[NBR] Local non-league - Fleetwood Town, AFC Blackpool, AFC Fylde, Squires Gate etc

[Bispham Seasider]

Nah not an ignorant question at all!!

The English football pyramid has direct promotion and relegation right down from the Premier League (at Level 1) down to Level 10 (which consists of 16 regional leagues such as the North West Counties League Second Division where AFC Blackpool play). Below that there are the likes of the West Lancashire League (the WLL Premier Division us at Level 11). However, there is no direct promotion and relegation to the NWCL 2nd Division. Promotion is only on the basis of application and then meeting strict criteria with stadium, facilities etc.

The first four levels are all fully professional (Premier League to Football League Two). At the fifth level, the Conference National (currently called the Blue Square Premier under a sponsorship), the majority of clubs are full time, however there are six part-time clubs where they probably have a mixture of full time and semi-pro players.

Below the Conference at level six are the Conference North and Conference South which is the level Fleetwood are now at. All the players are semi-pro at that level, but they will still get reasonable money. The likes of Doughty and Hills will be using it to get regular football at a competitive standard while still looking for a Football League club. And Doughty has said that he also wants to spend time studying too. And of course Hills has his coaching for kids.

When you go further down the leagues, players get less and less money to the level where some will just get expenses really.

The good thing about the system in English football is that clubs at any level can in theory get promoted eventually to the Premier League. And it does happen. Take Wigan Athletic who are now established in the Premier League. Although they were founded in 1932, they spent most of their history in non-league football. They were promoted to the Football League in 1978. Yet before that they played the likes of Fleetwood Town in front of the proverbial "one man and his dog" in the Northern Premier League and before that the Cheshire County League!

[Dynamogal]

Thanks - great information!

[Bispham Seasider]

Results from Saturday -

Fleetwood vs Hucknall Town match postponed due to waterlogged pitch. Town had been hoping for a crowd of around 1,500 for the game.

Ramsbottom United 2 Squires Gate 1, attendance - 104

AFC Fylde vs Maine Road match postpoined due to waterlogged pitch

Irlam 1 AFC Blackpool 0, attendance - 70

So not a great start for the first four local non-league teams. Both Fleetwood and Fylde pitches were waterlogged with the torrential rainfall on Saturday which also showed how good the pitch is now at Bloomfield Road and what a grat job the groundsman does there to even have the game on at all. And the other two teams both lost!

Midweek games are

Tuesday 12th August

Farsley Celtic vs Fleetwood Town, Conference North
Town will now make their debut in the Conference North at Farlsey Celtic who were relegated from the Conference North last season. Farsley are another club who had looked at changing their name. Farsley is an area in Leeds and the club had wanted to change their name to FC Leeds to try and appeal to a wider fanbase (Farsley Celtic Leeds), but appear not to have done so!

Squires Gate vs Colne - NWCL Premier Division
Colne were founded in 1996 and were elected striaght into the NWCL 2nd Division. They reached the top flight of the NWCL in the 2003-04 season. Colne lost at home to Congleton Town on Saturday.

Ashton Town vs AFC Blackpool - NWCL First Division
Following their opening day away defeat, Blackpool face another away match, this time at Ashton Town who are from Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Manchester. Ashton were hammered 5-1 at Padiham on the opening day.

Wednesday 13th August

Nelson vs AFC Fylde - NWCL Premier Division
Like Fleetwood, Fylde will now make their debut in mid-week. Nelson is a small town in East Lancashire. Nelson lost 2-1 at Ashton Athletic on Saturday.

[Bispham Seasider]

Tuesday results -

Farsley Celtic 4 Fleetwood Town 1

Fleetwood got hammered with all five goals coming in the seconfd half, Farsley went 3-0 up before Town pulled a goal back through Colin Potts in the 83rd minute, and Farsley added a fourth in injury time.

Ashton Town vs AFC Blackpool - was yet another match postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, not sure about Colne vs Squires Gate yet, no result come in.

[Bispham Seasider]

Last nights Squires Gate result was a 3-3 draw with Colne with an attendance of 62. Gate were 3-1 up but got pegged back by two quick goals in the 61st and 64th minutes.

The attendance for Fleetwood Towns 4-1 defeat at Farsley Celtic was 241. And three of Farsley's goals were set up by former Blackpool winger Rory Prendergast, who kept Wes Hoolahan, when he first came here, out of the first team for a couple of matches!!!

[Bispham Seasider]

This weekends matches are -

Hyde United vs Fleetwood Town, Conference North
After their 4-1 hammering at Farsley Celtic in mid-week, Town are again on their travels, this time to Hyde, south of Manchester to play Hyde United. Hyde are an established Conference North side who finished in 9th place last season.

Squires Gate vs Biddulph Victoria, FA Cup extra preliminary round
Gate play in the FA Cup tomorrow in the extra preliminary round at home to Staffordshire club Biddulph Victoria who play in the Midlands Football Alliance.

Leek CSOB vs AFC Fylde, FA Cup extra prelimary round
Fylde also play in the FA Cup preliminary round travelling to Leek in Staffordshire to play Leek CSOB and the match is to be featured on television. ITV Local are filming a number of FA Cup matches involving non-league clubs throughout the preliminary rounds. The matches will then be available to watch online at itvlocal.com, itv.com and thefa.com. All the FA Cup matches from these rounds will be hosted at

http://www.itvlocal.com/facup

This is also Fyldes debut in the FA Cup. Leek CSOB (County School Old Boys) play in the same league as Fylde, the NWCL, but a division below, the First Division.

Congleton Town vs AFC Blackpool, FA Cup extra prelimary round
AFC Blackpool are away to Cheshire based Congleton Town in the FA Cup. Congleton are in the NWCL Premier Division and will be favourites to win with Blackpool playing a division below in the NWCL First Division.

[Bispham Seasider]

Wednesday 13th August result

Nelson 1 AFC Fylde 3
Finally got the result from this match, and Fylde got their NWCL Premier Division campaign off to a flying start at Nelson. They took the lead just before half-time with a header from former 'Pool youth team player Sean Paterson. After the break Nelson equalised. Michael Clark scored Fyldes second on 78 minutes with Mark Wane adding a third in the 82nd minute. Attendance - 145

[Bispham Seasider]

Results from Saturday

Hyde United 5 Fleetwood Town 3, attendance 316
Town conceded another five goals making it NINE goal in their first two games in the Conference North. A real baptism of fire. Former 'Pool defender John Hills was sent off on 77 minutes in a match which saw two penalties. There were around 100 Town supporters at the match.

Congleton Town 2 AFC Blackpool 2, atendance 92
AFC Blackpool earned a replay against a club one division higher. Congleton took a 2 goal lead in the 2nd half but were pegged back by two Blackpool goals in the 67th and 88th minute. Replay (at Blackpool) is on 19th August.

Leek CSOB 1 AFC Fylde 4, attendance 68
Fylde stormed into the first preliminary round of the FA Cup. Leek took the lead in the 6th minute but Fylde replied quickly in the 12th minute, adn took a 2-1 lead into half-time. Two further goals in the 2nd half saw them win.

Squires Gate 3 Biddulph Victoria 1, attendance 55
Gate also got through to the first prelminary round of the FA Cup with a decent win with all the goals coming in the second half.

[Bispham Seasider]

Tuesday results -

AFC Blackpool 1 Congleton Town 4, attendance 54
AFC Blackpool were comfortably beaten at home by Congleton who play a division higher, in their FA Cup extra preliminary round match.

Atherton LR 0 Squires Gate 1, attendance 35
Gate got a well deserved away victory in their NWCL Premier Division match against Atherton Laburnum Rovers, from Atherton near Manchester.

Wednesday match -

Silsden vs AFC Fylde
Fylde have won both their matches in the NWCL Premier Division sice being promoted and look to make it three out of three tonight away at Silsden. Silsden is a small town in West Yorkshire, however although they represent the town of Silsden, the team play in nearby Keighley at the 7,800 capacity Cougar Park, the home of Keighley Cougars Rugby League club.

[Bispham Seasider]

Some results from the West Lancashire League -

Premier Division

9th August
Garstang 2 Charnock Richard 2
Poulton Town 1 Barnoldswick Town 1
Vickerstown CC 0 Freckleton 0

12th August
Blackpool Wren Rovers 1 Garstang 2
Freckleton 3 Poulton Town 1

16th August
Coppull Uited 3 Poulton Town 1
Eagley 3 Garstang 4
Euxton Villa 1 Freckleton 1
Vickerstown CC 0 Blackpool Wren Rovers 3

19th August
Freckleton 2 Fulwood Amateurs 0
Poulton Town 0 Blackpool Wren Rovers 2

First Division

16th August
Crooklands Casuals 4 Wyre Villa 3
Hawcoat Park 0 Norcross & Warbreck 2

Second Division

16th August
Furness Cavaliers 8 Lytham Town 0

[Bispham Seasider]

Wednesday 20th August result

Silsden 4 AFC Fylde 2, attendance 142
Fylde were 3-0 down by half time, and although they scored two quick goals in the 2nd half they, were already 4-0 down and they still lost 4-2.

[Bispham Seasider]

This week Fleetwood Town manager Tony Greenwood won a prestigious award when he was named Non-League footballs top manager.

Greenwood has guided the club from the North West Counties League to just two steps below the Football League, the Conference North in just four years. And following winning the Northern Premier League Premier Division title last season, he was named the "Non-League Club Directory Manager of the Year" He follows managers such as Martin O'Neill now at Aston Villa who took Wycombe Wanderers to the Football League in 1993 and also Jan Molby and Sammy McIlroy.

Tomorrow Fleetwood are at home to Tamworth Town in the league. Tamworth are managed by Gary Mills who won the European Cup as a player with Nottingham Forest in 1980.

Both Squires Gate and AFC Fylde are back in FA Cup action this weekend in the First qualifying round.

Gate are away to Congleton Town who last week beat AFC Blackpool in the extra preliminary round.

Fyldes game at home against Sheffield FC pits them against the oldest football club in the world. Sheffield FC were formed 151 years ago. They play one level higher than Fylde in the Northern Premier League Division One South. They just missed out on promotion last season and are already setting the pace this season with 7 points from 3 games. Granada Television will be covering the match tomorrow. Fylde will be hoping for a much bigger attendance than their opening home league match when under 140 fans turned up, only three months after they took about 5,000 fans to Wembley for the FA Vase final.

AFC Blackpool get back to league action tomorrow, playing Leek CSOB at home.

[Bispham Seasider]

Fleetwood Town 1 Tamworth 2, Conference North - attendance 1,051
With Blackpools away match at Southampton live on Sky Sports being played in the club before the match, Fleetwood saw a good crowd of 1,051 turn up, but unfortunately Town lost again and remain in a relegation place in this their first season in the Conference North. Tamworth were 2-0 up before Fleetwood got a goal back late on.

AFC Fylde 1 Sheffield 1, FA Cup first preliminary round - attendance 291
A crowd of 291 saw Fyldes first ever FA Cup home game. A better attendance for the club but still not great considering they were getting up to 1,000 for some of their FA Vase games last season and especially as they are promoting themselves as "the club of the Fylde coast" and placing big adverts in the Blackpool Gazette. Maybe the name change from Kirtkham & Wesham to Fylde hasn't worked for them as they won the FA Vase as K&W then just changed their name. Maybe it will take time of course as they are still getting more people in than they used to when they were in the West Lancashire League and would play in front of the proverbial one man and his dog.


Congleton Town 1 Squires Gate 1, FA Cup first preliminary round - attendance 136
Gate also drew 1-1 in the FA Cup which means the Fylde coast will have two clubs in the 2nd premlinary round. There are six preliminary rounds in total - the Extra preliminary round, (which was last week), First preliminary round, then the First Qualifying round followed by the Second, Third and Fourth Qualifying rounds before the First Round when League One and League Two clubs enter, and the Third Round when Championship and Premier League clubs enter! All this to accomodate a massive 761 clubs who entered the FA Cup this season. The prize money has also gone up this season. Even clubs who lose in the very first extra preliminary round earn themselves £750, which rises up to £12,500 by the 4th qualifying round, then the First round its £20,000, 2nd round £30,000, 3rd round £75,000, 4th round £100,000, 5th round £200,000, 6th round £400,000, Semi-final losers get £500,000, then for the Final the runners-up get £1,000,000 and the FA Cup winners get £2,000,000. Not bad!

AFC Blackpool 1 Leek CSOB 1, NWCL First Division - attendance 32

[Bispham Seasider]

Highlights and interviews from AFC Fyldes 1-1 FA Cup match against Sheffield FC last Saturday are on ITV Local here -

http://www.itvlocal.com/facup/?player=All_FaCup_15&void=229512

[Dynamogal]

Yeah, the link worked for me! Who (names) was being interviewed at the end?

[Bispham Seasider]

Pretty sure that one was Mick Fuller the AFC Fylde manager, not sure who the Sheffield bloke was though, presumably their manager who is apparently called Chis Dolby.

There are a few videos on there with highlights from the preliminary rounds. To think that 761 clubs enter the FA Cup, which started two weeks ago and ends at Wembley next May. It is a massive competition and some non-league clubs who reach the first round will have played 4 or 5 games just to get that far!

Many years ago Blackpool were drawn against Fleetwood in an early round when they reached that far, with the game moved to Bloomfield Road as Fleetwoods ground back then was tiny. We beat them 4-0 but it shows how the FA Cup throws up some games like this. Tiny Havant & Waterlooville who are more like a village team, went to Anfield last season in the FA Cup and twice took the lead.

And yes Blackpool have lost to non-league opposition in the FA Cup twice, both to the same club and in two consecutive years!!!! We lost to tiny Altrinhcam 1-0 at home in the 1st round in 1984-85, in front of a crowd of 4,486. Then in 1985-86 we were drawn against them again, this time in the 2nd round and again lost to them 2-1 at home in front of 5,037!!

[Bispham Seasider]

Tuesday results

Sheffield FC 4 AFC Fylde 0, FA Cup replay, attendance 285
After their commendable 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield, Fylde were well beaten in South Yorkshire and so ended their first time in the FA Cup.

Squires Gate 0 Congleton Town 3, FA Cup replay, attendance N/K
Just like AFC Blackpool in the last round, it took a replay for Congleton to win against Blackpool opposition.

This now leaves just Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup qualifying rounds. They enter the competition in th enext round, the 2nd qualifying round along with the other Conference North and Conference South clubs. Conference National clubs enter in the 4th (and final) qualifying round before the first round proper.

Talking of Fleetwood Town -

Fleetwood Town 0 Gateshead 2, Conference North, attendance 684
Town continue to struggle in this their first season at this level. They have though come a long way in such a short time, with successive promotions plus the stadium re-development. Perhaps this season will have to be one of consolidation, and their fans will have to accept that maybe the club needs to just ensure they survive relegation.

Right now they are 21st out of 22 clubs with 4 points from 6 games. However they do have a game in hand ironically against the only club lower than them, Hucknall Town). Last Saturday they had a crowd of 1,051, but saw a 35% drop tonight down to 684. Of course Tuesday evenings attendances are often lower. However, their poor start to the season needs to be turned round if they want to see attendances rise again. Fortunately they are still the 4th best supported team in that league (average 892 after three home games) behind AFC Telford United (ave 1,856), Kings Lynn (ave 1,176) and Southport (ave 983).

[Bispham Seasider]

AFC Fylde, AFC Blackpool and Squires Gate all saw their games postponed following the torrential downpours. The only fixture that went ahead was Fleetwood Towns away match at King's Lynn

King's Lynn 1 Fleetwood Town 0, Conference North, attendance 1,143

King's Lynn, like Fleetwood were promoted to the Conference North last season. Lynn however have have adapted to life at a higher level better, as they currently sit in 11th place with Town now 21st out of 22 clubs. Quite how King's Lynn are in the Conference North when they are based in Norfolk I don't know, but the long trip down south ended up pointless for Town and the 20 odd fans who joined them. The goal came in the 18th minute, although Town at least could take heart from an improved performance.

On Tuesday Town make their debut in the Setanta Shield (*) away to Harrogate Town in a First Round match.

(*) Also known as the Conference Cup, the competition is open to clubs playing at steps five and six of the Football League system, which basically covers the three Football Conference divisions - the Conference National plus the the two regional leagues, the Conference North and Conference South.

[Bispham Seasider]

Harrogate Town 1 Fleetwood Town 1, (After Extra Time - Fleetwood won on penalties) Setanta Shield First Round, attendance 147.

Fleetwood won through to the second round of the Setanta Shield on Tuesday evening in Harrogate, winning on penalties after the two clubs drew 1-1 and extra time produced no more goals. Fleetwood manager Tony Greenwood is hoping that the result will kick start the teams season.

[Bispham Seasider]

Saturday 13th September results

Conference North
AFC Telford United 0 Fleetwood Town 0, attendance 1,805
Town came away with a very creditable draw at Telford one of the favourites for promotion to the Conference National, and also one of the best supported non-league teams with a superb stadium too, the New Bucks Head. Town also survived a penalty kick as keeper Mike Hale saved a second half penalty.

In the lead up to this match Telford undertook the biggest ever safety operation in the clubs history and for the first time had to pay police costs for the match (something seen at every Football League and Premier League match but very rare at non-league football level) after a number of incidents involving Fleetwood fans the last time they visited Telford in May 2007. Telford had to put into effect full segregation with away fans even having their own parking area. In the end just 68 Town fans made the trip and the match seems to have been peaceful!

Town now lie in 19th place with 5 points from 8 games in the 22 team Conference North.


NWCL Premier Division
AFC Fylde 6 Abbey Hey 1, attendance 165
Fylde continued their good early season form with an emphatic victory over Abbey Hey with a hat-trick from Mark Wane, two goals from Richie Allen and former Blackpool player Sean Paterson adding another.

Squires Gate 3 Maine Road 1, attendance 81
Gate took the lead in the 11th minute and after Maine Road drew level, took the lead again in the 20th minute before adding a third on 88 minutes.

The NWCL Premier Division has 22 teams. AFC Fylde are now in 7th place with 9 points from 4 games and Squires Gate are 12th with 7 points from 5 games


NWCL First Division
Cheadle Town 2 AFC Blackpool 0, attendance 46
Blackpool were beaten by two late goals in the second half.

In an 18 team NWCL First Division, Blackpool are struggling having played 4 games and managed just one point. They currently lie in 16th place. They are kept off the bottom by Rochdale Town also on one point, and Ashton Town who have lost all of their 5 games so far, scoring 3 goal and conceding 20!