Aldershot Town Football Club look to help shape a brighter future by celebrating their glorious past on Saturday 04 December.
‘Class of 92’ reunites many of the key figures from the club’s triumphant first season, 1992-93, at a fundraising event for the Shots Player Fund, which aims to provide vital finances to bolster current manager Kevin Dillon’s transfer budget.
Already confirmed to attend the event, held in the Xfor Lounge at the EBB Stadium following the afternoon’s League Two fixture against Bradford City, are Club founder Terry Owens, along with all-time leading goalscorer Mark Butler and his prolific strike partner Steve Stairs, player-coach Paul Shrubb, left-back-turned-groundsman Andy Nunn, midfielders Tony Calvert and Shaun May, defenders Steve Harris and Stuart Udal, and goalkeepers Mark Watson and Dale Walker.
Kevin Dillon and Assistant Manager Gary Owers will also be in attendance.
After Aldershot FC were wound up in the High Court in March 1992, Aldershot Town FC went on to win the Diadora League Division Three championship by 18 points in its first campaign – a season which set the club on its way to five promotions in 16 years and a return to the Football League. They went 21 League games unbeaten from the start of the season, and lost just two of their 38 matches in securing the Championship before the end of March.
Between them, Steve Stairs and Mark Butler scored 62 of the team’s 90 goals in 1992-93, and a combined total of 230 in 430 games in their Aldershot Town careers. Butler remains the club’s all-time leading scorer with 155 goals.
At a time when many football clubs are struggling financially, the Aldershot Town Player Fund has been set up by a group of five long-standing supporters to create an additional income stream to aid investment in the playing squad. The fund has contributed to several key loan signings, including strikers Dean Morgan and Damian Spencer. The fund hopes to raise £20,000 by 14 January 2011 and plan several future events.
Andy Nunn, the club’s first regular left-back in autumn 1992 and now regarded as one of the best Groundsmen in League Two, has seen Aldershot Town grow from non-League part-timers to League Two promotion challengers. “I was very happy to be involved in this event. The Shots Player Fund is a fantastic idea. It could be the difference between promotion and failure. If the scheme does contribute to getting the right player, that can make or break your season.
“Dean Morgan was a classic example last season – we were struggling to score goals, our form dipped a little bit in the New Year, and Dean scored some important goals after signing on loan from MK Dons. His winner at Cheltenham was a huge goal, and he virtually paid for himself with that goal alone.
“It’s always good to catch up with the players from 1992, as well,” explained Nunn. “It’s amazing how the club has moved on, but I think with the fanbase we had, we knew we were part of something special, a part of the jigsaw that was finished with the return to the Football League. They were exciting times.”
Nick Fryer, from Shots Player Share, the group behind the Player Fund, said: “We are just a group of dedicated Shots fans who wanted to do our bit to help. It started with a fund to buy Jonny Dixon a few years ago and took off from there. We have helped the club to bring in Jamie Young, Aaron Brown, Ollie Bozanic, Marlon Jackson, Damian Spencer, and Dean Morgan, who made such an impact in helping us reach the Play-Offs last season. Our aim at the moment is to give Kevin Dillon some funds to use in January which could be used for a loan signing, extending a young player’s contract or helping to buy a player.”
The final few tickets for this event, which begins at 7.30pm, are £30 each, available from paul.marcus@964eagle.co.uk