Irlam F.C.

Irlam

Full name	Irlam Football Club
Nickname(s)	Mitchells or Shack
Founded	1969 (as Mitchell Shackleton)
Ground	Silver Street Irlam City of Salford
Ground Capacity	1,000
Chairman	Warren Dodd
Manager	Steve Nixon
League	North West Counties League Division One
2012–13	North West Counties League Division One, 14th
Home colours Away colours

Irlam F.C. is an amateur football club situated in Irlam, Greater Manchester, England.

The first team currently plays its football in the North West Counties League Division One.

History

Irlam Football Club was formed as Mitchell Shackleton Football Club in October 1969 by a group of employees working for Mitchell, Shackleton and Company Limited, an engineering company based in Patricroft, Eccles. The founding members were Bob Cowlishaw (chairman), Bill Russell (secretary) and Charlie Flynn (treasurer). Mitchell Shackleton FC entered the Eccles and District Amateur Football League in 1970.

Initially the club was financially supported by Mitchell Shackleton's active sports and social club, but the recession of the late 1970s led to the company restructuring its business interests and resulted in a reduction in the workforce. That in turn led to the closure of the sports and social club, and since then the football club has been self-financing.

The club was initially headquartered at the Oddfellows Arms, Patricroft, before moving to St Michael's Community Centre, Peel Green in 1973. The club now plays its home games at its Silver Street ground in Irlam.

It was in the Manchester Amateur League that the club's reputation began to grow, winning the Third Division (1973–74) and Second Division (1974–75) Championships in successive seasons, and in 1975 a reserve team was formed.

Between 1976 and 1978, the club went through a transitional phase with younger players being introduced into the first team, and the formation of a new management team of George Walker, Billy Hall and Jimmy Preston.

During this period, a re-structuring of the league saw Irlam competing in the Industrial 'B' Division, in which the club was runner-up in 1979–80.

In season 1983–84 Irlam finished Industrial 'A' Division runners-up, but ended the season on a high by winning the Gosling Cup.

Industrial 'A' Division runners-up once again in season 1985–86, and defeated finalists in the Gosling Cup of 1988–89 signalled the end of the club's 17 year association with the Manchester Amateur League.

Irlam joined the Manchester League in 1989, gaining promotion to the Premier Division at the second attempt, finishing as First Division runners-up in 1991.

A change of management saw Paul Traynor and Kenny Davies take on the first team responsibilities, with George Walker and Ron Parker managing the reserves.

In 1993 Irlam reached the Gilgryst Cup Final, only to lose out to Woodley Sports in the final.

1994 saw the formation of a third team which was entered into the Eccles and District League, and in the same year, Paul Traynor departed and Kenny Davies assumed control, assisted by Billy Hall.

This management team took Irlam to its highest ever league position in the Premier Division, runners-up to Abbey Hey in 1995.

Prior to the start of 1997–98 season Kenny Davies walked out, taking with him several first team players to local rivals Monton Amateurs.

Dave Rowan and Craig Woodley, who had forged a successful partnership with the reserves, were promoted and asked to rebuild the side. Roy Bluer, a successful manager in Sunday football, was recruited to run the reserves.

By the end of December 1997, the first team were bottom of the Premier Division and facing relegation. However a run of six wins, three draws and only two defeats saw Irlam catch the side above them. Losses in the next two games saw Irlam drop into the bottom two, but a dramatic win against fellow strugglers Wythenshawe Town and mid-table Monton Amateurs saw the club avoid relegation.

The start of 2001–02 season saw the club change its name to Irlam Mitchell Shackleton in anticipation of its move to Irlam. In 2006 the team dropped the Mitchell Shackleton suffix to become Irlam Football Club.

It also saw the departure of Craig Woodley, and the formation of a new management team of Rowan, former Willows boss Gary Fellows, and team coach Dave Mann, who rebuilt the squad and introduced several young prospects.

League form fell short of early expectations, but the team did put together a good Gilgryst Cup run to reach the semi-finals.

The reserves side, under the guidance of Anthony Ashton, Duncan Beaumont and Mark Murphy, had a more productive season, clinching a top-three spot in the Second Division plus a final tie in the Open Trophy.

Gary Fellows managed the team to the title in the 2002–03 season only to have the title stripped through a player technicality. The following season the team finished in a disappointing 7th but the team bounced back the season after only to be pipped to the top spot by one point by Prestwich Heys.

Gary Fellows then left the club, going to manage Salford City, taking with him his assistant manager and most of the first team. the club was left depleted as the second team manager soon followed also, taking the majority of the reserve players with him. The club announced it would only run one team the season after and that would be managed by Arthur Byrne. Although there was a 15th position in the league, the team managed to win the Manchester Challenge Trophy with a last-gasp winner against Trafford.

The season after an influx of players from Cadishead JFC and Irlam Rangers saw the club take on three teams. Arthur Byrne would no longer be manager and was replaced by Dave Mann who had in previous years been team coach. His assistants would be Tony Campbell and Ken Palmer. The reserves would be run by Dave Lowe and Rick Waring, and the A team by Dave Carlisle. The first team finished 5th in 2006–07 and then 8th in 2007–08.

2008–09 saw the club step up the leagues into the North West Counties Division 1. The management team was kept the same and some new players from further afield came in to bolster the squad which was full of youthful players coming through the club successfully. The season finished with an 8th place finish with the highlights being away wins at AFC Liverpool and Winsford United of the premier division in the cup.

The 2009–2010 season saw team manager Dave Mann continue to build his young squad up as he pushes for promotion into the North West Counties League Premier Division. Assisted by Ken Palmer in the first team, the reserves were now being managed by Bill Murray and Nick Parker and Dave Ingle, with Tony Campbell and Paul Rigby taking charge of the club's development squad who compete in the Altrincham Saturday League. The team started the season fast and found themselves at the top of the table early on. But the season faded with a succession of suspensions and injuries with hampered Dave Mann's ability to put out his strongest team. The team eventually finished in 10th place but did not reflect the progress made at the club.^{[citation needed]} The end of the season saw a new manager put in place as Dave Mann stepped aside. Ryan Gilligan was appointed as the new first-team manager, to be assisted by Ken Palmer.

The 2011–2012 season saw Nick Parker, Billy Murray and Dave Ingle take on the First team role after Ryan Gilligan resigned due to other commitments, Neil lewis and John Firth running the reserve side and Steve Nixon running the A team, a much changed first team side started the season well and reached the semifinal of the manchester premier cup and divisional trophy and finished 10th in the league after slipping away after Christmas.

2012–2013 sees the same first team management team of Nick Parker, Billy Murray and Dave Ingle now assisted by new 1st team coach Ryan Hutchinson with Steve Nixon, Matthew Kay and James Holt taking charge of the reserve side

League history

Honours

• Manchester League Premier Division
  • Champions 2002–03
  • Runners-up 1990–91, 1994–95, 2004–05

Records

• FA Cup
  • Extra Preliminary Round 2010–11, 2011–12

• FA Vase
  • Second Round 2010–11

References

• Manchester League Guide to Irlam Mitchell Shackleton
• Irlam MS at the Football Club History Database

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 53°27′26.86″N 2°24′49.68″W / 53.4574611°N 2.4138000°W / 53.4574611; -2.4138000