It may be a small town in Greater Manchester in the shadow of the Pennines, but Mossley’s football club has played a role in the careers of two significant figures at the FA as well as several successful runs through the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup. An interesting part of this project is looking at the detail, or not, of grassroots football club websites. The history pages of the Mossley site looks a real labour of love as it includes: titles and trophies won and finals reached, including a Wembley appearance in 1980 in the FA Trophy; complete stats and results from all matches since 1909; player and manager biographies and photos from as far back as 1919, the year the club turned professional; a kit, programme and stadium picture history; and match reports since 2001. It’s very impressive.
Of particular interest to me is the page charting their FA Cup history and for a time in the late seventies and early eighties Mossley made several appearances in the ‘First Round Proper’, but rarely have they progressed further. You can read the full story here should you wish. I’ve picked a few which caught my eye.
“Mossley’s first flirtation with FA Cup success came in their second season in the competition in 1949 when after battling through the qualifying rounds they faced Witton Albion in the first round proper. A solitary goal by winger Len Moss earned the Lilywhites a second round tie at Southern League giants Nuneaton Borough. A special train ran from Mossley to Nuneaton and over 1,000 supporters travelled to the midlands for the game which ended goalless. The following Saturday the replay at Seel Park saw star player Jack Shaw struggling with a flu bug. Such was his influence on the side he played anyway but struggled as the side went down 3-0.” 2020 Covid Britain feels like such a different time.
Mossley would have to wait 20 years to taste the first round again. A draw away at Stockport saw them lose the replay, but what caught my eye here is that the game was played on a Tuesday afternoon.
This story has a couple of examples of star names continuing their careers at a lower level. In 1979 Mossley came up against Leeds United legend Peter Lorimer as they lost to his York City side. The following season Mike Summerbee, famous for tearing down the wing for Manchester City and England was in the Mossley team as they faced Crewe. It was his corner that set up the match-winning goal. Club history was made that day as it remains their only victory over league opposition. They fell at the next hurdle in a home defeat to Mansfield Town.
Before Mike Summerbee a subsequently more famous name graced the Seel Park pitch. Howard Wilkinson spent part of the 1976-77 season as player manager of Mossley, making 30 appearances and scoring once. This included a nineteen game unbeaten run and victory in the Manchester Senior Cup. He left to join the FA before time at Nots County was followed by success getting Sheffield Wednesday promoted to Division 1 in the mid-80s. He remains the only English manager to win the Premier League as his Leeds team took the first title of the rebranded competition in 1992, and he’d take charge of the national side in the wake of departures of Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan.
But there is a bigger name yet to come. Sir Walter Winterbottom, who was also recognised with an OBE and CBE, led England as Manager to four World Cups between 1950 and 1962. His time with the FA saw him set up the England youth and Under 23 teams. Before the Second World War he’d spent a season with Mossley before the talent scouts at Manchester United spotted his promise.
Glory Hunting 