Curzon is the new Mossley

The new season is almost on us and I, for one, can’t wait. Saturday afternoons are just plain pointless when there isn’t a match to go to. I haven’t yet found anything to replace football that doesn’t involve going shopping. And I’m not a huge fan of shopping.

Since the end of the football season, we’ve been hearing rumours about transfers, and then of the countless millions paid for, in some cases, very surprising transfers to clubs whose monthly wage bills would keep a non league club going for many, many years.

Non league football also has the excitement of moving players at the end of each season and you never quite know who you’ll be paying to watch for the next nine months. The Curzon Ashton website (*rolls eyes*) is beginning to drip feed information about the new team. I say new team because that is essentially what it is. Only two players remain from last season’s squad. Luckily, one of those two is top goal scorer, Chris McDonagh. The rest have been spirited away by local rivals. Or just been spirited away. Of course, there’s always movement at the end of every season.  But this feels like a whole new beginning for the team.

The new Curzon squad appears to consist of, well basically, the old Mossley FC team. John Flanagan obviously had a good relationship with those players during his short time managing Mossley and has confidence they are the right people to form the new Curzon Ashton. I’m hoping his confidence is not misplaced.

And what of the local rival teams squads? Well, the new Mossley team seems to have much of last season’s Youth and Reserve members. Maybe the rumours about the problems with money there are true. Not sure how the good folk of Mossley are going to take this.

Woodley Sports FC, which had been the new Mossley (are you following this?) since Chris Wilcock. another ex-Mossley manager, took charge in February are not saying very much at all. Just that information is ‘coming soon’. Maybe the spirited away Curzon players will be seen on the pitch there next season. Who knows?

And who knows what impact these changes will have on the League tables. Last year, and for a fair few years before that, Curzon managed to get towards the top of the table at the end of the season and had to endure nail biting play off games. Teams with a much bigger fan base and consequently much bigger budgets (probably), always managed to pop the promotion dream. 

This season, there aren’t any Halifax Town’s or Chester’s or Chorley’s in the Evostik First Division North. I daren’t even dream that this could be Curzon’s year. I mean, winning isn’t everything is it? But it beats losing.

In with the new

The stage is set

If you'd asked me to guess how many people would turn up to a 'Fans Forum' at Curzon Ashton I wouldn't have predicted very many. Well, as it turned out, on Thursday night there were a few more than I anticipated. Of course, we were still outnumbered by committee members but that's only to be expected at Curzon. 

The evening began with an awkward last minute dash to find a microphone. Good planning. Then John Flanagan, the new Curzon manager gave us his background that almost went back to his CSE results. Finally, the floor was thrown open for questions. I asked a couple as did a few others. He told us about his management style, which players have gone and who was staying.  Interesting. We were introduced to his new assistant, "I'm Steve, I'm 29" (I never did find out his surname), who has joined Curzon from Leigh Genesis. The Forum ended with a positive feeling for the future of the club. A new beginning, if that isn't too dramatic.

We learned a few things about the coming season, and I learnt a few more, off the record, over a drink later. But it was more than that. This really is a positive start for those of us who turn up week after week with sometimes only the 'How many balls will get kicked out of the ground?' game to keep us entertained. A manager who is keen to engage with supporters is definitely something new and to be encouraged.

I'm looking forward to the coming season. I always do. Now, I could use my psychic super-powers to discover how the season will unfold thus potentially avoiding many Monday nights watching dire football in the freezing cold. But then what would be the fun in that? 

Out with the old

So it’s the end of an era. Gary Lowe and his assistant Martyn Booty have moved on.  In their place we have John Flanagan who was manager at Mossley for a short while, and an as yet unnamed assistant. Mossley folk (as they like to call themselves) hold Flanagan in high regard and he did have success while he was in charge.

Lowe and Booty (sounds like the name of a bad ‘70’s cop show) were vociferous in their frustration with players when Curzon were on the pitch. It sometimes appeared to us spectators that they had worked out prior to kick off who was going to be that day’s target and the poor player would not be able to do a thing right throughout the game. Neither of them were known for their expressions of praise, either for players or spectators. Having said that, Curzon have made it to the playoffs for the last few years, so they must have been doing something right.

So now we have John Flanagan. What we don’t know as yet is who will be playing for him. Shifting managers tend to have a magnetic touch. Hopefully, Flanagan can build a side which can take Curzon on to greater things,

Whatever happens, I’m hoping for a quieter season as I sit in the seats behind the dugout.