New Mills A.F.C.

New Mills
Full name New Mills Association Football Club
Nickname(s) The Millers
Founded 1919
Ground Church Lane
New Mills
Ground Capacity 1,400 (200 seated)
Chairman Ray Coverley
Manager Garry Brown
League Northern Premier League
Division One North
2015–16 Northern Premier League
Division One North, 22nd (Relegated)

New Mills Association Football Club ('The Millers') are an English football club based in New Mills, Derbyshire. They currently play in Northern Premier League Division One North.

History

Formed almost 120 years ago, New Mills quickly progressed through the local leagues in its early days and even had a spell in the Manchester League. However, the club disbanded and a new team was formed, New Mills St Georges, which in a period up to World War I, won a number of titles, including the Derbyshire Minor Cup.

In 1919 the club began playing again and dropped the St Georges from its name. It joined the Manchester League once again and finished top in 1924 and, after finishing as runner-up the following season, lifted the championship once again in 1926.

As well as winning the league, New Mills also won the Derbyshire Cup three seasons out of four. The club was extremely well supported and had regular gates of around 3000. This was a very successful few seasons for the club, and at least half a dozen players moved on to clubs in the Football League.

The club was once again disbanded due to World War II but reformed again afterwards, this time entering the Manchester Amateur League before progressing once again to the Manchester League, taking the title in 1956.

In 1959, Joe Martin took charge as manager, which started a great run of success for the club, winning the league seven times together with plenty of trophies before he retired in 1972.

New Mills AFC v Ramsbottom Utd at Church Lane

The club eventually moved up to the Cheshire League and later the North West Counties League. Unfortunately, the club began to suffer financially and in the summer of 1983 ceased playing in that competition.

Birch Vale and Thornsett F.C. were looking for a new ground and became tenants at Church Lane. Eventually, they took over running of the club and became New Mills Football Club.

The club rejoined the Manchester League and in 1977, thanks to a fund-raising appeal along with a grant from the Lottery Association, redeveloped its Church Lane ground to what it is today.

New Mills won the North West Counties League Division Two title in the 2007–08 season under the leadership of Ex Stockport County player Tony Hancock.

New Mills then followed up its Division Two title with a record-breaking 2008–09 season during which it set a new league and club record by winning 21 consecutive games, missing out on the Division One title only on goal difference to A.F.C. Fylde, which beat the Millers 5–0 on the last day of the league season in front of a crowd of over 1,400. Two days after the disappointment on the Fylde coast, the Millers lifted the League Cup for the first time by beating Runcorn Linnets 2–0 at the Tameside Stadium, the home of Curzon Ashton. Goals from Garry Kharas and Scott McGowan ensured the Millers didn't end the season empty handed.

During the close season of 2009–10, in which New Mills finished as runner-up for the second year in a row, manager Tony Hancock resigned but then had a change of heart and returned to lead the Millers until he again resigned in March 2010 when the player budget was cut. But, for the 2010–11 season, Ally Pickering was named caretaker manager.[1]

Pickering had great success in his first full season as manager and led the Millers to the league title and promotion to the Evo Stik league. A league and cup double was denied though when Winsford beat the Millers 1-0 a few weeks later In 2011/12 Pickering led the Millers to a respectable 9th place after a poor winter saw the team slip out of the play off places. Unfortunately New Mills, based 8 miles south of Stockport were place in the Southern league but after one season common sense prevailed and the team were switched to the Northern League. Pickering remained in charge until October 2012, when he and the club parted company by mutual consent. Coach Roy Soule became caretaker manager on Pickering's departure.[2] Soule resigned at the end of the 2014–15 season and was replaced by former Stalybridge Celtic manager Keith Briggs. Briggs resigned just 23 days later and was succeeded by Andy Fearn, who appointed former Manchester City striker Shaun Goater as his assistant. Fearn and Goater resigned after nine matches and former Wythenshawe Town staffer Garry Brown took over. The club attracted national attention with their season record of 19 defeats from the opening 19 league and cup games.[3]

Attendances

Records

Past averages:

Source: English football site

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "First team". New Mills A.F.C.
  2. ↑ Watters, David (2012). "Pickering leaves New Mills". The Evo-Stik League Northern Premier. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "New Mills: The worst team in English football?". BBC Sport. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Club info". New Mills AFC.
  5. ↑ Due mainly to the visit of FC United of Manchester which attracted a crowd of 1,952. The club's next highest attendance in the 2005–06 season was 185.
  6. ↑ "Attendances – North West Counties Premier Division". Tony's English football site. Retrieved 14 July 2010.

External links

Coordinates: 53°21′59.03″N 1°59′35.19″W / 53.3663972°N 1.9931083°W / 53.3663972; -1.9931083

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