Atherton Collieries F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Atherton Collieries


fullname = Atherton Collieries Football Club
nickname = Colls, The Miners
founded = 1916
ground = Alder Street
Atherton
capacity = 2,500
chairman = flagicon|England Ian Williams
manager = flagicon|England Dave Conlon
league = North West Counties
season = 2007-08
position = North West Counties Division One, 15th
pattern_la1=_black_stripes|pattern_b1=_blackstripes|pattern_ra1=_black_stripes|leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=| leftarm2=FFFF00|body2=ffff00|rightarm2=ffff00|shorts2=ffff00|socks2=ffff00

Atherton Collieries F.C. are a football club based in Atherton in Greater Manchester, England.

History

General

Atherton Collieries Football Club was established in 1916 by miners from the six pits which were then operative within the old urban district of Atherton. Between 1919 and 1965 they were winners of the Bolton Combination League ten times. They established a noted reputation in Lancashire and by 1964-65 had won the Lancashire Junior Shield six times, a record which is still unsurpassed.

They are affectionately nicknamed 'The Welfare', 'The Miners' or 'Sooty'. They play at Alder Street and the much maligned, but recently demolished, main stand was described in David Bauckham's book "Dugouts" as "leaning forward as if in prayer for its continued survival". [cite book | author=Bauckham, David | title=Dugouts| publisher=New Holland | year=2006| id=ISBN 1-8453-7478-9]

They joined the Lancashire Combination Division Two in 1950 before leaving in 1952 to play again in the Bolton Combination. They rejoined the Lancashire Combination in 1971 before becoming founder members of the Cheshire County League Division Two in 1978-79. They joined the North West Counties League as founder members in 1982-83, winning the third division in 1986-87.

Steady progress off the pitch, with floodlights being erected in 1994, was matched by progress on the pitch as Colls’ final league position improved season on season. This culminated in promotion to the first division after finishing the 1995-96 season as runners-up to Vauxhall GM.

Colls have suffered mixed fortunes during their tenure in Division One. Their best season came in 2006-2007 when they finished in seventh place. In other seasons Colls have only avoided relegation due to events elsewhere in the league. In 2005-06 an impressive run of results towards the end of the season took Colls well clear of any relegation worries.

Cup exploits

Atherton Collieries have been successful in a number of cup competitions over the years.

They were Lancashire FA Amateur Shield winners on a record-breaking six occasions. Firstly in 1920, they beat Dumers Lane 3-2 after extra time. Then in 1923 they defeated Barnoldswick Town 4-1. In 1942 they beat Royal Engineers 3-2 and in 1946 Moss Rovers were dispatched 5-2. The 1957 final saw Colls come out on top in a second replay against Burnley Albion, winning 3-2 after extra time and their last victory in the final came in 1965 when they defeated Breightmet United 6-1.

Perhaps Colls’ biggest final came in 2001-02 when they reached the last hurdle of the League Cup for the first time. And although they lost out to Prescot Cables in a close game, Colls could consider themselves unlucky not to have got their hands on the trophy.

In that same season, Colls enjoyed another cup final when they came up against Charnock Richard at the Reebok Stadium in the Bolton Wanderers sponsored Goldline Trophy. Colls ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a goal from Nicky Fisher. The following season Colls once again made it to the final of the Goldline Trophy but this time had to settle for runners-up.

Colls have also enjoyed success in numerous local cup competitions but have failed to make an impact in the national cup competitions. Their best run in the FA Vase came in 1992-93 when they reached the third round and in the FA Cup they got as far as the second qualifying round in 2002-03.

eason 2006/07

Following the resignation of experienced manager Alan Lord, Atherton Collieries appointed Phil Brown as manager at the end of the 2005-06 season. A reserve team was also entered in the Lancashire League (West) Reserve Division, competing against strong opposition from the reserve teams of Conference and Northern Premier League clubs.

After a good pre-season, Colls started the 2006-07 season with optimism and were rewarded with their best ever start to a league campaign in Division One. Despite an early exit from the FA Cup, they managed a couple of good results in the FA Vase before exiting the competition in the second round in an unlucky encounter with Glasshoughton Welfare.

Phil Brown’s young side showed a positive attitude and, even amongst some inconsistent results, played some neat and attractive football. Their finest performance came against league leaders FC United of Manchester in November 2006 when they inflicted a 3-0 defeat on The Red Rebels, their biggest defeat in first class football. The star of that match, Colls striker and hat-trick hero Anthony Pilkington, has since moved into the professional game with Stockport County.

After going through December, January and February without a win, Colls finished the season in some style with nine wins and just one defeat in their last thirteen games. Their first season under Phil Brown therefore culminated in a final league position of seventh, making 2006-07 the most successful season in the North West Counties in Colls' history.

Atherton Collieries' upturn in fortunes during the 2006-07 season owed a lot to a Football Development Centre near Preston in Lancashire - Myerscough College. Colls' then-manager Phil Brown was the college's FDC manager and his assistant Dave McCann was an FDC coach. The fruitful link-up saw an influx of young, talented players from the college's under-19 side, giving them a chance to develop their footballing talent at non-league level with Atherton Collieries.

eason 2007/08

With new first team manager Dave Conlon taking over for the new season, along with assistant Dave Chapman, several new players joined the club, bringing a good mixture of youth and experience. Colls enjoyed a good start to the season in both the league and the FA Cup. In September, Atherton Collieries' unbeaten run of seventeen games, stretching back to March 2007, came to an end with defeat against Maine Road in the league. This was immediately followed by losses in the FA Cup and FA Vase competitions and signified the onset of some inconsistency in Colls' performances. However, Colls gained a tremendous win in the Lancashire Trophy when they took the scalp of Northern Premier League outfit Marine in the first round in October before being narrowly defeated by Southport in the following round.

Mixed results in the league followed but the club saved their best performances for matches against the top sides including a thrashing of newly-crowned champions Trafford at the latter end of the campaign. Colls eventually finished in fifteenth place and are confident of improving next term.

Current Squad

Current Staff

Management

Manager: Dave Conlon
Assistant Manager: Paul Chapman
First Team Coach: Jason Holroyd
Physio: Bimbola Yussuf

Officials

Chairman: Ian Williams
Vice-Chairman / Treasurer: Paul Gregory
Football Secretary: Emil Anderson

Honours

* Bolton Combination: Champions - 1919-20; 1936-37; 1937-38; 1938-1939; 1940-41; 1944-45; 1956-57; 1958-59; 1960-61; 1964-65
* Lancashire County FA Shield: Winners - 1919-20; 1922-23; 1941-42; 1945-46; 1956-57; 1964-65
* North West Counties Division Three: Champions - 1986-87
* Bridge Shield: Winners - 1985-86
* North West Counties Division Two: Runners-Up - 1995-96
* Goldline Trophy: Winners - 2001-02

References

ources

* FC United of Manchester match programme vs Atherton Collieries, Season 2006-07, Volume 2, Issue 13
* Atherton Laburnum Rovers match programme vs Atherton Collieries 26/12/06
* Atherton Collieries match programme vs FC United of Manchester 6/1/07

External links

* [http://www.athertoncolls.co.uk/ Atherton Collieries web site]