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F.C. United of Manchester

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FC United of Manchester
Club badge
Full nameFootball Club United of Manchester
Nickname(s)F.C.
Founded2005
GroundGigg Lane
Bury
Capacity11,840
ChairmanTony Pritchard (acting)
ManagerEnglish Karl Marginson
LeagueNorth West Counties Football League
Division One (2006-2007)
2004-05N/A

Football Club United of Manchester (FC United of Manchester, FC United or FCUM for short) is a semi-professional English football club based in Manchester, although they currently play their first team home matches in nearby Bury. The club was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters who opposed Malcolm Glazer's hostile takeover of their club, and is run as an industrial and provident society in which members only receive one share regardless of the amount they have invested in the club.

Although the majority of the club's support comes from Manchester and the surrounding area, its supporters club has branches in over ten countries including Poland, New Zealand and the United States of America. It is not uncommon for overseas supporters to travel to the UK solely to watch an FC United match [citation needed]. The local television station Channel M began a monthly series of programmes about the club in January 2006, and television crews from France and the Netherlands are regularly seen at the team's matches.

FC United's first season has been successful. They entered the second division of the North West Counties Football League, and were confirmed as champions on 15 April 2006. They will play in the first division in the 2006-7 season. As of April 2006, they had the season's second-highest average attendance in English non-league football. The team is managed by the former Macclesfield Town player Karl Marginson and their record attendance is 6,023 for a match against Great Harwood Town on 23 April 2006.

History

Formation

The club was founded in the summer of 2005 by disgruntled supporters of Manchester United. Although those supporters had various reasons for their dissatisfaction with the club,[1] the catalyst for FC United's formation was the hostile takeover of Manchester United by the United States businessman Malcolm Glazer. United supporters had previously considered forming a new club in response to a proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1998, but the takeover bid was unsuccessful so the idea was not implemented. When it was announced that Glazer was considering taking over the club, the idea was brought up again as a possible "last resort" and discussed in Manchester United fanzines including Red Issue.

The Glazer family obtained overall control of Manchester United on 12 May 2005, and supporters who had opposed the takeover organised a meeting at the Manchester Methodist Hall on 19 May. Although the focus of the meeting was on continuing to oppose Manchester United's new owners rather than forming a new club, the meeting's chairman, Andy Walsh, announced that the formation of a new club would be discussed at a second meeting on 30 May and that Kris Stewart, the chairman of AFC Wimbledon, had given advice on setting up the club.[2] It was decided that the club would be formed if 1000 people at the meeting pledged to support it financially. Although the number of pledges fell short of 1000, the organisers decided to form the club anyway after discussion with Stewart, who later addressed a third meeting of United supporters, encouraging interest in FC United and offering AFC Wimbledon's support.

A nearby club, Leigh RMI, were in financial difficulties at the time and asked FC United to take them over, as the extra support from FC United would have ensured their club's survival. The founders of FC United refused this proposition because they were creating the club in response to an unpopular takeover and didn't feel that taking over another existing club was appropriate. The clubs remained on good terms, though, and FC United's first public match was a friendly against Leigh RMI. The club's founders originally chose the name FC United, but the Football Association rejected this as too generic. Those who had pledged money to the club were then asked to vote on a name from FC United of Manchester, FC Manchester Central, AFC Manchester 1878 and Newton Heath United FC.[3] On 14 June, 2005 it was announced that FC United of Manchester had been chosen with 44% of the vote. FC United continues to be used as an abbreviated form of the club's name.

Karl Marginson was appointed as manager on 22 June, and the club held trials for players on 26 June. 900 players applied to take part in the trials, of whom 200 were selected to do so and 17 were chosen to play for F.C. United, although most of those have since left the club. By 8 July 2005, over 4000 people had pledged money to FC United and the club had over £100,000 in the bank.[4]

FC United were admitted to the second division of the North West Counties Football League, putting the club at level ten of the English football league system, nine levels below the FA Premier League. The league had four spare places at the time, so no other club was denied promotion as a result of FC United's admission. The club was formed after the deadline for entering the FA Vase had passed so they were not eligible to play in it in the 2005–06 season, although they were able to play in the North West Counties League Challenge Cup. They will be eligible to enter the FA Vase in the 2006/2007 season and the FA Cup the year after. The club then arranged to play their 2005-06 home matches at Bury F.C.'s stadium, Gigg Lane.

2005-06 season

File:FC United banner.jpg
A banner at an FC United match. The text is a reference to a Stone Roses song.

FC United's first public match was an away friendly fixture against Leigh RMI on 16 July 2005. The match ended 0–0, and many FC United supporters invaded the pitch at the end of the game. Although the pitch invasion was good-natured, it was claimed that a supporter had assaulted a steward and St Helens Town subsequently cancelled a proposed friendly match on the advice of their safety officer. The club's next match was another away friendly at AFC Wimbledon, on 23 July 2005, which AFC won 1–0.[5] The following Saturday (30th July 2005) they visited the Conference North team Stalybridge Celtic, in a benefit match for Myra Mandryk, a member of Stalybridge's staff who was suffering from cancer. Stalybridge won 2–0 in front of a crowd of 1800.

An important milestone was FC United's next friendly, as guests of Flixton F.C. on 2 August. This was due to F.C.'s highly-anticipated first-ever goal, scored by Steve Torpey very early on in the game. A further four goals were scored, resulting in an emphatic 5–2 victory in what was F.C. United's first match against a club from the same league (the three previous games had been against higher division clubs).

The North West Counties League arranged for F.C. United's first league match to be away to the club with the biggest ground, Leek CSOB, in order to gauge whether it would be possible for other clubs to host F.C. United at their own grounds. It took place on Saturday 13 August 2005 and was the first all-ticket match in the history of the league. The attendance of 2590 set a new record for the NWCFL, and was higher than Leek CSOB's combined attendances for the whole of the previous season. F.C. United won the game 5–2.

F.C. United played their first home match on 20 August, beating Padiham 3–2 in front of 2498, a crowd that was higher than some League Two clubs attracted on the same day. The club started the season well, with six wins and a draw from their first seven games before suffering their first competitive defeat on 24 September at home to Norton United. They won their next four games, however, including a 5–1 victory over Cheadle Town in their first-ever cup match, and set another North West Counties League record attendance of 3808 for a match against Daisy Hill on 8 October. They played their first competitive match against a higher division side in a North West Counties League cup match on 13 November, losing 2–1 to Colne. The following month, their midfielder Simon Carden scored five goals in a single game, in a 10–2 win over Castleton Gabriels.

A 2–1 win at home to second-placed Winsford on 2 January 2006 put FC United 14 points ahead at the top of division two, although Winsford had played three fewer matches. That match's attendance of 4,328 set another record attendance for the league and gave FC United the second-highest average attendance in English non-league football up to that point of the season, and a higher average attendance than six League Two clubs.[6] They were knocked out of the North West Counties League Division Two Cup by Nelson on 4 February.

FC United confirmed promotion from the North West Counties League Division Two on the evening of Wednesday 12 April after a 4–0 home victory over Chadderton. On 15 April they were confirmed as Division Two champions without playing as other results made it impossible for any other club in the division to catch them.

Organisation

F.C. United is an industrial and provident society. Membership is obtained by donating one pound or more to the club, but each member receives only one share in the club and is entitled to a single vote at meetings, regardless of the amount donated.

The club has an elected board of twelve members, but has not yet chosen a chairman. Tony Pritchard is acting as chairman until a decision is made.

The club has two full-time employees: Andy Walsh as chief executive and Luc Zentar as secretary. Luc's left the club - can someone sort this please? Ta. Both were heavily involved in the club's formation.[7]

The club's manifesto includes the following core principles:[8]

  1. The Board will be democratically elected by its members.
  2. Decisions taken by the membership will be decided on a one member, one vote basis.
  3. The club will develop strong links with the local community and strive to be accessible to all, discriminating against none.
  4. The club will endeavour to make admission prices as affordable as possible, to as wide a constituency as possible.
  5. The club will encourage young, local participation - playing and supporting - whenever possible.
  6. The Board will strive wherever possible to avoid outright commercialism.
  7. The club will remain a non-profit organisation.

The club accepts sponsorship but does not allow sponsors' logos to be displayed on the team's shirts. FC United's main sponsor in its inaugural 2005/6 season is the Bhopal Medical Appeal.

Current players

The club's squad includes the following players:[9][10]

Players on the coaching staff

Phil Power

Born in Salford on 25 July 1966. A prolific striker whose previous clubs include Northwich Victoria, Crewe Alexandra, Macclesfield Town and Altrincham. F.C. United's assistant manager. Signed for FC United from Bacup Borough, having worked as a residential care worker for Salford Council for three years. [11]

Darren Lyons

Born in Manchester on 9 November 1967. Player-coach, who sometimes plays as a right-winger for F.C. Has played for Bury, Macclesfield Town and Altrincham. Former player-manager of Salford City and East Manchester. Signed from Flixton.

Goalkeepers

Barrie George

Born 10 April 1986. Plays in goal for England's partially-sighted football team.[12] Won the man of the match award in F.C. United's pre-season match against AFC Wimbledon, and has become the team's first-choice goalkeeper. Previously with Altrincham's youth team, he signed for FC United from Radcliffe Borough.

Phil Leaff

Born 11 December 1988. Promising young goalkeeper, signed for FC United on June/July 2006. Made his debut for FC on Saturday 8th July 2006 aged just 17 in a pre season friendly between Flint Town United and FC United XI, keeping a clean sheet and showing maturity and the potential for an exciting future.

Philip Melville

A former Manchester City, Rotherham United, Sheffield United, Radcliffe Borough and Salford City player, signed from Mossley as cover for Barrie George after Phil Priestley left the club. Made several appearances for the club at the end of the 2005-6 season.

Defenders

David Brown

Born September 1972 in Heywood. Centre back whose previvous clubs include Manchester United, Salford City, Radcliffe Borough, Lethbridge Bulldogs and Castleton Gabriels.

Was the last junior player signed by Ron Atkinson at Manchester United, but when Alex Ferguson took over he decided not to keep any of the existing junior players and Brown was released. He was offered an apprenticeship at Rochdale but decided to go to college instead and largely ignored football until he graduated from university. He spent short periods of time at several clubs, including a stint at Leftbridge Bulldogs in Canada, before signing for Salford City at the age of 25. He captained the team, played in midfield and stayed there for five years. He signed for Radcliffe in 2003 and helped them win promotion to the Unibond Premier Division, but he was finding it difficult to play football while working full time so he dropped down a level to play for Mossley and then stopped playing altogether.

However, a few months later his former team-mate Karl Marginson invited him to join FC United. He signed for the club in October 2005 and Scored in his first full appearance against Darwen. Brown sometimes captains the team when Dave Chadwick is not playing.

David Chadwick

Born 17 September 1977. A central defender who signed from Prescot Cables having previously played with Karl Marginson at Salford City. Signed after the start of the 2005-06 season, but was immediately made team captain.

Tony Cullen

Born in Salford on 25 September 1973. A former young professional with Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa before dropping into non-league with Altrincham and Salford City amongst others. Plays in midfield or at right-back. Cullen has been appointed the new reserve team manager for FC United next season and is currently taking his coaching badges, his assistant will be Lawrence Greenhalgh.

Kevin Elvin

Born in Coventry on 22 May 1979. A right back who has previously played for Nuneaton Borough, Atherston United F.C. and the Australian club AC United. Signed for FC United from Racing Club Warwick.

Billy McCartney

Born in Manchester on 16 April 1976. A central defender who has played for Rochdale, Chorley, Trafford and Bacup Borough and was captain of Mossley for a couple of matches last season. He captained FC United in their first-ever game against Leigh RMI, until he dislocated his shoulder midway through the first half.

Robert Nugent

Born in Manchester on 27 December 1982. A central defender who was once a trainee at Sheffield United, he signed for FC United from the Yorkshire club Ossett Town.

Gareth Ormes

Born in Pretoria, South Africa on 3 February 1983. A left back who previously played for Salford City and Ramsbottom.

Midfield

William Ahern

Born on 9 February 1987, a central midfielder who used to play for Urmston Town JFC and Macclesfield Town. Made his FC United debut against Darwen in November 2005. Participated in a trial in March at Grimsby Town along with FC forward Rory Patterson.

Simon Carden

Born in Manchester on 26 October 1978. A midfielder or forward who began his career with Stockport County and has since played for Accrington Stanley, Radcliffe Borough and Ashton United. A regular first-choice player at FC United who scored five goals in one game while playing in midfield, in a 10–2 win over Castleton Gabriels on 10 December 2005.

Josh Howard

Born 15 November 1980 in Ashton-under-Lyne. Captained Manchester United's under-19 team and made 22 appearances for the club's reserves. It was thought likely that he would have a good chance of getting a contract at another league club, but United's manager Alex Ferguson was furious when Howard refused to use Ferguson's son as an agent, and, according to Michael Crick, Ferguson refused to help him find a club and told him to "fuck off out of [United]".[13] Howard joined Stalybridge Celtic in December 2000, then Hyde United in October 2001 and Mossley in 2002. He spent most of the 2002/3 season injured, then helped the club to promotion in 2003/4 and was described as a "highly talented player" by their website.[14] Joined FC United in November 2005, immediately becoming the club's first choice right-winger. Scored the clubs 100th League goal vs Norton on the 9 April 2006.

Mark Rawlinson

Born in Bolton on 9 June 1975. Was a Manchester United trainee at the same time as David Beckham. Rawlinson has played for Exeter City, and AFC Bournemouth where he made 79 appearances scoring 2 goals.

Steve Spencer

Born in Manchester on 6 October 1981. A former Sheffield United trainee who has also played for Leigh RMI and Radcliffe Borough. Scored FC United's first competitive goal in their first league game at Leek CSOB.

Forwards

Simon Band

Centre forward who signed for the club in February 2006. Made his debut in the away game against Daisy Hill.

Leon Mike

Former Manchester City and Aberdeen Striker, signed in December 2005 from Mossley.

Jonathan Mitten

Born in Manchester on 1 December 1976. A striker whose previous clubs include Trafford, Flixton, Curzon Ashton and Radcliffe Borough. Signed for FC United from Altrincham in the Football Conference, five divisions above the North West Counties League division two. Joz has Manchester United connections in that he is a great nephew of Manchester United legend Charlie Mitten who was a member of Matt Busby's first great team and an FA Cup winner in 1948. Is also the younger brother of the football writer Andy Mitten, who also edits the Manchester United fanzine United We Stand. He has a day job as a plumber.[15]

Adie Orr

Born in Manchester on 22 February 1984. A former trainee with Manchester City who can play as a striker or a winger. Scored five goals in his first four competitive games for FC United, two of which were from the bench. Scored FC United's first hat trick in a 5–1 NWCFL Challenge Cup win against Cheadle Town in October 2005.

Rory Patterson

Born in Derry on 16 July 1984. A forward who was released at the end of the 2004 season by Rochdale after three years at the club. As a teenager, Patterson had trials with several major clubs including Charlton, Everton, Newcastle and Celtic. A trial with Rochdale resulted in a three-year contract, during which time he played in the fifth round of the FA Cup, but he was injured during the 2003-4 season and Rochdale did not renew his contract at the end of the season. He then joined the semi-professional team Radcliffe Borough, but found it difficult to combine playing football with working at night and was unhappy there.

After a year at Radcliffe, he was considering moving to the south of England when his former team-mate Karl Marginson was appointed as manager of FC United and offered him a trial. He made his first appearance for the club as a substitute in their pre-season friendly against Stalybridge Celtic and was immediately nicknamed "the man with no name" and "Mr Mystery" as he had no number on his back. Patterson was the first player to score for F.C. United in a home match, and scored seven goals in the club's first ten league matches.[16]. Participated in a trial at Grimsby Town along with FC midfielder William Ahern.

Chris Simms

Signed for FC United from Maine Road in December 2005. He had played in over 500 matches for Maine Road, and was player-manager at the time of his transfer. Described by Karl Marginson as a "massive Manchester United fan...eager to be part of what we want to achieve here."[17]

Former players

Tony Coyne

Born 12 March 1978. Signed for FC United from Trafford having previously played for Mossley and Cheadle Town. Tony's father Peter scored for Manchester United at Leicester City in the 1975-6 season. Has since joined Flixton from FC United.

Craig Fleury

Born 25 May 1976. Previously played for Ashton United F.C. Formerly with Cheadle Town, Warrington Town, Salford City and Woodley Sports, Fleury is known as a midfield player who scores his fair share of goals and joined Ashton United in 2002 having moved across town from neighbouring Curzon Ashton. Signed for FC United from Radcliffe Borough. Played his only competitive game for FC United in their first-ever league game against Leek CSOB. Joined Witton Albion in 2006.

Ryan Gilligan

Born 26 September 1979. A central midfielder whose other clubs include Altrincham F.C. and Flixton F.C.. Signed for FC United at the start of the 2005-06 season but joined Flixton the following December as he wanted regular football.

Matt Haley

Born 2 November 1985. A right winger from the Stockport area who joined FC United through the trials at the start of the 2005-06 season. Played in three pre-season friendlies and was a substitute for one league game before joining Flixton F.C. in September 2005.

Ryan Hevicon

Born in Manchester on 3 November 1982. A left winger who went through Blackburn Rovers' youth system, then on to Carlisle United, Altrincham, Hyde United and Mossley. Signed for FC United from Trafford FC. Joined Chadderton FC in August 2005.

Scott Holt

Manchester born forward or right winger. Formerly with East Manchester and Chadderton. An FC United supporter who attended supporters' meetings, Scott was troubled by injuries while at the club and only started one match, although he scored twice against Ashton Town after coming on as a substitute. He went to Glossop North End on loan in December 2005, and was released by FC United when the loan expired the following month.

Paul Mitten

Born 22 December 1975. The grandson of the former Manchester United player Charlie Mitten. His previous clubs include Manchester United, Coventry City and Southport. Signed for FC United from Abbey Hey F.C.

Phil Priestley

Born in Wigan on 30 March 1976. An experienced goalkeeper who has previously played in the UEFA Cup with Bangor City F.C.. Nicknamed 'Elvis', he has also been on the books of Stalybridge Celtic and Prescot Cables. He has also spent three seasons with Rochdale and had loan spells at Scarborough and Chester City. Priestley was one of the first players to join FC United, but missed the club's early pre-season friendlies through injury and was unable to win a place in the team after Barrie George performed well in those matches. He left the club amicably in September 2005 in order to play first-team football and joined Radcliffe Borough, having appeared in one league match for FC United.

Steve Torpey
Robert Trees

Born in Manchester on 18 December 1977. Primarily a right-back, he went through the youth system at Manchester United and played league football for Bristol Rovers. Ventured in to non-league with his local team Droylsden, then Mossley. Signed for FC United from Abbey Hey FC, but left the club before the season began.

Matt Weston

Born in Manchester on 5 November 1975. Along with twin brother Kenny he was a young professional with Ipswich Town. Both the twins attended the FC United trials in June 2005. Matt made two appearances in pre-season friendly games but is no longer with the club.

Honours

North West Counties Football League
  • Division Two Champions 2005/06
Supporters Direct Cup
  • Winners 2006/07

Records


See Also


References

Printed

  • Crick, Michael (2003). The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson. Pocket Books. 0-7434-2991-5.
  • FC United of Manchester Official Match Programme, volume 1, issues 1,7
  • Under The Boardwalk (FC United fanzine), issue 3 (October 2005)

Online

"FC United of Manchester Supporters Group". Retrieved February 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

An Undividable Glow by Robert Brady. The story of FCUM's first season. [1]

Notes

  1. ^ "United We Stand". Article on soccernet.com. Retrieved July 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ The meeting took place at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester. AFC Wimbledon is another supporter-owned club that was established three years earlier.
  3. ^ Manchester United was founded as Newton Heath in 1878 and the latter two names represented claims to this heritage (Manchester Central was one of the three choices in 1902 for the new name for Newton Heath, along with Manchester Celtic and Manchester United).
  4. ^ "Article on Manchester Online". Retrieved July 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Article on BBC". Retrieved July 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Tony Kempster's English football website". Retrieved January 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ The club prefer to use the term General Manager instead of Chief Executive, but the term Chief Executive has to be used for legal reasons. "Chief Executive and Club Secretary Appointed". Retrieved February 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "The Manifesto: Who We Are and What We Mean". Retrieved December 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Article on Manchester Online". Retrieved July 8. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Article on Manchester Online". Retrieved July 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Maximum Power. Under The Boardwalk issue 3 (October 2005), 8-9.
  12. ^ He isn't partially sighted, but is eligible because partially-sighted teams can field a fully sighted goalkeeper. See "article on Altrincham F.C. Official Website". Retrieved July 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help).
  13. ^ The Boss. pp. 494–6.
  14. ^ This profile based on "Profile on Mossley F.C. Official Website". Retrieved November 4. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Altrincham F.C. Official Website'". Retrieved December 13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Player Profile: Rory Patterson Official Match Programme: FC United v Nelson FC, 22 October 2005, 14-17.
  17. ^ Shaw, Phil (December 30, 2005). "Solskjaer promises cult revival for Ferguson". The Independent. p. 62.

Further reading

Websites

Newspaper articles

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