The History of FBFC
23 Nov 2008

Forever Bury FC is the name given to the Bury Football Club fans team, a group of Bury fans who travel across the country to watch their favourite team play, and who also take on supporters of those teams before the matches in games of football. The 2004/2005 season has been the team's most successful yet, having won every game they have played in the IFA fans league, and the success of Forever Bury FC is such that a second team has been started, their own six-a-side festival of football tournament begun, and they have entered into the Worldnet fans team competition and have high aspirations for winning. But how did a group of Bury supporters become so successful in such a short space of time?

The Beginning

At the start of the 2003/2004 season, on 23 August, Bury FC were due to play Kidderminster Harriers at their Aggborough ground in the Midlands . It was an ordinary match at the start of an ordinary season. However, one Kidderminster Harriers fan registered on the Bury message board and posted a message challenging Bury FC to a game between the fans prior to the actual match later that afternoon. Bury FC obviously did not have a fans team at that point, but the idea suggested by the Kidderminster fan sparked much interest in the concept. Through the message board, a group of fans all agreed to play and turn up to the ground at 10.30 for kick-off. The organisation was not brilliant, and many of the players were meeting each other for the first time. The ground was hard and the conditions very hot. Players were put into positions that were not their favourite and the Bury fans team found themselves eventually losing the game by four goals to one. The result was not the best, but all the players agreed they had enjoyed playing and that it would be a good idea to do it some other time.

Hull City then challenged Bury supporters to a game before their night match at Gigg Lane , but as most of the Bury supporters had jobs, they found they would not be available to play at the kick-off time, and a pitch to play on would also be difficult to discover. Unfortunately, the game was called off.

It was four months before anything further happened with the fans team, but when it did, it was the start of something big. Hull City again challenged Bury to a game. The Tigers were riding high in the Third Division and heading for promotion. Bury would travel to the magnificent new KC Stadium to lose the game 2-0. The challenge for a game before the real match, however, was accepted, and was better organised this time. Bury fans, again through the message board, were gathered together, and they announced their preferred position. Some would be playing for the first time, but others, most notably John, Jimmy and Dave, had all played in the Kidderminster game. The players arrived on time at a nice pitch just outside the centre of Hull for a nail biting match that resulted in a 1-1 draw. Everybody had to agree that the match had been a great success for both teams, and everybody had enjoyed themselves.

After the game, rather than letting the idea of a Bury fans team stagnate again, John and Jimmy took it upon themselves to keep the idea going and to get the same group of players together again for a further fans game. An old Bury FC kit from a couple of seasons back was donated to the team by the club to wear during matches, and John said he would supply nets for goals and corner flags.

This would prove vital, as the next game for the Bury fans would be a home match.

Re-match

Kidderminster Harriers again were the Shakers opponents, and the King George's field was selected as the best pitch for the Bury fans to play on. As well as the core of players who had started against Hull City, a number of other players turned up for the game, including Laura, who after coming on as a substitute would prove to be the team's only female player. After a tight game, Kidderminster eventually won 4-2, but again the day had been a success and support for the Bury fans was growing on the internet, and a match report was posted along with pictures from the game. They earned their own section on the message board, and ideas for their own website were put forward. The name of the team was decided upon as Forever Bury FC, taking the title from the Bury FC Supporters Society which the team was linked to.

The gaps between matches were becoming smaller and the Bury fans had two games during February, one at Oxford that ended in a 3-3 draw, and another against local rivals Radcliffe Borough that also resulted in a 3-3 draw. The same core of players was turning up for each match, with others also playing a part. The players got to know each other and would go to the Social Club or a nearby pub after the game to relax.

Throughout March and April, the team drew 1-1 with Rochdale , and narrowly lost 4-3 to Yeovil in their longest away trip ever. The team could not buy a win, even with "Gifted" and Neil up front. The team was gelling better, but were still after that elusive first win. It was whilst at Yeovil that their supporters suggested to Forever Bury FC the idea of joining the national IFA fans league that most of the fans teams across the country were a part of. It was food for thought for the coming season. Forever Bury FC ended the long season with a 5-2 reverse at home to Macclesfield, but despite not having won a game, the fans team was undoubtedly a success.

Turning Point

Things were quiet during the close season, but plans were afoot to introduce Forever Bury into the IFA League. The season started for Bury with a friendly trip to Radcliffe Borough, but the game ended up being a disaster as they lost with many key players missing. Once the season arrived though, it was clear that the year would be different to the previous one. Many players from the opening year of Forever Bury had left to do other things, and so only a few remained. New, young talent was brought in and the players immediately started to make an impact together.

The first game of the season saw Forever Bury at Rochdale in a hard fought out 4-4 draw. It was a game that the previous season they would probably have lost. Goals were now beginning to flow freely up front, and confidence was high that this season could be much more successful than the first. Their next game was against Kidderminster again, but despite the improvements to the side, it still resulted in a 3-4 defeat. Shrewsbury away provided another tough match that ended even at 1-1.

It was then that Forever Bury joined the IFA League. Made up of a good number of fans teams spread out all across England, Wales and Scotland, teams would be awarded three points for a draw, one point for a win, and one point for turning up (even if you lost!). This is where the Shakers' winning run began. Their first game was at Oxford where the fans won their first ever game 5-2. From September to December, they played seven different fans teams, winning on each occasion, beating Macclesfield 8-1 and Swansea City 9-0. They steadily started to climb up through the league with the same core group of players turning out to every match, with a few exceptions. The team played well together and morale was high amongst them.

During these months, a group of about eight Forever Bury players entered themselves into Radcliffe Borough's five-a-side tournament. The team did well, playing for the first time under normal five-a-side rules, but eventually ended up losing. Despite the defeat, it proved that Forever Bury FC could branch out into other areas of football.

Money started to be raised within the team by running a football card at away grounds and in the Social Club at home matches. The Hatchet - the monthly Bury fanzine - put in some money to the fans team as the main sponsors. Players had to pay £2 subs in order to get a game. Forever Bury FC started to turn over a profit, despite having to pay for the pitches, with which they purchased a football and were able to put a first aid kit together. They also decided that they needed a new, up-to-date Bury kit. With £200 raised, they contacted Carlotti through Chip, and were able to negotiate a deal to get a complete Bury FC away strip with squad numbers and The Hatchet logo on the back of the shirt. They saw the new kit for the first time and, as they did not have a game one Saturday, the players got themselves kitted out and were allowed to go onto the Gigg Lane pitch to have a squad photograph taken by the official Bury FC club photographer. The picture included Bury player Matt Barrass, manager Graham Barrow and assistant Kelham O'Hanlon.

The structure of the team was also plotted out. Jimmy would be manager and would be in charge of which players started and which players were brought on. Dave would be in charge of the kit and also in charge of the team's finance. John would be the overall chairman of the team, in charge of running the organisation and a good liaison with Bury FC. Chip, and later Paul, would be in charge of contacting other teams through the IFA to arrange games for the team, in the hope that most Saturdays, Forever Bury would have a match to play as they looked to advance up the league. Mike, and later Neil, would write match reports for the team after each game, and Neil would also be in charge of the board donated to the team in the Forever Bury cabin, where they would advertise upcoming matches and inform visiting supporters about the team.

Doubling Up

As more and more matches were played, the name of the Forever Bury fans team became more widely known, not only amongst teams we played against, but also amongst Bury supporters. More people started to come down to matches in the hope of a game, and some were left disappointed and frustrated that they could not. Jimmy had seemed to find a winning formula for the team, playing the best players that were available to him (and himself). The team continued on their winning run. But at the same time, it was felt that the disappointed supporters needed to be accommodated for as well.

It was decided to introduce a second team for Forever Bury, and in this team (run by Dave and Mark), the aim would not be to win every game - this was not important as they were not a member of the IFA League - merely to let anybody who wanted a game, play a game. Those who had turned up to every match, yet had only played a meagre amount of football would get a starting position in this B team. Their first match was on 5 February when they took on Darlington , losing narrowly 2-1. Despite this, everybody got played and everybody was happy. The second team used the old white Bury kit that had once been used for the first team, and went on to play a further three matches that season, including their first win 7-4 against McDonalds.

Jimmy entered a team into the East Bury five-a-side competition, and the B team also entered a team. However, this turned out to be a disastrous decision as both teams were jeered and racially abused, and they eventually decided to withdraw from the tournament altogether. It is surely one of the darkest chapters in the history of Forever Bury FC.

As the season drew to a close, Forever Bury remained undefeated, and yet to draw against a team in the IFA. They climbed up to eighth place and were feared by almost everybody in the IFA League. Had they entered earlier, it is possible that they may have played enough matches to become champions, but that is something hopefully to look forward to next season.

The Future

Winning every game in a season is no mean feat, and Forever Bury will look to continue that fantastic run into the 2005/2006 season when they will again play in the IFA League, hoping to better their performance from this season and remain on an unprecedented winning run.

They are also entering two teams into the Worldnet tournament in Leeds this summer. The A and B team will both take players to this competition of fans teams over three days with the very real possibility of picking up a trophy. Forever Bury are also making their own tournament - the Festival of Football - that will involve many six-a-side teams playing for a prestigious trophy. Votes have been frantic on the Bury message board voting for the FBFC player of the season, goal of the season, and all manner of other awards that will hopefully be presented on the Forever Bury FC end of season party.

As ever, the future looks bright for Forever Bury FC.