Salisbury City F.C.

Salisbury City

Full name	Salisbury City Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Whites
Founded	1947 (as Salisbury)
Ground	The Raymond McEnhill Stadium, Salisbury
Capacity	5,000 (500 seated
Chairman	William Harrison-Allan
Manager	Darrell Clarke
League	Conference South
2011–12	Conference South, 10th
Home colours Away colours

Salisbury City Football Club is an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire currently playing in the Conference South. They were formed in 1947 and play at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium. Salisbury gained back-to-back promotions in recent years, first to the Conference South in the 2005–06 season by finishing top of the Southern League Premier Division, followed by winning the play-off final in the 2006–07 season to participate in the Conference National in 2007–08. They played the 2010–11 season in the Southern League Premier Division after being demoted from the Conference National at the end of the 2009–10 season, but managed to win promotion to the Conference South for the 2011–12 season in the first season following their demotion. In their first season back in the Conference South they finished 10th.

History

The club was founded as Salisbury F.C. in 1947. A previous Salisbury City Football Club existed during the late 19th century, and played in the Southern League Second Division between 1906 and 1911, but the current club does not consider itself to be related.

The current club immediately entered the Western League and won the Second Division title at the very first attempt. An attendance of 8,902, a figure never beaten, saw the championship decider, a 1–1 draw against Weymouth. Salisbury remained members of the Western League until 1968, winning the championship in 1957–58 and 1960–61, as well as finishing second on four occasions and reaching the FA Cup first round on four occasions and the second round once.

In 1968 the club was elected to the Southern Football League but met with little success until the 1985–86 season when Salisbury finished as runners up to Cambridge City and were promoted to the Premier Division, albeit only for a single season.

In 1993 the club’s name was officially changed to Salisbury City, and in 1994–95 they won the Southern League Southern Division championship. After redevelopment work at the council-owned Victoria Park, the club was able to step up to the Premier Division, a promotion which had been denied them two years earlier due to ground gradings.

Salisbury lasted seven seasons in the Premier Division, but troubles off the field eventually led to the departure of manager Geoff Butler, who had been in the role for more than 17 seasons. Relegation followed and the club came close to being wound up before being saved by a consortium led by one of the club's sponsors, Neville Beal, who was also able to tempt former Southampton player Nick Holmes, at the time living in the USA, to take over as manager in 2002. In the 2003–04 season, Salisbury gained promotion from the Southern League Eastern Division by finishing sixth, but a re-organisation of the English football league system saw them placed in the Isthmian League Premier Division, although after one season they were switched back to the Southern League Premier Division, which they won at the first attempt to gain a place in the Conference South. On 13 May 2007, they defeated Braintree Town 1–0 in the Conference South promotion play-off final, earning a promotion spot to Conference National.

As well as winning promotion, 2006–07 saw Salisbury embark on one of their most successful FA Cup runs, reaching the 2nd Round for only the second time in the club's history, where they were drawn against Nottingham Forest. In front of a record attendance at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium of 3,100, Salisbury held Forest to a 1–1 draw live on BBC One. The replay at the City Ground saw Forest progress into the 3rd round with a 2–0 victory, which was broadcast live on Sky.

Salisbury's first season in the Conference National saw them finish a credible twelfth after a run of several wins in the second half of the season. This success continued into the 2008–09 season when they hit top spot in early September. However, this run soon came to an end when they suffered many injuries which saw their form slip. Then an appeal to raise £100,000 in two weeks was asked of the fans and the city, but only £33,000 was raised. This was insufficient to keep the club going with the squad they had, which lead to cuts: in October 2008 many of Salisbury City's top players went on loan in order for the club to cut costs. In April 2009 the club was put up for sale for £1 in a bid to attract new investors to help the club survive. However, the future of the club remained unclear after club announced it has been unable to find a buyer at that price. On 3 September 2009 Salisbury entered administration clearing debts of £200,000.

Administration

In the summer of 2009, Salisbury City Football Club faced bankruptcy and in early September the club had slumped into administration. Whilst still functioning as a football team, The Whites were fined and were punished further with the deduction of points. By September, Salisbury City FC were being run by Carl Faulds and Michael Fortune operating as agents and contracting for Portland Business and Financial Solutions.

On 19 May 2010 the club was demoted to the Southern League Premier Division due to a breach of Conference rules. The club admitted that it missed the deadline, but hoped to reach a CVA on 12 June, 5 weeks after the deadline, and appealed against the decision in hope to maintain Conference National status. On 10 June 2010 it was announced Salisbury had lost their appeal and therefore would compete in the Southern League Premier Division for the coming 2010–11 season, two divisions below Conference National level.

A new board

A consortium of William Harrison-Allan, Chris Brammall and Jeff Hooper took the club on and bailed them out of administration. What followed was a complete restructure with manager Tommy Widdrington going to Southend United as Assistant Manager in the summer of 2010. Long-serving Nick Holmes followed him out the door, which left Darrell Clarke and Mikey Harris in temporary charge of a depleted squad in the lead up to the season. They managed to assemble a squad of youngsters over pre-season to go with the players that remained at the club. Striker Matt Tubbs also left that summer to join Crawley Town for a club record fee, thought to be around £70,000.

2010–11 season

Darrell Clarke was given the job permanently on 4 August and Mikey Harris was made his Assistant in time for the new season. Despite having a new manager and many new faces, Salisbury had a good start to the 2010–11 season and were unbeaten at home in the league until they lost to title rivals Truro City 6–0 in February 2011. Salisbury progressed to the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, eventually losing to Corby Town and on January 15, 2011, they battled to a 1–0 victory over Wrexham in the 2nd Round of the FA Trophy, a team who were two leagues above them. They then overcame Woking 2–0 away, a team who were a league above The Whites, to reach the Quarter Final stage of the competition. They fell at this stage, losing 2–1 to Darlington at the Northern Echo Arena, after another good performance. However, injuries hampered the Salisbury side in the latter stages of the season, and many players were brought in on loan. The team were far less consistent than they had been at the start of the year, and the starting line up was changed often because of the injuries to the squad, and many players seemed unfit when they did play. Truro overtook The Whites at the end of the season, meaning Salisbury had to settle for a play-off place.

Salisbury played Cambridge City at home in the play-off semi final and won 1–0. This resulted in a trip to Hednesford for the play-off final, and after a gripping game that finished 2–2 after extra time due to a late equaliser from Ben Adelsbury, Salisbury won 3–2 on penalties, clinching promotion back to the Conference South.

2011–12 season

Many players signed new 1-year contracts at the start of the new season, as did Manager Darrell Clarke and his Assistant Mikey Harris. After a relatively poor pre-season, The Whites made a good start to the Conference South season. The Whites also enjoyed a good FA Cup run, beating Swindon Supermarine, Poole Town and Bishop's Stortford on their way to the first round proper, where they beat Arlesey Town 3–1 to make the 2nd round for only the third time in their history. They were first out the hat and drawn at home against Grimsby Town in the next round. A crowd of 2161 were at the Ray Mac to witness The Whites hold Grimsby to a 0–0 draw meaning they would replay at Blundell Park on the 13th December. In the replay Salisbury earned a surprise 3–2 victory in extra time and competed in the 3rd round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in the clubs history. They lost the game 3–1 to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. A late consolation goal couldn't help from Salisbury's exit, though they will be happy with the club's progress. Salisbury also made good progress in the FA Trophy, a competition which they have had success in over the past few seasons. They disposed of fellow Conference South side Weston Super-Mare 2–0 at the Ray Mac before comfortably beating Lowestoft Town 4–1 at home. They exited the Trophy suffering a 6–2 home defeat at the hands of Conference Premier outfit York City. While success in the cups has been considerable The Whites league form has suffered for it with many inconsistent results matched with poor performances have seen Salisbury slip down the table into a relegation battle and in complete contrast to their good start. Despite this, The Whites did manage to secure a surprise 2–0 win at home to runaway league leaders Woking thus signalling a turn around in their fortunes. Salisbury's long on-going financial problems have also been bolstered during the season, firstly thanks to their long run in the FA Cup which has seen them pocket around £100,000. Also, the sale of former striker Matt Tubbs from Crawley Town to Bournemouth for a fee believed to be around £800,000, saw The Whites receive a fee of around 15% due to a sell-on clause. Despite some poor results at home in the second half of the season, The Whites away form was strong. After securing their status in the division for the following season, The Whites ended the campaign very strongly with wins against Chelmsford City (3-2), Hampton and Richmond Borough (2-1), Sutton United (3-1) and Eastbourne Borough (3-1). These strong results meant The Whites finished in 10th position and coupled with the FA Cup run meant that it was a largely successful season for Salisbury.

2012–13 season

Salisbury made a host of new signings in an effort to push for promotion. Goalkeeper Mark Scott rejoined on a permanent deal from Swindon Town. Highly rated midfielder Chris McPhee joined from Torquay United. Striker Jamie White signed up hitting the ground running, topping the top-goalscorers list with 23 league goals as Salisbury City currently occupy second position in the Conference South after playing 39 matches.

Ground

In 1997 Salisbury City moved to a purpose-built stadium at Old Sarum, named after the then chairman. The Raymond McEnhill Stadium's capacity officially stands at 3,500 (although it is technically able to hold 5,000), with covered accommodation for 2,247 fans.

A then record crowd of 2,570 saw the FA Cup first round 2–0 defeat by Hull City in 1998. This figure was beaten twice during the FA Cup run of 2006–07: against Fleetwood Town in the first round proper and then against Nottingham Forest in the second round, with 3,100 attending the 1–1 draw. Salisbury City lost the replay.

The record league attendance figure of 2,677 was set on 28 December 2009 when Salisbury City played Oxford United, drawing 1–1.

Players

Current squad

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	Will Puddy
—	GK	ENG	Mark Scott
—	DF	WAL	Rhys Baggridge (on loan at Frome Town)
—	DF	ENG	Ryan Brett
—	DF	ENG	James Clarke
—	DF	ENG	Brian Dutton
—	DF	WAL	Chris Giles (captain)
—	DF	WAL	Callum Hart
—	DF	ENG	Luke Ruddick
—	DF	ENG	Ugo Udoji
—	DF	ENG	Glenn Wilson (on loan from Gateshead)
—	MF	ENG	Matt Clark

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Darrell Clarke (player-manager)
—	MF	ENG	Elliott Frear (on loan from Exeter City)
—	MF	ENG	Chris McPhee
—	MF	ENG	Rob Sinclair
—	MF	ENG	Stuart Sinclair
—	MF	ENG	Ricky Wellard
—	FW	ENG	Charles Ademeno
—	FW	ENG	Dan Fitchett
—	FW	ENG	Theo Lewis
—	FW	ENG	Robbie Matthews
—	FW	ENG	Jamie White

Staff

• First Team Manager: Darrell Clarke
• Assistant Manager: Mikey Harris
• Sports Therapists: Michael Cooper & Kevin Bushby
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Mark Stanton
• Goalkeeping Coach: Simon Arthur
• Physios: Kevin Bushby & James Grigg
• Kitman: Mickey Western
• Youth Team Manager: Neil Benson
• Football in the Community Officer: Michael Cooper

Club honours

• Football Conference
  • Conference South Play-Off Winners: 2006–07
• Southern Football League
  • Champions: 2005–06
  • Play-Off Winners: 2010–11
  • Southern Division Champions: 1994–95
• Western Football League
  • Champions: 1957–58, 1960–61
  • Division 2 Champions: 1947–48
  • Western League Cup Winners: 1955–56
  • Alan Young Cup Winners: 1959–60, 1960–61, 1962–63
• Wiltshire Premier Shield
  • Winners: 1956–57, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62,1966–67, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Hampshire Senior Cup
  • Winners: 1961–1962, 1963–1964

External links

• Official website
• Salisbury Journal Sport
• History of club
• BBC Wiltshire – News reports from BBC Wiltshire
• Salisbury City F.C.(former club) at the Football Club History Database
• Salisbury F.C. at the Football Club History Database
• Salisbury City F.C.(present club) at the Football Club History Database