This article is part of the ‘League Preview’ series, in which every day we take a detailed look at one of Aldershot Town’s 23 prospective opponents for the upcoming National League season.
First up is four-time Alliance Premier League champions and two-time FA Trophy winners, Altrincham FC.
Having existed exclusively outside of England’s top-four tiers, ‘the Robins’ have been a regular staple of non-league football since 1891.
Promoted from the National League North in 2019-20, Alty will be entering their sixth successive season at step-one, having finished the previous campaign in 9th place, with a final tally of 64 points proving just four shy of a play-off berth.
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Where is Altrincham?
Situated in England’s North West, the ~50,000 population town of Altrincham is the 11th largest settlement in Greater Manchester. Approximately 205 miles from the EBB Stadium, the 3h 45m journey will mark Aldershot’s 10th longest away journey of the upcoming league season.
In what is undoubtedly one of the world’s busiest footballing regions, the club staggeringly share their county with a further eight professional teams, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic and fellow National League members, Rochdale.
While competition for relevance against the Premier League behemoths nearby is an understandable struggle, their comparatively southern locality, combined with the likes of Chester and Macclesfield’s return to former glory pending, means that Altrincham FC currently serves as the closest place to see fifth-tier football or higher in much of neighboring Cheshire, including the residents of Northwich (45,000), Knutsford (13,191), and most notably, Warrington (165,456), granting the side what is technically among the more significant catchment areas in the division.
The Robins play at the J. Davidson Stadium, formerly known as Moss Lane. The 5,450 capacity ground has been the club’s home for 115 years and counting, and has also hosted Manchester United academy and women’s fixtures in recent years.
Altrincham finished 2024/25 with an average league attendance of 2,088, the 14th highest among teams in this season’s competition.
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Recent history and club highlights
The past ten years began tough for the side from Trafford, after successive relegations saw the club fall to the seventh tier of English football for the first time. However, a relatively quick return to step-one, led by long-serving and still incumbent manager Phil Parkinson, preceded a period of sustained stability for the Robins, who have been genuine promotion hopefuls in their past two fifth-tier campaigns.
2024/25 – National League (9th)
2023/24 – National League (4th)
2022/23 – National League (17th)
2021/22 – National League (14th)
2020/21 – National League (17th)
2019/20 – NL North (5th, Promoted via play-offs)
2018/19 – NL North (5th)
2017/18 – Northern Premier League (1st, Promoted)
2016/17 – National League North (22nd, Relegated)
2015/16 – National League (22nd, Relegated)
Their 4th place finish in 2024 represented the club’s finest league finish since the turn of the century. Unfortunately, a 3-1 play-off semi-final loss to eventual Wembley winners Bromley foiled efforts of reaching the Football League for the very first time in the club’s 130+ year existence.
Historically, Altrincham’s most significant achievements have arrived in cup competition, while as well as having won the FA Trophy in both 1978 and 1986, they also boast the impressive record of being the club to pull off the greatest number of non-league vs football league upsets in the history of the FA Cup, with 17.
Two of these aforementioned ‘giant killings’ occurred during the 1985-86 season, their furthest ever run in the competition. Beating Blackpool 2-1 in the second round before putting two goals past a young David Seaman to defeat first division Birmingham City away from home in the third, this St. Andrews scalp remains the Robins’ most iconic victory on the road.
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Pre-season, incoming transfers and other news
At time of writing, Altrincham have made 5 first team signings.
| Player | Pos. | Age | Arriving from… | Highest level played |
| James Gale | CF | 23 | Mansfield Town | League Two (Mansfield) |
| Keaton Ward | CAM | 25 | Boston United | League Two (Mansfield) |
| Sam Reed | LB | 22 | Sheffield Wed. | National League (Boston) |
| Jimmy Knowles | CF | 24 | Accrington S. | League Two (Mansfield) |
| Luke Hutchinson | GK | 22 | Bolton (loan) | League One (Crawley) |
Interestingly, the incoming outfield quartet all share incredibly similar career history emanating from the east midlands, with three previously playing for Nottinghamshire based Mansfield Town, and all four enjoying a stint at fellow National League side Boston United.
In terms of departures, it has been a trying transfer window for the Robins, losing – among others – 38-goal-pair Alex Newby and Regan Linney to league rivals York and Carlisle respectively, which will undoubtedly affect their growing promotion hopes.
Altrincham’s current pre-season schedule is as follows:
Warrington Town 0-3 Altrincham (12/07)
Altrincham vs Radcliffe (18/07)
Darlington vs Altrincham (26/07)
Altrincham vs Port Vale (29/07)
Altrincham vs Nottingham Forest U21 (02/08)
With a late-July tie against newly promoted League One outfit, Port Vale, Phil Parkinson’s side will be enjoying tests of increasing difficulty throughout the month, before finally competing against the elite development side of Europa League participants, Nottingham Forest.
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When will Aldershot and Altrincham play each other?
While these previews are strictly being released in alphabetical order, following the release of the National League fixture list, Aldershot are conveniently scheduled to begin their season with a trip to the J. Davidson Stadium on Saturday 9th August, while Tommy Widdrington’s men are due to host the Robins on Saturday 6th December, making it the earliest return fixture of the term.
The sides first met in the FA Trophy in February 1999, as a travelling Altrincham side emerged 2-1 victors at the Recreation Ground to progress to the competition’s 5th round.
They would finally meet in league competition for the first time in 2005/06, and have since contested 20 domestic fixtures in as many years, the overall head-to-head of which is as follows.
Games played: 21
Aldershot wins: 9
Altrincham wins: 8
Draws: 4
Aggregate score: 24-26
Record Shots victory: 3-1 (2014)
Record Altrincham victory: 5-1 (2006)
While honours are largely even historically, this fixture proved incredibly fruitful for the Shots last campaign, as successive victories saw them claim six points from their northern rivals for a third time (Also 2020/21 & 2007/08).
Interestingly enough, the score has been 2-1 in both home and away matches, and this was exactly the case last term each time this league double has occurred, as a brace from James Henry secured the points in north Hampshire in November before Cameron Hargeaves and Maxwell Mullins combined for a dramatic late-victory on the road in March.
