Bury still in fashion
BURY no longer exist as an EFL club, but their kit lives on after making a surprise appearance during London Fashion Week.
A remodelled frilly Wild West-themed shirt complete with the traditional Shakers blue and white colours and club crest (below) wowed on lookers alongside the traditional exhibits of icons like Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham.
Bury fan Zoe Hitchen commissioned the piece and admitted it was a shock to see it up on the famous catwalk.
She said: “Maybe the Wild West theme is appropriate because the last few years have been like that at Bury. No one though wants football in the town to die.”
Now a phoenix club, almost certainly bearing the same colours, is also ready to hit the stage and make Saturdays once again meaningful for fans deprived of their Gigg Lane fix.
Bury AFC will start life in August down in football’s 10th tier hoping to replicate the rise from the ashes of clubs like AFC Wimbledon.
The search for a manager, coaching staff and players to ensure a new beginning in the North West Counties League has begun.
Neighbours Radcliffe FC have agreed to ground share although there is hope that the reformed club will one day return to Gigg Lane.
The elation of winning promotion from League Two under manager Ryan Lowe quickly turned to despair in August when, with debts of around £5million, Bury were unable to fulfil a single fixture and were eventually expelled.
With Bury FC set to be liquidated it’s full steam ahead with its successor buoyed by the amazing resilience of the town’s fans. Bury AFC chairman Chris Murray said: “We’ve got more than 300 volunteers working hard to try and put a club out for next season. It’s been a massive learning curve but we’re determined to get there.
“We’re relishing the challenge and just want to carve out a new future for football in the town. We’ve got some big clubs around us like Man United and Man City and other clubs like Rochdale and Oldham. Some of the fans from those clubs have been fantastic wishing us well and offering their support.”
Committee member Jon Wiggans admitted: “It’s been great. Even though the football authorities might have forgotten about us the wider community hasn’t.”