Its the start of another new season in the NWCFL, 40 years after our inaugural season where Burscough, Radcliffe Borough and Colne Dynamoes lifted the three league titles that were on offer. We preview the weekend games below.
PREMIER DIVISION
Can Burscough repeat that triumph? They travel to Prestwich Heys on the opening day. Last season the Linnets finished in 7th place which was the best they have finished since re-joining the league five years ago. Prestwich finished 16th last season, a good return after a late promotion on PPV post-Covid. Both teams are under new management since last season, with former Avro managers Lee O`Brien and James Hampson coming in at Prestwich and Leon Mike taking charge at Burscough.
Wythenshawe Town finished third last season and will be amongst the favourites this time around. They have strengthened well in the summer, including adding last seasons Premier Division top scorer Jack Coop to their squad. They travel to Irlam, who finished in 10th place last season. They have also recruited, with Saul Henderson added who scored over 40 goals last season for Wythenshawe Amateurs.
Charnock Richard finished level on points with Wythenshawe Town last season, and will look to have another good campaign. Remarkably its been over 30 years since they finished lower than 7th in a league campaign! As Macron Cup winners last season, they lost in the Champion Cup Final last week to Skelmersdale, and they start by hosting Padiham. Michael Morrison's men struggled for much of last season, but rallied late on and finished 13th. That was their highest finish since 2016/17, and they will no doubt be looking to push on again.
Fifth last season were Northwich Victoria and they host Avro. Steve Wilkes is approaching 200 games as Vics Manager, and having secured three top five finishes now in the last five years, will be looking to go one better. Avro have Alex Frost in the dugout, with his interim position having been made permanent. Avro were one place and one point behind Vics in the table, and having established themselves in the Premier Division now, will be confident of pushing on further.
Bury AFC won last season's First Division North, and will likely be many people's tip for the title this season having lost only two NWCFL games in their history. They have lost a couple of last seasons title winners, but have replaced well including the signing of Niall Cummins from Marine. They host Litherland REMYCA, who survived relegation last season having won their final three games of the season. They will be determined not to be in that position again this season, and have also recruited well this summer with several players moving over from Bootle.
The First Division South winners were West Didsbury & Chorlton and they travel to Ashton Athletic. Its been three seasons since West were last in the top flight, and they have grown tremendously with 1,200 supporters watching them lift the trophy in April. It will be interesting to see how they do this season. Ashton Athletic is always a tough place to go, but they finished 18th last season after a poor second half to the season, winning just 11 games all season.
Also promoted from the South Division was FC Isle of Man, who won promotion via the Play-Off's. It's perhaps difficult for them to strengthen like other teams, and it will be interesting to see how they get on in the higher league. Almost 3,500 supporters watched their Play-Off Final win, and they are at home on the opening day against Lower Breck. Breck finished third bottom last season, but had a terrible second half of the season, failing to win any of their last 19 games. They have recruited well though, and should do well this season.
Kendal Town start life in the Premier Division for the first time in over 35 years after relegation from the NPL last season. They have a new manager in charge in Jimmy Marshall, and its a much changed team from last season with a lot more local based players. They travel to Vauxhall Motors who eventually finished 8th last season after an up and down season. Its easy to forget though that this was Vauxhall's first season in the Premier Division, and they will look to push on once more.
Longridge Town host Congleton Town on the opening day for the second season running. These are two teams who fall in the box of "have done well but need to push on". Longridge finished 12th last season having tailed off in the second half of the season. Congleton finished just above them in 9th, and had the fourth best defensive record in the league, but scoring let them down last season.
Barnoldswick Town welcome Winsford United to the Silentnight Stadium. Barnoldswick will be disappointed really having finished 15th last season, and much of that was after Christmas when they won just three league games. Winsford were middle of the scales last season. 15 wins v 16 defeat, scored and conceded the same amount of goals, and finished with ten teams above them and ten below them!
Finally AFC Liverpool visit the Fylde Coast as they visit Squires Gate. The Reds have Matt Potter in interim charge for the first time after Chris Anderson surpringly left two weeks ago. AFC finished in 14th last time, and like Winsford scored and conceded the same. Squires Gate will also be disappointed with last seasons 17th place finish, which was their worst for five seasons in the Premier Division.
FIRST DIVISION NORTH
There are just 18 teams in the North this season, with three new teams playing in the league for the first time.
FC St Helens play their first game after promotion from the Cheshire League with a visit to Atherton LR. After knocking on the door for a few years, St Helens won the league last season so will come in high on confidence. Last season wasn't so good for their opponents though, with LR relying on a reprieve after finishing second bottom. An intruiging opening day battle.
Euxton Villa step up from the West Lancashire League where they finished in third place last season. They have always been amongst the top teams in that division, and we have to look back to 2009-10 for the last time they finished outside the top ten in the league. They are also on the road at Bacup Borough, where Manager Brent Peters takes lines up for his 26th season in charge. Yes 26th! Will Smith's Men In Black topped the charts when he was appointed, and his men in black (and white) will be a little disappointed with their 7th place finish last season having been in the Play-Off picture for so long. Both sides will be aiming for Play-Off's this season I feel.
The third new side is Runcorn Town, who had a horrendous season last season and were relegated from the Premier Division. With Matt Barnes now in charge, and a whole new set of players at the club, it may take some time for them to gel. However Play-Off's will be their aim. They will get a good test of where they are at as they host AFC Blackpool, with the Mechanics finishing fourth last season before losing in the Play-Off's at eventual winners Golcar United. They will be looking to at least replicate last season's finish.
Holker Old Boys pushed Bury AFC all the way last season and eventually finished as runners-up, the highest position in their history. They also set records for most wins in a season, least losses, most points. However unfortunately for them, they lost the Play-Off Final, and will be no doubt looking to go one better this season. They are at Chadderton who finished 11th last season. That was their best finish since 2016/17, and they will no doubt be looking to push on and secure a top ten finish this season.
Nelson crept into the Play-Off's on the final day last season after a late rally. Nevertheless that fifth place finish was their best since winning the title back in 2013/14. They will no doubt be looking to replicate last season at the very least. They travel to Garstang on the opening day, and they finished bang in the middle last season. In their first season prior to Covid they finished in seventh, and they will be looking to return to that level this season.
Pilkington were the ones to miss out last season, dropping out of the Play-Off picture on the final day. They have retained a lot of that squad and are amongst many people's tip to do well this season. They are not under new management, but do have a new Chairman in Mark Hayes, who was formerly at Ashton Town. Who do his new side open against? That's right, Ashton Town! His former side finished 14th last season, perhaps a little disappointing, but they have recruited well and Lee Bignall's men will be looking for a top eight finish at worst.
Daisy Hill were the ultimate middle of the table team last season. 15 wins, 15 losses. 69 scored, 66 conceded. That saw them in finish in 8th place, and the last time they finished higher was back in the 1985/86 season. They have recruited very well though, and will be looking for a top five finish this season at worst. They travel to South Liverpool whose first season in the league last season saw them finish 13th. They know what the league is about now, and they will also be looking to push into that top ten now as Manager Martin Ryman celebrates his 22nd season at the helm.
Brian Dawson will take charge of Cleator Moor Celtic for the first time at the weekend. Celtic finished 9th last season, winning and losing 16 games, and that was an improvement on the pre-Covid finish of 11th. They know the league now, and Brian will no doubt be aiming to finish higher again. They are at Steeton on the opening day, where Roy Mason gears up for his 17th season in charge. The Yorkshiremen finishing 12th last season, that being their best since joining the league, and they have the ability in that squad to push on.
The final game is Darwen FC who host Ilkley Town. Like Atherton LR earlier, Darwen only survived the drop last season thanks to a reprieve, but its good times at the club with the 3G pitch seeing crowds increase massively and a new facility behind the goal that will offer space for teaching, conferences and a sports bar. They will grab this reprieve with both hands and be nowhere near the bottom this time around. Ilkley finished just a point ahead of Darwen last season, that being their first in the league. They will have learned a lot last season, and will be looking to improve with a comfortable, mid-table finish.
FIRST DIVISION SOUTH
Its all change open in the South this season, with the best two teams from last season promoted and three new teams coming in.
Lets start with the new teams first, with Ashville at home to Abbey Hey. Ashville have stepped up from the West Cheshire League where they have been an established club for a number of years. They finished in third place last season. Abbey Hey finished 4th, losing in the Play-Off Semi Final at New Mills. They will be looking to replicate that this season if not improve.
Stockport Georgians step up from the Manchester League where they finished third last time. It has proved a strong breeding ground, with Wythenshawe Amateurs and Avro all coming up from there in recent years. Can Georgians be amongst the leading teams like their predecessors? They host Brocton, who were bang on halfway last season finishing in 10th. That was their first season in the league and they will not be phased by what they have seen. They will be looking to improve this season.
Foley Meir are our final new club, and they finished fourth in the Staffordshire Senior League. Since promotion to the top flight in 2016/17, Foley have never finished outside of the top five. They travel to Cheadle Heath Nomads on the opening day, with Nomads finishing 9th last season. That matched their final position in their first season before Covid, and they will be looking to push on now that they have established themselves.
New Mills were third last season, and lost in the Play-Off's to FC Isle of Man. It was their best finish to a league season for over a decade, and they will be determined to go one better. They travel to Stafford Town who rallied to finish 12th last season in what was their first season in the league. They will have learned a lot, namely that they can compete, so they will be aiming for a top ten finish at least.
Wythenshawe Amateurs finished fifth last season, and they start off against Alsager Town. The Ammies finished 4th before Covid in their first season, and will be fully confident of not only reaching a hat-trick of Play-Off's but actually going for the title this season. Alsager were relegated from the Premier Division in 2015/16 but have never shown any fight of getting back there. A 17th place finish before Covid was followed up with an 18th place finish last season and surviving on a reprieve. They have played Northern Premier League in the past, but need to turn things around in the more immediate future.
Sandbach United are a club that did well when they first came up, competing with everybody and winning the First Division Trophy twice. But they appear to be treading water, and in their four full seasons they have finished 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. They need to take Steps to estalblish themselves further up, and perhaps Declan Swan, who took over in January, is the answer. Time will tell. They host Rocester who got a reprieve last season after their 19th place finish. That was their first season in the league, and they will have learned a lot from it. They should finish higher this time around.
Barnton host Stockport Town, and there was little to separate these two last season. Both finished just below mid-table amongst a plethora of clubs that neither challenged the leaders nor were threatened with relegation. Barnton have had finished mid-table twice since they were relegated from the Premier Divsion. Stockport have finished 10th or 11th in the last four full seasons. Its time for both to step up and establish themselves higher up the table.
After a consolidating first season, Abbey Hulton United finished just outside of the Play-Off's before Covid, but a 16th place finish last season was disappointing. They are a better side than that, and will look to get a good start to the season so they can finish higher. They face a Cheadle Town side that finished in 7th place last season but who have rolled the dice over the summer, with Paul Marshall taking over as Manager. They have spent 21 years in the second tier of the league, with 6th their highest position. That will be their aim for the forthcoming season.
Eccleshall have been mid-to-low table for the last decade or so, with 13th their highest position just before Covid. They have the personnel to beat anyone on their day, and will be aiming for a decent mid-table finish. Liam Kelly has just completed his first full pre-season with them, and it will be interesting watching them go. Cammell Laird 1907 finished 14th last season, which that they will be a little disappointed with. They won the Wirral Cup, and reach both of the NWCFL Cup Finals, so will be looking for a top ten finish this time around.
Our final game is Ellesmere Rangers against Maine Road. Ellesmere were 15th last season, an improvement on their 19th place finish before Covid and they will be looking to kick on again this season. Maine Road were the 'best of the rest' last season, finishing one place below the Play-Off's but 20 points off it. With the top two from last season promoted, can they take that one step further this time around?
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