Nuneaton Town F.C.

Nuneaton Town
Full name Nuneaton Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Boro
Founded 1889
(as Nuneaton St Nicholas)
Ground JDRF James Parnell Stadium
Nuneaton
Capacity 4,500 (514 seated)
Chairman Lee Thorn
Manager Liam Daish
League Conference Premier
2014–15 Conference Premier, 24th
(relegated)

Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English association football club based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The club participates in the Conference Premier, the fifth tier of English football.

In 1889 Nuneaton St. Nicholas were the first team to play senior football within Nuneaton. Five years later they changed their name to Nuneaton Town, and played until 1937 when the club was disbanded. However, two days later Nuneaton Borough FC were founded. In 2008 the club was liquidated, and due to a FA ruling were reformed as Nuneaton Town – suffering a two division demotion. The club is still known as 'The Boro' by its supporters. The club play their home fixtures at Liberty Way in their home kit of blue & white (usually vertical stripes).

Local rival teams include Tamworth, Leamington, Bedworth United and Coventry City .

History

1889–1937

NUNEATON ST.NICHOLAS: The club origins date from 1889 when young men from Nuneaton St. Nicholas Parish Church formed a football team to represent the town. Originally playing only friendly games, from 1892 Nuneaton St.Nicholas entered Charity Cup competitions. In September 1894 the 'Nicks’ changed their name to Nuneaton Town Association F.C.

NUNEATON TOWN - Club Nickname: 'The Boro'

League Record: 1894–95 Warwickshire Junior League; 1896–97 Coventry & District League; 1897–99, 1904–06 Coventry and North Warwickshire League; 1899–1900 Leicestershire League; 1901–03 Nuneaton & District League; 1903–04 Trent Valley League; 1906–08 Birmingham Junior League; 1908–15, 1926–33 renamed Birmingham Combination; 1915–1919 competition suspended due to World War One; 1919–24, 1933–37 Birmingham League; 1924–26 Southern League (Eastern Section).

Major Honours:

League: Coventry & District League: Champions1902-03, Runners Up 1901–02; Coventry & North Warwickshire League: Champions 1904–05, Runners Up 1897–98; Birmingham Junior League: Champions 1906–07; Birmingham Combination: Champions 1914–15, 1928–29, 1930–31, Runners Up 1910–11, 1931–32 Birmingham Senior (County) Cup: First entered 1911–12; Winners 1930–31; Runners Up 1934–35

FA Cup: First entered in 1899-90 – never progressed to competition proper.

Grounds: Played on various fields from 1889 to 1903 located at Higham Lane, Rose Inn Coton Road, Arbury Road (later renamed Queens Road) and Edward Street. Enclosed grounds at Queens Road 1903–08, Newdegate Arms 1908–15, Manor Park 1919–37. On May 13, 1937 at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders it was decided to wind up the football club despite Nuneaton Town being financially sound having sold their Manor Park ground to Nuneaton Corporation the previous December.

1937–2008

Old Main Stand at Manor Park

NUNEATON BOROUGH - Club Nickname: 'The Boro'

Formed two days after the demise of Nuneaton Town by a group of local gentlemen.

League Record: 1937–38 Central Amateur League; 1938–40 Birmingham Combination; 1941–45 World War Two – Boro’ enter the Nuneaton Combination; 1945–52 Birmingham Combination; 1952–54 Birmingham League; 1954–55 Birmingham League North; 1955–58 Birmingham League First Division; 1958–59 Southern League – North Western Section; 1959–60, 1963–1979, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1996–99, 2003–04 Southern League – Premier Division; 1960–63 Southern League – First Division; 1981–82, 1988–93, 1994–96 Southern League – Midland Division; 1979–81, 1982–87, 1999–2003 Conference (former Alliance Premier); 2004–08 Conference North.

Major Honours: Birmingham Combination: Runners Up 1945–46, 1948–49, 1950–51; Birmingham League: Champions 1954–55 (North), 1955–56 (Division One); Southern League Premier Division: Champions 1998–99, Runners Up 1966–67, 1974–75; Southern League Midland Division: Champions 1981–82, 1992–93, 1995–96; Southern League Cup: Winners 1995–96; Runners Up 1962–63; Southern League Championship Match (League Champions v Cup Winners): Winners 199, Runners Up 1996; Conference Premier: Runners Up 1983–84, 1984–85; Conference North: Runners Up 2004–05 Birmingham Senior (County) Cup: Winners 1949, 1955, 1960, 1978, 1980, 1993, 2002; Runners Up 1953, 1967, 1991.

FA Cup: Boro' made 22 appearances in the competition proper, progressing to the Third Round (last 64) in 1949–50 (v Exeter City), 1966–67 (Rotherham United, Replay), 2005–06 (Middlesbrough, Replay).

FA Trophy: Three appearances in Quarter Finals: 1977 (Replay), 1980, 1987.

Play Offs: Lost 3–2 on penalties to Wealdstone in Southern League Championship Play Off 1982 after 2–2 aggregate score; Lost 4–2 on penalties to Altrincham in Conference North Semi-Final 2005 following 1–1 after extra-time; Lost 1–0 to Droylsden in Conference North Semi-Final 2006.

Grounds: Manor Park 1937–2007; Liberty Way 2007–08.

Record Attendance: At Manor Park 22,114 (January 28, 1967 v Rotherham United, F.A. Cup Third Round). For an away fixture 26,255 (January 17, 2006 v Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, F.A. Cup Third Round Replay).

In May 2007, the curtain came down on Manor Park as they drew the last game 1–1 against Vauxhall Motors, Gez Murphy taking the honour of being the last Nuneaton Borough scorer at the ground with a penalty. In the 2007–08 season, owner Ted Stocker planned to sell his shares as he was suffering from ill health and in March 2008 local businessman Ian Neale planned to take ownership of the club for a trial period but he took 100% ownership of the club in April. In May 2008, Ian Neale found some irregularities in the finances of the club and fears raised that the club would have to be forced into administration. On 2 June 2008 Nuneaton Borough went into liquidation.

2008–Present

NUNEATON TOWN

Club Nickname: The Boro.

League Record: 2008–09 Southern League Division One; 2009–10 Southern League Premier Division; 2010–2012 Conference North; 2012–Present Conference Premier.

Club Honours: Southern League Division One (Midlands): Runners Up 2008–09 (Promoted via play offs); Southern League Premier Division: Runners Up 2009–10 (Promoted via play offs); Conference North 2011–12 (Promoted via play offs); Birmingham Senior Cup: Winners 2010; FA Cup: First Round Proper 2009–10 & 2010–2011.

Ground: Liberty Way 2008 – present.

Record Attendance: 3,480 v Luton Town (22 February 2014, Conference Premier).

''The Story So Far:''

The new directors soon found they had inherited excessive debts despite the sale of Manor Park to property developers. The new club reverted to its former name of Nuneaton Town and were demoted two divisions from Conference North to Southern League Division One. The club underwent complete restructuring with facilities being upgraded and revamped for the supporters.

Following the demotion to the Southern League Midlands Division the club gained promotion following a 1–0 play-off final victory over Chasetown at Liberty Way.

The next season, Nuneaton found themselves in the Premier Division with several teams that were spending vast sums chasing promotion. After a slow start the team went on a fantastic run that saw them beaten only once at home and included a run of 14 straight victories, narrowing a 24 point gap between the leaders Farnborough to just 2 points at the end of the season. Nuneaton were victims of their own success in the FA Cup and FA Trophy as they ended the second week in March with a backlog of eight games in hand over their top six rivals. Nuneaton pursued Farnborough all the way and had a hectic schedule of ten games in twenty four days, including two games in twenty four hours.

Again, the play-offs beckoned and a 6–0 thrashing of big spending Brackley Town in the semi-final saw home advantage given to Nuneaton who faced Chippenham. The final went into extra time and it was befitting that a local player, Eddie Nisevic, who had come through the ranks, got the winning goal returning Nuneaton to the Conference North.

Nuneaton had a County Cup Final only three days later. The icing on the cake for the season was the win over Alvechurch to lift the Birmingham Senior Cup. Only Premier League Aston Villa have won the cup more times than Nuneaton. However, Nuneaton have won the trophy in every decade since the Second World War.

Nuneaton’s return to the Blue Square Bet North was welcomed by the clubs hard core of supporters and the opening game and crowd average of around 1000 proved the appetite for football at this level. Nuneaton started well and remained in the top six up until Christmas, where they gained top spot until the last week in March.

Eventually after other clubs played their games in hand, Nuneaton finished just outside of the play-offs. Fortune smiled on The Boro when the club above them, Eastwood Town, were prevented from taking part in the play-offs due to a technical problem. Nuneaton faced AFC Telford Utd in the first leg and were in the lead up until the 93rd minute when the away side drew level. The second tie was much closer, Telford took the lead, but defended for the whole of the second half as the visitors looked get the vital goal. Full-time saw heartbreak for Boro, but they lost to the side that eventually got promotion into the Football Conference.

The 2011/12 season was to see Nuneaton gain promotion back to the Conference Premier for the first time in 10 years. After maintaining a high league position throughout the season Boro' were dealt a blow as the season entered its final few weeks when an administration error led to a 6 point deduction. This seemed to spur the team on and a final day 3–2 victory at Blyth Spartans ensured their play-off place.

A superb semi-final 2nd leg victory over Guiseley with a goal from Andy Brown in the last minute of extra time meant that Boro had to travel to Gainsborough Trinity for the Play–Off Final.

Again Brown (ironically the player concerned in the admin mishap) was the goal hero which saw Boro claim a 1–0 victory amid wild scenes of delight amongst the travelling supporters as the club won a place back with the non-league elite.

Thus the Boro gained their third promotion in four seasons. After such a troubled recent history off the pitch, a genuine case of the phoenix rising from the ashes.

The 2012/13 season saw Boro pitting their wits against the countries non-league elite. Up against many full-time clubs it took a while to get to grips with their new environment but Boro's team spirit and work ethic never waivered. Despite spending much of the season in and around the relegation zone a terrific run towards the end of the season saw Boro eventually finish in 15th place.

The 2013/14 season surpassed all expectations with Boro leading the table early on and in and around the play-offs for most of the season. After their manager Kevin Wilkin left for Wrexham, results tailed off in the last month or so of the season but they still finished in 13th position. A new manager, Brian Reid, was appointed and oversaw the last 3 games of the season.

On Monday 8th September following a poor start to the 2014/15 season just after seven games manager Brian Reid was sacked, after a number of poor results and poor performances.

Cup competitions

FA Cup

Full historical league and cup records can be found on the club website at http://www.nuneatontownfc.com/a/historical-league-cup-records-36618.html'''

Nuneaton Town first entered the FA Cup in 1899 but never progressed to the competition proper. This is something which Nuneaton Borough have achieved twenty-one times, including victories over Football League sides Watford, Swansea City (twice), Oxford United and most recently Stoke City.

Nuneaton Borough have progressed to the FA Cup Third Round Proper three times, in 1949–50, 1966–67 and 2005–06. Their 1966–67 run carried them further than any other non-league club that season. A crowd of 22,114 were in attendance at their Manor Park ground on 28 January 1967 when Rotherham were held to a draw in a Third Round tie. Rotherham beat Boro 1–0 at Millmoor in the closely fought replay.

Middlesbrough visited Manor Park on 7 January 2006, and could only achieve a 1–1 daw with Nuneaton, Gez Murphy scoring an equalising penalty in the 90th minute to the delight of the home crowd, earning Nuneaton a replay against a Premier League side approximately 100 places above them. Middlesbrough won the replay at the Riverside Stadium 5–2. Gez Murphy scored twice in this fixture, therefore scoring 3 goals against Middlesbrough over the two games.

Other giant killings of note came against Stoke City in 2000, Marc McGregor with a 90th minute winner, and in 1993 a win over Swansea City, with Tony Simpson netting both goals.

The club made its first appearance in the FA Cup first round in its current guise of Nuneaton Town, on 7 November 2009 when they entertained Exeter City. This was also be the first time that Liberty Way had hosted a game in the FA Cup competition proper. The game ended with Exeter winning 4–0. In 2010 they also reached the first round of the Cup with an away tie against Lincoln City, but were once again beaten from an 89th minute strike leaving the score at 1–0.[1] They reached the first round proper once again on 3 November 2012 facing Luton Town and forcing a replay after a 1–1 draw. However, on 13 November they lost the replay 2–0.

F.A. Trophy

Full league and cup records can be found on the club website at http://www.nuneatontownfc.com/a/historical-league-cup-records-36618.html'''

Nuneaton Borough's best run has seen them reach the quarter-final three times: In 1977 (a replay), in 1980 and 1987. They endured an awful run in the competition between 1995 and 2006 however. In this time they did not win a single FA Trophy game. In 2006 the run ended with a win at Bradford Park Avenue. The previous win was in 1995 at Spennymoor United.

Birmingham Senior Cup

The Boro won the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time in 1931 and have won it a total of nine times since, most recently in 2010.

Stadia

Pre-1919

Played on various fields from 1889 to 1903 located at Higham Lane, Rose Inn (Coton Road), Arbury Road (later renamed Queens Road) and Edward Street. Enclosed grounds at Queens Road 1903–08, Newdegate Arms 1908–15.

Manor Park (1919–2007)

Nuneaton's former home ground, Manor Park

From the club's early years until 2007 Boro played at Manor Park; a 6,000 capacity stadium at the time of its closure. The record attendance was 22,114 spectators who had packed into the ground for an FA Cup tie against Rotherham United in 1967.

The club played their final game at Manor Park, on 28 April 2007, in a 1–1 draw with Vauxhall Motors. Gez Murphy scored Boro's last goal at the ground from the penalty spot.

The Stadium has now been knocked down and is being redeveloped for housing by former shirt sponsors Bloor Homes.

Liberty Way (2007–Present)

Nuneaton Borough moved into their new purpose built ground, Liberty Way, in time for the 2007–08 season. The ground is shared with Nuneaton Rugby Club. The ground was built in three phases by local building firm Ian Neale Construction and was completed in 2007.

The move to Liberty Way was not straightforward. Originally the club planned to move from Manor Park to the new ground for the 2005–06 season but ended up having to wait 2 seasons before work was completed. Also the club hit a snag over the covenant protecting Manor Park which was eventually cleared so the club could move to Liberty Way. The ground-share plan with Nuneaton RFC was planned by former owner Ted Stocker after many new ground plans across Nuneaton were rejected by the local council.[2]

Liberty Way Nuneaton

The ground share with Nuneaton Rugby Club ('The Nuns') effectively died with the liquidation of Stadiasafe, leaving no agreement in place between the two clubs. Nuneaton Town Football Club put a deal on the table that would allow the rugby club to play inside the stadium in return for a realistic rate. Under the old agreement with Nuneaton Borough AFC, the rugby club paid £35 to hire the pitch, a fee that also covered the use of the flood lights and markings this sparked disagreements over the fee which is paid to the football club by the rugby club to play its games in the stadium.[3][4][5]

At the start of the 2010–11 season a deal was struck with the Nuns where the rugby club are able to play several games per season inside the stadium.

The club completed a permanent seated stand for 514 supporters on the north side of the stadium, which has improved the stadium in line with the standards required for participation in the Conference Premier. They have also outlined plans to extend this stand by adding a further 500 or so seats in the future. Facilities ancillary to football and the club's community initiatives will be housed in a two storey building behind the new stand, adjacent to the remembrance garden for families of the people who had their ashes scattered at Manor Park.

In March 2013 Liberty Way underwent ground improvements to meet new regulations, turnstiles, changing rooms and the players tunnel were all upgraded.

In July 2013 it was announced that the stadium would be known as the "Sperrin Brewery Stadium" for the 2013–14 season after a local family run business won the naming rights in a golden ticket draw[6]

Players

First-team squad

As of 27 March 2015.

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

No. Position Player
1 New Zealand GK Max Crocombe (on loan from Oxford United)
3 England DF Connor Franklin
4 England DF Gavin Cowan
5 England DF Gareth Dean (captain)
6 England MF Adam Walker
7 England MF James Armson
8 Wales FW Rob Ogleby
9 England FW Jaanai Gordon (on loan from West Ham United)
10 England FW Andy Brown
11 England DF Theo Streete
No. Position Player
12 England FW George Maris (on loan from Barnsley)
14 England MF Elliott Whitehouse (on loan from Notts County)
15 England MF Josh Rees (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
17 England DF Ryan Smith
18 England MF Anton Brown
19 England GK James Hogarth-Wren
21 England MF Ryan Quinn
22 England MF Jack Dyer
25 Wales FW Jack Nardiello
27 England MF Lucas Dawson
28 Nigeria FW Onome Sodje

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player

Backroom staff

Position Staff
Chairman Lee Thorn
Chief Executive Officer Ian Neale
Manager Liam Daish
Caretaker Manager Mark Noon
Physios Paul Egan
Richie Norman
Fitness and Conditioning Coach John Warren
Kit Manager Darryl Strong

Top scorers

5 players have scored over 100 competitive goals for the club;

Seasons

This is 10 recent Nuneaton Town seasons, for a full history look List of Nuneaton Town F.C. seasons

Year League Level Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Position Leading league scorer Goals FA Cup FA Trophy Average attendance
2003–04 SFL Premier Division 6 42 17 15 10 65 49 +16 66 4th of 22
Transferred		 No Data No Data QR3 R2 No Data
2004–05 Conference North 6 42 25 6 11 68 45 +23 81 2nd of 22
Lost in PO semifinal		 No Data No Data QR2 R1 No Data
2005–06 Conference North 6 42 22 11 9 68 43 +25 77 3rd of 22
Lost in PO semifinal		 No Data No Data R3 QR3 No Data
2006–07 Conference North 6 42 15 15 12 54 45 +9 60 10th of 22 No Data No Data QR3 R1 No Data
2007–08 Conference North 6 42 19 14 9 58 40 +18 71 7th of 22
Liquidated and reformed[7]		 Andy Brown No Data QR4 QR3 No Data
2008–09 SFL Division One Midlands 8 42 28 8 6 85 31 +54 92 2nd of 22
Promoted through PO		 Gez Murphy No Data QR2 PR No Data
2009–10 SFL Premier Division 7 42 26 10 6 91 37 +54 88 2nd of 22
Promoted through PO		 Chris Dillion No Data R1 R1 No Data
2010–11 Conference North 6 40 21 9 10 66 44 +22 72 6th of 22
Lost in PO semifinal		 Kyle Storer No Data R1 QR3 No Data
2011–12 Conference North 6 42 22 12 8 74 41 +33 72‡ 5th of 22
Promoted through PO		 Danny Glover No Data QR4 R1 No Data
2012–13 Conference Premier 5 46 14 15 17 55 63 −8 57 15th of 24 Andy Brown 19 R1 R1
2013–14 Conference Premier 5 46 18 12 16 54 60 −6 66 13th of 24 Louis Moult 17 QR4 R2 replay No Data

‡ – deducted 6 points for fielding an ineligible player.[8]

Honours

Records

Former players

1. Players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record. David Pleat (player/manager) 1974-1976

References

  1. ↑ "Nuneaton Town beat Workington in FA Cup replay". BBC Sport (BBC). 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  2. ↑ http://www.cwn.org.uk/sport/football/nuneaton-borough/2001/02/010213–stadium-refusal.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/north-warwickshire-news/2008/09/15/liberty-way-pitch-row-nuns-v-nuneaton-town-92746-21819699/
  4. ↑ http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/north-warwickshire-news/2008/09/10/nuneaton-town-and-nuns-at-war-over-state-of-liberty-way-92746-21717740/
  5. ↑ http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/north-warwickshire-news/2008/09/05/liberty-way-pitch-battle-in-nuneaton-92746-21681188/
  6. ↑ http://www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/Sport/Nuneaton-Town-FC/Nuneaton-Town-stadium-named-revealed-12072013.htm
  7. ↑ http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/nuneaton-borough-liquidation-announced-3095694
  8. ↑ "Nuneaton Town deducted six points for fielding unregistered player". Coventry Telegraph. 30 March 2012.

External links

Media related to Nuneaton Town F.C. at Wikimedia Commons