Hope for football fans who lost everything
A YEAR ON FROM LEAGUE EXPULSION, SUPPORTERS SEE NEW CLUB PLAY FIRST GAME
IT has been a long year for Bury FC fans following their club’s expulsion from the Football League.
On August 28, 2019, Shakers supporters awoke to the news that their beloved club had become the first to be thrown out of the Football League since 1992.
The dramatic move came after the club’s owner, Steve Dale, failed to provide financial guarantees to the EFL. When a late takeover bid collapsed, the EFL finally pulled the plug.
The anger, grief and despair felt by the club’s loyal fanbase was evident as the nation’s media descended on the club’s home of more than 130 years.
Many likened it to losing a close friend or loved one.
The ripple effect was felt throughout Bury, with pubs, takeaways and shops among those to feel the impact of the Shakers’ loss.
Former Bury North MP, James Frith, said the town faced an ‘identity crisis’ in the wake of what happened.
A year on, plenty has changed in the world but not at Gigg Lane.
The old ground stands eerily still, the signs of neglect beginning to creep in.
Nowadays, the only real activity at Gigg Lane is the growling of engines coming from the motorbike training school which operates on the stadium’s vast car park.
Occasionally, the club’s former groundsman, Mike Curtis, is said to show up to the mow the pitch.
That is despite there being no prospect of it hosting a match any time soon.
Bury FC still exists, though, if only on paper. With no players, no league to play in, and no employees to speak of, it is little more than a hollow shell of the club fans knew and loved. There is hope, however. Supporters have managed to form a new club, Bury AFC, with the aim of bringing football back to the town.
Within weeks of the club being booted out of the EFL, hundreds had signed up to work on the phoenix project as volunteers.
One of those was Chris Murray, now the chairman of Bury AFC.
Mr Murray, whose day job is as a director at a digital marketing company, explained that he initially became involved with the idea of a phoenix club to put pressure on Dale to sell up. It was a last resort, an emergency option. However, it soon became clear that it would be the only way football could return to the town any time soon. “Everyone was looking at it thinking hopefully we will not need to do this, but we could not bank on someone else doing something,” said Mr Murray. “We got the large chunk of stuff done by the time our league application was submitted in December. When Covid hit, we were at the point where we were starting to look at a membership scheme and advertising for a manager.”
As the world adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic, plans had to be put on hold. In July, Bury AFC were told their bid to enter the North West Counties League, the 10th tier of English football, had been successful. Since then, things have moved quickly. Kits have been designed and more than 1,400 replica shirts sold, while the club now has more than 800 paid-up members. A groundshare with neighbouring Radcliffe has been agreed while former Stockport County and Sunderland winger Andy Welsh has been appointed as the first-team boss. “It’s been full-on,” said Mr Murray. “We’ve appointed a manager and started recruiting players.
“We have had to do a lot to make sure we are ready. It’s been a lot of work but we have enjoyed it.”
Last Wednesday evening, almost a year on from that darkest of days, the phoenix club took to the field for the first time.
The home of Daisy Hill FC, in Westhoughton, is a far cry from what fans might be used to, but following the events of the last year it mattered little where the game was held. Due to social distancing rules, only 150 people were allowed to attend the game at the New Sirs ground, in which the fan-led club triumphed 5-0. Mr Murray says he was anxious to see the reaction of the lucky few who managed to bag a ticket to the inaugural fixture.
“I wanted to make sure they enjoyed themselves. We had 100 Bury fans in, they have not watched football in a long time. It will be an education process. We have gone from being a League One and League Two fan base to being a North West Counties one.
“We have done something special already in getting here.”
While a considerable number of Bury fans have thrown their support behind the new outfit, some still have reservations. For them, the phoenix club is no replacement for what they have lost.
Mr Murray said: “We want to create a football club that buys into the community aspect and can work with local businesses, schools and can hopefully play football back at Gigg Lane again.”
Possibly the biggest challenge for those behind the new club is securing the future of Gigg Lane, something they know will not be easy.
Last year, a parliamentary inquiry into the Shakers’ demise heard that the club’s former owner, Stewart Day, had mortgaged the ground with Merseysidebased Capital Bridging Finance Solution Ltd for £2.5m at an interest rate of 138 per cent.
While the ground is currently listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), meaning those behind Bury AFC would have six months to bid if it comes up for sale, it would still mean raising a sizeable sum of money. According to Mr Murray, there are plans to raise funds in an eventual attempt to buy the ground.
In the meantime, Bury FC continues to limp on, although it is unclear how long for.
In a statement last week, Mr Dale insisted he was working to try and get the Shakers back playing football next season. He had attempted to re-apply for a place in the National League this season, but the request was turned down by the Football Association.
Amir Khan and wife Faryal Makhdoom at the £10m wedding venue
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“I know it’s taken a little longer than it should have to finish, due to unprofessional management, it was out of my hands then.
“But now I’m fully involved I’ve given it to a new team, seven months to finish all the interior and being furnished so we can all use this amazing building.”