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CEO Q&A: April

Last month, we sat down with the club’s new General Manager / CEO & appointed Club Secretary, Neil Sears, for an update on club matters and to answer the questions that have come in from supporters.

This video can be accessed below.
    Download the FA Documents Neil references in his interview, by clicking here:
 
Download FA Rules & Regulations – Grassroots   If you have a question for Neil’s next update, please click here to email in before 10th April:
 
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3G Pitch Update

We are pleased to confirm that we have now signed the contract to install a 3G pitch at Gigg Lane this summer.

We understand the frustration supporters feel around frequent match postponements due to the poor condition of the grass pitch this season. It is important that we maintain a focus on the long term success of the club. An artificial surface means that we can grow the reach of the club by bringing the wider community into Gigg Lane, make the stadium more financially sustainable, and build a base from which all of our teams can train and play, giving players the consistency and familiarity they need to succeed.

Payment will be made in phases as the work progresses. The initial payment will be met by the Society reserves and we will receive matched funding of £300,000 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This will utilise the full £1m available from their Community Ownership Fund.

We will also draw down funding from Bury Council who are contributing £450,000, as approved by their Cabinet recently. We are finalising a Community Development Plan with Bury Council which will commit us to a programme of work in the borough designed to maximise community usage of the stadium through a diverse number of initiatives, not just football.

Our objective for the new season is to retain a strong balance sheet and drive greater revenue through pitch hire, which will be limited to 50 hours per week to protect the surface over the next 8 years. As highlighted in our previous statement, a significant amount of this revenue will be allocated to a sinking fund to replace the pitch when required, be it another artificial surface or a return to grass.

At this stage of the season we know there is a focus on results with the ultimate aim of promotion. Football provides us with an opportunity to live in the moment, and we don’t want to dampen the joy that those moments bring to our supporters. Off the pitch, however, we remain relentless in our pursuit of a bigger, longer term objective to maximise the potential of the club in all areas.

We also recognise that the grass pitch has a specific place in many supporters’ hearts. Not least those who have the ashes of their loved ones scattered there. With this in mind we would like to confirm the following:
 
We will hold a ceremony at Gigg Lane for anyone who has had the ashes of a the friends or relatives scattered there, to allow them to say a farewell once more. Details of the ceremony will be announced as soon as we have the date. We will sell up to 500 pieces of turf from the Gigg Lane pitch, presented in seed boxes, to raise funds for the club and allow supporters to own a little piece of history. The dimensions will be 344mm x 214mm x 52mm and the first pieces bought will also receive a free copy of James Bentley’s book on Bury Football Club ‘Things Can Only Get Better: Bury’s Mid-90s Rise Under Stan Ternent’. We are grateful to James for this donation. There will also be a raffle for the two penalty spots. Further details will follow. Artificial grass is not as environmentally friendly as real grass. We believe the good we can do throughout the community outweighs the cost overall, but we do recognise our responsibilities to the environment. We are grateful to our shirt sleeve sponsors, Redfox Countryside Services, specialists in ecological management and restoration services, who have offered their services to help develop Starkies Wood, next to Gigg Lane, in a way which will contribute towards eventually making this project carbon neutral. The stadium is one of the oldest in Britain, and it would be wrong to pretend that carbon neutrality is easily achievable, but this is one step in that direction and we are extremely grateful for the thoughtful and unprompted offer of support from Redfox Countryside Services on this matter. It would require Council approval.

There is also an early stage idea around a commemorative garden using the centre spot.

The sight and smell of a grass pitch is something we all have imprinted in our footballing DNA. Our move to an artificial surface is a rational one, supported by an overwhelming 92% majority of our members. That doesn’t mean we don’t recognise the past and our emotional connection to it through places such as Gigg Lane. We hope this note shows an acknowledgment of that.  It is just the start of many ideas and initiatives for the forthcoming months.

As always, keep across the latest from the club on the website, X / Twitter & Facebook.

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Incoming: Deadline Day Duo

We are delighted to confirm the deadline day signings of Aaron Morris and Tanaka Cherera.

Defender Morris joins the club from FC United of Manchester.

His first taste of non-league football was in for St Helens Town before moving to Runcorn Linnets in 2016 and then FC United, three years later.

Aaron was a fans favourite at Linnets as he was awarded the Supporters Club Player of the Year on two occasions.
  In July 2022, Dave McNabb signed Aaron at Warrington Rylands where he made seven appearances, before returning to FC United where’s he’s not made an appearance this season due to injury.
  Forward Cherera joins the club from AFC Liverpool.

The 19-year-old has made nine appearances for AFC Liverpool, scoring six goals. He can play either out wide or as a striker, who offers pace and an eye for goal.

Prior to signing in Crosby, he played for Roma (not the Italian side) & Pex Hill in the Liverpool local leagues.

Both signings are subject to NWCFL approval.
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Men’s Player Of The Month – March

Andy Scarisbrick, your winner last month It’s that time again, to pick your Player of the Month for March.

Who will replace last month’s winner, Andy Scarisbrick, and be presented with a fully liveried Bury FC Hyundai courtesy of BCC Cars for their use for one month as their reward?

Quick turnaround this one, ahead of our game with Prestwich on Monday. Get your vote in NOW!
   
            Who is your March Player Of The Month? (pick one)
Andy Briggs Dec Daniels Charlie Doyle Jacob Holland-Wilkinson Oli Jepson Andy Kellett Ollie Kilner Arthur Lomax-Jones Tom Moore Dean Pinnington Gaz Peet Billy Reeves Andy Scarisbrick Miles Storey Harry Wright   Vote     Head of BCC Hyundai, Simon Davis pictured with striker Benito Lowe Bury Football Club would like to thank Simon Davis and Mike Holt for their tremendous support of the club. Simon is pictured with their flagship IONIQ 6, winner of the 2023 ‘World Car of the Year’, ‘World Electric Vehicle’ and ‘World Car Design of the Year’ awards.
 
We would like to thank them for their commitment to Bury FC. We look forward to working with them in the years to come.
 
  #BuryFC | #ShakersTogether | #PartOfIt
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Match Info: Prestwich Heys (A), Mon 1st Apr, 3pm KO

We head into the final five games following an agonising finale to our Good Friday battle with Wythenshawe at Gigg Lane. Saturdays game saw us draw with our promotion rivals after a penalty given in the dying seconds of eight additional added minutes handed Wythenshawe a point and a boost in the race for the title.

We now turn to Easter Monday and a trip to Adie Moran park where we will take on playoff chasers Prestwich Heys.

Heys have won four of their last six and will be looking to put pressure on fellow playoff contenders Padiham and Chadderton who sit just above them in the Premier Division table.

Dave McNabb’s charges will be looking to reverse the trend set in the last four games and get back to winning ways on the road after run which has seen us fall to two defeats and draw tow in our last six.

The away allocation for this game is sold out and our volunteers will be on the gates helping scan fans in on the day. We advise fans to please not travel to Adie Moran park without a valid ticket.

As always Roch valley Radio will be with us to provide commentary on the day and you will be able to keep up with all the action on our social media pages across the afternoon.

Highlights and post match interviews from Gaz Peet and Max Harrop are available below.
      Last Time Out – Prestwich (h)
      Opponents – Prestwich Heys
The origins of Prestwich Heys AFC can be traced back to 9th February 1938 when a meeting was called at the Music Room of the Heys Road Boys’ School at which Elgar Lumsden put forward the idea of forming an Old Boys’ Association.

Despite the onset of the Second World War a year later, the Association flourished under the Chairmanship of Proctor Bell, who also acted as Secretary of the football arm, known as Heys Old Boys AFC, and was acknowledged as one of the region’s best.

The team gradually progressed through the Bury Amateur League and in to the South East Lancashire League claiming Championships in 1960, 1961 and 1964. Under the guidance of Peter Gilmore in the sixties, Heys won the prestigious Lancashire Amateur Cup in 1967 followed by the one and only Lancashire Combination Grand Slam in the 1970/71 season with Heys bringing all four trophies available back to Grimshaws.

The club also changed its name in 1964 to Prestwich Heys AFC, an acknowledgement of the fame achieved by the club as they proved one of the nation’s top amateur clubs.

Thousands flocked to see Heys play, and beat, the likes of Sutton United, Ferryhill Athletic, Finchley and Highgate United in the FA Amateur Cup with the club’s best run taking Hey’s to the last 16. The victory over Sutton United in 1969 ranks as one of Heys most famous moments, attracting nationwide coverage, coming a week before their opponents were due to meet Leeds United in the FA Cup.

The above has been taken from the history section of the Prestwich Heys website, read more here.

In more recent seasons, Heys re-entered the NWCFL in 2017 (following a stint in the divisions in the early-80s) before gaining promotion to the Premier Division during the covid league re-shuffle in 2021. The side finished 7th last season, and are looking to improve on that this season, comfortably sitting inside the play-off positions going into the festive period.
  Admission & Tickets
Advance Tickets Only – Sold Out
  Travel & Parking
Ground: Adie Moran Park

Address: Sandgate Road, Whitefield, Manchester

Postcode: M45 6WG
 
 
Driving: M60 to junction 17 towards Whitefield, turn right into Clyde Avenue continue over traffic lights onto Thatch Leach Lane, turn right at the Frigate Public House, over motorway bridge, ground on the left.

Parking: Parking available for around 100 cars

Nearest Railway: Besses oth Barn Metrolink (0.7 miles)

On the day: Clubhouse with Licenced Bar, Covered Seating for 100, Covered Standing for 150.
  Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make the game, we’ll have all the live coverage across our media platforms.
 
Live Stream: For this game, we will have no live stream. Keep up-to-date with all our video content via the club’s YouTube Channel. Click to subscribe and never miss highlights and match reaction across the season.
 
Audio Commentary: Roch Valley Radio will be providing commentary for this game. Click here ahead of kick-off to listen live. Audio commentary will be provided for every game of the season, so you will never miss a piece of the action.
 
Social Media: Our team will also bring you in-depth text commentary via the club ‘MatchDay Live‘ Twitter feed, with team news and half time and full time updates available also on Facebook and feel like you are there with our match galleries and imagery available over on Instagram.
 
Whatever the weather, wherever you are across the globe, we have you covered.
 
Up the Shakers!
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