Ilkeston FC

The club was established in 2010 as the successor club to Ilkeston Town, whose record was expunged on 8 September 2010 as they were subject to a winding up order in the high court over an unpaid £47,000 tax bill.[1] Two months after liquidating, a new club was reformed as Ilkeston F.C. and were admitted into the Northern Premier League Division One South in May 2011.[2][3]

The club won promotion at the end of its first season by beating Leek Town 2–0 in front of 1,670 supporters in the play off final after finishing 3rd behind runaway winners Grantham Town. The Robins suffered a bad start to their 2012–13 campaign winning only two games in their first seventeen, although a turnaround later on in the season saw them pick up a further thirteen victories which led them to a mid-table finish in their first season in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

Halesowen Town

Halesowen Town FC was formed in 1873, making it one of the oldest clubs in the Midlands, and initially played in the Birmingham Combination. In 1946, it joined the Birmingham and District League and was champions in its very first season. The 1960s saw it consistently finish high in the league, but by contrast the 1970s saw it struggle, finishing bottom of the table twice.

In the 1980s there was a sudden reversal of the Yeltz’ fortunes, with four successive championship titles between 1983 and 1986, as well as three appearances at Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Vase. The 1983 final saw the club lose 1–0 to VS Rugby, but in 1985 it returned to Wembley and beat Fleetwood Town 3–1 to win the Vase, before retaining it the following year with a 3–0 win over Southall.

In 1983, the club also beat Heybridge Swifts in the final of the Thorn EMI six-a-side tournament at the Alexandra Stadium and won a £20,000 set of floodlights for their ground.

In 1986, the club’s successes in the newly named West Midlands (Regional) League were rewarded with promotion to the Southern League, with promotion to the Premier Division following in 1988–89 when the club was crowned Midland Division champions.

The early 1990 were dominated by players leaving to join league clubs, including Dean Spink (Aston Villa), Stuart Cash (Nottingham Forest), Andy Pearce, Tim Clarke, Sean Flynn (all Coventry City) and Evran Wright (Walsall).

For its first eight seasons at this level Halesowen never finished outside the top 10, including being narrowly beaten to promotion by Rushden and Diamonds in 1996. Financial difficulties, however, led to a slump which culminated in relegation in 2001. Although Halesowen bounced back in style, winning the Western Division championship at a canter, the club was relegated once again in 2003. The club failed to return to tier two of the non-league pyramid the following season, finishing fourth and missing out on the new Conference North.

New manager Paul Holleran led the club to the FA Cup first round in 2005, losing out to Yeading in a closely fought contest,[1] but the club failed to make any impact in league competitions in the next eighteen months and Holleran was dismissed.

The club appointed the former Walsall and Birmingham City captain Martin O’Connor as manager in late 2006. Halesowen came close to gaining promotion in 2006–07, losing to Hitchin Town in the last game of the season, which meant missing the playoffs.

In October 2007, the club was sold to an unidentified owner who brought in former Kettering FC manager Morell Maison. On October 18, former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson was appointed as a consultant to the new manager.

In autumn 2009, insolvency experts Marshman Price were appointed as the club’s administrators. The team enjoyed a successful start to the 2009–10 season after receiving a 10-point deduction for entering administration. Brendan Phillips left the club and the club rose to fifth position by the turn of the new year but overall ended up in eighth place despite only losing 4 games all season.

The 2010–11 season started with Rob Elmes and former Luton Town forward Tony Thorpe being appointed joint managers, the side impressed with a string of decent results and England Schoolboy’s Under 18’s Manager Phil Nardiello was brought in as Technical Director to work alongside the managerial partnership. However, Elmes stepped down due to work commitments and Thorpe also decided to take a lower level of responsibility at the club by becoming an occasional coach resulting in Nardiello gaining full control of first team affairs.

Unfortunately for the new manager, the side saw several important regulars leave the club in quick succession including top goalscorer Stefan Moore and winger Daryl Taylor, this led to a run of nine consecutive defeats and Nardiello soon left the club by mutual consent.

Tony Thorpe returned to the club as Manager, bringing in former West Brom player Shaun Cunnington as his number two, results improved and fan-favourite Nick Bussey returned to the side in goal, however in the face of a relegation battle, Thorpe made the decision to step aside and allow Cunnington to take the helm. Shaun Cunnington appointed Paul Tomlinson as his assistant manager and made staying up his top priority.[2]

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Grantham Town

The club was established in August 1874. Grantham’s first match was a 2–1 friendly win against Third Lincs Volunteer Rifles on 29 October 1874. In 1877–78, the club became one of the first to enter the FA Cup, playing at home to Clapham Rovers in front of a gate of 650. On 7 April 2012 the club became champions of the Northern Premier League Division One South.[citation needed]

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Frickley Athletic

Although the club itself claims it was formed in 1910, the team was active as early as 1908 when it was a member of the South Yorkshire League. The football team was only one arm of the Frickley Athletic Club, which had been formed to give miners at the Frickley Colliery a recreational outlet. In a 1908 Yorkshire Telegraph and Star newspaper article the club was referred to as Frickley Colliery Athletic, but as the years went by the Athletic suffix was used less often.

In 1910, after joining the Sheffield Association League, they entered the FA Cup for the first time, their first game ending in a 0-3 defeat to Rotherham based Atlas Hotel.[1] Frickley returned to the South Yorkshire League for the duration of the First World War, but rejoined the Association League in 1919, and in 1921 they were crowned league champions, pipping Eckington Works to the title. Although they lost the title to Gainsborough Trinity reserves a year later, they did reach the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time, and in the summer of 1922 they were accepted as new members of the Yorkshire League.

Colliery soon established themselves as one of the league’s top sides, finishing in third place in their inaugural campaign in the competition, and going one step further to finish as runners-up a year later. In 1924 they applied to become members of the Midland League, and they were gladly admitted by a competition that had lost a lot of its members the previous year.

The club found the going tough in the Midland League, and for many years struggled against finishing in the lower reaches of the competition – in 1931 they conceded 137 goals and unsurprisingly finished bottom of the league.[2] By 1933, gate receipts had dwindled and they withdrew from league football for a year. They returned in 1934, but were still often found propping up the league table. In 1936-37 they again finished bottom of the pile, but the season had provided a highlight when Frickley reached the 1st round proper of the FA Cup for the first time ever – although they lost 0-2 to Football League side Southport at Westfield Lane, a bumper crowd gave the club coffers a much needed boost.

Frickley returned to play in the Sheffield Association League for the duration of the Second World War, but rejoined the Midland League in 1945. Their second appearance in the FA Cup proper came in the 1957-58 season, when they were knocked out by South Shields away from home.

In 1960 the Midland League disbanded, and Frickley, having finished bottom of the table, opted to join the Cheshire League, a competition they remained in for the duration of the 1960s, despite the Midland League having been restarted only a year after folding. Colliery were far more competitive in the Cheshire League, although they never troubled the top places in the division. In 1963 they beat Macclesfield Town away in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup to set up a mouth-watering First Round tie at Meadow Lane against Notts County, the Third Division only just progressing after beating Frickley 2-1. In 1969 the club entered the FA Trophy for the first time.

In 1970 Colliery returned to the Midland League, which had lost a lot of its members to the recently formed Northern Premier League. Frickley soon became one of the more accomplished sides in the league, with third and second-placed finishes (in 1971 and 1973 respectively) sandwiching another trip to the First Round of the FA Cup. Rotherham United journeyed to Westfield Lane and had to settle for a 2-2 draw in a thrilling encounter before seeing off the non-league side in the replay at Millmoor. Two years later the Blues faced another Yorkshire derby in the FA Cup proper, but the encounter was less memorable for Frickley, who were trounced 1-6 at The Shay.

In 1976, two years after changing their name to Frickley Athletic, the club was admitted to the Northern Premier League. At first they became whipping boys, finishing fourth bottom in the inaugural campaign, but they soon turned the tide, and in 1980 finished in third place. The club committee took the decision to apply for membership of the recently founded Alliance Premier League (APL), the highest level below the Football League, and were rewarded with a place in the competition for the 1980-81 season.

Any fears that Frickley would find the APL too tough were soon allayed, and the club was to embark on a golden era. The club reached the FA Cup proper in four successive years from 1983, reaching the second round in 1984 (losing to Darlington at Feethams) and going one better a year later. After beating Hartlepool United away in the second round (their first ever win over Football League opposition), Frickley got the home draw they wanted in the third round, wth local rivals Rotherham United the visiotrs to Westfield Lane. The Millers came away with the spoils, winning 3-1 in front of a ground record crowd of 5,800, but Frickley’s season would only get better – they would come within a whisker of taking the APL title, with only Enfield able to finish above them in the league table and take the championship.

The APL was renamed the Football Conference for the following season, and Frickley’s golden era had come to an end. They finished second bottom of the division and were relegated back to the Northern Premier League (NPL) Premier Division. They have remained in the NPL Premier Division since 1987, only once looking like winning promotion again in 2006, when they finished as league runners-up but were beaten in the end of season play-offs. On more than one occasion Frickley have finished in the bottom three but have been reprieved from relegation.

Frickley’s last appearance in the FA Cup proper was in 2000, when they were beaten 0-4 by Northampton Town atv Sixfields.

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Buxton

Buxton Football Club are an English football club based in Buxton, Derbyshire. They were established in 1877 and joined the Combination League in 1891. They then joined the Manchester League in 1899 and won the championship in 1932. They reached the Third Round of the FA Cup in the 1951–52 season. Their patron is the Duke of Devonshire. The club supports and hosts local senior, junior and ladies football. Famous fan is Klava.

They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

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Blyth Spartans

Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an English football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. The club participates in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football. They are currently managed by Tom Wade.

They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club’s first secretary before forming a practice as a distinguished physician in London’s Harley Street. He thought it appropriate to name the team after the Greek Spartan army in the hope that the players would give their all as they went into “battle” on the field of play. The club is most notable for its 1977–78 FA Cup campaign, in which they went all the way to the 5th round only to be beaten by Wrexham in a replay at St James’ Park.

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Barwell

The club was established in 1992 as a merger of Hinckley of the Midland Combination Premier Division and Barwell Athletic of the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division;[2][3] the new club took Hinckley’s place in the Midland Combination.[4]

In 1994 Barwell were founder members of the Midland Alliance,[4] and went on to win the League Cup in 2005–06, beating Leamington 3–1 in the final. After finishing as runners-up in 2008–09, they won the league the following season, earning promotion to Division One South of the Northern Premier League.[4] Their first season in the division saw them win the title, earning promotion to step three of the National League System. Instead of playing in the Northern Premier League’s Premier Division, the club were moved to the Premier Division of the Southern League.[4] However, two seasons later, they were transferred back to the Northern Premier League.[4]

In 2015–16 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, eventually losing 2–0 at home to Welling United.[4]

 

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Ashton United

The club was originally founded in 1878 as Hurst Football Club and the earliest known match report dates back to a game against Hurst Red Star on 16 March 1879.[2] They originally played in black-and-white stripes and were nicknamed the Lambs.[3] The club first entered the FA Cup in 1883, beating Turton 3–1 in the first round, and then Irwell Springs 3–2 in the second. However, the result was annulled after a protest from Irwell,[4] and it was they who advanced to the third round after Hurst refused to play the replay.[5] In 1885 they won the first edition of the Manchester Senior Cup, beating Newton Heath (now Manchester United) 3–0 in the final.[3] In the same year they reached the second round of the FA Cup again.[4]However, although they defeated Halliwell 3–1, the result was annulled again. Ashton refused to play the replay and Halliwell advanced to the third round.[6]

They joined the Ashton & District League in 1891, but after finishing ninth in the league in the 1891–92 season, it was reported in June 1892 that the club had folded.[2] They were reformed in 1909, and were admitted to the Manchester League as it was expanded from 16 to 18 clubs.[7] In their first season in the league, they finished level on points at the top of the table with Salford United, resulting in a play-off for the championship, which Salford won 2–1.[7][4]

After finishing sixth in 1910–11, Hurst won the title in 1911–12 and subsequently joined Division Two of the Lancashire Combination.[7][8] Although they only finished fifth in 1912–13, they were promoted to Division One of the league for the 1913–14 season. Due to the outbreak of World War I, the club did not compete in 1915–16, but re-entered a wartime edition of the league for the 1916–17 season, winning the title.[9] However, they did not compete during the following season. They resumed in the Lancashire Combination in 1918–19,[9] but switched to the Cheshire County Leaguein 1923.[10] Players started wearing red shirts, earning the club a new nickname – the Robins.[3]

Shortly before World War II, the club signed Dixie Dean, but the outbreak of hostilities limited him to a handful of appearances for the club.[3] Following the war, the club resumed playing in the Cheshire County League for the 1945–46 season,[8] changing their name to Ashton United on 1 February 1947.[4] Despite finishing second bottom of the league in 1946–47, they applied for election to the Football League, but the four Football League clubs were re-elected without a vote being taken.[11] They subsequently rejoined the Lancashire Combination in 1948 and were placed in Division One.[10]

After finishing twelfth in 1960–61, the club resigned from the league in order to apply to rejoin the Cheshire County League; in a ballot, they defeated by Altrincham and Wigan Athletic, and so had to rejoin the Lancashire Combination. However, Division One was now full, so the club had to drop into Division Two,[12] which they won in 1961–62 to earn promotion back to Division One.[10]

In 1964 the club switched to the Midland Counties League, where they played for two seasons before moving back to Division Two of the Lancashire Combination in 1966.[10] Two seasons later, they moved across to the Cheshire County League, where they remained until it merged with the Lancashire Combination to form the North West Counties League in 1982.[10] The club were placed in Division One of the new league, but were relegated to Division Two after finishing second-from-bottom in 1983–84. After winning Division Two in 1987–88 they were promoted back to Division One.

The 1991–92 season saw the club win the Division One title, earning promotion to Division One of the Northern Premier League.[10] They remained in the division until a third-place finish in 2001–02 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs. After a 3–1 win over Spennymoor United in the semi-finals, a 2–1 win over Bamber Bridge in the final saw them promoted to the Premier Division. During the season, Ashton’s Gareth Morris scored one of the fastest goals in FA Cup history, netting after only four seconds against Skelmersdale United.[13]

With the creation of the Conference North in 2004, a 14th-place finish in 2003–04 saw the club play-off against Hyde United and Bradford Park Avenue for the right to play in the new league. Following a 2–1 win over Hyde, they lost 2–1 to Bradford Park Avenue in the final. However, after Hucknall Town were denied promotion due to ground grading issues, Ashton took their place in the Conference North.[14] The following season saw them finish second-from-bottom, resulting in relegation back to the Northern Premier League’s Premier Division.[10] In 2010 the club were ordered to pay £32,000 to Marcus Hallows after he was injured playing against Ashton for Altrincham.[15]

In 2011 the club won the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup, beating Northwich Victoria 1–0 in the final. After finishing fifth in 2013–14 the club qualified for the promotion play-offs; however, after beating FC United 2–1 after extra time, they lost the final to AFC Fylde on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[16] The 2014–15 season saw a third-place finish, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost on penalties to local rivals Curzon Ashton after a 1–1 draw.[17] A third consecutive play-off campaign followed a fourth-place finish in 2015–16, but saw the club lose 3–1 to Salford City in the semi-finals.[18]

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