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== Current squad ==
==Current squad==
''As of February 13, 2011
''As of 29 June 2011.''

{{Fs start}}
{{Fs start}}
{{Fs player|no=1|nat=Ireland|name=[[John Connolly (Irish footballer)|John Connolly]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=1|name=[[Ryan Brown]]|nat=NIR|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=2|nat=Ireland|name=[[Liam Fleming]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=2|name=Liam Fleming|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=3|nat=Ireland|name=[[Ronan Scannell]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=3|name=Ronan Scannell|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=4|nat=Ireland|name=[[Peter Hutton (footballer)|Peter Hutton]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=4|name=John Convery|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=5|nat=Ireland|name=[[Barry Holland]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=5|name=Barry Holland|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=6|nat=Ireland|name=[[Ciarán Donaghy]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=6|name=Ciaran Donaghy|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=7|nat=Ireland|name=[[Mark Holland (footballer)|Mark Holland]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=7|name=Ciaran Caldwell|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=8|nat=Ireland|name=[[George McMullan]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=8|name=George McMullan|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=9|nat=Ireland|name=[[Chris Scannell]]|pos=FW|other=[[Captain (association football)|captain]]}}
{{Fs player|no=9|name=[[Chris Scannell]]|nat=NIR|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=10|nat=Ireland|name=[[Stephen Garrett (footballer)|Stephen Garrett]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=10|name=[[Stephen Garrett]]|nat=NIR|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=12|nat=Ireland|name=[[Aaron Smyth]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=11|name=[[Martin Donnelly]]|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=13|nat=Ireland|name=[[Jack Duffin]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=12|name=Aaron Smyth|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
⚫
{{Fs player|no=13|name=Jack Duffin|nat=NIR|pos=GK}}
{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs player|no=14|nat=Ireland|name=[[Ciarán Caldwell]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=14|name=[[Peter Steele]]|nat=NIR|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=15|nat=Ireland|name=[[Eamonn Seydak]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=15|name=Eamonn Seydak|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=16|nat=Ireland|name=[[Barry Johnston (footballer)|Barry Johnston]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=16|name=Dermot McVeigh|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=17|nat=Ireland|name=[[Ryan Catney]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=17|name=Ryan Catney|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=18|nat=Ireland|name=[[Kieran O'Connor (footballer)|Kieran O'Connor]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=18|name=Emmet Templeton|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=19|nat=Ireland|name=[[Jason Bannon]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=19|name=[[Joe Gormley]]|nat=NIR|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=20|nat=Ireland|name=[[Conal Burns]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=20|name=[[Mark Clarke]]|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=21|nat=Ireland|name=[[Jody Lynch]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=21|name=Jody Lynch|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=22|nat=Ireland|name=[[Rory Donnelly]]|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=22|name=Rory Donnelly|nat=NIR|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=24|nat=Ireland|name=[[Tony Kane]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=23|name=[[Kevin Bradley]]|nat=NIR|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=25|nat=Ireland|name=[[Dermot McVeigh]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=24|name=[[Barry Johnston]]|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=|nat=NIR|name=[[Martin Donnelly (footballer born 1988)|Martin Donnelly]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=25|name=Conal Burns|nat=NIR|pos=MF}}
⚫
{{Fs player|no=|nat=NIR|name=[[Ryan Brown]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs end}}
{{Fs end}}


Revision as of 13:20, 29 June 2011

Cliftonville
Full nameCliftonville Football & Athletic Club
Nickname(s)The Reds
Founded1879
GroundSolitude, Belfast
Capacity6,224 (safe capacity 2,180)[1]
ChairmanGerard Lawlor
ManagerTommy Breslin
LeagueIFA Premiership
2010–114th

Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club (the Reds) is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. Founded on 20 September 1879 by John McCredy McAlery in suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast, it is the oldest football club in Ireland and celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2009. Since 1890, the club has played at Solitude.

Cliftonville has won the Irish League championship three times in total - twice outright (1909–10 and 1997–98) and once jointly with Distillery (1905–06) - and the Irish Cup eight times, most recently in 1978–79.

History

The founders of football in Ireland

Cliftonville was founded on 20 September 1879 after an advertisement in the Belfast News-Letter and Northern Whig in which John McAlery, a young Belfast businessman and manager of the "Irish Tweed House", Royal Avenue, and later with premises in Rosemary Street, asked people to sign up with "Cliftonville Association Football Club".[2][3]

Only one week after the advertisement was published, Cliftonville played its first recorded game on the third ground of Cliftonville Cricket Club off Oldpark Avenue against a selection of rugby players known as Quidnunces, the game took place on September 29 1879. The newly-formed club, however, was beaten 2–1. In its first match against the Scottish club Caledonians, it fared worse: a 1–9 defeat.[2]

In 1880, it was again John McAlery who was the moving spirit in the formation of the Irish Football Association. He issued an invitation to interested parties in Belfast and district for a meeting to be called. The first meeting took place on 18 November 1880 at Queen's Hotel, Belfast, presided over by John Sinclair[disambiguation needed], from which the Irish Football Association was formed. While Major Chichester was appointed president, McAlery became the honorary secretary of the association. This meeting also paved the way for the Irish Cup.

The early years

The first Irish Cup final, played at Cliftonville on 9 April 1881, saw a 1–0 defeat against Moyola Park, and opponent that was well known for "rough and brutal play". In the following year Cliftonville lost again in the Irish Cup final, this time by 2–1 against Queen's Island. In 1883 Cliftonville won the cup for the first time with a 5–0 win over Ulster.[2]

During the 1880s Cliftonville also played in the English FA Cup, competing in the competition proper in 1886–87 and 1887–88. In 1886–87 they finally lost in the third round 11–0 at home to Partick Thistle after beating Blackburn Park Road 7–2 in an earlier round. In 1887–88 they scratched their match with Church (Accrington).[4] The match lost to Linfield 7–0 in 1888 is the only FA Cup match to be played on Christmas Day.[5]

The inaugural meeting of the Irish Football League was held on 14 March 1890 in the Belfast Estate Office of the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava with M. McNeice (Cliftonville) as its first president. Eight clubs agreed to participate: Cliftonville, Clarence, Milford, Oldpark, Distillery, Glentoran, Ulster and Linfield. In the 1905–06 season Cliftonville won the League for the first time, a success that was repeated in the 1909–10 campaign.[2]

In 1897 Cliftonville won the Irish Cup after a 3–1 win over Sherwood Foresters. A quite unusual protest was launched by Cliftonville after being beaten by Belfast Celtic in the 1900 Irish Cup competition. The Celtic goalposts were eventually measured and it was found out that they were much too short. A replay took place, in which Cliftonville reversed the 4–0 defeat in the earlier match. Subsequently they won the Cup that year, after beating Bohemians 2–1 in the Final.[2]

Long gap between victories

Being an all-amateur team until the early 1970s, Cliftonville subsequently played a minor role in Northern Irish football as professionalism took hold. It was only in 1976, under manager Jackie Hutton and his assistant Jackie Patterson, that Cliftonville experienced a "revolution in fortune" which peaked on 28 April 1979 in the Irish Cup Final at Windsor Park. In front of 15,000 spectators, the largest attendance for many years, Cliftonville beat Portadown 3–2 with goals from John Platt, Mike Adair and a late winner from Tony Bell. Unusually, the Reds were playing in yellow and blue that day. A similar strip was launched for the clubs appearance in the 2009 showpiece.

In the years after this achievement, Cliftonville returned to the lower reaches of the Irish League, and in the Nineties were often closer to relegation than to the top. However, things started to improve after winning the Floodlit Cup in 1996 and the County Antrim Shield in 1997 for the first time in 88 years.

Under manager Marty Quinn, a player from the cup-winning side of 1979, Cliftonville won the Irish League in 1997–98 for the first time in 88 years at Solitude after a 1–1 draw against Glentoran. UTV's coverage of the post-match wait in the home changing-room, which erupted in celebration once the title win had been confirmed, brought the Reds' victory to a wide audience. After the Cliftonville players returned to the Solitude pitch, Reds Captain Mickey Donnelly lifted the Irish League trophy. Donnelly was made new Captain at the start of the season after replacing Marty Tabb.

Yet the championship was followed by another potential highlight that turned out badly for Cliftonville, when the 1999 final of the Irish Cup between Cliftonville and Portadown was cancelled due to a Cliftonville player who had featured in the semi-final being deemed ineligible. Portadown were given a walkover in the final.

The new century

Former player and Captain Marty Tabb was appointed new manager and former defender Stephen Small was appointed Assistant Manager at the turn of the century. Cliftonville won the 2003–04 Irish League Cup final against Larne. But after a string of poor results, Tabb resigned in the mid 2000s.

Liam Beckett took over from Tabb and stayed for only one season and left the club. Eddie Patterson took over as Cliftonville manager until the end of the 2010/11 season when he became the first manager to be sacked in the clubs history and he was replaced byTommy Breslin.

The Reds subsequently reverted to type, escaping relegation by beating Ards in relegation matches in two consecutive years. Nevertheless, in 2003 the Reds caused an upset by wining the League Cup.

The Reds were back in the relegation play-off in the 2003–04 season under manager Marty Tabb, but comfortably disposed of Armagh City over the two legs. Since then the Reds have progressed, with a fifth-place finish in 2005–06 under new manager Eddie Patterson, (who replaced former Institute boss Liam Beckett), and his Assistant Tommy Breslin. Fifth was the club's highest finish since the league win of 1997–98.

The 2006–07 season was a successful one for the club getting to the League Cup final and winning the County Antrim Shield. Finishing third ensured European football for the first time in five years.

Cliftonville won their first ever game in Europe beating Dinaburg of Latvia in the First Round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007, the home leg was played at Windsor Park, Belfast and finished 1–1 with Kieron O'Connor scoring the Cliftonville goal, on his competitive debut and the away leg was played at the Celtnieks Stadium in the Latvian city of Daugavpils. Mark Holland scored the only goal of the game, which brought the travelling Red Army to their feet and secured Cliftonville's first victory in European competition.

During the 2007–08 campaign Cliftonville's performances in the first half of the season had seemed to make them genuine title contenders, spending much of the early and middle part of the season top of the table, going top with five games to go, however a poor run of form in the final fixtures of the campaign ended their hopes of winning the biggest prize in local football. The Reds finished the league campaign in third position fourteen points adrift of Champions Linfield.

However Cliftonville again secured European football, in the shape of the UEFA Cup. This success meant that the club became the first Northern Irish side to play in all of UEFA’s competitions. This time being drawn against Danish giants FC Kobenhavn, the home leg took place at Mourneview Park, Lurgan and resulted in a 4–0 defeat with the return leg two weeks later held in the Danish National Stadium, Parken Stadium and the result again was unfavourable - this time a 7–0 defeat.

During the 2008–09 campaign Cliftonville struggled in terms of their league performance but finished strongly to secure a top 6 finish. They won the County Antrim Shield and reached the Irish Cup final, 30 years since their previous victory in the competition. Alas it was not to be a victorious occasion with the Reds losing out to their near neighbours, Crusaders. The season was a success on a personal note for captain Chris Scannell, who finished top goalscorer in all competitions, and won the coveted Ulster Footballer of the Year trophy.

The Reds began the following season, 2009–10, eager to carry on the largely good form of the last few months of the previous one. That run largely continued, with the highlight a 4–0 destruction in the derby game against Linfield at Solitude. The Reds finished second on 69 points, a 1–0 defeat away to Linfield in the penultimate game cost the Reds the championship.

The 2010–11 season began with a 1–0 aggregate win over Croatian side HNK Cibalia in the second qualifying round of the Europa league. Cliftonville lost to CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria in the first match of the third qualifying round, 3–0. In the 2nd Leg Cliftonville lost 1–2 on the night which secured a 5–1 aggregate success for Sofia, who were allowed to remain in the competition when UEFA ruled that Cliftonville's appeal over the ineligibility of CSKA midfielder Spas Delev had not been lodged within the required 24 hour time frame. [[6]]

European Cups History

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Champions League 2 0 0 2 1 13
UEFA Cup/Europa League 6 1 1 4 2 16
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 2 0 0 2 0 8
UEFA Intertoto Cup 10 1 2 7 5 23
TOTAL: 20 2 3 15 8 60

Current squad

As of 29 June 2011.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Northern Ireland NIR Ryan Brown
2 DF Northern Ireland NIR Liam Fleming
3 DF Northern Ireland NIR Ronan Scannell
4 DF Northern Ireland NIR John Convery
5 MF Northern Ireland NIR Barry Holland
6 DF Northern Ireland NIR Ciaran Donaghy
7 MF Northern Ireland NIR Ciaran Caldwell
8 MF Northern Ireland NIR George McMullan
9 FW Northern Ireland NIR Chris Scannell
10 FW Northern Ireland NIR Stephen Garrett
11 MF Northern Ireland NIR Martin Donnelly
12 DF Northern Ireland NIR Aaron Smyth
13 GK Northern Ireland NIR Jack Duffin
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 FW Northern Ireland NIR Peter Steele
15 DF Northern Ireland NIR Eamonn Seydak
16 DF Northern Ireland NIR Dermot McVeigh
17 MF Northern Ireland NIR Ryan Catney
18 MF Northern Ireland NIR Emmet Templeton
19 FW Northern Ireland NIR Joe Gormley
20 MF Northern Ireland NIR Mark Clarke
21 MF Northern Ireland NIR Jody Lynch
22 FW Northern Ireland NIR Rory Donnelly
23 DF Northern Ireland NIR Kevin Bradley
24 MF Northern Ireland NIR Barry Johnston
25 MF Northern Ireland NIR Conal Burns

Honours

Senior honours

Intermediate honours

† Won by Cliftonville Olympic (reserve team) ‡ Won by Cliftonville Strollers (reserve team)

Junior honours

  • Irish Junior Cup: 5
    • 1888–89†, 1892–93†, 1904–05‡, 1908–09‡, 1932–33‡

† Won by Cliftonville Olympic (reserve team) ‡ Won by Cliftonville Strollers (reserve team)

Former players

See also

  • Irish League Forums Supporters Group

References

  1. ^ Northern Ireland Assembly Answer to Written Question AQW1178/11
  2. ^ a b c d e Malcolm Brodie, "100 Years of Irish Football", Blackstaff Press, Belfast (1980)
  3. ^ Northern Whig, 20 September 1879
  4. ^ Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of The FA Cup. p. 239. ISBN 1-899807-19-5.
  5. ^ Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of The FA Cup. p. 878. ISBN 1-899807-19-5.
  6. ^ "Cliftonville miss out on Europa League reprieve". BBC. August 17, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2011.

Template:UEFA Europa League

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