Mossley A.F.C.
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| Full name | Mossley Association Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Lilywhites | ||
| Founded | 1903 (as Park Villa) | ||
| Ground | Seel Park, Mossley | ||
| Capacity | 4,000 (200 seated & 1,500 covered) | ||
| Chairman | Harry Hulmes | ||
| Manager | Peter Band (Manager) Lloyd Morrison (Manager) | ||
| League | Northern Premier League Division One North | ||
| 2014–15 | Northern Premier League Division One North, 7th | ||
| Website | http://www.mossleyweb.com/ | ||
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Mossley Association Football Club are a football club in Mossley, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They were founded in 1903 and are nicknamed the Lilywhites after their colours (white shirts, black shorts and white stockings). They play at Seel Park.
History
 | This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. (December 2014) |
Early years
Mossley were formed in 1903 as Park Villa and initially competed in local competitions.[1] After just one season the club's name was changed to Mossley Juniors. In 1909 they became Mossley AFC and moved to their present ground Seel Park in 1912 from their previous site at Luzley. The early years of Mossley AFC were spent in the Ashton & District League culminating in a superb season in 1914–15 when Mossley won the League, Manchester Junior Cup and the Lady Aitken Cup, progressing to the South East Lancashire League in 1915, the Manchester Amateur League in 1916, the Lancashire Combination in 1918 and then were founder members of the Cheshire County League in 1919, finishing runners up in the first season in both League and League Cup and returning to win the League Cup the following season beating Sandbach Ramblers in the final.
1960–1980
Apart from many successes in the Ashton Challenge Cup and various Manchester Cup wins, Mossley had many lean years in the League and rarely finished in the top half of the table, although in 1961 they won the Cheshire League Cup for only the second time when they beat a strong Tranmere Rovers Reserve side 6–3 at Hyde United's ground under the guidance of former Blackburn Rovers star Eddie Quigley. Mossley's most successful season in their Cheshire League days was in 1969–70 when Don Wilson's side finished runners-up in the League, reached the 1st round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in 20 years losing narrowly in a replay to Stockport County and made it to the quarter finals of the inaugural FA Trophy going out to Southern League club Barnet. After more than fifty years in the Cheshire League, the Lilywhites were elected to the Northern Premier League in 1972.
During the late 1970s, Mossley grew into a formidable force in non-league football. They won successive League titles in 1978–79 and 1979–80 and finished runners-up in each of the next three seasons. With manager Bob Murphy at the helm the club also saw its greatest moment. May 1980 saw the Lilywhites at Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Trophy. After defeating supposedly bigger clubs like Altrincham, Blyth Spartans and Boston United on the way, Mossley lost 2–1 in the final to Dagenham, their first defeat in 31 games. A crowd of 26,000 were at Wembley, and a memorable day for the club and town was captured for posterity by Granada TV in their documentary "Mossley Goes To Wembley." At this time Mossley had the most formidable strike force in non-league football with Leo Skeete, Dave Moore and Ian Smith alongside first Eamonn O'Keefe, who was later sold to Everton, and then Kevan Keelan.
1980–2000
The following season saw Mossley take their only Football League scalp in the FA Cup when they beat Crewe Alexandra 1–0 at Seel Park, in a match which featured the only appearance for Mossley by former Manchester City and England star Mike Summerbee. Other League clubs faced in the glory years were Rotherham United, York City, Mansfield Town, Stockport County, Huddersfield Town and Darlington. The great run of success ended abruptly in 1984 when following financial upheavals the Lilywhites finished bottom of the then one division NPL and had to seek re-election.
A gradual recovery took place through the 1980s,with 1988–89 being the most successful since the glory days. Under the guidance of Bryan Griffiths and Dave Jones, Mossley won the NPL Cup, Manchester Premier Cup, Reporter Floodlit Cup and at the start of the following season the Northern Premier League Shield. After this, fortunes faded again following further financial problems with the club narrowly avoiding relegation in 1992. The following year, after a calamitous series of results not even the return of the legendary Bob Murphy could save the club from the drop. Over the next two years Mossley saw no fewer than six managerial changes and the Lilywhites run of 23 years in the NPL came to an end in 1995 when they were relegated to the North West Counties League.
The 1995–96 season saw Mossley make a highly promising North West Counties League debut, involved in the promotion race for most of the season they eventually finished 4th, reaching the final of the Floodlit Trophy into the bargain. The following season, after a bright start, the team failed to stay the pace with the leaders and finally finished in 7th position, but did have a great run in the FA Vase, reaching the quarter finals. In 1997 the club parted company with manager Kevan Keelan and installed another former Lilywhites player, Benny Phillips as his replacement, as well as appointing a new chairman in the club's main sponsor Sam Rigby of club sponsors NEC and with a rebuilt team finished in 9th position. 1998–99 saw the team more than unfortunate not to win the title, losing out to Workington on the last day of the season. It was a bitter pill to swallow after leading the table for the last three months which included a club record 12 successive wins.
21st century
The millennium season saw Mossley again reach the quarter finals of the FA Vase before going down 3–1 at eventual winners Deal Town F.C. and slip from the title race after that to finish 4th, but they did reach the final of the Manchester Premier Cup, losing by a last minute goal to Droylsden at Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park.
In November 2001 Benny Phillips was replaced as manager by former Coventry City and Stoke City player Ally Pickering. Mossley finished their centenary season 2002–03 in 3rd position, reached the quarter finals of the FA Vase for the third time and won their first cup in over a decade when they beat Clitheroe 2–1 to win the Worthington Trophy at Gigg Lane. The 2003–04 season saw Jason Beckford replace Pickering as manager just prior to the season's start and the club embarked on a 21 match unbeaten run leading up to the New Year. However, following a 3-point deduction for to an administrative error, form took a nosedive as the team quickly crashed out of four cups and lost pole position in the League. The drama continued to the end and Mossley were pipped to the title by Clitheroe on the last day of the season.[2]
In the 2005–06 season, Mossley become champions of the Northern Premier League Division One, finishing two points above Fleetwood Town despite losing their last two games, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. In 2007, Mossley faced relegation and were assigned to the inaugural season of the Northern Premier League Division One North. Jason Beckford parted company in the close season and was replaced in June 2007 by Gerry Quinn, a teacher from Huddersfield. Quinn's reign lasted one full season, before former Mossley player Chris Willcock re-joined the club as manager, in June 2008. Willcock resigned in January 2010 to be replaced by his former assistant and ex Woodley Sports manager John Flanagan. Flanagan resigned at the end of the season due to business commitments, however, and he was replaced by former Stalybridge Celtic reserve boss Shaun Higgins.
Despite a good FA Cup run to the final qualifying round Higgins reign only lasted until March 2011 when following a poor run of results and form he was replaced by former Woodley Sports boss Gareth McClelland, initially on a caretaker basis. McClelland impressed enough to be given the job for the 2011–12 season Mossley's 100th year at Seel Park.
Experienced central defender Steve Halford was appointed as the club's new player-manager in January 2012,[3] along with Peter Band who joined Halford as player/assistant-manager.
The 2012–13 season saw Mossley competing at the top end of the NPL Division One North throughout the campaign, finally achieving a play off position on the final day of the season. However, the team lost to an injury time goal at Cammell Laird in the play off semi final. The Lilywhites did, however, retain the Manchester FA Premier Cup beating Salford City on penalties in the final following a 2–2 draw.
Manager Halford departed to Ashton United just prior to pre season and Mossley appointed his former assistant Peter Band and former Winsford United boss Lloyd Morrison as joint managers for the 2013–14 season and with a completely rebuilt team finished just below mid-table.
The 2014/15 season saw Mossley competing all season for a play off place only losing out in the last week of the campaign. That disappointment was waylaid by success in the Manchester FA Premier Cup as the Lilywhites beat Curzon Ashton on penalties in the final at Oldham Athletic's Boundary Park to win the trophy for the third time in four seasons.
Stadium
Mossley play at Seel Park, which has a capacity of 4,000 people, 1,500 of which are covered and 200 are seated. The site was a disused cricket ground before the club started to play home games there in 1911, and christened the site Seel Fold. The ground began its gradual improvement process in 1920, with the building of a 430-person stand and dressing rooms: the first permanent structures on the site. By the 1930s, the ground had been renamed Seel Park. In 1948, Seel Park was bought outright from Stamford Estates, for a total of £1,200. In 1988 Seel Park was sold to investors to clear crippling debts and in 1990 it was purchased by Tameside MBC who continue to lease it back to Mossley AFC. In late December 2009 two floodlight pylons collapsed and the other six were later condemned. Mossley had to play home midweek fixtures for the second half of the 2009–10 season at Ashton United's Hurst Cross ground. New floodlights were erected in time for the 2010–11 season. 2011–12 season sees Mossley celebrate 100 years playing at Seel Park.
The main stand is accompanied with terracing on one side of the ground; the terraces stretch almost all the way down this side and the main stand is a very small stand constructed level with the half way line, and sits above the terracing. This is a covered stand and houses 220 seats. One end of the ground holds a decent sized small covered terrace which spreads almost the length of the end, and is around 12 terrace steps high. The other end features an almost flat open area along the whole length of the end whilst the other longside holds mostly open terracing around 4 steps steep, with a small roof for the terracing around the half way line.
At approximately 850 feet above sea level, Seel Park is the fourth highest altitude stadium in English football, with only Buxton, Tow Law Town and Bacup Borough being even higher. Visiting sides have often commented on how teams tire regularly during the second half because of the average levels of altitude.
Current squad
As of 4th September 2015[4]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Records
- Record Attendance: 6,640 v Stalybridge Celtic, Cheshire League, 1946
- Record Victory: 9–0 v Urmston, Manchester Shield, 1947
- Heaviest defeat: 2–13 v Witton Albion, Cheshire League, 1926
- Most Appearances for Club: 613, Jimmy O'Connor 1972–1987
- Most Goals for Club: 235, David Moore 1974–1984
- Most Goals in a Season: 58, Jackie Roscoe 1930–31
- Largest Transfer Fee Received: £25,000 from Everton for Eamonn O'Keefe, 1979
- Largest Transfer Fee Paid: £2,300 to Altrincham for Phil Wilson, 1980
- England Semi-Pro Internationals: Eamonn O'Keefe (1979), Ian Smith (1980), Phil Derbyshire (1981)
Best FA Cup Performance – Second Round
- Lost 0–0, R0-3 v Nuneaton Borough 1949–50
- Lost 1–3 v Mansfield Town 1980–81
Best FA Trophy Performance – Finalists
- Lost 2–1 v Dagenham & Redbridge 1979–80 at Wembley
Best FA Vase Performance – Quarter Finalists
- Lost 5–1 v Whitby Town 1996–97
- Lost 3–1 v Deal Town 1999–2000
- Lost 0–2 v A.F.C. Sudbury 2002–03
Honours[5]
- Ashton Challenge Cup Winners: 1921–22, 1922–23, 1929–30, 1934–35, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1961–62
- Ashton & District League Champions: 1911–12, 1914–15
- Ashton Junior Cup Winners: 1909–10
- Cheshire League Cup Winners: 1920–21, 1960–61
- FA Cup 2nd Round: 1949–50, 1980–81
- FA Trophy Runners Up: 1979–80
- Floodlit Cup Winners: 1974–75, 1988–89
- Lady Aitken Cup Winners: 1913–14, 1914–15
- Manchester Intermediate Cup Winners: 1960–61, 1966–67, 1967–68
- Manchester Junior Cup Winners: 1914–15, 1933–34
- Manchester Premier Cup Winners: 1988–89, 1990–91, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15
- Manchester Senior Cup Winners: 1971–72, 1976–77
- Manchester Shield Winners: 1937–38, 1948–49
- Northern Premier League Champions: 1978–79, 1979–80
- Northern Premier League Runners Up: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83
- Northern Premier League Division One Champions: 2005–06
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup Winners: 1978–79, 1988–89
- Northern Premier League Challenge Shield Winners: 1989–90
- North West Counties League Division One Runners Up: 1998–99, 2003–04
- North West Counties League Trophy Winners: 2002–03
References
- ^ http://www.mossleyweb.com/history.html
- ^ http://www.nwcfl.com/archive-league-tables.php?season=200304
- ^ "Steve Halford Given Mossley Player Manager Job". Non League Chat. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ [1] mossleyweb.com. 30 March 2015
- ^ http://www.mossleyweb.com/Honours.htm