Brackley Town F.C.

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Brackley Town
Official crest
Full name Brackley Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Saints
Founded 1890
Ground St. James Park
Brackley
(Capacity 1,500)
Chairman Flag of England Sara Crannage
Manager Flag of England David Oldfield
League Southern League Premier Division
2007-08 Southern League
Premier Division, 8th
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours

Brackley Town F.C. are a football club based in Brackley, England, who play their home games at St. James Park. They were established in 1890. They have never reached the FA Cup First Round proper, their best season in the competition coming in 2006-07, when they were knocked out in the Fourth Qualifying Round (the round immediately prior to the First Round proper) by Havant & Waterlooville. However, they have won the Hellenic League twice in their history. They are currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division.

Contents

[edit] History

Brackley Town FC was formed in 1890 and were initially a prominent side in the area, but fell away, with most of the period before World War II being spent in the Oxfordshire Senior Football League, before a switch to the North Bucks and District League in the post war years. In 1968 they took a step down the ladder by joining the Banbury & District League.

In 1974 they moved back to the North Bucks League and also moved to their current St James Park ground in Churchill Way. A small clubhouse and changing rooms were built and by 1977 the club had stepped up to the Hellenic League. They stayed in Division One until 1983 when they switched to the United Counties League, where they won the Division One title at the first attempt. Although they were Premier Division runners-up in 1988-89 their time in the division was generally spent near the foot of the table, with three consecutive last-place finishes between 1992 and 1994.

In 1994 the club moved back to the Hellenic League. After a mediocre first season, Phil Lines took over as manager and led them to the Premier Division title in 1997 and with it promotion to the Southern League, however they only managed two seasons at that level during which, with finances at full stretch, the club was forced into liquidation in February 1999 with debts of over £100,000. The club was saved from extinction but demoted back into the Hellenic League.

Despite a speedy turnover of managers they consistently finished in the Hellenic League's top 10 and were promoted back to the Southern League after winning the title in 2004. Phil Lines returned in February 2006 and guided the club to a third place finish, culminating in defeat in the last few minutes of the play-off final for promotion to the Southern League Premier Division.

In 2006-07, Brackley finished top of the Southern League Division One Midlands. In the 2008-09 season, they will be competing in the Southern League Premier Division. Manager Phil Lines, however, has become director of football, and Roger Ashby will become the new manager for the new season.

[edit] Current first team squad

No. Position Player
Flag of England GK Richard Knight
Flag of England GK Tom Willshere
Flag of England DF Terry Angus
Flag of England DF Martin Brown
Flag of England DF Craig Farley
Flag of England DF Josh Green
Flag of England DF Steve Jackman
Flag of England DF Michael Love
Flag of England DF Phil Murphy
Flag of England MF Guy Hadland
Flag of England MF Scot Hadland
No. Position Player
Flag of England MF Chris Harper
Flag of England MF Simon Hollis
Flag of England MF Jamie Kearns
Flag of England MF David Oldfield
Flag of England MF Martin Reeves
Flag of England MF Elliot Sandy
Flag of Ireland MF Dave Savage
Flag of England FW Robbie Beard
Flag of England FW Scott Rickards
Flag of England FW Ben Mackey

[edit] Honours

  • Southern League
    • Division One Midlands Champions 2006-07
  • Hellenic League
    • Premier Division Champions 1996-97, 2003-04
  • United Counties League
    • Division One Champions 1983-84

[edit] Club records

  • Best league performance: 1st in Southern League Midland Division, 2006-07
  • Best FA Cup performance: 4th qualifying round, 2006-07
  • Best FA Trophy performance: 1st round, 1998-99 and 2004-05
  • Best FA Vase performance: 3rd round, 1987-88

[edit] Ground

Brackley play at St. James Park. It currently has an inadequate stand. However, the club is planning to improve ground facilities. The following improvements are planned for the start of the 2007/08 season:

  • A 200-seater stand
  • 2 extra turnstiles
  • female officials changing room
  • outside ladies and disabled toilets

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links


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