Phil Young (Bury AFC) - The first interview

Before I got into my project I wanted to start off by gaining a better understanding of what it is like to lose your football club. For most fans it's unimaginable and the prospect is something that doesn't even cross our mind, but for some, it's a harsh reality.

I know personally, I'd be lost without my football club, it's more than a football side, it's a pillar of the community, escapism for 90 minutes and time to spend with your friends and family. Perhaps an experience in the globalised world we live in that many 'fans' who aren't local to their side do not experience. Which is a tragedy in itself.

One side that was lost was Bury FC in 2019 when they were expelled from the football league due to financial issues and complete mismanagement - running the club into the ground. Bury fans lost their club and to keep football in the town, with it at that time not known if the original club would survive, a phoenix club was formed. One of those founding members was Phil Young, who is in charge of the club financially too, with the new side completely transparent with their finances Phil gave me a great personal insight into what it's like to lose a club and to establish a new one.

It was good to speak with Phil to gain a better understanding of the pain of losing your club as well as the mammoth task of establishing a new club in Covid times and how he and the rest of the team have dealt with that, what they've done to overcome the challenges and how the future looks.

You can check out the full interview below the full unedited interview below (which is three parts due to uploading limitations).

Part One

Part Two

Part Three