A PACKED crowd at Radcliffe FC could be a sign of things to come for The Shakers, according to one of the organisers of a Bury legends game.

More than 2,000 fans were at the Neuven Stadium on Sunday to see a Legends team take on an All Stars XI.

It was a day where Bury fans got to celebrate all that was great about their club’s past as momentum gathers for a phoenix club to rise in non-league next season.

READ MORE >>>> Bury fans and past players come together for special day

The club were given a stay of execution in the High Court last week but face being liquidated by a HMRC winding-up petition on October 30.

Boro chairman Paul Hilton told The Bury Times that his club could host a new Shakers next season should they not be able to secure a future at Gigg Lane, their home since 1885.

Chris Murray, who put on the legends game with fellow fans Dean Mason and Ben Miles, believes many supporters left Radcliffe on Sunday believing that had been both at the end of one era and at the start of another.

Bury Times: Organiser Chris Murray, right, with Paul ChallinorOrganiser Chris Murray, right, with Paul Challinor

“It was one of those things where people said it felt like the start of something new,” he said.

“As supporters we’ve had a really upsetting last six months or so.

“This day gave those fans a glimmer of hope that the club will never die.

“We just wanted to put smiles on people’s faces and I think we did that for more than 2,000 fans.

“It was as somebody said to me, ‘if that was the last chapter of the Bury FC novel then it was the perfect way to end it’.”

Such was the success of the event, raising more than £20,000 that will help fund the club in whatever form it takes going forwards, Murray believes anyone sceptical about the future will have been converted.

“We’ve had some really good feedback from people who weren’t necessarily for the idea of a phoenix club,” he said.

“It would great if we could save Gigg but everyone’s well aware that might not be possible and we’ve got to look at all options.

“More and more people are starting to come around to the idea.”

Early meetings have taken place with hundreds of volunteers with a wide range of skills already having put their names forward to support the club’s new start, a move backed by Bury North MP James Frith.