Cheadle Town 2-2 AFC Blackpool

The worst of starts; (almost) the best of endings.

Seven minutes in and you'd be forgiven for thinking that we'd got this all terribly wrong. Two goals down and looking very rocky, giving away possession cheaply and in dangerous areas.

Blackpool's two goals came in quick succession on the 5th and 7th minutes. For the first one, possession was lost in midfield with their no8 - Ben Fishwick - roaming forward and unleashing a rising shot from 20 yards out that beat Danny Whiting.

Two minutes later an errant leg in the penalty box from Joe Nield gave Blackpool the chance to extend their lead from the spot, a chance that Duffield took.

And oddly enough that was pretty much it in terms of clear-cut chances from either side until much later on in the half. As already alluded to we weren't up to much, mis-placing passes and generally "not getting going".

Our first shot on target didn't come until the stroke of half-time but it was one that gave us a key foothold in the game for two reasons....

Firstly, it resulted in AFC Blackpool going down to ten men as their defender superbly blocked a Luke Cotton effort on the line with his hand and secondly, as you can probably guess, the resulting penalty was coolly stroked home; Liam Delaney doing the honours in what is turning out to be a rare month for him.

The entire second half didn't deviate from one set pattern: Cheadle trying to lay siege to the AFC Blackpool goal with the latter attempting to nick an extra goal on the break.

Callum Collinson called the keeper into action early doors as his awkward swinging cross from the right had to be tipped over the bar and then Rick Whyatt was in on goal from close range on 55 minutes and looked set to poke home but was denied by an excellent block by the keeper.

The AFC Blackpool rearguard finally caved in on 76 minutes with Rick bagging his 19th of the season, latching onto Callum Collinson's perfectly-squared ball to guide it home from close range.

A minute later Callum's teasing cross from the right looked set to be converted by the onrushing Whyatt or Sherrington but somehow neither of them made the final, telling touch.

With two minutes to go a free-kick from the left was met at the far post by Jake Ambrose who perhaps didn't quite get enough purchase on his header, allowing the keeper to make a vital save and push it onto the post.

That turned out to be the last chance of the match but not the last piece of the story as there was still time for AFC Blackpool to have another man sent off for a dangerous challenge on Tom Russell.

So, match that started off with us "taking the draw if you were offering it" and ending with us being disappointed with said draw. Just goes to show a lot can happen in 90 minutes.

Next up is a tricky-looking trip to promotion-chasing Litherland REMYCA this Saturday as the gruelling run-in starts. Hold on to your hats.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Dunn, Delaney (Russell), Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Wood, Cotton (Ambrose), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Farrow). SUBS: Russell, Ambrose, Farrow, Piggott (gk)

Cheadle Town 1-1 Northwich Victoria (lost 3-4 on penalties)

The ultimate in heartbreaking ways to lose a cup tie...but what else can you do when it's a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes?

If this was a league match then both sides would have been happy with the draw. Alas, this is the Macron League Cup and, with extra time not an option, the lottery from 12 yards kicked in.

Vics arguably had the better of the first half and could have gone into the break holding a lead.

They forced Danny Whiting into a very good stop as early as the 3rd minute and he was there again at the near post on 18 minutes to block an effort after their no10 had cut inside from the right.

They had another excellent chance on the 25th minute when their no9 received a square pass inside and was completely unmarked with only Danny Whiting to beat; fortunately for us he took far too long deciding what to do and could only spoon his shot over the bar.

Apart from Joe Shaw heading a Liam Delaney free kick just wide that was pretty much it in terms of action in the first half. A howling, swirling wind was playing havoc - carrying through balls, holding up passes, blowing throw-ins out of touch - and ruining any chances of any flow in the game.

Danny Whiting was on-hand to claw the ball from underneath his crossbar after said wind had caught hold of a lofted Vics free-kick early in the second half with James Dunn's wild lash over the bar the only next significant piece of action a good bit later.

On the 68th minute the game suddenly came to life.

Rick Whyatt gathered the ball in midfield and pressed forward, evading challenges on his way before drilling home from the edge of the area to give us the lead.

It didn't last long.

A minute later a long throw-in was only cleared as far as the edge of the area where Vics' Oliver Walker was waiting to rifle home.

Pushing for the winner we had the better chances in the closing stages of the match.

On the 78th minute a lovely move ended with Rick Whyatt shooting wide when in a good posotion with a neat combination between Mssrs Collinson and Cotton resulting in the latter cracking a well-placed shot off the crossbar.

In stoppage time a short corner to Joe Nield was clipped over to the far post for a waiting Joe Shaw but he hacked his effort wide, sending our hopes of nicking this cup tie with it and us facing the prospect of a penalty shoot-out.

Our woeful record in shoot-outs was to continue as Vics ran out 4-3 winners in the lottery and booked themselves a place in the quarter-finals. This is how the shoot-out went:

0-1: Northwich Victoria score
1-1: Cheadle score, Liam Delaney
1-2: Northwich Victoria score
2-2: Cheadle score, Joe Nield
2-3: Northwich Victoria score
2-3: Cheadle miss, Callum Collinson hits the crossbar
2-3: Northwich Victoria miss, penalty blazed over the bar
3-3: Cheadle score, Rick Whyatt
3-4: Northwich Victoria score
3-4: Cheadle miss, Robert Brocklehurst's penalty is saved

No rest for the wicked. We make the long trip up to Holker Old Boys this Saturday....

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Dunn (Ambrose), Wood (Brocklehurst), Cotton, Whyatt, C Sherrington (Collinson). SUBS: Ambrose, Allcock (gk), Collinson, Farrow, Brocklehurst.

Cheadle Town 4-1 Bacup Borough

Whyatt, Ratican, Whyatt, Ratican.

If, like me, you have a slight case of OCD then that lovely little symmetrical sequence will push your button in a kind of way.

That's how the scoring pattern panned out last night as we comfortably saw off Bacup Borough. All four goals were wonderfully taken and whilst we are right to heap praise on our goalscoring duo, the support act wasn't bad either.

Whatever Liam Delaney had for his dinner last night worked wonders as he was spraying passes around for fun in the first half and Mssrs Nield and Dunn had excellent shifts on our flanks.

Luke Cotton - desperately unlucky not to have scored, it has to be said - was the first to show as he raced clear with just a minute gone only for the Bacup keeper to get a vital touch to his shot and deflect it wide of the post.

On the 11th minute we took the lead. A delicious cross from the right by Liam Delaney found the head of Rick Whyatt in the area who thumped a header off the underside of the crossbar with the keeper rooted to his spot.

On 21 minutes Bacup had a chance to equalise but Danny Whiting made an excellent stop to deny their no10 after he had sprinted clear on the right.

Just two minutes later a Joe Nield shot deflected straight into the path of Luke Cotton but he was to be denied once again as his effort was nicked wide.

On the half-hour mark, a case of deja-vu.

Tom Ratican was sent clear down the left but, perhaps with too much time to think, planted his effort harmlessly into the keeper's midriff. Just in case you had missed that by gazing up at the passing aircraft he was put in exactly the same position again 30 seconds later.

There was a different outcome this time as he nudged the ball past the onrushing keeper with a lovely delicate flick of his right foot to give us a 2-0 lead.

Just before half-time Liam Delaney sent in a piledriver from 30 yards out that forced a great save by the keeper before an equally impressive shot gave us a 3-0 lead moments later.

Latching onto a lofted through ball, Rick Whyatt tussled with a Bacup defender and seemed to have lost control of it thanks to an unfortunate ricochet; in the blink of an eye he then unleashed a vicious, dipping 20-yarder that sailed in under the crossbar.

It took a matter of seconds after half-time for us to carry on where we left off and if Luke Cotton needed any indication that this wasn't going to be his night then his header that hit the crossbar with the goal gaping should have been enough.

Bacup, who surely must have been on the end of an ear-bending from manager Brent Peters, came out much brighter in the second half and forced Danny Whiting into holding a fierce drive on 47 minutes.

They then side-footed wide when in a good position following some good work down the left with Rick Whyatt firing just over on the hour mark and a Chris Sherrington drilled cross having nobody to touch it home.

With 70 minutes gone we sealed the deal for sure following a lovely move that was started in midfield by Liam Delaney and ended by Tom Ratican advancing on goal and sliding home for his second of the night.

And that was pretty much that where chances were concerned, bar Bacup's consolation on 82 minutes when Bryan stormed through on the right and stabbed home.

That was only our third league win at home all season but, with a lot more home matches yet to come, repeat performances like this one will ensure that particular tally is improved upon before the season is out.

Next up is a tricky away-day at an in-form Cammell Laird this Saturday.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Dunn, Wood (Fleming), Cotton (Farrow), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Collinson). SUBS: Collinson, Fleming, Farrow, Allcock (gk).

Buildbase Club Renovation Programme 2018

Cheadle Town FC have been shortlisted as one of the clubs who are in with a chance of receiving a bursary as part of the Buildbase Club Renovation Programme for 2018.

Ourselves and five other non-league clubs will now “play off” against each other for a 50/50 share of the 2018 £100k product bursary for club improvements.

The six teams – playing in either The Buildbase FA Trophy or The Buildbase FA Vase competitions – will now pitch their plans to a panel of judges at Wembley Stadium on 29th March.

Two winning teams will each walk away with a £50,000 product bursary which includes building, electrical and hire products for their local club facilities.

The clubs selected as finalists by Buildbase and The FA, chosen from a total of 57 applications from around the country are ourselves, Dunkirk and Leicester Road from The Buildbase FA Vase and Lincoln United, Ashford United and Needham Market from The Buildbase FA Trophy.

For the application process, each of the clubs outlined their proposed renovation plans if successful in the competition which include clubhouse extensions, pitch improvements, creating facilities for disabled people and installing new fencing.

We were pipped to the post by Cleethorpes Town last season so it is second time lucky for us.

Wish us luck!

Sandbach United 4-1 Cheadle Town

Damn you, half-time.

There we were, taking good care of ourselves, level at 1-1 and enjoying the lion's share of the ball when you had to come along and completely disrupt our momentum, so much so that our second half performance was as woeful as it gets thus allowing our opponents to run away with the match.

We started the first half terribly, allowing Sandbach's Jordan Davies to poke home under Whiting's body from the edge of the area after just two minutes but then got a real foothold, going so far as to earn ourselves a penalty just four minutes later.

Not for the first time this season the ultimate golden opportunity from twelve yards wasn't converted but you can't really blame Chris Sherrington; he drilled hard and low down to the corner but was thwarted by an excellent stop from the keeper.

Unperturbed we drove on. Rick Whyatt netted on 17 minutes after a clever knock-down by Luke Cotton but it was given as offside before Luke himself would draw us level ten minutes later, lashing home after a Pearson free-kick from the right had deflected into his path.

Two minutes later a superb cross-field pass from Liam Delaney found Callum Collinson on the right whose cross was narrowly clipped over by the onrushing Rick Whyatt before Rick got his head onto another cross just before half-time, heading just over this time around.

In the second half Sandbach really started to trouble us down their own right-hand side.

Danny Whiting had to palm away a whipped cross just three minutes into the restart with him then making a world-class stop to tip over a fierce drive from the edge of the area on the 55th minute.

On the hour mark Sandbach hit the post after cutting in from the right and leaving Whiting rooted to the spot with the shot with them then taking the lead just a minute later.

Sandbach's Jordan Davies went down the right and evaded a number of challenges, leaving him free to square the ball where Luke Walley was waiting for an easy tap-in.

With 75 minutes gone Sandbach got a penalty of their own which James Kirby slotted home.

Danny Whiting then had to beat away another drive from the right before a carbon-copy of Sandbach's second goal - same scorer and all - put the tie well-and-truly out of reach on 80 minutes.

Annoyingly we don't have a match this weekend to put things right. We'll just have to wait for the visit of Eccleshall next Wednesday evening. Rain, rain, stay away....

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Pearson, Delaney, Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Wood, Cotton, Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Gardiner, Ambrose, Dunn, Ratican, Allcock (gk).

Alsager Town 1-4 Cheadle Town

From the ridiculous to the sublime.

With some players missing - one of which our leading goalscorer - and facing a trip to a difficult Alsager Town outfit those of a gambling persuasion may have been tempted to put their collective mortgages on yet another defeat.

Alas, in keeping with our half-decent away record this season - that's now a massive 70% of our league points amassed away from Park Road - we put in a measured performance and ran away comfortable, and deserved, winners.

This was a passion play with many acts where the passion from certain elements was misguided at times. More of that later.

Act One: Danny Whiting, He Of Safe Hand

It's fair to say that Danny Whiting had a very busy opening half hour, keeping us within reach of the match with some quality stops.

The start was a tad ring-rusty, mind, as confusion betwixt him and Joe Shaw with only three minutes gone almost let an Alsager forward through but thankfully he lobbed his effort over the bar.

Joe Shaw had to get a great last-ditch tackle in a few minutes later but it was on the turning of the 20th minute that Danny Whiting was repeatedly called into action.

He made a superb one-handed stop to deny their no11 and then did very well to alter his direction to block a deflected effort moments later.

He then palmed away a close-range header from a corner and was glad to see the loose ball blazed over his bar from a yard out, before managing to claw a well-struck free-kick around the post.

Act Two: The Turning Of The Screw

In amongst Alsager's attempts to keep Danny Whiting warm, we had our own little moments that suggested that we weren't going to be left out-of-sight in this match.

Luke Cotton, leading the front in the absence of Rick Whyatt, got his head onto an arrowed cross from Joe Nield on 12 minutes, sending his looping effort just over the bar. He got his head to another cross - a searching one from Luke Pearson this time - to force a great save from the Alsager keeper.

Five minutes before half-time we got the breakthrough.

Some great hold-up play by Jake Ambrose on the edge of the area was rewarded as he laid it off for an onrushing Callum Collinson to drive home from around 20 yards out.

Would the half-time break disrupt our momentum?

No. Just one minute into the restart Jake Ambrose was in on the right but saw his effort blocked.

Sixty seconds later and he would be in again, collecting the ball on the edge of the area from a free-kick, turning neatly, and finishing from inside the box.

Add another sixty seconds. We are awarded a penalty for which Luke Pearson steps up, only for him to plant it over the bar.

This gives Alsager a little bit of hope and they go on to have a decent spell around the hour mark. Danny Whiting has to come out to bravely gather the ball at a player's feet, Alsager actually net but it is given offside and Whiting is on-hand again, pushing a curling effort around the post.

But then on 72 minutes we re-seize the initiative.

Luke Cotton managed to round the keeper (after he had made a poor kick) but pushed the ball a little too wide for him to make anything of it before the next phase of play saw us take a 3-0 lead; Chris Sherrington's cross-shot from the left evading everybody and finding its way to the corner of the net. I had initially given Luke Cotton the goal on Twitter as I thought he got a touch to it but alas not. Sorry Luke.

On 82 minutes Chris Sherrington netted again but with a more deliberate effort this time around. Callum Collinson's dinked cross from the right fell just at the height for him to unleash an unstoppable drive from the left.

Act Three: Minds Lost

We don't usually call out referees on here as they have a difficult enough job as it is but we are absolutely baffled by the decision he made - or didn't make - on the 90th minute mark following what appeared, and most certainly sounded, like an elbow/arm to Joe Nield's face.

What we thought would be the inevitable red card turned out to be a yellow, for both the accused and Joe Nield.

And then there was ex-Cheadle midfielder Matt German, whose tightly-coiled temperament was slowly starting to unravel. Our coaching staff's genuine attempts to calm him down were only met with shoves. We can only hope that the headed goal he got as consolation six minutes into injury time served as some sort of comfort.

Perhaps it was a good job that certain elements of Alsager's home "support" had drifted away by then because I'm not sure their close proximity to all of this would have helped.

At 0-2 down and facing a defeat their calls for their own players to, and we quote, "break the legs of" and "end the season of" Cheadle players could be heard loud and clear by myself and other members of the visiting Cheadle committee. An attitude like that isn't "football support" and those individuals are a disgrace and a tarnish on Alsager Town FC.

Anyhow. Our thanks to the good folk at Alsager Town - of which there are plenty - for their hospitality.

For us we look ahead to another home match this weekend as AFC Blackpool visit Park Road.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Pearson, Wood, Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Fleming (Delaney), Cotton (Ratican), Ambrose, C Sherrington. SUBS: Ratican, Delaney, Piggott (gk).

Cheadle Town 0-5 Litherland REMYCA

With Litherland REMYCA chasing Silsden down at the top of the table the "ask" was always going to be that little bit greater on this occasion; some NWCFL experts may have forseen a REMYCA win, therefore, but my God we didn't half make it easy for them.

At half-time we were still in this game by a long chalk. By the 71st minute we weren't.

A second half amalgam of mis-placed passes, easy surrender of possession and a pinch of rotten luck at times meant that REMYCA ran away with the match and then some.

And we had made a bright start with some promising forays into the REMYCA box, one as early as the first minute were Callum Collinson's whipped cross from the right caused mild panic in the REMYCA defence.

On the 9th minute Danny Whiting was called into action as he gathered a far post header following a free-kick from the left before the visitors then went ahead on the 12th minute; Colin Quirk - not for the first time at Park Road in REMYCA colours - arrowing one in from long range.

They were in again down the left on 21 minutes forcing Danny Whiting into another excellent stop before mild confusion reigned down the other end shortly afterwards; the referee had awarded a penalty whilst the linesman had given offside. Unfortunately for us the latter decision was upheld.

Just after the half-hour mark Adam Gardiner was slotted in on the right but his effort was blocked by the keeper before Danny Whiting was busy yet again down the other end, fumbling an effort from a corner and breathing a sigh of relief when it was hacked off the line just in time.

Danny's legs would save us again on the stroke of half-time.

Any hopes of us "still being in this match" were swept away in the space of 14 minutes.

On 57 minutes Colin MacDonald ploughed (the pitch had really cut up by then) his way through the middle via various attempts to stop him before rounding Whiting for an easy finish.

He was through again four minutes later but lobbed his effort wide.

Another two minutes later and REMYCA got their third thanks to that pinch of luck I referred to earlier. A long range effort was deflected out to the right to one of their players, catching our back line flat-footed, where he had all the time in the world to cross for Paul Foy to head home from close range.

Number four came on 71 minutes. As their no11 went down the right he was met by a tackle. Unfortunately it didn't quite do the job as the ricochet off his legs fell perfectly for him and he was able to continue his run on goal and finish.

Danny Whiting came up with another excellent stop to prevent a fifth on 78 minutes but couldn't do anything to stop a heavy defeat become a hammering on 86 minutes when a corner in from the right hit the back of one of our defenders and fell straight to Paul Foy who emphatically slammed home.

In between those two goals Rick Whyatt had stabbed wide after getting on the end of a Danny Wood cross.

Not the best of nights on not the best of surfaces. Again, kudos to our groundsman Phil Mottershead for getting the game on as it was touch-and-go at lunchtime thanks to small areas of standing water.

That's two consecutive home matches without scoring and still only two league wins at Park Road all season. Next up is Alsager Town.

Away. Hurrah.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican, Trucca (Delaney), Fleming, Harrison, Collinson (Dunn), Kilheeney, Gardiner (Wood), Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Wood, Delaney, Dunn, Shaw, Allcock (gk).

Cheadle Town 0-2 New Mills

A harsh lesson in what happens when you don't take your chances.

They were at a premium throughout the whole of this, you could argue, turgid affair but when they fell to us we snatched at them, when they fell to New Mills they put them both away.

We started brightly enough and could have gone a goal ahead within the first minute. James Dunn's cross from the right almost met by Rick Whyatt but he was just beaten to it by the Millers keeper.

Four minutes later and Rick finds the ball at his feet on the edge of the area but his side-footed effort is weak and is easily gathered by the keeper.

And then that was pretty much that until the 29th minute when another gilt-edged chance came our way. A neat move saw the ball headed across the face of goal and right onto the feet of Adam Gardiner who looked set to blast home but was denied by an excellent point-blank stop.

On the stroke of half-time Rick Whyatt had another opportunity but snatched at his shot when well-positioned on the right of the area and sent it wide.

So, we had started okay but faded badly as the second half got under way, only registering one decent effort with seen minutes to go as Luke Pearson blazed over after another searching James Dunn cross from the right.

By then we were chasing the game as New Mills had nudged into a 1-0 lead thanks to Jack McConnell just before the hour mark, getting onto the end of a ball fired across the face of goal to tuck home at the far post.

Two minutes into injury time they repeated the medicine with exactly the same move; Ed Driver profiting this time to seal the points for the visitors.

And that's all there is to say about the match, to be honest. Not the best day at the office on the pitch although off it we did record a healthy crowd of 125; thank you to everybody who braved the cold to come and watch.

Onto Bacup this Thursday evening and a quick opportunity to put matters right.

TEAM: Whiting, Dunn, Pearson, Trucca (Wood), Shaw, Harrison, Ambrose, Fleming, Gardiner (Collinson), Whyatt, C Sherrington (Ratican), SUBS: Collinson, Ratican, Wood, Piggott (GK)

Cheadle Town 3-0 Cammell Laird

It was quite a day.

First of all we signed a deal that meant the future of the club is secured and then we went and put three goals past a Cammell Laird side that were doing rather well.

We hadn't kicked a ball in anger since the 1-4 home defeat to Whitchurch Alport at the start of December so we were desperate to get the game on. Kudos therefore to Phil, our groundsman, who worked very hard - in the face of some very trying weather the night before - to ensure that we had a game with which to end the calendar year.

The match itself took a full 20-odd minutes to get going.

Lairds had netted on the 14 minute mark but it was flagged offside and any forays that we were making into their box were thwarted by us being repeatedly caught offside.

And then, on 21 minutes, the breakthrough as the match suddenly woke up.

A bad clearance by the Lairds keeper was seized upon by Rick Whyattwho advanced on goal and only just managed to stick out a leg and slide it under the keeper just in time.

Three minutes later and the Lairds keeper made amends with a fantastic save, stretching out his right hand to stop Rick Whyatt's effort after he had connected with a through ball from Chris Sherrington.

Rick then threw a back-breaking shape to connect with a cross on 31 minutes only for it to be ruled offside. And that was pretty much that for the first half.

The second half started with Adam Gardiner curling an effort just inches wide of the post before Lairds then went in on the right and poked it just wide.

Then came a break in play that really seemed to upset our rhythm.

Chris Sherrington was unceremoniously upended by Lairds' no11 who received a red card for his efforts. The footballing lore of "it being harder to play against ten men" then kicked in as Lairds then threw the kitchen sink at us to try and snatch an equaliser.

The closest they came was in the 73rd minute. Not helped in the slightest by some sloppy defending from us, Danny Whiting was forced to get down low and quick to make an excellent block.

That seemed to serve as the turning point as it was Cheadle that carved out the better chances from that point forward, going on to win the match 3-0.

Adam Gardiner fizzed in a free-kick from the right on 76 minutes; all it needed was a touch!

Substitute Callum Collinson then threaded the ball through to Rick Whyatt but he couldn't dig the ball out from under his feet with James Dunn then finding himself all alone on the right of the area only to lash a tame shot straight into the keeper's arms.

As injury time loomed, we got our second thanks to substitute Collinson; seizing upon a slip by a Lairds defender on the edge of the area, he advanced on goal and slammed home the sealing goal.

There was time for one more. Collinson instrumental again, getting to the byline down the left and squaring for Rick Whyatt to tap home his second of the match with literally the last kick of the game.

Onto the Potteries we go this Saturday and an away trip to Abbey Hulton United. It's good to be playing football again after a weather-enforced hiatus.

Everybody connected with the club had a smile on their face and a spring in their step as they went about their duties today, be they on or off the pitch, as if a huge black cloud had been lifted from the club.

It felt good. And long may it continue.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Pearson, Trucca, Shaw, Harrison, Ambrose, Fleming, Gardiner, Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Collinson, Kilheeney, Dunn, Piggott (gk).

The Start of a New Era for Cheadle Town FC

At (approximately) 12.00noon on Saturday 30th December 2017 the course of Cheadle Town FC's future was altered.

After months and months of negotiation, meetings et al, the deal was signed by all members of the committee that meant Cheadle Town Football Club became part of the Little Sports Group. 

Craig Brennan (far left) with members of the committee after signing the deal

Ex-Cheadle Town player Craig Brennan is the CEO & Chairman of The Little Sports Group and has built a range of sports companies including children’s sports coaching, further education, junior football clubs and sports recruitment to name a few.

The benefits for the club are manyfold.

Better facilities at Park Road, a robust infrastructure, the integration of the current junior teams currently operated by the Little Sports Group and the introduction of a full-time education programme for their U18 squad- thus providing children with a direct path to a football club within the league pyramid; these are just a taste of what the future holds for Cheadle Town.

The change of ownership hasn't been without its complications, though.

You may notice that long-standing chairman Chris Davies is absent from the above picture.

The decision to make the change was voted-in as a majority back in mid-December. As a result of that Chris decided to resign with immediate effect, a decision which has disappointed and baffled the committee.

The club has a new custodian and its future is secure, something we honestly could not have declared if things hadn't have changed.

Exciting times lie ahead. We look forward to working with Craig and his Little Sports Group and watching the club evolve.

Craig (far left) with our current management team

Craig had the following to say:

“Cheadle Town is a club with a rich history, amazing staff & volunteers and so much potential. Today the hard work starts to take this club on the journey it deserves. After the performance today [3-0 win over Cammell Laird] I am confident we can have a strong finish to the season.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the committee, staff and volunteers for keeping the club going in a difficult few years, they have done an amazing job with very few resources! Now we move forward”

A Christmas Message

Before we go any further, all of the players, coaching staff and committee members at Cheadle Town FC would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Have a wonderful time with your friends and family and we hope Santa (of course he exists) brings you everything you wanted.

On a more serious note we'd like to reflect on the year that is about to check out and look forward to the one forthcoming.

The Stockport DFA Cup: all tucked up...and ours back in May

On the pitch it started with a fairly decent run of form (only one defeat in seven league matches), then a slump, and then a barnstorming finish to the 2016-17 season that saw five consecutive victories for our First XI and two cup finals for our Reserves, one of which would be fruitful as they defeated AFC Macclesfield 2-1 to pick up the Stockport DFA Cup.

Come the Presentation & Awards Evening in May all looked rosy and the mood was buoyant to say the least.

But then matters off the pitch intervened and the roof fell in.

A much-lauded trip to China fell through towards the end of May, the repercussions of which were fairly immediate and arguably were still being felt towards the end of the year.

Key players left, as did First Team Manager Terry Hincks and certain members of the committee were, to put it mildly, unhappy. Without divulging any further details, what was a steady ship had started to list severely in a short space of time.

By the time the new 2017-18 season started in August matters had been sorted. New First Team Manager Antony Trucca had done a sterling job of restructuring the squad and coaching setup, going on to make a half-decent start to the season with impressive wins at Oswestry Town and Sandbach United with us still in the First Division Trophy competition at the time of writing.

2018 will bring change for the club. No empty promises any more.

The club will evolve, will strengthen and will finally move its feet that have been stuck in the mud for far too long.

'Mon the Cheadle.

#CTFCv2

Stockport Town 2-2 Cheadle Town

So here it was. On a bitterly cold (and occasionally wet) Monday evening in Woodley, the game of the century. Massive. Huge. A "derby" to end all derbies. The result upon which your children's lives depended.

Okay, maybe that last bit is a bit far-fetched but the pre-match hyperbole was allowed to roam free yet again for a match where only three points were at stake. Nothing more, nothing less.

And even then those points ended up being shared, with the hosts being much happier with theirs than we were with ours.

Now that the dust has settled we can't help feeling that we somewhat let our hosts off the hook.

With their keeper sent off early in the second half and having to resort to putting an outfield player in there as a replacement, our siege on their goal didn't produce the win that it could have done.

We went into half-time a goal down after one of the seven ex-Cheadle Town players that our hosts had on their roster for the night had put them into an early lead: Justin Pickering bundling home from close range after Aaron Dwyer had drilled a low cross in from the right.

That was after just four minutes but there had been an effort for either side by then.

Danny Whiting had to make a good save with our hosts' first attack of the match with Rick Whyatt then being gifted a poor clearance by the keeper, only for him to snatch at his shot and send it hopelessly wide.

Our hosts arguably had slightly the better of the first half. Danny Whiting had to tip an awkward shot over the bar, Justin Pickering and Aaron Dwyer both lifted half-decent chances over the bar with Pickering then being sent through on goal on the stroke of half-time but quick-thinking on Danny Whiting's part forcing him wide.

Before the brouhaha of the sending off on the 50th minute Rick Whyatt had somehow planted an effort over from a yard out and Dwyer lashed a shot just wide down at the other end.

Rick Whyatt got a better chance on goal in that 50th minute but was completely taken out by the keeper when through on goal. Double jeopardy kicked in, off he went and a penalty was awarded which Chris Sherrington stroked home to bring us level.

Cue the siege.

Chris Sherrington couldn't quite get himself onto the end of a searching cross on 65 minutes with a Collinson header drifting just wide of the post five minutes later.

On 75 minutes, the sucker punch. Ex-Cheadle player Aaron Dwyer - who had caused us problems all night - clipping in a well-measured shot over Whiting to give the hosts an unexpected lead. 

Two minutes later it should have been level again. Substitute Adam Gardiner was clean through on goal but didn't quite get enough meat on the shot, allowing our hosts' makeshift keeper to make a block.

Rick Whyatt then headed over from close range, Chris Sherrington blasted over from the edge of the area as a corner fell to him with George Clarey then heading home only for it to be called offside.

With three minutes to go, we finally levelled it up. Adam Gardiner was through on goal once again, in exactly the same position as before but with a more productive result this time around as he poked the ball past the onrushing keeper.

And that was to be it in terms of chances, even despite there being seven minutes of added time.

As it transpired at the end of the match our very own Tom Ratican had to be taken to A&E as a precautionary measure due to suspected concussion. This was confirmed and he will be out for a week, but we're glad to say that he is back home with his feet up and resting.

Onto this weekend and, weather permitting, we welcome Whitchurch Alport to Park Road.

TEAM: Whiting, Nield, Ratican (Clarey), Trucca, Shaw, Harrison, Collinson, Fleming, Ambrose (Gardiner), Whyatt, C Sherrington. SUBS: Clarey, Gardiner, Plumb, Piggott (GK)