Nuneaton Town F.C.

Nuneaton Town
Full name Nuneaton Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Boro.
Founded 2008 (2008)
Ground Liberty Way
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
Ground Capacity 4,614 (514 seated)
Chairman Lee Thorn
Manager Tommy Wright
League National League North
2016–17 National League North, 12th of 22
Website Club website

Nuneaton Town Football Club is an English football club based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The club participates in the National League North, the sixth 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 F.C. were founded. In 2008, the club was liquidated, and, due to an 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 currently play their home fixtures at Liberty Way, Nuneaton. The club's home colours are blue & white (usually vertical stripes).

Local rivals include Tamworth, Leamington, Bedworth United and Coventry City.

Club history

Original club: 1889–1937

Nuneaton St. Nicolas / Nuneaton Town/ The Rough F.C.

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

Club Nickname: 'The Boro'

League record

Major honours

League:

Cup:

Key events

On 13 May 1937, at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, it was decided to wind up the football club. This was despite Nuneaton Town being financially sound (having sold their Manor Park ground to Nuneaton Corporation the previous December).

Second incarnation: 1937–2008

Old Main Stand at Manor Park

Nuneaton Borough

Following the disbandment of 'the Boro' by its shareholders, a new group of 'local gentlemen' decided to reform the football club. The new name Nuneaton Borough reflected the royal charter status that the town had been granted.

Club Nickname: 'The Boro'

League record

Major honours

League

Cup

Record attendance

Key events

In March 1983, George Best played for Nuneaton Borough in a friendly match against Coventry City, and he scored from a penalty.[1]

In May 2007, the curtain came down on Manor Park as they drew the last game 1–1 against Vauxhall Motors. Striker Gez Murphy took the honour of being the last Nuneaton Borough scorer at the ground (after scoring a penalty).

In the 2007–08 season, ill-health meant that the club's owner, Ted Stocker, decided to sell his shares. March 2008 saw local businessman Ian Neale planned to take ownership of the club for a trial period. However, he took 100% ownership of the club in April. In May 2008, Mr Neale found some irregularities in the finances of the club, raising fears that the club would have to be forced into administration.

On 2 June 2008, Nuneaton Borough went into liquidation.

Current incarnation: 2008–present

Nuneaton Town F.C.

Following the club's liquidation, the club reformed, this time as Nuneaton Town. The new club was forced (at the insistence of the FA) to revert to its former name of Nuneaton Town. Falling foul of regulations regarding football finance, the new club was demoted two divisions from Conference North to Southern League Division One. Nevertheless, successive promotions saw the club quickly regain its former league status. The reformed club also underwent complete restructuring with facilities being upgraded and revamped for the supporters.

League record

Major honours

League

Cup

Record attendance

Key events

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.

Following promotion to the Premier Division, Nuneaton found themselves facing several teams that were spending vast sums chasing promotion. After a slow start, the team went on a run that saw them beaten only once at home and included a run of 14 straight victories. A 24-point gap between the leaders Farnborough was narrowed to 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 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. Three days after the play-off final, Nuneaton had beat Alvechurch to lift the Birmingham Senior Cup. Only Premier League Aston Villa have won the cup more times than Nuneaton. Furthermore, 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 club's hard core of supporters and the opening game and crowd average of around 1,000 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 the play-offs. However, 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 Telford United 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 administrative 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 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 (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.

The Boro's promotion was their third in four seasons since their reformation.

The 2012–13 season saw Boro pitting their wits against the countries' non-league elite. Competing against full-time clubs (whereas the Boro were semi-professional), it took a while to get to grips with their new environment. However, Boro's team spirit and work ethic never wavered. Despite spending much of the season in and around the relegation zone a 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. Following manager Kevin Wilkin's departure 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.

The 2014–15 season saw a number of significant events. The season saw Lee Thorn invest in the club, becoming chairman. His investment also saw the club regain ownership of the stadium. On Monday, 8 September following a poor start to the 2014–15 season, manager Brian Reid was sacked, following a number of poor results and poor performances. Liam Daish was appointed manager, but the season still saw the Boro relegated to the newly renamed National League North.

The 2015–16 preseason saw Lee Thorn taking full control of the club and Kevin Wilson named as manager.

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 United 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 City 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.[2] 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.

Ground

Pre-1919

The club 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. The turn of the century saw the Boro moved to enclosed grounds at Queens Road 1903–08, Newdigate Arms 1908–15 and then Manor Park.

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 has been redeveloped for housing by former shirt sponsors Bloor Homes.

Liberty Way (2007–Present)

Nuneaton Borough moved into their new ground, Liberty Way, in time for the 2007–08 season. The ground was initially owned and purpose built by Nuneaton Rugby Club, who now share the ground. As a consequence of the decision to move, the ground was substantially upgraded. The upgrade took place over three phases by local building firm Ian Neale Construction (owned by future owner Ian Neale) 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, allowing the club could move to Liberty Way. The ground-share plan with Nuneaton R.F.C. was planned by the then owner Ted Stocker of both clubs, after many new ground plans across Nuneaton were rejected by the local council.[3] As a consequence of the ground share, ownership of the ground passed from the rugby club to a new holding company, Stadiasafe.

Liberty Way, Nuneaton

The ground share with Nuneaton Rugby Club ('The Nuns') effectively died with the liquidation of Stadiasafe, leaving no formal agreement in place between the two clubs. Having gained sole ownership of the ground, 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, the rugby club paid £35 to hire the pitch, a fee that also covered the use of the flood lights and markings. Since this was previously paid to a sister company (the aforementioned Stadiasafe; owned by the owner of both clubs), the amount paid was immaterial. However, when the football club gained sole ownership, this sparked disagreements over the amount to be paid to the football club by the rugby club to play its games in the stadium.[4][5][6]

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.[7] For the 2014–15 season, following the second 'golden ticket draw', the ground was named the JDRF James Parnell Stadium.

Backroom staff

Position Staff
Chairman Lee Thorn
Chief Executive Officer Ian Neale
Manager Tommy Wright
Assistant Manager Steve Chettle
Coach Exodus Geohaghon
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;

Managers

(Since 1997)

Tommy Wright 2016– Kevin Wilson 2015–2016 Liam Daish 2014–2015 Brian Reid 2014 Kevin Wilkin 2006–2014 Roger Ashby 2004–2006 Alan Lewer 2003–2004 Steve Burr 2000–2003 Brendan Phillips 1997–2000

Seasons

Below are the ten most recent Nuneaton Town seasons.

Year League Level P W D L F A GD Pts Position Leading league scorer Goals FA Cup FA Trophy Average attendance
2007–08 Conference North 6 42 19 14 9 58 40 +18 71 7th of 22
Liquidated and reformed[8]		 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 via play-offs		 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 via play-offs		 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 play-off semi-final		 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 via play-offs †		 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 No Data
2013–14 Conference Premier 5 46 18 12 16 54 60 −6 66 13th of 24 Louis Moult 17 QR4 R2 No Data
2014–15 Conference Premier 5 46 10 9 27 38 76 −38 36 †† 24th of 24
Relegated ††		 Andy Brown 8 QR4 R1 No Data
2015–16 National League North 6 42 20 13 9 71 46 +25 70 ††† 6th of 22 ††† Aaron Williams 15 QR3 R1 No Data
2016–17 National League North 6 42 14 13 15 67 69 -2 55 12th of 22 Joe Ironside 20 QR2 R3 No Data

† Nuneaton Town deducted 6 points for fielding an ineligible player.[9]
†† Nuneaton Town deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player.[10]
††† Nuneaton Town deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player in their win over Corby Town on 27 February 2016.[11] They would have finished in 4th place and a play-off position without this points deduction.

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: George Best joining the Boro – and other great shocks". Nuneaton News. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Nuneaton Town beat Workington in FA Cup replay". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  3. ↑ CWN, Antony Hopker for. "Nuneaton Borough news – Borough Despair As Stadium Plan Thrown Out – 13 February 2001". Retrieved 3 October 2016. line feed character in |title= at position 72 (help)
  4. ↑ Administrator, coventrytelegraph (15 September 2008). "Liberty Way pitch row: Nuns v Nuneaton Town". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Administrator, coventrytelegraph (10 September 2008). "Nuneaton Town and Nuns at war over state of Liberty Way". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Simpson, Cara (5 September 2008). "Liberty Way pitch battle in Nuneaton". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Nuneaton Town stadium named revealed". 12 July 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Administrator, coventrytelegraph (2 June 2008). "Nuneaton Borough liquidation announced". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Nuneaton Town deducted six points for fielding unregistered player". Coventry Telegraph. 30 March 2012.
  10. ↑ Poole, Alan (7 April 2015). "Nuneaton Town facing relegation after points deduction". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Nuneaton Found Guilty of Fielding Ineligible Player". Football Conference. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

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