Ashton United Football Club, nicknamed “The Robins,” is a non-league football club based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.
Established in 1878, they currently compete in the Pitching In Northern Premier League Premier Division, which is part of the seventh tier of English football. The team calls Hurst Cross their home ground.
In 2002, under the guidance of Gerry Quinn, Ashton United achieved promotion to the Premier Division through the first-ever NPL play-offs. Alongside this success, the club retained the Manchester Premier Cup, a title they had won the previous season, and went on to win it again in 2003. They were also runners-up in this cup in 2004, the same year they became founding members of the Conference North. However, their time in this league was short-lived, as they faced relegation after just one season.
Danny Johnson took over as manager in the latter part of the 2006-07 season, helping the club avoid relegation. His six-year tenure saw Ashton United become a stable mid-table team in the NPL. The period was marked by a legal challenge in 2009/10 when the club was successfully sued for damages by Marcus Hallows, a former Altrincham player injured in a match against Ashton in 2005. Despite this off-field setback, Johnson’s time as manager was highlighted by winning the NPL League Challenge Cup in 2011, defeating Northwich Victoria 1-0.
After Johnson moved to Nantwich Town at the end of the 2012-13 season, his assistant-manager Craig Robinson was promoted but resigned for personal reasons. Paul Phillips then stepped up as manager, with Steve Halford as co-manager. In an unexpected turn, the club nearly achieved promotion, defeating FC United of Manchester in a dramatic play-off semi-final. However, they narrowly missed out in the play-off final, losing to AFC Fylde in a penalty shoot-out.