Hyde United Wound Up in the High Court

Hyde United Club History

Although the present club was formed in 1919 another club, simply called Hyde FC, had been in existence since 1885 being best remembered for the 26-0 beating at the hands of Preston North End in a FA Cup tie at Deepdale in 1887, still a record score for a competitive match in England.
The new club, Hyde United, joined the Manchester League and by 1920 had won it five times and the Gilcryst Cup twice. They moved into the Cheshire County League in 1930 and won the League Cup four years later. The decade after World War Two proved to be the Golden years for the club, the Cheshire Senior Cup win in 1946 being the first of many trophies to arrive at Ewen Fields during the next ten years. In 1953 Hyde United won the League Cup and this was followed by a league and cup double a season later. Season 1955-56 saw Hyde retain the championship and finished runners up in the following three seasons. The FA Cup first round was reached in 1954 losing to the then Football League side Workington 5-1 away.

The sixties saw Hyde make steady progress and in 1968 became founder members of the Northern Premier League. However after just two seasons they resigned and rejoined the Cheshire League where they remained for the rest of the decade. The League Cup was won in 1973 and in 1981 finished runners-up in the League. A year later the title was won for a third time, being enough to allow the Tigers back into the Northern Premier League. The first year back saw the club score 91 goals and a year later saw the club reach the League Cup final to loose on penalties to South Liverpool. A quick return to Maine Road saw the club win the League Cup in 1985-86 beating Gateshead 1-0.The following summer the club took the step of installing an artificial surface at their Ewen Fields ground and during that season won the Lancashire Floodlight Trophy. In 1987-88 the club finished runners-up in the League and retained the Lancashire Floodlight Trophy.

In 1987-88 the club finished runners-up in the League and retained the Lancashire Floodlight Trophy. In the following season a tremendous campaign saw Hyde again finish in the runners-up spot and reach the semi-final of the FA Trophy as well as losing the Clubcall final on penalties to Barnet. Their performance during that season earned the award of North West Team of the Season. The good fortune continued in 1989-90, fourth in the League, League Cup winners, defeating Gateshead 1-0, winning the Cheshire Senior Cup against Macclesfield and for the second year running losing in the final of the Clubcall Cup. Manager Peter O'Brien left the club the following season and players Graham Bell and Terry Megram each had a spell in charge of team affairs, but without any success.

Eventually Cliff Roberts took over in 1991 and began the hard work of rebuilding the team. However he could not finish the job he undertook due to the club's financial problems and he voluntarily terminated his contract to help the club through this difficult period. New manager Ged Coyne took over in October 1992 on a much reduced budget, and in 1993 Peter O'Brien returned for his second spell as manager. He took the club to ninth in the League, losing finalists in the League Cup and winners of the Manchester Premier Cup for the first time.

O'Brien re-signed at the end of the season for another post and in June 1994 Mike McKenzie, a successful and much sought after manager, was appointed on a long contract. McKenzie's first season in charge promised much for the future as Hyde reached the first round of the F.A. Cup and the semi-final of the F.A. Trophy as well as retaining the Manchester Premier Cup. The 1995/96 season saw the end of an era as the Ewen Fields Club returned to the more traditional grass surface which played host to another F.A. Trophy semi-final appearance.

The Season 1998/99 saw the silverware return to Ewen Fields as the Tigers won the Manchester Premier Cup for the 4th time and 1999/2000 saw the Tigers claim runners up spot in the league and win the Unifilla Cup beating Emley in the final. Much was expected the following season, but after a promising start only a mid -table position was achieved. The 2001/02 campaign started disastrously with only one point out of thirty. at the end of September 2001, Mike McKenzie left the club by mutual agreement and was replaced by former player Dave Nolan. Fortunes did improve slightly on the field, but the Tigers only escaped relegation by other teams not achieving the required ground grading. Coupled with early Cup exits, the season was definitely one to forget.

The following season the Tigers were relegated despite appointing Steve Waywell as manager at Christmas. A new team was assembled and the Tigers completed the transformation with the First Division Championship and the Chairman's cup in his first full season. Last season Steve Waywell continued his success with the Unibond Premier Division Championship and the Manchester Premier Cup. The Tigers hope to be amongst the front-runners in the Conference North this season.

In 2003, the Tigers were relegated, despite appointing Steve Waywell as Manager in the New Year. A new team was assembled and the Tigers completed the transformation with the First Division championship and the Chairman's cup in 2004. The following season, Waywell continued his success with the Unibond Premier Division Championship and the Manchester Premier Cup. In their first season in the Conference North the Tigers made a sluggish start, but put a fine run together mid-season and ultimately finished a credible 11th. Coupled with the retention of the Manchester Premier Cup after a thrilling last minute victory over Droylsden and a victory over Matlock Town in the Peter Swales Memorial Trophy.

In their first three seasons in Conference North, Hyde have finished comfortably in mid-table. However last season, after being top of the League at Christmas and then finishing eighth was a massive disappointment with a dreadful run in the second half of the season. With a settled team hoperfully staying free from injury, Hyde would again expect to be amongst the front-runners in Blue Square North this season. However it is becoming increasingly difficult to mount a championship challenge as more and more ambitious clubs join an already strong league.

www.hydeunited.com/clubhistory.php

When Saturday Comes (WSC)

Nowhere to Hyde
Monday 28 September ~

Not many tears will be shed across the country following the news that Hyde United of the Blue Square North have been wound up. This isn’t because of a wave of ill will towards the team from a non-rural corner of otherwise rural Cheshire; simply not many people will know. Unlike Accrington Stanley, there is no famous television advertisement , no recent history of romantic resurrection to League status followed by a further battle for survival. Not even a betting scandal to call their own.

Even the background to the winding up order is unspectacular. Initiated by HM Revenue and Customs, it involves debts of £122,000 plus legal costs. The local newspaper, the Manchester Evening News noted that the club's debts arose “largely from [their] inability to meet financial obligations towards contracted players following the withdrawal of support from their former holding company”. It's a story common throughout non-League football these days – the club's current board kept administration at bay while trying to clean up the mess left by people who have now departed. If United can demonstrate over the next few days that it has sufficient funds to trade in the short term – they need about £35,000 very quickly – they might get the winding-up order rescinded.



The loss of Hyde would turn a common pub quiz question into a dry statistic. On October 15, 1887, a football team from the town, Hyde FC, were on the wrong end of the biggest drubbing in English competitive football: 26-0 to Preston North End in the FA Cup. Jimmy Ross scored seven for PNE, who scored roughly every 3.5 minutes. Hyde FC were wound up in 1915. Their successor club, United, formed in 1930, were founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968; they were semi-finalists in the FA Trophy three times between 1989 and 1996.

A more quixotic consequence of the club going under is that it would bring to an end one of the few cases of twins playing together in the same team. The McNivens, Scott and David, had played together 11 times for the Tigers, with David the current top scorer for the club with five goals. The twins’ careers characterise the odyssey of so many players in the lower leagues, with David spreading his 90 odd goals and around 300 appearances between 16 clubs. Scott has a more modest ten clubs behind him following a League debut with Oldham as a 16-year-old.

Although they might not be the most successful team around, the loss of Hyde United matters greatly to the 400 or so people who regularly turn up at Ewen Fields. There’s a poignant request posted on the club website for people to help with a town-centre collection: try to wear a team shirt (£25 at the club shop) and bring your own bucket. The locally born Ricky Hatton has been quoted as saying he'd like to help out although nothing has yet been arranged. Hyde going out of business will not create many ripples but it signals the loss of another little piece of the game and another small link in the chain of football history.

Brian Simpson

www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/3862/38/