Mossley A.F.C.

History

The club was established as Park Villa. After a season of playing friendlies and cup matches, they were renamed Mossley Juniors in 1904 and joined the Stalybridge & District League. and then the Oldham & District League in 1907 and the West End Amateur League in 1908. The league was reduced to a single division the following season, with Mossley continuing as members.

Mossley were Ashton & District League champions again in 1914–15, also winning the League Cup and the Manchester Junior Cup. Later in 1919 Mossley were founder members of the Cheshire County League, finishing as runners-up in the league and losing the League Cup final in the 1919–20 season. They won the League Cup the following season. In 1933–34 the club won the Manchester Junior Cup for a second time. They subsequently won Manchester Shield in 1937–38.

Following World War II Mossley finished bottom of the league in 1945–46. The 1949–50 season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time. After beating Witton Albion 1–0, they lost 3–0 to Nuneaton Borough in a second round replay. However, they were unable to be promoted to the Alliance Premier League as their ground did not meet the requirements. The club were subsequently invited to play in a Non League Champion of Champions Cup match at the start of the following season, but were beaten by Southern League champions Worcester City over two legs.

Mossley retained their league title in 1979–80. They also reached the FA Cup first round again, losing 5–2 to York City, as well as reaching the final of the FA Trophy, in which they were beaten 2–1 by Dagenham at Wembley Stadium. The club defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time the following season, beating Crewe Alexandra 1–0 before losing 3–1 at home to Mansfield Town in the second round. They went on to finish as runners-up in the league, which they repeated in each of the next two seasons, as well as making further FA Cup first round appearances which ended in defeat by Stockport and Huddersfield Town. Although the club reached the FA Cup first round again in 1983–84 (losing to 5–0 Darlington), they also finished bottom of the Northern Premier League, marking the end of their period of success.

The Northern Premier League gained a second division in 1987, with Mossley becoming members of the Premier Division. They won the League Cup and the Manchester Premier Cup in 1988–89, before winning the league's Challenge Shield in 1989–90 and the Manchester Premier Cup in 1990–91. earning promotion back to Division One of the Northern Premier League.

Mossley were Division One champions in 2005–06 and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, they were relegated at the end of the following season, at which point the club were placed in Division One North. The club won the Manchester Premier Cup in 2011–12, and retained it the following season, which also saw the club finish fifth in the league, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they were beaten 1–0 by Cammell Laird in the semi-finals. The club won the Premier Cup again in 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Ground

The club initially played at a former rugby ground in Luzley, earning the nickname the 'Luzleyites'. In 1912 they moved to Seel Fold, which had previously been used as a rubbish tip and then a cricket field, using the adjacent Highland Laddie Hotel as their headquarters. A record attendance of over 3,000 was set for a local derby against Mossley Celtic in the 1913–14 season. A 430-capacity stand was built on the Popular Side in 1920, with terracing installed on the same side in 1922. The stand was expanded to a capacity of 1,000 in 1927, with the ground becoming known as Seel Park in 1931. A new stand was built at the Mossley Park end in 1932 and a 300-seat stand erected on the Market Street side of the pitch four years later. The club's record attendance of 6,640 was set in 1946 for a Cheshire County League match against local rivals Stalybridge Celtic.

Mossley purchased the ground from Stamford Estates in 1948 for £1,200. The Popular Side stand was demolished in 1969 and replaced in 1971 when the club sold Gary Pierce to Huddersfield Town. Floodlights were installed the following year. A stand was built at the Park End in 1980. In 1987 the main stand had to be demolished due to storm damage, and was replaced with a 220-seat stand which was named for club president James Anderson. The ground was sold in 1988 to clear the club's debts, with Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council becoming owners in 1990. The installation of new terracing began in 1996 and finished in 2008 when the Hanover Street side was completed.

Honours

• Northern Premier League
  • Champions 1978–79, 1979–80
  • Division One champions 2005–06
  • Challenge Cup winners 1978–79, 1988–89
  • Challenge Shield winners 1989–90
• North West Counties League
  • League Cup winners 2002–03
• Cheshire County League
  • League Cup winners 1920–21, 1960–61
• Ashton & District League
  • Champions 1911–12, 1914–15
  • League Cup winners 1913–14
• Manchester Premier Cup
  • Winners 1988–89, 1990–91, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16
• Manchester Senior Cup
  • Winners 1971–72, 1976–77
• Manchester Shield
  • Winners 1937–38
• Manchester Intermediate Cup
  • Winners 1960–61, 1966–67, 1967–68
• Manchester Junior Cup
  • Winners 1914–15, 1933–34
• Ashton Challenge Cup
  • Winners 1921–22, 1922–23, 1929–30, 1934–35, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1961–62
• Ashton Junior Cup
  • Winners 1909–10

Records

• Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 1949–50, 1980–81
• Best FA Trophy performance: Finalists, 1979–80
• Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2002–03
• Record attendance: 6,640 vs Stalybridge Celtic, Cheshire County League, 1946
• Biggest win: 9–0 vs Urmston, Manchester Shield, 1947
• Heaviest defeat: 13–2 vs Witton Albion, Cheshire County League, 1926
• Most appearances: Jimmy O'Connor, 613 (1972–1987)
• Most goals: David Moore, 234 (1974–1983)
• Most goals in a season: Jackie Roscoe, 58 (1930–31)
• Record transfer fee received: £25,000 from Everton for Eamonn O'Keefe, 1979
• Record transfer fee paid: £2,300 to Altrincham for Phil Wilson, 1980

References

References

1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p402 {{ISBN. 978-1-869833-77-0
2. [http://www.mossleyweb.com/EarlyDays.htm Early Days] Mossley A.F.C.
3. link. (28 January 2018 Mossley A.F.C.)
4. [http://www.mossleyweb.com/history.html History] Mossley A.F.C.
5. {{fchd
6. 1969–70]], losing 1–0 to [[Stockport County F.C.. 1977–78]] saw them lose 3–0 to [[Rotherham United F.C.. Rotherham United]]. However, [[1978–79 Northern Premier League
7. [https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/features/where-are-they-now/7532/mossley-northern-premier-league-champions-1979-80/ Mossley – Northern Premier League Champions 1979–80] The Non-League Paper, 13 August 2013
8. [http://www.mossleyweb.com/Statsyearbyyear/197980.htm 1979–80] Mossley A.F.C.
9. However, the club were relegated to Division One at the end of the [[1992–93 Northern Premier League. 1992–93 season]], and then finished bottom of Division One in [[1994–95 Northern Premier League. 1994–95]], resulting in relegation to Division One of the [[North West Counties Football League. North West Counties League]] (which had been formed by merger of the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination in 1982). They were Division One runners-up in [[1998–99 North West Counties Football League. 1998–99]] and won the League Cup in [[2002–03 North West Counties Football League. 2002–03]], before finishing as runners-up in Division One again the [[2003–04 North West Counties Football League. following season]],[http://www.hallmarksecurityleague.com/league-honours.php Honours] North West Counties League
10. [http://www.mossleyweb.com/300Club.htm 300 club] Mossley A.F.C.
11. [http://www.mossleyweb.com/Goals50.htm 50+ Goals Club] Mossley A.F.C.