The ‘Old Boys’ are born.

The idea of an ‘Old Boys’ Soccer Club was first brought about in 1969 by a group of teachers at ‘Moston Brook High School’ on Northampton Road. They applied for membership of the ‘Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur Football League and had to play a number of friendlies against League opposition before being formally accepted for the season of 1970/71.

They had a small Management Committee of Alan Manship (Chairman), John Wallis (Secretary), Tony Scott (Assistant Secretary), and Glynn Levis (Treasurer). Moston Brook High School Old Boys were born.

Senior Section:

The Club ran 2 teams in its first season in the League, a mixture of Teachers and Ex Pupils, all of whom purchased their own kit of White shirts and Black shorts. The next season saw them start with what is today our Club colours of Green and Black, when the Club purchased their first sets of Green and Black Striped shirts and introduced a 3rd XI.

The first success came in 1975-76 when the 1st XI were Runners up in Division 3, which was followed in 1976-77 with our 3rd XI being Runners Up in Division E, scoring 92 goals in 20 games. The first Cup Final came in 1979-80 when the 1st XI were Runners Up in the ‘Whitehead Cup’.

There was a distinct lack of silverware in the Eighties.

The 1990-91 was to become the saddest in our Clubs history with the deaths of 2 stalwarts. On 16th November 1990 John Wallis while attending a Lancashire and Cheshire League meeting suffered a brain haemorrhage from which he never recovered. John was one of the original Members and served as Chairman, Secretary, and 1st XI Team Manager. He made 183 appearances for the 1st team. He was the very soul of the Club.

Then on the 31st May 1991 after a short illness we lost Dave Webb our 1st XI Captain. Dave had been with us since 1974 making 237 appearances for the 1st team and winning Player of the Year on 4 occasions. Both John and Dave are sadly missed both on and off the field of play.

In the 1992-93 season the club re-launched the 4TH XI for the first time since 1978 and in 1995-96 season they were Runners Up in Division F.

Silverware at last came in 1996-97 for the Seniors when the 4th XI did the League & Cup Double, supported by the 1st XI who were Runners Up in Division 3 under Steve Ritchie’s Management.

In 1997-98 we ran a 5th XI for the first time, and in 1998-99 the 3rd XI were Runners Up in the Whitehead Cup.

In the 1999-2000 season the 2nd XI score 8 against Romiley only to lose 8-9. Mike Cahill scored 6 for Moston.

In 2000-01 we revert-back to 4 teams and the 2nd XI finish Runners Up in Division B, losing only 2 games all season, and are promoted to Division A for the first time in the Clubs history.

In 2001-02 we finally move following the closure of Moston Brook High School. For the next few years we play our home matches at Mellands Playing Fields in Gorton. Our only success this season was the 4th XI winning the Hellawell Shield.

We would then go until 2007-08, now playing on Smedley Playing Fields in Crumpsall before attaining anymore silverware. But what a season with both the 1st & 2nd XI’s winning their Leagues and acquiring the prestigious S.E.Woollam League Aggregate Trophy in the process. It meant the 1st XI would be in the Premier League for the first time and the 2nd’s would be promoted into Division A. This would be the start of regular honours for the Seniors over the next six seasons.

In 2008-09 following promotion into the top 2 divisions of the Lancashire and Cheshire AFL both the 1st & 2nd XI’s moved to a 3G surface at Nichols Ardwick, with the 3rd & 4th XI’s remaining at Smedley. The 1st XI finished a creditable 5th in their first season in the Premier Division. The 4th XI were Runners Up in both their League (Division F) & Cup (Hellawell Shield).

2009-10 saw the 1st XI relegated on the last day of the season following a creditable 3-3 draw against the League Winners Whalley Range. However, the 4th XI went one better than the previous season by actually-winning Division F.

In 2010-11 we moved back nearer home to our current venue of the ‘Manchester Creative & Media Academy’.

In 2011-12 the 3rd XI were League Champions in Division D and Whitehead Cup Winners under the Management of Dave Birch and Mike Melia. The 4th XI were League Champions in Division F.

The 1st XI returned to the Premier League following a successful 2012-13 season by being League Champions of Division 1 with Joe Ryan at the helm. The 3rd XI ended up Division C Runners Up and Whitehead Cup Winners which meant the Club had retained the Cup for a second season.

2013-14 and the 2nd XI were Runners Up in Division A. This was the second season of success for this team having been the 3rd XI the previous season under the stewardship of Charlie Mac and Mike Heffernan.

Since then the Senior Section of the Club has had a baron time in-regard to trophy winning, but it still operates 4 teams. This season has seen the introduction of a Vets team as our 3rd team in Division B bringing back a number of playing member’s who were part of the most successful period in the Clubs history.

Junior Section:

In 1989-90 Charlie MacMillan with the backing of John Wallis (Club Chairman) and Sammy Parrin (Manchester Youth League Committee Member) started our Junior Section.

The intention was to start with an Under 10’s (Eleven-a-side) team, but before the start of the season Charlie was approached by a group of boys who weren’t getting regular football at their Club, so he started an Under 14’s as well.

He got 2 Dads Steve Harrison (who later served on the Club Management Committee) and Billy Buckley (Ex Player) to run the Under 10’s and he talked Graham Brown (Snr) (Ex Player and future Chairman) into helping him with the older boys.

From then on it was just a matter of getting Senior Player Dads involved with sons, or Parents to help grow the Club which is what happened.

Our first Cup Final came in our second season (1990-91) with Dave Grayson’s Under 10’s playing at Ashton United’s Ground, but they unfortunately lost 1-3.

In 1992-93 and 1993-94 our original Under 10’s (who were now U13 & U14) reached both their Manchester Youth League Cup Finals unfortunately being losing finalists on both occasions. First to Fletcher Moss 0-4 who had Wes Brown and Richie Wellens in their team and secondly against Glossop Juniors after extra time 1-2.

In 1994-95 Moston’s Under 13’s playing in the Rochdale Youth League won both the League and the Cup Managed by Charlie MacMillan and Glen Barnes-Gott.

They repeated the feat in 1995-96 as Under 14’s and the Under 16’s the original first team finished their Youth football by being League Runners Up and Cup Winners in the Rochdale Youth League.

Then in 1996-97 Steve Hamlet (Snr) did the double in the Manchester Youth League at Under 12’s.

In 1997-98 the Under 16’s now in the Bury and Radcliffe JFL won their League Cup before most of the boys progressed into the Seniors the following season.

Around the turn of the Century Mini-Soccer starting at Under 7 was growing and Moston took full advantage playing teams in the Manchester Youth and Mini-Soccer League at Ten Acres Lane.

There was now a bit of a gap until the 2002-03 season before our next awards came with our Under 15’s being Manchester County Cup Runners Up and Bury and Radcliffe League Runners Up and Cup winners.

The 2003-04 season saw the first trophy arrive for our most successful Junior team to date under the Team Management of Michelle Woodall and Paul Hughes. At Under 10 they won the Manchester Youth and Mini-Soccer League. Then at Under 11 they did the same (2004-05).

In 2005-06 at Under 12 they moved to the Reddish and District JFL where they won the League, were Runners Up in the Cup but also were prestigious winners of the Lancashire County FA Cup. Also, in that year, our Under 8’s won the Manchester Youth and Mini-Soccer World Cup.

It continued in 2006-07 at Under 13 they won the Lancashire County Cup, the Reddish and District JFL Under 13 League and were Runners Up in their Cup. Our Under 9’s won the Manchester Youth and Mini-Soccer League and Mini-Soccer World Cup.

The 2007-08 season was the most successful in the Clubs history with 10 Junior and 3 Senior awards.

Starting at Under 10 they won the Manchester Youth and Mini-Soccer League, Intermediary Cup, and Mini-Soccer World Cup. The Under 11’s were League Cup Runners Up in the Tameside JFL. The Under 12’s were League and Subsidiary Cup winners in the North Bury JFL. Our Under 13’s were Runners Up in the Tameside JFL League Cup and finally our Under 14’s were League and Divisional Cup winners in the Reddish and District JFL also enjoying winning the ‘Catalonian Trophy’ whilst on tour in Spain at Loret de Mar.

The Girls Section joined the Club in 2010-11 and played until the end of the 2017-18 season. It brought to the Club hardworking individuals. Dior Manderson is now the Club Secretary, and Kieran Reynolds is our Level 3 Coach. Claire Sullivan (Team Manager) was also a member of the Disciplinary Committee.

At boy’s level the next trophy didn’t come until 2013-14 when our Under 14’s were Division 2 winners in the Tameside JFL.

Since 2013-14 it's the Girls who have been most successful. In that year at under the management of Kieran Reynolds and Dior Manderson the Under 14's Girls won the 'North Manchester Girls League Knockout Cup

In 2015-16 the Under 13 Girls managed by Andy Shaw won the Manchester FA County Cup, and the ‘NMGL’ League Cup, and were Runners Up in the ‘NMGL’ Knockout Cup. The Under 17 Girls won all 3 trophies in the ‘NMGL’ the League, League Cup, and Knockout cup, and the Under 18 Manchester FA County Cup.

What has also come into play over several years is non-competitive football at the younger age groups.

However in 2018-19 both our Under 9’s Blacks (Team Management Dave Smith and Hayley Marsden) and Under 10’s Blacks (Team Manager Dave Smith) won their knockout Cup Competitions, and the Under 12’s were League Champions (Team Management Andy McLaughlin and Shaun Walker) in the East Manchester Junior Football League.

Social:

Back in the Seventies the Club ran a-number of successful dances, one of these was at ‘The Concorde Suite’ in Droylsden which was attended by over 350 people at a time when the club only had 3 Open Age Teams.

In October 1989 we celebrated our 20th Anniversary with a Dinner at ‘Wilsons Social Club’ in Newton Heath. The Guest Speaker was Tommy Docherty (Ex Man Utd Manager), and MC John Gwynne (Ex Moston Brook Teacher and former player) who still reports for ‘Sky Sports News’. (230) past and present players had a memorable evening.

Sportsman’s Dinners were to become a regular Annual event with a number held at the ‘Brookdale’ pub in Failsworth, the ‘New Broadway Club’, Greaves Avenue in Failsworth and Oldham Athletics ‘Clayton Arms’. Guest Speakers included Wilf McGuinness x (2), Malcolm Allison and Pat Crerand, John McGrath, Duncan McKenzie, Emlyn Hughes, Alan Ball, Brian Greenhoff, Jeff Winter, and Norman Whiteside. For our 30th Anniversary we booked Jimmy Greaves, but he let us down by cancelling at the last minute!

Our 40th Anniversary ‘Gala Evening’ was held at the old ‘Irish Centre’ on Queens Road, Cheetham Hill on Saturday 28th February 2009.

We have held (3) significant Charity Events. One was for the ‘Dsytonia Society’ which also celebrated Dave Kinders 41 Years with the Club (Founder Member) in 2011 raising £410, and the other (2) were in aid of ‘Cancer Research’. The first organised by Danny Jackson in 2014 raised £1,495, and the second in April 2019 raising £405 in memory of Damien McStravick another stalwart of the Club who sadly passed away in November 2018.

The next event was the 50th Anniversary held at St Herbert’s in Chadderton on Friday 11th October 2019 when 122 ex-players and friends celebrated this landmark for the Club. (It also was the 30th Anniversary of the Junior Section).

On Tour:

The Seniors first trip abroad came back in 1980 to ‘The Hague’, where we played our first International match losing 2-3.

Since that trip the Seniors have visited London, Ostend and Amsterdam (3 times), Paris, and The Isle of Man (twice), Dieppe and Newcastle (once). In 1994 on our third trip to Ostend we took (25) players and came back undefeated with (2) draws.

At Junior Level in 1995 we took (2) Teams to Holland. Stephen Hamlet (Snr) Under 12’s & Charlie MacMillan & Glenn Barnes-Gotts Under 15’s.

Then in 2008 Michelle Woodall & Paul Hughes to their all-conquering Under 14’s to ‘Loret De Mar’ in Spain where they won the ‘Catalonian Trophy’ Competition.

Moston Brook Boys become Professional:

Over the years several players have left Moston Brook FC to join the Academies of Professional Clubs

Ismael Miller who went to Manchester City, and has played for West Brom, Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield, Bury and Oldham. Jamie Stott is currently at Oldham Athletic and Douglas Nyaupembe is was at Bury FC.

Ismael played for Joe Taylor’s team, Jamie Stott played for Damien McStravick and Phil Dobson and Douglas Nyaupembe played for John Moxon and Garry Aykroyd.

Inter League Players:

The first Inter League representatives (Lancashire & Cheshire AFL) for the Club back in the early seventies were Chris Barrett, Eric Henshaw, Alan Martin, Mike Melia, Jimmy Pearson, Dave Scofield, and John Ward. Then in 1979-80 we had John Melia, 1982-83 Mike Wallace and 1985-86 Keith McKenzie.

Michael Cahill joined the list at the turn of the Century followed by Michael Brady (Captain) and Joe McNeill who represented the Lancashire & Cheshire AFL on the same day the 1st XI were in the Quarter Final of the Lancashire County Cup. The LFA wouldn’t cancel the fixture which we lost 2-3.

The last 3 representatives were Jonny Munson, Dominic Hallam, and Danny Wilds.

League Management Committee Representatives & Presidents:

Jim Davy, John Wallis, Eric Henshaw, and Dave Kinder served on the Lancashire and Cheshire AFL, and currently John Melia.

Past Presidents Jim Davy (1978-79), John Melia (1998-99), and Mike Melia (2014-15).

Club Tournaments:

The Club ran its first Summer Soccer Tournament in 2004 at Lower Crumpsall Park when 104 teams entered covering age groups from Under 7 to Under 14.

This would become a regular feature in the Moston Brook FC calendar with a great deal of effort from many people involved within our Club.

The venue changed to the ‘Manchester Creative and Media Academy’ where it grew-in size before sadly finishing in 2014 with 166 teams entering.

Charter Standard:

The Club attained ‘Charter Standard’ status in 2006-07.

John Hughes a Management Committee Member then progressed the Club to a ‘Community Charter Standard’ Club.

In this season (2018-19) we became a ‘Development Charter Standard’ Club.

Walking Football:

In September 2019 the term from ‘Cradle to Grave’ was used as the Club started a Walking Football Section with (3) Teams entering the Greater Manchester Walking Football League with a team at each age group (Over 60, 65, and 70) playing their games at Heywood Sports Centre.

This has allowed players from the past, supported with those who play at Oldham Leisure Centre the opportunity to keep fit and enjoy the banter!