Northallerton Town F.C.
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| Full name | Northallerton Town Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Town | ||
| Founded | 1895 | ||
| Ground | Regency Stadium, Northallerton, North Yorkshire (Capacity: 3000) |
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| Chairman |  Dave Watson |
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| Manager | Mark Fanning |
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| League | Northern League Division One | ||
| 2007-08 | 19th, Northern League Division One | ||
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Northallerton Town F.C. is an English football club based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. They were established in 1895[1] and continue on to this day. They are currently playing in the Northern League Division One.
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[edit] History
In 1982, they were the founding members of the Northern League Division Two, they gained promotion from this league during the 1989-90 season by finishing second.
They had huge success in the early 90s reaching the last 16 of the FA Trophy, finally losing to Farnborough Town, they also reached the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup in 1992 & 1993, losing to Accrington Stanley and Witton Albion. Town also started to attract some undesirable support with crowd trouble at Accrington, Workington & Witton, however this was short lived, as was the Clubs success, going bust 1994. The ground was sold of to a business man with no interest in football. Debts were cleared on liquidation, however the Club then had to find rent on a monthly basis.
The club changed their name to Northallerton F.C 1994 in 1994, and were relegated back into Northern League Division Two in the 1994-95 season. They soon shot back up they secured the league championship during 1996-97 and were promoted back to NL Division One. They were relegated once more the following season though, and reverted their club name back to Northallerton Town in 1999.
During the 2002-03 season, Town reached the 4th round of the FA Vase, before being knocked out 3-0 to Burgess Hill Town. For the 2005-06 season, they were runners-up in the Northern League Division Two and were promoted.
The club flirted with relegation for the whole of the 2007/2008 season, surviving after a departing Andy Toman led his men to an unlikely final day 2-1 away win at Morpeth Town.
Alan Robinson was appointed Manager however decided to emigrate just before the start of the Season. Former Doncaster Rovers player Martyn Speight and vastly experienced Northern League Keeper Stuart Dawson were thrown in at the deep end and appointed joint Managers. Town have had an indifferent season so far and are hovering just above the relegation fight for the second season in succession. Several former players have returned including Chris Walker, John Ryan, Carl Chillingsworth and crowd favourite Stuart Jackson. Supporters feel the Club are in a false position and should be higher up the league with the quality players who are currently signed on, however injury and suspensions have caused many selection problems, with Speight & Dawson not having both forwards available for most of the season.
Dawson resigned from the Club on Jan 5th 2009, and it was left to sole Manager Martyn Speight to improve performances and results, this was achieved to some degree, however after recruiting experienced players such as Neil Campbell(brother of ex Middlesbrough player Andy) and Martin O'riorden the Club still struggled, leading to the departure of Martyn Speight on the 28th March, after a poor 1-5 home defeat to lowly Ashington.
The Clubs First Division tenure looked questionable, however the Committee moved quickly and appointed Mark Fanning as the new Manager at least to the end of the season. Mark has experience with Ferryhill Athletic and more recently Horden, he also has contacts with Darlington Football Club. Marks appointment was to late to save the Club from relegation, finishing bottom of the league and a miserable run of results at the end of the season.Northallerton will take their position in Division 2 for the 2009–10 season, ironically after spending thousands of pounds to maintain the ground to First Division standard.
The Club has been proud of the being the only Yorkshire Club in the Northern League, and have a reputation for offering a warm welcome to new supporters and visiting teams. The Club has a good committee, with several Members being involved for over 25 years.There is also a small band of loyal supporters, most who stand or sit in the same part of the ground week in week out.They have been know to be vocal although have little to shout about in the last couple of years.
[edit] Honours
- Northern League Division Two
- Champions: 1996-97
- Runner-up: 1989-90, 2005-06
[edit] Records
- Record Attendance: 695
- FA Cup
- Fourth Qualifying Round: 1992-93, Knocked out by Accrington Stanley 3-1.
- Fourth Qualifying Round: 1993-94, knocked out by Witton Albion 2-1.
- FA Trophy
- Third Round: 1992-93, knocked out by Farnborough Town 3-1.
- FA Vase
- Fourth Round: 2002-03, knocked out by Burgess Hill Town 3-0.
- Highest League Finish: 6th in Northern League Division One, 1993-94.[2]
