Barton Town Old Boys F.C.
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| Full name | Barton Town Old Boys Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Swans | ||
| Founded | 1995 | ||
| Ground | The Euronics Ground Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire (Capacity: 3,000) |
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| Chairman | Paul Friskney | ||
| Manager | Dave Anderson Mally Parker |
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| League | Northern Counties East League Premier Division |
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| 2010-11 | Northern Counties East League Division One, 2nd (promoted) |
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| Website | [www.bartontownoldboysfc.co.uk Club home page] | ||
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Barton Town Old Boys Football Club is a football club based in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire, England. For the 2011-12 season, they are members of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division.
The club was formed in 1995 after a merger of two of the most established clubs in Barton upon Humber; Barton Town FC and Barton Old Boys FC.
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[edit] History
Barton Town was originally formed in 1880, and since 1927 played at Marsh Lane (a ground used to this day by the current club). Town was a founding member of the Lincolnshire League, winning it in 1960-61, before playing in higher leagues. They played in the Midland League and then, particularly, in the Yorkshire League. The club returned to the Lincolnshire League in the early 1980s, winning the first division title in 1981-82. Just 10 seasons later they folded due to lack of finances.
Barton Old Boys had been a member of the Scunthorpe and District League since 1959, eventually boasting two sides in the first and second divisions. Over a ten year period from the mid-1980s, Old Boys were one the most consistently successful teams in that league, culminating in 1994-95 when they won all four of the major Scunthorpe League competitions, a first at the time.
[edit] Merger
In order to progress the two clubs merged and started the 1995-96 season in the Lincolnshire League. After a disastrous start, the new Barton Town Old Boys finished a very creditable fourth and won the Lincolnshire County Senior "B" Cup. The following season saw the team's fortunes rise, winning the League and Challenge Cup double, since then another County Cup triumph and two more Challenge Cup titles had been added to the list of honours.
After five seasons in the Lincolnshire League, things were starting to stale on and off the pitch for the club. They decided to move on to a new league in the form of the newly formed Humber Premier League for the start of the 2000-01 season. Despite being the only side from south of the River Humber, the team performed well, finishing third.
However, in order to gain a foothold on the football pyramid, the decision was made to move on again. Consequently, the club joined the Central Midlands League for the start of the 2001-02 season, bringing in Leigh Palin as first team coach to work alongside manager Peter Mitchell. The move paid off as the team finished runners up in the Central Midlands League Premier Division, gaining automatic promotion to the Central Midlands League Supreme Division for the start of the 2002-03 season.
[edit] Changes in the early 2000s
Managerial changes were numerous during the early 2000s, After a difficult start to the following season, Leigh Palin left the club in October 2002 and was succeeded in January 2003 by Alex Irvine who joined the club as joint manager, working alongside ex Hull City and Brigg Town stalwart, player Neil Buckley. After flirting with relegation, the team put together an excellent run of nine wins from the last 12 games to finish a difficult season in a relatively comfortable 13th position.
Alex Irvine left the club that summer, leaving Neil Buckley in sole charge and it has been a story of further progress since then. 2003/04 saw the team finish in 7th place, separated from the top six by goal difference only.
There was further improvement in 2004/05 as Buckley, alongside long-serving Old Boys player Ian Durnian as assistant manager, saw the progress continue as the team claimed fourth spot, being denied a top three place only because of a draw in the final game of the season.
Summer 2005 marked the installation of state of the art floodlights at the Marsh Lane ground and that, along with the securing of a long term sponsorship deal with the local Euronics Centre, signalled the club’s intent both on and off the pitch prior to season 2005/06.
On the pitch, that intent was certainly realised as the title of Supreme Division Champions 2005/06 was added to the club’s list of honours. Along with the reserve side’s promotion to the top flight of the Humber Premier League, it was certainly a season to remember for all involved with the club.
Off the field, ground grading requirements prohibited promotion to the Northern Counties East League, the club’s immediate ambition. As a result of that undoubted setback the club embarked on an extensive redevelopment programme, bringing in Paul Friskney as Chief Executive Officer to oversee the project which involved, amongst other things, turning the playing area and floodlights through 90°, new access, car-parking, changing rooms, clubhouse and stands.
Supreme Division runners-up at the end of the 2006/07 season, the club was in the fortunate position of being considered once more for promotion to the Northern Counties East League and this time the facilities were not found wanting.
As a consequence, 2007/08 saw the club begin a whole new era, a perfect end to all the hard work put in, on and off the field, over the last few years and a fitting tribute to Denis Cox, who has been involved with Barton Town F.C. for over half a century.
Ninth place in Division One was the outcome of the club’s first foray in the NCEL, a comfortable finish, albeit a little disappointing bearing in mind the team had been promotion contenders until around about the turn of the year, before loss of form, injuries and suspensions took their toll. A great run in the League Cup, which saw a number of Premier Division sides beaten at Marsh Lane en route to the semi-final provided some consolation for missing out.
After five successful seasons at the helm, late July 2008 saw the shock resignation of Neil Buckley, due to increased work commitments. Despite that blow, the club responded promptly, promoting coach Carl Stead to the hot-seat to work alongside existing assistant manager, Ian Durnian and newly appointed player/coach, Craig Burdick to send out the message that it was very much “ business as usual “.
The story of the 2008/09 season was another one of steady, if unspectacular, improvement. A fifth place finish was the outcome, but, in a worrying case of history repeating itself, not before another dreadful dip in form in the new year, which saw the team slump from genuine promotion contenders to also-rans, some eleven points adrift of a guaranteed promotion slot.
The disappointment of missing out was compounded by the loss of a number of key senior players who had been instrumental, with others, in the club’s success over the previous four seasons. The lure of football at a higher level, something that the club had signally failed to provide, proved to be too strong.
