Newry City F.C.
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| Full name | Newry City Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Town | ||
| Founded | 1923 (as Newry Town) | ||
| Ground | The Showgrounds, Newry (Capacity: 7,949 (safe capacity 2,275, 1,080 seated)[1]) |
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| Chairman | Paul McKenna | ||
| Manager | Pat McGibbon | ||
| League | IFA Championship 1 | ||
| 2010–11 |
12th (IFA Premiership) (relegated) |
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Newry City is an intermediate, Northern Irish football club playing in IFA Championship 1. The club, founded in 1923, is based in Newry, County Down and plays its home matches at The Showgrounds. Club colours are blue and white. The club were relegated from the IFA Premiership in the 2010–11 season after finishing 12th (last) in the league.[2]
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[edit] History
The club was originally known as Newry Town - it was renamed in 2004, two years after Newry obtained city status. [1]
The club's most successful period was the late 1990s. After winning the First Division in the 1997–98 season, the club managed to finish fourth in the Premier Division, thus qualifying for the Intertoto Cup.
In this, their first ever appearance in European competition, Newry Town (as they were then known) were drawn against the Croatian side Hrvatski Dragovoljac. A 1–0 defeat in Croatia was followed by an historic 2–0 win at home to send the club into the second round. There they met Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg. Again, Newry were drawn away in the first leg, coming away with a respectable 2–0 defeat to the German professionals. A 1–0 win at home wasn't enough to force extra time but the side had exceeded expectations in the tournament.
Since the 1999–00 season, the club went into decline, culminating in a last place finish in the league in 2002–03. However, thanks to the restructuring of the Irish Football League they were required to play off against Bangor over two legs. A 0–0 away draw and a 2–1 home win kept the club in the top flight.
In the 2006–07 season, big things were expected of Roy Coyle's team, with the manager seen as the most successful manager in the history of the Irish league, however poor results resulted in Coyle leaving the club. He was replaced by Gerry Flynn at the start of 2007.
In Flynn's first full season in charge (2007–08), he and his assistant Peter Murray steered the club to 8th position in the final league table. In September 2009, after a 2–1 victory over Coleraine, Flynn resigned.
Shortly after, former Newry player-manager John McDonnell was given the job. On 13 March 2010, after an uncharacteristically unsuccessful spell McDonnell resigned as First team manager and Gerry Flynn once again took the reins. On 26 April 2011, the club lost 4–0 to Glenavon and were relegated to IFA Championship 1. Prior to this, Gerry Flynn was sacked as manager and former club captain Robbie Casey took charge on a temporary basis.
Despite speculation that Roddy Collins was to get the job, fomer Manchester United player Pat McGibbon later took over as first team coach.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Senior honours
- Irish League First Division: 1
- 1997–98
- County Antrim Shield: 1
- 1987–88
- Mid-Ulster Cup: 13
- 1936–37, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1999–00, 2006–07
[edit] Intermediate honours
- Irish League B Division: 2
- 1959–60, 1980–81
- Irish Intermediate Cup: 2
- 1958–59, 1966–67, 1980–81
- Bob Radcliffe Cup: 2
- 1978–79, 1984–85†
† Won by reserve team
[edit] Notable former players
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[edit] Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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[edit] Staff
Manager: Pat McGibbon
Assistant Manager/s: Peter Murray, Packie McAllister
Reserve Team Manager: Robert Casey
Management Board: Paul McKenna, Jim Feenan, Eric Wilson, Ronan McGrath, Tom McKeown
Marketing Manager: Lisa Kelly
Groundskeeper / Kitman: Willie Young
Sports Therapist: Ian Lynch
Goalkeeper Coach: Mickey Keenan
Academy Lead Coach: Ryan McConville
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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