Leigh RMI F.C.
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| Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute |
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| Full name | Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | The Railwaymen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1896 (as Horwich R.M.I. F.C.) |
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| Ground | Hilton Park Leigh (Capacity 10,000) |
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| Chairman | Dominic Speakman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Steve Bleasdale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Northern Premier League Premier Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | Conference North, 22nd (relegated) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leigh Railway Mechanics Institute Football Club, usually known as Leigh RMI, are an English semi-professional association football team that plays in the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League as of the 2008–09 season. The club is based in Leigh, Greater Manchester (historically in Lancashire).
The club's traditional kit colours are red and white striped shirts and black shorts.
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[edit] History
The club was founded in 1896 and was known as Horwich RMI F.C. until 1995 when it relocated to Leigh.[1] RMI was one of two football clubs founded at the locomotive-building works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway; it was started at the main works in Horwich. The other club was started at the Newton Heath works and later became known, and famous, as Manchester United.[2] RMI played in various non-professional conferences over its first 90 years of existence, primarily in the Lancashire Combination, before moving up to the North West Counties League in 1982,[3] and then onto the Northern Premier League the next year.[4]
Manager Les Rigby led RMI to the final of the GMAC Cup in 1988 against Weymouth, which was played on the sloping pitch of Grundy Hill. The home advantage was credited by many, including Rigby, for spurring RMI's victory in the match.[5]
During the 1994-1995 season,[6] the club realised their ground Grundy Hill would not be able to help the clubs' prospects of achieving success up the football pyramid, made the decision to relocate from Horwich seven miles south to Hilton Park in Leigh, home of the rugby league club Leigh Centurions. As part of this deal, a new company, Grundy Hill Estates, was formed to take over the ownership of the shared ground.[7] Once the move had been finalised and agreements had been made to share the 10,000 capacity stadium, the club officially changed their name to Leigh RMI to reflect their new surroundings. RMI lost its first match at Hilton Park in March 1995 to Boston United 4-0, and ended up being relegated at the end of the 1995 season.[2]
In 2000, five years after this move, Leigh RMI reached the top tier of the Conference, the highest level of non-league football in England. After a few seasons at this level, and despite the fact that things seemed to be going well for the club on the pitch, Leigh RMI faced a placement in the new Conference North division for 2004-05 due to their second from the bottom finish in the 2003-04 season. The club was spared relegation that season due to two factors: that the lack of a promotable Northern Premier League club kept the team finished above in the table them from relegation and that Margate were demoted from the Conference for failing to meet ground standards. Leigh RMI's reprieve only lasted one season, however, as they were relegated after finishing bottom of the Conference table in 2004-05 with only 18 points from 42 games.[8]
The season after this relegation, Leigh RMI hosted F.C. United of Manchester, the football club started in reaction to the purchase of Manchester United by American businessman Malcolm Glazier, for FCUM's first ever match in July 2005, a friendly that ended in 0-0 draw.[9] Leigh RMI's ownership had previously offered to merge with FCUM prior to this friendly in 2005, but the clubs decided against such a merger. "It would seem hypocritical to some degree, in light of the Glazer events, if a team came into being by taking over another club," said Chairman of RMI Supporters' Club Peter Lowe at the time.[10]
The 2005-06 season saw the club finish second from bottom in the Conference North, and the club thereby faced relegation to the Northern Premier League, but RMI gained yet another reprieve from relegation after Canvey Island resigned from the Conference National.[8] In the 2006-07 campaign, RMI avoided relegation more easily, despite finishing 17th and in the bottom half of Conference North.[8] As of 6 October 2007, Leigh RMI were again facing a relegation fight as they stood on the threshold of the relegation zone in 19th place.[11] RMI removed manager Stuart Humphreys and his assistant Andy Roscoe on 15 October 2007 and hired Steve Bleasdale to manage due to "the fact of the current low league position and falling gates something had to be done rapidly to improve our prospects," according to a club spokesman.[12]
This time Leigh RMI lost their fight for survival and were relegated to the Northern Premier League.
[edit] Supporters
After moving from Grundy Hill in Horwich, RMI's support has always been considered light.
Horwich's traumatic move to Leigh involved a far greater leap than a mere six-mile journey south west. Unsigned boundaries were crossed. Horwich is Bolton Wanderers and football; Leigh is Wigan and rugby league.[2]
With Leigh being known as a rugby league town, and the numerous Premier League football sides on the club's doorstep, not only Bolton Wanderers, but also Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, and Manchester United, Leigh RMI football club currently averages attendances of approximately 250 people per game.[13] Work has begun on a new 10,000 seat stadium for the club as part of the Leigh Sports Village, a sporting development project sponsored by the Wigan Council for the town of Leigh. In the same vein as Hilton Park, the new stadium will be shared with Leigh Centurions, and the majority of the stadium being seated, although one end of the stadium will be a terraced area due to the demands of supporters of both clubs.
[edit] FA Cup exploits
As Horwich RMI, the club only made the FA Cup First Round proper twice. In the 1928-29 season, RMI lost to Scarborough at home 1-2, and 54 years later, in 1982, they lost at Blackpool 3-0.[3]
Since being renamed, Leigh RMI have reached the FA Cup First Round on three occasions. The first came in the 1998-1999 season when RMI defeated Winsford, Worksop, and Droylsden, the last two by the same scoreline, 2- 1, to meet Fulham, then in Division Two, at Craven Cottage.[2] Leigh achieved a 1-1 draw against Fulham in the club's first FA Cup appearance in 16 years, and received attention of the British media. Leigh goalkeeper David Felgate, who was then 38 years old, received wide-spread plaudits for his sparkling performance in the Fulham match,[14] which prompted then-Fulham boss Kevin Keegan to declare that Felgate's goalkeeping was "the best I've ever seen at any level."[15]
The RMI-Fulham replay at Hilton Park, which was televised and shown live on Sky Sports,[16] ended with Leigh losing 0-2. RMI's Cup defeat witnessed by a club record crowd of 7,125 spectators.
Leigh's second FA Cup First Round appearance in the 2000-01 season also ended in defeat. They lost 3-0 to Millwall who at that time were in Division Two. On police advice, the venue for this match was switched from Hilton Park to The New Den in Bermondsey, Millwall's home ground.
A third appearance in the FA Cup First Round Proper also ended in defeat for Leigh with a 2-1 defeat away to Conference South side Cambridge City in the 2004-05 season. This followed RMI's victory at Accrington Stanley in the Fourth Qualifying Round that year.
[edit] Grounds
- Grundy Hill 1896-1995 (as Horwich RMI)
- Hilton Park 1995-date
- New stadium at Leigh Sports Village (estimated opening in 2008)
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Former players
David Felgate - Former Wales and Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper
Steve Jones - Northern Ireland and Burnley striker
David McNiven - Stafford Rangers striker- Michael Twiss - Former Manchester United midfielder and striker, now playing in League Two with Morecambe
- See also Category:Leigh RMI F.C. players
[edit] Management and Coaching Staff
- Board of Directors:
- Tony Hogan
- Dominic Speakman (chairman)
- Manager:
- Groundsman:
- Malcolm Sargent
[edit] Club Records
- Record Win: 19-1 vs Nelson, 1964 (Lancashire Combination)
- Record Defeat: 1-9 vs Brandon United, (FA Cup)
- Record Home Crowd at Grundy Hill, Horwich: 8,500 vs Wigan Athletic, 1954
- Record Home Crowd at Hilton Park, Leigh: 7,125 vs Fulham, 1998 (FA Cup)
- Best League Finish: Northern Premier League Champions, 1999-2000 [18]
[edit] Honours
| Honour | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| West Lancashire League Champions |
1910–11, 1911–12[19] |
| Lancashire Combination Champions |
1957–58[3] |
| Lancashire Combination Runner-up |
1928–29 (on goal average),[3] 1929–30,[19] 1955–56, 1966–67[3] |
| Lancashire Combination Division Two runner-up |
1948–49,[19] 1950–51 (lost title on goal average)[3] |
| Cheshire County League Champions |
1978–79[3] |
| Northern Premier League Division One runner-up |
1996–97 (on goal difference)[1] |
| Northern Premier League Champions |
1999–2000[1] |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Rundle, Richard. Leigh R M I. Football Club History Database. Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
- ^ a b c d Longmore, Andrew (1998-11-08). Football: Bring on the aristocrats. The Independent. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g Rundle, Richard. Horwich R M I. Football Club History Database. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ Leigh RMI Club Profile. Ciderspace: The Independent Yeovil Town FC Website. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ Les Rigby obituary. The Bolton News (1996-03-16). Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ Latham, Mike (2006-11-02). Traveler's Tale No. 58. Football Grounds in Focus. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ KirkhallLaner (2006-10-07). Leigh RMI. Football Ground Guide. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c Leigh RMI League history. Official Leigh R.M.I. website at FootyMad.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Lawton, Matt (2006-08-03). Leigh RMI vs. FC United of Manchester preview. Unofficial RMI Online. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ FC United in Leigh RMI merger talks. The Lancashire Telegraph (2005-06-22). Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Football Conference - League Table - Conference North. Football Conference. Retrieved on 2007-10-06.
- ^ Walker, Stan (2007-10-15). Leigh RMI FC Part Company with Humphreys. Official Leigh R.M.I. website at FootyMad.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- ^ Kempster, Tony. Leigh RMI Attendances. Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Meat pie, sausage roll, hefty Dave's great in goal!. The Bolton News (1998-11-18). Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Felgate's finest hour. The Bolton News (1998-11-16). Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Keegan back at Hilton Park. The Leigh Journal (2004-07-29). Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Leigh RMI squad details. Official Leigh R.M.I. website at FootyMad.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
- ^ Leigh RMI Team Records. Official Leigh R.M.I. website at FootyMad.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ a b c Smith, Neil (2001-01-11). Leigh R.M.I. F.C. Honours. Official Leigh R.M.I. website at FootyMad.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
[edit] External links
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Ashton United | Bradford Park Avenue | Boston United | Buxton | Cammell Laird | Eastwood Town | F.C. United of Manchester | Frickley Athletic | Guiseley | Hednesford Town | Ilkeston Town | Kendal Town | Leigh RMI | Marine | Matlock Town | Nantwich Town | North Ferriby United | Ossett Town | Prescot Cables | Whitby Town | Witton Albion | Worksop Town |
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