Welcome, Euxton Villa!
Tue 2nd August 2022 | Announcements | By Jay Cooper
It's a warm welcome to the NWCFL pyramid to Euxton Villa, who earned themselves a spot in Division One North after securing promotion from the West Lancashire League in 2021/22.
The West Lancashire League setup has been where Villa have called home for a consistently successful 20 years, having only finished outside of the top 10 in 2 of those seasons - 04/05 (their first season in the Premier Division), and 09/10. Now, they finally make the step up to join the NWCFL after a 3rd-placed finish last campaign.
Speaking to club secretary Hugh MacKinnon, he talked about how fondly he will look back on the club's time in the West Lancashire League. “It was a very big step to move into that league from the Preston and District football league – it meant there was a lot more travelling. We made the on-pitch transition really well, winning back to back promotions, and we played some great football along the way. It was a great experience and it really helped the club and everybody involved with development.”
MacKinnon, like everyone else at the Jim Fowler Memorial Ground, knows that this transition may not be so simple. However, he's heaped praise on his players and believes that this is a step that they're ready to take. “We've had lots of pre-season games and the lads have done very well against good opposition. We've really held our own in games, including beating a very good Runcorn Linnets team. The boys have been able to play with a freedom of expression that was somewhat missing during last season's pressure to ensure promotion.
“We're definitely ready, and the guys are up for it. The expectations might be slightly lower because of the step up, maybe we're not expected to be challenging at for promotion though we're not ruling anything out, but mid table consolidation is our primary objective and we'll go from there.”
In the time since MacKinnon was kind enough to speak to us, Villa have already began their foray into the NWCFL, running out 2-3 winners away from home against Bacup Borough. This sets the tone well for the club's season ambitions, which MacKinnon described as “to consolidate a solid, comfortable league position. We're not expecting to fighting relegation - we think we can more than hold our own and go from there. It's a huge new chapter in the club's evolution.”
In the NWCFL Division One North, Garstang will be as local as Euxton will travel, but they'll also be heading out as far as Barrow-in-Furness to visit NWCFL stalwarts Holker Old Boys. They'll be determined to put on a show every week and set an example for the community around the club, which MacKinnon knows the fundamentalisms of all too well.
“We have a very strong backroom staff of volunteers, they're so gratuitous despite there being no pay, which is seen quite a bit at this level.” That, and the fact that Euxton Villa have over 40 teams in their name, which is “part of the driving force (to succeed). We want to inspire the kids to look at us and see a pathway into semi-pro football.”
We wish Euxton Villa all the best for the 2022/23 campaign!
Welcome, Euxton Villa!
Tue 2nd August 2022 | Announcements
By Jay Cooper
It's a warm welcome to the NWCFL pyramid to Euxton Villa, who earned themselves a spot in Division One North after securing promotion from the West Lancashire League in 2021/22.
The West Lancashire League setup has been where Villa have called home for a consistently successful 20 years, having only finished outside of the top 10 in 2 of those seasons - 04/05 (their first season in the Premier Division), and 09/10. Now, they finally make the step up to join the NWCFL after a 3rd-placed finish last campaign.
Speaking to club secretary Hugh MacKinnon, he talked about how fondly he will look back on the club's time in the West Lancashire League. “It was a very big step to move into that league from the Preston and District football league – it meant there was a lot more travelling. We made the on-pitch transition really well, winning back to back promotions, and we played some great football along the way. It was a great experience and it really helped the club and everybody involved with development.”
MacKinnon, like everyone else at the Jim Fowler Memorial Ground, knows that this transition may not be so simple. However, he's heaped praise on his players and believes that this is a step that they're ready to take. “We've had lots of pre-season games and the lads have done very well against good opposition. We've really held our own in games, including beating a very good Runcorn Linnets team. The boys have been able to play with a freedom of expression that was somewhat missing during last season's pressure to ensure promotion.
“We're definitely ready, and the guys are up for it. The expectations might be slightly lower because of the step up, maybe we're not expected to be challenging at for promotion though we're not ruling anything out, but mid table consolidation is our primary objective and we'll go from there.”
In the time since MacKinnon was kind enough to speak to us, Villa have already began their foray into the NWCFL, running out 2-3 winners away from home against Bacup Borough. This sets the tone well for the club's season ambitions, which MacKinnon described as “to consolidate a solid, comfortable league position. We're not expecting to fighting relegation - we think we can more than hold our own and go from there. It's a huge new chapter in the club's evolution.”
In the NWCFL Division One North, Garstang will be as local as Euxton will travel, but they'll also be heading out as far as Barrow-in-Furness to visit NWCFL stalwarts Holker Old Boys. They'll be determined to put on a show every week and set an example for the community around the club, which MacKinnon knows the fundamentalisms of all too well.
“We have a very strong backroom staff of volunteers, they're so gratuitous despite there being no pay, which is seen quite a bit at this level.” That, and the fact that Euxton Villa have over 40 teams in their name, which is “part of the driving force (to succeed). We want to inspire the kids to look at us and see a pathway into semi-pro football.”
We wish Euxton Villa all the best for the 2022/23 campaign!
