Birtley Town F.C.
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| Full name | Birtley Town Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Hoops, Green and White Army, Super Greens | |
| Founded | 1993 (reformed) | |
| Ground | The Robinson Heating & Plumbing Stadium, Birtley | |
| Capacity | 6600+ (50 seats in stand) | |
| Manager | Paul Beat | |
| League | Northern League Division One | |
| 2023–24 | Northern League Division One, 4th of 20 | |
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Birtley Town Football Club is a football club based in Birtley, Tyne and Wear, England. They are currently members of the Northern League Division One for the 2018-19 season after a two year stint in the Northern Football Alliance following relegation in 2016.
History
Although a side from Birtley competed in the inaugural season of the Northern League in 1889–90, the current team were only founded in 1993, when they joined the Wearside League. The reformed side won their first major trophy in 1998 when they defeated Annfield Plain in the League Challenge Cup Final.[1] Four years later they narrowly missed out on a clean sweep of the Wearside League's three cup competitions, winning both the Monkwearmouth and League Challenge Cups but losing in the final of the Sunderland Shipowners' Cup to Jarrow FC.
In the same year they merged with Birtley St Joseph's Juniors, expanding the club to include junior sides from the ages of seven to eighteen while adding girls, ladies and reserve teams. This led to the award of FA Charter Standard Club status in 2004.[2]
Despite ending the town's 57 year wait for a league championship by lifting the 2003–04 Wearside League title, Birtley were unable to move up to the Northern League as their ground did not meet the required standard. Following the addition of floodlights and changing facilities, they won the 2006–07 Wearside League, finally gaining promotion to Division Two of the Northern League.[3] In their first season they finished eleventh [4] and reached the quarter – final of the Northern League Cup.
During the 2008–09 season Birtley Town made their first appearance in the FA Vase. Given a bye in the First Round, they were drawn at home to Scarborough Athletic, the visitors winning the game 3–2 in front of a crowd of 240. They consolidated their position in the Northern League, improving their final league position to eighth [5] with 61 points from 38 matches.
Before starting their 2009–10 campaign, however, the club's main sponsor pulled out, leading to an exodus of players and a season in which they lost thirty of their thirty-eight matches, winning four, drawing four and ending the season with a final goal difference of minus seventy-four. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Billingham Synthonia, losing 3–1 in a home Extra-Preliminary Round replay.[6]
They remained in the Northern League Division One until the 2015-16 season where a 21st position finish saw them relegated to the Northern Football Alliance Premier Division. After a significant rebuilding process over two years both on and off the pitch, they secured promotion back to Northern League Division One in 2017/18 with a second place finish and won the Northern Football Alliance League Cup.
Current squad
| Position | Player | Position | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| MID | James Allsopp (C) | ATT | Joseph Barwick |
| GK | Jordan Bolton | DEF | Michael Dodds |
| ATT | James Fenwick | ATT | Connor Finlay |
| DEF | Michael Graver | DEF | Martin Guy |
| DEF | Jordan Hailes | MID | Nick Hay (VC) |
| DEF | Simon Hay | MID | Dan Hill |
| GK | Mark Hodgson | MID | Jack Honour |
| DEF | Cameron Hood | MID | Dan Irving |
| DEF | Connor Lane | ATT | Aaron McEwen |
| DEF | Mark Pattison | DEF | Adam Quigley |
| GK | Curtis Richardson | ATT | Tony Smith |
| DEF | Matty Soulsby | DEF | Morgan Spence |
| MID | Ricky Tanoh | MID | Charlie Watson |
| MID | Alex White | DEF | Lewis Whybrow |
Youth teams
There are a wide range of youth teams from Under 6's (SoccerTots) through to Under 18's with the Under 18 side of the 2012/2013 season entering the FA Youth Cup; the first Junior Birtley side to do so beating Scarborough at home 3-0 before losing their next game 1-0 at Bedlington Terriers.
There have also been some footballers that have made it professionally from Birtley such as Premier League striker Gary Madine who plays for newly-promoted Cardiff City and former Chelsea FC Reserve Vice-Captain and current Hartlepool United FC defender and Captain, Carl Magnay.
Honours
- Wearside League Division One Champions – 2002–03, 2006–07
- Wearside League Division Two Champions – 1994–95
- League Challenge Cup
- Winners – 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06
- Finalists – 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07
- Monkwearmouth Cup Winners – 2001–02
- Shipowners' Cup Finalists – 2001–02
- Northern Football Alliance League Cup Finalists – 2016–17
- Northern Football Alliance League Cup Winners – 2017–18
Records
- FA Vase: Best performance: First Round – 2010-11 [7]
- FA Cup: Best performance: Extra-Preliminary Round – 2009-10
- Northern League: Best League position: 8th, Division 2 – 2008-09
References
- ^ "1990's". Wearside-football-league.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ "Tyne - Junior Football - News & Talk". BBC. 2004-04-05. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ "Club Details". Northern League. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ "Northern League Archive Division Two Table". Northernleague.org. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ "Northern League Archive Division Two Table". Northernleague.org. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.fchd.info/BIRTLEYT.HTM
External links
- Birtley Town at the Football Club History Database