Next up: Stafford Rangers. Venue: Rivacre Park. Date: Saturday, February 12: PLATFORM shoes and extensive facial hair in the shape of big bushy sideburns and droopy moustaches are probably popular at Stafford Rangers.
This isn't a suggestion that Vauxhall's visitors from the Midlands are stuck in a time-warp but rather that the club enjoyed a fantastic period of success in the 1970s.
Rangers were originally formed way back in 1876 and one of the quirks of their early life came at the turn of the 20th Century when an administrative error forced them to play in both the Cheshire League and Birmingham League in the same season.
Although the club lifted the Birmingham League title in 1927, financial problems hit the club hard in the 1930s depression and they were disbanded in 1940.
A reformed Rangers returned to action in the Cheshire League in 1952 and in 1968 they were founder members of the Northern Premier League.
It was under the stewardship of Roy Chapman, the late father of former League Championship-winning Leeds United centre-forward Lee, that Stafford enjoyed their most heady days.
Chapman steered Rangers to the 'treble' of Northern Premier League title, Staffordshire Senior Cup and FA Trophy in 1972 with the latter achieved through a 3-0 thumping of Barnet at Wembley.
Three years later, there was glory on the FA Cup trail as Rangers reached the fourth round by defeating Halifax, Stockport and Rotherham before bowing out 2-1 against Peterborough United in front of 31,000 fans at Stoke City's Victoria Ground.
The run obviously impressed Stock-port's board and Chapman was soon on his way to Edgeley Park.
During his absence, the club reached another FA Trophy final but lost out 3-2 to Scarborough after extra time.
But after a year in the bottom half of Division Four with 'The Hatters', Chapman returned to Marston Road, guiding his old side to a third FA Trophy final - a 2-0 success over Kettering Town.
Despite being founder members of the Alliance Premier League, the precursor to the modern Conference, Rangers endured a turbulent existence in the late 1980s, going through six managers.
With the club again dogged by mounting bills, talented young players such as Stan Collymore and Paul Devlin had to be sold.
A new board was installed in 1998 and since then Rangers have been on a more stable footing.
A recent run of good results has helped Rangers climb into the top half of the table and hopes are high that they can finish the debut Nationwide North season on a positive note. Form guide: Feb 5 D 1-1 v Hinckley United (H); Jan 24 W 3-0 v Sutton Coldfield Town (A); Jan 22 W 4-0 v Worksop Town (H); Jan 15 W 1-0 v Harrogate Town (A); Jan 11 W 1-0 v Alfreton Town (A).
