Wythenshawe Town Chairman sees club as close to something great
Thu 10th March 2022 | Wythenshawe Town | By Alex Thrower
Wythenshawe Town Chairman Chris Eaton believes the club’s historic FA Vase run could mark the beginning of a ‘momentous’ period for football in the area.
The Premier side travel to Loughborough Students this Saturday for their first ever appearance in the quarter finals of the competition. And while many supporters, volunteers, and this writer may be getting carried away with the prospect of being two victories from a trip to Wembley, Eaton is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. In the short term, at least.
“My role right now is mostly managing expectations,” he says.
“We’re currently unbeaten in 13 games. We’ve got three coachloads of fans coming down on Saturday, which is brilliant but I’m trying to just see it as another step on a remarkable journey. This is our eighth tie in the competition, and we’ve been away for seven of those, so we’re doing it the hard way.
“This is only really our third full season in the National league system. We’re in touching distance of a playoff spot and in the quarterfinals of the Vase, so we’ve not done badly.
“The north-east clubs have dominated this competition for a long time, but we beat Consett courtesy of a 90th minute Darius Palmer winner and they were the favourites at the time. We’ve come through three rounds on penalties. It was nerve-wracking, bring back golden-goal I say!”
The club, managed by the young and charismatic James Kinsey, currently sit behind only Skelmersdale United and Macclesfield in the Premier. While the top team is promoted automatically, the second placed club enter a play-off with a side the step above to achieve promotion.
Having moved up from the First Division South to the Premier last summer, it has been a deeply impressive 12 months for Kinsey’s side.
Returning to the Vase and Town don’t have to look far to learn that a trip to Loughborough won’t be easy, with their Manchester neighbours Abbey Hey falling to a 3-0 defeat there in the last round. But Eaton, who became Chairman at the Ericstan Stadium in 2018, is confident that this cup-run could be the beginning of something special for football in Wythenshawe.
“I’m good friends with Toby Macormac, the Chairman at Warrington Town, who are doing well in the Northern Premier (two steps above Wythenshawe Town) and his advice has been invaluable,” he continues.
“I’m still new to being a chairman and he always says, ‘you don’t want to shoot the lights out’ and aim to be promoted every season. That’s not going to happen and is unsustainable. I wanted two promotions in five years, we’ve already achieved one so there’s a good amount of time for the second.
“In terms of catchment areas for fans; Macclesfield has about 25,000, Altrincham roughly 50,000, Burnley around 88,000. Wythenshawe has near to 110,000!
“So, there’s huge potential there. We’ve got planning permission now for a new function room adjacent to our clubhouse, about 3000sqft and 150 covers. That will cover private functions, corporate events and, of course, matchday hospitality which is another revenue stream that was part of our business plan that we presented to the Council in order to get the grant for it.”
It's not just the new clubhouse, however, that Eaton believes will help raise Wythenshawe’s footballing profile. Having played for local rivals and fellow NWCFL side Wythenshawe Amateurs, he passionately believes the area can have football at its heart.
“Ultimately, we want an academy, a 3G pitch and we’re doing a lot of work in the community to raise our profile, with charities and local businesses. We want more people to come along on a Saturday and while we don’t want to rival (National League outfit) Altrincham, we want to aspire to become a real presence,” he adds.
“Tameside clubs have an issue where the area is saturated with non-league football, but I don’t think we have that problem here. There’s room for both clubs, Amateurs as well as us, to really establish the town as a footballing centre.”
Turning attentions back to Saturday’s fixture, Eaton is understandably hoping for a win and a home tie in the next round. The final on the 22 May- which also happens to be manager Kinsey’s 30th birthday- is closer than it ever has been for Wythenshawe Town.
“How many non-league clubs will ever get to Wembley; this is a huge opportunity!”
Wythenshawe Town Chairman sees club as close to something great
Thu 10th March 2022 | Wythenshawe Town
By Alex Thrower
Wythenshawe Town Chairman Chris Eaton believes the club’s historic FA Vase run could mark the beginning of a ‘momentous’ period for football in the area.
The Premier side travel to Loughborough Students this Saturday for their first ever appearance in the quarter finals of the competition. And while many supporters, volunteers, and this writer may be getting carried away with the prospect of being two victories from a trip to Wembley, Eaton is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. In the short term, at least.
“My role right now is mostly managing expectations,” he says.
“We’re currently unbeaten in 13 games. We’ve got three coachloads of fans coming down on Saturday, which is brilliant but I’m trying to just see it as another step on a remarkable journey. This is our eighth tie in the competition, and we’ve been away for seven of those, so we’re doing it the hard way.
“This is only really our third full season in the National league system. We’re in touching distance of a playoff spot and in the quarterfinals of the Vase, so we’ve not done badly.
“The north-east clubs have dominated this competition for a long time, but we beat Consett courtesy of a 90th minute Darius Palmer winner and they were the favourites at the time. We’ve come through three rounds on penalties. It was nerve-wracking, bring back golden-goal I say!”
The club, managed by the young and charismatic James Kinsey, currently sit behind only Skelmersdale United and Macclesfield in the Premier. While the top team is promoted automatically, the second placed club enter a play-off with a side the step above to achieve promotion.
Having moved up from the First Division South to the Premier last summer, it has been a deeply impressive 12 months for Kinsey’s side.
Returning to the Vase and Town don’t have to look far to learn that a trip to Loughborough won’t be easy, with their Manchester neighbours Abbey Hey falling to a 3-0 defeat there in the last round. But Eaton, who became Chairman at the Ericstan Stadium in 2018, is confident that this cup-run could be the beginning of something special for football in Wythenshawe.
“I’m good friends with Toby Macormac, the Chairman at Warrington Town, who are doing well in the Northern Premier (two steps above Wythenshawe Town) and his advice has been invaluable,” he continues.
“I’m still new to being a chairman and he always says, ‘you don’t want to shoot the lights out’ and aim to be promoted every season. That’s not going to happen and is unsustainable. I wanted two promotions in five years, we’ve already achieved one so there’s a good amount of time for the second.
“In terms of catchment areas for fans; Macclesfield has about 25,000, Altrincham roughly 50,000, Burnley around 88,000. Wythenshawe has near to 110,000!
“So, there’s huge potential there. We’ve got planning permission now for a new function room adjacent to our clubhouse, about 3000sqft and 150 covers. That will cover private functions, corporate events and, of course, matchday hospitality which is another revenue stream that was part of our business plan that we presented to the Council in order to get the grant for it.”
It's not just the new clubhouse, however, that Eaton believes will help raise Wythenshawe’s footballing profile. Having played for local rivals and fellow NWCFL side Wythenshawe Amateurs, he passionately believes the area can have football at its heart.
“Ultimately, we want an academy, a 3G pitch and we’re doing a lot of work in the community to raise our profile, with charities and local businesses. We want more people to come along on a Saturday and while we don’t want to rival (National League outfit) Altrincham, we want to aspire to become a real presence,” he adds.
“Tameside clubs have an issue where the area is saturated with non-league football, but I don’t think we have that problem here. There’s room for both clubs, Amateurs as well as us, to really establish the town as a footballing centre.”
Turning attentions back to Saturday’s fixture, Eaton is understandably hoping for a win and a home tie in the next round. The final on the 22 May- which also happens to be manager Kinsey’s 30th birthday- is closer than it ever has been for Wythenshawe Town.
“How many non-league clubs will ever get to Wembley; this is a huge opportunity!”
