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

[Bispham Seasider]

Just thought it might be of some interest to have a thread with information and news about Fylde coast area non-league football clubs. There are quite a few ranging from Fleetwood Town who in the 2008-09 season will play in the Conference North, just two levels below the Football League to the likes of tiny Wyre Villa, a village club who play at probably the most picturesque ground on the Fydle in the rural village of Stalmine in Over Wyre.

I will first list all the local non-league clubs and what leagues they play in. Then post details about the clubs themselves

Conference North
(step 2 of the National League System (*) and level 6 of the overall English football pyramid)

Fleetwood Town FC

North West Counties Football League Premier Division
(step 5 of the NSL and level 9 of the football pyramid)

AFC Fylde
Squires Gate FC

North West Counties Football League Division One
(step 6 of the NSL and level 10 of the football pyramid)

AFC Blackpool

West Lancashire Football League Premier Division
(step 7 of the NSL and level 11 of the football pyramid)

Blackpool Wren Rovers FC
Freckleton FC
Garstang FC
Poulton Town FC

West Lancashire Football League First Division
(not part of the NSL, level 12 of the football pyramid)

Norcross & Warbreck FC
Wyre Villa FC

West Lancashire Football League Second Division
(not part of the NSL, level 13 of the football pyramid)

Lytham Town FC
Thornton Cleveleys FC

(*)The National League System is the seven levels of football below the Football League. Above the NLS is the Football League and Premier League which. There are also leagues below the NLS, however none of these leagues have automatic promotion to any NLS league.

[Bispham Seasider]

Fleetwood Town FC

Fleetwood Town FC were re-formed in 1997. The club was originally known simply as Fleetwood FC and was founded in 1908. They played for most of their history in the Lancashire Combination. In 1968 they were founder members of the Northern Premier League (NPL). But in 1976 the folded due to financial difficulties.

They were re-established in 1977 as Fleetwood Town FC, but had to play at a lower level in the Football pyramid, joining Division one of the Cheshire League. In 1982 they moved to the North West Counties League (NWCL) in it's inaugural year. They entered in Division Two and in 1984 were promoted to Division One. In 1985 they reached the final of the FA Vase, losing to Halesowen Town 2-0 in front of a crowd of 16,000 at Wembley. In 1987 the NPL established a second level and Fleetwood were placed in the First Division, becoming the champions in the first season. In 1996 the club again folded.

They were re-formed as Fleetwood Wanderers FC in 1997, but again had to move down the pyramid, being place in the NWCL Division Two. Under a sponsorship deal they almost immediately changed name to Fleetwood Freeport FC. They were promoted to Division One in 1999 and were renamed Fleetwood Town FC in 2002. They were promoted again as Division One champions in 2005 then the next season were promoted yet again when they finished second in the NPL First Division. in the 2006-07 season they won missed out on promotion from the NPL Premier Division (the NPL now known as the UniBond League under sponsorship). However, they were champions in the 2007-08 season and so won promotion to the Conference North. During the season they establised a record crowd for the league when 2,666 fans saw them draw 1-1 at home to Frickley Athletic.

Fleetwood play at Highbury stadium, Fleetwood. They are currently redeveloping the stadium. One new terrace was added in 2007 about 1,200. Two new similar sized terraced stands are also being added. And the club have plans for a 1,000 seater stand with four executive boxes, new changing rooms, dinning facilities, a supporters bar on the ground floor and a cafeteria on the 1st floor.

Blackpool play Fleetwood in what is now an annual pre-season fixture at Highbury stadium. Blackpool Reserves also play their home matches at the stadium. In the 2008-09 season though the Reserves will have to play some matches at Bloomfield Road due to the building work at the stadium.

Official website -http://www.fleetwoodtownfc.com/

[Bispham Seasider]

Squires Gate FC
Squires Gate FC are one of three non-league clubs based in Blackpool, with all three based in the Squires Gate area of the town. And even more oddly, all three based near enough next to each other. Squires Gate and Blackpool Wren Rovers are literally next door neighbours on School Road, and AFC Blackpool play "over the road".

Squires Gate were founded in 1948 as Squires Gate British Legion FC. They spent their early years in the local Blackpool & District Amateur League. In 1961 they moved up to the West Lancashire League (WLL) where they spent the next 30 years until 1991 - which whilst in the football pyramid system does not have promotion and relegation to any of the leagues above it. Promotion is by application and clubs are only relegated due to things such as financial difficulties. In 1991 they were elected to the NWCL, joining Division Two. They currently play in the NWCL Premier Division. In June 2006 the clubs then chairman called for the amalgamation of Squires Gate, Blackpool Wren Rovers and Blackpool Mechanics (now AFC Blackpool), bit nothing came of it.

Official website -http://www.squiresgatefc.co.uk/

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AFC Fylde

AFC Fylde will play in the same league as Squires Gate (NWCL Premier Division) in the 2008-09 season having won promotion the previous season from Division One. They are though a club with big ambitions.

The 2008-09 season however will be the first season for AFC Fylde as they were previosuly known as Kirkham & Wesham FC, which was formed in 1988 with the amalgamation of Kirkham Town FC and Wesham FC. In their first season the competed in the WLL Divison One, replacing Kirkham Town. They remained in the WLL until the the end of the 2006-07 season, winning the league for 7 out of the last 8 seasons. They were then accepted into the NWCL, joining Division Two. In their first season they won promotion to the Premier Division. They also entered the FA Vase for the first time - and ended up winning it at Wembley in May 2008, beating Lowestoft Town 2-0 at Wembley in front of about 19,000 with around 5,000 Kirkham fans.

The club play their home matches at Kellemargh Park in Freckleton, where they moved as their home ground in Kirkham was not big enough. The new ground has a 200 seater main stand. The record crowd is 1,093 set in March 2008 for the FA Vase quarter-final match against Coventry Sphinx.

They have plans though to move back to Kirkham and build a new ground. They changed the name to AFC Fylde in an attempt to appeal to fans from the whole of the Fylde coast. They also have a 15 year plan to reach the Football League. Their plan is to reach the Conference National by 2015 and the Football League by 2022.

Both the club chairman, Dai Davis and club president David Haythornthwaite are Blackpool fans. Haythornthwaite apparently still has an executive box at Bloomfield Road. He has previosuly had a failed bid to buy out the Oyston family from Blackpool and has had some very public disagreements with 'Pool chairman Karl Oyston. He does though still sponsor Blackpools Football in the Community programme. Once his bid to buu Blackpool FC failed though he began pumping money into Kirkham & Wesham who had previously been a successful WLL club but who were not really considered to be a club who would go any higher. Now of course they have aspirations of reaching the Football League, and market themselves as "the club of the Fylde Coast"

Official website -http://www.afcfylde.co.uk

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AFC Blackpool

Founded in 1947 as Blackpool Mechanics F.C., the club have just re-braned themselves as AFC Blackpool under which name they will be competing as from the 2008-09 season. And in the same season will play the newly formed club AFC Liverpool. So Blackpool will play Liverpool in the league this season after all!!

They currently play in the NWCL Division Two and ar based at Jepson Way Squires Gate close to Squires Gate FC and Blackpool Wren Rovers FC. They did spend a short spell in the 1990s at the council owned Stanley Park Arena which has a small cantilever stand which has around 500 seats (it might be more, I am guessing). It is mostly used for athletics and so has a track around it, and the rest of the arena is made up of grass banks. They only lasted there if I recall corectly, one or two seasons.

They played their first years in local leagues and joined the WLL in 1958. In 1962 they joined the Lancashire Combnation and when the NWCL was formed in 1972 they were placed in Division Three. They have spent all their time since then in the NWCL, being promoted and relegated at various times. In 2005, Lytham St.Annes FC who had just won the WLL, merged with Blackpool Mechanics.

In 2006 they had their biggest game in the clubs history when they played FC United of Manchester in the league. With the game attracting so many FCUM fans, it was switched to Bloomfield Road where a crowd of 4,300 saw FCUM beat Mechs 4-2.

In July 2008 the club changed it's name to AFC Blackpool with the full approval of Blackpool FC, in an attempt to establish themselves as the number one football club in the resort outside of the Football League.

Official website -http://www.blackpoolmechanicsfc.co.uk/index.php

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Blackpool Wren Rovers FC
Founded as Wren Rovers FC in 1931, they play on School Road, Squires Gate next door to Squires Gate FC and over the road from AFC Blackpool.

They currently play in the WLL Premier Division. They have however previously played in the NWCL. When new rules came in which meant clubs had to contain some sort of geographical location in the name they changed name to Blackpool Rovers FC. However in 1998 they added Wren back in to become Blackpool Wren Rovers FC.

They were founder members of the WLL when it was re-formed in 1959 and then played in the Lancashire Combination then the NWCL. However, financial difficulties meant they had to drop down the football pyramid and join the WLL in the 1998-99 season.

No idea if they have a website as I can't find one!

[Bispham Seasider]

Freckleton FC

Founded in 1931 they currently play in the WLL Premier Division. They are based at the Hodgson Memorial Ground in Freckleton.

The clubs best spell of success came in the 1980s when they were Division One champions three consecutive seasons. Freckleton is a village to the south of Kirkham and as such has always had to compete with Kirkham & Wesham FC (and before that both Kirkham Town FC and Wesham FC) and now with the very ambitious AFC Fylde being based so close, the club face a struggle to attract fans.

Don't think they have a website.

[Bispham Seasider]

Garstang FC

Based in the small town of Garstang in the farthest east of the Fylde, they play their home games at the Riverside in Garstang and currently play in the WLL Premier Division and are current champions of the league.

Garstang previously played in local leagues before joining the WLL in 1994. They spent a number of seasons being promoted and relegated through the three divisons in the WLL. In 2006-7 they were promoted to the Premier Division as Division One champions, and they followed that up by winning the Premier Division in 2007-08. A crowd of over 200 saw them beat Turton FC at home and crowned champions in May 2008. Howver, despite this recent success, the manager Gerry Hargreaves and his assistant left the club at the end of the season saying, "It's frustrating winning a league and knowing you can't go any higher. At the moment Garstang have no ambitions to move beyond the West Lancs but they might want to in future."

Don't think they have a website.

[Bispham Seasider]

Poulton Town FC

Founded in 1947, they have previosuly been known as Poulton Athletic FC and Poulton FC. They are based in the small town of Poulton-le-Fyde to the west of Blackpool and play their home matches at Cottam Hall. They currently play in the WLL Premier Division having been promoted in the 2007-08 season as Division One champions.

Official website -http://www.poultontownfc.co.uk/

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Norcross & Warbreck FC

Norcross & Warbreck FC play in the WLL Division One. They are named after two Government Civil Service offices on the Fylde Coast. Norcross is an area to the west of Bispham and the home of a large civil service site. Warbreck is an area to the south of Bispham and home of another large civil service site. They play their home matches at the Norcorss site.

They have not really done anything outstanding in their history, though they were Divsion Two runners-up in 1988-89 and Division One runners-up in 1998-99.

They did have an official website -http://www.norcrossandwarbreckfc.co.uk bit the site appears to be down.

There is though this site - http://www.webteams.co.uk/norcrossandwarbreckfc/

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Wyre Villa FC

Wyre Villa FC play their home games at Hall Gate Park in the tiny village of Stalimine in Over Wyre. Hall Gate Park has a capacity of 500, with crowd barriers right round the pitch and one tiny stand as well as a social club.

Hall Gate Park is in a rural setting with farmland and the village around it. They currently play in the WLL First Division having been relegated from the Premier Division in the 2007-08 season. They had been in the Premier Division since 1995. They won the WLL in the 1996-97 season.

Don't think they have a website.

[Bispham Seasider]

Lytham Town FC

Lytham Town FC are a relatively new club, having been founded in 2006 and they played their first season in the Preston & District League, which they won. They were then accepted into the WLL and complete their first season in the WLL Division Two in 2007-08. They are based on Ballam Road in Lytham, south of Blackpool. They were formed following the demise of Lytham St.Annes FC who had merged with Blackpool Mechanics (now AFC Blackpool) in 2003 after they had just been crowned champions of the WLL.

Don't think they have a website.

[Bispham Seasider]

Thornton Cleveleys FC

Thornton Cleveleys FC were formed by the merging of Thornton Cleveleys Juniors (which had been formed in 1978) and ICI Thornton (which was a team sponsored by the ICI factory, which began in 1980) in 1995. They are based at New Bourne Road in Thornton. Thornton and Cleveleys are two small towns north of Blackpool. They play in the WLL Division Two.

They have a purpose built complex with a clubhouse/bar, changing rooms, two pitches, and a training area.

Official website -http://www.thorntoncleveleysfc.org/tcfc/

[Bispham Seasider]

AFC Fylde last week signed former Football League defender Scott McNiven. Although he was born in Leeds, 30 year old McNiven was raised on the Fylde coast in Lytham St Annes. He played for Oldham Athletic from 1995 to 2002, where he made over 200 league apperances. In 2002 he moved to Oxford United and has since then played for Mansfield Town, Chester City, Fleetwood Town, Guiseley and lastly, Conference North club, Farsley Celtic. McNiven is the biggest signing in the clubs history.

On Saturday Fylde and Fleetwood Town met at Fyldes home ground in a pre-season friendly. Fleetwood ran out winners 2-0 with new signing Adam Warlow soring a goal in each half following his move from Witton Albion. Scott McNiven made his debut for Fylde.

[Bispham Seasider]

Fleetwood Town news

Fleetwood are heading out on Friday for a weekend training camp in North Wales. They will be training at Llanberis FC ground before playing Welsh Premier League side Carenarfon Town on Saturday.

Club captain Jamie Milligan said, "The weekend in Wales will be used for defensive work – that's not just the back four, but how we defend as a team. We conceded two fairly weak goals at Lancaster (in the 3-2 win) on Saturday. We prefer this sort of thing to happen pre-season, so we can work on it. If it happens on the first game of the season three points could be at risk.

The weekend away will provide a good team-bonding session and let the newer lads firmly settle in. I think we'll win more than we lose this season. The squad has five or six players who will be definitely be comfortable with Blue Square North football or higher. It's time for those players to step up and be counted ... and that includes me."

[Bispham Seasider]

Caernarfon Town 0 Fleetwood Town 3

The goals all came from new summer signings in the second half. They now have one final pre-season match - away to Skelmersdale United on Tuesday evening, before they start the Blue Square North campaign at home to Hucknall Town on Saturday.

[Bispham Seasider]

Fleetwood Town

Former Blackpool defender Phil Doughty signed for Fleetwood Town today in an attempt to resurrect his career following his release by the Seasiders in May. During the summer he has had trials at both Hereford United and Chester City but has ended up at Fleetwood Town, with manager Tony Greenwood saying,

"Phil is an ambitious young lad who has been looking for a Football League club and we have given him the shop window to achieve that."

Doughty, a local lad, made his debut for Blackpool when he was aged just 16. And in doing so became the youngest player to play for the club in the FA Cup, when he came on as a last minute substitute against Torquay United at Bloomfield Road in December 2002. He had to receive permission from his headmaster at Carr Hill High School in Kirkham, to play in the match and on the Monday returned to school to continue his education. It was not until the summer of 2003 that he even joined the clubs Youth team!

In November 2004 he signed his first professional contract. In January 2005 he was sent on loan to Leigh RMI. In October he broke two bones in his leg and was told he would be out of action for up to 12 months. He subsequently spent loan periods at Barrow, Macclesfield Town and Accrington Stanley, before being released by Blackpool in May 2008.

Doughty will be hoping to impress at Highbury Avenue in an effort to earn a contract at a Football League club.

[Bispham Seasider]

This weekends matches are

Fleetwood Town vs Hucknall Town, Conference North
Fleetwood start life in the Conference North tomorrow, just two steps below the Football League at the new look Highbury Avenue stadium, where one of the new stands will be open, the 600 seater West Stand. Tony Greenwood starts his seventh campaign as manager of the club which has seen the club rise from the North West Counties League to the second tier of non-league football. Nottinghamhshire club Hucknall have also had a meteoric rise themselves from the North East Counties East League.

Fleetwood have eight new signings and six of them are expected to play tomorrow.

AFC Fylde vs Maine Road, North West Counties Premier Division
AFC Fylde will play their first ever league game under their new name, having previously been Kirkham & Wesham FC. And also their first season in the North West Counties Premier League (The Vodkat League). Fylde have six new players since their FA Vase victory at Wembley in May. Ged Smith though is still awaiting his fate after he failed a routine drug test following the match at Wembley. Maine Road, a team set up by Manchester City supporters in 1955, finished fourth last season in the league, their highest ever league position, and came two years after their 50th anniversary in 2005.

Ramsbottom United vs Squires Gate, North West Counties Premier Division
Squires Gate hope to finish in the top ten again this season, when they will be joined in the Premier League by AFC Fylde. Gate finished in 4th place last season. Ramsbottom struggled last season, finishing in 19th place.

Irlam vs AFC Blackpool, North West Counties First Division
Another new name for a local club, formerly Blackpool Mechanics, AFC Blackpool. They finished in 9th place in the Second Division last season. They are hoping to compete for promotion this coming season in the newly renamed First Division (as was the Second Division last season - the First Division is now the Premier Division!) Irlam were elected into the NWCL for this season having spent all their history since being founded in 1969 in the Manchester Football League.

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Fleetwood Town news

Late this afternoon Fleetwood announced what is surely their biggest ever signing, when they signed local Blackpool-born and three time Blackpool FC player, John Hills.

30 years old Hills was released by Blackpool at the end of last season and he joins Phil Doughty at the club who was also released. Also at the club is Hills friend Jamie Milligan (another former 'Pool player). Milligan and Hills runs Football Camps for kids during the summer.

It is though a huge signing for Fleetwood, as Hills was playing in the Championship last season. I suspect that like Doughty, Hills will be looking toward signing for a Football League club. But good luck to him, he might not have been the best player ever to play for Blackpool, but he was one who certainly loves the club, who he supported as a kid.

[Dynamogal]

Sorry for the ignorant question :o - are these players full-time athletes or do they have other jobs to supplement their incomes?