Spennymoor Town F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Full name | Spennymoor Town Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Moors |
| Founded | 1931 (as Evenwood Town) |
| Ground | Brewery Field, Spennymoor (Capacity: 6,000) |
| Chairman | Alan Courtney |
| Manager | Jason Ainsley |
| League | Northern Football League Division One |
| 2008–09 | Northern Football League Division One, 4th |
Spennymoor Town F.C. is an English football club based in Spennymoor, England, and playing in the Northern League Division One in the English football league system.
The club began playing in the Northern League in 1931/32 as Evenwood Town, reaching the 1st round of the FA Cup in the 1956-57 season. In 2005, the club changed their name to Spennymoor Town. The club's current fan base consists mainly of supporters of Spennymoor United, who folded in 2005.
The club plays its home matches at The Brewery Field and play in black & white strips. Their nickname is "The Moors" and local rivals are considered to be Bishop Auckland. The club tried to change its name to Spennymoor United before the 2006/2007 season however, the FA rejected the proposal. The fans hope one day to get this name back.
The current manager is Jason Ainsley, a former Spennymoor United player.
[edit] Honours
- Northern League
- Champions 1948-49*, 1969-70*, 1970-71*
- Division Two Champions 2006-07
* As Evenwood Town F.C.
History
At the end of 2005, the unthinkable happened, Spennymoor United had to fold. After years of mismanagement the club could no longer continue and closed its gates for the last time.
The club was reborn under the name of Spennymoor Town, after a merger with Evenwood, who also folded in the same year. Out of the gloom, people were working hard and managed to get the club together for the start of 2005/06. Headed by Alan Murray the fans rallied round and formed an independent supporters group, initially with the aim of running the club themselves. Both groups submitted their bids with the local council, but after a meeting held at the Penny Gill, it was agreed to stand down and let Alan Murray’s plan go ahead. The application proceeded with the name change to Spennymoor Town, the club were accepted into the ANL division 2.
In the first season, the club got off to a good start, with the club finishing in a respectable 6th position. But things behind the scenes were not good, a rift between the club and the fans grew, as did the rift between the committee and the chairman. During the summer of 2006 the situation came to a head and resulted in the entire committee resigning their posts and the club being taken over by Alan Murray.
The first action was to put in place a management team of Jamie Pollock and Moors favourite Jason Ainsley. Together they put together a strong squad of players. After a slow start, consisting of 6 away games out of the first seven, and a high number of draws, the squad went from strength to strength. They went unbeaten in the league from November, until on the 7th April, 2007, they travelled to Penrith. Backed by a travelling support of over 150 fans, if they won and Seaham lost, they would be champions. At half time, the news came through that Seaham were losing 3-1, with our place booked as champions when Tom Jones netted a 87th minute winner.
During the summer of 2007, yet another crisis hit the club when the council evicted the club from its home of 103 years. However, after a lot of good work by individuals of the football club, in particular the chairman, Vice Chairman Alan Courtney and Secretary Jonathan Le Poidevin, a new 25 year lease was agreed on 25th September, securing the future of the club.
Spennymoor’s first season back in the 1st Division of the Northern League resulted in them finishing in a mid table position. They also had a few memorable cup games, defeating higher league opposition in Garforth Town and Brigg Town. They narrowly missed out on a Durham Challenge Cup final appearance against Sunderland, losing the semi-final to a 120th minute winner 1-0 at Gateshead. The summer of 2008, has, by Spennymoor’s standards been very simplistic. No crisis, no problems other than what you could expect from any other club at this level. A lot of work has, an is being done around the ground, and Jason has brought in a good squad of players. This has left fans and people at the club optimistic for the year ahead.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Spennymoor Town at the Football Club History Database
- Evenwood Town at the Football Club History Database
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Northern League Division One 2009-10
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Ashington | Bedlington Terriers | Billingham Synthonia | Billingham Town | Bishop Auckland | Chester-le-Street Town | Consett | Dunston UTS | Esh Winning | Horden Colliery Welfare | Morpeth Town | Newcastle Benfield | Norton & Stockton Ancients | Penrith | Ryton | Shildon | South Shields | Spennymoor Town | Tow Law Town | West Allotment Celtic | West Auckland Town | Whitley Bay |
