| Full name | Atherton Collieries Association Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Colls, The Miners | ||
| Founded | 1916 | ||
| Ground | Alder Street, Atherton (Capacity: 2,500) |
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| Chairman | Paul Gregory | ||
| Manager | Steve Pilling | ||
| League | North West Counties League Division One | ||
| 2010–11 | North West Counties League Division One, 5th | ||
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Atherton Collieries A.F.C. is an English football club based in Atherton in Greater Manchester. The club currently plays in the North West Counties League First Division, the tenth tier of English football, and is a full member of the Lancashire County Football Association.
Between 1919 and 1965 Atherton Collieries were winners of the Bolton Combination ten times. By 1964–65 they had won the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield six times, a record which is still unsurpassed. They are nicknamed the Welfare, the Miners or Sooty and their home ground is Alder Street.
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Atherton Collieries was formed in 1916 by a group of miners from the six pits which were then operative within the old urban district of Atherton as a means of providing welfare for those at home involved in the war effort. When the pits were nationalised the football club was given to the people of the town.[1]
Colls first won the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield in 1920 when they beat Dumers Lane 3–2 after extra time. In 1923 they defeated Barnoldswick Town 4–1. Then in 1942 they beat Royal Engineers 3–2 and in 1946 Moss Rovers were dispatched 5–2.
The club first played in the Bolton Combination, in which they competed until they joined the Lancashire Combination Division Two in the 1950–51 season before leaving in 1952 to play again in the Bolton Combination.[2] In 1957 they won the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield for a fifth time after a second replay against Burnley Albion, winning 3–2 after extra time. In 1965 they beat Breightmet United 6–1 to win the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield for a sixth time.
They rejoined the Lancashire Combination in the 1971–72 season before becoming one of the founder members of the Cheshire County League Division Two in 1978–79, playing in that league for the next four seasons.
Colls joined the North West Counties Football League as a founder member in 1982–83, winning the Third Division in 1986–87. The 1992–93 season saw the club's best run in the FA Vase when they reached the third round, where they lost to Southern League club Bridgnorth Town 4–0. In the 1994–95 season they reached the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, beating Northern Counties East Football League Division One club Blidworth Welfare in the preliminary round in a replay 3–1 after the clubs had drawn the first game. In the first qualifying round they beat Buxton of the Northern Premier League 2–0 at Alder Street, before losing to another Northern Premier League club, Guiseley, 1–0 in the third qualifying round.[2]
Steady progress off the pitch, with ground improvements being completed in 1994, was matched by progress on the pitch as they had continued to finish higher in the league each season. This culminated in promotion to the First Division after finishing the 1995–96 season as runners-up to Vauxhall GM.[2] In the 2001–02 season they reached the final of the North West Counties League Cup for the first time, losing to Prescot Cables in a close game. The same season, they won the Bolton Wanderers-sponsored Goldline Trophy final against Charnock Richard at the Reebok Stadium. Colls won 1–0 with a goal from Nicky Fisher. The following season, Colls once again made it to the final of the Goldline Trophy but this time had to settle for runners-up. They also reached the second qualifying round of the FA Cup.
Colls have suffered mixed fortunes during their tenure in the top flight of the North West Counties Football League. In They have come close to relegation, and in the 2005–06 season it took an impressive run of results towards the end of the season for them to pull clear of relegation. However, at the end of the season, manager Alan Lord resigned.
Phil Brown was subsequently appointed as the new manager. In the 2006–07 season they fielded a reserve team in the Lancashire League (West) Reserve Division, competing against opposition from the reserve teams of Conference and Northern Premier League clubs. That season also saw the club's highest league position when they finished in seventh place. During the season their best performance came against league leaders FC United of Manchester in November 2006 when they inflicted a 3–0 defeat on the Red Rebels, with a hat-trick from Anthony Pilkington, who moved into the professional game with Stockport County on 15 December 2006, initially on a short term contract.[3]
The club's upturn in fortunes during the 2006–07 season owed a lot to the Football Development Centre (FDC) at Myerscough College on The Fylde in Lancashire, where Phil Brown was the FDC manager and his managerial assistant Dave McCann was the coach. The link-up saw an influx of young players from the college's under-19 side, giving them a chance to develop their footballing talent at non-league level with Atherton Collieries.
The following season saw a new first team manager, Dave Conlon, and a new assistant, Dave Chapman, and several new players joined the club. Colls enjoyed a good start to the season; however in September, the club's unbeaten run of seventeen games, stretching back to March 2007, came to an end with defeat against Maine Road in the league. This was immediately followed by losses in the FA Cup and FA Vase competitions and signified the onset of some inconsistent performances. Nevertheless, in October they beat Northern Premier League Premier Division club Marine in the first round of the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy before being narrowly beaten by Conference National club Southport in the next round. Mixed results in the league followed but the club saved their best performances for matches against the top sides including a thrashing of newly-crowned champions Trafford at the latter end of the campaign. Colls finished the season in fifteenth place.
Atherton Collieries were relegated to Division One at the end of the 2008–09 season after finishing bottom of the Premier League. Colls had spent twelve seasons in the top flight of the North West Counties league. A 3–1 defeat against Silsden at the end of April confirmed Colls’ demotion but after starting the campaign with ten straight defeats, it was always going to be a struggle for them to avoid the drop. During the season Colls only managed eight league and cup wins, with the most remarkable being a 1–0 victory over high-flying Newcastle Town in the league in March 2009.
After an indifferent start to the 2009–10 season Dave Conlon was replaced as manager by Steve Pilling at the end of August 2009. Pilling set about rebuilding the team and his fresh approach paid dividends as performances began to steadily improve with Colls finishing the season in sixth place.
Season 2010–11, Steve Pilling's first full season in charge, got off to a convincing start. Despite early exits in the national cup competitions, Colls' performances in the league were keeping them in the top five. However, a number of defeats in the second half of the season put paid to any promotion hopes but a strong finish to the campaign saw them eventually finish in fifth place. Nevertheless, Atherton Collieries did pick up some silverware, their first since 2002, when they won the First Division Trophy, defeating AFC Liverpool in the final 3–2 after extra time.
Atherton Collieries’ ground, Alder Street, is as old as the club. It has seen a number of changes over the years. One stand, behind the dugouts, was described in the book ’’Dugouts’’ as "leaning forward as if in prayer for its continued survival".[4] It was demolished in 2007. The stand opposite the clubhouse is made from railway sleepers, and the stand in front of the car park had basic bench seating, but this was replaced with modern tip-up seats in 2009. Floodlights were installed in 1994 and the changing rooms were renovated in 2008.[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Paul Gregory | Chairman/Treasurer |
| Mark Riley | Vice-Chairman |
| Emil Anderson | Club secretary |
| Steve Pilling | First-team manager |
| Chris Richardson | Assistant manager |
| Sarah Peet | Physiotherapist |
Atherton Collieries’ honours include the following:
| Honour | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Bolton Combination champions | 1919–20, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1944–45, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1964–65 |
| Lancashire County FA Shield winners | 1919–20, 1922–23, 1941–42, 1945–46, 1956–57, 1964–65 |
| Wigan Cup winners | 1924–25, 1938–39 |
| North West Counties League Division Three champions | 1986–87 |
| Bridge Shield winners | 1985–86 |
| North West Counties League Division Two runners-up | 1995–96 |
| Goldline Trophy winners | 2001–02 |
| North West Counties League First Division Trophy winners | 2010–11 |
As of 9 May 2011, the average league game attendance at Alder Street for the 2010–11 season is 52, which is an increase of 4.0% from the previous season.
Past averages:
Source: Atherton Collieries AFC official matchday programme (various dates)