2023/24 half season review - Premier Division

BIG things were expected this season at HURST GREEN.

There was a desire to grow from last season’s 10th placed finish and they made a statement signing in the summer – prolific marksman Nick Hepple from Poulton.

If you believe social media, he was on £500 a match, an acre of Stonyhurst College land per goal and for every win, a crate of fresh milk straight from Steve Cunningham’s float.

A strong start saw them lead the embryonic table in August and home wins over Blackpool Wren Rovers and Fulwood Amateurs were notable successes.

But a disjointed away record saw them slip down the table and Hepple left, joining up with his old Poulton gaffer John Salanki at AFC Blackpool.

Cunningham left soon after and they sit 13th at the halfway stage but with plenty of games in hand to try to gain a top half finish.

MILNTHORPE CORINTHIANS also started the season on fire with four wins from four games under Chris Humphrey and a season battling at the top instead of the bottom looked good for the Cumbrians, aided by the goals of ex-Slyne man Reece Pearce.

That step into the highest echelons of the league is a tough one though and 5-0 home defeats by Wrens and CMB showed they are still a work in progress.

A mix of experience in Shaun Gardner and Garry Thompson and youthful pace in the middle has left them 10th tantalisingly close to the top half.

They’ll have to leapfrog to ROSSENDALE who started their first season in the top flight under new management following Ray Davis’ departure.

Jonathan Heap, Simon Nangle and Scott Wylie took the reins and they are poised for an assault on the top four – if they can get some games played!

They have only managed five home games all season due to the weather and they’re better away from home, winning six out of 11 on their travels, including an opening day 4-1 win at Wrens.

Sitting a point behind them are those opening day opponents BLACKPOOL WREN ROVERS in ninth who will feel they should be much higher up.

They have lost 11 points from winning positions and realistically now only have the Richardson Cup to fall back on for silverware this season.

It looked promising after an eye-catching 6-0 victory over CMB and the red hot form of striker Ric Seear.

Five defeats by a single goal have been their downfall but with their firepower – they’re the third top scorers in the division - a top four finish is certainly achievable.

Another club to blow hot and cold are last season’s champions BURSCOUGH RICHMOND.

No side has won back to back Premier Division titles since Charnock Richard in 2014/15 and it was inevitable it was going to be hard to replace top scorer Raj Singh Uppal, who was snapped up by Euxton Villa.

A 4-0 home defeat to an impressive Thornton Cleveleys side on August 12 was their first dropped points at home since 2021/22.

Eight games in a busy August have been followed by numerous call-offs but they have rattled off six home wins on the bounce and powered by the goals of striker Jordan Lorde, they are up to fifth and have plenty of games in hand.

They’ll need a Herculean run to challenge again, but don’t bet against them. Victory on Saturday could usher in a seismic 2024 for Anthony Murt and Co.

Burscough also managed to trickle past Hawcoat Park in the Richardson Cup so silverware of some sort is very much in their sights.

One club to know all about winning streaks is FULWOOD AMATEURS. They put together an almost unbelievable set of results to almost pip Thornton to the title in 2021/22 until they fell on the final furlong.

Tony Hesketh’s conveyor belt of talent never grinds to a halt and Lucas Spencer is top of the goalscoring charts with Fulwood up to third.

Don’t expect a draw at Lightfoot Lane though – they either win or lose, 12 wins and seven defeats for Hesketh’s young guns this season.

Thumping wins – they scored 16 in two matches against Slyne – have been punctuated by surprise defeats and they’ll need to be more consistent in the second half of the season.

Only a fool would rule them out of another title charge, though.
One of those defeats was against WHITEHAVEN who have enjoyed a busy December while most suffered call offs.

That 2-0 win on the 3G against Fulwood was followed by entertaining draws against Wrens and Lostock St Gerards before a derby defeat to Cleator Moor Celtic.

They are in 11th in a cluster of teams separated by just six points. A top half finish is well within their grasp.

And what of their near neighbours? CLEATOR MOOR CELTIC won those pre-Christmas bragging rights to move into sixth – one place lower than where they’ll need to be to apply for a return to the North West Counties League.

A managerial change not long after losing to Whitehaven back in August has seen a steady improvement but again consistency has cost them. With 13 games left to go, don’t expect them to disappear with a whimper.

POULTON enjoyed a stellar November and December with five straight wins to put them seventh at the halfway stage.

Another club with managerial upheaval, it has taken time for progress off the pitch to translate to results on it.

But they have talent in their ranks with Max Landless and Danny Morris and they still have to play three of the top five at home. They can have a big say in the title race.

One of those sides is third-placed LOSTOCK ST GERARDS who have sat in the top four almost all season under Dixie Dawson.

Only a stinker of a run in November and December – two defeats to Thornton among them – means a title tilt is probably beyond them.

But it’s been a fine season on their return to the top flight and anything but a top five finish will be seen as a disappointment now.

Those pair of wins by THORNTON CLEVELEYS and the August annihilation of Burscough Richmond showed Terry Green’s side’s title credentials and they were top on goal difference going into the Christmas break.

The league’s entertainers with 68 goals from 19 games, they have not suffered the same postponement issues other clubs have faced and that could be crucial come the April run-in.

Bar that hammering at Wrens, CMB have only dropped two more points all season – a 0-0 draw at Whitehaven - and are many people’s favourites to go one step further than last season’s second place finish.

Conceding only 19 goals in 17 games and with striker Carl Grimshaw now back in action, their home league match with Thornton could well prove decisive.

A familiar face (and voice!) is back in the dug-out at TEMPEST UNITED with Ross McNair alongside existing manager John Crossland.

They are 12th but have a positive goal difference of 6+ and games in hand could well see them at least match last year’s ninth-placed final position.

COPPULL’S attentions may well be on the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield where they face Fulwood in the quarter-finals on January 20.

They won the competition in 2014-15 and may well fancy another stab at county cup glory.

It could cause a fixture pile up but there’s an eight point gap from 14th to Turton in the first relegation spot so they’re comfortable…for now.

TURTON will need to improve their goals tally to rein Coppull in.
But with Craig Jones now in charge after Craig Allardyce’s exit, they could yet save themselves from relegation.

A recent 2-0 win at Milnthorpe shows what can be achieved on the pitch – three points at Coppull later in the season is vital.

SLYNE WITH HEST’S problems are at the other end, leaking goals. Cain Mulgrew’s side have conceded 92 goals and have one solitary win, a 4-2 win over Turton.

There's been a big turnover of players with many of the new faces arriving from Trimpell.

A recent three-point deduction hasn’t helped their chances of staying up. But there’s still time – a win at Burscough on Saturday will be the best start possible to 2024.

Last but not least, like Coppull, WYRE VILLA’S eyes may be on the cup, an LFA Shield quarter final at Winstanley Warriors beckons for the league’s bottom club.

The club changed direction at the end of last season under John Beavers, putting the emphasis on local players. And it’s been a tough campaign, their one point a 2-2 draw at Slyne.

A cup success could be a fitting reward for endless graft on and off the pitch.

League survival would be the greatest of great escapes but they have 18 games to turn the season on its head.

It’s going to be a fun four months!