Accrington Stanley F.C.

Association football club in England

football club
Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history play at the Crown Ground. The clubhouse came to national prominence in 1989 due to the Milk Marketing Board ‘s democratic television mention that featured the motto Accrington Stanley, Who Are They?.

Reading: Accrington Stanley F.C.

The current club was formed in 1968, two years after the collapse of the original Accrington Stanley, which played in the Football League from 1921 to 1962 after initially competing in the Lancashire Combination. The town ‘s original golf club, named merely Accrington, were laminitis members of the Football League in 1888, though folded just six years late. The current incarnation of the club entered the Lancashire Combination and moved on to the Cheshire County League after winning the Combination title in 1977–78. Stanley won Division Two of the Cheshire County League in 1980–81 and became founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982, before being placed in Division One of the Northern Premier League five years belated. They were promoted to the Premier Division in 1990–91, though were relegated in 1999. The early on twenty-first hundred saw the baseball club win three promotions over the path of seven seasons under the stewardship of John Coleman to gain a place in the Football League. They won three divisional titles in each of their three promotions : Northern Premier League Division One ( 1999–2000 ), Northern Premier League Premier Division ( 2002–03 ) and the Conference National ( 2005–06 ). They then spent 12 seasons by and large in the bed half of the board in League Two, though did besides lose two play-off semi-finals, before Coleman led them to promotion into League One as League Two champions in 2017–18 .

history [edit ]

Accrington had been without a football team following the collapse of the original Accrington Stanley in 1966. The master team had been formed in 1891 and played in the Football League from 1921 to March 1962, but had spent its final four seasons in the Lancashire Combination. At a meet at Bold Street Working Men ‘s Club in 1968 the revival was initiated, and in August 1970 the new golf club played at a raw flat coat, the Crown Ground. [ 2 ] Eric Whalley, a local anesthetic businessman, took master of the club in 1995 and began the development of the clubhouse ‘s ground. After the cabaret was relegated in 1999, Whalley appointed John Coleman as coach. The clubhouse ‘s wax to the Football League is attributed in function to the boom of hundreds of thousands of pounds reaped by the sell-on article in the December 2001 transplant of former Stanley star Brett Ormerod to Southampton, which paid Blackpool over a million pounds for his condense. Stanley had taken £50,000 from Blackpool in 1997, with the agreement that Blackpool would pay Accrington a quarter of what it might have received if it in change by reversal transferred Ormerod to another team. The 2002–03 championship of the Northern Premier League followed promptly on Accrington getting the cash .

league years ( 2003–2006 ) [edit ]

In May 2003, the club was promoted for the first time in history to the Football Conference, following its win of the Northern Premier League. The clubhouse ‘s first-ever game in the league was off to another reformed club, Aldershot Town, on Sunday 10 August 2003. The game was shown live on Sky Sports and resulted in a 2–1 loss. The season was a achiever, with a final league position of 10th being achieved. The highlight of that beginning season in the 5th grade was a run to the FA Cup 3rd beat, losing in a replay at League One english Colchester United. In 2004, Accrington Stanley turned professional. The surveil 2004-05 season, Stanley so far again achieved a concluding put of 10th placed, with Stanley caption Paul Mullin amongst the circus tent goal scorers so far again, adding another 20 to his run. Stanley ‘s stay in the Conference did n’t last long, with the club returning to the Football League at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season. Finishing on 91 points, the club went on a 19-game unbeaten run stretching from October to March, leaving the club an easy passage to League Two. The likes of Paul Mullin, Rob Elliot and Gary Roberts led the club back to the league after 46 years away .

EFL League Two ( 2006-2018 ) [edit ]

The club ‘s inaugural Football League game took place on 5 August 2006 away to now-defunct club Chester City ; it resulted in a 2–0 loss. The club was involved in a delegating conflict throughout its inaugural temper in the 4th tier. A operate of 5 wins in the last 9 games of the season led to a 20th-place complete and was adequate to save the cabaret from relegation in its first season back in the Football League. Highlights of that first season back included the club ‘s first-ever Football League Cup match against former european Cup Winners Nottingham Forest. The game resulted in a 1–0 gain, leaving the golf club a 2nd-round away tie against then Premier League team Watford, finally losing 6–5 on penalties after a 0–0 pull and extra-time. The club besides took region in the Football League Trophy for the first meter as a league clubhouse ( after playing in the two former seasons as one of 12 Conference sides, beating Bradford City away in September 2004 ) and, after defeating Carlisle United and Blackpool in the early rounds, were knocked out by Doncaster Rovers in the Area Quarter-finals. The 2007–08 season produced more of the lapp, with the club involved in another delegating struggle with strugglers Chester City, Wrexham and Mansfield Town. 5 wins in the final 12 games were enough to secure a 17th-place ending and another season in the 4th tier of English Football. however, the golf club failed to win a game in the FA Cup and League Cup, losing to Huddersfield Town and Leicester City respectively. performance during the 2008–09 season improved, with the clubhouse achieving a minor 16th-place complete in League Two. A run of 6 League wins in the last 12 games was a dainty way to finish the season. This season saw the emergence of young prospect Bobby Grant, who last fulfilled the early on promise seen in previous seasons. The club again failed to make it past the early on round of any of the domestic cups, losing in the first circle to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup and Tranmere Rovers in both the FA Cup ( albeit after a replay ) and Football League Trophy. The 2009–10 season was far better, with the club pushing for a playoff place at the turn of the year. A run of 9 wins in 10 League games saw the baseball club with a chance of making the playoffs, entirely for this to fade in March/April. The egress of the Michael Symes and Bobby Grant partnership was a cardinal aspect and, following their achievements throughout the temper, both moved on to bigger clubs. In terms of cup performance the club was superb, reaching the 2nd cycle of the League Cup losing only 2–1 to Queens Park Rangers, the quarter-finals of the Football League Trophy losing 2–0 to Leeds United, and the 4th beat of the FA Cup losing 3–1 to Premier League team Fulham. The club reached the Football League Two play-offs during the 2010–11 season, one of the most successful in its history. A run of 1 loss in 19 games, from February till May, saw the club finish in a best-ever fifth position, finally losing to League Two newcomers Stevenage in the Playoff Semi-finals. The season saw the egress of Jimmy Ryan as a star in the make, along with a number of others, including goalkeeper Alex Cisak and midfielder Sean McConville. In the domestic cups, Stanley reached the 2nd round off of the League Cup, losing 3–2 to Premier League team Newcastle United. The clubhouse actually won the 1st-round crippled of the Football League Trophy away to Tranmere Rovers, but was then forced to resign from the competition after fielding the ineligible Ray Putterill in the game. The golf club besides reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup, but lost to fellow League Two side Port Vale. 2011–12 was a season of transition for the clubhouse. The loss of no less than six of the playoff-chasing side of the previous season was a ruffianly act to follow. Following a rickety start to the temper the arrival of Bryan Hughes in October transformed the club ‘s fortunes. A run of 6 wins in 7 games over the Christmas period saw the club concisely enter the play-offs. however, following the sale of club captain Andrew Procter to Preston North End in the January 2012 transfer window, the third-longest serve management team of John Coleman and Jimmy Bell departed for Rochdale. Former Burnley and club favorite Paul Cook was brought in a director, along with the promotion of Leam Richardson from caretaker director to full-time adjunct. only 3 wins in the final 17 games of the season was a pretty poor finish the season. however, this meant the clubhouse achieved a solid mid-table finish in 14th position. In terms of the domestic cups Stanley exited both the League Cup and FA Cup at the 1st round stages, losing to Scunthorpe United and Notts County respectively. The club reached the second cycle of the Football League Trophy, after knocking out holders Carlisle United, but lost to Tranmere Rovers in the 2nd round after an eventual replay. This was following a serious promontory injury to young defender Thomas Bender in the initial tie .

Andy Holt ‘s stewardship ( 2015-present ) [edit ]

On 28 October 2015, the board of Accrington Stanley voted to approve local businessman Andy Holt ‘s coup d’etat of the club. Holt, whose caller What More united kingdom sponsored, and however sponsor, Stanley ‘s Wham Stadium, attained a majority plowshare of 75 % in Accrington Stanley, in fall for clearing the club ‘s £1.2m debt american samoa well as providing the club with promote funds of £600,000. Stanley ‘s chair, Peter Marsden, remained as president whilst five new people joined the club ‘s board. [ 3 ] At the time of the takeover, Stanley had been on the verge of folding due to crippling debts and its inability to fund daily run costs, including wages and its suppliers. [ 4 ] Due to its precarious fiscal situation, the club had been accepting sponsorship deals at a respect lower than what should have been demanded. Holt ‘s interest with Stanley began in July 2015, when Holt attended Stanley ‘s pre-season friendly at home against local rivals Burnley, in which they won 4-2. It was during this game that Holt got an insight into the desperate country of Stanley, having discovered that the club ‘s stripe was ineffective to serve spectators as a result of its failure to pay its suppliers. [ 5 ] In his first season as owner of the cabaret, the 2015-16 Football League Two temper, the club narrowly missed out on promotion to League One on the final examination day of the season, having been held to a 0-0 draw with Stevenage. Stanley were then defeated in the semi-final of the League Two play-offs, losing 3-2 on aggregate to AFC Wimbledon, with Wimbledon going on to defeat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 in the play-off final examination. At the end of the season, Stanley lost several of its players who had helped spur them on a promotion push, such as Tom Davies, Ross Etheridge and Josh Windass, who had agreed contracts with clubs in a position to offer higher wages than Stanley had been able to. With Windass and Crooks being under-24, Stanley received £120,000 for the couple ‘s transfer to Rangers. [ 6 ]

EFL League One ( 2018-present ) [edit ]

It was during the 2017-18 Football League season that Stanley gained promotion to League One, with their 2-0 acquire over Yeovil Town on 17 April 2018 sealing the League Two title for the club. In their foremost season in League One, Stanley went on to a stable mid-table coating, ending the season in 14th place. In January 2020, Stanley icon Billy Kee announced his retirement from professional football, [ 8 ] having battled with mental health issues that had seen Kee last appear for Stanley the former temper. In award of the forward, Stanley announced that they were to retire Kee ‘s 29 shirt number .

name [edit ]

The original township clubhouse, Accrington, was amongst the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, before resigning from the league after just five years. A team called Stanley Villa already existed at the time, named as such because they were based at the Stanley W.M.C. on Stanley Street in Accrington. With the demise of Accrington, Stanley Villa took the town appoint to become Accrington Stanley. [ 9 ]

stadium [edit ]

Since leaving Peel Park, the clubhouse has played at the Crown Ground, presently known as the Wham Stadium as separate of a three-year £200,000 sponsorship deal with What More united kingdom Ltd. [ 10 ] anterior to Holt ‘s takeover of Stanley, the Crown Ground had a reputation for being one of the poorest grounds within the top four leagues of English football. however, Holt ‘s stewardship of the club run to changes at the Crown Ground, with initial changes including better equal day facilities before the construction of a raw Whinney Hill Stand, which was built and completed in late-2018. [ 11 ] The following season, Stanley invested around £300,000 in a new play field, a move which saw newfangled drain and a level lurch installed to overcome the club ‘s return with recurring floods towards the Coppice End. [ 12 ] In January 2021, make begun on the construction of a new and improved Jack Barrett Stand, shape which will see a raw bar and cordial reception sphere provided as separate of the plans. [ 13 ]

Rivalries [edit ]

According to a survey conducted in August 2019, Stanley supporters consider traditional Lancashire clubs Rochdale, Morecambe and Bury to be their biggest rivals, with near neighbours Blackburn Rovers and Burnley following. [ 14 ]

television receiver ad [edit ]

In the 1980s, the club was mentioned in a british mention for milk, which briefly brought the cabaret to the attention of the general public. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] The ad featured two boys in Liverpool replica shirts played by young actors Carl Rice and Kevin Staine. It made reference to Accrington Stanley ‘s obscureness in comparison to Liverpool ‘s success at the fourth dimension.
Boy 1 : “ milk ! Urghh ! ”
Boy 2 : “ It ‘s what Ian Rush drinks. ”
Boy 1 : “ Ian Rush ? ”
Boy 2 : “ Yeah. And he said if I did n’t drink lots of milk, when I grow up, I ‘ll lone be good adequate to play for Accrington Stanley. ”
Boy 1 : “ Accrington Stanley, who are they ? “
Boy 2 : “ precisely. ” In the hebdomadally football show, Soccer AM, the phrase “ Accrington Stanley, who are they ? ” is said every time a regular is read out that has the baseball club in it, referring to the milk attend .

Players [edit ]

current police squad [edit ]

As of 31 August 2021[17]

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

former players [edit ]

In a PFA Fans ‘ Favourites survey published by the Professional Footballers ‘ Association in December 2007, Chris Grimshaw was listed as the all-time darling actor amongst Accrington Stanley fans. [ 18 ]

Club officials/staff [edit ]

Chairman: Andy Holt
Directors: Thomas O’Neill/Virginia Hargreaves
Head of Youth Development: Duncan Fearnhead
Manager: John Coleman
Assistant Manager: Jimmy Bell
Coach First Team : John Doolan
GK Coach First Team : Tony Warner
Under 18 Manager: Dave Fitzgerald
Under 18 Assistant Manager: Andy Gray
Coach (U18 Team): Dave Fitzgerald
Chief Doctor : Joyce Watson
Head Therapist : Matthew Donnelly
Physio : Paul Morgan
Sports Scientist (U18 Team): Martin Whalley
Data Analyst (U18 Team):
Scout : Ashley Hoskin