Putting the spotlight on a newcomer to the Northern Premier League West Division next season.
Wythenshawe Town FC
The announcements of the fixtures for the new 2024/25 league campaign just one month away, Bucks supporters will be looking forward to visiting a handful of new grounds facing new teams who have entered the league.
We will look next at Wythenshawe Town, who narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to their local rivals Wythenshawe by goal difference, but gained promotion in the play off final by beating Bury 3-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout. Just like their rivals, Wythenshawe Town collected 95 points in 46 games in the league last season.
Brief History:
The club was established in 1946 as North Withington Amateur by attendees of St Crispin's Church in nearby Fallowfield. They joined the South Manchester & Wythenshawe League, and were Division Two champions in 1949–50, before winning the Barker Cup in 1950–51. In 1958 the club transferred to the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League. After winning Division C in 1958–59, they were Division Three champions the following season.
A hugely successful period then saw them win Division B in 1963–64 and Division Two the following season, before winning back-to-back Division One titles in 1965–66 and 1966–67, and then three in a row between 1968–69 and 1970–71. The club also won the league's Whitehead Cup in 1963–64, 1966–67 and 1970–71, and the Lancashire Amateur Cup in 1967–68.In 1973 North Withington Amateur joined Division Two of the Manchester League and won the division in their first season, earning promotion to Division One.
The following season saw them win the Division One title, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division.
During a successful period in the second half of the 1970s, they won the Manchester Challenge Trophy in 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1979–80, and the Lancashire Amateur Cup in 1979–80. In 1987 the club adopted their current name, and they won two more Manchester Challenge Trophy finals in 1992–93 and 1994–95. The 1997–98 season saw them finish bottom of the Premier Division, resulting in relegation to Division One.
They remained in Division One until winning the division in 2011–12, earning promotion to the Premier Division. After finishing bottom of the Manchester League Premier Division in 2013–14 with only one win from 28 matches, Wythenshawe transferred to Division Two of the Cheshire League. They went on to win all 18 league matches in 2014–15, as well as all 20 cup matches, claiming the Division Two title, the league's JA Walton Challenge Cup, the Manchester Amateur Cup and the Altrincham Senior Cup. After being promoted, the club won the Division One title in 2015–16, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2018 they successfully applied to move up to Division One South of the North West Counties League.
In 2021 the club were promoted to the Premier Division based on their results in the abandoned 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. In 2023/24 they were Premier Division runners-up, missing out on the title on goal difference to local rivals Wythenshawe. In the subsequent promotion play-offs they defeated Padiham 1-0 in the semi-finals before beating Bury 3–2 on penalties in the final to earn promotion to the Northern Premier League.
The Manager:
Wythenshawe Town manager Rory Fallon was appointed by the club in late May 2023, and it’s safe to say he couldn’t of asked for a better debut season as he got The Town up a division and further up the football ladder. Rory was formerly Cheadle Heath Nomads manager at last season and after taking over halfway through. He dramatically changed the fortunes of the club, taking them from a threat of relegation to eighth place in the table, winning an impressive 62% of their games.
The Ground:
The club played at Hough End Field on Princess Road until 1974, with their headquarters in the Princess Hotel. They then moved to a new ground on Timpson Road in the Baguley area of Wythenshawe, where three prefab houses were converted into a clubhouse. The ground which holds 1,000 was named Ericstan Park after founder members Eric Renard and Stan Hahn. The two are also remembered in the club badge, which includes a fox (Renard in French) and cockerel (Hänchen in German). Ercistan Park’s address is Timpson Road, Wythenshawe, M23 9LL, and is roughly 50 minutes away from the Berry Street Garage Stadium (42 miles).