Skelmersdale United
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Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from
Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire
County Football Association The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and play ...
.


History


The first 75 years

The club had its genesis in a team of players brought together by the teachers of the Skelmersdale Wesleyan Day School and it was called Skelmersdale Young Rovers, the headmaster at the time being Mr Ritson. When he left he was succeeded by Mr Forster of St Helens, a real football enthusiast. Under his guidance the team became a much stronger organisation and the name was changed to Skelmersdale Wesleyans, subsequently the minister expressed his disapproval of this and the team became Skelmersdale United. Nearly 10 years after their formation United joined the newly created Lancashire Combination in 1891-92 Skelmersdale was a small mining community with a population of a little over 5,000 and they were paired up with the reserve sides of clubs that were in the top flight of English football, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End. The club won its first major trophy in 1908 when they defeated Portsmouth Rovers in the final of the Lancashire Junior Shield. They joined the Liverpool County Combination in 1909 and won the first of their Championship titles in 1911 they competed in the League until 1955, during which time they were Champions on 10 occasions, Liverpool County FA Challenge Cup Winners on 8 occasions and George Mahan Cup Winners 5 times. For the majority of their first seventy years the club played at Sandy Lane that is now the site of an office block. Tom Tinsley who played for just four seasons (either side of the war) created a record by scoring 214 goals this despite many games missed due to Army call ups. For the 1955-56 season the club moved into the 2nd Division of the Lancashire Combination, and in their 1st season they lifted the Championship. and also found a new home White Moss Park.


A new team for a new town

Skelmersdale became a designated new town in 1961 and ushered in a whole new era for the area. Coincidentally, around the same time, in August 1961, Wesley Bridge was made Secretary/Manager of United and began the radical restructuring the club. In 1966–67 the changes began to pay dividends on the pitch. The FA Amateur Cup quarter final victory against
Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...
was a record gate for Whitemoss Park (Sandy Lane) – 7,500 – in March 1967. That year United won their way to the FA Amateur Cup Final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
in front of 75,000 spectators (which, at the time, was the biggest Wembley attendance for any game other than an
FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
,
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
or International game). A 0-0 draw with
Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...
resulted in a replay at
Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest a ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Whilst United lost 3–0, the whole experience was the basis of an extraordinarily successful period in their history. The following season United lost away to Football League club Scunthorpe United in the first round proper of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
. In 1968–69 United again qualified for the FA Cup first round only to lose away to Football League club Chesterfield. The same season, after transferring from the down-graded Lancs Combination to the Cheshire County League, United won the league championship, a feat they would repeat the following year. The club also got through to the semi finals of the FA Amateur Cup, another feat that they would repeat the next year. In 1970–71 United won the FA Amateur Cup in a 4–1 thrashing of Dagenham at Wembley. Despite only finishing third in the Cheshire County League, United also secured promotion to the Northern Premier League, the highest level the club had ever played at. In 1971–72, United finished in the top half of the Northern Premier League, and qualified again for the first round proper of the FA Cup where they were beaten at home by football league club
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
.


Decline and revival

By 1976 United had dropped into the Lancashire Combination. In 1982, when the Combination was amalgamated with the Cheshire County League to form the
North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...
(NWCL), United found themselves in Division Two of the NWCL. The club reached the inaugural League Challenge Cup Final, only losing in a replay to
Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the s ...
. In 1987 the NWCL was restructured when a large number of clubs left to join the Northern Premier. This restructuring saw the club move up to the NWCL First Division. United struggled for three seasons before being relegated. Russ Perkins was named as Manager and the club quickly regained promotion and the start of the long road back to the club's former glories. Winning the League Challenge Trophy in May 2000, the club left their spiritual home of White Moss Park in 2002 and eventually moved to the newly named Westgate Interactive Stadium (also known as Stormy Corner) in 2004. Stuart Rudd smashed the goalscoring record netting 230 goals. With Paul Gallagher in charge the club moved forward securing a second-place finish and promotion to the Northern Premier League in 2006.


Northern Premier league

United appointed the experienced manager Tommy Lawson to take the club to the new level and apart from a mid-table position in 06-07 the club finished in a play-off position all but once in the next 5 seasons. In 2008, Skelmersdale United finished third in the inaugural season of the Northern Premier League Division One North. They were only 4 points off the top spot and won the semi-final of the playoffs against Curzon Ashton 3-1. The final was against FC United. Despite scoring first in front of 4000 fans at
Bury FC Bury Football Club is an English association football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester, whose team last played in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football, in the 2018–19 season. The team are known as "The Shakers", and ...
’s ground, they lost 4-1. The 2009 season saw Skelmersdale finish 2nd by 1 point and lose in the semi-finals of the playoffs to Newcastle Blue Star 1-0. Both teams that were promoted that season went into administration in the off-season. The 2010 season saw Skem finish in 5th place and lose in the semi-final of the playoffs 2-0 to Lancaster City. In the 2011 season Skelmersdale again finished in 2nd place to Chester. Skem were 3 points behind and had a worse goal difference, but having scored significantly more goals than Chester. The final day of fixtures saw Skem needing to win and for Chester to lose, with an 8 goal swing in Skem’s favour. Chester did in fact lose to mid-table Garforth Town by a 2-1 scoreline, but Skem only won their game 7-2 against bottom team Ossett Town, so missed out on promotion by 2 goals. Their misery was completed by losing in the semi finals yet again to
AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesh ...
1-0. The 2012 season saw Skem finish outside the playoffs for the first time in 7th place. Skelmersdale continued to improve under manager Tommy Lawson. In the 2012-2013 season they finished top of the league, being promoted to the
Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
which sits under the Conference (now
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
) and is level 7 in the National League system. They won it by a 16-point margin from second place, scoring 110 goals in the league alone that season. This is their highest position in non-league football 'pyramid' to date.(see the National League System). On 5 March 2011, Skelmersdale entertained Chester in a Northern Premier League Division One North fixture and broke the attendance record for The Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College Stadium when 1,171 attended, it had previously been 1,002 for an FA Cup tie in 2004 against Burscough. Despite challenging for the title in their first season in the NPL Premier the club lost ground and eventually finished 6th. After a good start to the 2014-15 season, the club led the table until after the Christmas period but United found themselves in a serious financial problems and only by the efforts of the players, supporters and sponsors the club managed to see the season through. The season however ended on a high as victories over Champions FC United and a Liverpool Senior Cup win offered the club optimism for the future. The 2015-16 season saw United finish 16th, the highlights of the season would come in the cup competitions, firstly the run to the FA Trophy first round where they exited at the hands of
AFC Fylde AFC Fylde is a professional football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesh ...
. Losing 4-0 at the AJ Bell Stadium in January 2016 after weather had forced several postponements of United's hosting of the replay after drawing 4-4 in the original tie. The run included a stunning 5-2 win over Chorley FC in the previous round and United also reached the semi finals of the Liverpool Senior Cup where a 4-0 loss to eventual winners Everton U23 saw them end their defence of the trophy. 2016–17 was a season that will live long in the memories of United fans for the events of late March especially as they suffered relegation to Northern Premier League Division One North which was confirmed by a heavy 6-0 home defeat to Buxton FC on 25 March before on 28 March 2017, the club announced that it had been unable to agree a new lease on its Uretek Stadium ground and as a result was at risk of ceasing to exist. However, on 1 April the club announced that an agreement had been reached with nearby Prescot Cables F.C. to ground share for the 2017/18 season, safeguarding the club's future in the short term. Exits at the first stage of the cup competitions, coupled by an exodus of the playing staff over the festive period after a cut in the playing budget then led to a change in the backroom in January 2017 with long serving manager Tommy Lawson sacked, his assistants and a number of players exiting with him through loyalty, going on to re-unite later in the season at Marine AFC. Alan Rogers took charge in February and working with a very youthful squad, he was unable to prevent the drop to the division below but did so with a fighting spirit that saw United claim some good results against sides who would finish in the upper echelons of the table. Ahead of their first season in Northern Premier League Division One North since 2013, United brought in a number of experienced players in pre-season, Danny Ventre, Richard Brodie,
Andy Owens Andrew James Owens (born 15 October 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Macclesfield. Career Born in Liverpool, Owens began his career with his home town club Liverpool but later moved to Stoke City. After being released ...
, Steven Gillespie and Gareth Roberts to bolster a young squad. A mixed start to the 2017-18 season saw one win in the opening nine league games with an exit in the First Qualifying round of the FA Cup. Alan Rogers departed as manager on 20 September citing other work commitments. Dave Powell was appointed manager on 24 September. Under the early guide of Dave Powell, United sadly exited the FA Trophy, Integro League Cup and Liverpool Senior Cup at the hands of
Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...
, Atherton Collieries and
Burscough Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale. The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin ...
. A defeat to Kendal Town in the League was followed by a five-game unbeaten run which included a first away win of the season at
Tadcaster Albion Tadcaster Albion Association Football Club is an association football club in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. Formed in 1892, their ground is situated behind the John Smith's brewery in Tadcaster, thus the reason for their nickname "The B ...
and home victories over Ramsbottom United,
Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshir ...
and Ossett Town. Their most recent wins came away from the Uretek Stadium though after the club were evicted on 20 October and after a generous offer from Marine, United played twice at the Marine Travel Arena before beginning their season-long ground-share at Prescot Cables'
Valerie Park IP Truck Parts Stadium, traditionally known as Hope Street, is a stadium in Prescot, Merseyside. It is located on Eaton Street in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is home to Prescot Cables of the Northern Premier League. A.F.C. Liverp ...
Park on 18 November. A mixed opening to 2018 for the club saw United avoid relegation from the division with a 21st-place finish.


Relegation from Northern Premier League to current day

The following season in 2018–19 saw the club play in the newly formed Evo—Stik West division. One win in the opening 14 games saw a change in management with Dave Powell departing on 11 November, Paul McNally appointed as a manager on 16 November. Having won only 13 points in their campaign, United were relegated from the Northern Premier League in 20th position to join the North West Counties Football League following a 5-0 loss to Prescot Cables who continued as landlords to United into the next season. Skelmersdale United moved to their new home of the JMO Sports Park after a mixed start to the 2019/20 North West Counties Football League season and played their first game at the venue on Boxing Day 2019 against local rivals Burscough with United coming out on top with a 4-0 win in front of 266 supporters. That was the first of a winning trilogy at JMO before a number of the high-flying sides visited with close run battles before the season was declared null and void by the FA due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. United reached the first round proper of the 2020–21 FA Cup for the first time since their 1971 loss to Tranmere and were beaten 4-1 by
Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...
. They began the competition in the extra preliminary round, beating six teams in order to reach the first round of the Cup. In the 2021/22 season Skelmersdale United achieved promotion after finishing 2nd in the league to big spending Macclesfield and had to play a one off playoff game 150 miles away at Cinderford Town at Gloucester. Michael Howard scoring 4 goals in a 5-1 win that saw Paul McNally's team promoted back to the NPL West and Michael Howard getting the golden boot as the divisions top scorer with 33 goals


Non-playing staff


Former players

Players who left the club directly for league clubs include: * Micky BurnsBlackpool & Newcastle United (1971–76) *
Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. The story that Steve gained an
International Cap In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
with the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
whilst he was still playing for Skelmersdale is a myth as Steve left United in April 1970 and gained his first cap 23 September 1970 * Matthew Dreha
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
* Sean McConville
Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...
January 2009 * Josh Lennie (2009) * Matty HughesFleetwood Town * Ben Tollitt
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
Those who played for the club and progressed into league football after leaving the club include: * Paul FutcherChester City & Manchester City * Ron Futcher – Chester City & Manchester City * Craig NoonePlymouth Argyle,
Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
(Loan) and
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
*
Peter Withe Peter Withe (born 30 August 1951) is an English former football manager and striker who played between 1971 and 1990. At Nottingham Forest he won the Anglo-Scottish Cup and Second Division promotion in 1976–77, First Division and the Foot ...
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
& Aston Villa * Gerry KeenanPort Vale


References


External links


Club website
{{Coord, 53.55725, N, 2.80169, W, display=title Football clubs in England Northern Premier League clubs Sport in the Borough of West Lancashire Association football clubs established in 1882 Lancashire Combination 1882 establishments in England Football clubs in Lancashire North West Counties Football League clubs Liverpool County Football Combination Cheshire County League clubs