Stat king will be keeping a close eye...

WHEN the FA Trophy final kicks-off on Sunday one Silkmen superfan will be watching more closely than the rest.

The club’s legendary statistician and author, Geoff Knights, has devoted the past 25 years to recording the details of every game.

But while the 75-year-old won’t be travelling to Wembley this time, he will be watching the game on TV in order to update his meticulous records of the club’s history on his website silkmenarchives.org. uk.

Launched five years ago it has been a bible for football fans all over the globe, with hits from as far afield as China, Russia and Colombia.

As well as a detailed club history, player profiles and season reviews, Geoff has collected hundreds of photographs.

They also include pictures of players and fans celebrating during open-top bus tours.

Geoff was with family, including wife, Shirley, and children, Nicky and Chris, for the 1996 win.

The retired banker said: “It was a brilliant day. I knew when that first goal went in it was going to be our day.

“I remember after the final whistle we got soaked in the rain watching them collect the trophy. “It was worth it. “It was a golden era for the club. Four seasons in a row we won something and had open-top buses through the town.

“The atmosphere in the town was fantastic.”

Geoff’s first visit to the Moss Rose was in 1989 but his real interest in the Silkmen came when he jumped on a coach from his home in Gawsworth to travel to Wembley for the 1989 FA Trophy.

Over the years he formed an alliance with Chris Pugsley, the then unofficial statistics and history man at the club, and between them they set about recording detailed statistics and milestones of every player and match.

Geoff later became a regular contributor in matchday programmes and eventually wrote a book ‘The League Story So Far’ in 2009.

Eventually Geoff, with help from friend Mike Scott, was able to pull the information together for the website.

Geoff said: “It’s a labour of love that has turned into a great resource for the club and fans. It’s a shame I can’t be there for this final, but I’ll be cheering on the lads.”

‘It’s a labour of love that has turned into a great resource for the club’