Full name | Stevenage Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Boro | ||
Founded | 1976 | ||
Ground | Broadhall Way, Stevenage (Capacity: 7,100[1]) |
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Chairman | Phil Wallace[2] | ||
Manager | Graham Westley[3] | ||
League | League Two | ||
2009–10 | Conference National, 1st[4] | ||
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Current season |
Stevenage Football Club (formerly Stevenage Borough Football Club) is an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. They play their home games at Broadhall Way in Stevenage.
Founded in 1976 following the demise of the town's former club, they joined the United Counties League in 1980 and enjoyed instant success; winning the United Counties League Division One and the United Counties League Cup in the club's first year of formation. Following three promotions in four seasons in the early 1990s, the club were promoted to the Conference National in 1994. Despite winning the league in the 1995–96 season, the club were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities. The club were finally promoted to the Football League after winning the Conference National in the 2009–10 season. On securing Football League status, the club dropped the word 'Borough' from its title.
The club has also enjoyed success in national cup competitions in recent years, becoming the first team to win a competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium in 2007, beating Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 to lift the FA Trophy in front of a competition record crowd of 53,262. The club won the competition again in 2009, beating York City 2–0.
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Stevenage Borough nicknamed "The Boro" was formed in 1976 after the bankruptcy of Stevenage Athletic.[5] The Broadhall Way pitch was subsequently dug up for non-footballing purposes after the council sold the land to a local businessman.[6] Consequently, the new club started out playing in the Chiltern Youth league on a roped-off pitch at the town's King George V playing fields, and moved up to intermediate status joining the Wallspan Southern Combination.[7] In 1980 the club moved back to Broadhall Way and the name Borough was added.[5] With the council as their landlords and a refurbished stadium, Stevenage Borough took on senior status and joined the United Counties Football League in the same year.[6] In their first season as a senior club, the side won the United Counties League Division one championship, as well as the United Counties League Cup.[5]
In 1984, the club joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League, and the following season earned promotion to Division One. However, two years later the club was relegated after finishing second bottom of the division.[4] After two fourth-placed finishes, the club won Division Two North in 1990–91, winning 34 of their 42 games, including every match played at home, scoring 122 goals and amassing 107 points. The following season the club won the Division One championship, remaining unbeaten at home again, and were promoted to the Premier Division. The club's long unbeaten home record was finally ended by Dulwich Hamlet, with the streak lasting 44 matches, of which 42 were won.[4] In 1993–94 the club won the Premier Division, and were promoted to the Football Conference.[5] Two seasons later they won the Conference,[8] but were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities,[6] thus reprieving Torquay United, who had finished bottom of the league.[9] In the same season the Hertfordshire club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, but lost 2–1 at Hereford United.[10]
The 1996–97 season witnessed the club progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time after a 2–1 win against Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road.[11] The side were drawn against Birmingham City at Broadhall Way, but ground issues saw the tie switched to St Andrew's; Birmingham won the match 2–0.[12] The following season, the club went one better, reaching the fourth round, where they drew Premier League club Newcastle United.[13] A temporary stand was erected behind the away end to house the 'Toon Army', which increased the stadium capacity to 9,000, enough to satisfy the FA.[14][5] Borough held Newcastle to a 1–1 draw, with Giuliano Grazioli famously equalising after Alan Shearer had put Newcastle ahead.[15][16] Boro' were unfortunate to lose 2–1 in the replay at St James' Park.[17] Indeed it has been proved, using computer technology, that Shearer's first goal did not actually cross the line. Despite earning a vast amount of revenue from the two respective cup runs news emerged that the club were in financial difficulties and that the chairman, Victor Green, was going to close the club down if no buyer was found.[7] However, after several weeks of waiting, Phil Wallace purchased the club and set about rebuilding the finances and the relationship with the local council.[5]
In 2001–02 season the club reached the FA Trophy final for the first time, but lost 2–0 to Yeovil Town at Villa Park.[18] The following season, Stevenage started poorly and looked destined for relegation, rooted to the bottom of the Conference National in January. However, the club's fortunes changed following the appointment of Graham Westley as manager.[19] Westley guided the club to a respectable 12th position,[20] winning 8 games out of a possible 12 in the league.[21] The 2003–04 season witnessed Boro' consolidate their position in the league, making steady progression under Westley, finishing in 8th position.[22] During the 2004–05 season, Boro' managed to make the play–offs after finishing 5th under the guidance of Westley.[23] After beating second–placed Hereford United over two–legs in the semi–final,[24][25] the side lost the final 1–0 to Carlisle United at the Britannia Stadium.[26] The following year, however, Boro' failed to reach the play-offs after finishing sixth,[27] and Westley's contract was not renewed, ending his 3 and a half year reign as manager.[28] Shortly after Westley's departure, Boro' announced the appointment of former–Grays Athletic boss, Mark Stimson as their new manager.[29] Despite finishing in a disappointing eighth position in Stimson's first season as manager,[30] the 2006–07 campaign saw the club reach the FA Trophy final again,[31] where they came back from 2–0 down to beat Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 in front of a record FA Trophy crowd of 53,262.[32] The victory means that Stevenage were the first team to win a competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium.[33]
After the FA Trophy success in 2007, as well as keeping the majority of the first–team at the club, Stevenage started the 2007–08 season well,[34] breaking a new club record when the defence kept 8 consecutive clean sheets.[35] Stimson was offered a new contract by Stevenage in October 2007,[36] but resigned the following day and subsequently joined Football League club Gillingham.[37] In November 2007, he was replaced by Peter Taylor.[38] However, after failing to make the play-offs,[39] Taylor resigned at the end of the season[40] and was replaced by former manager Graham Westley.[3] On Westley's return, Stevenage started the season slowly, but went on a 27–game unbeaten run from December to March and reached the play-offs,[41] where they lost in the semi-finals to Cambridge United, 4–3 on aggregate.[42][43] During the same season, Stevenage enjoyed success in cup competitions; winning the Herts Senior Cup for the first time, beating Cheshunt 2–1 in the final,[44] and the FA Trophy, where they beat York City 2–0 in the final.[45]
The following season, Westley retained the majority of the squad and Stevenage found themselves in first place by New Year's Day.[46] The squad continued to perform well, winning eight consecutive games through February and March 2010,[47] and Stevenage were promoted to the Football League for the first time in the club's history with two games to spare. Promotion was secured thanks to a 2–0 win at Kidderminster Harriers, as Stevenage finished the season 11 points clear at the top of the table.[48][49] The club reached the final of the FA Trophy again, but lost to Barrow 2–1 after extra–time, having played seventy minutes of the match with ten men.[50] Shortly after the end of the season, chairman Phil Wallace announced that the club will start its life in the Football League as Stevenage Football Club, dropping the word ‘Borough’ from its name from 1 June 2010.[51]
The club plays at Broadhall Way, previously home to Stevenage Athletic. Following the bankruptcy of the former town club, the stadium was not used for three years.[6] However, the newly–formed Stevenage Borough moved into Broadhall Way in 1980 as a result of the council re-purchasing the stadium.[52][7][5]
Following Stevenage's successful 1995–96 Football Conference campaign, the Hertfordshire side were denied promotion to the Football League because of insufficient ground capacity and facilities.[6] Consequently, in the early 2000s the ground was upgraded, with a new £600,000 stand opening,[6] providing a computer learning centre underneath and work on a new £5 million training facility was announced for nearby Shephalbury Park - which subsequently opened in Autumn 2002.[53] The stadium now has a capacity of 7,100 people, including 3,142 seats.[54]
The ground's pitch includes four stands – the East Terrace, the North Terrace, the Main Stand, and Buildbase Stand.[53] The Main Stand is all–seated and covered, and covers the length of the pitch, although it has open corners to either side of the stand. At the back of the stand there are a number of glass–fronted areas to various club offices and executive boxes.[6] The club shop is situated next to the Main Stand, opposite to the club's official car-park.[55] Opposite to the Main Stand is the East Terrace, which is a covered terrace for home supporters. The terrace has a gable with a clock sitting on its roof above the half-way line,[6] as well as holding a television gantry on its roof.[56]
The North Terrace is situated behind the goal at the north end of the ground and is just seven steps deep.[6] Three–quarters of the terrace is covered, whilst one–third is open and without cover.[57] The stand can hold a capacity of 700 people,[58] and also offers facilities for disabled fans.[6] Opposite the North Terrace is the Buildbase Stand, which is a single tiered, all–seated covered stand. The stand was built in 2001, costing £600,000 and provides a computer learning centre underneath.[59] The stand also has an electronic scoreboard in the centre of the roof, making it visible to home supporters.[6] Behind the stand is the supporters' club.[60] However, the stand is reserved for away supporters and can hold a capacity of 1,400.[58] A new set of floodlights were installed before the start of the club's 2007–08 campaign.[54]
In January 2009, Stevenage announced that they had signed a 7–figure sponsorship deal with the Lamex Food Group, resulting in the renaming of the Broadhall Way to the Lamex Stadium.[61] As a result of the club securing promotion as league champions during the club's 2009–10 campaign, Broadhall Way will host League football for the first ever time for the 2010–11 season.[62]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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