TROPHY ARTICLE SERIES: Manchester Premier Cup
Wed 27th November 2019 | General | By Stewart Taylor
This is the senior non-League competition administered by the Manchester County FA. The competition has had a number of names since being inaugurated the 1934/35 season as the Manchester Shield. The name was changed to the Manchester Intermediate Cup in 1955 before becoming the Manchester Premier Cup in 1979. Of more recent times the name of Frank Hannah has been added as a prefix to the name.
“Name the two teams in the top 10 levels of football in England which include the name North End in their full title” is a well known quiz question, Preston North End is the easy one but, as many in this part of the world will know, the other is Glossop North End. However, there have been other football, clubs known as North End and one of those was the first winner of this trophy. Manchester North End won the inaugural final beating Hurst FC (now Ashton United) in front of a crowd in excess of 2000. Manchester North End are yet another of many football clubs which no longer exist. Beginning life as New Cross FC the club lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 never to re-appear. During that time the club played mainly in the Cheshire County League – a forerunner to the current North West Counties Football League.
History tells us that the competition has been dominated by sides from Tameside, Greater Manchester but that is to ignore the Local Government Act of 1972 which has been mentioned previously in these short articles. Tameside – at the side of the River Tame one assumes – was created in 1974 by that Act. Prior to that time the towns which now constitute Tameside were firmly identified by their County. As examples, Hyde and Stalybridge were in Cheshire whilst Ashton-under-Lyne and Mossley were in Lancashire. The old county rivalries continued for a long time after the creation of Tameside with the residents of the old Lancashire towns referring to their new partners from the former Cheshire towns as “toffee nosed” perhaps confusing the staunchly working class residents of Stalybridge and Hyde with the leafy lanes of Alderley Edge for example. They should have known better.
But back to the story and the list of winners is, indeed, dominated by teams which are located in what is now Tameside with Ashton United, Droylsden, Mossley, Curzon Ashton and Hyde United claiming the spoils no fewer than 55 times in the 85 years of the competition. There is a really strong connection with 4 of these teams being members of the NWCFL at some point during their history. The exception is Hyde United who were members of the Cheshire County League but joined the Northern Premier League before the formation of the NWCFL in 1982.
Dare I risk another quiz question? Well, OK, go on then. Which was the only team from outside Greater Manchester to win this competition? Before I give you the answer, if you don’t already know, it is worth saying that there are, these days, generally 11 Greater Manchester based teams who compete for the trophy meaning that 5 teams are invited or apply from outside the membership of the Manchester FA to make up a competition of 16 teams.
The answer to the question is Glossop North End who won this trophy in 1997 and 1998 whilst members of the NWCFL and, so local rumour has it, were not invited back into the competition for 10 years having had the impudence to take the trophy out of Greater Manchester … twice!
Among current NWCFL member clubs we see Chadderton, Abbey Hey, Prestwich Heys, New Mills and Ashton Town noted as runners-up but, of these, only Chadderton played the last of their two finals as a NWCFL member club (1983). Taking pride of place are Maine Road who won this trophy for the third time in the 1987-88 season with a 1-0 victory over Irlam Town in a match played, appropriately enough perhaps, at Maine Road – the then home of Manchester City.
At the time of writing there are a couple of quarter final matches to be completed in this season’s competition but already through to the semi-final stage are FC United of Manchester who many will remember from their time in the NWCFL at the very beginning of their time as a football club. It’s not really for me to say but FCUM really do look the side to beat for anyone wishing to take this trophy home at the end of the season and a semi-final against FCUM awaits the winner of the all NWCFL quarter final between Irlam and Maine Road.
TROPHY ARTICLE SERIES: Manchester Premier Cup
Wed 27th November 2019 | General
By Stewart Taylor
This is the senior non-League competition administered by the Manchester County FA. The competition has had a number of names since being inaugurated the 1934/35 season as the Manchester Shield. The name was changed to the Manchester Intermediate Cup in 1955 before becoming the Manchester Premier Cup in 1979. Of more recent times the name of Frank Hannah has been added as a prefix to the name.
“Name the two teams in the top 10 levels of football in England which include the name North End in their full title” is a well known quiz question, Preston North End is the easy one but, as many in this part of the world will know, the other is Glossop North End. However, there have been other football, clubs known as North End and one of those was the first winner of this trophy. Manchester North End won the inaugural final beating Hurst FC (now Ashton United) in front of a crowd in excess of 2000. Manchester North End are yet another of many football clubs which no longer exist. Beginning life as New Cross FC the club lasted until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 never to re-appear. During that time the club played mainly in the Cheshire County League – a forerunner to the current North West Counties Football League.
History tells us that the competition has been dominated by sides from Tameside, Greater Manchester but that is to ignore the Local Government Act of 1972 which has been mentioned previously in these short articles. Tameside – at the side of the River Tame one assumes – was created in 1974 by that Act. Prior to that time the towns which now constitute Tameside were firmly identified by their County. As examples, Hyde and Stalybridge were in Cheshire whilst Ashton-under-Lyne and Mossley were in Lancashire. The old county rivalries continued for a long time after the creation of Tameside with the residents of the old Lancashire towns referring to their new partners from the former Cheshire towns as “toffee nosed” perhaps confusing the staunchly working class residents of Stalybridge and Hyde with the leafy lanes of Alderley Edge for example. They should have known better.
But back to the story and the list of winners is, indeed, dominated by teams which are located in what is now Tameside with Ashton United, Droylsden, Mossley, Curzon Ashton and Hyde United claiming the spoils no fewer than 55 times in the 85 years of the competition. There is a really strong connection with 4 of these teams being members of the NWCFL at some point during their history. The exception is Hyde United who were members of the Cheshire County League but joined the Northern Premier League before the formation of the NWCFL in 1982.
Dare I risk another quiz question? Well, OK, go on then. Which was the only team from outside Greater Manchester to win this competition? Before I give you the answer, if you don’t already know, it is worth saying that there are, these days, generally 11 Greater Manchester based teams who compete for the trophy meaning that 5 teams are invited or apply from outside the membership of the Manchester FA to make up a competition of 16 teams.
The answer to the question is Glossop North End who won this trophy in 1997 and 1998 whilst members of the NWCFL and, so local rumour has it, were not invited back into the competition for 10 years having had the impudence to take the trophy out of Greater Manchester … twice!
Among current NWCFL member clubs we see Chadderton, Abbey Hey, Prestwich Heys, New Mills and Ashton Town noted as runners-up but, of these, only Chadderton played the last of their two finals as a NWCFL member club (1983). Taking pride of place are Maine Road who won this trophy for the third time in the 1987-88 season with a 1-0 victory over Irlam Town in a match played, appropriately enough perhaps, at Maine Road – the then home of Manchester City.
At the time of writing there are a couple of quarter final matches to be completed in this season’s competition but already through to the semi-final stage are FC United of Manchester who many will remember from their time in the NWCFL at the very beginning of their time as a football club. It’s not really for me to say but FCUM really do look the side to beat for anyone wishing to take this trophy home at the end of the season and a semi-final against FCUM awaits the winner of the all NWCFL quarter final between Irlam and Maine Road.
