THE VICS COLUMN - by Jamie Dewsbury

LAST Saturday marked three years to the day since our President (among every other moniker attributed to the great man) Derek Nuttall passed away.

We were honoured at Saturday’s match against Barnoldswick Town to have members of Derek’s family in attendance, headed by his son Chris who is our current President, and we thank him and all his family for kindly sponsoring the match that afternoon .

At the time of his death, Chris wrote:

“There was an empty chair at the centre of a packed meeting of Northwich Victoria supporters on Thursday night, kept out of respect for my father

“Derek Nuttall, who had sadly and suddenly passed away the day before at the age of 89. He was president, chairman and secretary at the time and had spent a lifetime supporting and working for the Vics’ in every capacity. In his last few days, he was continuing to work tirelessly to try to secure the future of the club, along with other dedicated fans

“He was there in spirit on Thursday and would have been proud, as Vics’ fans showed the same dedication to vote unanimously and momentously to approve a takeover by supporters from the current owner - in order to create a club owned and run by its fans.

“This should mark a bright new beginning for a famous old club after many seasons of crisis. However, the fact remains that there is a major challenge for it to be maintained as a going concern for the rest of the season, with fans now having taken on the entire responsibility for its finances.

“The best tribute to my father would be the survival of NVFC, which he had fought for over so many years. I hope the town of Northwich; and Vics’ fans everywhere - can show a level of support to keep their local club going. This can be as simple as coming to the game and cheering on the team when Saturday comes around.

“Come on you Greens!”

It was a pleasure and an honour to work alongside him and become a close friend in the process. I remember the phone call I received off Dave Thomas telling me the bad news three years ago today, I nearly dropped my phone and couldn’t actually speak in response such was the shock. I think we all shed a tear that day and in the coming days up to and including his funeral which was a great tribute to him with legendary Vics’ players Dave Ryan, Mal O’Connor plus many more all in attendance and people from the non league football world the length and breadth of the country; such was Derek’s legacy that he left behind.

His initial N.V.S.A meetings that he started at Rudheath Social Club in the aftermath of the loss of the Victoria Stadium were ultimately critical in how the Club eventually survived via playing home games in Leek, Stafford, and Flixton.

Derek would be so proud to see how well the club have done since his untimely passing; and everything we as fans and volunteers do to keep our great Club prospering; is a testament to all his hard work for the Club in his lifetime; he truly was MR VICS