Coordinates: 53°38′18.62″N 2°58′45.06″W / 53.6385056°N 2.9791833°W
Full name | Southport Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Sandgrounders Yellows |
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Founded | 1881 (as Southport Central) | ||
Ground | Haig Avenue Southport (Capacity: 6,008 (1,884 seated)) |
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Chairman | Charlie Clapham | ||
Manager | Liam Watson | ||
League | Conference National | ||
2009–10 | Conference North, 1st | ||
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Southport Football Club are an English football club, based in Southport, Merseyside.[1] They are currently in the Conference National, and play their home matches at Haig Avenue, which has a capacity of 6008 (1,884 seated, 4,124 standing). They are known by their nickname "The Sandgrounders".
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History
Foundation: 1881-1921
It was on Thursday 12th November 1881 that Southport played its first Association Football match
Although association football was played in the town's private schools in the late1870's the original Southport Football Club began as a rugby team.
Southport Football Club, who had been in existence for some seasons, arranged rugby fixtures for 1881-82. After some heavy defeats, the last recorded being on 15th October 1881, the club switched to association football. On 12th November, six of that team lined up when Southport played Bootle 'second' in their first match under Association Rules.
Ralpy Rylance did more than anyone to establish association football in the town. He came to Southport from Blackburn having played for the Blackburn Law team, a noted eleven in those days. Performances soon improved with Ralph Rylance now playing for Southport and Tranmere Rovers were beaten twice whilst the Tradesman of Southport and Liverpool Excelsior were both overcome 7-0.
On 7th October 1882, Southport entertained Liverpool Ramblers in their first ever F.A., or English Challenge Cup tie as the competition was called for years. The game was watched by 300 spectators and resulted in a 1-1 draw.
In the 1884-85 season the club merged with the Southport Athletic Society and the team moved to the Sports Ground, Sussex Road. As football grew in popularity other clubs sprang up in the town. Southport Wanderers, High park, Churchtown and Southport Old Boys were amongst the most prominent however Southport Football Club was considered to be the town's premier side.
At the Southport Wanderers AGM in June 1886, at which a representative of Southport Football Club was present, they invited Southport to amalgamate following the severance of their connection with the Athletic Society, who's unfortunate connection with the Football Club had resulted in the Society incurring an expenditure on their account of £88-3 shillings. After 5 years existence Southport's first football club folded.
At least six former Southport players and many of their supporters transferred their affiliations to Southport Wanderers. Southport Wanderers moved to a new ground in Scarisbrick New Road for the 1886-87 season. On 28th September 1886, at a General Meeting held in the Mather's Saleroom, it was unanimously resolved that in future the club be called Southport Football Club.
In the summer of 1888, the year the Football League was founded, with the game increasing in popularity, It was felt that a team of stronger calibre should be formed to represent the district. The idea met with favour and the initial meeting called to form such a club took place on 12th June at Scarlett's Rooms, Chapel Street.
At a second meeting, held at the Railway Hotel a week later, Mr. McGowan successfully proposed that the name of the club should be Southport Central Association Football Club. At the start of the 1905/06 season Central moved to its present home, Haig Avenue which was then known as Ash Lane. In 1911, the club became founder members of the Central League. In 1918, the club was renamed as Southport Vulcan - having been bought by the Vulcan Motor Company - becoming the first club to take a sponsor's name.
League history: 1921-1978
In 1921 the club, now named simply Southport, joined The Football League became a founder member of the Third Division North. In 1931, Southport became the first club from the Third Division North to reach the sixth round (quarter-finals) of the FA Cup, where they lost 9-1 to Everton. A year later the club recorded its record attendance, when 20,010 watched them play Newcastle United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Having finished in the bottom half of the table at the end of the 1957/8 season, the club dropped into the Fourth Division following the reorganisation of the Third Division North and Third Division South into Third and Fourth Divisions. The club's first promotion came at the end of the 1966/7 season, when they finished as runners-up in the Fourth Division behind Stockport County under the guidance of Billy Bingham, who later went on to manage the Northern Irish national team. They were relegated back to the Fourth Division in 1970, but won promotion again in 1973 when they finished as Fourth Division Champions. Relegation back to the Fourth Division followed the very next season. This heralded a period of decline as crowds dropped - on some occasions into just three figures - and the ground fell into disrepair.
Disaster struck in 1978, when the club were voted out of the Football League following three consecutive 23rd (out of 24) placed finishes, and were replaced by Wigan Athletic. The voting couldn't have been tighter, as the clubs drew on the first ballot (when many had expected Rochdale to be voted out), but Wigan's superior canvassing ensured that they won the second ballot. They were the last club to leave the Football League through the re-election process. Automatic relegation from the Fourth Division was introduced in 1986-87.
Non-league football: from 1978
The club dropped into the Northern Premier League, where they remained until finishing as Champions in the 1992/3 season, and were promoted to the Football Conference. In 1998 the club had its first (and only) trip to Wembley, when they lost 1-0 to Cheltenham Town in the final of the FA Trophy. 10,000 Southport fans made the trip to London to see the match.
The club were relegated back to the Northern Premier League at the end of the 2002/3 season. They became founder members of the new Conference North in 2004/5, and were the league's first Champions, earning promotion back to the newly-renamed Conference National. In the 2005/6 season, Southport spent much of their time at the bottom of the table, but managed to secure survival with a five-game unbeaten run culminating in a 1-1 away draw with third-placed Grays Athletic on 25 April. The manager at the time, Liam Watson, stated that this feat was more impressive than their title winning accomplishments the season before.
Full Time: 2006-2008
In 2006 the club changed to full time, with Liam Watson moving to Burscough at the end of the season a new manager in Paul Cook was appointed. This led to a massive overhaul of the squad, with many players unwilling or unable to go full time. This proved to be a disastrous turn of events. Cook had to assemble a complete squad with just six of the original squad remaining. After a run of poor results, his contract was terminated on the 3 January 2007.
The first match after Cook's departure saw Dino Maamria and Steve Whitehall take over as caretaker manager team and they succeeded in leading the team to a 3-1 home win over free-falling Grays, a match which also saw Carl Baker make his 100th appearance in a Southport shirt.
The only other match which saw the Maamria-Whitehall manager team was a 2-1 defeat in the FA Trophy at the hands of Salisbury before Peter Davenport, who had previously had an unbeaten spell as caretaker-manager of the club in 2001, was named as Cook's successor two weeks later.
Davenport's new team, aided with decent signings in the transfer window, started to churn out decent results. This did not last long however, and, due to Southport's ability to concede late goals in most games, the club looked certain to drop down a league, however again doubts were cast as the club won 4 matches on the run, and with 2 matches left were only two points off safety. However these matches were against play off hopefuls York City and Exeter City. After losing to a Clayton Donaldson penalty against York, the Sandgrounders were relegated the following Tuesday, not even playing a game, after relegation rivals Grays and Halifax both won their games.
The club stayed full time, looking to bounce straight back up from the Conference North to the top of non-league football.
Southport signed Neil Prince and Karl Noon from Stalybridge Celtic and Marine respectively. Peter Davenport also brought in goalkeeper Richard Whiteside, midfielder Dave Prout and right back Chris Lever after trials from Oldham. The biggest news in the transfer period for Southport fans however, was the departure of star right winger Carl Baker to Morecambe FC, for a fee believed to be £50,000.
Southport Football Club announced on Monday 7 April 2008 that manager Peter Davenport and assistant Huw Griffiths left the club with immediate effect. The club placed on record their appreciation for everything they both contributed to Southport Football Club.
Former player Gary Brabin was initially given the job until the end of the season and guided the team into the play-offs only to go out on penalties away at Stalybridge Celtic, however only 3 days later the club announced their ambitions early by appointing him full time and thus keeping their full-time playing status for another season at least. However, this appointment turned out to be only an agreement to sign a future contract, and after an approach from Cambridge United Brabin left Southport to sign as Cambridge manager on 23 June 2008.[2]
Return to Part Time : From 2008
On 30 June 2008 the club's official website confirmed that Liam Watson had rejoined Southport as first team manager following his resignation from Burscough.
This change saw the arrival of numerous part time Burscough players, including Conference North top scorer Ciaran Kilheeney, Watson's co-Players of the Year - Adam Flynn and Anthony McMillan, as well former Southport players, Matty McGinn, Earl Davis, Robbie Booth and Steve Daly. Retained players, Michael Powell and Neil Robinson, chose to return to part time football, whilst Matt Hocking, Neil Prince and club captain, Chris Holland left the club. Kevin Lee and Tony Gray signed new part-time contracts at the start of the season, and thus Southport practically returned fully to a part time club. Since then Tony Gray and John Doolan have departed the club, as well as Craig Noone, who has moved to Championship side Plymouth Argyle.
Season 2008-2009 saw Southport reach the Conference North play-offs, having finished in fifth place. However, a home defeat, followed by an away draw against Gateshead left Southport to battle for a further season in the Conference North. Only four defeats during 2009-2010 saw Southport finally secure the League title following a 3-0 away victory at Eastwood Town on the final Saturday of the season, spurred on by over 700 travelling Sandgrounders. They finished just one point ahead of near neighbours Fleetwood Town. The success of the first team, who also lifted the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy following victory against Clitheroe at the Reebok Stadium, was mirrored by the club's youth team who won both the Lancashire League and Conference North Youth League.
Honours
Honours | No. | Years | |||
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League | |||||
Football League Division Four Champions | 1 | 1972-73 | |||
Football League Division Four Runners Up | 1 | 1966-67 | |||
Conference North Champions | 2 | 2004-05, 2009-10 | |||
Northern Premier League Champions | 1 | 1992-93 | |||
Cups | |||||
FA Trophy Runners-Up | 1 | 1997-98 | |||
Lancashire Senior Cup Winners | 1 | 1904-05 | |||
Lancashire Junior Cup Winners | 8 | 1919-20, 1992-93, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2000-01, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10 | |||
Liverpool Senior Cup Winners | 8 | 1930-31, 1931-32, 1943-43, 1962-63, 1974-75, 1990-91, 1992-93, 1998-99 |
Trust In Yellow
Trust In Yellow is the Supporters Trust of the club. It was formed on 26 April 2006 by a set of supporters who were unhappy with the lack of communication between the club and its fans in an effort to get more involved and have a bigger say in the running of the club. T.I.Y. is a member of Supporters Direct, a body funded by Sport England.
The aims of the Trust include, building relationships between the supporters and the fans and to help the club in its efforts to achieve success.
The Club at Present
Coaching Staff
Position | Name |
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Manager | Liam Watson |
Assistant Manager | Chris Price |
First Team Coach | Dom Morley |
Physio | Mel Singleton |
Physio | Scott MacAuley |
Scout and coach | Mal Liptrott |
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth Development
Coaching Staff
Position | Name |
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Head of Youth Development | Allan Smart |
Second Year Youth Coach | Matty McGinn |
Second Year Youth Coach | Alan Moogan |
First Year Youth Coach | Ashley Winn |
First Year Youth Coach | Kevin Lee |
PASE Coach | Tony Rodwell |
PASE Coach | Jon Gautrey |
PASE Physio | Eric Anderton |
Notable players and managers
- John Bishop - Stand-up comedian and television personality who once played semi-professionally for Southport, amongst other clubs
- Lee Ashcroft - played for Grimsby Town and West Bromwich Albion amongst others.
- Billy Ayre - former manager of Blackpool and Cardiff City amongst others
- Billy Bingham - manager of Northern Irish national team and Everton
- Luther Blissett - England international and A.C. Milan player
- Peter Davenport - England international and Manchester United player.
- Peter Desmond
- Hughie Fisher - winner of an FA Cup winner's medal with Southampton in 1976
- Jimmy Melia - led Brighton & Hove Albion to the 1983 FA Cup Final
- Jimmy Meadows - England international
- Stan Mortensen - England international and FA Cup winner with Blackpool in 1953
- Andy Mutch - England B international
- Matt O'Mahoney
- Alex Parker - Scotland international and League winner with Everton in 1962-63
- Bill Perry - England international and scored the winning goal for Blackpool in the famous 1953 FA Cup Final, "The Matthews Final"
- Cyril Robinson - also part of the Blackpool team in the 1953 FA Cup Final
- Moses Russell - Wales international footballer
- Mark Wright - England international and Liverpool player
- Eric Redrobe
- Carl Baker - England C International & current Coventry City Midfielder
- Craig Noone - Current Plymouth Argyle midfielder
- Steve Whitehall
- Rodney Jack
- Ronnie Moore - Former Tranmere Rovers manager
- Mark Duffy - Current Morecambe F.C. player.
- Lee Trundle - Swansea City Legend and Football League Hall Of Famer
Further reading
- The Sandgrounders: The Complete League History of Southport F. C., by Michael Braham and Geoff Wilde (Palatine Books, 1995). ISBN 978-1-874181-14-9
- The Complete Non-League History of Southport Football Club 1978 - 2008, by Trust in Yellow (Legends Publishing, 2008). ISBN 978-1-906796-01-3
References
External links
Official
Unofficial
- Online History of Southport FC
- Full Record of Southport's League Positions
- Southport F.C. Statistics website
- Trust In Yellow, Independent Supporters Trust
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