Neil Aspin's masterplan for an FA Cup upset
against Charlton, according to one of his directors, is to hire a bulldozer and
churn up the pitch.
A chuckle from Bobby Ham tells you he is
joking, but the levity doesn’t last long. Bulldozers moving in creates an
uncomfortable image at The Shay.
Barely three years ago, a demolition order was
pinned on Halifax Town FC, and a club who may have been perennial strugglers in
the Football League but still boasted modern-era cup wins over both Manchester
sides ceased to exist.
Back in the big time: Bobby Ham will be a proud man when
Charlton visit this weekend
In its place came FC Halifax Town, and if the
change of name involved nothing more than repositioning two letters, everything
else has altered beyond recognition.
No more piling up debts for the new regime,
who had to start from the depths of the Evostik Division One North after
rebranding and being given the go-ahead to continue at their old
home.
An £814,000 Inland Revenue bill had pushed the
arrears to nearly £3million when Halifax FC folded, but the new set-up is run on
strictly business lines, and is looking all the better for it.
Successive promotions, as champions each time,
has lifted them to within two divisions of their goal of a Football League
return, while, off the pitch, Calderdale Council have finally put the finishing
touches to an imposing new main stand that had stood three-quarters finished, a
symbol of a club living beyond their means.
To complete the transformation, the mudheap
that staged arguably the old club’s greatest-ever night, when they beat Malcolm
Allison’s mighty Manchester City with a Paul Hendrie goal in the 1980 FA Cup, is
now as flat and true a surface as any in the country.
Which is a worry for the Conference North
side, ahead of Sunday’s live ITV first-round tie against League One leaders
Charlton.
While they were doing battle with Gloucester
City last Saturday, someone helpfully informed Aspin that Charlton had just gone
4-0 up against Preston. It was just approaching half-time.
‘I think that’s when Neil decided bulldozing
the pitch might be our only hope,’ said Ham, who dragged football in Halifax
back from the edge of extinction along with fellow-directors David Bosomworth
and Stuart Peacock. ’There was also talk of pouring gallons of water on it and
bringing the lines in to make it as narrow as possible.
‘Normally when non-League teams are at home,
you think of a tight, bumpy pitch, cramped changing rooms and fans right on top
of the action as the ingredients for an upset. That must have been a factor
against City, and when we beat United - Charlton, Best, Law and all - in the
Watney Cup back in the 70s.
Day to remember: Paul Hendrie in action for Halifax
against Manchester City in 1980
‘It couldn’t be more different for us on
Sunday. We’ve got a beautiful flat playing surface and a stadium all the Evostik
teams thought was Wembley. It will suit Charlton down to the ground, but we
won’t be pulling any tricks. Neil has players who like to play football, so we
will give it our best shot.
‘The great thing for us, apart from the
£65,000 fee from ITV, is that the rest of the country will get the chance to see
that FC Halifax exists. People in West Yorkshire have been able to follow our
progress, but now the nation will realise that we are back in
business.
‘A Football League place is the target. You
look at the facilities and the support – over 4,000 for an Evostik League game
against FC United of Manchester here last season – and you realise that is where
this club belongs.’
The plot to rescue Halifax began to take shape
over a hot dog and Bovril in the seats opposite the main stand.
‘David and I were directors at Bradford City
but decided we’d like to have a go on our own somewhere,’ said Ham. ‘We love our
football, and I’ve got strong Halifax connections. We often used to pay at the
turnstiles across the way in the Skircoat Stand and watch the games. After a
while, we just thought this would be as good a place as any to get
involved.
‘We were never directors of the old Halifax,
but we put a bit of money in to try and help save it. I wouldn’t like to say how
much, but it all went. We didn’t get any of it back. It was just a hopeless
case, unpaid bills and debts all over the place.
‘There were debts we didn’t even know about,
and the more they accumulated, the clearer it became that the club couldn’t
survive. When the end came, we spent a couple of weeks thinking things over
before deciding we would form a new board and give it a go.
'We couldn’t let football in the town die. It
would have ripped the heart out of Halifax.
Looking good: Charlton players celebrate against Preston
last weekend
‘There was some apprehension about dropping
three divisions. We wondered what we were letting ourselves in for, but we have
met some fantastic people at places like North Ferriby United and Colwyn
Bay.
'David and I have been in the professional
game and met our share of people you wouldn’t exactly call football orientated.
But at that level of non-League, they are genuine and thoroughly nice and always
give you a warm welcome.
‘We like to keep that touch here. We have a
directors’ room that we never use, because we are always with sponsors and fans
on matchdays, dining with them before the game and generally mixing. Too many
directors like to stay in their Ivory Tower.
'This club is for the fans. We are just the
custodians.
Comments
This is good football book. It has got a good section on when Halifax were relegated out of the 4th division and Mick Rathbone was manager.
Glad, Charlton's visit will generate some funds for Halifax.