Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Altrincham.
The Opposition
Another competitive season for Altrincham saw Phil Parkinson guide the Robins to within four points of the play-off spots, missing out on the top seven due to a dismal run of form that saw them win just two of their final 13 games, including a 6-1 defeat to relegation contenders Dagenham & Redbridge.
Long-serving manager Phil Parkinson has been in the hotseat at the J. Davidson Stadium since the eve of the last game of the 2016/17 season, and overseen an impressive rise to the top tier of non-league football, having taken over with the club relegated to the Northern Premier League.
The departures of Regan Linney to Carlisle United and Alex Newby to York City will be a clear blow for the club, having spearheaded Altrincham’s impressive attack with 23 and 15 goals respectively, although Jimmy Knowles is an exciting recruit from Accrington Stanley to help plug the gap.
Tom Crawford and Elliot Osborne were also both ever-presents in the heart of the Robins’ midfield, and struck up a key partnership in the Parkinson’s engine room that drove them to within touching distance of the play-offs.
Alty have since added a host of quality to their ranks alongside Knowles, including Charlie Kirk (Barrow), James Gale (Mansfield Town), Billy Sass-Davies (Hartlepool United), Keaton Ward (Boston United), Sam Barnes (Barrow), Sam Reed (Sheffield Wednesday), Luke Hutchinson (Bolton Wanderers) and Dan Sassi (Blackpool), and have started the campaign with three wins and four defeats.
The Manager
Phil Parkinson
Phil Parkinson has held the role of Altrincham manager since 2017, being appointed on the eve of the last game of the 2016/17 season in which Altrincham had been relegated to the Northern Premier League.
The former player was a junior at Crewe Alexandra and Reading, before spending a year at Port Vale, and later making 200 appearances for Nantwich Town as a player, where he captained the team that won the FA Vase in 2006. He would continue his form with Nantwich into his managerial career as well, leading the Dabbers to promotion from the North West Counties League and UniBond League First Division. He had been in charge at the Swansway Stadium since February 2015, and in that time transformed them from a relegation-threatended club to promotion contenders, as well as guiding Nantwich to the FA Trophy semi-final in 2016.
After departing for Altrincham a year later, Parkinson would enjoy promotion from the Northern Premier League as champions in his first season and reached the National League North play-offs in the 2018/19, before finally winning promotion to the National League via a successful play-off run in 2020. Following another exciting season in 2022/23, which included a run to the semi-final of the FA Trophy, a respectable National League campaign, and a Cheshire Senior Cup final appearance, Parkinson and his assistant Neil Sorvel extended their deals with the club, and preceded a fourth place finish and a run to the play-off semi-final, before another respective ninth place finish last term.
Photo Credit: Altrincham Football Club
One to Watch
Jimmy Knowles
The departure of Regan Linney in the summer left an 18-goal gap to fill for Altrincham, but the Robins’ frontline has been bolstered nonetheless with the signing of former Boston United forward, Jimmy Knowles.
A product of the Mansfield Town academy, Knowles had spent time in the youth setup at Nottingham Forest before moving to the One Call Stadium, and was called up to the first team by manager David Flitcroft after he scored four goals in a single reserve game against Port Vale in March 2019.
He subsequently signed a two-year deal with the Stags and went on to make six appearances for the club, before moving on loan to Notts County in 2020. This saw him score his first senior hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Woking, and preceded further loan stints at Greenock Morton and Kettering Town.
His time in Scotland was prematurely halted though, suffering an ACL injury that saw him miss the remainder of the 2021/22 season, and he was later released by Mansfield in 2023.
A move to Boston United saw him regain his form, firing home 18 goals as the Pilgrims gained promotion to the National League for the first time via the play-offs, with Knowles scoring the decisive penalty late on in the final to complete the turnaround, having gone behind against Brackley Town in the first half.
His form in the National League North saw him jump up two divisions though, with Boston losing their key man to League Two side Accrington Stanley, although he returned to the Jakemans Community Stadium on loan in January 2025 after playing 16 times for the Reds.
Knowles went on to score a further four goals in 18 appearances as Boston, now under the stewardship of Graham Coughlan, secured survival in their maiden campaign in the fifth tier with a 19th place finish last term.
Knowles subsequently returned to the National League on a permanent basis in the summer when he joined Altrincham, and has scored twice so far for the Robins.
Photo Credit: Altrincham Football Club
Recent Form
Gateshead 0-2 Altrincham
Eastleigh 2-1 Altrincham
Altrincham 2-0 Solihull Moors
Morecambe 2-1 Altrincham
Altrincham 0-2 Hartlepool United
Rochdale AFC 2-1 Altrincham
Last Time Out
Altrincham got up and running on the road after goals by Lewis Banks and Tylor Golden illuminated a performance that was far too good for Gateshead at a rain-soaked International Stadium.
After a dominant opening to proceedings, Altrincham drew first blood when Keaton Ward rolled the ball along the byline towards Kahrel Reddin and then met the return pass from the winger with a first-time cross that Lewis Banks met unerringly with an unstoppable drive that gave Gateshead keeper Tiernan Brooks no chance, and the lead was duly doubled in the 35th minute, with few complaints from the hosts after they had been played off the park by a free-flowing Alty performance so far.
Jimmy Knowles brilliantly worked an opening to measure a probing ball down the left touchline for Golden to latch on to, and with the Alty full-back still having plenty to do, he made it look easy as he cut inside a defender and hammered a low drive into the far corner.
Chances after the break followed for the visitors as Knowles and the lively Reddin continued to cause chaos, before Gateshead’s night went from bad to worse in the 75th minute when defender Connor Pani was shown a second yellow card for blatantly pulling back the persevering Gale, with Alty seeing out a comfortable win in the North-East.
