Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

As another New Year rapidly approaches, optimism abounds at The J.Davidson Stadium for what lies ahead.

It's a time for looking forward with eager anticipation at what might be within our compass at Altrincham, but, as we prepare to usher in 2025, it's also worth setting aside a few moments to reflect on the 12 months we're leaving behind.

And what a year 2024 was for the club, both on and off the pitch.

A fantastic run of form towards the end of last season took us to the dizzy heights of the Vanarama National League play-offs, where, for the best part of an hour down in Bromley, we dared to dream of a place in the final at Wembley.

Away from events on the pitch, progress on the commercial front was just as impressive, not least the agreement that was reached with AO to make the UK's biggest and best electricals retailer our main shirt sponsors.

What a coup, one of the most highly visible and instantly recognisable names, seen on delivery vans serving households throughout the nation, now emblazoned across the front of Alty's smart new home and away tops.

Little wonder everyone at the club is relishing the challenge of keeping all departments on an upward trajectory in 2025, but let's pause for a second or two to look back at some of the highlights from the past year.

It started, needless to say, with the weather intervening and disrupting the January fixture list, though it relented enough to allow Chris Conn-Clarke to send an ominous warning to the rest of the league, as, after a New Year's Day goalless draw with FC Halifax Town, he scored in each of the three other games that survived the winter elements.

That set the tone for a truly remarkable contribution from the Northern Ireland under-21 magician, with both the quantity and quality of his goals output captivating not only Alty fans but, inevitably, an increasing number of scouts from EFL clubs.

He was on target again when the Robins destroyed York City 6-1 on March 12th in what proved a catalyst for a run of form that yielded a return of 22 points from nine games and a place in the play-offs.

Alty's vibrant, easy-on-the-eye style of football was drawing fans through the gates in ever-growing numbers, as reflected by the 4,578 who packed into The J.Davidson Stadium on Easter Monday to witness Conn-Clarke score the only goal in a vital derby win over Oldham Athletic.

So it was that Alty fans made their way down to south-east London en masse for a play-off semi-final with Bromley on April 28th, and hopes were high when Regan Linney stuck out a boot instinctively to divert an off-target Conn-Clarke shot past the home keeper to give the Robins a half-time lead.

It wasn't to be, as Bromley stormed back in the second half to win 3-1, but what a season for the Robins, their best on a points-per-game basis since 1990-91.

Not that there was any resting on laurels, as Phil Parkinson and Neil Sorvel went about assessing areas that needed strengthening with their customary diligence and recruited the likes of Tom Crawford, Joe Nuttall, Kahrel Reddin and Tylor Golden ahead of the new campaign.

Away from the pitch, there were two significant developments that captured the imagination of everyone - AO aligning themselves with Alty and a remarkable young man called Joseph Adams defying what most people would consider the bounds of possibility.

It was in the early days of July that the club were able to announce, to a fanfare befitting such momentous news, that AO, Bolton-based but nationally renowned as the UK’s most trusted electricals retailer, were taking over from J.Davidson as our main shirt sponsors.

Listed on the Stock Exchange after rapidly expanding their distribution network and sales, Alty's new backers were already well established as market leaders with their bright green vans bearing the logo "AO Let's go!", and there was an understandable sense of elation at being able to confirm their substantial input and J.Davidson's continuing support as stadium sponsors..

They joined a select group of leading companies already partnering Alty, and they were welcomed to the club by chief executive Sam Mackenzie, who said: "We are delighted to be forming a new relationship with such a vibrant, thriving company as AO, who are very much aligned with us in terms of values and outlook.

"The longevity and commitment from both sides in this partnership will mirror the successful ongoing relationship we have with J.Davidson. We recognise and acknowledge the invaluable contribution J.Davidson have made and continue to make to the club, and we value it greatly."

As the close-season continued, Alty remained very much an item of interest to media outlets beyond the borough of Trafford, as we broke the story that Joseph Adams, a 21-year old Alty fan and club volunteer with Down Syndrome, was in training for the small matter of running 10 lots of 10k across 10 countries in Europe over the course of five days.

His dad Phil candidly admitted beforehand he didn't know whether Joseph would be able to pull it off, as it was something he hadn't attempted before, but, as he quickly added, that was the whole point of the exercise.

Joseph was tackling it head-on to underline there are no limits to what can be achieved if you set your mind to it, and he was cheered to the rafters when he duly completed his challenge by jogging alongside our pitch at Moss Lane at the end of the last leg, which was the Altrincham 10k.

As well as raising eyebrows with the most mind-boggling feat of physical endurance, he also raised well over £400,000 for the Altrincham FC Foundation's disability sports programme after pounding pavements and pathways in Amsterdam, Liege, Luxembourg City, Heidelberg, Bregenz, Zurich, Como, Monaco, Nice and finally Altrincham.

The focus switched back to football with the advent of the 2024-25 season, and while National League player-of-the-year Conn-Clarke was always going to be missed after joining Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee, another prolific scorer stepped up to the plate in the form of Regan Linney.

The Alty marksman strides into the New Year with 14 league goals to his name, including a stunning first-half hat-trick in the 5-0 demolition of AFC Fylde and doubles against Solihull Moors and York to put him out on his own as our leading scorer.

It continues to be a good time to support the Robins, but it's not just on match days when we open our doors and invite people in with the warmest of welcomes.

Our Warm Space weekly get-togethers offer a convivial cuppa and chat for anyone looking for respite from the cold weather, while the Sporting Memories gatherings are proving every bit as popular and we are proud to play host to Andy's Man Club every week. Each set-up is there for the benefit of local people, each one a reminder of the value we place on serving the local community.

In addition, our town centre retail shop has just celebrated its first anniversary, and, as the year comes to an end, Phil and the boys are within touching distance of the play-off places and a rejuvenated women's team are top of the tree at Christmas, league leaders after a fantastic start to their campaign.

Yes, it has been a great 12 months - we can't wait to welcome you all back into The J.Davidson Stadium for what we hope will be an equally memorable year in 2025.