Accrington Stanley F.C.
| Full name | Accrington Stanley Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Stans or Stanley, The (Famous) Minnows, The Owd Reds, The Accies | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground | Fraser Eagle Stadium Accrington Lancashire England | ||
| Capacity | 5,057 (1,200 seated) | ||
| Chairman |  Eric Whalley | ||
| Manager | John Coleman | ||
| League | League Two | ||
| 2007–08 | League Two, 17th | ||
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Accrington Stanley Football Club is an English football club from Accrington in Lancashire, in the north-west of England, formed in 1968. The town regained a club with league status after 44 years, when they were promoted as champions of the Nationwide Conference on 15 April 2006.[1] One of the clubs relegated from League Two was Oxford United, ironically, the team that was elected to replace the former Accrington Stanley as members of the Football League in 1962.
History
In a meeting in the town library in October 1968 the revival was started and in August 1970 the new club played at a new ground, The Crown Ground. The new club are seen, by some, to hold the legacy of both Accrington F.C. and the former, defunct Accrington Stanley. Since their formation, Stanley have climbed up the non-League scene to reach The Football League. Eric Whalley, a local businessman, took control of the club in 1995 and started the development of the club's Crown Ground. After the club was relegated in 1999, Whalley appointed John Coleman as manager. In 2003, Stanley advanced to the Conference National, switching places with relegated Oxford United - the team that had replaced the former Accrington club in the Football League in 1962.
The club's recent rise to the Conference level, and eventually to the League, is attributed in part to the windfall of hundreds of thousands of pounds reaped by the sell-on clause in the December 2001 transfer of former Stanley star Brett Ormerod to Southampton, who paid Blackpool over a million pounds for his contract. Stanley had taken £50,000 from Blackpool in 1997 with the agreement that Blackpool would pay Accrington a quarter of what they might have received if they in turn transferred Ormerod to another team. The 2002-03 championship of the Northern Premier League followed quickly on Accrington's getting the cash. Further funds were raised with the sale of J.Gray to Stirling Albion.
On 21 August 2006, Accrington Stanley won their first ever Football League Cup match, beating Nottingham Forest 1–0. Their first appearance in the second round resulted in a loss on penalties against Premiership team Watford at Vicarage Road.
2006-07 saw Accrington Stanley finish 20th in League Two, and in 2007-08 they improved slightly to finish 17th.
The club also has a women's team playing in the Lancashire FA Women's County League Division Two.
Name
The original town team, Accrington F.C., were 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 Arms on Stanley Street in Accrington. With the demise of Accrington FC, Stanley Villa took the town name to become Accrington Stanley. There was also a team originally based in West London called Stanley F.C., who played against the likes of Fulham F.C. and QPR in the late 19th Century before folding.
Stanley are currently pushing for fans in the Asian, mainly Chinese market (similar to Manchester United) for revenue, calling themselves "the world's most famous little club".[2]
The club published on their website, as an April Fools Joke, the suggestion that they were considering a name change to Lancashire Stanley United, in order to broaden their fan base. However, because of the positive reaction, the club decided to seriously consider the change.[3][4]
Television advertisement
The club was name-checked in a celebrated British advert for milk, from the 1980s.[5] The scene was two boys with thick Scouse accents in Liverpool football shirts in a kitchen, looking for something to drink after a game of football. The dialogue ran as follows:
Boy 1 enters shot, puts ball on top of fridge, and opens it
- Boy 2: "Got any lemonade?"
- Boy 1: "If you want!" (he takes a bottle of (presumably) lemonade from the fridge and hands it to Boy 2 and a bottle of milk which he pours some for himself in a glass)
- Boy 2: "Milk.....Ugh!"
- Boy 1: "It's what Ian Rush drinks."
- Boy 2: "Ian Rush?"
- Boy 1: "Yeah, an' he says if I didn't drink lots of milk, when I grow up I'll only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley!"
- Boy 2: "Accrington Stanley? ... Who are they??!"
- Boy 1: "Exactly!"
Boy 2 tries to get to Boy 1's milk.
- Boy 1: "Nah, gerroff!"
- Boy 2: "Gimmie some!"
Notable supporters
- Jon Anderson, member of the band Yes
- David Lloyd, former England cricketer and Sky Sports pundit
- Ryan Budd, former Sussex youth cricketer
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Former players
In a survey published by the Professional Footballers' Association in December 2007, Chris Grimshaw was listed as the all-time favourite player amongst Accrington Stanley fans.
League history
| Season | Division | Position | Significant Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joined the Lancashire Combination | |||
| 1970-1971 | Lancashire Combination | 6 | – |
| 1971-1972 | Lancashire Combination | 2 | Runners Up |
| 1972-1973 | Lancashire Combination | 3 | – |
| 1973-1974 | Lancashire Combination | 1 | Champions |
| 1974-1975 | Lancashire Combination | 10 | – |
| 1975-1976 | Lancashire Combination | 2 | Runners Up |
| 1976-1977 | Lancashire Combination | 3 | – |
| 1977-1978 | Lancashire Combination | 1 | Champions |
| 1978-1979 | Cheshire County Division Two | 5 | – |
| 1979-1980 | Cheshire County Division Two | 2 | Runners Up |
| Accrington Stanley were not promoted because of ground difficulties | |||
| 1980-1981 | Cheshire County Division Two | 1 | Champions |
| 1981-1982 | Cheshire County Division One | 13 | – |
| Placed in North West Counties Division One upon merger of the Cheshire County & Lancashire Combination football leagues | |||
| 1982-1983 | North West Counties Division One | 10 | – |
| 1983-1984 | North West Counties Division One | 7 | – |
| 1984-1985 | North West Counties Division One | 15 | – |
| 1985-1986 | North West Counties Division One | 11 | – |
| 1986-1987 | North West Counties Division One | 2 | Runners Up |
| 1987-1988 | Northern Premier League | 8 | – |
| 1988-1989 | Northern Premier League | 6 | – |
| 1989-1990 | Northern Premier League | 3 | – |
| 1990-1991 | Northern Premier League | 4 | – |
| 1991-1992 | Northern Premier League | 8 | – |
| 1992-1993 | Northern Premier League | 6 | – |
| 1993-1994 | Northern Premier League | 16 | – |
| 1994-1995 | Northern Premier League | 15 | – |
| 1995-1996 | Northern Premier League | 7 | – |
| 1996-1997 | Northern Premier League | 11 | – |
| 1997-1998 | Northern Premier League | 20 | – |
| 1998-1999 | Northern Premier League | 22 | Relegated |
| 1999-2000 | Northern Premier Division One | 1 | Champions |
| 2000-2001 | Northern Premier League | 9 | – |
| 2001-2002 | Northern Premier League | 6 | – |
| 2002-2003 | Northern Premier League | 1 | Champions |
| 2003-2004 | Conference | 10 | – |
| 2004-2005 | Conference National | 10 | – |
| 2005-2006 | Conference National | 1 | Champions |
| 2006-2007 | League Two | 20 | – |
| 2007-2008 | League Two | 17 | – |
External links
- Official website
- Accrington Stanley Kits from the Past
- Accrington Stanley Shirts
- AccringtonStanley Asian website
- Virtual Tour image of the Accrington Stanley Ground
References
- ^ "Watch out United, Accrington are advancing on the Asian market". BBC Sport. 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ James Ducker (2006-12-29). "Watch out United, Accrington are advancing on the Asian market". Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Stanley reveal name change proposal". Virgin Media. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Accrington Stanley consider name change after April Fool's joke gets positive response". Daily Mail. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Advert on YouTube