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Histon F.C.

Coordinates: 52°14′31.39″N 0°06′51.33″E / 52.2420528°N 0.1142583°E / 52.2420528; 0.1142583
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Histon F.C.
Club badge
Full nameHiston Football Club
Nickname(s)The Stutes
Founded1904 (as Histon Institute)
GroundBridge Road, Impington
Capacity4,300 (1,700 seated)
ChairmanRussell Hands
ManagerDennis Greene
LeagueConference North
2011–12Conference North, 16th

Histon Football Club is an English football club based in the twin villages of Histon and Impington, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. From the 2007–08 season they competed in the Conference National, the highest level that the club has ever reached in the English football league system, before being relegated to Conference North at the end of the 2010–11 season. Dennis Greene is the current manager of the club when he was appointed in July 2012 after David Livermore left his first managerial role at Histon in favour of a move back to his former club Millwall.[1]

Histon are nicknamed "the Stutes", originating from the club's previous name Histon Institute, and they play their home matches at Bridge Road in Impington. Histon's crest features a rose, the flower representing the rose-covered field given to the people of Histon & Impington in perpetuity for sporting activities in the community by local firm Chivers. Histon play in red and black, their traditional colours, with red and black striped jerseys, black shorts and black socks.[2] Their current away kit is sky blue shirts, royal blue shorts and sky blue socks.

Histon's traditional rivals used to be Ely City, but the clubs have not met in recent years; Histon consider nearer neighbours Cambridge United as current-day local rivals.

History

20th century


File:Histon Institute19131912.jpg
Histon Institute team before the 1912-13 season, pictured in 1912.

The club was formed in 1904 as Histon Institute F.C. and played for many years in the Cambridgeshire Football League. John Chivers, the chairman of the major employer in Histon & Impington, the jam company Chivers, helped to found the Histon Institute in 1903, from where the football club has its origins.[3] The company donated a field, then covered in roses, for the club to play on, which is commemorated in the rose on Histon's crest.

In 1960 the club (which by now had dropped the "Institute" from their name) joined the Delphian League, but just three years later this league disbanded. Histon, along with most of the other member clubs, joined the Athenian League. In 1966 they switched to the Eastern Counties League, where they were to play for nearly twenty-five years. When the ECL adopted a two-division format, in 1988, Histon were placed in the Premier Division. In the 1989–90 season Histon won the Jewson League Cup, but lost players Lance Key and Shaun Sowden to Sheffield Wednesday and Giuliano Maiorana to Manchester United.

In 1993 a new club committee was formed and the recovery started. They were relegated to Division One in 1995 but were promoted back up two years later. During this time manager Graham Daniels departed for Cambridge City, and this meant the arrival of Simon Allen and once again the standards were raised. He guided the first team back from the Eastern Counties League Division to the Premier Division. The 1997–98 season saw Neil Kennedy establish a club record by scoring 46 senior goals in the season, winning the golden boot for the League, and Histon finished 3rd.[4] The club also won the Fair Play award for the third season running. In the same season, Sean Audley also established a club record by scoring the most goals recorded to date in one season. He scored a record 79 goals in the reserve side, and by doing so he earned himself the golden boot for the League top scorer. The following season produced another manager in Trevor Collins who took over the role and by doing so took the team to 4th in the league. But in the 1999–2000 season they won the Premier Division title under the management of another manager, former Cambridge United player Steve Fallon, and were promoted to the Southern Football League. The title was won on the last day of the season with a 2–1 defeat of Gorleston.[4]

21st century

The start of the 21st century for Histon was slow, and in the first three seasons Histon managed 4th spot twice and a disappointing 10th which momentarily halted the fast rise they had experienced with Steve Fallon up the non-league pyramid. The 2003–04 season saw Histon finish 2nd in the Southern League's Eastern Division to claim promotion to the Premier Division, and they followed this up by winning the Premier Division championship at the first attempt, and with it promotion to Conference South, the highest level at which the club had ever played. In the same season, Histon took on League Two side Shrewsbury Town in the F.A. Cup 1st Round Proper, setting up a 2nd Round tie at home to Yeovil Town with a 2–0 victory. They lost to Yeovil in the 2nd Round, but it did not affect their league performances as they clinched the Southern League Premier Division title on the last day of the season.

Bridge Road, viewing back of Main Stand and Cambridgeshire F.A. Stand.

In their first season at this level Histon finished in 5th place, enough to secure a place in the play-offs for promotion to the Conference National. They won their first game away at Farnborough Town 3–0, but lost 2–0 in the play-off final at Broadhall Way against St. Albans City.

In the FA Cup they managed to reach the second round proper after beating Hednesford Town in the first round. The team managed a draw away at Nuneaton Borough but were defeated in the replay at Bridge Road 2–1. They would have played Premier League club Middlesbrough if they had won. The second round replay saw 3,077 people at Bridge Road,[5] the highest attendance of the whole season.[6] The season was also notable for a 5–0 win against local rivals Cambridge United in the FA Trophy.

The two mainstands under snow cover.

On the 14 April 2007, the Stutes beat Welling United 1–0 at Bridge Road to secure promotion to the Conference National for the first time in their history, Adrian Cambridge scoring the winner in the 89th minute. Two days previously, officials from the Conference had passed Bridge Road as fit for Conference football, paving the way for promotion—the club's fourth in 7 years—to the highest point in the football league pyramid reached in the club's history. In the same season striker Neil Kennedy got his 300th goal for the club with a hat-trick against Havant & Waterlooville.

In Histon's first season in the Conference National the Stutes played their first televised game, Setanta broadcasting their 1–0 home win against Oxford United. Later in the season the club broke their record home attendance when a crowd of 3,721 saw Histon beat local rivals Cambridge United 1–0 on January 1, 2008.[7] Histon finished the season in 7th, two places and 9 points away from the play-offs,[8] and bade farewell to the club's record goalscorer, Neil Kennedy. He played his last competitive game against Forest Green Rovers on the last day of the season in a substitute appearance.[9]

Histon's second season of Conference started well, and the Stutes were top of the division during November.[10] They finished third in the league season, qualifying for the play-offs, where they were defeated 2–1 on aggregate by Torquay United in the semi-final.[11] In the FA Cup, Histon reached the third round for the first time after beating Football League opposition in Swindon Town 1–0 at home in the first round,[12] and

1–0 at home in the second round, the first time Leeds had lost to a non-league side.[13] They lost 2–1 to

at home in the third round.

In November 2009, Gareth Baldwin ended his 17-year tenure as chairman of the club when he was replaced by Tony Roach, citing "ill-health and stress" as the reason he was standing down.[14] Weeks later, he joined Cambridge United in a commercial capacity.[15] In January 2010, a unanimous vote from the board of directors saw Steve Fallon sacked as Histon manager, and he was replaced by Alan Lewer.[16] A year later the club were fined £5,000 and docked 5 league points after pleading guilty to "submitting misleading financial information". David Livermore then managed Histon until the end of the season.[17] They finished the season bottom of the league[18] and were relegated, being allocated a place in the Conference North for 2011–12.[19] Histon finished their first Conference North season in 16th, and manager Livermore left the club. He was replaced by Dennis Greene.

Ground

View from main grandstand at Bridge Road. Since taken, the terrace opposite has been modified with seats put in.
Main article: Bridge Road, Impington

Histon play at Bridge Road, also known as the Glassworld Stadium for sponsorship purposes. Due to the club's fast rise up the non-league system, the stadium has had to undergo major transformations, the latest being a new 500-seat stand that contains headquarters for the Cambridgeshire FA. It was finished in late 2007, bringing the ground's seated capacity to over 1,000. Plans are also in place to build a new away stand due to the Football League regulations that require a 1,500 stand.[20] The ground was graded as an A grade Non-League stadium on 7 January 2008 when delegates from The Football League passed it fit to play Football League Two football, should Histon become eligible through promotion.[21] Further ground improvements were started in early March 2008. Covered terracing for the whole of the 'Rec End' and a seated stand running the length of the pitch opposite the Main Stand are also now complete.

Reserves

Histon's reserve team were unusual in that they played at a high level of the National League System, only four divisions below the 1st team. They joined the Eastern Counties League Division One in 2001 and achieved second place in 2002. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division, after escaping relegation at the end of the 2007–08 season by winning 7 of their final 8 games,[22] finishing two points above relegated Swaffham Town.[23] The side has been managed by former players Neil Kennedy and Ossie Mintus since May 2008 when they took over from Ian Hart.[24] However, they withdrew from the league at the end of the 2010–11 season.

Players

As of 17 August 2012.[25]

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 England ENG Callum Kitscha
— GK England ENG Joe Mellings
— GK England ENG Jamie Crook
— DF France FRA Rémy Clérima (Captain)
— DF England ENG Zak Mills
— DF England ENG Sam Hearn
— DF England ENG Harri Hawkins
— DF Ireland EIR Danny Fitzsimons
— MF England ENG Adrian Sear (Vice-Captain)
— MF England ENG Jay Dowie
— MF England ENG George Thomson
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Max York
— MF England ENG Grant Roberts
— MF Romania ROU Claudiu Hoban
— MF England ENG James Stevenson
— MF England ENG Theo Ola
— FW England ENG Tom Wright
— FW England ENG Deakan Napier
— FW England ENG Lewis Taaffe
— FW England ENG Dan Holman
— FW England ENG Jordan Pavett
— FW England ENG Louie Theophanous

On loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF England ENG Ian Gayle (from Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.)
— MF England ENG Jack Eades (from Cambridge United)

Former players

See Category:Histon F.C. players to see a list of Histon players, past and present.

League Memberships

1960Joined Delphian League.
1963Moved to Athenian League Division Two.
1965Joined Eastern Counties League Premier Division.
1995Relegated to Eastern Counties League Division One.
1997Promoted to Eastern Counties League Premier Division.
2000Promoted to Southern League Eastern Division.
2004Promoted to Southern League Premer Division.
2005Promoted to Conference South.
2007Promoted to Conference National.
2011Relegated to Conference North.

Source:[26]

Honours and achievements

The list of honours that Histon have achieved is as follows:[note 1]

League

Cup

Footnotes

  1. ^ Histon Football Club were champions of each League or Cup, unless stated otherwise.

References

  1. ^ "Club statement". Histonfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012–07–19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ "Stutes earn their stripes". Cambridge News Online. Retrieved 2008–07–11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ A. P. M. Wright & C. P. Lewis (Editors) (1989). "A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 9: Chesterton, Northstowe, and Papworth Hundreds". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2008–01–02. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ a b "About Histon Football Club". www.histonfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2008–01–25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ Rae, Richard (2005–12–15). "Angus sends Nuneaton through". London: Guardian online. Retrieved 2008–01–21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Past season results". Histonfc.net. Retrieved 2008–01–25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ "Histon". www.conferencegrounds.co.uk. Retrieved 2008–12–01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ "Final league table for season 07/08". Official Histonfc Homepage. Retrieved 2008–05–03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ "Kendo Day". Official Histonfc Homepage. Retrieved 2008–05–03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ "Histon 5–2 Oxford Utd". BBC Sport Online. 2008–11–22. Retrieved 2008–12–01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  11. ^ Maiden, Phil (2009–05–04). "Histon 1–0 Torquay (Agg: 1–2)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009–05–11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Histon 1–0 Swindon". BBC Sport. 2008–11–08. Retrieved 2008–05–30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Rae, Richard (2008–12–01). "Postman's winner seals Histon's red-letter day". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008–12–01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Tony Roach new chairman of Histon Football Club". Histonfc.co.uk. 2009–02–11. Retrieved 2008–02–11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Gareth Baldwin aiming for Cambridge United stability". BBC Sport. 2010–04–02. Retrieved 2011–09–08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Steve Fallon Relieved of Managers role". Histonfc.co.uk. 2010–12–01. Retrieved 2010–01–13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Histon hit with points deduction and transfer embargo". BBC Sport. 2011–01–07. Retrieved 2001–05–25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  18. ^ Gooding, Matthew (2011–05–05). "Histon hoping for better next season". Cambridge First. Retrieved 2001–05–25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Histon to play in Blue Square Bet North". BBC News. 2011–05–20. Retrieved 2001–05–25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Ground swell". Cambridge Evening News. Retrieved 2008–02–18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ "Glassworld set for go-ahead". BlueSqFootball.com. Retrieved 2008–01–17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ^ "Histon Reserves Fixtures/Results 07/08". Histonfc Homepage. Retrieved 2008–05–11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ^ "Eastern Counties Football League Premier Division Table". Ridgeons Football League. Retrieved 2008–04–01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ^ "New partnership at the Glassworld". Histonfc Homepage. Retrieved 2008–05–27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  25. ^ "First Team". Histon F.C. Retrieved 2010–01–22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  26. ^ "Football Club History: Histon". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 25 May 2011.

52°14′31.39″N 0°06′51.33″E / 52.2420528°N 0.1142583°E / 52.2420528; 0.1142583

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