West Manchester
Full nameWest Manchester F.C.
Nickname(s)The West[1]
Founded1884
Dissolved1897
GroundBrooks Bar

West Manchester was an English association club based in Manchester.

History

The club was founded in 1884, out of a bicycle club that was based at Brooks Bar.[2] The club was a founder member of the Manchester Football Association.[3] The club's first reported match was a 3–3 draw against Haughton Dale in October 1884.[4]

Manchester Senior Cup success

1886–87 Manchester Senior Cup Final, West Manchester 2–1 Newton Heath, Athletic News, 26 April 1887

In 1887 the club won the Manchester Senior Cup. The club twice had to replay ties which it had won. In the first round, West beat Denton F.C. 2–0, in extra time, before 5,000 spectators at Brooks Bar.[5] A replay was ordered (presumably because of this extra-time period) at Pendleton Olympic[6] and this time West won 3–0.[7]

In the second round, the club beat Manchester F.C. 5–2, [8] but was disqualified because some of its players did not meet residency requirements;[9] on appeal, the Manchester FA ordered a replay. Manchester F.C. refused to participate,[10] so the West went through to the quarter-final, beating Stalybridge St George's 14–0.[11]

West Manchester then beat Hurst 2–0 in the semi,[12] the result considered "a bit of a fluke",[13] before coming from behind to beat Newton Heath 2–1 in the final with goals from Tomlinson and Bolton, in what was both considered a surprise and against the run of play.[14]

FA Cup and Lancashire League

The following season the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, drawn away to Fleetwood Rangers in the first round; at 3pm, the time of the scheduled kick-off, the club had not arrived, so Fleetwood kicked off, scored, and claimed the tie.[15] West Manchester arrived at 4pm and the Rangers agreed to play, but only under protest as they had already claimed the tie. The point was moot as Rangers came from behind to win 4–1.[16]

It was the club's only appearance in the main draw of the competition. In the 1888–89 FA Cup qualifying rounds, the club appeared to have caused a major shock, by beating Bolton Wanderers (albeit a reserve side)[17] in the second round; the match had ended 0–0, but the referee ordered the clubs to play 30 minutes' extra-time, and called it off because of darkness after 24, with West Manchester 1–0 up. Bolton protested, chiefly on the grounds that the reason for the match not finishing was due to West Manchester's late arrival, and the FA ordered a replay at Bolton.[18] At the second time of asking, Wanderers won 9–0,[19] although this time West also sent its "Swifts" (reserve) side, as, like the Wanderers, the first XI was engaged in league action.[20]

When the Football League, the Combination, and the Football Alliance all started, West Manchester did not apply to join any of them, unlike rival clubs Newton Heath and Ardwick. As both clubs were accepted into national competitions, West Manchester focussed on the regional game, and joined the Lancashire League. The club rarely finished in the top half[21] and with the focus on the national game, playing in a regional league as a professional club proved impossible. In its final season (1896–97) the club struggled to field a team - in the final match, with Stockport County, West Manchester could only field 10 men.[22]

After one final friendly match,[23] post to the club secretary was being returned as unclaimed,[24] and the club was de facto defunct.

Colours

The club originally played in white.[25] By 1893 it had adopted red and white stripes.[26]

Ground

The club remained at Brooks Bar in Whalley Range[27] for its entire existence.[28]

References

  1. ↑ "West Manchester v Denton". Manchester Courier: 7. 16 November 1891.
  2. ↑ "report". Manchester Courier: 3. 30 August 1884.
  3. ↑ "Football Notes". Manchester Courier: 3. 15 September 1884.
  4. ↑ "West Manchester v Haughton Dale". Manchester Courier: 3. 20 October 1884.
  5. ↑ "Manchester & District Cup Competition". Manchester Courier: 3. 14 February 1887.
  6. ↑ "Football". Manchester Courier: 3. 17 February 1887.
  7. ↑ "Manchester & District Cup Competition". Manchester Courier: 3. 21 February 1887.
  8. ↑ "Manchester & District Cup". Manchester Courier: 3. 7 March 1887.
  9. ↑ "report". Manchester Courier: 3. 14 March 1887.
  10. ↑ "En passant". Athletic News: 1. 26 April 1887.
  11. ↑ "Football Notes". Manchester Courier: 3. 21 March 1887.
  12. ↑ "Manchester & District Cup Competition". Manchester Courier: 3. 28 March 1887.
  13. ↑ "En passant". Athletic News: 1. 26 April 1887.
  14. ↑ "Manchester & District Cup Competition Final". Manchester Courier: 7. 25 April 1887.
  15. ↑ At the time there was no law as to the minimum number of players required on the pitch.
  16. ↑ "report". Lancashire Evening Post: 3. 15 October 1887.
  17. ↑ "En passant". Athletic News: 1. 30 October 1888.
  18. ↑ "The English Cup". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette: 3. 3 November 1888.
  19. ↑ "English Cup". Lancashire Evening Post: 3. 10 November 1888.
  20. ↑ "Sporting intelligence". Manchester Courier - Monday: 3. 12 November 1888.
  21. ↑ "West Manchester". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  22. ↑ "Lancashire League". Guardian: 7. 12 April 1897.
  23. ↑ "Miscellaneous". Middleton Guardian: 6. 24 April 1897.
  24. ↑ James, Gary (2020). The Emergence of Footballing Cultures. Manchester University Press. p. 151.
  25. ↑ James, Gary (2020). The Emergence of Footballing Cultures. Manchester University Press. p. 118.
  26. ↑ "Answers to correspondence". Athletic News: 4. 20 November 1893.
  27. ↑ Ordnance Survey. "Lancashire CIV.14". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  28. ↑ "Oldham County v West Manchester". Manchester Courier: 10. 3 October 1896.
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