Statistics

Match Summary
Biggest Home Win	4-1	21/10/23 v Barnoldswick Town (Premier Division)
Biggest Away Win	3-0	12/03/24 v Irlam (Premier Division)
Biggest Home Defeat	0-6	18/08/23 v Nantwich Town (The Emirates F.A Cup) 21/11/23 v Colne (Premier Division)
Biggest Away Defeat	1-10	27/01/24 v Bury (Premier Division)
Highest Drawn Home Game	3-3	11/11/23 v Chadderton (Premier Division)
Highest Drawn Away Game	2-2	18/11/23 v Pilkington (Premier Division) 23/09/23 v Runcorn Town (The Isuzu FA Vase) 13/02/24 v Burscough (Premier Division)
Highest Aggregate Home Scoreline	8	2-6 26/09/23 v Ramsbottom United (Premier Division)
Highest Aggregate Away Scoreline	11	1-10 27/01/24 v Bury (Premier Division)

 

Season at a Glance
	Home		Away		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Played	27		25		52
Won	8	29.63%	3	12.00%	11	21.15%
Drawn	3	11.11%	3	12.00%	6	11.54%
Lost	16	59.26%	19	76.00%	35	67.31%
Scored	32	1.19	32	1.28	64	1.23
Conceded	66	2.44	81	3.24	147	2.83

 

Progression in Cup Competitions
No cup fixtures known at present

 

Home Attendance Summary
Average Attendance	27 games	182

 

Number of Games Since
Last Win	2 games
Last Defeat	0 games
Goalless Draw	121 games
Score Draw	7 games
Scored A Goal	2 games
Fail To Score	0 games
Clean Sheet	4 games

 

Scored / Conceded This Season
	Scored		Conceded
	#	%	#	%
None	13	25.00%	6	11.54%
One	20	38.46%	9	17.31%
Two	14	26.92%	9	17.31%
Three	4	7.69%	16	30.77%
Four	2	3.85%	4	7.69%
Five or more	0	0.00%	9	17.31%

 

When the Goals Went In
	For		Against		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
0-15	7	11.11%	14	0.00%	7	3.33%
16-30	12	19.05%	20	13.61%	32	15.24%
31-45	10	15.87%	24	16.33%	34	16.19%
46-60	8	12.70%	26	17.69%	34	16.19%
61-75	13	20.63%	30	20.41%	43	20.48%
76-90	13	20.63%	33	22.45%	46	21.90%
90-105	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
105-120	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%

 

History

Skelmersdale United Football Club has a very rich pedigree with an extensive list of honours since we were founded in 1882. The Club had its genesis in a team of players brought together by the teachers of the Skelmersdale Wesleyan Day School and was originally called Skelmersdale Young Rovers. The name was then changed to Skelmersdale Wesleyans but subsequently the minister expressed his disapproval and the team became Skelmersdale United.

United have had a long and varied past, playing at the Sandy Lane Ground in the early part of the 20th Century, we competed in the Liverpool County Combination, winning the title on ten occasions, also claiming the Liverpool County Cup eight times and the George Mahon Cup on five occasions.

We moved to our spiritual home, White Moss Park in 1957 and progression to the Lancashire Combination saw us clinch the Division Two title in our first season.

Steady progress was made in the Combination as United became a force to be reckoned with. Chairman Bill Gregson had a dream to make progress in the Amateur Cup and with the appointment of Manager Bernie Banks in 1966 he saw United become one of the most respected non league sides in the Country reaching a first Wembley final in 1967. After drawing 0-0 against Enfield beneath the Twin Towers, United lost the replay at Maine Road 3-0. Unperturbed, Gregson led us to two more semi finals in the following three years.

The Appointment of Roy Rees in 1970 saw an all-conquering side finally return to Wembley this time emerging victorious as Dagenham were comprehensively outplayed in the final. A Ted Dicken hat trick giving United a 4-1 win.

One of the everlasting memories of the successful Amateur Cup days was the tremendous support the club attracted. Crowds between 1,000 and 1,500 were the norm for league games, and this rose to several thousand for cup games. The record gate saw 7,500 fans pack into the ground to witness a 1-0 quarter final victory over Slough Town in March 1967.

The Amateur Cup was not United’s only success in the late 60’s and early 70’s, as our roll of Honour included two Cheshire League titles, two Lancashire Cup wins. two Cheshire League Shield wins and three appearances in the 1st Round of the FA Cup.

There is no doubt that the 1967-1971 period was a golden era for Skelmersdale United with many players progressing into the Football League. Steve Heighway, Mickey Burns, Norman Whitehead, Dave Moorcroft and Alan Mansley are amongst those who made the step up to league football.

The club joined the Northern Premier League in 1971 but it was to be an unhappy time bringing financial problems that the club would have hanging round its neck for the next two decades. Performances on the pitch too were less than impressive and we had to wait till 2000 to claim our next piece of silverware, The North West Counties League Cup.

We left our beloved White Moss Park in 2002 and eventually moved to the newly named Westgate Interactive Stadium (Stormy Corner). Our fortunes changed becoming a potent force in the North West Counties, eventually gaining promotion to the Northern Premier League in 2006 and enjoying the success that followed.
From that platform 'Skem' went onto more trophies winning the Lancashire Cup in 2009, the Northern Premier League North in 2012-13 and the Liverpool Senior Cup in 2015 under the guidance of mercurial manager Tommy Lawson.

However success could not be maintained and with eviction from Stormy Corner we found ourselves homeless and back in the North West Counties as Manager Paul McNally looked to re build the club whilst it played out of town in Prescot.

A return home to JMO Sports Park was briefly interrupted by the COVID pandemic, but after the return of normal football, McNally's team started to earn itself a reputation for fast-flowing, exciting football.
In the 2020-21 season we made headline news as we battled through to the 1st Round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1971. The club even featured live on BT Sports, going down to Harrogate 4-1

Skem were involved in a rip-roaring battle for the 2021-22 NWCFL Premier Division title with big spending Macclesfield. United eventually had to settle for second and a play-off place against Cinderford Town of the Hellenic League but on the day Utd ran out emphatic 5-1 winners to earn a place back in the Northern Premier League.

Last season got off to a nightmare start with United forced to leave the town once more and play its fixtures at Burscough FC due to pitch issues at the JMO. Things got worse as Paul McNally left for pastures new and steadily took most of his promotion winning squad with him.

We turned to popular ex-player Richard Brodie to steady the ship and along with our talisman flying winger and skipper Elliot Morris ended our first season back at the higher level in a creditable 11th spot.
Sadly the ground grading hoo-doo struck the club once again in the summer as its current home was ruled insufficient for the standards required by the Northern Premier League and we have had to accept relegation back to the North West Counties League for 2023-24.

Despite the many turmoils of the last few years Skem continues to strive for success off and on the field with the main goal being to get back playing in our home town as soon as possible.

We will re-acquaint ourselves with old friends in the NWCFL and hopefully make new friends playing entertaining football and offering a cheery welcome to all who come to see us, no matter who they support.