King's Lynn F.C.
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| Full name | King's Lynn Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Linnets | ||
| Founded | 1879 | ||
| Dissolved | 2009 | ||
| Ground | The Walks Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 5,733 (1,200 seated) | ||
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King's Lynn F.C. were an English football club based in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
In the 2007–08 season, they became champions of the Southern League Premier Division.
They were nicknamed The Linnets and they played their home matches at The Walks Stadium. On 25 November 2009 they were officially wound up at the high court following debts of £77,000 to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and in December went out of business after a failed appeal.[1]
History
It is not known when King's Lynn first had a football club that represented the town just that it was reformed in 1879 having gone out of existence "a few years earlier". At that time there were a number of football teams in Lynn, the most notable probably being Lynn United, Lynn CEYMS and Lynn Star. The town even had its own football newspaper -The Lynn Football Star which was published from 3 October 1903 to 23 January 1915. Three copies of this are in Lynn Museum.
- 1897-1935 Members of the Norfolk & Suffolk League and, occasionally, East Anglian League
- 1900-01 FA Amateur Cup runner-up
- 1935-36 Founder members of Eastern Counties League
- 1937-39 Also played in East Midland League
- 1946-47 Joined United Counties League
- 1948-49 Rejoined Eastern Counties League
- 1949-50 Eastern Counties League runner-up (on goal average)
- 1952-53 Eastern Counties League runner-up
- 1953-54 Eastern Counties League Champions & League Cup winners
- 1954-55 Joined Midland League
- 1958-59 Joined Southern League South Eastern zone
- 1962 Relegated to Division One
- 1963-64 Southern League Division One runner-up. Promoted to Premier Division.
- 1971 Relegated to Division One
- 1979-80 League re-organised to Southern & Midland Divisions (No Premier). Placed in Midland Division.
- 1980-81 Transferred to Northern Premier League
- 1983-84 Transferred to Southern League
- 1984-85 Southern League runner-up
- 1987 Relegated to Midland Division
- 1995-96 Southern League Midland Division runner-up, and promoted to Premier Division, despite having two points deducted.
- 2002 Relegated to Eastern Division
- 2003-04 Southern League Eastern Division Champions. Play-offs for places in new structure - King's Lynn 0 Redditch United 1. Promoted to Premier Division
- 2007-08 Southern League Premier Division Champions , therefore promoted to Level 6 (Conference North) on the Tier "pyramid".
- 2008-09 Demoted to Northern Premier League because stadium did not meet Conference North standards
- 2009 Club wound up by High Courts in regards to debts owed to HMRC.
FA Cup
The club's record attendance was 12,987 for an FA Cup match against Exeter City in 1950. The Linnets held a surprisingly good record for a non-league side in the competition. They had the best record of any team ever in the FA Cup. In terms of games played against games won, King's Lynn won the most games.[citation needed] They also sat seventh in the all time goals scored, just three goals behind Manchester United, although most of these were in preliminary or qualifying rounds in the competition. In the 2006-07 season they reached the second round proper of the FA Cup and played Oldham Athletic at home, the Linnets lost the match 2-0.
Financially this gave the club a boost with an attendance of 5,444 and the game being shown on Sky Sports and ESPN television, it was reported that they would receive some £75,000 from Sky Sports alone, although a large proportion of that was to be spent improving the facilities at the ground to the required standard and hire of floodlighting for the televised game. King's Lynn were the best supported team in the Southern League Premier Division, before being promoted to the Conference North. They were the second-best supported team in their division in 2008-09 after AFC Telford United.
Stadium
King's Lynn played their home games at The Walks Stadium. The Stadium is located near the local railway station and the Park. The Stadium has a capacity of 5,733, expanded from 3,600 for the FA Cup second round proper tie against Oldham Athletic. The stadium is located on Tennyson Road. The stadium has one seated stand, the rest is standing terraces. The name derives from the area of park located next to the stadium, called The Walks. At the end of the 2008-09 season, King's Lynn were informed that they would be relegated from the Conference North because their stadium didn't meet Conference North standards; the council owned stadium met the required standard by the start of the 2009-10 season.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Records
- Home Attendance: 12,937 vs Exeter City 1950-51 FA Cup 1st Round
- Away Attendance: 44,916 vs Everton 1961-62 FA Cup 3rd Round
- Record Win: 17-0 vs Beccles (19 April 1930 Norfolk and Suffolk League)
- Southern League: Home 8-0 vs Leicester United 1994-95
- Southern League: Away 6-0 vs Bedworth United 1973-74
- Northern Premier League: Home 11-0 vs Durham City 2009-10
- Record Defeat: 0-11 vs Aston Villa 1905-06 FA Cup
- Southern League: Home 0-6 vs Corby Town 1990-91
- Southern League: Home 2-8 vs Histon 2002-03
- Southern League: Away 0-8 vs Hastings United 1958-59.
- Career Appearances: Mick Wright 1,152 (British Record)
- Southern League Appearances: Mick Wright 734
- Career Goalscorer: Malcolm Lindsay 321
- Southern League Goalscorer: Malcolm Lindsay 187
- Goals in a season: George Martin 69 from 38 appearances (1909-10)
- Goals in a match: Harry Kirk 8 (15 April 1925 v City Wanderers)
- Goals in a match Southern League: Ray Dixon 6 (1958-59)
- Transfer fee paid: £5,000 Lyndon Rowland from Halesowen Town November 1999
- Transfer fee received: Mark Paul to Southampton £60,000 1998-99
King's Lynn Reserves
King's Lynn Reserves played in a variety of leagues including the Peterborough & District League and the United Counties League. They were members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division in the 2008-09 season at the time of the club's demise..