A Great Club History!
29 Nov 2007

Where do we start? With over forty years now behind us, there is much to recount about this great club. Without doubt though, any history lesson on Deans has to start with its founder, chairman and coach to the current Under 7's, Dennis Schofield. Yes, we did say coach because even in his late 70's, Dennis is as active on the pitch today as he ever has been. But that could be said of him in every other respect too because in the four and a bit decades in which he has served the Club, his
dedication and love for it has not changed one iota, remaining as instrumental as ever in trying to move it forward to bigger and better things. In 2004, we paid tribute to Den for his unique contribution by staging a 'This Is Your Life' type evening for him. It was a great occasion and one which totally surprised him when he was pounced
upon as he entered what he had been told was a Halloween fund-raising event. As the penny began to drop and he slowly realised that the gathering of 150 or so faces, some from the past and some from the present, was in fact in his honour, he was clearly moved. At the introduction of his son and grandson, who had travelled from their home in Holland for his special night, he was unavoidably in tears. By the time the evening was brought to a close with (as in the time honoured way of the famous TV show) the handing over of the 'Red Book', there wasn't a dry eye in the house. A mark of the respect for the man and a mark of the community spirit that is Deans.

We started our brief look at the history of the Club with this account of Dennis' 'This Is Your Life' because, quite simply, Deans is Dennis and Dennis is Deans. Without him we would not have a history, nor would we have an extensive archive to prove it. As a keen scrapbook keeper, he has over the years amassed
pages and pages of newspaper cuttings and team photos, especially from those early years when the Club was known as Clifton Palace FC.

The year was 1964 and a street team, which included Dennis' son Michael, was eager to become a 'proper' team and to play in a league. As a former player
of some renown and a qualified referee in the bargain, Michael's dad Dennis was the obvious choice to be asked to be come their manager. Being as football mad as they were, Dennis didn't need to be asked twice and so that founding team, affectionately referred to today as the 'Ragamuffins' because of their humble beginnings, was born.

In the months leading up to the 'Ragamuffins' league debut, the boys were put through their paces on a piece of spare ground behind Dennis' house, which
he had 'floodlit' by means of two industrial search lights powered from a single socket in his kitchen (Health and Safety hadn't been invented then). This allowed uninterrupted training throughout the otherwise dark nights and so prepare the team to be at its best when the first 'proper' whistle blew the following September.
That inaugural season was a great success and so too were most of those that followed, tempting more and more players to join the happy throng. Eventually
the one team became two and then three and inevitably the spare ground behind Den's house began to suffer under the strain of so many boots. New pastures had to be found.

Dennis turned to his employers, B.O.C. in Swinton, for help. Their factory site included enough space for him to train all of his teams and to his delight, B.O.C. were happy to help. With a new home and with continued success, yet more players became attracted to the 'Palace set-up until - yes, you've guessed it - even the B.O.C. grounds couldn't cope. Once again the search was on for a bigger facility and once again Dennis found one, this time at the Deans Activities
Centre in Deans Road. Here, not only were there adjoining school fields but there was a full sized, floodlit, all-weather training pitch too. After agreeing with the youth leaders at the centre to adopt the name 'Deans Sports & Youth' in acknowledgement of the new association, our resting place of the past 30 odd years was found.

In the time which has passed since that move, there have been many more triumphs and trophies won on the pitch by the thousands of junior players that have represented the Club. There have been many triumphs off it too such as our achieving Charter Standard Community Club status in 2004 - the highest FA rating for a junior club. Our place in the history of local junior football, whether as Clifton Palace, Deans Sports FC and now as Deans Youth & Ladies FC based in Ellesmere Park, Eccles, is therefore assured. A tribute indeed to Dennis and a tribute too to the great 'family' that is Deans.