THE Robins Revival Fund - one man's quest to try and resurrect Great Harwood Town for next season - has now topped £400.
John Fenton has been selling programmes and has been in contact with people throughout the world in the hope the club can return to playing in the NWCL Division Two next season.
Harwood were forced to resign from the league in the summer as they were homeless following an arson attack which destroyed their changing rooms at the Showground.
John has been supporting Harwood since current Accrington Stanley chairman Eric Whalley was manager in 1990.
He said: "I used to watch the team occasionally and then, about five or six years ago, the club was asking for volunteers to tidy up the ground and I went down to the ground and began to paint it.
"It was a mammoth job but I went cap in hand to Crown Paints at Darwen as the cost soon began to mount up. Crown were brilliant and donated plenty of paint and have been kind enough to help us in subsequent years.
"It must have taken about 18 months to paint everything. Then I got cracking with some gardening.
"A couple of years later, the programme editor quit and somehow I ended up doing that. It used to take every spare minute to do the programme because I wanted it to be the best in the league."
He did make it the best, with the programme winning a number of awards.
John said: "We've certainly had great sales with probably one in every two supporters buying it.
"I've put an awful lot of work into the club, as have a dozen or so others, and I was pretty upset when we quit the league.
"The NWCFL have left the door open for us, should we be in a position to re-take our place during the next couple of years.
"If we continue our fund-raising over the next 12 months, with no players' wages or referee's fees to pay, I'm hopeful that we can raise enough to get things going again.
"It's no use being apathetic. If we want a football club then we'll have to get our fingers out and work for it."
John is still selling Harwood programmes and souvenirs to boost the funds.
He said: "There a couple in particular which are a good read. I have the Robins v FC United programme and the final game of last season v Eccleshall, which I hope won't become a collector's item."
Anyone wishing to help contact Jfenton999@aol.com .
