Northwich in trouble?

Mention of both Northwich Victoria and Horwich RMI reminds us how many clubs are products of the Victorian era and how they come to be afflicted by modern-day issues.

Northwich Victoria is one of the oldest clubs in the country dating from 1874. Not only did it play at the same ground - the Drill Field - from 1875 to 2002 but it was also a member of the Football League between 1892 and 1894.

I'm not against new grounds but I suspect Northwich is an example of when moving can go wrong. Spruce as it is, the Victoria Stadium is located in remote, soulless surroundings. I wonder if this affects the psyche?

I also wonder if the number of full-time professional clubs is an issue for clubs such as Northwich. I'm not old enough to remember Div 3N and Div 3S - the national Div 3(now Lge 1) and Div 4(Lge 2) didn't happen until 1958 - but, from the 1970s onwards, I recall pundits saying the change had been a mistake. Then the case was argued for regionalised, part-time football from the third tier downwards. With the economic situation this is something we could hear again. I thought the arguments made sense then but, now, I'm not sure. Had the game gone this way we could have found TUFC dropping from what was (effectively) the old Div 3S to a souped-up version of Conference South.

Anyway the foundation of the national Alliance Premier League (now the BSP) in 1979 bucked that argument meaning regionalised football now doesn't start until the sixth tier. For many years it was a semi-pro league. Now, partly because of the presence of so many ex-Football League clubs, it is predominantly a pro league. There's plenty of room for a certain number of pro clubs but maybe not 24 of them. This makes it difficult for the Northwichs.

Horwich Railway Mechanics Institute was a product of a late Victorian working-class industrialised community. Horwich, not far from Bolton's Reebok Stadium, built railway locomotives and mechanics institutes were the focus of social, cultural, educational and sporting life in such communities.

The club's problems began with the transplant to Leigh in the mid 1990s. The old ground in Horwich was inadequate and vandalised but the move to Leigh, seven or eight miles away, made little sense especially as it involved crossing the line into rugby league territory. The club found itself playing at a rugby league ground, in a town with little soccer tradition, carrying the name Leigh RMI (it being quite probable that Leigh had never possessed a railway mechanics institute). At first it was a successful move with Leigh quickly reaching the Conference (finishing 5th in the first season). Then things fell away with some Conference crowds numbering no more than 200.

The club is now two levels below the Conference playing under the name of Leigh Genesis at various grounds in the North West (in towns so far off the Leigh radar that they might as well be Moretonhampstead). This has partly happened because of a new ground saga - the club is due to share a new stadium in Leigh with the rugby league club (and blames Wigan council for much of the current crisis) - and partly due to owner vanity. In this case an IT whizz purchased the club, changed the name and employed full-time professionals in the hope of a speedy move to the new Leigh Sports Village. All this at the same level in the pyramid as Tiverton - with smaller support! The chairman has now buggered off - blaming all and sundry - and extinction beckons.

Lastly a gem: Northwich Victoria v Oldham Athletic, FA Cup 4th Round 1977. Played as a Northwich home game at Maine Road in front of 28,635 (I was there).