Halifax Town A.F.C.
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| Full name | Halifax Town Association Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Shaymen | ||
| Founded | 1911 | ||
| Dissolved | 2008 | ||
| Ground | The Shay Halifax (Capacity: 14,000 (2,330 seated with new seating under construction)) |
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| 2007–08 | Conference National, 20th | ||
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Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years. The club went into administration during the 2007–08 season,[1] and after finishing 20th in the Conference National, were demoted by three divisions to the Northern Premier League Division One North when the club failed to get a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) passed.[2] The club was reformed as F.C. Halifax Town in July 2008.[3]
The club played at The Shay (hence the reason for their nickname "The Shaymen") in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which is now the home of F.C. Halifax Town.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years
The club was formed on 24 May 1911 at the Saddle Hotel.[4] They played in the Yorkshire Combination and the Midland League and were one of the founder members of Football League Third Division North in 1921, and remained in that division until restructuring in 1958.
[edit] Financial struggle
The club nearly always struggled financially as well as with its discipline.[citation needed] It was relegated from the Football League Third Division in 1963 and was re-elected several times in the Football League Fourth Division in the 1980s after finishing near the bottom of the football league. After the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation between the Fourth Division and the Conference, the club continued to struggle before being finally relegated in 1993.
[edit] Glory days
The club's fortunes were turned around in 1967 when Alan Ball Sr took over as manager of the club. He achieved promotion with the club in 1969. Ball left soon after, although the club enjoyed some measure of success in the Football League Third Division in the early seventies, finishing one place short of promotion in 1971, and many of the club's supporters tout this era as the "Glory Days". Also in 1971 the club beat the former European champions Manchester United 2–1. However, Halifax were relegated back to the fourth division in 1976.
[edit] Glory to gloom
Ever since the relegation of 1976, the club saw a long period in the fourth division with very little success, but a lot of financial problems. The club always languished near the bottom of the football league, managing no better than a single mid-table finish in 1983. Many say that the goals of Steve Norris were what allowed the club to survive in the football league. However, Norris left in 1992, and the subsequent year, Town were relegated.
[edit] Conference
The club found the Football Conference no easier than the fourth division. After several poor seasons with dire financial constraints, the club was demoralised as there seemed to be no way out. However, like with Alan Ball, George Mulhall came on the scene towards the end of the 1996–97 and avoided relegation out of the Conference. The next season Mulhall and O'Regan made a number of additions to the squad including Jamie Paterson, Mark Bradshaw and Lee Martin to put together a title-winning team. The Shaymen were crowned champions of the Conference and regained Football League status. Free scoring Geoff Horsfield was also the top scorer in the Conference that season, scoring 30 goals.[5]
[edit] Back In the Football League
For unknown reasons, at the start of the 1998–99 season, manager George Mulhall chose to retire and Kieran O'Regan was promoted from assistant to manager. Striker Geoff Horsfield, who scored 30 goals for Town in the previous season, only managed ten games before he was sold to Fulham for £300,000 in October 1998.[6] Halifax made a strong start to their league campaign and were amongst the leaders until December after which their results started to drop-off and they slipped into mid-table. Still only three points off playoff positions O'Regan was sacked as manager by Chairman Jim Bown after a 0 - 0 draw with Rochdale in April 1999.[7] For the next three seasons, Town had three different managers, none of whom were able to bring success to the club. After two poor seasons, Town became the first team to be relegated to the Conference twice in 2001–02.
[edit] Chris Wilder
Chris Wilder was appointed Halifax manager in July 2002.[8] In their first season back in the Conference the Shaymen finished in eighth position.[9]
In 2005–06 the Shaymen put together a strong push for promotion. They finished the season in fourth position and earned a place in the play-offs. An exciting play-off semi-final against Grays Athletic ended with a 5–4 aggregate victory over two legs to set up a play-off final with Hereford United at Leicester's Walkers Stadium on 20 May 2006. Goals from Lewis Killeen and John Grant put Halifax 2–1 ahead but Guy Ipoua levelled the score for Hereford in the 80th minute and the game went into extra time. Minutes into extra time substitute Chris Senior scored a third goal for Halifax but it was disallowed for offside. Ryan Green scored the winner for Hereford in the 109th minute and Halifax's dreams of a return to the football league were shattered.[10]
With continuing financial problems off the pitch Halifax struggled to maintain this form in the 2006–07 season and only avoided relegation from the conference on the last day of the season. Chris Wilder found himself again in a relegation battle in 2007–08 after the team were docked 10 points when they were placed into administration by a local consortium trying to buy the club.[11] Halifax again survived relegation on the last day of the season, only to find out later that they would be relegated anyway due to the club failing to meet the creditors demands to bring the club out of administration.[12]
[edit] End of the club
These tax debts continued to threaten the club after the end of the 2007–08 season. In May 2008, and after a major error, it was revealed that the club owed over £800,000 to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, making the club more than £2 million in the red.[12]
At a meeting of the Football Association, discussing the makeup of the football pyramid for the 2008–09 season, Halifax Town were not placed in either the Football Conference, the Conference North or the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Though the club appealed against the decision to remove them from the Football Conference, [13] they were unsuccessful and the club was wound up.[14]
The Supporters' Trust prepared a back-up plan to form a new club should it be required but the club was reformed by the same directors of the previous legal entity under the name F.C. Halifax Town and were accepted to play in the Northern Premier League Division One North in the 2008/09 season. [15]
[edit] Stadiums
The club moved to The Shay in 1921 and remained there until their demise in 2008.
From the mid-1990s on The Shay underwent substantial development, and Halifax RLFC moved in and shared the venue. The Football Trust assisted in providing funds for the redevelopment.[16]
[edit] Players and managers
[edit] Notable players
For a list of notable Halifax Town players in sortable-list format see List of Halifax Town A.F.C. players; for all Halifax Town players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Halifax Town A.F.C. players.
[edit] Managerial history
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[edit] Honours and club records
- FA Cup
- Fifth Round - 1932–33, 1952–53
- League Cup
- Fourth Round - 1963–64
- FA Trophy
- Fifth Round - 2002–03, 2003–04
- Football League Third Division
- Third Place - 1970–71 (56pts)
- Football League Fourth Division
- Second Place - 1968–69 (57pts)
- Conference National
- Champions - 1997–98 (87pts)
- Record attendance[20]
- 36,885 versus Tottenham Hotspur, FA Cup Fifth Round, 14 February 1953
- Most appearances[20]
- John Pickering, 402 appearances (367 in League) from 1965 to 1974
- Most goals scored[20]
- Ernie Dixon, 132 goals (127 league, 5 cup) from 1922 to 1930 (other source[21]indicates 128 League goals and that he played for the club in two separate spells)
- Most league goals in a season (individual)[20]
- Albert Valentine (1934–35) - 34
- Most league goals in a season (club)[20]
- 83 in Division Three North (1957–58)
- Record transfer fee paid[22]
- £150,000 for Chris Tate in July 1999
- Record transfer fee received[22]
- £350,000 for Geoff Horsfield in October 1998
[edit] References
- ^ "Halifax apply for administration". BBC Sport. 2008-03-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/halifax_town/7296448.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ "Halifax fail with demotion appeal". BBC Sport. 2008-06-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/7448831.stm. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ "New club name revealed". Evening Courier (Halifax). 2008-07-09. http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/halifaxtown/New-club-name-revealed.4271113.jp. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Halifax Town at The FSF Ground Guide
- ^ Johnny Meynell, Halifax Town from Ball to Lillis, 1999 p145
- ^ Johnny Meynell, Halifax Town from Ball to Lillis, 1999, p148
- ^ Johnny Meynell, Halifax Town from Ball to Lillis, 1999, p161
- ^ a b Halifax Town managers - official site
- ^ "Halifax Town". Playing record by season and cup results. Football Club History Database. http://www.fchd.btinternet.co.uk/HALIFAXT.HTM. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Halifax 2-3 Hereford (aet)". BBC News. 2006-05-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/4771819.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ "Halifax apply for administration". BBC News. 2008-03-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/halifax_town/7296448.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ a b "Halifax on the brink of collapse". BBC News. 2008-05-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/halifax_town/7392851.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ BlueSq Premier | North | South | Latest news on the new Blue Square Premier, North and South season | Conference AGM news
- ^ "Halifax fail with demotion appeal". BBC News. 2008-06-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/h/halifax_town/7448831.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
- ^ HTST Advise Town Accepted Into Unibond | Halifax Town | Fans | Supporters Trust | Supporters Trust[dead link]
- ^ Keith Butterick (November 2000). "Shay stadium". When Saturday Comes. http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/3581/29/. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
- ^ The Definitive Halifax AFC by Johnny Meynell
- ^ Taylor was the Halifax Chairman at the time and Booth was a club director - The Definitive Halifax AFC by Johnny Meynell
- ^ Halifax managers at mehstg.com
- ^ a b c d e "Halifax Town History". 16 August 2008. http://www.halifaxafc.co.uk/page/HistoryDetail/0,,10437~395908,00.html. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
- ^ Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-8994-6867-6.
- ^ a b Halifax Town facts at mehstg.com
[edit] External links
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