Workington A.F.C.

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Workington
Full name Workington Association Football Club
Nickname(s) The Reds
Founded 1921
Ground Borough Park, Workington
Ground Capacity 3,101 (500 seated)
Manager Ian McDonald
League Conference North
2012–13 Conference North, 14th
Home colours
Away colours

Workington A.F.C. is an English football club from Workington, Cumbria. They are in the Conference North, and play their home matches at Borough Park, which has a capacity of 3,101 (500 seated, 2,601 standing). The club play in red, and are known locally as the Reds. Their rivals are Carlisle United and Barrow.

History

The original Workington A.F.C were one of the founder members of the Cumberland Association League in 1888 and played at Lonsdale Park. In 1894 they moved to the Cumberland Senior League, and in 1901 joined the Lancashire League. However, the league closed two seasons later, and they returned to the Cumberland Senior League. In 1904 the club were admitted to the Lancashire Combination, but in 1910 seasons they decided to economise and join the North Eastern League. However, after only one season, the club folded.

The new Workington A.F.C. was born in 1921 and immediately joined the North Eastern League. During the 1933–34 season, the club managed its best-ever FA Cup performance, reaching the 4th round, before losing to Preston North End. Later in the decade, the club moved to its present home, Borough Park. In 1951 the club was voted into the Third Division North of The Football League replacing New Brighton.

Their first season in the League was a sign of things to come; the club finishing rock bottom, and only improving by one place the following year.

From 6 January 1954 to 15 November 1955 the club was managed by Bill Shankly,[1] who would achieve fame between 1959 and 1974 with his success at home and abroad as manager of Liverpool.[2]

During the 1957–58 season they played the great Manchester United team known as the Busby Babes at home in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, attracting a record crowd of 21,000. This was just a month before eight of the United players lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.[3]

However, at the end of that season, the club dropped into the new Fourth Division under a reorganisation of the Football League which saw the abolition of the regionalised Third Divisions.

In 1964, player-manager Ken Furphy led them to 3rd position, earning promotion to the Third Division. During both the 1963–64 and 1964–65 season, they made it to the quarter-finals of the League Cup, where they lost to West Ham United and Chelsea (in a replay) respectively. During the latter cup run, the club beat Lancashire neighbours Barrow 9–1, a record which remained until the mid-1980s.

In 1966 they finished in 5th place, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Second Division, but next year finished bottom, and were relegated back to the Fourth Division. In 1974 and 1975 the club finished 23rd out of 24 and in 1976 they finished bottom. In 1977 the club won only four games, and again finished bottom of the League with attendances falling well below the 1,000-mark. This poor run led to the club being voted out of the League in the summer of 1977, being replaced by Wimbledon.

The club dropped into the Northern Premier League (NPL), but failed to trouble the top teams, never finishing higher than 7th, before they were relegated to the NPL First Division in 1988. They continued to struggle, eventually being relegated to the North West Counties League in 1998. However, the club managed to win the League at their first attempt (also their first ever championship). After a 2–0 defeat at Kidsgrove Athletic on 27 February 1999, manager Peter Hampton set the squad a challenge, win their last 14 games and they would win the league. Sure enough after winning the next 13 games Workington squared up to league leaders Mossley at Borough Park in front of a 2,281 spectators, a league record only beaten by the formation of F.C. United of Manchester. Workington ran out 2–1 winners with goals from Stuart Williamson and substitute Grant Holt. Workington became the first club to return to the NPL First Division at the first attempt.

As a result of a 7th place finish in 2004, the club moved up to the NPL's Premier Division during the non-league restructuring. They then continued their upward movement by winning the first-ever NPL promotion play-offs (after finishing in 2nd place) to win promotion to the Conference North.

Following a mid-table finish in their first season in Conference North, the 2006–07 season saw Workington finish in third place and qualify for the promotion play-offs where they lost 2–1 against Hinckley United. After two mid table finishes the following seasons, Workington made the play offs again in 2009–10 this time going down 4–1 on aggregate to Alfreton Town in the semi finals.

Current first team squad

As of 3 January 2014[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Australia GK Daniel Nizic
England DF Kyle Brownhill
England DF Kyle May
Guinea-Bissau DF Bruno Fernandes
England DF Lee Andrews
England DF Dan Wordsworth
England DF Anthony Wright
England MF Gavin Skelton
Guinea-Bissau MF Valter Fernandes
England MF Phil McLuckie
No. Position Player
England FW Andrew Murray Jones
England MF Conor Tinnion
Northern Ireland MF Ben McKenna
England MF David Lynch
England MF Scott Allison
Portugal FW Alberto Seidi
England MF Stephen Hindmarch
England FW Joe Jackson
England FW Ross Wilson

Notable former players

The players included have won international caps.

Former managers

Listed in order from 1950 to present:[5]
  • Bert Flatley – Aug 1950 to Jun 1952
  • Ted Smith – Jun 1952 to Sep 1953
  • Bill Shankly – Jan 1954 to Dec 1955
  • Norman Low – Jan 1956 to Feb 1957
  • Tommy Jones – Feb 1957 to Jun 1957
  • Joe Harvey – Jun 1957 to Jun 1962
  • Ken Furphy – Jul 1962 to Nov 1964
  • Keith Burkinshaw – Nov 1964 to Mar 1965
  • George B. Aitken – Mar 1965 to Jun 1965
  • George Ainsley – Jun 1965 to Nov 1966
  • Bill Leivers – Nov 1966 to Feb 1967
  • Bobby Brown – Mar 1967 to Dec 1967
  • Frank Upton – Dec 1967 to Jul 1968
  • Brian Doyle (footballer) – Jul 1968 to Mar 1971
  • George B. Aitken – Jun 1971 to Oct 1974
  • Brian Wood – Oct 1974 to Nov 1974
  • Colin Meldrum – Nov 1974 to Apr 1975
  • John Waugh – Apr 1975 to Jun 1975
  • John McNamee – Jun 1975 to Dec 1975
  • Alan Ashman – Dec 1975 to Feb 1977
  • Colin Meldrum – Feb 1977 to May 1977
  • Gordon Livesey – Jul 1977 to Dec 1977
  • David Wilson – Dec 1977 to May 1978
  • Bobby Johnstone – Jun 1978 to Oct 1978
  • Peter Foley – Oct 1978 to Jan 1979
  • Paul Sharp (Player/Manager) – Jan 1979
  • Barry Endean – Jan 1979 to Apr 1980
  
  • Sean Gallagher – May 1980 to Oct 1981
  • Joe Wojciechowicz – Oct 1981 to Jul 1984
  • Mick Taylor – Jul 1984 to Jul 1985
  • Wayne Harrison – Jul 1985 to Nov 1986
  • Ian Hodgson – Nov 1986 to Oct 1987
  • Alan Oliver – Oct 1987 ~
  • Colin Meldrum – Oct 1987 to Feb 1988
  • Ian Hall – Feb 1988 to Nov 1988
  • Jimmy Irving – Nov 1988 ~
  • Mick Heaton – Nov 1988 – Oct 1989
  • John Walsh – Oct 1989 ~
  • Les O'Neill – Oct 1989 – Jul 1991
  • Martin Harris – Aug 1991 – Jan 1992
  • Jackie Hather – Feb 1992 ~
  • George Norrie – Feb 1992 – Nov 1992
  • Alan Cook – Nov 1992 – Nov 1994
  • Stewart Sherwood – Dec 1994 ~
  • Wayne Harrison – Jan 1995 – Feb 1997
  • Keith Hunton – Feb 1997 – Sep 1997
  • Tony Clinton – Sep 1997 – Jan 1998
  • Jackie Cunningham – Jan 1998 – Mar 1998 ~
  • "Committee Control" – Mar 1998 – Apr 1998
  • Peter Hampton – May 1998 – Oct 2001
  • Keith Mason – Oct 2001 ~
  • Tommy Cassidy – Oct 2001 to Sep 2007
  • Darren Edmondson – Sep 2007–Dec 2013

~ Denotes Acting Manager

Honours list

  • Best Season in Football League – 1965–66 (5th in Third Division)
  • Promotion From Division Four – 1964 (3rd Place)
  • Football League Cup Quarter Finals – 1964, 1965
  • Northern Counties M. Nicol Cup – 1926 (2nd Round – Newcastle United)
  • Best Season in FA Cup – 1933–34 (4th Round Proper)
  • Best Season in FA Trophy – 1999–2000 (5th Round )
  • Best Season in FA Vase – 1998–99 (6th Round)
  • Best Season in Conference North – 2006–07 (3rd Position)
  • Best Season in Northern Premier League – 2004–05 (2nd Position)
  • Northern Premier League Playoff Winners – 2004–05
  • Northern Premier League President's Cup Winners – 1984
  • Northern Premier League President's Cup Runners Up – 2004
  • North West Counties League First Division Champions – 1998–99
  • Cumberland County Cup Winners – 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1925, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1968, 1986, 1996, 2000, 2007, 2009
  • Cumberland County Cup Runners Up – 1886, 1892, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1909, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1947, 1969, 1979
  • North Eastern League Runners Up – 1939
  • North Eastern League Challenge Cup Winners – 1935, 1937
  • North Eastern League Challenge Cup Runners Up 1938
  • Northern Premier League Fair Play Award – 2000–01

References

  1. ↑ "Bill Shankly - This website is a part of LFCHistory.net". Shankly.com. Retrieved 2012-07-17. 
  2. ↑ "BBC - Beginning a football revolution". BBC News. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2012-07-17. 
  3. ↑ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 6 | 1958: United players killed in air disaster". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-17. 
  4. ↑ "1st Team Profiles 2013/14 Season". Workington A.F.C. Retrieved 3 January 2014. 
  5. ↑ Allen, T., Reds Remembered P142

External links

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