Ashton United

Founded in 1878 as Hurst F.C., Ashton United, based in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, made their first appearance in a league in 1909, in the Manchester League. They won the league in 1912. They joined the Lancashire Combination in 1913, but joined the Cheshire County League in 1923, but were impotent. Before the World War Two, they had signed one of the star players of the period, Dixie Dean, but no football was played during World War II. They rejoined the Lancashire Combination in 1947, and still were impotent in league wins. They won various cups during the 1950s, including the Manchester Intermediate Cup, and made it into the First Round of the FA Cup in 1952, to be beaten by Halifax Town. They won the Lancashire Combination Second Division in 1961. They went to the Midland League from 1964 to 1966, but moved back to the Lancashire Combination. They moved to the Cheshire County League in 1968, then went to the North West Counties League in 1982, the year it was created. In 1984, they were relegated to the Second Division, but returned to the First Division in 1988. They finished in 14th in 2003, out of range for promotion to the Conference North, but Telford's liquidation put Ashton in 13th, and they were promoted.This season also saw Gareth Morris score the fastest ever goal in the F.A cup (4 seconds) for Ashton. However they had a miserable season and ended up being relegated to the Northern Premier League. The 06-07 season saw Ashton manager Scott Green leave. It also saw Ashton stay up and appoint Danny Johnson as their new manager.