Further Supporters meeting

Many thanks to everybody who attended the initial Supporters meeting last Tuesday where a number of topics such as the marketing of the Club, fund raising and matchday events were discussed.
It was agreed to hold a further meeting on Thursday 6th August starting at 7pm and all supporters are welcome to attend.

Race night - Sat 18th July

To get the season off to a " racing start " , the Club will be holding one of its popular race nights in the clubhouse after the Oldham Athletic friendly on Saturday 18th July. The first race begins at 6.30pm and previous race nights have been great fun so supporters are very welcome to bring along their families and help celebrate the start of another season.

FA Cup / Vase / Youth Cup draw details

Earlier today, The Football Association released the draws for the early rounds of The FA Cup, FA Vase and FA Youth Cup and they have been particularly unkind to The Millers who face a number of away trips.
The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON

On Saturday 15th August, The Millers have been drawn to play at Bottesford Town in The Extra Preliminary Round. Bottesford Town, based near Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire, last season finished sixth in The Koolsport Northern Counties East League Division One which is one step below The North West Counties Premier Division.
http://www.bottesfordtownfc.co.uk/details.htm
http://www.ncel.org.uk/
The winners of this game will then travel to Carlton Town in the Preliminary Round on Saturday 29th August. Carlton, based near Nottingham, finished fourth in The Unibond South First Division last season but were beaten 5-2 by Stocksbridge Park Steels in the play off semi final.
www.carltontownfc.co.uk
http://www.unibondleague.com/nptv/matchconsole/tables/south.php
The winners of this tie will travel to Glapwell, Holwell Sports or Ellistown in The First Qualifying Round on Saturday 12th September.

The FA Carlsberg Vase

Due to last season's final League position, The Millers have been given a bye and enter the competition at The First Round Proper stage where they are again on their travels to face either Bourne Town or Graham Street Prims on Saturday 3rd October.
Bourne Town, on the outskirts of Peterborough, play in The Hereward Teamwear United Counties League Premier Division which is the same level as The North West Counties League.
http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/bournefc/
http://www.ebucl.com/
Graham Street Prims, near Spondon in Derbyshire, play in The East Midlands Counties League, which is a step below the North West Counties.
http://www.grahamstreetprimsfc.com/home
http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/News.cfm?LeagueCode=EMCFL2008
No further rounds have been drawn for The FA Vase at this stage.

The FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON

The youth team have been drawn at home against Long Eaton United in the First Qualifying Round with the tie to be played week commencing Monday 21st September.
The winners of the tie will then travel to either Hinckley United, Deeping Rangers or Arnold Town.

Pre season friendlies confirmed

The Club is pleased to announce the pre season friendly games for both the first team and the reserves -

The North West Youth Alliance does not start until September so the youth team's pre season games will be confirmed at a later date.

All change for the reserves

The Club would like to announce that Steve Kennedy has been appointed as reserve team manager and will lead the team in their inaugural season in The Cheshire Building Society Cheshire Football League, formerly known as The Mid Cheshire League - http://www.mcfl.co.uk/.
Steve will continue to oversee the development of the youth team who commence their second season in The North West Youth Alliance in September but will pass the matchday reigns to his assistant Jim Bleakley.
When it became clear that the first team were in with a realistic chance of gaining promotion last season , the Club's committee took the decision to apply to The Mid Cheshire League in order to ensure that reserve team football continued at Church Lane bearing in mind particularly that The Unibond League does not cater for reserve team football.
The Club's application was subsequently accepted and the team will play in Division Two alongside fifteen other teams including Congleton Town Reserves, Denton Town and Maine Road Reserves - please click on the attached link to see the full divisional listings - http://www.mcfl.co.uk/news.htm.
The Mid Cheshire Division Two season starts a week after The North West Counties League on Saturday 15th August and a full list of fixtures will be published online when available. The draw for The Division Two Cup took place recently at The League AGM and it handed the reserves a trip to Tarporley Victoria FC.

New signings

New Mills AFC are pleased to announce the signings of strikers Tommy Turner and Jon Robinson from Bacup Borough.
Tommy was the second highest scorer in The North West Counties Premier Division during 2008/09 pipping Garry Kharas by a single goal. Tommy bagged twenty five league goals and thirty in all competitions which included one against The Millers late in the season.
Jon, who joined Bacup late last season from Salford City played against The Millers in the fixture in late April, is primarily a striker but can also play just behind the front two.
Also joining the Club is goalkeeper Robert Smith.
Everybody at the Club welcomes Tommy, Jon and Robert to Church Lane.

Open Meeting

Supporters of New Mills AFC are invited to an Open Meeting to be held at the clubhouse on Tuesday 30th June from 7pm onwards.
The Club is extremely lucky to have such a knowledgeable and loyal fanbase and wishes to discuss the formation of a Millers Supporters Club. Should The Supporters Club idea get off the ground, it is hoped that to meet on a periodic basis to generate ideas and suggestions on topics on such as fund raising ideas, generating publicity, creating viable relationships with other organisations in New Mills etc etc. Any reasonable ideas will then be relaid to the Club's committee who will discuss and with the help of the Supporters Club, try and help bring these ideas to fruition.
Please spread the word about the meeting and let's help spread the word about New Mills AFC

Working Parties

New Mills AFC are appealing for fans help to get Church Lane and its facilities ready for the start of the season which is now less than a month away. Working parties will be held most weekday evenings and every weekend from 9am onwards and anybody who could spare an hour or two are encouraged to visit the ground and assist with some general maintenance and tidying up.

Tony wins major award

Following last night's AGM and Presentation Night we can announce that Millers manager Tony Hancock has won the North West Counties Premier Division Manager of the year.Tony led the team to 21 straight wins during the season which is a Club record and also a League record and also very nearly led the Millers to the unibond League at the very first time of asking.Everybody at NMAFC would like to congratulate Tony on this award.

League Cup draws

The League Cup draw was also done during the League AGM and it has paired the Millers with the winner of Holker Old Boys and Oldham Town away.The game is scheduled to be played on Saturday 31st October. The complete draw is -

Vodkat League Challenge Cup Draw

First Round - Ties to be played Saturday 10th October 2009

Ashton Town v Barnoldswick Town
Atherton Collieries v AFC Blackpool
Chadderton v AFC Liverpool
Eccleshall v Norton United
Holker Old Boys v Oldham Town
Leek CSOB v Daisy Hill
Stone Dominoes v Wigan Robin Park

Second Round - Ties to be played Saturday 31 October 2009

Abbey Hey v Rochdale Town
Ashton Athletic v Nelson
Ashton Town or Barnoldswick Town v Stone Dominoes or Wigan Robin Park
Bacup Borough v Atherton Collieries or AFC Blackpool
Bootle v Squires Gate
Chadderton or AFC Liverpool v Alsager Town
Colne v St Helens Town
Eccleshall or Norton United v Flixton
Formby v Newcastle Town
Glossop North End v Silsden
Holker Old Boys or Oldham Town v New Mills
Irlam v Padiham
Leek CSOB or Daisy Hill v Atherton L.R
Ramsbottom United v Congleton Town
Runcorn Linnets v Cheadle Town
Winsford United v Maine Road

Pre season update

Despite being in the mid season break, there is still plenty going on at the moment at the Club.
Remedial work on the pitch was recently completed and it is hoped that the pitch will be in pristine condition for the first pre season friendly game against Oldham Athletic on Saturday 18th July.
The Club is currently finalising the pre season schedule for the first team, reserves and youth team and a full list of matches will be announced shortly.
The games confirmed for the first team so far include -
Saturday 18th July Oldham Athletic ( H ) 3pm kick off
Monday 20th July Matlock Town ( H ) 7.45pm kick off
Saturday 25th July
Sunday 26th July High Peak Cup weekend

The Club has received a press release from Ben Price at High Peak Radio today with full details of The High Peak Cup -

Whose name is on the first High Peak Cup?
The High Peak Cup is on! After months of discussions details of the inaugural tournament have now been finalised.
Buxton, Glossop North End, New Mills and Chapel Town will fight it out all over the weekend of July 25th.
Sponsored and organised by High Peak Radio, the tournament will essentially be a chance for the likes of John Reed to put their players through their paces ahead of the new season.
On Saturday July 25th New Mills welcome Chapel Town in the first semi-final at one o’clock, while Buxton travel to Glossop at four o’clock on the same day.
Then on Sunday there’s a feast of football at the Silverlands in Buxton with a third-place play-off between Saturday’s defeated sides at one o’clock, followed by the final at four o’clock.
High Peak Radio’s Football Fantime presenter Ben Price can’t wait for the action to begin, “It’s the perfect time for this venture to begin. Buxton are playing at a high level, New Mills are on the up and Glossop are still riding high from the FA Vase run to Wembley. Chapel Town won't be there to make up the numbers either. They have some great individuals and may surprise one or two.”
It’s sure to be a great weekend for the local community and with staggered kick off times on both days, the ground-hoppers can get to all four games. Fans going to the New Mills Vs Chapel Town game will get half price entry into Glossop Vs Buxton.
Finals day is just five pounds admission and there’s a penalty shoot-out competition between the four clubs junior sides before the High Peak Cup Final.
“The idea came from listeners who got in touch with the show saying it’d be great to have a High Peak Cup. I made it my mission to make it happen and it’s great we’ve found a format and a weekend all four clubs agree on. With the reasonable prices we’ve set we’re expecting decent crowds on both days”, said Ben.
The games will be played in the format of friendly matches, with rolling substitutions available to managers. All tied games will be decided by penalty kicks.

For more details:
Ben Price
High Peak Radio
fantime@highpeakradio.co.uk
01298 813 144

Penn and Steve leave

New Mills AFC regrets to announce that Penn Dunne and Steve Hayes have tendered their resignation as reserve team managers due to the amount of travelling from their Warrington homes.
Everybody at the Club wishes to thank Penn and Steve for their hard work and commitment last season and wish them both good luck for the future.

Club statement regarding Tony Hancock and Paul Kirkham

The committee of New Mills AFC would like to announce that Tony Hancock has been reinstated as manager and both Tony and assistant Paul Kirkham will resume duties with immediate effect.
Tony has asked for the following statement to be issued -
" I would like to announce to everyone involved at New Mills AFC that I am proud to be reinstated as manager of the Club. I have spent three weeks reflecting on my decision to resign and have had tremendous support from my wife and family during this period and would like to take this opportunity to thank them.
As you are probably aware, I run a haulage business and during the period at the end of season I was working early mornings and late nights and the pressure chasing for promotion and the hours spent with the business were hard. The result at the end of the season was hard to take for the players, Club and management team and it was a huge blow. I personally felt I had let everyone down and whilst everyone at the Club tried to reassure me that wasn’t the case it still hurts as promotion was the goal last season and to lose out on goal difference was cruel.
After lengthy discussions with the Chairman and Board members, I feel that New Mills AFC and myself have unfinished business. I made a commitment to the fans at New Mills to take the Club to The Unibond and I have not completed that task. The letters and calls of support I have received from Millers fans have been fantastic and have played a huge part in reversing my decision and I thank everybody concerned.
I would like to thank the tremendous squad of players at Church Lane who have committed their futures to the Club and hopefully finish the job they started .The team spirit and togetherness within this squad of players is something I have never experienced in my playing or management career before and it plays a tremendous part in driving the Club forward.
Finally I would like to apologise to everyone involved for the unsettlement I have caused over the last few weeks but please be assured I am 150% committed to New Mills AFC and hope that we continue the momentum that we created at the end of last season "

New Mills AFC Lifetime Membership

New Mills AFC will shortly be announcing details of matchday and season ticket prices for the forthcoming 2009/10 season. In the meantime, the Club is launching a Lifetime Membership package.
The Lifetime Membership is a fantastic offer which will enable supporters to receive a season ticket for life for a one-off payment of £1,000.
Alternate payment methods are available and any supporter who wishes to take up the offer is advised to contact Club Secretary Duncan Hibbert at duncanhibbert@newmillsafc.co.uk or any committee member, who will be happy to answer any questions supporters may have in regards to the membership.

Contracted players re-sign

The Club is extremely delighted to announce that Carlos Meakin, Garry Kharas, Adam Mather and Chris Fidler have committed their futures to The Millers and have re-signed for another twelve months.

Presentation Night

The Club's Annual Presentation Night took place in the clubhouse on Friday and it was appropriate to see so many people in attendance to recognise the achievements of the Club's three teams over the 2008/09 season.

The award winners were - (Pictures of the presentations can be found at the bottom of the article)

Youth team

Managers Player Of The Year - Mike Kennedy and Danny Christie (joint award)
Players Player Of The Year - Josh Casulli and Mike Halliwell (joint award)

Reserves

Managers Player Of The Year - James Elmore
Players Player Of The Year - Scott Barron

First Team

Supporters Player Of The Year - Carlos Meakin
Managers Player Of The Year - Danny Jackson
Players Player Of The Year - Carlos Meakin and Danny Jackson (joint award)

Phil Hampson Memorial Trophy - Tony Hancock and Paul Kirkham (joint award)

Despite being unable to attend, Vice Chairman Allan Jones provided his usual end of season "Stat Attack" and some of these were -
- the reserves finished as top goalscorers in the division and scored 102 goals in all competitions. They maintained the Club record of averaging over two points per game since returning to the NWCFL five years ago. They also took four points each from the two sides that finished above them
- the first team scored a total of 128 goals in all competitions and conceded joint fewest in the Premier Division. They kept 29 clean sheets with Liam Higginbotham claiming 23 of these. Carlos Meakin was top goalscorer with 29 and finished one in front of Garry Kharas and this is the Club's best goalscoring partnership since 1966/67.
- the first team played 56 games during the 2008/09 season, Adam Mather played the most with 49 appearances followed by Carlos Meakin 47, Danny Jackson 46, Garry Kharas 45 and Peter Band 44.
- the first team set a Club and NWCFL record by winning 21 consecutive NWCFL games and 13 of these games were played in only 34 days during April and May.
- the best statistic of all is that over the last two seasons, the first team have won an incredible 82% of their NWCFL games and averaged 2.51 points per game. To put this into context, Manchester United have won the last two Premiership titles in that same period averaging 2.3 points per game.

Youth Team Presentation's

Managers Player Of The Year - Mike Kennedy

Managers Player Of The Year - Danny Christie

Players Player Of The Year - Josh Casulli

Players Player Of The Year - Mike Halliwell was unavailable to collect his award on the night

Reserve Team Presentation's

Managers Player Of The Year - James Elmore

Players Player Of The Year - Scott Barron

First Team Presentation's

Supporters Player Of The Year - Carlos Meakin

Managers Player Of The Year - Danny Jackson ( Danny was unavailable on the night, so his award was collected on his behalf by Gordon Jackson)

Players Player Of The Year - Carlos Meakin

Players Player Of The Year - Danny Jackson ( Danny was unavailable on the night, so his award was collected on his behalf by Karen Jackson)

Phil Hampson Memorial Trophy Presentation

Phil Hampson Memorial Trophy - Tony Hancock and Paul Kirkham (Paul was unavailable so his award was collected by Tony on his behalf)

Message from Sue Hyde, New Mills AFC Football Secretary:

After the game on Monday night I received this e-mail from Peter Ratcliffe from Princess Cruises our main Sponsor, I think this is a fantastic summary of New Mills AFC season and we would like to thank Peter for his surprise attendance on Monday evening.
A massive thank you must go to the fans all season but especially on Monday evening who lifted everyone spirits, could we please book the singers for next season home and away !
The end of season presentation night will take place on Friday 22nd May, everyone welcome to celebrate a great season at Church Lane. All three management teams and players will be attending come along and celebrate with us.

Sue and Ray
Once again congratulations to you, the Committee, the management and players for a fantastic season
When you look back you won the League Cup and were runners up in the league. You also had a league record winning streak of twenty one games, a record that will stand for a long time. Pretty impressive
Competition was intense until the very last day of the season and crowds and excitement were maintained throughout. So often the season peters out with so so games and low crowds.
Who would have imagined ten years ago that the average attendance at Church Lane would be over two hundred! You are also blessed with a terrific bunch of loyal and knowledgeable supporters
You, the committee and the other volunteers worked so hard to get the higher level ground grading, overcome horrible weather, made the ground look so smart and generally gave such a professional feeling to the club.
You have made Church Lane a really great town club with just a terrific atmosphere in a world beating setting. All this when you all have full time jobs as well!
The management and players also deserve great credit. Not only have they performed superbly but their commitment at the end of the season has been extraordinary and more than could reasonably have been expected. When you consider that they also have full time jobs and family commitments their four game a week schedule required a commitment and determination they should be very proud of.
Finally you have all given the town of New Mills another thing to be proud of. This is what non league football is all about, not money but community spirit and involvement. Well done

All the best

Peter

Millers win League Cup

The Millers have won the Vodkat League Cup after a 2-0 victory at a blustery Tameside Stadium. Goals from Scott Mcgowan and Garry Kharas in the first half gave the Millers the win that was much needed after the disappointment at Fylde on Saturday. Runcorn made a real fight of it in the second half but the Millers held on and lifted the trophy in front of a healthy crowd of 411. Match Photo's of the night here

Official Club statement

New Mills AFC regret to announce that due to increasing personal and work commitments, manager Tony Hancock has offered his resignation to the Club’s committee and this has been reluctantly agreed. It will take effect after tommorrow nights Cup Final against Runcorn Linnets.
This in no way reflects on yesterday’s AFC Fylde result as Tony made the decision several weeks ago but the team’s phenomenal winning sequence delayed the announcement.
Tony wishes to thank the players for their effort and commitment, Paul Kirkham for his outstanding contribution to the team’s success and finally the Chairman and the Club’s committee for their loyalty.
In Tony’s own words “ with the fanbase, New Mills deserve to play at the highest possible level “.

Millers scoop double award

The North West Counties League have today recognised the Club's fantastic recent winning sequence by awarding Carlos Meakin Premier Division Player Of The Month and Tony Hancock, Manager Of The Month .
On Carlos , the NWCFL said " Carlos has been a consistent performer throughout the season, but the club's Captain Marvel was particularly outstanding during the month of April. Carlos played in all nine league games and scored nine goals, not bad from a midfield player. He led the team with pride and his encouragement to his players has been outstanding. As well as his goals he also contributed a number of assists, and without doubt has been the main man to help the club push for promotion. He has also become the fans' favourite, earning the name as King Carlos "
Tony was presented with his award after Saturday's win against Ashton Athletic and for the record, The Millers played eleven games in April and won the lot !! Here's the full list of results -
1 April Away Runcorn Linnets Won 2-1
4 April Away Squires Gate Won 2-1
6 April Home Flixton Won 2-0
10 April Home Padiham Won 1-0
13 April Home Glossop North End Won 2-1
18 April Home Ramsbottom United Won 4-0
20 April Home Alsager Town Won 5-0
23 April Home Colne Won 2-0
25 April Away Newcastle Town Won 2-1
27 April Home Atherton LR Won 5-0
30 April Away Bacup Borough Won 2-1
Also after the Ashton game, Liam Higginbotham was belatedly presented with his award for winning Premier Division Safe Hands Of The Month for March.

Millers manager Tony hancock pictured receiving his award from Geoff Wilkinson

Liam receiving his March Goalkeeper of the Month award (with support from his team mates!!)

New Mills Online Shop now Live

We are pleased to announce after numerous technical problems that the Official New Mills AFC Online Shop is now live and available to take orders for the numerous Millers merchandise available. It can be accessed by clicking here or by clicking the permanent link on the Home Page. It is anticipated that more items will be added over the coming months so stay tuned for any new bargains that may appear.
Once again we are sorry for the timescale involved in sorting the problem but we now hope that your shopping in the store will be easy and pleasant.

Season ticket prices 2009/10

New Mills AFC would like to announce that supporters wishing to purchase season tickets for the 2009/10 season will be given an opportunity to secure their ticket on Saturday.
With the present season not yet concluded and the Club being uncertain as to which League they will be playing in next season and how many home games they will actually have, the Committee feels that no definitive prices can be announced at the present time.
Therefore, those supporters who pay a £50 deposit ( £30 for concessions ) on Saturday, not only will secure their season tickets for 2009/10 but they will also receive a guaranteed discount when the pricing structure is announced sometime during the summer.
Those supporters wishing to pay the £50 deposit are advised to head for the committee room, situated by the Church Lane turnstiles, where committee members will be on hand to collect the monies and issue receipts.
Those supporters who are unable to attend next Saturday's game are advised to post their application and remittance to Club Secretary Duncan Hibbert, 18, Peveril Mews, Newtown, Disley, Stockport, SK12 2RN.
On behalf of everybody at the Club, we would like to thank you for your loyal support this season and look forward to seeing you at Church Lane on Saturday, the League Cup Final at The Tameside Stadium, Curzon Ashton on Tuesday 5th May and at AFC Fylde on the following Saturday.

Pre season friendly

New Mills AFC are pleased to announce that Oldham Athletic will be playing a pre season friendly at Church Lane on Saturday 18th July. More details to follow nearer to the date.

High Peak Cup Draw

For the benefit of those people who were at the game against Colne, the draw for The High Peak Cup was made on High Peak Radio during the Football Fantime Programme. The High Peak Cup is the brainchild of Football Fantime presenter Ben Price and will take place in pre season over the weekend of Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th July.
The draw for the semi finals to be played on Saturday 25th July is -

NEW MILLS v CHAPEL TOWN

GLOSSOP NE v BUXTON

The semi final winners will go forward and play in the Final and the two losers will contest the Third / Fourth Place Play Off with both games taking place at Silverlands, the home of Buxton FC, on the Sunday.
Kick off times for all games will be confirmed at a later date.

Astroturf slots available

The club are pleased to announce that some prime time slots have become available to hire throughout the week on the clubs astroturf. For any details on days and times available please contact Andy Bowers at the club or e-mail him on: andybowers@newmillsafc.co.uk

Church Lane Passes Inspection

Following today's visit by representatives from The Football Association, The Unibond League and The North West Counties Football League, New Mills AFC are extremely pleased to announce that Church Lane has been given Grade E status meaning the ground now meets Unibond League requirements.
The Club was praised for its efforts in implementing the recommendations from the representatives first visit and those spectators present at recent games will have seen the changes for themselves with the installation of the dug outs, toilets and turnstile block. .
All the Club's Committee would like to pass on their sincere thanks to all the volunteers who have given up their time over the last few weeks and also wish the players and management the best of luck for the remaining games.
Also a special mention goes to local firm Alken Engineering who supplied and fitted the turnstiles for which many supporters have complimented.

Groundhopper visit

At last Wednesday night's game at Abbey Hey, Richard Panter visited the ground. Richard is a contributor to a groundhopping website www.footballgroundsinfocus.com and he has written a very complimentary article about his visit to Church Lane.
Richard has very kindly given his permission for the article to be placed on the Club's website and a link is below -
http://www.footballgroundsinfocus.com/TT89189.htm

Jacko runs for charity

Centre half Danny Jackson has entered The BUPA Great Manchester Run which takes place on Sunday 17th May.
Danny will be running on behalf of The British Red Cross and will be grateful of any sponsorship from Club members and supporters.
To donate to Danny's worthwhile cause, please click on his page on the justgiving website -

http://www.justgiving.com/danieljackson2

Advertising boards

Eagle eyed supporters will have seen a number of new advertising boards erected on the East Stand side of the ground recently.
New Mills AFC would like to sincerely thank all the companies who have shown their support for The Millers and would like to remind any interested parties that the cost of the boards have been reduced until the end of the season so if anybody wishes to take advantage of this fantastic offer, please contact Andy Bowers, andybowers@newmillsafc.co.uk or speak to any member of the committee on match days.