Surprise, surprise Mr Chairman!

22 May 2016 By David Watters

The fans, players and officials of Ramsbottom United have been celebrating their chairman's five decades of loyal service to the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League's Rams.

When assistant manager Wayne Goodison asked chairman Harry Williams whether he fancied a quick pint last week he probably feared a chat about next season's playing budget. Instead, the man who has taken the Rams from local football to the senior levels of the Non-League found supporters, players and officials, past and present, waiting to hail him at a surprise party to mark his 50 years at the club he helped found back in 1966.

Organised by the Ramsbottom United Supporters Club and the EVO-STIK NPL Premier Division club's catering manageress Sophie Fletcher at Ramsbottom United Cricket Club, the party saw Williams forced into making an impromptu speech, pictured, after he walked in to the sound of cheering and Elvis Presley singing ‘The Wonder of You’!

Hailing their chairman, a Rams spokesman said: "Having been manager for much of the early years, he is probably the most hands-on chairman in football, spending virtually every day at the ground."

Founding father: Rams chairman Harry Williams

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Where next?

Reshuffle follows change at top Halesowen Town are using the retirement of chairman Colin Brookes to overhaul the way the club is managed in the top flight of the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League next season.

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