Altrincham - The great journey

I keep my fingers crossed for a satisfying outcome with the Reeves situation. The down period seems to be unavoidable. Mine began in November but I think now it's under control. How did your teams game change? Will you take any special measures to tackle the situation or remain calm and stick to the original plan? Oxford City huh? Hate to say I told you so!

We have to do everything to keep him. He is one of our most important players, and he is the one that could lead us towards promotion.

Unfortunately you're right. You can't go a season without a down period. We are still playing pretty great football, but we are scoring too few goals. Loosing 0-1 twice is only unlucky, so the only thing we can do is to continue to play as we have done so far and hope players like Reeves and Sumner can raise them selves up again. You had to tell me, didn't you? I'm only blaming that loss on you!

A couple of weeks ago we got to know that Damian Reeves wanted to get a new challenge. Finally we have managed to get an interview with the 28-year old striker:

The Telegraph (TT):"Hello! There has been some rumors about you wanting a new challenge at a new club. What can you say about this rumor?"

Damian Reeves (DR):"There is nothing special to say. It's true that I talked about my future with Mr. Sinnott, and that I wanted to get a new challenge. The rumor that I wanted to get a new challenge was true, but after the conversation with the boss I have changed my mind."

TT:"What did Lee Sinnott say to you?"

DR:"Thats none of your business. The only thing I can say is that Sinnott is a really great and understanding man. I won't comment that case further."

TT:"We are now more than halfway through the season. What do you think about Altrincham's chances of winning the title?"

DR:"We have been playing really great so far, and if we continue this way for the rest of the season we'll be real contenders! We're playing great football, and I enjoy playing with this team. I hope we can promote, because Altrincham belongs one division up!"

TT:"Thank you for your time. Is there anything you want to say to your fans before we end this?"

DR:"I want to thank them for their support. They have been fantastic to us so far, and they have a lot of energy. I won't leave you this season, I will continue to do my best to make them happy. Just watch me, I'll score a hat-trick for them in our next match!"

So to every Altrincham supporter out there: Relax, Reeves will stay at least until the summer, andif we are going to believe in him, he's going to score a hat-trick against Bradford PA, his former club.

you're showing a great form mate! keep it up!

Altrincham fans started to celebrate already before the calendar showed April. They knew that if Colwyn Bay wanted to secure direct promotion they had to win their remaining games (5) and altrincham had to lose theirs with three goals or more. In that scenario Colwyn Bay would have beaten Altirncham at goal difference. As you understand, they celebrated for a reason. There was no doubt; Altrincham was going up!

Throughout this season the club from Manchester has been very stable, even though they had a tough start, with only three points in their first three games. After this Altrincham was in the zone, and they only lost four points in the next 13 games. They had clean sheets in five of those 13 and four of those clean sheets was in a row! December 3rd was the date when their streak was going to end. Away against Gainsborough they lost 2-1 after two goals from Westleigh Rush early in the game. After this they had a period with strong results against teams like Harrogate (3-2), Barrow (4-1) and Staylbridge (2-0 twice!). In the end of January they had a down period with losses against Oxford City (0-1), Boston United (0-1) and a draw, 1-1, against Hednesford. In the last five games of January they only managed to secure five points. Every team has a down period during a season, and the winning team is the one that manages to keep the period to a minimum. And that’s exactly what Altrincham did!

After January there was 14 games remaining of the season, and Altrincham once again hit a great streak. They only lost five points in those 14 games, and results like those against Workington (2-0 and 3-0) and Brackley (2-0) showed what team that was heading towards promotion. When they also won against their main contenders for the promotion, Colwyn Bay, twice in a month (3-2 and 3-0), the few persons that doubted in Altrincham was close to extinction.

April 5th was the day when Altrincham could delete all doubt. Only a point against AFC Telford was enough to secure the title, but the game turned out to be disappointing. They lost 3-1 away, but the odd thing was that nobody cared. Instead of sitting on the grass disappointed every Altrincham player celebrated. Even Lee Sinnott had lost his mind. Because, at the same time at St. James Park Brackley had won 1-0 against Colwyn Bay. Not even in the theory was it now possible for Colwyn Bay to promote direct, and Altrincham celebrated their return to the Skrill Premier. They were finally back, for the first time since 2010 (then the league was named Blue Square Bet Premier). The only thing we can do now is to wish Lee Sinnott and Altrincham the best of luck in the Skrill Premier! See you next year!

Nice update and well done on a great season!

Thanks, mate! Next update will come soon, and it'll be a short season summary from Europe.

The season is now over in europe, but what has happened in the 2013/14 season? We in The Telegraph want to give you a short summary of the season in the leagues in England, and the five great leagues in Europe. The two European leagues will also get some space and we'll end the whole summary with the World Cup that has just been played in Brazil!

Next season Altrincham will be a Skrill Premier team, and they need to reinforce if they want to stay in the league. Their team are already strong, but some players has to join them in their struggle to stay in the league. The first player to put pen to paper was Liverpool born John Dillon. He came on a free transfer from Southport after scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in 31 games for the team from Skrill Premier. John has played for clubs like Crewe Alexandra (ENG), Sligo Rovers (IRL) and Dundlak (IRL). The 25 (soon 26) year old midfielder is very quick, and can cause huge damages for the opposition team. His experience from Skrill Premier could be one of the most important differences in Altrincham's first season in Skrill Premier since 2010.

One of the players that impressed last season for Altrincham was young Matty Dixon. He was on loan to Altrincham during the last season, and played 31 games. During these games Dixon managed to score 8 goals and get 8 assist. In addition he won 3 Man of the Match awards. With an average rating on 7.01 he was one of the most important players in the club last season. That's the reason why Lee Sinnott and Altrincham has extended his loan, for another twelve months. The level is going to be higher in the next season, but as manager Sinnott said during the press conference; "This young man plays like he was 30 years old. He is very wise, and if you told him, he would jump off a bridge for you. Thats the kind of players you want as a manager, and I look forward to see him play in the Altrincham jersey for another twelve months, and so should the fans!"

Thats the first two signings for Lee Sinnott after the promotion. But unfortunately some players had to leave too... Among the seven players that didn't get/want to renew their contract is their goalkeeper-legend, Stuart Coburn. He was i the club in 1997-2002, but then he left Altrincham for the Skrill Premier team Leigh. Luckily for Altrincham he returned in 2003/04 after playing 52 games for Leigh. Since then he has played for Altrincham, and during his carrer he has played 474 matches (and one goal!) for the Robins. If you want to read more about Coburn's Altrincham career you can check out this link, and go to the bottom of the page (recommended). Lee Sinnott said to the Telegraph after it was known to the media that Coburn didn't get a renewal of his contract that it was sad that a legend like Stuart didn't get a renewal, and he wished the old goalie good luck in his new club after thanking him for his help during his Altrincham-career. The other players that has left the club can be found on the list under: