South Shields F.C. (1974)

For the original club of the name, see South Shields F.C.. For the second and previous club, see South Shields F.C. (1936).

South Shields

Full name

South Shields Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Mariners

Founded

1974 (current incarnation)

Ground

Eden Lane, Peterlee^[1]

Capacity

1,000

Chairman

Gary Crutwell

Manager

Jon King

League

Northern League
Division Two

2013–14

Northern League
Division Two, 17th

Home colours

Away colours

South Shields F.C. is a football club based in South Shields from 1974. It is the third club of that name. The club plays in Northern League Division Two at Eden Lane in Peterlee after being evicted from Filtrona Park.

History

The club was formed in the same year as the previous club failed, after a second move to Gateshead by the previous club, and the sale of Simonside Hall, given to the club by supporters. The re-formed club under chairman Martin Ford was based at the council's Jack Clark Park, and began a 17-year crusade for a home of its own.

After two title winning seasons in the Northern Alliance, and an appearance in the quarter-finals of the FA Vase, Shields joined the Wearside League. Ultimately, chairman John Rundle and his family provided the long wished-for new ground at Filtrona Park, which was re-developed and first used by the club in 1992.

In 1994–95 the club won the Wearside League for the second time in three years, and were promoted to Northern League Division Two. It was promoted again to Northern League Division One the following season, but relegated back to Division Two in 1999–2000. Chairman John Rundle publicly threatened to fold the club if they went down, though he did not follow the threat through.

After several seasons in Division Two, John Rundle again threatened the club with closure in 2006, locking the gates at Filtrona Park before a home game. However, a new committee was formed and the club was saved. Since then the club's performance has improved, a fourth-place finish in 2007 was followed by promotion in 2008 back into Division One. In 2010 the club won the Northern League Cup, beating Ashington 6–5 on penalties after a 2–2 draw.

In the 2012-13 season South Shields F.C. was relegated from Northern League Division One.

Honours

Northern Football League Division Two^[2]
- Runners-up 1995–96, 2007–08

Wearside League
- Champions 1976–77, 1992–93, 1994–95

Records

FA Vase
- Quarter-finals 1975–76

Stadium

Filtrona Park, the former home of the club, has links with the nearby Filtrona factory which manufactures cigarette filters. The ground was also 'home' to Gateshead in April 2003 when the International Stadium was out of bounds due to the installation of a new athletics track.^[3] For the 2013-14 season, South Shields play at Eden Lane, Peterlee after being evicted from Filtrona Park, South Shields and South Tyneside Council announced they hoped to have a new purpose built ground in the town in time for the 2014/15 season.

References