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Leigh club's new beginning

By Matt Lawton June 12 2008
With the move to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium only a few short months away, the Leigh sporting scene is going through an exciting revamp as the town starts to emerge from the shadows and establish itself as a big name in all manner of sports, and Leigh’s top football club is leading the way as they begin a new era as Leigh Genesis FC, leaving behind the shackles of the Horwich-orientated RMI.

Ever since Horwich RMI first moved in to Hilton Park during the 1994/95 season, the club have faced a series of challenges to win over the Leigh public and, although taking over the town's name and crest coincided with on-field success that eventually saw the club finish in an incredible fifth spot, above the likes of Championship-bound Doncaster Rovers, in the Nationwide Conference in 2000/2001, the club has been in terminal decline ever since, a struggling side on the field being matched by a struggling outfit away from the pitch.

Since becoming chairman barely six months ago, ambitious thirty two year old Dominic Speakman has overseen a huge overhaul of the club's operations as the club work hard to win over a sometimes sceptical Leigh public, for the first time in the history of the club employing full-time off-field staff in the form of general manager Mary Croasdale and commercial manager Donna Middleton, both of whom have extensive experience in the field with Premier League innovators Blackburn Rovers.

Not only will the club be employing top level staff in the offices, but they will also be applying the highest possible standards on the playing side of the club as well, with the likes of former Northwich defender Josh Wilson and England Schoolboy international striker Richard Chetcuti the type of ambitious and determined young players that will be full-time players during the course of the season as they look to improve as players and people under the guidance of highly-qualified manager Steve Bleasdale, talented assistant Brett Harris along with conditioning coach Terry O'Brien and full-time Team Performance Coordinator James Standing.

Despite the club suffering relegation to the UniBond Premier League at the end of the last campaign, the final few months of the season saw a marked rise in confidence amongst the club's loyal supporters as attendances and the overall matchday experience improved hugely, so much so that Setanta Sports and Channel M found themselves filming an enthralling 2-1 victory over Lancastrian rivals Burscough at Hilton Park in April as the build up began to the move to the club's new home.

Although building delays will mean that the early period of next season will be played at Hilton Park, the move to such a modern new home had to be treated as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to win over the club's doubters and progress in all departments, starting with the club's impressive new official website at www.leighgenesis.com that will not only provide up-to-the-minute news and information, but also provide an online shop that will allow supporters to purchase a wide range of merchandise and even season tickets at only the click of a button.

Not only will the club lose the ‘RMI' title that has proved to be somewhat of a Horwich-related burden, with the incorporation of the new Genesis name aptly defined as ‘an origin, creation, or beginning', but the club will also bear an innovative new crest on a new-look black and white home kit that is to be manufactured by sporting giants Nike, a kit that will be unusual in the current climate in that it won't feature a main shirt sponsor, instead having the Genesis name emblazoned across the front of the shirt, something that could be considered a first in English, if not European, football.

As part of the club's dedication to deliver quality football in the shape that it was intended, weekend fixtures will be a traditional 3pm kick off on a Saturday, while the accessibility of players and particularly enticing pricing policies ensure that ‘real' football be returned to the masses and in turn hopefully attract the thousands of football supporters who have grown alienated with the money-obsessed top level that represents a different world from the average man on the street.

Considering the quality of facilities on hand at the new stadium, not to mention the fact that all adult season ticket holders will receive the club's new home shirt completely free of charge, a season ticket at the club quite simply makes sense; offering quality football at affordable prices, with adult season tickets from £120 (including free home shirt!) while juniors can see the entire season from just £25!

With Nike producing a stylish kit that will look the part on the field and a new stadium that will ensure the club are market leaders in the stands, Leigh Genesis are sure to enjoy a bright future at this, the start of what is sure to be a thrilling journey, one that will hopefully begin with an immediate return to the Blue Square North.

One thing is for sure, very few clubs are likely to enjoy the sort of hard work and backing that Genesis have the benefit of, none-the-least the kind words of Andy Burnham, Leigh MP and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who is looking forward "with optimism to a professional football club providing the sort of entertainment on the pitch that supporters will want to see", adding his confidence that the town "will respond to the challenge and get behind them in their bid to climb swiftly up the football ladder".

High praise indeed.

 

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