Clitheroe F.C.
| Club logo | |||
| Full name | Clitheroe Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1877 (as Clitheroe Central) | ||
| Ground | Shawbridge | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Chairman | Carl Garner | ||
| Manager | Neil Reynolds & Peter Smith | ||
| League | NPL Division One North | ||
| 2007-08 | NPL Division One North, 13th | ||
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Clitheroe F.C. are an English football club based in Clitheroe, Lancashire, playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They were established in 1877 as Clitheroe Central. After joining the Lancashire Combination in 1903, they removed Central from their name.
History
Early History
The club was formed as Clitheroe Central in 1877 at the Swan Hotel in Castle Street by local businessmen. After playing in local leagues the club joined the Lancashire Combination in 1903 and dropped Central from their name. The first major trophy won was the Lancashire Junior Cup in 1893 - a trophy they had to wait 92 years to win again. In 1985 at Deepdale, home of Preston North End, they defeated Barrow 1-0 with local lad Eric Geldard scoring in extra time
20th Century
Except for breaks during the first and second World Wars (1914-18 and 1939-45) Clitheroe played in the Lancashire Combination until the end of the 1981-82 season. They won the Lancashire Combination Cup in the 1934-35 season and the League Championship in the 1979-80 season.
For the 1982/83 season The Lancashire Combination amalgamated with the Cheshire County League to become the North West Counties League. Clitheroe became one of the founder members, however the state of the ground meant they started in the third division. There then followed one of the most successful periods in the club's long history when under the guidance of manager Eric Whalley they won the Third, Second and First Divisions in consecutive seasons.
One of the highlights of the clubs history was in the 1995-96 season when under the joint managership of Dennis Underwood and Gary Butcher they played at Wembley Stadium in the final of the FA Vase. Some 7,500 people watched the game against Brigg Town and although beating them earlier in the season in the FA Cup the club was beaten 3-0 in the Vase Final. However the club was given a great welcome back to the town when the streets were lined with supporters waving their blue and white flags. A public appeal to help with the visit to Wembley saw a magnificent £7,400 donated by townspeople and businesses.
21st Century
The last decade of the 20th Century saw most of the 10 years spent getting the ground up to scratch with £130,000 being spent in the process. The sale of 2 players, Jon Penman and Carlo Nash, helped considerably with the expenditure on the ground. The club saw little success on the pitch after the Wembley visit until manager Steve Parry led them to the Floodlight Trophy by beating Kidsgrove Athletic 2-1 in the 1998-99 final.
Local lad Dave Burgess took over the management of the First Team in 2000/01 after several successful years running the second string, with player Lee Sculpher as his assistant. In their first season they finished as league runners-up and FA Vase semi-finalists.
Work commitments led to Dave standing down in 2001/02 and Lee took over and again finished as league runners-up before losing 1-2 to Mossley in the League Cup final at Bury's Gigg Lane ground.
The Club Information
Early cup exits the following season enabled the Blues to concentrate on the league and superb away form saw the 2003/04 NWCFL championship won on the final day of the season with a 3-2 victory at Nantwich Town - a memorable late goal from Neil Reynolds sealing a fantastic achievement.
Shock news was received November '04 when Lee Sculpher resigned as manager and short spells in charge by Paul Byron, Tommy Lawson and Mark Smitheringale followed before Chris Stammers was appointed manager on 18th September 2006. A further shock was received immediately after the 1-10 loss to Kettering Town in the FA Trophy on 25th November when Chris tendered his resignation citing he had taken the club as far as he could. His assistant Ash Berry took temporary charge of team affairs before the club appointed popular Neil Reynolds and Kendal's veteran player Peter Smith as the new management team on December 6th
Carlo Nash, the former Preston North End goalkeeper also started his career here too, before being spotted by Crystal Palace. [1]
External links
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