Blackstones F.C.

Blackstones

Full name	Blackstones Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Stones or Blackos
Founded	1891 Rutland Ironworks 1920 (as Mirlees Blackstones)
Ground	Blackstones Sports & Social Club, Lincoln Road, Stamford
Capacity	100 Seats plus standing
Chairman	Gary Peace
Manager	Gary Peace
League	United Counties League Division One
2012–13	United Counties League Premier Division, 20th (relegated)
Home colours

Blackstones F.C. is an association football club based in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, who play their home games at Lincoln Road.

History

Blackstone & Co Broad Street Stamford

The first football club with links to Blackstones was the "Rutland Ironworks". The club's headquarters were the "Half Moon Inn" while football matches were played on Ryhall Road, Stamford. The first evidence of the ironworks was recorded in 1891, the Stamford Mercury local press reported them beating Stamford Town Reserves 1–0 on 20 January 1891.

File:Blackstones in Stamford at St Peters Street.jpg

Blackstone & Co St Peters Street Stamford

The club was founded in 1920 as the works team for the Stamford engineering manufacturer Mirrlees Blackstone and adopted the company's name. Mirrlees Blackstone Limited was formed on 1 June 1969 by the merger of Mirrlees National Limited (formerly Mirrlees, Bickerton and Day) and Blackstone & Company Limited. All were, at the time, members of the Hawker Siddeley Group.

Blackstones FC joined the United Counties League Division One in 1984. Finishing second in 1987–88, they were promoted to the Premier Division from the start of the 1988–89 season, where they remained until being relegated in 2013.

2003–04 was a particularly successful season for the club, and they reached four cup finals. The only one which they won was the Lincolnshire F.A. Senior 'A' Cup. This success spurred the club on in the following seasons; in 2004–05 they finished fifteenth in the UCL Premier Division, rising to tenth in 2005–06, eighth in 2006–07 and fourth in 2007–08. In 2007–08 they reached the First Preliminary Round of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 at Northern Premier League Division One South team Grantham Town in a replay. They have also reached the final of the Lincolnshire FA Senior Trophy.

After a long trouble spell the regeneration of the club. This regeneration has started to occur as of November 2013 when Blackstones FC achieved the FA Charter Standard Club Mark for its Junior Team.

Stadium

The clubhouse, which stands behind the near goal, was extended in 1984, the year which saw the club join the UCL. In 1998, the parent company was taken over, and the club changed its name to Blackstones F.C. For several years the club was seen as the poor relation of Stamford (the Daniels) until Stamford secured promotion from the UCL. For a number of years during the 1990s, the club's future seemed in jeopardy, as the new owner of the Mirlees Blackstones company seemed intent on selling the ground where the club is based for housing development, but this did not happen. On one side of the ground there is a wooden stand, which has a some rows of benches and a mini terrace behind it. There are trees on either side of the ground, with a couple of dugouts opposite the stand on the far side. Floodlights were erected in 1989, along with a perimeter fence and other sundry buildings.

The club was told by the United Counties League that if a number of alterations were not completed by end of March 2010 they would be relegated, including a stand for 100 spectators and alterations to the pitch fencing and hard standing. The Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) provided a grant of £2,000 to enable the club to carry out this work.

Current squad

As of November 2013

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
–	GK	ENG	John Swales
–	GK	ENG	T Bedford
–	DF	ENG	Sam Bush
–	DF	ENG	Nico Stafferri
–	MF	ENG	Andrew Boome
–	MF	ENG	Danny Hotchkiss
–	DF	ENG	Andy Hattersley
–	DF	ENG	James Curran
–	MF	ENG	Ryan Brown
–	MF	ENG	C McRoyal

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
–	MF	ENG	Guispno Stafferri
–	FF	ENG	Andy Beech
–	MF	ENG	Ashley Fleming
–	MF	ENG	M Fox
–	MF	ENG	K Arthur
–	FW	ENG	Sam Strange
–	MF	ENG	Matt Sharp
–	FW	ENG	D Carr
–	FW	ENG	A Staffeiri

Officials

President	B. Sewell
Blackstones FC Secretary	Ian MacGillivray
Treasurer	A. Manners
Fixture Secretary	Ian MacGillivray
Registration Secretary	Ian MacGillivray
Committee	M. Davies, T. Laughton, A. Bush, C. Cramp, M. Hudson, S. Wallace, J. Trevor
Vice President	T. Arkin
Vice President	M. Wallace
Vice President	R. Grimsey
Vice President	V. Couzens
Vice President	C. Richards
Vice President	D. Morley
Vice President	Mark Hudson
Vice President	P. Mitchell
1st Team Manager	Gary Peace
Under 18 Manager	Shaun Wallace

Honours

Peterborough and District Football League

• Champions 1918–19

Division 1

• Champions 1975–76 Blackstones Works

Division 3 (Northern Section)

• Champions 1972–73 Blackstones Works Reserves
• Champions 1975–76 Blackstones Works Reserves

League KO. Cup

• Champions 2002–03

Lincs Senior 'A' Cup Winners

• Champions 1992–93
• Champions 2003–04
• Champions 2007–08
• Champions 2010–11

Reserve Divisions Cup

• 1989–90 Mirrlees Blackstone
• 1995–96 Mirrlees Blackstone
• 2003–04 Blackstones
• 2007–08 Blackstones
• 2008–09 Blackstones

External links

File:Blackstones Sports and Social Club QR Code.png

Blackstones Sports and Social Club QR Code

• Blackstones Sports and Social Club Official Website
• Blackstones FC Official Website
• Blackstones Juniors Football Team

File:Blackstones FC QR Code.png

Blackstones FC QR Code