Norton a difficult act to follow

Source: Manchester Evening News

June 10, 2010

Curzon Ashton boss Gary Lowe has been dealt a blow with the loss of prolific striker Mike Norton to FC United of Manchester.

The 29-year-old, who bagged 41 goals for Curzon last season, has opted for a fresh challenge after suffering a third consecutive play-off reverse in UniBond League Division One North.

After scoring more than 200 goals for Curzon, Norton explained his reasoning for moving one division higher.

"I felt things were going a bit stale for me at Curzon and, being a big United fan, playing for FC United will be the next best thing," he said.

"Maybe I could have gone a bit higher up, but I’ll get to play in a United kit and the fans sing United songs.

"I’m really looking forward to that and, hopefully, I can help them get promoted to Blue Square North."

It would not be the first time that Norton has been involved with The Rebels this year.

Last month, Curzon let Norton – who was still under contract with the club – travel with Karl Marginson’s squad to their match against St Pauli in Hamburg.

Norton duly scored for United in a match celebrating the German’s club’s centenary.