Ashton United

History

In 2002, under the guidance of Gerry Quinn, Ashton United achieved promotion to the Premier Division through the first-ever NPL play-offs. Alongside this success, the club retained the Manchester Premier Cup, a title they had won the previous season, and went on to win it again in 2003. They were also runners-up in this cup in 2004, the same year they became founding members of the Conference North. However, their time in this league was short-lived, as they faced relegation after just one season.

Danny Johnson took over as manager in the latter part of the 2006-07 season, helping the club avoid relegation. His six-year tenure saw Ashton United become a stable mid-table team in the NPL. The period was marked by a legal challenge in 2009/10 when the club was successfully sued for damages by Marcus Hallows, a former Altrincham player injured in a match against Ashton in 2005. Despite this off-field setback, Johnson’s time as manager was highlighted by winning the NPL League Challenge Cup in 2011, defeating Northwich Victoria 1-0.

After Johnson moved to Nantwich Town at the end of the 2012-13 season, his assistant-manager Craig Robinson was promoted but resigned for personal reasons. Paul Phillips then stepped up as manager, with Steve Halford as co-manager. In an unexpected turn, the club nearly achieved promotion, defeating FC United of Manchester in a dramatic play-off semi-final. However, they narrowly missed out in the play-off final, losing to AFC Fylde in a penalty shoot-out.