As the final run-in of the footballing calendar draws to a close, City of Liverpool FC are looking to round off a successful debut season after their formation last year.
Following their 5-0 victory at home to Chadderton FC at the weekend, COLFC sit second in the North West Counties League Division One table, in an automatic promotion spot.
With only 10 league games to solidify their position to progress, the club also have the small matter of still competing in two of the four cups they can potentially win.
City of Liverpool FC, who currently share the Delta Taxi Stadium with Bootle FC, are only competing for the first time round after announcing their bid to form a new community team back in September 2015.
Club Chairman, Paul Manning, told JMU Journalism: “We interviewed a lot of managers and when we gave Simon [Burton] the job we agreed minimum targets, and none of that was mid-table.
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“An awful lot of stuff happens around the football club that is really good with charity work and fundraising, but at the end of the day we need to be a successful football club.”
Nicknamed ‘The Purps’ after the team shirts of purple – a mix of red and blue – COLFC mirrors clubs like AFC Liverpool and FC United of Manchester, however, Manning states that his side was not forged out of a desire to protest against the modern ‘big-team’ culture.
“We weren’t formed out of anger, we were formed out of happiness – well, wanting happiness anyway,” he added. “We just want a facility in the city that anyone who wants to on a Saturday afternoon can come and support.”
With such a successful debut campaign, it is hard not to look forward to the future and COLFC aim to develop a ground of their own, expanding the squads they currently have.
“All of our focus at the moment is on the first team,” said the chairman. “The reserves have been a bit thin for us, to be honest. They haven’t had a lot of support, but that is going to be changing next season.”
Ideally, the club is looking to move closer to the heart of Liverpool and Manning states that they “have a private sale on-hold, pending other developments,” but he says they aren’t waiting forever.