Season Summary 2008/09
After the traumatic events of the previous season, the club was looking for some stability. There were a number of new appointments. With Dave Hughes taking over as First Team manager, he brought in John Brannigan as his assistant, Glenn Moses as coach, massage therapist Alan Hayes and Keith O'Brien as physio. Initially Francis Egan also joined as coach, but left during the course of the season. With Christine Rowlands having resigned as secretary, LR tried the option of having a Matchday Secretary in Jo Griffiths and a Club Secretary in Kylie Wilcox. However, this arrangement didn't work out and after a short time Kylie took over both jobs.
Once the final confirmation came at the League's AGM that no clubs would be relegated from the top division, Hughes set about building a new team. Of the regular first team players, only two remained from the previous season, Ross McNair and Phil Howard. Knowing the new management had virtually no money to spend on players, most people at the club expected a relegation battle this season, but the team exceeded everyone's expectations. In the 20 League games up to the turn of the year, only five matches were lost. On top of that, the club reached the semi-final of the Goldline Trophy and had a little run in the FA Cup, which included an impressive win over Northern Premier League side Chorley. There was the occasional hiccup, but on the whole especially considering everyone's pre-season expectations, it was a superb first half of the season. This was reflected when Ross McNair was awarded the League's Player Of The Month for the Premier Division in October, receiving his award before the kick off against Bacup Borough in the Lancashire Trophy.
The autumn also saw LR complete their 900th North West Counties League match when they met St Helens Town, celebrating the occasion by leaving Knowsley Road with a 6 - 3 win.
The management received some much needed help in October, when Barry Nelson of B Nelson Electrical agreed to sponsor the team.
Poor weather meant that in the six weeks from the end of November into January, only two competitive games were played, but when conditions improved the team carried on where they had left off. This was better than expected as the management had to contend with a few players moving on and a number of injuries and suspensions, forcing them to search for replacements. Initially the changes seemed to work and apart from a couple of disappointing performances, results went well including a Goldline Trophy semi-final win. In March, Daniel Smith's penalty against Ramsbottom was the teams 100th goal of the season in all matches.
However, that signalled a change in form as the team lost seven of the next nine league games. Not all of those were unexpected, playing the top three clubs in the League and the small squad of available players, on occasion just 14 including a couple of reserve teamers, had to play seven games in just two weeks. On top of that, manager Dave Hughes rested a few players before the Goldline Trophy final to ensure that they didn't pick up injuries before the match. The way the Goldline Trophy worked for this season meant that only 15 players remained at the club who were eligible to play in the final, so Hughes had little choice but to play weakened teams in league games to ensure he had a full fit squad for the Reebok final. The last League game saw them beat Nelson to finish 12th. The team had done exceptionally with the management doing a remarkable job considering they had started with nothing back in the summer with no money to spend. Had they not had the poor final few weeks, a top ten place would have been theirs.
There was still some celebration though as the team won the Goldline Trophy for a record 4th time after defeating Stoneclough in a closely fought final. The game was interesting in one area. Two of Atherton's players, Kane Bentley and Rob Howarth, had signed from other clubs and were both registered to play for Stoneclough in the Goldline competition. That meant their only chance of playing at the Reebok Stadium in the final depended on manager Dave Hughes allowing them to turn out for the opposition against their own team mates. Rather than deny the lads the chance at playing on a Premier Division pitch, Hughes gave his blessing to their turning out for Stoneclough against their own team. No quarter was given and it was Rob Howarth who scored for Stoneclough. Howarth was also awarded Man of the Match for his hard work in the game. The team also reached the final of the Bolton Hospital Cup, but for the first time, LR lost a final at the Reebok Stadium going down 3 - 2 to Eagley.
Although final confirmation has yet to be made, it is most likely that this season Paul Crompton became the clubs top goalscorer since joining senior football in 1980. The popular player returned to the club this season and his goal at Formby in February 2009 quite probably gave him the accolade.
It was a bad season for the reserves. Long standing club stalwart Malcolm Anderton resigned to take over as manager at Pennington and Lee Povah took over the reigns. However, he soon moved on and Carl North took over until the end of the season. Although the team finished bottom of the reserve division, first hand experience showed that the team was only lacking in being able to take advantage of the chances created. They played well enough, but couldn't find the back of the net. The team reached the semi-finals of the Reserve Division Cup, despite losing in the first round to AFC Fylde as their opponents fielded an ineligible player and were removed from the competition.
Off the pitch, things weren't easy with fewer and fewer people actively involved in the running of the club. Various options were talked about between officials and supporters about the clubs future, but the ultimate decision was to carry on as before.
Leaving the club at the end of the season was long serving programme editor Tim Lees, who had taken over the job during the 1998/99 season. Taking up the mantle was Jeff Gorse, who had experience in producing a programme at Leigh Miners Welfare Rugby Club.