There’s a local derby for the Reds tomorrow as Bury visit the Store First Stadium.
As kick off approaches, the official website takes a look at all the things you need to know about the opposition.
History
Bury FC were founded in 1885 and have been members of the Football League in 1894, making them the third longest serving continuous members.
In the early 20th century the club won the FA Cup twice and in the 1920’s they recorded their highest ever league position of fourth in the First Division but two years later they saw themselves relegated.
They remained in the middle reaches of the Football League for many years but didn’t play in the Fourth Division until the 1970’s following relegation in 1971.
The slide was addressed in the following decade though and by the 90s they were back in the second tier.
Ever since it has been an up and down tale, with relegations meaning fourth tier football in the mid 2000’s but a promotion under Richie Barker in 2011 saw them back into League One.
This is their first campaign back in League Two following relegation last season and David Flitcroft is the club’s third manager of the season following Kevin Blackwell and Ronnie Jepson in the hotseat.
Manager
David Flitcroft
Flitcroft has only been in the job since December after being appointed as permanent successor to Kevin Blackwell following Ronnie Jepson’s spell at the helm.
He’d previously been in charge at Barnsley after getting the job on a permanent basis having saved the club from relegation from the Championship.
Flitcroft has a wealth of coaching experience from time spent as assistant manager to Keith Hill at both Barnsley and Rochdale
One to Watch
Anton Forrester
Striker Forrester is currently enjoying a fruitful loan spell at Gigg Lane from Blackburn Rovers and has so far netted 6 goals this term.
He spent ten years at Merseyside giants Everton as a junior without ever featuring for the first team before moving to Ewood Park in 2012.
The 19 year old did enough to impress former Rovers boss Michael Appleton during his tenure at the club as Forrester was handed his debut in an FA Cup encounter with Millwall.
There have been 18 previous meetings between the sides with Bury well on top in the head-to-head record with ten wins to Stanley’s five.
The last game between the teams was in August when Bury were 3-0 winners at Gigg Lane thanks to goals from Anton Forrester, Jordan Sinnott and Marlon Jackson. Stanley’s Danny Webber was sent off.
The Reds did triumph in their last home meeting though, with Joe Jacobson scoring the only goal of the game in January 2011.
Stanley have lost just once in their last six outings though only two of those games, at Mansfield and last weekend at Cheltenham, have been victories.
The Reds have only been beaten once at the Store First Stadium in their last nine league matches.
They sit 18th in League Two, three points outside the relegation places and the same number behind 13th placed York City.
The Shakers have won two of their last five matches, losing just once in that time away at Chesterfield.
They’ve won twice away from home in League Two this season and sit a point and a place behind their hosts in the table.
James Beattie has no new injury concerns for the game though Marcus Carver, who had been on loan at AFC Fylde, requires shin surgery.
Loan signing Lee Molyneux could make his first appearances since returning to the club from Crewe Alexandra.
New signings Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro and Andrew Tutte are available to make their Shakers debut after joining the club this week.
Former Stanley captain Andy Procter could play against his former club at the Store First Stadium for the first time if selected.
Winger Danny Mayor is suspended.
Stanley Top Scorers
Kal Naismith 7
Peter Murphy 7
Kayode Odejayi 5
James Gray 4
Danny Webber 3
George Bowerman 3
Bury Top Scorers
Anton Forrester 6
Daniel Nardiello 5
Nathan Cameron 4
William Edjenguele 3
Tom Soares 3
The Man in the Middle
Kevin Wright (Cambridgeshire)
So Far This Season: `13 games, 39 yellows, one red
Last Stanley Game: Oxford 1 ASFC 1 – 24/09/11
All supporters can pay at the turnstiles – this is a category B match so admission on the day is £15 for adults, £10 for over 65s, £6 for students & under 17s and £1 for accompanied under 12s.
