Brackley Town F.C.

Brackley Town
Full name Brackley Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Saints
Founded 1890 (1890)
Ground St. James Park, Brackley
Capacity 3,500 (300 seated)[1]
Chairman Francis Oliver
Manager Kevin Wilkin
League National League North
2017–18 National League North, 3rd of 22
Website Club website

Brackley Town Football Club is a football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the National League North, the sixth tier of English football, and play at St. James Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2018.

History

Established in 1890, the club spent much of the pre-World War I era in the Oxfordshire Senior League.[2] After the war they switched to the North Bucks & District League, where they remained until transferring to the Banbury & District League. However, they rejoined the North Bucks League in 1974.[2]

In 1977 the club joined Division One of the Hellenic League.[3] They won the league's Knock-Out Cup in 1982–83,[2] after which they switched to Division One of the United Counties League in 1983. They went on to win the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[3] Although they finished as runners-up in 1988–89, the following season saw them finish twentieth, and after finishing bottom of the division in three successive seasons between 1991–92 and 1993–94, the club rejoined the Hellenic League and were placed in the Premier Division.[3]

Although Brackley finished third-from-bottom of the Premier Division in their first season, the 1995–96 season saw them end the season as runners-up.[3] The following season the club were league champions, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Southern League. After one season they were transferred to Division One South, but were relegated back to the Hellenic League at the end of the 1998–99 season, which saw them finish bottom of the division.[3]

In 2003–04 Brackley won the Hellenic League for a second time, as well as the Supplementary Cup, and were promoted back to the Southern League, this time to Division One West. A third-place finish in 2005–06 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs. However, after beating Marlow 2–1 in the semi-finals, they lost 3–2 to Hemel Hempstead Town in the final.[3] The club were transferred to Division One Midlands for the following season, and went on to win the division, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[3] In 2008–09 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 2–1 at Eastwood Town.[3] After finishing fifth in 2009–10 the club qualified for the promotion play-offs again, but lost 6–0 to Nuneaton Town in the semi-finals.[3]

The 2011–12 season saw Brackley win the Premier Division, earning promotion to the Conference North. They finished third in their first season in the division. In the subsequent promotion play-offs, they beat Altrincham 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-finals before losing 1–0 to FC Halifax Town in the final.[3] The following season the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again, and after drawing 1–1 against Gillingham at Priestfield, they won the replay 1–0. In the second round the club lost 3–2 at Macclesfield Town. Brackley reached the first round again in 2015–16, losing 4–1 to Newport County in a replay after a 2–2 draw in the first match. The 2016–17 FA Cup saw the club reach the second round after again beating Gillingham 4–3 in a first-round replay.[4] In the next round they lost 1–0 at Blackpool.

In 2017–18 Brackley won the FA Trophy, beating Bromley 5–4 on penalties in the final after the game had ended 1–1. They also finished third in the National League North and reached the play-off final after defeating Bradford Park Avenue 1–0 in the semi-finals, before losing 3–0 in the final to Harrogate Town.

Brackley Town Saints

The club's reserve team play under the name Brackley Town Saints, and are currently members of the Premier Division of the Hellenic League. They joined Division One East of the league in 2014 under the name Brackley Town Development. After finishing as runners-up in their first season,[5] they were promoted to the Premier Division and adopted their current name.[6]

Ground

The Main Stand in July 2015

The club played at Manor Road from their establishment until 1968, when they moved to Buckingham Road, where player changed in the nearby Plough pub.[7] In 1974 they moved to St. James Park on Churchill Way. Floodlights were installed during the 1988–89 season.[7] During their first spell in the Southern League a 300-seat stand was built on one touchline.[7] The ground currently has a capacity of 3,500, of which 300 is seated and 1,500 covered.[8]

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
England GK Danny Lewis
England GK Dan Farrell
England DF Gaz Dean
England DF Alex Gudger
England DF Ellis Myles
England DF Connor Franklin
England DF Jordan Williams
Zimbabwe MF Shepherd Murombedzi
England MF James Armson
England MF Adam Walker
England MF Matt Lowe
No. Position Player
England MF Glenn Walker
England MF Jack Byrne
Republic of Ireland MF Shane Byrne
England MF Lewis Rankin
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines MF David Pitt
England MF Mark Noon
England MF Giorgio Rasulo
Zimbabwe FW Lee Ndlovu
England FW Andy Brown
England FW Luke Fairlamb
England FW Khris Oti

Honours

  • FA Trophy
    • Winners 2017–18
  • Southern League
    • Premier Division champions 2011–12
    • Division One Midlands champions 2006–07
  • Hellenic League
    • Premier Division champions 1996–97, 2003–04
    • Knock-Out Cup winners 1982–83
    • Supplementary Cup winners 2003–04
  • United Counties League
    • Division One champions 1983–84
  • Northamptonshire Senior Cup
    • Winners 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15
  • Maunsell Cup
    • Winners 2011–12, 2012–13

Records

  • Highest league position: Third in the National League North, 2012–13, 2017–18
  • Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 2013–14, 2016–17[3]
  • Best FA Trophy performance: Winners, 2017–18[3]
  • Best FA Vase performance: Third round, 1987–88
  • Record attendance: 2,604 vs F.C. Halifax Town, 12 May 2013, Conference North play-off final
  • Most appearances: Terry Muckelberg, 350[8]
  • Most goals: Paul Warrington, 320[8]
  • Record transfer fee received: £2,000 from Oxford City for Phil Mason, 1998[8]

See also

  • Brackley Town F.C. players
  • Brackley Town F.C. managers

References

  1. ↑ Brackley Town Non-League Club Directory
  2. 1 2 3 Brackley Town Corporate Brochure The Park Suite
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Brackley Town at the Football Club History Database
  4. ↑ Brackley Town 4 3 Gillingham BBC Sport, 16 November 2016
  5. ↑ Brackley Town Development at the Football Club History Database
  6. ↑ Brackley Town Saints at the Football Club History Database
  7. 1 2 3 Brackley Town Pyramid Passion
  8. 1 2 3 4 Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p177 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0

Coordinates: 52°1′28.538″N 1°8′38.641″W / 52.02459389°N 1.14406694°W / 52.02459389; -1.14406694

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