Ballymena United F.C.
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| Ballymena United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Ballymena United Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | "Sky Blues"; "The Braidmen" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1928 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Ballymena Showgrounds, Ballymena, County Antrim |
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| Capacity | 5200 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Robert Cupples |
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| Manager | Tommy Wright |
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| League | Irish Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005/2006 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ballymena United is a Northern Irish football club playing in the Irish Premier League. Ballymena United hail from Ballymena and play their home matches at Ballymena Showgrounds. Club colours are sky blue and white.
The club was founded on April 7, 1928, originally called simply Ballymena Football Club. After a dispute during the 1933/34 season, the club was subsequently reformed and renamed Ballymena United in 1934.
The club's manager since June 2005 has been former Northern Ireland international goalkeeper Tommy Wright. Wright took over at the helm from Kenny Shiels after a poor string of results although Shiels did manage to guide the club to an Inter Toto Cup showdown with BoldKlub Odense from Denmark. The club's main sporting rivals are Coleraine F.C. with the highlight of the season the "local derby" which falls on Boxing Day each year. Other lesser rivals include Larne F.C. and Wakehurst F.C..
Ballymena have yet to win the Irish League. The club has been successful in the Irish Cup however, winning the competition six times since the club's inception.
"United" are generally considered one of the better supported clubs in Northern Ireland and have a large vocal support in the form of the "sky blue crew" who follow the fortunes of the team both home and away.[citation needed]
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[edit] Honours
- Irish Cup
- Winners: 1929, 1940, 1958, 1981, 1984, 1989
- Finalists: 1931, 1939, 1951, 1959, 1974, 1978
- Irish League Premier Division
- Winners: Never.
- Runners-Up: 1938/1939, 1978/1979
- Irish League First Division
- Winners: 1996/1997
- Runners-Up: 1995/1996, 2002/2003
- Gold Cup
- Winners: 1974/75
- County Antrim Shield
- Winners: 1947/48, 1950/51, 1975/76, 1979/80
- Runners-Up: 1937/38, 1953/1954, 1965-1966, 1978/1979, 1985/1986, 1987/1988, 1996/1997, 2002/2003, 2005/2006
- Ulster Cup
- Winners: 1960/1961, 1980/1981
- City Cup
- Winners: 1971/1972
- Festival of Britain Cup
- Winners: 1951/1952
- Steel and Sons Cup*
- Winners: 1994/1995
- Louis Moore Cup*
- Winners: 1952/1953
- George Wilson Cup*
- Winners: 1989/1990, 1990/1991
[*Competitions won by Ballymena United's Reserves]
[edit] Club Staff
- President: Gordon McIlrath
- Vice-Presidents: Norman McBurney, Billy Anderson
- Chairman: Robert Cupples
- Vice-Chairman: Maurice Smyth
- Treasurer: Noel Millar
- Company Secretary: Kenny Whitbread
- Football Secretary: Don Stirling
- PR Officer: Brian Thompson
- Manager: Tommy Wright
- Assistant Manager: Jim Grattan
- First Team Coach: Jeff Montgomery
- Sports Therapist: Michael Lavery
- Reserve Team Coach: David Dorrian
- Team Attendant: Bertnal Thompson
- PA Announcer: Davy "Kingo" King
- Chief Steward: Adrian Scullion
[edit] Managerial History
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[edit] Records
- Record Home League Victory: 8-0 v Cliftonville, (18 September 1965); 8-0 v Glenavon, (8 March 1975); 8-0 v Distillery, (8 December 1979)
- Record Away League Victory: 8-0 Newry Town, (17 December 1994)
- Record Home League Defeat: 0-8 Belfast Celtic, (5 November 1938)
- Record Away League Defeat: 1-9 Derry City, (23 August 1937); 0-8 Ards, (12 February 1949)
- Most Goals Scored in a Season: 82 in 26 matches (1939/1940)
- Fewest Goals Scored in a Season: 20 in 22 matches (1976/1977)
- Most Goals Conceded in a Season: 87 in 26 matches (1936/1937)
- Fewest Goals Conceded in a Season: 21 in 22 matches (1980/1981)
- Most Clean Sheets in a Season: 9 in 22 matches (1980/1981)
- Most Wins in a Season: 15 in 26 matches (1938/1939) & (1939/1940)
- Fewest Wins in a Season: 3 in 22 matches (1956/1957)
- Most Defeats in a Seaosn: 20 in 26 matches (1936/1937)
- Fewest Defeats in a Season: 4 in 22 matches (1961/1962),(1962/1963)& (1979/1980)
- Most Draws in a Season: 16 in 36 matches (1999/2000)
- Most Capped Player: 3 Joe McNinch - Northern Ireland
[edit] Contact information
Ballymena Showgrounds
Warden Street
Ballymena
County Antrim
Northern Ireland
BT43 7DR
Tel: (028)25652049
Secretary
Don Stirling
37 Queen Street
Ballymena
BT42 1BD
Tel: 07802814733
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Transfers 2006/2007
In:
- Lee Patrick (Limavady United) - Free
- Mark Picking (Linfield) - Free
- Austin Friel (Limavady United) - Free
Paul Murphy (Portadown) - Free- Simon Kelly (Dundalk F.C.) - Free
Out:
- Gerard Rowe - Released
- Gary Smyth (Glentoran) - Free
- Ciaran Donaghy - Released
[edit] Famous Players
[edit] External links
- Official Ballymena United Website (www.ballymenaunitedfc.com)
- She Fell Over - Un-Official Ballymena United Website (www.shefellover.tk)
- SkyBlueSport - Un-Official Ballymena United Website (www.skybluesport.com)
- Lisburn Sky Blues - Official Website of the Lisburn Sky Blues Supporters Club (www.lisburnskyblues.com)
- Irish League Forums - Ballymena United Forum (www.irishleagueforums.net)
- SkyBlueSport - Un-Official Ballymena United Website (www.skybluesport.com)
- Irish Football Club Project Website
