History
The club was officially founded in 1938 but it has history dating back many years before their official formation. The team's origins come from the Pilkington glass factory in St Helens, which had numerous workers teams that have been around for almost as long as the company has been making glass in the 19th century.
The early teams that played are thought to have been representatives of their individual works, like the 1907 Sheet Glass Makers team. Works teams in St Helens were amalgamated to form a Pilkington Amateurs AFC in 1933, however, because of the 5 years lost during the war it is officially registered as being 1938 when the club was formed. Records show the 1st team being drawn against ‘Liverpool ‘A’ at Anfield in the Liverpool Challenge Cup and that the game was played before a crowd of 2,000. The club played its first games at Crossley Road and moved to Ruskin Drive at the start of 1948/49 season under the management of Mr W.Fish.
The Club toured in Portugal in 1970. Posters advertising the game named them as Recs Pilkington de Liverpool and consequently thousands of Portuguese spectators flocked to the ground, hoping to see the Anfield team.
In 1972, ex-Crewe player, Brian May, took over the reign’s at the club. It was his gruelling training sessions and the regular goal exploits of centre forward Ian Lancaster that helped the 1st team hold its own in the very competitive Liverpool Combination. John Delves followed Brian as 1st Team manager before Jack Potter took over around 1975. At this time the club was running three teams with the 1st team in the Liverpool County Combination and the other two teams competing in the St. Helens Combination.
In 1983/84, the club was the first local side to successfully join the Mid-Cheshire League and finish in 14th place in their first season. Under the stewardship of Geoff Barlow, the 80's saw the first team struggle with the competitiveness of the Mid-Cheshire and were regularly finishing in the bottom half of the table. 1989/90 saw the arrival of Brian Yates as manager of the 1st Team but again he struggled to make an impact in what was a very competitive league.
The club decided that it would be in the best interests of the club if the Reserves also joined the Mid-Cheshire League. They entered Division Two in 1990/91 and although finishing 8th, the 1st Team finished at the bottom of Division One and were relegated meaning the Reserves consequently lost their place. It was at this time that Lol Stanton and Jon Dawson arrived at the club and in the 1991/92 season they narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing fourth in their first season in charge of the 1st Team.
The start of the 1992/93 season saw the club elect a new Chairman, John Potter Jnr., the club's youngest ever Chairman who was still playing 1st Team football. A concerted effort saw them almost gain promotion but they had to settle for third. The club had always had a tradition of running under 16's-18's football but it is at this time that the committee decided they must look to the future of the club, to maintain its continuing improvement. So, at the start of the 1992/93 season, under the guidance of Dave Burrows, a well-respected figure in the ranks of local junior football, they asked Dave Burrows to Manage an U18’s team. This was with a view to improving the teams of the future.
Season 1993/94 saw a change at the top with players, John Wright and Paul Pinder, forming a new management team. The next few years were a period of frustration as the club tried to get back to the top tier of Cheshire League football. Thrown in between this were 2 League Cup Final appearances that also ended in defeat. At the end of 1996/97, John Wright left the club and Paul Pinder ran the 1st Team with Andy Hockenhull. Season 1997/98 was the best year in that decade for the club as the 1st Team finally gained promotion back into the First Division. The club also won the Bill Gray Trophy - Club of the Year Award.
Season 2000/01 saw Dave Burrows and Andy Hockenhull take over the reign’s of the 1st Team. Dave and his team brought a new, youthful look to Pilkington FC. Their first season was a huge success with the 1st team winning the Liverpool Junior Cup and finishing 3rd in the league, with club Captain, Lee Webber winning the Bill Gray Trophy - Player of the Season Award for the Mid-Cheshire league.
In 2007/08, Paul Rees continued to push the 1st Team forward and they were only beaten at home twice and finished 3rd in the league. They also reached the semi-final of the President's Cup but unfortunately went out on a penalty shootout against local rivals Warrington Town Reserves.
Looking to build on the previous season's impressive top 3 finish, Paul Rees started the 2008/09 campaign with vigour but the inability to put a run of successive wins together meant that they were only able to finish 7th in the league.
The 2009/10 season saw Ste Palfrey take over the 1st team manager's job from Paul Rees. It was a season of huge disappointment that started with promise. By mid-season they were 6th in the league but a poor run-in of form resulted in only one win in the last ten games and they finished 12th, only two points away from relegation.
The 2010/11 season was all about instilling a more professional and ambitious culture within the club. The ground was renovated and certain standards were asked of the players to ensure that we were competitive on the pitch at all levels. The 1st Team drastically turned around last season's disappointing 12th place and led the league from early October right up to the final day of the season. The team, managed by Ste Palfrey and his assistant, Lee Webber, had to suffer a crushing blow as they missed out on being crowned Cheshire First Division champions by goal difference. The Reserve team had also benefited and completed the clubs first-ever double winning season. They were crowned Reserve League champions for the second time in 3 seasons, which was capped off with a memorable night in March, when they won the Reserve Division Cup at Trafford FC.
The disappointment of losing the league on goal difference mixed with the ambition of some players to move up to the next level, the 2011/12 season was one of frustration for Ste Palfrey and Lee Webber as they struggled to replace the quality that was lost and they ended up finishing 9th.
The 2013/14 started with yet another new manager at the helm of the 1st Team as the Club looked at ex-Warrington Town FC Assistant Manager, John Evans to continue the development of the young players at the club. This appointment was again short-lived and Reserves Manager Lee Webber stepped into the fold halfway through the season and the 1st Team narrowly escaped relegation due to Cuddington FC pulling out of the league.
In 2014/15 another new management team took over with Antony Dean hoping to make a success of a job that had become a hot seat in recent seasons. Anthony brought in a new squad of players who were experienced at a higher level. The season started very strongly and after the first 10 games they sat at the top of the league. However, after losing a few players to injury and suspensions, cracks started to appear and Anthony found it hard to keep together what was a very strong squad of players. On the back of some pretty heavy defeats, Anthony decided to leave the position just after Christmas. The club then looked to Matt Potter to galvanise a new squad halfway through the season, this proved a very difficult task and the 1st Team were relegated to Division One for the first time since 1990.
Ste Palfrey and Nick Robinson took over the reign’s of the 1st Team at the start of the 2015/16 season with the club at rock bottom. After the 1st Team was relegated the committee took the decision to disband the Reserves meaning the Club would only operate with one team. The first team competed in the Cheshire League Division One finishing mid table. Whilst this was a creditable position that season, it was a struggle as the relatively young squad suffered some pretty heavy defeats.
At the start of the 2016/17 there was a fresh focus as the Committee recruited a new Chairman in ex-Bury Footballer and local businessman Jimmy Woodyer. An ex-player and manager at the club he came in with the vision to make it one of the best local clubs around and take advantage of the new facilities that were being developed by St Helens Council at Ruskin Drive. Almost instantly there was an impact as the Club reinstated the Reserves and also recruited a Youth Team for the first time since 1992.
The 1st Team started the season strongly with Ste Palfrey and Nick Robinson in charge and despite losing Nick to local rivals St Helens Town early on, the campaign was successful. With a young squad and the return of some old favourites the team grew into the season and thanks to a fantastic 51 goals from forward Matty Taylor, finished third. Whilst still way behind the leaders Billinge and runners-up Altrincham Reserves this showed that they were moving in the right direction. They also topped off a positive season when they lifted the Cheshire League Presidents Cup for the first time.
The summer of 2017 was the springboard for the transformation of the club into the one you see today. A new junior section was set up with ex-players instrumental in bringing their own children to start their playing days at the club. Also, a 5-year plan was developed with a new vision and one of its main objectives being the promotion of the 1st Team into the North West Counties League. The 2017/18 season started with Ste Palfrey in charge of the 1st Team with Reggie and Danny Hughes helping out. Junior Chairman Jamie Dickson and Youth Team Manager Andy Vaughton took over running the reserves. Despite a poor start the 1st Team were only beaten twice in their last 16 games to finish runners-up and gain promotion back to the Cheshire League Premier Division after an absence of three seasons. The Reserves again finished a creditable seventh as the club continued to use this team to blood new players coming through the youth system.
During the season the club was also continuing to grow as we added more junior teams as well as introducing a Ladies team for the first time. Towards the end of the campaign, Nick Matthews, an experienced North West Counties manager was brought in by Ste Palfrey to help him on the side-lines. After gaining promotion, Ste Palfrey informed the club that he felt it would be best for him to step down to allow Nick Matthews to take the 1st Team into the Premier Division. Nick Matthews started the campaign with some new faces in the 1st Team squad. Unfortunately, it was a stuttering start and after eight games Nick left the club. The first team was taken over by Dave Murphy, Peter Edwards and Ste Palfrey – all club stalwarts and best mates. They simply took the team to the next level in terms of organisation and commitment to win.
They lost only 2 of the 21 league games they took charge of and with 8 straight wins at the end of the season they narrowly beat Altrincham Reserves to the title on goal difference. This led to the Clubs first ever promotion into Step 6 of the National League System gaining promotion into the North West Counties Football League, Division One North.
The 2019/20 season was historic for the club as the First Team started life in the Non-League Pyramid and competed in the North West Counties First Division One North for the first time. After a slow start, we finished a creditable 8th in a campaign that was declared null and void by the FA due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to the start of the 2020/21 season Stephen Palfrey was relieved of his duties as First Team Manager and David Tickle, was appointed Manager of Pilkington FC. He wa joined by Lee Jenkinson and Phil Marsh, as his Assistant Manager and Coach, along with his father Steve who started his footballing career at Pilkington FC before becoming a professional at Preston North End FC. The 2020/21 season lasted only 5 games due to the Coronavirus pandemic but the management used that time well and recruited new blood into the Club.
The 2021/22 season started well with only three defeats in the opening three months of the league. However a bad run over the winter period meant the club made the decision to reinstate Ste Palfrey as the First Team Manager. This was to be his third spell as the First Team Manager and he brought in Nick Dunn, Gary Kenny and Lee Jenkinson as his assistants. They were able to steady the ship and finished the season strong narrowly missing out on a play-off place, finishing in 6th position.
The 2022/23 season was once again a season of success for the Club. After 12 straight wins at the start of the season and only one league defeat we were crowned the North West Counties First Division North Champions - finishing the season as the league's top scorers, most clean sheets, least goals conceded and Ste Palfrey crowned Manager of the Year. This was a fantastic achievement in what was their first full campaign in National League system and the club's third promotion in five seasons.
The 2023/24 season was a tough challenge for the club as it moved up another level. The start was better than expected with the team sitting in eighth place after 14 games but it struggled to keep up the pace in what proved to be a very competitive division. Manager Ste Palfrey decided to step back from the touchline after 401 games and continue his work behind the scenes at the Club. Palf's assistants Nick Dunn and Gary Kenny took over the mantle but their reign was only to last a few months before being replaced with ex-Everton player Kev Langley. The Club hoped for stability but it wasn't to be and Kev tendered his resignation with only three games of the season left and Palf returned as caretaker to ensure we secured safety from the drop. It was a tough start in the NWCFL's top division and a season where the Club regrouped and looked to the future where its u23s side were crowned Cheshire League Two Champions.
Looking towards the 2024/25 campaign the club has recruited former AFC Liverpool coach Jack Edwards as the new manager. Jack has a reputation for working with young players and we look forwards to stabilising our presence in the NWCFL Premier Division.
Other areas of the club continue to experience great growth and as we look forwards to the 2024/25 season we will fielding 3 men's senior teams, 3 women's senior teams, 30 junior and youth teams and a walking football section.
#TheGreenArmy
