Shrimpsvoices

I have just bought the first ever MFC year book from 1988/89 written by Paul Oldrive I assume some of you will know him as he seemed to do every job going like the Ockers of his time.

The first page reads like this:-

"A season of unrest and ground move"

Three managers and forty two players in a season!! (can any one name the three managers?)

Off the field has been the long running saga of our proposed move from Christie park is a move to primarily secure the long term future of the club, I am sure when the project is complete the knockers will wonder what they are grumbling about"

Then going on to read the statement from the then chairman it is word for word the same as the development which we are about to start building. They had an offer on Christie Park from a retail outlet, wanted to build all weather pitches etc at westgate and they felt that Christie park was to expensive to maintain and without the move the club could not go to the next level.

Twenty years on and it looks like their vision will finally happen.

P/T Indie wrote:"A season of unrest and ground move"

Three managers and forty two players in a season!! (can any one name the three managers?)

Hogath, Cubbage and Les Rigby?

There were, in my opinion, many differences between the proposal then and now. I fully back the current one but was 100% against the original plan.

great book and someone who worked very hard on the match programme too producing some great copies
think theres one from 89/90 too

The 3 managers in the 88/89 season P/T Indie & Keith were a certain Mr Eric Whalley (now of course Accrington Stanley Chairman and professional Brian Potter soundalike. Whalley by name, Whalley by nature), Billy "Bunter" Wright and Larry Milligan for the last 2 games of the campaign. Strangely, away at Buxton and at home to Buxton ! !

Keith wrote:

P/T Indie wrote:"A season of unrest and ground move"

Three managers and forty two players in a season!! (can any one name the three managers?)

Hogath, Cubbage and Les Rigby?

There were, in my opinion, many differences between the proposal then and now. I fully back the current one but was 100% against the original plan.

No You didn't even name one of them.

There is a cracking picture of ken parker sat in the team photo as club sponsor.


The picture of the plans for Westgate look identical to the layout on the plans when it comes to the training pitches, stadium however there is no real talk of off the field revnue and extra buildings.

Seasider9601 wrote:The 3 managers in the 88/89 season P/T Indie & Keith were a certain Mr Eric Whalley (now of course Accrington Stanley Chairman and professional Brian Potter soundalike. Whalley by name, Whalley by nature), Billy "Bunter" Wright and Larry Milligan for the last 2 games of the campaign. Strangely, away at Buxton and at home to Buxton ! !

Spot on and in the correct order.

For some strange reason, I acquired that centre page plan of the old ground in its original format which was displayed in the World Cup Bar all that season. It was in full colour and measured about 4 foot by 2 foot and mounted on hardboard I think. Wonder what ever happened to it at 'ar house .... went astray somewhere. Paul Oldrieve or Les Taylor gave it to me as I recall.

my memory was always crap! I thought 'should I post this or Google it first'? Did the three I mention all manage us in the same season? (or even follow each other? ) I'm pretty sure Mick & Don were together, but not sure about Les... (awaits confirmation that Don didn't follow Mick...)

As for the first ground move proposal, I was never happy with the comment that the move would not be 'cost neutral'. The suggestion was that money would be used to cover debts and to spend on players etc. To my mind, that meant that money from the sale would not all go in to the new ground. This would result in us having an asset that was worth less than the one they'd sold. Money would surely have been 'spent' that looking back now, we would have felt was 'waisted'.

The new plan will result in us being in a far stronger position and bring in much more money to the club, it makes sense as a business rather than a re-mortgage.