Ashton Athletic F.C.
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| Full name | Ashton Athletic Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Ashes, Ash | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground | Brocstedes Park, Ashton-in-Makerfield | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Chairman | Jimmy White | ||
| Manager | Jay Foulds | ||
| League | North West Counties League Premier Division | ||
| 2013–14 | North West Counties League Premier Division, 6th | ||
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Ashton Athletic F.C. are an English football club based in Ashton in Makerfield in Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Premier Division of the North West Counties League and are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association. They play their home matches at Brocstedes Park, two miles north-west of the town centre.
History
Formed in 1968, Ashton Athletic joined the Lancashire Combination in the 1978–79 season, but struggled and finished bottom of the league. They continued to struggle for the next three seasons before becoming founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982. However, they finished in last place of Division Three in the first season, 1982–83. After finishing in last place twice more, they left the league in 1986, having failed the ground grading.[1] They joined the Manchester League for the 1988–89 season. Results did not however improve as they finished mostly in the toward the bottom of the table in the 1990s with their highest position coming in the 1994–95 season when they finished ninth. After finishing 12th in 2000–01, results improved and they finished in fifth place in both 2001–02 and 2002–03. The 2005–06 season was their last in the Manchester League, when they achieved their highest league placing, in fourth.[2]
After a two-year campaign to achieve the required standards, Ashton re-joined the North West Counties Football League in 2006–07,[1] finishing 16th in Division Two. They also won the Atherton Charity Cup beating local rivals Ashton Town in the final on 18 May 2007.[3]
In 2007–08 they finished in third place and were promoted to the Premier Division. They also made a relativel successful debut in the FA Vase beating Rossington Main 6–0 in the first qualifying round. Then after beating Congleton Town in the second qualifying round and Colne in the first round they went out of the competition in the second round losing 2–1 to Billingham Synthonia.[2]
They made their debut in the 2008–09 FA Cup losing 2–0 to Oldham Town in the extra preliminary round on 16 August 2008.[2][4] The second tier of the club (The Development Squad )play in the Lancashire Galaxy FA League.
Youth teams and mini-soccer
The club have a youth development policy with teams ranging from Under-8 to Under-18 with FA qualified coaches.[5]
Non-playing staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
 Jimmy White | Chairman |
| Jimmy Witherington | President |
| B Reid | Treasurer |
| Alan Greenhalgh | Club secretary |
| Jay Foulds| First-team manager | |
| Jez Neild, Development Squad, team manager | |
Honours
- Atherton Charity Cup
- Winners 2006–07
- Wigan Cup
- Runners-up 2011–12
- North West Counties Football League Challenge Cup
- Winners 2013–14
Records
- FA Vase
- Second Round 2007–08
Attendances
The average league-game attendance at Ashton Athletic's home games for the 2013–14 season was 58, an 11.5% increase from the previous season.
Past averages
Source: Tony Kempster's site Non League Matters NW Counties Football League site
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "News & Reports – Non League birth secured by Ashton Athletic FC". Ashton Athletic F.C. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Ashton Athletic". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ "News & Reports – Atherton Charity Cup Final 2007". Ashton Athletic F.C. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ "FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round". Tony's English football site. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ "Welcome to Ashton Athletic Football Club". Ashton Athletic F.C. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
External links
- Official website
- Ashton Athletic at the Football Club History Database
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