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| Full name | Witton Albion Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Albion, The Albs | ||
| Founded | 1887 | ||
| Ground | Wincham Park, Wincham, Northwich | ||
| Capacity | 4,813 (600 seated | ||
| Chairman | Ian Dobson (acting) | ||
| Manager | Brian Pritchard | ||
| League | Northern Premier League Division One North | ||
| 2011–12 | Northern Premier League Division One North, 3rd (promoted) | ||
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Witton Albion F.C. are a football club based in Northwich, England. They were founded in 1887. They have won the Cheshire Senior Cup 11 times since 1902. Their most recent success in this competition was in 2006, when they defeated Stalybridge Celtic in the final. They have also reached the FA Cup Second Round on at least three occasions. The club will play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division (seventh tier of the English football league system) in the 2012–13 season.
The club's ground was for many years in the centre of the town, just behind the library. In 1989, they moved a couple of miles to Chapel Street in nearby Wincham. Sainsbury's Supermarket now occupies the old Central Ground site.
Witton's current home, The Help for Heroes Stadium, holds in excess of 4,500 and is equiped with floodlights, segregation, a club shop and a museum.
There is a fierce local rivalry between Albion and the other Northwich team, Northwich Victoria.
History
The first records of a Witton Albion F.C. are in 1887. The club first entered the FA Cup in 1907–08 but failed to reach the First Round proper until 1948–49.
Early on in their history the club played in a number of leagues including the Northwich & District League, Crewe & District league, Cheshire League, The Combination, The Manchester League and Lancashire Combination. Finally in 1920, the club became founder members of the Cheshire County League. They won the league three times after World War 2, including the league and cup double in 1953–54. In 1978–79, the club finished as runners-up and gained promotion to the Northern Premier League. 1990–91 proved to be one of the best seasons in the club's history as they won the NPL by 16 points, gaining promotion to the Football Conference. However, the club found this tough going and continual relegation struggles resulted in the first relegation in the club's history in 1994. A further relegation from the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League followed in 1997.
In 2004, club captain Brian Pritchard enjoyed worldwide fame following his sending off during the Cheshire County F.A. Senior Cup final against Woodley Sports. He was sent off after he tripped a streaker that had run on to the pitch, incensing the Witton fans. Many football fans around the world deemed this sending off unfair, including when the referee was criticised for his decision on the BBC's Football Focus program.
The 2006–07 season saw Witton miss out on automatic promotion on the last day of the season to Burscough, by 1 goal on goal difference. Witton hit the woodwork 3 times in the last 20 minutes, but were unable to score the goal that would have taken them into the Conference North as league champions. This was the second time in seven years that Burscough had beaten Witton to promotion on goal difference. Witton subsequently lost the play-off final against Telford United and were thus denied promotion into the Conference North division.
Witton narrowly missed promotion again in 2007–08. After having led the Northern Premier League Premier Division since November, at one stage by 14 points, they lost the lead to Fleetwood Town in mid-April, and entered the last game of the regular season a point behind Fleetwood, but with a much better goal difference. Although Fleetwood could only manage a draw at home to Frickley Athletic in their last match, Witton lost at home 3–0 to Worksop Town and finished second. They went on to lose the first round of the promotion playoffs at home to Buxton on penalties. After the season ended, the club were wracked with management upheavals. Manager Jim Vince and assistant Nigel Deeley resigned after a disagreement with long-time charman Mike Worthington, and shortly afterwards Worthington himself severed ties with the club. Vince and Deeley were re-appointed by acting chairman Mark Harris, but Vince resigned again two weeks later on the grounds of ill-health. Nigel Deeley was appointed manager on 28 May.
A substantial reduction in the playing budget led to the departure of most of the established squad members during the 2008 close season. Manager Nigel Deeley and assistant Andy Nelson were fired on November 2, after an unprecedented sequence of nine consecutive defeats. They were replaced by former manager Gary Finley, assisted by Lee Coathup. After a brief change in fortunes, when Witton moved out of the relegation zone, the Albion finished third bottom, and were relegated to the Northern Premier League First Division South.
Witton entered the 2009–10 season with high hopes of promotion. Consistently in the top half of the league, they were as high as third by February 2010. However, an indifferent last third of the season saw them fall to seventh, finishing 6 points out of playoff contention. Finley resigned from the club prior to the last game of the season. League restructuring saw the club relocated to Northern Premier League First Division North for the 2010–11 season. In May 2010, former long-serving Leek Town manager Paul Ogden was appointed to the managerial position, assisted by Brian Pritchard, who will remain on the playing staff, and Dave McPherson. Six years previously, Ogden had turned down the management job at Witton, a decision which he described as 'a mistake'. On 11 April 2011 Dave MacPherson and Brian Pritchard were appointed joint managers of the club for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. Dave MacPherson left the club in the close season and Brian Pritchard became the permanent manager for the 2011–12 season. Mike Moseley, one of Albion's leading goalscorers became Assistant Player/Manager with former boss Nigel Deeley becoming First-Team Coach. On 28 April 2012, Witton beat Curzon Ashton 3–0 in the Northern Premier League Division One North Play-off Final and will play in the Northern Premier League (the seventh tier of the English football league system) in the 2012–13 season.
Rivalries
The club's main rival is Northwich Victoria. The two clubs were originally the same club although a number of rebel players and supporters broke away to form Witton Albion in the late 19th Century. Both Witton and Northwich were prominent figures during the days of the Cheshire League with Albion winning the league three times to Northwich's twice. The clubs haven't met in a league fixture for twenty years, although there have been numerous local cup clashes. Good Friday 1949 saw 11,290 locals attend the derby fixture.
Witton also enjoy minor rivalries with other Cheshire clubs including Altrincham and Winsford United.
Notable Former Players
Liverpudlian comedian John Bishop played for the club during the late 1980's. Former Premier League striker Geoff Horsfield played for Witton during the 1990's as well as former Derby County Goalkeeper Andy Oakes. West Ham forward Nicky Maynard spent a short spell on loan at the club during the 2005–06 season. Other players include; Mike Whitlow, Denis Voilett, Peter Mellor and Chris Nicholls.
Witton were also managed by former Manchester City player Ken Barnes.
Squad
- As of 15 February 2012.
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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Honours
In 1990, Albion featured as BBC TV’s "Match of the Day". The crowd of 3,784 (plus millions on TV) saw the club give an honourable performance against Bolton Wanderers, although Wanderers ultimately won 2–1.
Witton Albion were regular semi-finalists in the FA Trophy (1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93). In 1992, they made it to the old Wembley Stadium where they lost to Colchester United.
- FA Trophy
- Runners-up: 1991–92
- Northern Premier League Division One North
- Play-offs winners: 2011–12
- Northern Premier League President's Cup
- Winners: 1990–91
- Runners-up: 1989–90, 1994–95, 2004–05
References
- Wincham Park | Northwich Victoria FC | Vics
- http://www.napit.co.uk/viewus/infobank/football/northern-premier-league/witton-albion.php
- "New Manager can make us Smile". Northwich Guardian. 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-05-28.
- http://www.wittonalbion.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=526:managerial-appointment&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=34
- "Witton Squad". Witton Albion official website. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
External links
- Official Witton Albion F.C. website
- Witton Albion Supporters Online
- Witton F.C. on Football Club History Database
- Witton Albion on Football Club History Database