THE 2023/24 season will soon be upon us. There’s LOADS you’re all dying to know….. So here’s what we can tell you so far:

1. Pre-season friendlies ALL IN JULY are as follows:

– Saturday 8th Curzon Ashton (Home; 3pm)
– Tuesday 11th Cheadle Heath Nomads (Away; 7.45pm)
– Saturday 15th Warrington Rylands (Home; 3pm)
– Tuesday 18th New Mills (Away; 7.45pm)
– Saturday 22nd Ashton Utd (Home; 3pm)
– Tuesday 25th Chadderton (Away; 7.45pm)
– Saturday 29th Atherton Collieries (Home; 3pm)

Admission prices to each of our home friendlies will be £5 general admission; £3 Concessions; £1 Under 16’s

2. The season proper starts on August 5th when we’ll be taking part in the Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. Our opponent and venue are as yet unknown – the draw is due to take place on Friday 7th July.

3. The full fixture list is expected to be announced by The Northern Premier League in the next week or two. We will announce our fixtures as soon as we have them, via our Twitter/Facebook accounts, and our website www.traffordfc.com; You can also follow The NPL on Twitter on @NorthernPremLge or visit their website at www.thenpl.co.uk

4. Admission prices for home League & Cup games this coming season will remain as they were EXCEPT for general adult admission, which rises from £9 to £10. This means our prices for 2023-24 are as follows:

– Adults £10 (£1 rise on last season)
– Concessions: £6 (no change)
– Kids Under 16: £2 (no change)

5. Season ticket prices have been frozen again this season. The general adult season ticket is therefore £150; Concessionary season tickets are £90; Under 16’s are £30. Please note season tickets are for home LEAGUE GAMES ONLY – not cup/knock-out games. We’ll play 19 home league games this season, so the adult season ticket equates to less than £8 per game or a saving of £40 across the season. Savings are also to be had with the concession and kids season tickets. If you’d like to purchase a ST, please speak to our turnstile staff at one of our home pre-season friendlies, or contact the club on any of the details at the end of this message.

6. In terms of sponsorship, from sponsoring your favourite player for £50, to sponsoring the Shawe View Stadium itself (negotiable) you or your business are welcome to support the club in the best way possible. Various deals are available and we are always available to discuss your requirements, but as a broad guide we have the following:

• Match sponsorship: You and your guests have access to the hospitality lounge with complimentary food & drinks. Prices start at £150 for four people; Included is a full page advert in the matchday programme, mentions on our website and socials, and announcements over the PA; Match ball sponsorship packages are also available – please contact us to discuss.

• Pitchside perimeter advertising boards come in size 2.4m (8ft) x 0.75m (2½ ft) and are only £200 per season (plus a one-off £50 board manufacturing fee); Larger boards are possible.

• Programme advertisements start at £60 for the smallest advert (corner page) to £250 for a full colour full page. Again, please feel free to contact us to discuss your requirements.

Many other sponsorship opportunities are also available, such as sponsoring a stand at the Shawe View stadium, to sponsoring our website or newsletter; We have Youth and Junior teams who are looking for sponsorship, and all our sponsors get regular retweets/postings with shared links to their company websites sent to our thousands of followers (for example, in excess of 12k on Twitter)

We are always open to new ideas re. sponsorship / investment, so please contact us if you are interested in supporting the club in any way at all. We are an energetic and ambitious club, and we’d love to partner with you, so please contact our Chairman & Treasurer John Eadie on 07847 464108 or via email on chairman@traffordfc.com [NB – All sponsorship prices are subject to VAT]

Other contacts at the club include:

Match secretary Dave Murray (davem@traffordfc.co.uk 07551982299 TEXT OR WHATSAPP MESSAGE ONLY PLEASE!)

Club director Pete McGrath (pete.mcgrath@traffordfc.com )

You can also contact us via the “contact” page on our website www.traffordfc.com or via Twitter or Facebook messenger services.

WE CAN’T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!!!

News of a couple of departures from the Shawe View playing staff this evening: Following a 7-day approach from Mossley FC recently, Alfie Belcher has chosen to accept an offer from them and make the move to Seel Park. Meanwhile Matty Barlow has decided to ply his trade elsewhere and has asked to be released, which manager Karl Marginson has agreed to. Both players joined the club in 2020/21 and we thank them for their service in Trafford white/yellow, and wish them all the best for their future careers…….

…….and news of a couple of incomings to the squad: Defender Kwame Osigwe, who made his debut in Saturday’s game away at Stalybridge, has signed for us permanently, as has left sided attacker Damola Sotona. Kwame was a junior at Bolton Wanderers and has since played for Altrincham, Glossop NE, Cheadle Heath Nomads and most recently Wythenshawe FC; Damola most recently played for Bury, and has also represented Ramsbottom Utd, Northwich Vics, and Squires Gate. Welcome to Trafford gents!

TRAFFORD suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat to Prescot Cables today (Saturday 3rd December). Matty Morgan’s goal was double-cancelled by Prescot’s Jack Goodwin’s brace. Dave Law’s full match report will be published soon, so keep your eyes on this website for the full story……

TRAFFORD’s first home game of the season ended with a narrow 0-1 defeat to Bootle FC this evening (Tuesday 13th August).
The visitors had a man sent off after roughly half an hour, and despite a really good performance from Trafford in the 1st half, being down to 10-men seemed to inspire the Merseysiders to grind out the victory.
Dave Law’s match report will be up soon, so check back here on traffordfc.com for the full story.
Trafford are next in action this Saturday at home, in the Emirates FA Cup versus Emley FC, kick off 3pm.

TRAFFORD’s home game v Workington this Saturday (14th January) resulted in a narrow 1-2 defeat. The home side’s endeavour and workrate was high level as always, but little mistakes and rubs-of-the-green against us meant zero points this time. Dave Law’s match report will be published in the next few hours to give you the full story……….

Trafford were victorious this Friday evening, winning 2-1 away at Albion Sports, a NE Counties League side from Bradford, Yorkshire. Goals from the two Matty’s – Lusakueno and Morgan – gave Trafford a 2-0 half time lead. The Whites held on during a late rally from the hosts, who scored a consolation penalty, the 2-1 victory enough to see Karl Marginson’s team through to the next round. Look out for Lawman’s full match report coming soon……..

Before the season starts, let’s bring you up to date with some player movements: As you all know, we are very proud of the Trafford FC Youth section, set up in 2016 under the leadership of Steve Tobin and others. Steve and his assistant Rob Williams took a team right the way through junior football to become Trafford FC’s Under 18’s between 2021 and 2023. Some of those boys have now moved on to other stages of their careers – at other clubs, at Universities, on scholarships at home or abroad, or into our new U21’s team. Three lads who made inroads into the first team squad over the last two seasons have gone on season-long loans to North West Counties League sides as follows:

– Goalkeeper NIALL JORDAN has joined Chadderton FC.

– Defender MACKENA BRADSHAW has gone to New Mills.

– Striker HARRISON BICKERTON has linked up with the newly re-formed Droylsden FC.

All three made their debuts last weekend as the Counties League kicked off. Bickerton and Jordan were both in their respective starting XI’s, and featured in victories for their teams. Bradshaw came off the bench for New Mills but sadly they suffered a defeat.

Our manager Danny Caldecott has this to say about the trio: “All three of these young men have the potential to come back and establish themselves in Trafford’s first team, but the stage where they’re at now demands regular first team football – this is invaluable to their development. I’ve spoken with them individually and outlined what our expectations are, and I’m confident these lads can go and achieve what they need to continue their journeys so far. You don’t get anywhere in life being comfortable – these boys have accepted that and are putting themselves through the unknown to grow as people and players. Couldn’t be more proud – that’s me, the coaching staff, and the players. Good luck!”

We will of course be keeping an eye on their progress throughout the season!

Trafford were back on it today with a 3-1 away victory at Wythenshawe Town. Damola Sotona was the hero with two goals, but outstanding performances from everyone in the squad were the foundation upon which the win was built.
Karl Marginson’s team are up to 6th in the Pitching-In NPL West table, and look forward to entertaining Newcastle Town this Saturday kick off 1.30pm.
Dave Law’s match report on today’s victory is, as always, coming soon………..
(pic of Damola scoring his first goal, by Luke Broadhurst of TFC Media Team)

UPDATE ON GRAHAM “FOXXY” FOXALL.
Our very own Adrian Halliwell is acting as a contact between the club and Graham’s family at this difficult time. Adrian has had an update from Graham’s daughter as follows: He had a comfortable night but his speech is still slurred and has no movement of the right side of his body. It has been confirmed that Foxxy suffered a stroke during our Boxing Day game at Avro FC (which was ultimately abandoned because of thick fog).
As a club we would like to thank all the Medical staff of Avro FC, Avro’s Physio Kristina, our own Paul Roberts and Bailey Brown’s mum. Massive thanks to Dr Shadman Zaman who certainly helped a great deal. Our thoughts are with Graham and his family and everyone sends them their best wishes, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.

A thousand football fans took advantage of Trafford FC’s free admission match against Bootle on Saturday 2 September.

Helped by weather we’d been hoping for all summer, a carnival atmosphere was enjoyed at Shawe View Stadium.

Only the result wasn’t on Trafford’s side. Despite good application from Danny Caldecott’s younger players, and occasional flashes of Rob Worrall’s brilliance from last season, the Merseyside visitors proved worthy 1-0 winners.

Pete McGrath, the voice of Shawe View and a Trafford FC director said: “Today has been a great advert for non-league football. Many of the people we’ve spoken to had never even knew of our existence, let alone not come to a match.

“This was exactly what we wanted to achieve. We were so proud to welcome so many newcomers to our loving community, as well as our guests from Bootle who, as ever, did their club great credit.”

With the summer holidays coming to an end, and the cost-of-living crisis persisting, entire families came for free and enjoyed Trafford’s facilities including a licensed bar, can bar, as well as hot and cold food and drink.

A raffle provided half time fun and £180 was raised for Trafford Veterans, the chosen charity for the bucket collection.

A final gate of 1,011 was recorded – comfortably twice Trafford’s average home attendance.

Pete McGrath continued: “We hope we put on a good show today – it would be a boost for our club if the legacy of today is more fans. Coming to Trafford could be the perfect day activity for a Manchester stag or hen do, and it’s always a chance to meet your friends, at 3pm every other Saturday.”

(Image courtesy of Mr Kevin Waddle)