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Originally Posted by maccawozzagod
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Before Tuesdays game with Accrington Stanley, the club will publicly thank the visitors for their help and gesture back in 2001 that kept Bury Football Club alive.
The demise and subsequent rise of Accrington Stanley has been very well documented over the last forty years. Their plight is probably known worldwide.
But on Tuesday night we pay homage to Accrington Stanley and we thank them for a gesture that cannot be expressed in words, there's simply not enough room on on this website for us to express our feelings towards this Lancastrian Football Club. We could say thank you on every page, on every line, it simply would not be enough.
On 16 January 2001, Bury played Accrington Stanley at the Crown Ground. It was a friendly game, a nothing game - it was a benefit game, arranged by Eric Whalley, the then and still chairman of Accrington. A game arranged to raise money for Bury Football Club.
That one gesture, nearly seven years ago made new friendships, it raised awareness and it help keep Bury Football Club alive. 'There But for the Grace of God go I' was the resounding message coming from everyone involved at Accrington.
The game itself was a 2-0 win for Bury, ironically one of the goalscorer's was Lutel James, who would go on to play a huge part in Accrington getting up to the conference, the other, one of the best goals seen by a Bury player for years, a superb strike from Paul Reid.
The result meant nothing. If that game was a league game, it would have been called off due to a frozen pitch. It was like playing on the car park, it was absolutely freezing that night, but still 1,008 brave souls froze themselves solid that night. The game raised £8,000.The best eight grand this club has ever received.
Eric Whalley, speaking in the Bury Times back in 2001 said: "When we were in trouble people got quite complacent and thought it wouldn't actually happen. The same thing is happening with Bury so if we can help out and raise some money and some awareness we are happy to do that. Hopefully this match has helped out a bit."
What Mr Whalley and his club achieved that night cannot be repaid, the mere gesture of arranging a game was out of this world. Many clubs helped the Shakers during our time of need. Accrington's gesture is right at the top of the list for emotion and friendliness.
After the game, various comments appeared in the press, on the radio, even on the TV. On Tuesday, we plan to thank Accrington Stanley, Mr Whalley and the good people from Accrington publicly.
Before the game starts, the directors of Bury Football Club will present Eric Whalley and the good people of Accrington with a plaque, the plaque simply reads 'Thank You Accy'. It's heartfelt, it means something and by god, this club and those that come after us must never forget what Accrington did for us that night.
The generosity and warm feeling towards Accrington stops on the first whistle, but will re-appear after the final whistle.
We simply have to say to everyone from the Fraser Eagle Stadium, to the players, the supporters and most of all to Eric Whalley - Thank you, and welcome back to the league.