|
Vauxhall Motors were founded in 1963 after
a new car plant was opened in Ellesmere Port. The club
initially played in the Ellesmere Port League and the
Wirral Combination, but the club soon became a class apart
at that level and, within three years, had moved up into
the West Cheshire League Second Division. Success continued
and, by the end of the decade, the Motormen had moved
into Division One.
After
an indifferent decade in the 70s the club were rejuvenated
in the 80s with the introduction of a new ground at Rivarce
Road. The ground was opened by Bobby Robson, the then
England manager, who brought down a number of former internationals
for a friendly. In the 1985/86 season, the club clinched
the West Cheshire League championship and then successfully
applied to the North West Counties League in 1987.
The
club had three teams in operation, one in the NWCL and
the other two in the WCL. However, with the committee
stretched to the limit, the club were forced to withdraw
from the NWCL. The 1994/95 season saw the club win both
divisions of the WCL and as a result, were accepted back
into the NWCL.
In
their first season back, the Motormen ran away with the
Second Division, securing promotion with ease and in the
1999/00 season, under the management of Alvin McDonald,
the club won the championship with four games to spare.
The upward rise didn't stop there as the club went from
strength to strength and, although they finished ten points
behind champions Bradford Park Avenue the following season,
the club secured the second promotion place and went up
for the second successive year, this time into the Premier
Division.
The
rise didn't even stop there and, after winning eleven
out of the remaining 14 games, they finished their first
Premier Division season in second place. Although they
were 15 points adrift of runaway champions Burton Albion,
they were on their own in second place, ten points clear
of Lancaster City in third, actually amassing ten points
more than their promotion winning team the previous season.
To prove that this wasn't a one off the Motors did well
the following season, finishing a credible third behind
Barrow and runaway leaders Accrington. Their ninth place
finish the following year wasn't quite as impressive,
but they still managed to clinch a place in the new Conference
North. |
