Widnes F.C.

Full name Widnes Football Club
Nickname(s) The Whites
Founded 2003 (as The Dragons A.F.C.)
Ground Select Security Stadium, Widnes, Cheshire
Ground Capacity 13,350
Chairman Ian Ross [1]
Manager Joey Dunn[2]
League North West Counties League Premier Division [3]
2016–17 North West Counties League Division One, 1st of 22 (promoted)
Website Club website

Widnes Football Club are an English association football club, based in Widnes, Cheshire. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Premier Division, playing their home matches at Halton Stadium, Widnes. They are affiliated to the Liverpool County FA.

History

Early years: 2003 to 2012

The club was founded in February 2003 as The Dragons A.F.C. by former secretary Bill Morley as a local junior football club with the aim of making football fun, teach new skills and self-confidence. The aim of the club was to make football so much fun that the children will want to be involved and they will keep coming back for more.

The Dragons AFC, later to be known as Widnes Dragons, had a fantastic reputation locally for their contribution towards the development of grassroots football in Halton and provide opportunities to play football for over 200 junior players from the age of 6 to 18. The club put in a great amount of effort to run the club according to the best practices laid down by the F.A..

This led to the club achieving the FA Charter Standard award in December 2003, being recognised as the first club to achieve this award from the borough of Halton. In 2008, the club was awarded the FA Charter Standard Development award for its continuous development of grassroots football.

2012 to present

In March 2012, Widnes Dragons began a consultation process with Widnes Vikings RLFC to become part of the Vikings Sports Brand, a partnership that was agreed to enhance the club's community status.

On 10 July 2012, at the club's AGM, the club's members unanimously agreed to become a part of the Widnes Sports Group and agreed on a 12-month transitional period up to the end of that current season (2012–13). The next step in the club's progression was made in season 2013–14 when Widnes Vikings FC was admitted into the football pyramid and placed within North West Counties Football League Division One.

In March 2014, the club's committee called an EGM for its members to decide on the future of the club. A unanimous vote was made that the club was to move away from the Vikings brand and to restructure the club to secure its own identity and long-term future. Subsequently, the club parted ways with the Vikings brand and became known as Widnes Football Club, which was symbolic in representing where the team and its fans came from whilst recognising that a new club needed to be built to establish confidence in the local community and support young local talent in Widnes.

In 2016, a change in board structure lead to the appointment of Ian Ross as Chairman with a Board of Directors being established.[4] Danny Meadowcroft and Brian Pritchard were appointed joint managers, replacing previous manager Steve Hill who left the Club following the end of the 2015-16 season. [5] However, following an indifferent start to the season, Meadowcroft and Pritchard left the Club and were replaced by Joey Dunn, who was subsequently appointed manager. [6]

The season ended on a highly successful note as under Dunn's management, Widnes were crowned North West Counties Football League Division One Champions with a game to spare after a 5-1 win at AFC Blackpool. [7]

In summer 2017, the club began to re-establish a youth section with the introduction of a development squad[8] and two junior teams at Under 7 and Under 9 age groups.[9]

Season-by-season record

Crest and colours

Throughout its history, the club has always adopted a white home strip. They currently play in a white home shirt, with black shorts and white socks. The club's away kit is all yellow.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Year Kit ManufacturerMain Shirt SponsorBack of Shirt Sponsor
2013–14 O'Neills Stobart Polyblend
2014–2016 Investec Tax Architects
2016- Macron PolyParts.co.uk None

Stadium

Widnes moved into the Halton Stadium in 2012, ahead of their debut and so far only season in the West Cheshire League. They played their first home game at the stadium against Chester Nomads Reserves on 1 September 2012. The club's highest attendance at the stadium is 462 set on 22 April 2017 against Charnock Richard.

Current squad

As of 12th August 2017

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

No. Position Player
England GK Jack Cookson
England GK Louis Mackin
England DF Steve Akrigg
England DF Michael Burke
England DF Alex Davies
England DF Tom Mitchell
England DF Jay Roberts
England DF Michael White
England MF Luke Edwards
England MF Tom Freeman
England MF Jack Graham
No. Position Player
England MF Danny Laverty
England MF Chris Lomax
England MF Sean Myler
England MF Kevin Pollard (captain)
England MF Colin Quirk
England MF Sam Sheen
England FW George Lomax
England FW Kevin Towey
England FW Billy Webb
England FW Chad Whyte

Club officials

Boardroom

Role Name
Chairman Ian Ross
Director David Day
Director Mark Freeman
Director Gareth Hartley
Director Glen Littler
Director John McKeown
Secretary Russell Stevenson

Coaching staff

Role Name
Manager Joey Dunn
Assistant Manager Stuart Humphreys
Coach Lewis Dunwoody
Coach Nick Matthews
Coach Paul Jones
Coach James Standing
Goalkeeping Coach Gareth Hartley
Physio Ron Cook

Managerial history

As of 12 August 2017
Manager Nationality Period Total
G W D L Win %
Paul Pennington  England 2012 7 2 1 4 28.57
Steve Hill  England 2012–2016 143 46 21 76 32.17
Danny Meadowcroft and Brian Pritchard  England 2016 9 5 1 3 55.55
Danny Salt (interim)  England 2016 3 1 0 2 33.33
Joey Dunn  England 2016- 45 32 5 8 71.11

Records

Team records

Honours

Notable former players

References

  1. ↑ All change at Widnes FC "All change at Widnes FC". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Announcement "Announcement: Dunn Deal!". Widnes Football Club. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. ↑ 2013/14 NWCFL Allocations "Allocation Of Clubs At Step 4/5". North West Counties Football League. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  4. ↑ All change at Widnes FC "All change at Widnes FC". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  5. ↑ New Management Team at Widnes FC "New Management Team at Widnes FC". Hallmark Security League. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Announcement "Announcement: Dunn Deal!". Widnes Football Club. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Champions! "Champions!". Widnes Football Club. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Development squad launched "Development squad launched". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Junior Setup Launched "Junior Setup Launched". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "LCFA Mens Senior Cup". www.liverpoolfa.com. Liverpool County FA. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.

Coordinates: 53°21′57″N 2°44′18″W / 53.3658°N 2.7384°W / 53.3658; -2.7384

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.