Statistics

Match Summary
Biggest Home Win	3-0	29/07/23 v Colne (Premier Division)
Biggest Away Win	5-1	26/08/23 v Squires Gate (Premier Division)
Biggest Home Defeat	0-3	28/10/23 v Bury (Premier Division)
Biggest Away Defeat	1-5	14/11/23 v Bamber Bridge (Lancashire Challenge Trophy)
Highest Drawn Game	3-3	16/09/23 v Pilkington (A) (Premier Division)
Highest Aggregate Scoreline	7	02/09/23 3-4 v Bury (A) (Premier Division)
		12/09/23 4-3 v Longridge Town (H) (Premier Division)

 

Season at a Glance
	Home		Away		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Played	18		13		31
Won	9	50.00%	3	23.08%	12	38.71%
Drawn	4	22.22%	3	23.08%	7	22.58%
Lost	5	27.78%	7	53.85%	12	38.71%
Scored	30	1.67	23	1.77	53	1.71
Conceded	26	1.44	28	2.15	54	1.74

 

Progression in Cup Competitions
The Emirates F.A Cup	Preliminary Round	0-3	Prescot Cables	(H)
The Emirates F.A Cup	Extra Preliminary Round	2-0	Vauxhall Motors	(H)
The Isuzu FA Vase	3rd Round	v	Emley	(A)
	To be played on Sat 09/12/23
The Isuzu FA Vase	3rd Round	v	Emley	(A)
	To be played on Sat 02/12/23
The Isuzu FA Vase	2nd Round	2-1	Albion Sports	(H)
The Macron Cup	2nd Round	0-3	Cheadle Town	(H)
Lancashire Challenge Trophy	2nd Round	1-5	Bamber Bridge	(A)
Manchester Premier Cup	1st Round	0-1	Ashton United	(A)

 

Home Attendance Summary
Highest Attendance	1320	28/10/23 v Bury (Premier Division)
Lowest Attendance	265	05/12/23 v Pilkington (Premier Division)
Average Attendance	18 games	694

 

Number of Games Since
Last Win	1 game
Last Defeat	3 games
Goalless Draw	2 games
Score Draw	0 games
Scored A Goal	0 games
Fail To Score	2 games
Clean Sheet	1 game

 

Scored / Conceded This Season
	Scored		Conceded
	#	%	#	%
None	7	22.58%	6	19.35%
One	7	22.58%	11	35.48%
Two	8	25.81%	3	9.68%
Three	7	22.58%	8	25.81%
Four	1	3.23%	2	6.45%
Five or more	1	3.23%	1	3.23%

 

When the Goals Went In
	For		Against		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
0-15	9	17.65%	7	16.28%	16	17.02%
16-30	6	11.76%	8	18.60%	14	14.89%
31-45	7	13.73%	6	13.95%	13	13.83%
46-60	11	21.57%	10	23.26%	21	22.34%
61-75	5	9.80%	5	11.63%	10	10.64%
76-90	12	23.53%	7	16.28%	19	20.21%
90-105	1	1.96%	0	0.00%	1	1.06%
105-120	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%

 

History

West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC was founded as Christ Church A.F.C. in 1908, over 100 years ago, by Mr. R F Hartley, a Sunday School Superintendent at the church on Princess Parkway, West Didsbury.

West played friendlies at first and then in the Manchester Alliance League until the First World War. After the War the club joined the Lancashire and Cheshire League for the 1920/21 season and had to change its name to West Didsbury AFC, as that League did not permit a name suggesting association with any other body. The club was placed in Divisions 1 and A, and stayed in the top flight for 25 seasons. The first honours were double runners up in Div 1 and Rhodes Cup in 1922/23, and the club remained in the L+C League until 2006, winning many honours and providing 4 League Presidents along the way.

The home ground from before 1914 until the mid 1980’s was Christie Playing Fields, and then the owners, Manchester and Salford Playing Fields Society, gave the club notice to quit having decided to sell off the land for commercial development – now ironically called ‘Christie Fields’ office park.
After several years’ nomadic existence the club acquired the redundant and overgrown Recreation Ground at Brookburn Road in Chorlton in 1996, and made plans to restore the ground and develop a vision for a community club. This was down to the hard work of a core of players and Committee who refused to let the club fold. New changing rooms and clubhouse facilities were completed aided by a Lottery grant, new sponsors and members’ fundraising, but without a penny from the Playing Fields Society sale proceeds and in time to start the 1997-98 season at this new home.

A further name change followed in 2003 to reflect the new location in Chorlton and the club was then elected to the Manchester League in 2006. In 2007/8 West won its first Manchester League silverware lifting the Murray Shield in the last game of the club’s centenary year. That team was the nucleus of the previously successful junior team and the following season 2008/09 West just missed promotion to the Premier Division and again reached the Murray Shield Final. With a new management team led by Andy Nelson, 2009/10 was very successful and honours spread throughout the club. The 1st team won the Murray Shield (the third consecutive year in the final) and was league runners-up. The reserves won the Bridgewater League Cup and the U17 Youth team won their League.

In 2010/2011 the 1st team won the Manchester League First Division title in style with a fantastic 65 points out of 72 possible. This ranks as one of the highest points totals per game in Manchester League history dating back over a century. The clubs reserve team and youth teams also had terrific seasons, also resulting in promotion and for the second year reaching the Bridgewater Cup Final.
The Youth team reached yet another final where they were just pipped to the trophy by New Mills and the Veterans were runners up in the Premier Division of the Cheshire Veterans League. Plans were made to lease adjacent land long term for junior football to deliver the club Vision to be a FA Charter Standard Club, playing at the highest possible level it can whilst remaining financially viable.

Floodlights were erected in July 2011 to meet FA requirements and West competed in the FA Vase for the first time in 2011-12 as a Step 7 club. Election to the Step 6 and the NWCFL followed in June 2012 and the club had an incredible first season finishing in 3rd position to secure promotion to Step 5, guaranteeing a first ever FA Cup place and winning the Div1 Trophy.

2013-14 saw a strong recovery from a series of early season setbacks and defeats in August to consolidate with a very creditable 12th place league finish in the Premier Division. Two new stands were then installed to improve spectator facilities and the new grass pitches were laid out on adjoining land as part of the long term development plan. Further historic milestones in 2013-14 were the 2-0 home victory over Abbey Hey in the club’s first ever appearance in the FA Cup quickly followed by a 2-1 first FA Vase victory away at NCEL Rossington Main near Doncaster in mid September.

The following season saw the club experience something of an erratic start in the League, as well as losing to Brighouse Town from the Evo Stik League [North] in the FA Cup at the end of August having been given a walk over by the FA in the previous round against NWCFL new club, Cammell Laird 1907. Rossington were FA Vase opponents for the second successive year and again defeated 2-1, this time at home, before West lost 1-2 to eventual finalists Glossop North End. Some good mid season results garnered enough points to finish 16th in the table, well clear of trouble, with a final home game 2-0 victory over Runcorn Linnets signing off manager Andy Nelson’s six meteoric season’s in style.

2015-16 proved to be a record breaking season in a number of ways for West. After a slightly erratic start to the season under new manager Steve Settle, a series of good results from September onwards saw the club rise up the table eventually finishing in a record 5th place. The major highlight of the season had to be the record breaking 15-1 FA Vase win over Dinnington Town, this being the highest ever win both in the Vase as a competition and by any NWCFL club throughout history.

Progression was also made off the field with new facilities at Hardy Farm opened by local MP Jeff Smith. Plans were also made to expand the clubhouse and spectator facilities at Brookburn Road.

The season was to have a sad end with the death of club secretary Rob Turley, a man who had been involved with West Didsbury & Chorlton for over 40 years. But with a strong volunteer base and progress being made on and off the field, the club is in safe hands with a bright future ahead.

2016/17 saw the club finished in 6th place but finished with both a record points total and number of goals scored notching 106 league goals. The club also saw a record average attendance as almost 5,000 people attended matches at Brookburn Road with a club record 674 in attendance for the South Manchester Derby against Maine Road. In cup competitions West entered the Manchester Premier Cup defeating Radcliffe Borough and Glossop North End en-route to facing FC United of Manchester in the Semi Final’s which saw more than 200 West supporters travel to Broadhurst Park before West bowed out to the eventual winners.