Frickley Athletic F.C.
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| Full name | Frickley Athletic Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1910 (as Frickley Colliery) | ||
| Ground | Westfield Lane South Elmsall | ||
| Capacity | 2,087 | ||
| Chairman | Gareth Dando | ||
| Manager | Karl Rose | ||
| League | Northern Premier League Premier Division | ||
| 2012–13 | Northern Premier League Premier Division, 18th | ||
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Frickley Athletic F.C. are a football club based in South Elmsall, in West Yorkshire, England. They were established in 1910 as Frickley Colliery F.C., and changed to their present name in 1974.
History
Initially they played in the Sheffield Association League and the Yorkshire League, before joining the Midland League, where they spent many years. In 1960, after finishing bottom of the Midland League[1] and the league closing for a season due to lack of teams, Frickley became the only Yorkshire side ever to play in the Cheshire County League, returning to the Midland League in 1970. Frickley joined the Northern Premier League in 1976. Frickley spent seven seasons at the pinnacle of non-league football, the Football Conference (for six of those years still known as the Alliance Premier League), with a highest finish of 2nd place in 1985–86 before being relegated the next season. They currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
They reached the third round of the FA Cup in the 1985–86 season, following an away win at league club Hartlepool United. The club went on to be eliminated from the competition by Rotherham United. This is their best performance in the competition so far achieved before a record crowd of 5,800.
At that time the club had 4 players in the England Non League team: Paul Shirtliff, Russ Wilcox, Gary Hooley and Paul Wilson.
Frickley's home ground is found on Westfield Lane. The club are expecting substantial redevelopments to the stadium by 2010 as part of the £17m regeneration of the whole area including the former Frickley colliery site. The Club has a long association with the former colliery. The miners used to pay an amount from their wage each week which went to the club and the local cricket club. Also, the ground is famous for being overlooked by the huge colliery spoil heap.
One well known former player and manager is Geoff Sleight, who later became Chief Scout at Leeds United. Other former managers include Jim McAnearney, a former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder, and Ronnie Glavin, the former Celtic & Scotland midfielder. Neil Redfearn (notable for having played 790 matches in The Football League) joined the club in September 2007. Other notable names associated with the club include Mick Wadsworth, Gary Hooley and Keith Whiteley. One of the club's former players, Russ Wilcox, is assistant manager at Burnley under Brian Laws, a role he had previously assumed under Laws at Scunthorpe and Sheffield Wednesday.
The club is namechecked in the song "Frickley", by Chumbawamba.
Officials and staff
The club's officials and staff are:
Chairman : Gareth Dando
Directors : Barry Johnson, Gareth Dando, Phil McCroakam
Treasurer : Andrew Steel
Company/General Secretary : Steve Pennock
Match Secretary : Ruth Bradley
Commercial Manager : Les Bradley
First Team Manager : Karl Rose
Assistant Manager: James Dudgeon
Physio: Todd Martin
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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Transport
Frickley Athletic F.C. are located close to Moorthorpe railway station and South Elmsall railway station both being just half a mile from the stadium on the York-Sheffield and Leeds-Doncaster/Sheffield lines.
Honours
- Alliance Premier League (now Football Conference)
- Runners-up 1985–86
- Northern Premier League
- Runners-up 2005–06
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
- Runners-up 1991–92
- Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup
- Winners 1985–86, 2012-13[2]
- Runners-up 2011–12
- Midland League Cup
- Winners 1975–76 [3]
Records
Highest league finish:
- Runners-up Alliance Premier League (now Football Conference): 1985–86
Best FA Cup run:
- Third Round Proper: 1985–86
Best FA Trophy run:
- Quarter Finals: 1984–85[4]
References
- ^ "MIDLAND LEAGUE 1959/60". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ {cite web|url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/frickleyathletic/news/blues-lift-sheffield-hallams-946071.html%7Ctitle=Blues lift Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup|author=Steve Pennock|accessdate=2013-05-10|date=2013-05-09}
- ^ Frickley Athletic Official Site – Club History
- ^ Football Club History Database: Frickley Athletic