LISTEN: Gaz's love affair with Curzon Ashton

He travelled the length and breadth of the country to watch Oldham Athletic, taking in more than 1,000 games in the process.

But an altercation with a club director in 2014 forced football fanatic Gaz Weston to trade Boundary Park for his local side Curzon Ashton.

His travels and experiences whilst watching the club over the last seven years have sparked a serious love-affair with non-league football in general.

And regardless of what happens at Boundary Park in the future, Gaz says he only eyes for one team now now - his beloved Nash.

Speaking to Reporter Sport about where the journey began, Gaz said: “One summer holiday in 1979 my uncle Bill took me to Oldham as a midweek treat for a match against Wrexham and I fell in love with it. 

“But it just began to get really unenjoyable, and it wasn’t necessarily the football side of things. You went to away grounds which are usually all-seated and you were told what pubs you had to go in because of the hooligan element, you’d pay an over inflated price for admission, food and programmes - ultimately it was very expensive.

“In 2014, on New Year’s Day, Oldham played at home to Shrewsbury and they were absolutely shocking - it looked like they were still out from the night before. I was frustrated and turned to the board to vent my frustrations. I still don’t know to this day who it was, but one of the directors said to me ‘you don’t have to support Oldham’, and it was something that just stuck in my head.”

Such was his passion for Latics, Gaz had an image of all-time leading goal-scorer Roger Palmer tattooed onto his lower leg.

And while the ink is permanent, his love for Oldham isn’t.

He has, however, added to his collection of tattoos with the Curzon badge and the slogan ‘passion not fashion’ - a term which has become synonymous with non-league football.

Gaz said there are many elements to non-league football which makes it more enjoyable than its professional counterpart - most notably the interaction with players. “If you’ve had a bad week at work, you can go to the game on Saturday, speak to your friends and relax” he said.

“You won’t believe how many times we’ve travelled to places like Workington or Blyth Spartans on a Tuesday night, and the players are apologising to the supporters when they get beat. It’s a different world for me and something I love.

“The previous managers, John Flanagan and Ian Nevison, became good friends. I love my music and I go to concerts, and I ended up going to some of them with Curzon’s manager. Little things like that are important, and It’s become my second family - there’s no doubt about it.”

When he first started following the Nash, Gaz never envisaged his local side would play the likes of former Championship outfit Stockport County, who previously locked horns with Oldham in times gone by.

 There have been many highs during his time with the Nash - none more so than winning promotion to the National League North in 2015 - but there have also been a few lows, which include the famous 4-3 defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup second round on BT Sport in 2016.

He is hoping to experience more good times in the future and has vowed to play his part in making that happen.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak and  subsequent lockdown, the club have no revenue streams and are struggling financially. They have therefore appealed to the local community for donations during the crisis - and Gaz is more than happy to boost the club’s coffers and secure what he describes as ‘his future’. “I think a lot of clubs will struggle” he said.

“Without money coming in, clubs will struggle to pay their bills. I’ll be donating myself once I’m paid, because the club is my future as well.”

Picture by @biddleofnowhere