GREAT SEASON, FRUSTRATING END

Skipper Andrew Teague enjoying a rare goal with the fans in the win at home to Colne. 

After three poor seasons, hopes were high back in July that manager Steve Wilkes had assembled a squad good enough to take the club back onto an upward trajectory.

Play-offs was the agreed target with anything more a bonus.

To that end, we can conclude that the season has, in effect, been a successful one, but upon attaining that hoped-for play-off spot, to win it would have been the icing on the cake. Sadly, a home defeat against Padiham in the semi-final in front of almost 1200 supporters, removed any hope of a bonus.

Talk to any Ramsbottom United fan, however, and there will be fulsome praise for a most entertaining nine months, with the team regularly performing well on the pitch, and ensuring that the camaraderie between them and the fans reached new levels.

It all began at the end of last July as the Rams travelled over to Merseyside, full of optimism, to take on St Helens-based Pilkington. A glorious day had the travelling support, who have followed the Rams in good numbers all season, looking forward to an easy win. It didn’t quite turn out like that, as we needed an injury time goal to reward the team with its first point of the season.

Three days later a comfortable home win over Abbey Hey had the supporters feeling much better, although an early exit from the FA Cup in the hands of NPL side Stalybridge Celtic quickly brought them back down to earth.

Not for long though, as three successive wins had the team top of the league with 13 points from the first five games.

Then came the nemesis, a trip to Colne who were bottom of the table having had a disastrous start. Fortunes always seemed to favour the east Lancashire club in recent years, and this was no different. First league defeat of the campaign was generally regarded as unavoidable.

Lower Breck, a team later to be regarded as most unfortunate not to have claimed the coveted title, arrived at the HWRS and were duly despatched, as were fellow-Liverpudlians, South Liverpool.

The Rams position at the top of the table had the supporters finally accepting that a good season lay ahead. Then a trip to windy Longridge Town saw a game turned on it’s head. Despite taking an early lead, the home side shunted the Rams away in the second half and deservedly saw a return home with tails between the legs.

That was to prove the beginning of a stuttering run which dislodged the club from top spot in the table.

Despite an impressive demolition job away at a Padiham team that would later on gain cruel revenge, just one point arrived from the next two home games.

It seemed to act as a wake-up call, and such was answered in the best possible way with a run of eighteen games without defeat, sending the Rams back into pole position.

Amongst those was a very impressive demolition of Burscough on their own patch by six goals to nil, a well-contested 1-1 draw at home to Bury in front of over 1700 supporters, a convincing 4-0 drubbing of Litherland REMYCA over on Merseyside, and a gripping 2-2 draw with our big neighbours at Bury on Boxing Day.

Along the way the Rams progressed in the Macron Cup thanks to a fine penalties win at West Didsbury & Chorlton, at home to Stockport Georgians, and a first half five-goal barrage at Prestwich Heys.

The FA Vase did not prove quite so lucrative, for after seeing off Euxton Villa at home, a trip to NCEL leaders Silsden ended in defeat and a lack of interest in the competition going forward.

Pleasant though these competitions are, they merely defect from the main task at hand, that of gaining promotion back to the NPL.

The long unbeaten run finally ended at Lower Breck, and little was everyone to know just what a run the Anfield-based team would be on until the end of the season. Their performance that day underlined just what a powerful squad they had, but the Rams did not allow that disappointment to hurt too much.

Another five games arrived bringing four wins and a draw, with the Rams sitting comfortably at the top of the league, although unable to brush off the challenge of the two closest teams, Bury and Lower Breck.

Then, calamity. Three defeats on the trot, all at home.

Firstly, Division One South Stafford Town made the most northerly journey in their history, and promptly knocked the Rams out of the Macron Cup at the Quarter-Final stage with a last minute winner.

Worse was to follow, as Groundhop Day brought a 500+ crowd for the Friday night match against an FC St Helens team that the Rams had comfortably beaten on their home ground earlier in the season. From 2-0 up, the men in blue managed to squander the lead and finish up beaten 3-2 at the final whistle.

Four days later, Padiham arrived in town and they gained retribution for the hammering they received at home, and left Ramsbottom with all three points, and a bemused Rammy team and supporters, wondering just why the wheels had come off so unexpectedly.

No doubt stern words were said, and it seemed to work. The next six matches were all won, but by then, the slip up had allowed both Bury and Lower Breck, who were both on incredible runs, to overtake, leaving the Rams to be content with third spot in the table. An unwarranted loss away to Chadderton, and a tame home draw with Barnoldswick Town completed the season proper, with all eyes on the play-offs.

Fourth placed Padiham were the visitors to the HWRS for a much-anticipated semi-final, with a crowd of 1,182 turning out on a glorious day. Alas, the glory was Padiham’s, as an unaccustomed poor performance from the home team, saw the visitors progress to the Final at Lower Breck.

That, then, proved the last of fifty-four matches overall.

The league record showed 46 games played, 29 won, 10 drawn and just 7 lost with a club record 97 points having been gained.

Most seasons, that record would have been good enough for automatic promotion, but the amazing form of both Bury and Lower Breck got in the way, which means the Rams face a third season at North West Counties League level.

A disappointment at the end, but most supporters will, rightly, acknowledge that this has been the best season at Ramsbottom United for quite some time.

The target of play-offs may need to be adjusted to read champions for the 2025-26 season!

More of the same then, a very entertaining new campaign will kick off at the end of July.