowthat the pressure has eased on the lads youmay just see them relax and start to enjoytheir football a bit more over the next threematches.

It’s been a tough few months for everyoneat Rammy and it was good to be able to sitback on Sunday and reflect that our targetof staying in the league has been achieved.e players, management and also ouroutstanding supporters are a real RammyFamily, and have stuck with us throughsome pretty tough times recently. Now thatthe dust is settling on an horrendous ordealof a season, we have a little space to takestock and start to rebuild for next season,hopefully to get us nearer to the standardof football that Rammy deserves.

As my role is now one of management I’vedecided that I’ll be hanging up my boots atthe end of this season. I’ve made 207appearances for the Rams over the last sixseasons, but it has been extremely difficulttrying to manage a team from a position onthe pitch. Molly and Edgy have done a greatjob from the touchline (except when Edgy’sbeen playing himself) but it needs us all toconcentrate properly on that job now, andbring in the players to allow us to do that.

I’d just like to mention the greatatmosphere that was whipped up byeveryone for the Barwell game. With theclub giving everyone half-price travel wehad a coach-load of Ultras, all bedecked in‘s**t shirts’ which were absolutely brilliant.I’m not going to lie, I did ask Carlsberg if Icould borrow his outfit for the next teambash! I’d like to hope that we did everyoneproud down there in the Midlands, and fortired legs to go out and get us those allimportant points in a 4-3 win will hopefullylive long in everyone’s memories.

Whatever happens tonight, I hope thateveryone enjoys the game and wish Frickleythe best of luck with their battle to avoidrelegation. Next weekend they’re at CurzonAshton so they probably see tonight as thebetter chance to scrape to safety, but it’snot in our nature to go at a game half-hearted, so we will be all out to win tonight.


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Welcome to the Harry WilliamsRiverside Stadium. A special welcome totoday’s match officials, and of course, ourvisitors, Frickley Athletic who are, likemany other clubs this season, making theirfirst ever visit to the Harry WilliamsRiverside Stadium.

PHEW!Tonight’s game promised to be a real

nail-biter, and for Frickley it still is. Fromour point of view, we can actually breathea sigh of relief after gathering the points weneeded to stay up at Barwell on Saturday.

In 90 minutes down there we managedto score more goals than we had done inthe previous eight games, emphasisingwhere our recent problems had beencentred.

ere had been a feeling of doubtbuilding up around the club as the gamesin hand began to disappear and not be

replaced by additional points on theboard. Whilst it was generally acceptedthat we would probably not be going

down, football can play some nastytricks. I’ve seen teams, over the years,

dragged into a relegation battle when amatter of weeks earlier they looked

completely safe. Suchwas the danger here at

Ramsbottom, but tobe fair, the resultshaven’t exactly

matched the performances. Had theydone so, then we would have beenshowing much more concern.

However, until the maths adds up, doubtwill always exist, and Saturday finallyremoved any, and after the traumas of thecampaign, we can look forward tocompeting at this level again next season.

For that we should congratulate Robbo,his coaching staff and the squad, many ofwhom were not here as the season began.Back in those dark days of January, survivalwas all we asked for. At last we now haveit and the feeling of relief is almost akin tothat of winning promotion at BamberBridge last May (almost but not quite!)

For today’s visitors, however, relegationis still a possibility. Should they win tonightthen they are safe. Defeat, however, wouldmean that Saturday’s home clash withpromotion-chasing Curzon Ashton takeson a whole new meaning.

It has been a fascinating season, and somany issues will go down to the final gameof the season. at’s how it should be. Notjust in this Division, but throughoutfootball. ere will be shrieks of delightcome five o’clock on Saturday night fromcertain quarters, while elsewhere groansand frustration will follow. Such is football,and I’ll be scrutinising the scores fromaround the country with great interest.

Don’t you just love it?!

tony cunninghamand the wonderful world of

non-league football


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CONGRATULATIONS….to a couple of our old boys.

Chris Wilcock has followed up takingGlossop North End to Wembley for the FAVase Final with promotion to the Evo-StikLeague, and that on the back of a run ofgames that has made our end of season looklike a walk in the park! Well done to him,and many congrats to our old friends atSurrey Street.

A little closer to home, and it was MickySaunders turn to lift some silver-wear as hiscurrent club Haslingden St Mary’s won theWest Lancs League Second Division in somestyle, beating their only rivals Ladybridge 4-1 in front of a healthy crowd of around 150.

As usual, I was unable to travel to Barwell,so I ventured up to see our close neighbours,and a fine game it was too with someexcellent goals. Mickey nearly toppled over

when they presented him with the trophy. Iswear it was as big as him! I also enjoyed thetweets that I kept receiving fromLeicestershire, although there were one ortwo worrying moments. All-in-all though, agood day for the valley.

I expect our crowd will be somewhat thintonight as Bury are offering free admissionfor their re-arranged home game withSouthend United. I seriously wish them wellin their quest for automatic promotion.Hopefully, ursday’s game with Traffordwill attract many more.

Until then, enjoy tonight’s entertainment,and at least we can do so in the knowledgethat our place for next season is alreadyassured.

Enjoy your non-league football!

Congratulations to Robboand his coaching staff forgetting us another chancein the Evostik Premier


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edgy


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Good evening and welcome to HWRS everyone fromFrickley FC for this evenings game.

Well it's been a rollercoaster four and a half months and ourgame at Barwell on Saturday summed up what that time hasbeen like within just 90 sahort minutes of football. It wentfrom the joy to despair and back again, which culminated ina massive three points and guaranteed football at this levelagain next season.

e lads played well on the day against a big and strongBarwell side on a difficult, bobbly pitch. It was a game inwhich we played the better football and other than two softpenalties which we gifted them we fully deserved the win. ejourney home was great and I was really pleased for the fanswho have had to deal with a lot this season and they havestuck by us and the players through the good and bad sincethe turn of the year, but they've always made plenty of noiseand got behind the team so that was for them.

Having taken over we knew it was going to be toughbringing in so many new faces and getting them to settle inand pick up results in a very competitive division but the ladsdeserve massive credit. ey have been some testing times,but the players have showed great resilience and team spiritwhich has seen us through to safety. We now want to finishas high as we can with three home games this week, we wantto finish on a high and hopefully play with abit more freedombecause our home form hasn't been great by any means andwe need to change that starting tonight.

Going forward Robbo and I are already planning for nextseason and are looking at improving the squad, whilst alsokeeping that great team spirit that we've now got, but addingquality in certain areas to give us a better chance of pushingon next season.

Our opponents tonight are still in the relegation dogfightand we know that they will come here and give everythingthey've got to get a win which will be a huge boost to theirsurvival hopes. We are desperate to finish well andmomentum is a big thing in football and the lads know wewant to take as many points as possible from now until theend and finish really positively.

Enjoy the game!


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the offside ruleis nothing safe from

FIFA m

eddling?Here we go again! Just when

you thought they’d gotbored of messing with eBeautiful Game, yet

another strange and unnecessary rulinghas been handed down from football’sequivalent of e Vatican, tinkering yetagain with everyone’s old favourite eOffside Rule. Not content with turninggoalkeepers into harrassed and harriednervous wrecks who now have to beable to half-volley a ball up-field withtheir wrong foot, or forcing players toget off the pitch if they choose toreceive treatment for an injury (oftenprefering to struggle on to thedetriment of their own health), this

latest gem from FIFA is confusing thesocks off everyone across football, andis causing the match officials to comein for no end of stick when they applythe rule to its letter, as we saw last weekin our game against Ashton United.“ey changed the offside-rule, “ I hearyou cry, “It’s the first I’ve heard of it!”And I’ll be honest, it was the first I’dheard of it when the boys over the far-side tried to explain the strange,confusing and occasionally bizarredecisions coming out of the linesmenand referee. at’s when I reckoned itwas time to investigate, so pull up achair and join us while we figure outjust what the heck is going on.


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First stop on the tour of rule-makingcentral sees us visiting the website of theInternational Football Association Board.e IFAB are apparently the people who feltit necessary to bring us such gems are“Jerseys must have sleeves” in 2002, and theinfamous and almost completely pointlessback-pass rule for which an “indirect free-kick is awarded”.

It seems that the IFAB was first convenedway back in 1886 when the English FA feltthat they needed to talk to the Irish, Scotsand Welsh about standardising the gameacross the British Isles. Anyone who’s everseen the Highland game of Shinty will knowexactly what would have happened if ‘eProvinces’ were left to their own devices -lots of drinking, running and fighting withlittle more than bruises and shattered teethto show for it!

Although FIFA was created in 1904, theinner mysteries of rule-making and tinkeringhave remained the domain of the, virtually

unchanged IFAB ever since. Nowadays thepanel comprises representatives of theEngland FA along with the Welsh, Scottishand Northern Irish and a slack handful ofFIFA folks (who presumably aren’t just therefor the free lunch).

Sandwiches are eaten by balding men insuits who mumble amongst themselves, andafter a suitably important seeming delay, aload of changes to the laws of the gameemerge from the cigar smoke like WayneRooney’s forehead rising up through thetreeline. I can count 26 members of thepanel in the photo I found on their website,and it has to be noted as an aside that oneof them looks disturbingly like our very ownTony Cunningham, the Riverside p.a.announcer.

So they’re the decision-makers, andpresumably some of them know a little bitabout the game of football, so let’s have alook at the text of the infamous Rule 11, orOffside Rule as we all know it...


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Offside position

It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.

A player is in an offside position if:

- he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and thesecond-last opponent

A player is not in an offside position if:

- he is in his own half of the field of play or- he is level with the second-last opponent or- he is level with the last two opponents

Offence

A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the balltouches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee,involved in active play by:

- interfering with play or- interfering with an opponent or- gaining an advantage by being in that position

No offence

There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:

- a goal kick- a throw-in- a corner kick

Infringements and sanctions

In the event of an offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick tothe opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringementoccurred (see Law 13 - Position of free kick).


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So that’s the rule which is causing somuch trouble. It’s the rule which issupposedly so difficult to interpret that astorm of controversy was whipped up atmy beloved Deepdale when Rooney un-sighted the Northend keeper whilst in anoff-side position, but was deemed to notbe “involved in active play” or “gaining anadvantage by being in that position”.Whatever the decision, Ander Herreratucked away the equaliser and the Mancswent on to win the game.

On the face of it I don’t see anything thatseems particularly contentious in thewording, but we are starting to see somestrange decisions coming across on thepitch. What is it that I’m missing in thatsimple couple of paragraphs?

Our attention turns to Hellmut Krug,who is a Deustsche Fussball Liga refereeingexpert who believes that the new wordingwill reduce the number of contentiousdecisions.

No-one will let me have aphoto of Ander Herrera’s goalfor United at Preston, so I’vehad to break out the felt-tips.Rooney, although offside,pulled out of the way of theshot, and the goal counted


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“One of the changes defines moreprecisely when a player is actively involvedin the game. Previously, just a movementor a gesture was enough for the referee toclaim he was interfering and blow foroffside. at left a lot of room forinterpretation. e new definition meansthat a player only becomes active if heattacks or puts under pressure a defenderwho wants to clear the ball. Just a minoracton is no longer enough to make himactive and therefore offside.”

So the act of being in a distractingposition isn’t enough for the referee toblow - hence the Rooney goal at Deepdale:although Rooney was a world-class strikerstanding just feet from the keeper, hewasn’t active and therefore not offside.What if the offside player is in the way ofthe pass you’re trying to make, or in aposition to put pressure on that player? Isthat seen to be gaining an advantage?at’s a point for debate it would seem,and for the referee’s discretion.


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Krug continues, “e secondclarification is about differentiatingbetween an intentional and unintentionalintervention by a defender. is isimportant: an intentional intervention bythe defender means the attacker is nowonside. If, on the other hand, a defenderdeflects a shot and the ball bounces tothe attacker without his knowing, thenthere is no new interpretation of the ruleand the attacker remains offside.”

Yes, you are hearing it right - the refereehas to try and decide in the blink of an eyewhether the defender meant to touch theball through onto the toe of the off-sidestriker.If he did then the striker is on-side(presumably the defender is just rubbish)and free to side-foot home past thekeeper! Does this mean that as soon asthe defender touches the ball, all thoseoff-side players are now suddenly on-sideagain? I’m more confused than ever!

at’s Hellmut Krug’s take on it, whichsounds very much like he’s towing theparty line, but how in particular did therule change manifest so awkwardly atRammy v Ashton last week?

e best example we could find of it isthe photo of Robbo making a run into thebox a couple of pages ago. e linesmanhad decided that Robbo was off-side, andthe referee had broken into a leisurelystroll as he put the whistle to his mouthand waited... and waited... and it was onlywhen Robbo actually touched the ballthat it was time to blow the whistle andcall play to a halt.

Now this didn’t happen once or twice,it happened over and over and over again,almost twenty times in all - the referee

waiting each time until the offendingplayer physically touched the ball beforeblowing his whistle! What possiblepurpose could this unnecessary andrepeated delay have?

It means players think they are on-side,and race thirty yards for the ball forabsolutely nothing, while the fans watchattack after attack that is never going togo anywhere, yet the referee lets itcontinue until the inevitable momentwhen the offside player touches the ballor ‘interferes with’ the defender. Maybeonce or twice the ball creeps through tothe keeper, but referees could let those goanyway.

e biggest side-effect is that thesupporters haven’t got a clue why theofficials seem to be making such a load ofbonkers decisions, letting the players runthemselves into the ground almost for thesheer satisfaction of dragging them all theway back for a free kick.

Mumblings of “ey were the worstofficials I’ve seen in a very long time” wereaccompanied by a lot of more choicelanguage hurled at the men in black, andall because they were the officials whoseemed to be applying the absolute letterof the law... and here’s the really mad thing- I’ve had a good rootle around and I don’teven think that the “wait til he touchesthe ball before blowing the whistle” is inthe latest round of rule ‘updates’. atlooks to be from a previous session of theIFAB!

Now I freely admit that I’m no referee,and I’m no expert on interpreting andapplying the laws of football, so I’d be veryinterested to hear if I’m barking up the


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striker A is apparently not offside - presumably the keeperjust has to ignore him until a defender intentionally touchesthe ball and he becomes magically onside

even if striker A runs to the ball, he’s not offside unlesshe touches it - a fact which the keeper doesn’t knowand so will have to defend against

wrong tree with my understanding of allthis. Hopefully the fellas sitting in thechanging room flicking through theprogramme before they come out toofficiate tonight’s match understand all ofthis a heck of a lot better than me... doyou lads?

I’d like to hope that, after a whole loadof strange rule changes that seem to havedone damage to the game, the IFAB willstop messing trying to fix something thatisn’t broke, but I fear that there will bemore to come over the next few seasons- apparently sin bins are on the agenda forthe next meeting - God help us!


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frickleywest yorkshire’s coal miners

West Yorkshire Frickley were formed in1910 as Frickley Colliery FC and was part ofFrickley Athletic Club of Frickley Colliery,who were owned by the Carlton MainCompany, a model maker. e club offeredother sporting activities that included, the‘Harriers’ athletic team and a cricket team,which had become the origins of many otherfootball clubs. For sixty years ‘e Blues’,nicknamed due to their tradition of wearingblue at home, played in local leagues thatincluded, the Sheffield Association, the oldMidland League and the Cheshire CountyLeague.

In 1970 ‘e Blues’ moved back to thereformed Midland Counties League and in1974 changed their name to Frickley AthleticFC, which signalled a rise up the non-leagueladder. ey were accepted into theNorthern Premier League in 1976 aftersuccess in the Midland League Cup, but thisstay was to be a short one. After a third placefinish in the 1979/80 season and withWestfield Lane, their home ground, beinggiven a ‘B’ grading, Frickley replaced RedditchUnited in the Alliance Premier League, whichis now known as the Vanarama Conference.

In 1985/86, Frickley had their mostsuccessful season to date, which saw themreach the third round proper of the FA Cup,defeating Football League opposition in theform of Hartlepool United, before beingknocked out by local rivals RotherhamUnited. e season also saw ‘e Blues’ liftthe Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup and

they also finished second, in the newlynamed Gola League, with then manager SeanMarshall being voted as ‘Gola LeagueManager of the Year’. Unfortunately thesuccesses of the previous year were a distantmemory when Frickley finished second frombottom in the league the following seasonand were relegated to the Northern PremierLeague.

Upon relegation the club consistentlyfinished around mid-table in the NorthernPremier League, but fortunes seemed tochange in the mid 1990’s and after a thirdsuccessive sixteenth position in 2000, theyappointed former Barnsley and NewcastleUnited player Stewart Barrowclough to themanagerial hot seat. e change inmanagement brought a number of newyoung players to Frickley, but it appearedthey were not up to the challenge, and atwelve nil reverse at Worksop Town, led toBarrowclough’s short reign ending.

e next five years saw a number ofmanagers come and go at Westfield Lane,but in 2006 the ‘e Blues’ enjoyed their bestseason for twenty years, when they finishedas runners-up, just three points behindchampions Blyth Spartans. is seemed toknock the stuffing out of Frickley, as theywere defeated on penalties by North FerribyUnited in the Play-Off Semi-Finals, anincredible fourth time that season that theyhad lost in this way. is harrowing defeatagain signalled a downturn in fortunes forthe club, which saw them go through five


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different managers in quick succession. elast of these, Peter Rinkcavage, who hadjoined from Worksop Town, was dismissedat the end of the 2011/12 season, which sawFrickley finish in the bottom three, but avoidrelegation at the expense of NorthwichVictoria, who dropped down due to theiron-going financial problems.

In May 2012 ‘e Blues appointed KarlRose as their new manager, recruiting theformer Barnsley striker from Goole AFC.Along with assistant manager JamesDudgeon, the task in hand for the young duowas a big one, as they only had oneregistered player from the previous season.After a slow start to their first season incharge they managed to assemble acompetitive side that finished eighteenth inthe league and they also won the Sheffieldand Hallamshire Senior Cup for the first time

in nine seasons. Last season Frickley Athleticfinished just above the relegation places intwenty-first place.

ere are some similarities between theRams and Frickley, particularly their homeground Westfield Lane, the stadium issituated next to Frickley Colliery CricketClub. Frickley are planning to redevelop theground along with the surrounding area in a£17 million regeneration of the formerFrickley colliery site.

e Blues are currently sitting in twentiethposition in the Northern Premier League,one point behind the Rams. e encounterearlier in the season between these two sidessaw Frickley run out 4-2 winners, sohopefully we are in for an entertaining gamethis evening.

- words by Gareth Bird


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Ben Simpson (Goalkeeper) Aged 29Previous Clubs; Brigg TownGoalkeeper Simpson is now in his second spellwith the club after re-joining the club inNovember 2013. His first spell, in which heplayed for Frickley between 2009 and 2011,was ended by a serious injury, but havingregained full fitness, he is now back betweenthe sticks.

Luke Jeffs (Defender) Aged 31Previous Clubs; Goole AFCJeffs followed the management team whenthey left Goole to join e Blues in thesummer of 2012. In his time at Goole, theexperienced defender made over 200appearances. Surely his influence will have amajor impact on Athletics backline thisseason.

Gavin Allott (Striker) Aged 28Previous Clubs; Belper Town, DinningtonTown, Parkgate, Goole AFC, Guiseley &Worksop Parramore.Allott signed for Frickley in July 2012 andcertainly has experience in the Non-Leaguegame, playing at a number of levels. He is aprolific striker and was the clubs top goalscorer last season with thirty goals. is is aplayer that defenders certainly need to keeptheir eye on.

Reece ompson (Striker) Aged 21Previous Clubs; Lincoln City, Retford UnitedExciting striker ompson joined Frickley fromRetford United in mid-October. Since then hehas proved to be an important addition to theside, scoring a number of important goals. eyoungster has now formed a deadlypartnership with fellow striker Gavin Allott.


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meet the away fanmichael johnson fills us in

What's the mood like in the Frickley campat the moment?

We’re all very confused. We're used to beingperennial relegation fodder, usually in thebottom three and desperate for every point.We've been down there again (and have foundourselves back down there) but we've been ashigh as twelfth at one point this season (we allgot nosebleeds!) after a good little run, thenlost a few and dropped down then went onnice run again which unfortunately endedwith the loss against Barwell.

Are things going to plan would you say? I'd probably say that things were starting to

come together a bit more than in previousseasons. We now seem to have a Plan B andwe're not solely reliant on Big Gav (Allott) topull us out of the mire

What are your hopes for the rest of theseason?

Mid table comfort would have been nice,not having to go into April wondering if we'rereliant on a team in a different league goingbust to save us (we've got previous!). islooks like it could be an exciting week allround though!

For you who are the players to watch at themoment, and why?

Reece ompson joined us a couple ofmonths ago and he is very exciting - he canshift and he finds the net. He needs moreprotection from the officials though, he's onlyyoung & some of the more 'agricultural'defenders in this league leave their mark (shall

we say). John Cyrus (JC) is one of our centrehalves and I don't think he knows how goodhe is. I love watching the bloke play (eventhough I'm usually up the other end).Obviously you can never take your eyes off BigGav, but I think the main talking point for usall has been the comeback of Matty Bloorfrom an absolutely horrible injury againstBrigg in the Doodson Cup last season (whichcaused the game to be abandoned) - youcould see against Barwell that he's gettingback to his previous level of performance. Youcan count the number of poor games that'she's had for us on one finger. He's the captainthat every team needs. PS forget it, they're allon contract!

How long have you been a supporter? Forty plus years (although I barely look old

enough). My dad used to do the books forFrickley when I was a nipper and they gavehim a complimentary season ticket every yearto say thanks - but he worked most Saturdayafternoons and could only make midweekersso after he'd taken me to a few matches heasked if I could have the season ticket insteadof him, and that was me hooked

What are your most memorable times withthe club, and what sticks out for you thisseason?

A couple of occasions stand out. BeatingHartlepool away in 1985 in the FA Cup secondround is one of them. ey were unbeaten athome that year and were top of their league.It was around the time of the miners’ strike


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too which added a little something to theatmosphere (to say the least) and we beatthem 1-0. e supporters’ coaches wenthome with extra ventilation in the windowsbut we didn't care (although the coachcompany probably did). Around the sametime (85-86 season) we had our best seasonwhen we finished second in the Gola League(previously the Alliance League, currently theConference!). We had a cracking team thatseason - Sean Marshall was player manager.e last game of the season was on a BankHoliday Monday and we had to travel to

Yeovil and we had to win to finish second -nice fixture planning Gola League, a nicesteady 900 mile round trip on a Bank Holiday!Turned out to one of those games when youthought no matter what we did we weren'tgoing to score. But with about 10 mins left across came over and someone (it could havebeen our striker Wayne Noteman, it couldhave been their defender or keeper) put it inthe onion bag. e hordes behind the goal (all10 of us) invaded the pitch & that was prettymuch job done, a great season. Being Frickley,we got relegated the following season!

“We were all very confused.We’re so used to being perennial

relegation fodder!”


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e stand out game this season for mewould be the home victory againstFCUM - we've never beaten them sincethey formed. We'd been abject (andthat's being kind) in the previous gamein the FA Cup against Farsley and Ithought we were in for a caning againagainst FCUM.

I was actually going to give the game amiss! True to form they went 1 nil up butthen we really went for it and won 4-1,Gav got another hat trick. Our young“Ultra's” gave FCUM a run for theirmoney on the singing front and noiselevel and it was generally a crackinggame with a cracking atmosphere

How would you change the club if youwon the lottery?

Obviously I'd give Karl and Dudge animproved playing budget and probablydo some work on the playing surface. It'sbeen vastly improved over the last twoseasons but there is still an infamous'Frickley Bobble'. I'd renovate the FrankHill Stand on the far side of the groundand cover behind the goals, But the mainchange I'd make would be to have somepaid staff 'behind the scenes' to give thelikes of Neil & Penny (who run the bar,wash the kit etc, etc) and many others abit of a break. Also I'd put a covenant onthe main stand so that it could never bealtered or 'improved' - it's a classicalwooden, atmospheric, old school stand.

How would you describe yoursupporters?

ey're all diamonds, some mayberough diamonds but diamonds none theless. Let's be honest, no-one followsFrickley for the glamour do they and I

suspect we are seen as a bit intimidatingby some - mainly because we're all trueYorkshire men and women who tend tosay what we think. But get to know usand you would understand our sense ofhumour & what makes us tick.

How would you describe the town forany visitors, and what one word wouldyou use to describe the ground catering?

I've lived in Sheffield for the last 15years so I would struggle to do the'tourist information' bit but from what Igather the streets of South Elmsall arepaved with gold and the sun is alwaysshining. Let's be honest, even StevieWonder could see that the old place isstill struggling after atch did herdamage, but that's life I'm afraid.Regarding the catering - apparently aNorwegian ground hopper (we don't getmany of them!) was at the Blyth matchand said it was the best pie he'd everhad, and the local authority recentlygave the snack bar a 5* rating. at's theother change that I'd make if I won thelottery - I'm a vegan so I'd make all thecatering veggie or vegan! So the oneword that I would use to describe thecatering would have to be hyphenated -good-chips!

Tell us a little bit about yourself...I'm 51, Management Accountant for a

social enterprise organisation inSheffield, married to Sarah for 12 yearsand 11 months (trying to tie in aromantic anniversary break in Ashtonwith our away game on the 21st Feb), nokids, 3 dogs, 2 horses, 2 cats, very little ofmy own hair, all my own teeth, ownhouse, own car, GSOH.


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goal

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We’d like to thank the following people who havealready pledged to sponsor the team for every goalscored for the remainder of the season.

Trigger £2 Stephen & David £2Ste, Angie & Ethan £4Maria £1Mr & Mrs Darkside £2TobyTrotter £1Little Katie £1smiffylad £1Rammy Blue £1Chris S £2Johnno & Bernard £2Tony Cunningham £1Lui Delverto £1Rob Moss £2John Ayers £2Richard Isaacs £2Emma James £2Ian McCool £2Frank Crook £2Paul Gaskell £5Tanners Croft £2

If you’d like to join in (you get your name in theprogramme and receive your very own signed teamphoto as a thankyou) then please make your pledgeon the club forum, email [email protected] orcall Rob on 07944 038512

e Fans Fund total currently stands at £854


George Bowye

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George Bowye


yer

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1. Alan Devonshire has just left his post of manager of which club?

2. Who has been appointed the manager of newly formed Hereford FC?

3. In which county do Coalville Town play?

4. Which colours do Loughborough Dynamo play in?

5. What is the nickname of Stafford Rangers?

6. Whose ground is situated in Bracken Moor lane?

7. Which club won the West Riding County Cup Final at Valley Parade?

8. Nicky Clee has just made his 250th appearance for which Conference club?

9. By what name will the Vanarama Conference be known next season?

10. What is the official title of former evo-Stik League club Cammell Laird?

ANSWERS: 1. Braintree Town 2. Peter Beadle 3. Leicestershire 4. Gold and Black 5. e Boro 6. Stocksbridge Park Steels 7. Bradford P.A. 8. Altrincham 9. Vanarama National League 10. Cammell Laird 1907 FC

tony’s teasers


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AN 7. B

ere was a feeling of euphoria amongstthe players and supporters of the Rams asthis crucial victory preserved the club'sstatus at Evo-Stik Premier level after aseason of more ups and downs than theBig One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

After hitting the back of the net onlythree times in the last eight games, theRams forwards reached over-drive downin Leicestershire, having been pegged backon three occasions, their heads failed todrop and substitute Luke Heron notcheda fourth six minutes from time, with theclosest the home team came to equalisingagain was a late effort that cannoned backoff the bar.In a highly entertaining encounter, player-manager Jon Robinson lit the touch-paperafter only eight minutes when he was onhand to tuck home a fumble by the homekeeper from Lee Gaskell's effort.

Four minutes later the scores were levelas Ant Carney volleyed home from 12yards.e Rams were awarded a penalty threeminutes before the break. ese awardsdo not always result in conversions for thepenalty-shy Rams, but Lee Neville tookresponsibility this time and fired hometo give the visitors the lead once more.

Five minutes into the second half sawthe hosts regain equality, and again itcame from the spot. after Jamie Towerswas upended. Carney duly converted.

Home keeper Liam Castle was again atfault as Robinson notched his secondand the Rams third on 71 minutes,latching on to a poor clearance from thecustodian.

However, the customary quick reply dulyarrived three minutes later, when thereferee's over-worked finger again pointedto the spot after a touch of deja vu. Towerswas once again brought down, andCarney, once again, notched anotherequaliser.

Most Rammy supporters wouldprobably have settled for a point at thisstage, but the fighting spirit amongst thesquad saw them go out for an extra twopoints to finally stave off any remainingthreat of relegation, and their reward dulyarrived on 84 minutes.Luke Heron had only just arrived from thesubstitute's bench when he found himselfin the right place to convert a cross fromRonbinson and seal the points for theRams.Despite the late scare, the woodworkensured that the long journey homewould be made much shorter thanks totheir status being preserved after a seasonto forget.

ree home games this week completethe season, with the Rams now looking fora comfortable mid-table position.

3 - 4Kirkby Road Sports Ground18th April 2015Att: 175Barwell Goals: Carney (5, 12, 74) Rammy Goals: Robinson (8, 71), Neville (42), Heron (84)


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rammy in exilesky sports statto richard isaacs

Good evening one and all - come down offthe ceiling yet? And ...... breathe!

e Rammy Rollercoaster of 2015 hasbeen a serious white knuckle ride - one ofthose most vaunted of all scary ones.Unlike the Rammy Rollercoasters ofprevious years where it has been a ride ofepic proportions, the highs followed bymore highs and even more highs, this yearhas been - well - the other emotions ofworry, concern and fear. But, amazingly,having hit just three goals in eight games, asensational four at Barwell on Saturday hasensured that this week is not one of bottomsqueeziness but of relief of a job completed.

Even from my far off position, it has beenconcerning. Friends who have 'caught theRammy bug' down here have been askingwhats happened on seeing the league tableson Sky Sports News HQ or in the nationalpapers. But, at last, we can breathe a littleeasier.

Of course, the hard work starts again now.e last four months or so have been the

most traumatic of myinvolvement in Ramsbottom

United. Managers come andmanagers go. I have seen a fewcome and go even in my shorttime of watching the Rams -Sculpher, Hart, McLellan, Feeley(transferred to HMP FC), Williams(no, not Harry!). But none ofthem have had such an effect on

the general running of the club than thedepartures in January of Johnson, Morley,Moses and the majority of our ultra-loyalsquad. When we linked arms on 31stDecember 2014 and wished everyone aHappy New Year, little did we know that, interms of our beloved football team, 2015would commence with a defeat .... and thenthe capitulation.

So what Robbo and Edgy have achieved inthe last four months already lifts them tolegend status, given the extremely duff handthey were given, is nothing short ofmiraculous. To rebuild a squad in midseason, which they were forced to do as,one by one, our players rushed for the exitsand joined the Manchester United plaything at Moor Lane is one of the hardesttasks you could have been thrust but thelads have achieved it - and finally staved offthe fear of the drop from whence we came.ose memories of Darlington and BamberBridge can remain joyous ones.

Now security is completed, we can nowfocus on getting to the end of the seasonand Robbo, Edgy and the coaches can havea little while to size up pre-season and workon creating their own squad. I will takenothing away from the players who havefinished this season with us - they havebeen fantastic in a very difficult cause andhave done their very best. But this is nowan opportunity for the management toshape their vision, create their own legacy.


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Bernard and Jonno wanted to create a legacy forthe club. ey did - but it was all washed awaywhen Neville, Neville, Giggs and co cameacalling. What they created was a wonderfulteam spirit but they took it with them ... soreally left us with nothing but fantasticmemories and worries of where this seasonwould climax. ankfully, it will end with uswhere we started - in this league.

And what a huge relief that is. I can tell you,as I stood taking picture of the Gales HSBHampshire Plate rugby final at Chineham (nearBasingstoke), my delight on seeing us win atBarwell was palpable. e weight of reliefoverpowering.

So, we have today, ursday and Saturday left.A week which held so much fear ... now holds arelaxed state of mind but a hope that we canactually finish in mid-table, a position I expectwe would have accepted pre-season.

We welcome Frickley Athletic tonight, a teamwe actually owe something to having turned usover having been 2-0 up. Let's hope that they

didn't book a one-way minibus trip toRamsbottom .......

e cricket season has started, the football(and rugby) season edges to its conclusion. esun is out - although it is actually still really coldas I found out on ursday and Friday whilstscoring my first cricket of the season andfreezing throughout in the northerly wind.Bloody northerners ... even their wind ishorrible!

My final comment for tonight - is a thank you.To our brilliant, loyal supporters who I believemade a huge difference at Barwell on Saturday.We are the proper non-league supporters. Wehave seen some seriously fake ones this monthbut when it comes to real fans of your footballclub, ours have little comparison. Wonderfulaway support, passionate of our club. I saw it atAshton United when I last came up. Worried,yes but still fully supportive. ere have been afew speed humps in the road and a fewdiscerning voices .... but we made it in the end!

COME ON YOU RAMS!


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0 - 3e Harry Williams Riverside Stadium14th April 2015Att: 212Rammy Goals: Ashton Goals: Deegan (52), Johnson (81, 90)


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Ashton United just about deserved all 3 points which shouldguarantee them a play-off place but should feel themselves bothfortunate and more than flattered by the final scoreline. e Ramslargely dominated the first 45 minutes playing some of their mostconstructive and progressive football of the current era . Had JonRobinson been able to match precision with power first with aheader and later with a volley they could easily have gone into thebreak with a deserved and perhaps comfortable lead.

However they were too often thwarted by a well marshalledAshton defence who presented the best organised back line in redsince Rorke's Drift aided and abetted by linesmen whose penchantfor the offside flag, 20 in all against the Rams, suggested they wereauditioning for the Royal Navy corps of semaphore signallers. evisitors had also showed that they were quick and sharp on thebreak but it took a combination of a poor clearance and amomentary loss of laser like precision from the linesman to giftthem the opening goal 7 minutes into the second half. By commonconsent up to and including senior Ashton officials Ben Deeganwas well offside when put through but from the moment he racedclear from his advanced starting position there was no doubt thatthe ball would end up where it finished - in the bottom corner.

e Rams could not recapture their first half momentum. eirone, and truthfully, only chance of regaining parity fell to LeeGaskell a few minutes later but his cross shot from a narrow angleswerved just the wrong side of the far post with the keeper beaten.After that the Rams attacks were as irritating as e Riversidemidges but no more likely to cause real hurt or alarm to thevisitors. Any hope of a revival disappeared with 10 minutes leftDale Johnson having the easiest of chances after the Rams defencehad been shredded down the left. en in added on time to adda bit of insult to injury the substitute was given the benefit of thedoubt with another offside flag, a marginal decision to the extentof at least 5 yards, and coolly shot past Grant Shenton.

So another disappointing evening down at the Riverside whereyou have to go all the way back the balmy late November autumndays to find a home win in the league. It will be quite typical of theRams to pick up some points in the next two difficult awaymatches at Curzon Ashton and Barwell but the fear is that theseason will go into its frantic last week of 3 home matches againsta mixture of fellow struggling and relegated teams with themneeding at least a win under real and mounting pressure. Squeakyposterior time!


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0 - 3e Harry Williams Riverside Stadium14th April 2015Att: 212Rammy Goals: Ashton Goals: Deegan (52), Johnson (81, 90)


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Much like Top of the Pops andTomorrow’s World in the 1970’s, followingRammy United seems to have beenbecoming a regular part of our ursdaynight schedules and one that I could getvery used to, although I’m not sure thatthe players and their weary legs wouldagree. Last ursday saw us travelling theshort distance to Curzon Ashton’s home,e TMBC Stadium (It actually stands forTameside Metropolitan Borough Council,but I prefer the e Maracana BernabauCalderon Stadium as the locals like to callit).

Summer had made an early arrival inRamsbottom, and after a day of sunshineit seemed to me that ninety minutes offootball would be the perfect end to theday. I had spent a good hour in theafternoon sat with Andy Massey in theKay Brow gardens, drinking cups of tea

and discussingsubjects as farranging as BorisJohnson, WinstonChurchill andwhere you weremore likely to getshot, Salford orBurnley, so by thetime Ste and AngieCarlsberg arrived at6.45 I was more

than ready for an evening’s entertainmentof NPL football.

We arrived at the ground just before7.15, and took the opportunity of a quickphoto shoot at the statue of outside theground. Amazingly, the town of Ashtonhas the proud claim of having three WorldCup winners born within its boundaries,Geoff Hurst and Jimmy Armfield whowere in England’s 1966 winning team andSimone Perrotta, who won it with Italy in2006. A proud claim indeed, but howmany World Champion Black Puddingthrowers have they produced? Not asmany as Ramsbottom, so one-nil to us onthat front. On entering the ground wewere met by a very picturesque sunset,which was naturally forsaken to go for aquick pre-match pint in thebar/portacabin. As we drank our pints ofBoddingtons (the cream of Manchester,my arse) the bar/portacabin started to fillwith travelling Ultras and there seemed tobe varying degrees of optimism within theranks about our chances against the playoff chasing, Nash (which is a wonderfulnickname in my book).

To say this was a local derby betweentwo teams who still had matters to sortout at both ends of the table, theattendance of just over 180 (many of whowere from Ramsbottom) was a littledisappointing to say the least.

from the darksidedarren comer reports on the latest

rammy ultras adventures


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Despite this, I was impressed with thegroup of twenty or so Nash supporterswho boosted the atmosphere with theirflags and singing throughout the gameand reminded me of our very ownRammy Ultras. An excellent effort onthat front from the Curzon supporters.

On the subject of our supporters, Iwould like to take this opportunity towelcome our latest branch, e RammyUltras of Kilmarnock. Several of ourgames this season have been watched by

a young (well, young compared to manyof us old farts) Kilmarnock supportercalled Craig, who I first had the pleasureof meeting at our Lancashire Cup gameat Atherton Colleries back in December.Originally hailing from Kilmarnock ineast Ayrshire, Craig moved to the Buryarea for work reasons and has since spenthis spare time ground hopping aroundthe Greater Manchester/east Lancashirenon-league circuit.

Just like Rhett Butler inGone With the Wind, LeeNeville heads into thebeautiful sunset


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Since then, Craig has been to several of ourgames and even proudly sports a Rammyscarf these days, so if you see a young SweatySock (Jock) around the Riverside Stadium goand say hello to our Killie/Rammy Ultra. Wemight be a ‘tiny’ team but, the appeal ofRamsbottom United has now spread toKilmarnock, Southampton, Chesterfield and,thanks to some of the town’s ex-pats, someoverseas destinations.

I was especially thankful that we had someinteresting characters on the terraces with us,as the on field action wasn’t much to writehome about and the lads went in at half time

trailing by 1-0. We did not particularlydeserve to be losing but, by the same tokenwe did not deserve to be winning either.

e main talking point of the half was theappearance at the ground of a couple of veryfamiliar faces at the other end of the terraceto where we were gathered, Messrs AnthonyJohnson and Bernard Morley. Despite thewell documented issues arising from thedepartures of these two Rammy legends, itwas nice to see our supporters shaking handsand having a good old chinwag with the pair.At least the poor first half performance fromthe Rams meant Salford would not be

from the darksidedarren comer reports on the latest

rammy ultras adventures


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putting in a seven day notice on any ourplayers in the near future for which we allbreathed a huge sigh of relief.

e second half saw a much neededimproved performance from our lads,although Shents had to make some greatsaves to keep the difference between theteams down to just the one goal (think ofthe Buxton away game, but without abitterly cold Derbyshire air). is meantit was a pretty tight and tense second halfwith Rammy creating a few chances toequalise, the best of which was a headerfrom Robbo which, unfortunately, wassaved by the Curzon keeper. e headerfrom Robbo turned out to be the lastaction of the game and I have a feelingthat if it had gone in the net, you wouldhave heard the roar from the supportersback home in Ramsbottom.

So, with four games to play we stillrequired another victory to seal our placein the Northern Premier League for nextseason and avoid the dreaded drop backto the First Divison. How this will end upis anybody’s guess, but (spoiler alert) letsjust say that I’m writing these words youare reading through a post-Barwell,celebratory hangover.

Finally, a big birthday, shout out to LittleKatie for this ursday. Katie is one ofthose supporters who works tirelessly inher support of the club, and one of thoseunsung heroes you only get at footballclubs at this level. Have a good un andenjoy your pie ‘n’ peas, Little Katie

The Rammy Ultras ofKilmarnock, or Craig as he’sknown to his mum


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1 - 0Tameside Stadium Stadium16th April 2015Att: 183Curzon Goals: Shaw (33)Rammy Goals:

Curzon Ashton edged closer to securing a play-off spot while at thesame time maintained Ramsbottom's relegation worries with this victorywhich was much more comprehensive than the score-line would suggest.Only visiting keeper Grant Shenton kept alive the Rams hopes of gettinganything from this game with a string of brave stops, time and againthwarting the Blues forwards from close range as at times the Rams goalled a charmed life.

With both sides having played two days earlier and both playing theirthird game in six games, it wasn't surprising that the early pace was down,but from the beginning Ramsbottom looked like they were going to haveto work hard to contain the Curzon forwards.It didn't take long for thechances to be created however and in the eighth minute Ashley Stottalmost played in Niall Cummins, but Shenton got there first. His clearancewent straight back to Stott who diverted the ball back towards Cumminsbut fortunately for the Rams, Cummins was offside having gone for theearlier pass.

Joe Guest then hit the side netting two minutes later after picking theball up on the edge of the box and ghosting past a defender and then agreat delivery by omas Souvemanien saw Stott fling himself at the ballbut was just unable to reach it.

Another teasing delivery, this time from Lee Pugh just eluded Stott andCummins as Curzon turned the screw, and they were beginning tofrustrate Curzon as crosses were intercepted and defenders got in te way,but the breakthrough finally arrived on 33 minutes.

Ramsbottom had enjoyed a bit of possession, but Curzon suddenlybroke out, Cummins crossing low for Stott, only to Shenton make a greatsave to turn the ball for a corner. It was a short reprieve though as DannyShaw scored his second Curzon goal, heading low into the corner, givingthe keeper no chance.

Ramsbottom survived a couple of half chances before the interval, butwere grateful for a string of saves early in the second half as Curzonthreatened to run riot.


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1 - 0Tameside Stadium Stadium16th April 2015Att: 183Curzon Goals: Shaw (33)Rammy Goals:

Within seconds of the restart a ball over the top sent Stott away down theright. He squared for Cummins who looked certain to score but his effortlacked power and Shenton made the save.

Jordan Wright then got round Lee Neville and crossed low for Stott, but againShenton rescued his side and two minutes later the combination was repeated,with Stott again denied at close range and then a throw-in to Rowney lead toGuest crossing for Cummins but the striker missed the target with his header.

It was one way traffic as Wright again got in a cross. Shenton half stoppedStott's effort, the ball was cleared off the line and he then pounced on the ballas it ricocheted of Cummins' legs.

Two crosses from Wright and Stott were just begging to be converted butneither saw a Curzon player able to get to the ball and then Shenton againwon the private dual with Stott after a fine pass by Pugh had played in theCurzon striker.

Shenton almost blotted his copybook as he spilled a 20 yarder from AlexBrown but he recovered the ball before the Curzon forwards could takeadvantage.

Having survived so many chances, Ramsbottom perhaps felt they couldsalvage a point and began to get more into the game, and a breakaway sawDonal McDermott get past Rowney but Danny Shaw got across as he pulledthe trigger, diverting the Rams first real chance into the side netting.

Osebi Abadaki had their next effort, Hakan Burton getting down to gatherthe ball from a drive at his near post with ten minutes remaining, but Curzonwent close to increasing their lead with when Mark Bett saw his shot deflectednarrowly over the crossbar, before Shenton held on quite comfortably afterAlex Brown bent a free kick over the wall.

Deep in stoppage time, the Curzon supporters could barely watch as theRams won a corner, but seconds later it was cheers as the ball finished inBurton's arms and the final whistle blew.

It had been a hard earned victory which should have been a little easier butfor the visiting goalkeeper, but at the end it was three priceless points asCurzon's promotion hopes stayed alive.


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A seven goal thriller down at Barwell,which surprised us given the lack ofgoals recently. How did it feel on thepitch?

It was a crazy game which didn't reallyfeel like a proper match to me, it washard to describe. Poor mistakes cost usthree goals and hard work and hungergot us four so we got the three pointswe needed and that's all we wanted.

Tell us about the penalties at yourend...

Both stone wall pens! And if it wouldhave been a wet or flat pitch I wouldhave saved the second.

Mathematically safe from relegationnow - did the lads breathe a sigh ofrelief after the game?

It was good to know that the threepoints we earned has kept us up. emanagement team deserve this! Andthe players are very happy also.

It's been a long and difficult secondhalf to the season with a scratch team

that was more or less throwntogether. Is this now a time tostart rebuilding properly withan eye on the medium andlonger term future?

I think so. I don't speak forthe management but if it

was me in charge then the hard workfor next season would have started onSunday. I believe that the manage doshare a similar out look.

In your relatively short career thismust have been the toughest fourmonths you've experienced. It's hard,isn't it.

It has been very tough for mepersonally I won't lie. From being 16years old I've been involved in winningteams and the last four months havebeen very hard. I lost a lot of teammates which was very hard to swallow,but that being said I've made just asmany with the new lads that have beenbrought in. But this is football at theend of the day and things change.

We now have Molly on board as agoalkeeping coach and general shouty-fella with a bit of experience. For us helooks to have been what we weremissing, would you agree?

Molly coming in is very good for thechanging room because he's neutral interms of knowing the lads. Phil andjohn were already friends witheveryone in the changing room beforethey took the job which I think can behard. So it is good to have him aroundyeah.

grant shentonshouting from between the sticks


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A tough game tonight against a Frickleyside that still have it all to play for. Howdo you anticipate the game playingout?

Very tough opposition tonight aswe saw away at their place - verydirect and strong up front. eyneed points so will be workingvery hard to get them.

“It was a crazygame which

didn’t feel like aproper match

to me”


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So here we are, finally able to have a littlesit back and catch our breath. I’m sure theplayers don’t feel quite like that with yetanother rammed week of fixtures, butknowing we are safe must take so muchpressure off their shoulders - pressure dueto happenings before they even joined ourclub, let’s not forget. As Real Rammy fans(I’ll come to that in a minute) we’re moreor less stuck with the fortunes of our club,be they up or down, but I think we owe ahuge debt of gratitude to the playerswho’ve come in at short notice andmanaged, through hard work andcommitment, to dig us out of a nasty hole.anks to their endeavour we are destinedto play Evostik Premier football again nextseason. ey as yet owe no real allegianceto Rammy, but I’ve been very impressedwith the way they’ve flung themselves intokeeping Rammy up, and despite this notbeing a memorable season for the best ofreasons, let’s give these lads their due.Although I’d like to see Rammy take thepoints tonight, my thoughts are with the

poor sods from Frickley, who asyet are in the same

position as we were lastweek - unsure how it’sall going to turn out- we don’t envy you!

Now I’d like to saya word to the people

who have come towatch tonight’s match

when you could have stayed at homewatching the telly, or gone to the freegame that Bury are hosting a couple ofmiles up the road. It saddens me to lookback through the photos I have taken overthe past few season to see just how manybandwagon jumpers have got off the busnow that we’re not winning everythingand pushing promotion. It’s easy tosupport a team that’s top and setting theleague on fire, but a couple of months ofadversity and they’ve all scarpered!

Just take a look at the photo opposite,which I took at the Ashton United game,and you see a stand that was full week-inweek-out that has suddenly becomevirtually empty, and this is when the teamtruly need the support of their fans.

Tonight’s game is for the real fans, there’sno doubt about that. Frickley fans know alltoo well how it feels to surf the scummytide-line of relegation, and their fans havecome over to Rammy tonight in spite of it.e Rammy fans who are here tonight arethe real supporters of this club - the oneswho are here come rain or shine, but getforgotten or shuvved aside when we go onthat big FA Cup run in a couple of season’stime and the whole of Bury jumps on thebandwagon. When Warrington did so wellin the FA Cup the fans started appearingfrom the woodwork, while the BBCpointed the cameras at their painted facesand jester hats, not the real fans who’dbeen there the week before and are still

supporters clubon the terraces of rammy


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there now that the cameras have packedup and gone home again.

And so I’d like to thank everyone who’sreading this programme tonight for beingthe real lifeblood of non-league football.Everyone from the players and clubofficials, the match officials, Emma whomakes the brews right down to the fellawith the dog who stands behind the goal -you’re here to make sure that non-leaguefootball continues to exist, and I take myhat off to you. Let the sheeple who wearthe United shirts all go and be dull carboncopies of one another because the realcharacter in a person comes out whenyour team is struggling. How can you reallyunderstand the highs of promotion or of abig win if all you ever do is win? It doesn’tmake sense if you’ve never lost! When wescored last week it felt almost as good aswhen we bagged the play-offs win atBamber Bridge, because we’d struggled forso long without scoring and desperately

needed the points to avoid the drop.Avoiding relegation is ten times the elationof getting promoted, and the part-timerswho have wandered off into the mist aremissing out on it all, on the real passion offootball, and of life.

e friendships you make, and thememories you share from the play-off winsare strong, but they’re nothing to thoseyou made at Skem when we missed out onthe play-offs, or at Witton Albion, whichfor me was the lowest point I’veexperienced as a Rammy fan.

e success will return to the Riverside, Idon’t doubt that, and with it will come thehoards of jester-hat-wearing idiots, like abunch of kids following the circus intotown, but have a look around you nowbecause the people who have cometonight are the real life of this club, andthey are the ones who are here when it getstough or when it ain’t pretty.

Well done! Keep up the great support.

When the going gets toughthe girls blouses run off to dosomething else - loads ofempty seats the second thebandwagon de-rails!


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Ben SIMPSONJames KAYMaCauley PARKINSONJake STANNARDJohn CYRUSJameel IBLEBrad RileyMatt BLOORReece THOMPSONGavin ALLOTTLuke HINSLEYLuke HORNSLEYLuke JEFFSBobby JOHNSONChris SALTSam LEIGH

Manager: Jon ROBINSON Manager: Karl ROSE

Referee: David BentonReferee’s Assistants: Lee Freeman, Lee Hible

Next home game: ursday 23rd April 7:45pm, Rammy v TraffordSaturday 25th April 3pm, Rammy v Matlock Town

Grant SHENTONKyle HARROP

Lee NEVILLEJamie ROTHER

Alex FROSTMark AYRES

Osebi ABADAKIMatty BURKELee GASKELL

Jon ROBINSONDavid KUBA-KUBA

Ian BENNETTGeorge BOWYER

Tom WILLIAMSLuke HERON

Callum JONESTom BROOKSPhil EDGHILL

Malachi SLAVEN


Documents

61 Ramsbottom United v Frickley