THE MOST ARRESTING transfer of the summer in the Nationwide Conference so far has been that of Northwich Victoria to the Conference North. The Cheshire side jumped before they were pushed out of the Conference altogether in a sorry footnote to a season in which the way that the team, managed by Steve Burr, had clawed back the ten-point deficit imposed because the club had gone into administration had been an uplifting storyline.
The sticking point was the transfer of the lease from the previous company to the new one headed by Mike Connett. The registration and transfer of the lease were not carried out in time to satisfy the FA and when the Conference met for its annual meeting, Northwich’s fate had been signalled for long enough for them voluntarily to take the step down. The beneficiaries were Forest Green Rovers.
Connett has assured Burr and David Moss, his assistant, that they will be given the budget that they were expecting to receive for a 27th consecutive season in the Conference. In response, Jonny Allen, the 22-year-old striker, scorer of 15 Conference goals last season, became the latest player to commit himself to the club.