A new chief executive is taking over at Nelson Football Club.
Dave Edler, who held a similar position at Conference National side Bath City and last season was business development manager at Bacup Borough FC, takes over with immediate effect.
“It is a pleasure and an honour to be appointed as chief executive of a club with the rich history that Nelson FC has. The term ‘sleeping giant’ is often banded about in football with little justification but there is no doubt that Nelson can genuinely lay claim to that tag.
“We are talking about a team that has beaten Real Madrid and Manchester United away in the same season and a club that has achieved positive results in league matches against six current Barclays Premiership sides. Nobody in the Conference National can claim a record like that let alone at step six. We are not talking ancient history here, there are still people alive that saw Nelson play in the Football League in 1931. However, there is no doubt that for pretty much the last 50 years the club has fallen on lean times.”
Nelson currently find themselves in the First Division of the North West Counties League but Edler is confident the club will soon take back its “rightful place in football”.
“The reason that I accepted this challenge is because I can see in the chairman and manager the same enthusiasm that I share for getting this once proud club back to its rightful place in football,” he said. “They want the town of Nelson and its surrounding areas to be proud of its town team once again and to come out in numbers to support it rather than having to head in other directions to watch good football. They have not only stabilized the club financially but have developed a relationship with Accrington & Rossendale College that provides state of the art facilities that very few clubs in our league can match. As for Victoria Park it is already one of the best playing surfaces in the league and one of the most picturesque grounds and a lovely place to watch football.”
Manager Mark Fell welcomed the move: “This is a fantastic appointment for the football club, Dave shares the ambition of myself and the board and brings with him skills and attributes that the club are fortunate to be able to draw upon. The appointment of a Chief Executive is critical to the growth of our club, giving me a platform to continue my creation of a Nelson side that can start to climb the pyramid.”