From Job centre to World Cup Final

Wikipedia

Name:

Deportes Concepcion

Foundation:

February 29, 1966

Nicknames:

The Lions, The Lilacs

Stadium:

Municipal de Concepción

City:

Conception

Country:

Chile

President:

Jaque Nibaldo

Web:

www.deportesconcepcion.com

The Squad's

I took over with the squad ok, but the moral was at a low

I played 11 games and i would of really been happy with just getting to the end of the season and not going down but this happened

As you can imagine i'm over the moon to be champions

P.S.N.I. (RUC) Football Club

Founded - 1928

Ground - Newforge Lane, Belfast

History

The history of football is in fact part of the history of the RUC and now the PSNI itself. Whilst the first

trophy was not won until 1960 the game was played at all levels from the formation of the RUCAA in

1928. In the period between 1928 to 1956, when the club first entered the Northern Ireland Amateur

League the force took part in the Steele and Sons Cup, the Irish Intermediate Cup and Police

Internationals with England, Scotland and Wales. With the purchase of Newforge in 1956 the club

under the direction of David Watton, entered the 1st Division of the Amateur League, which they duly

won in 1971 and 1972. In 1970 the club entered the British Police Soccer Cup for the first time and

continued the progress into the Irish League ‘B’ Division accompanied by Chimney Corner, Strandmillis

and Milford Everton.

Since then the club has won numerous honours with the highlight being their Irish Cup run in 1979

when they lost 2-0 in the semi-final after a replay against Crusaders. Their most successful season

however was 1986/87 when the RUC won the ‘B’ Division of the Irish League, the Smirnoff Cup, the

Irish Intermediate Cup and the British Police Cup.

Following the loss of the famous RUC name the club has rebuilt under the name of the PSNI with the

ambition to gain promotion to the Championship division of the Irish League.

Honours

Northern Amateur F.L.

Clarence Cup 1960/61

Border Reg Cup 1964/65

Cochrane Curry Cup 1964/65

John Lunn Cup 1965/66 RUC II

Co. Antrim Junior Shield 1965/66 RUC II

RUC Cup 1967/68 RUC II

Barron Cup 1970/71

Walter Moore Cup 1970/71 RUC II

Barron Cup 1972/73

Templeton Cup 1972/73 RUC II

Irish Int. Cup 1978/79

Irish Int. Cup 1979/80

PAA Champions 1981/82

Division 2 Champions 1982/83 RUC Olympic

Smirnoff Cup 1983

PAA Champions 1983/84

Irish Int. Cup 1984/85

Smirnoff Cup 1985

Irish League B Division 1986/87

Smirnoff Cup 1986

Irish Int. Cup 1986/87

PAA Cup 1986/87

Steel & Sons Cup 1993/94

PAA Cup 1994/95

WPFG Calgary 1997 (3rd place)

PSUK Finalists 2008

wikipedia

Official Website

http://www.psnifootballclub.co.uk/

End of season report

Well I've only been in charge for a bit was happy with the form we shown since i got the job.

the major problem is the police have is no pace so the the other side get away from us.

was only in charge for 8 game

My goal getter he on his last legs aswell

This how the the table looks

Table

Some major changes in the summer I think

Closes season Going Into Season 2012 | 2013

A good pre-season under our belt until I found out we had no coaches. Doooh on my part.

I knew my assistant/main striker left wanted more money than we could offer, but I suppose he was doing 2 jobs.

Unfortunately we could not get any one to buy our player's so could not make any money that way.

I let 10 go on free transfers and bring in 4 with a two of the best players ever I think to grace this league.

As i said at the end of last season pace was a major problem I think we sorted that if the players we fetched in only if they keep fit.

My media prediction is 5th. I din't get a board one. we got 30 season ticket holders £40.00 a pop. And the average ticket price is £ 5.00

I'm look for a good promotion push.

The Ballyclare League Player Watch

Here are the transfer's

My Best 2 signing's

Mid season Update thing are going really well were top of the league. add a 3 more players to the squad a new left/right back and a right winger just had a bid for the best thing the police have ever had a man to score

here are the results

And now the table

If the second half of the season goes like the first well be promoted

The History Of Wales' Oldest Team

THE club was formed by members of the Wrexham Cricket Club, who wanted a sporting activity for the winter months, on 28 September 1872 during a meeting held at the Turf Hotel in Wrexham (this is despite the club's badge stating we were formed in 1873).

As the rules of football were still somewhat fluid at the time, early matches featured teams with up to 17 players on each side (16 players when playing the Provincial Insurance Office and Chester College, 15 players against the Volunteer Fire Brigade).

In these early years Wrexham were leaders of the campaign to restrict teams to 11 players. The club's first match against an outside team was a 12-a-side game against past and present members of Grove Park School played at Wrexham Cricket Ground, which Wrexham won 2-0 on 19 October 1872.

In 1876, the newly formed Football Association of Wales saw Wales play their first International match, against Scotland, featuring Edwin Cross and Alfred Davis as the first of many Wrexham AFC players to play for their country.

In the 1877-78 season the FAW inaugurated the Welsh Cup competition, to run on similar lines to the English FA Cup. The first Welsh Cup Final was played at Acton Park. Wrexham got to the final of the inaugural competition, where they defeated Druids FC 1-0, but thanks to lack of money at the fledgling FAW they did not receive their trophy until the next year.

For their first decade, Wrexham mostly played friendly matches against both Welsh and English opposition, with the Welsh Cup providing most of their competitive football, the club winning it again in 1883.

1883 also saw Wrexham's first appearance in the FA Cup, when after receiving a bye to the second round of the competition they were defeated 4-3 at home by Oswestry. Crowd trouble at the game led to the club renaming itself Wrexham Olympic, but they reverted to the original name after three years.

Thanks to a dispute with their landlords, who had raised the rent of the Racecourse Ground to £10 a year, Wrexham played their home games in the 1881-82 and 1882-83 seasons at Rhosddu Recreation Ground (changing the club's name to Wrexham Athletic for one season), before moving back to the Racecourse Ground for the 1883-84 season, where they have remained ever since.

In 1890, Wrexham joined the Football Combination. Their first game was played against Gorton Villa on 6 September 1890, with Arthur Lea scoring Wrexham's only goal in a 5-1 defeat. Lea played for the club despite only having one arm as did team mate James Roberts. Wrexham finished the season second from bottom in eighth place.

Wrexham played in the Combination for four years before a rapid increase in costs resulted in the club joining the Welsh League for the 1894-95 season.

Competition was not as strong and they won the Welsh League both years that they were in it, but they decided to return to the Combination, as the reduced support they received meant that the savings they made on their travelling expenses were outweighed by the reduction in gate revenue.

The club remained in the Combination until 1905, winning the title four times. After several unsuccessful attempts they were finally elected to the Birmingham and District League in time for the 1905-06 season.

Wrexham's first ever match in this league was against Kidderminster Harriers at the Racecourse, with 2,000 spectators watching a 2-1 win as they finished sixth in their first season.

During their time in the Birmingham and District League, Wrexham won the Welsh Cup six times in 1908-09, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1913-14, 1914-15 and 1920-21.

They also reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup for a second time in the 1908-09 season before losing a replay to Exeter City after extra time.

In 1921, Wrexham were elected to the newly formed Third Division North of the Football League, with their first game being against Hartlepool United at the Racecourse in front of 8,000 spectators.

Playing in blue shirts Wrexham were defeated 0-2, but the following week they gained revenge when travelling to Hartlepool and earning a 1-0 victory.

During that season Ted Regan scored the club's first ever hat-trick, while Brian Simpson became the first Wrexham player to be sent off in a League game when he was ordered from the field of play against Southport in January 1922. Charlie Hewitt was the clubs' first ever manager.

In the 1926-27 season the club got past the first round of the FA Cup only to be knocked out by Rhyl. The following season Wrexham fought their way to the Fourth Round before they lost 0-1 to Birmingham City. A record 32 League goals from Albert Mays helped Wrexham to third position in the division in the 1928-29 season.

Later that year Tommy Bamford made his debut for the club, before the south Walian went on to score a club record 201 League and Cup goals. During the 1929-30 season the club recorded their best League win to date, when they crushed Rochdale 8-0.

Wrexham enjoyed their best ever Third Division North season in 1932-33, when they finished runners-up to Hull City and won 18 of their 21 home games. But with only the champions gaining promotion, there was no reward for their efforts.

The club first appeared in their now-familiar red and white shirts for the short-lived 1939-40 season.

During the Second World War years, Wrexham played in the Regional League West against teams from Merseyside and Manchester, among others. Wrexham's position as a barracks town meant that the team could secure the services of many famous guest players such as Stanley Matthews and Stan Cullis.

In the first post war season Wrexham equalled their best ever position when they again finished third in the Third Division North. In the summer of 1949 the club made its first ever tour abroad when it played three games against the British army in Germany.

The club reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in 1956-57 where they played Manchester United's Busby Babes in front of a crowd of a record attendance of 34,445 people. The 5-0 defeat did not spoil the occasion. Later that season Wrexham won the Welsh Cup for the first time in 26 years.

In 1960 the club were relegated for the first time, to the newly created Fourth Division but performances improved following the appointment of Ken Barnes as player-manager. He led Wrexham to promotion in his first season and oversaw a 10-1 trouncing of Hartlepool United, the club's record League victory.

Unfortunately Wrexham were relegated to the Fourth Division again two years later and in 1966 they finished rock-bottom at 92nd in the Football League.

John Neal's arrival as manager saw a considerable improvement in the club's fortunes. In 1969-70 he led them to promotion and two years later he led them into European football for the first time following another Welsh Cup victory. The Robins' first European match was against FC Zurich and resulted in a 3-2 aggregate win for the Welsh club.

In the 1973-74 season Wrexham made their first appearance in the FA Cup quarter-finals before losing 1-0 to First Division Burnley at Turf Moor. Two years later they also appears in the quarter finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup before losing to the eventual winners, Anderlecht, by just one goal over the two legs.

Having just missed out on promotion in 1976-77, manager John Neal left the club to join Middlesbrough and was replaced by the long serving Arfon Griffiths.

Griffiths brought Dixie McNeil, Dai Davies and Les Cartwright to the club, strengthening the team to such an extent that it immediately won the Third Division Championship, reached the last eight of both the FA and League cups, as well as winning the Welsh Cup.

Wrexham enjoyed four seasons in the Second Division before consecutive relegations sent them back to the bottom division and began a period of struggle for the team. In 1989 they lost out to Leyton Orient in the Fourth Division Play-Off Final.

Brian Flynn took over the club in 1989, and would remain as manager until 2001. In January 1992, Wrexham produced arguably their greatest ever piece of giant-killing, when they knocked the previous year's Football League Champions Arsenal out of the FA Cup with goals from Steve Watkin and Mickey Thomas.

In March 2011 the ownership of the club became subject to 2 bids: one from Wrexham Supporters' Trust and another from local businesswoman Stephanie Booth. Wrexham's MP and AM indicated that they would prefer Wrexham Supporters' Trust to secure the bid.[7] A third bid later came in, but after WST and Booth came to an agreement, their bid was then reaccepted.

In April 2011, the club were served with a winding up order from HMRC, with an unpaid tax bill of just under £200k. The team finished the 2010–11 season in 4th place, qualifying for a play-off spot.

On the 5 May 2011 Wrexham played their first play-off game against Luton Town at home: Wrexham were 3–0 down in the first half and failed to score in the second half. [1]

On the 10 May 2011 Wrexham played their second play-off game: Wrexham went 1–0 up after Andy Mangan scored in the 8th minute, Gareth Taylor later missed a penalty, Luton went on to win 5–1 on aggregate. Over 800 Wrexham fans were present at Kenilworth Road.

During the 2011-12 season, Wrexham FC were invited back into the Welsh Cup after 16 years, entering at the third round stage. Their first game was at home to Airbus UK Broughton FC, but a schedule clash meant that the club were required to play two games on 3 December 2011, one against Airbus, and the other against Brentford FC in the second round of the FA Cup. Although the scratch side fielded against Airbus lost, the first team fielded against Brentford produced a shock 1-0 win. On 4 December Wrexham were drawn away to Brighton and Hove Albion FC in the third round of the FA Cup in which they drew 1-1, now facing a replay at The Racecourse.

The stadium

Looking back on the history of Wrexham Football Club and the Racecourse, officially the oldest football stadium in the world still hosting international games.

Wrexham Football Club's history has been a modern day version of the tale of David and Goliath, writes Joanne Gallacher. Like David, the club has fought and won some uneven contests, with its Cup giant-killing acts on the football field.

My first experience of the club's tenacious spirit was in 1992 when the Robins, as they were then known, beat the mighty Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup. I was a teenager when I saw Mickey Thomas' famous goal against Arsenal. He scored in the 83rd minute from a free-kick. The crowd went wild and my friend and I soon forgot that we had been complaining about the cold.

From that moment on, and probably for the first time in my 16 years I was proud to be from Wrexham; the town finally got its recognition.

With that strike from Thomas, my years as a Liverpool supporter were pushed to the back of my wardrobe, along with the scrapbook I compiled on Ian Rush.

However, 12 years later and the scorer of that goal is worried that memories will be all that fans might have left.

"Wrexham gave me the opportunity to be a professional footballer and I'll never forget that," says Thomas who was 37 and ready to retire when he scored that goal against Arsenal.

"Arsenal were the champions of the league. They were expected to hammer us," he recalled proudly.

"The euphoria afterwards was incredible, it was a magnificent night.

"Chelsea were playing that night and they started singing my name when I scored.

"We made all the newspapers, even in Australia and America," he added.

Wrexham fan and football historian Gareth Davies can recount other moments from the sometimes quirky club history, stretching back more than 130 years.

"The club was formed in 1872 not 1873 as is on the badge," said Mr Davies.

"The Racecourse had been used for many things including boxing, women's wrestling and in the late 1880s it was used for a proclamation for the National Eisteddfod.

"The Racecourse was a horse racing ground and they played cricket there too," said 59-year-old Mr Davies from Anglesey.

"It was cricketers who wanted something to do in the winter who formed the club," he recalled. It was formed in the Turf Hotel which is where the winning post for the horse racing used to be."

Wrexham fan Peter Jones said that up until the 1940s, players even changed inside the Turf pub.

"People used to sit on the Turf balcony and watch the football," he said. "Up until the 1940s the players used to change upstairs in the Turf. They used to go down some stairs and onto the pitch. During the early 1920s there was one player, I can't remember his name and his parents were the landlords of the Turf.

"He played in the first game for Wrexham in 1921 and he'd fought in the First World War. A few days after that game he caught pneumonia and he died in the Turf," he added.

Sitting in the Turf Hotel, Wrexham fan Dave Williams said "on match days the atmosphere's brilliant here". "I used to go on the balcony and watch the games. I've supported Wrexham since I was young and it's the community to me," he added.

Mr Davies said the first friendlies played at the Racecourse involved teams of up to 16-a-side.

"Most of the matches ended scoreless, mainly due to the large numbers on each side," he said.

Wrexham Football Club grew and rose through the divisions. In Mr Davies' opinion, the club's heyday was between 1977-78.

"Around this time they were promoted to the old Division Two, which is now the Championship league and they also reached the quarter final of the FA Cup," he said.

"We had the likes of Dai Davies, Dixie McNeil, Graham Whittle and Mickey Thomas playing for us," he added. Mr Davies said that the modern Racecourse is much improved. "It's a much better ground now than it used to be. At the end of the Kop, there used to be a balcony and we called it the 'pigeon loft' because it was on stilts," he said.

However, despite the fact that the club has a good ground and a great deal of history a number of people from Wrexham still look across the border to England to support premiership teams like Liverpool and Everton.

Mickey Thomas, who had two spells at Wrexham, remembers a time when the club could get 25,000 people through its turnstiles now they get around 3,000.

wikipedia

Official Web site

Domestic League Positions

FM Club Info

Team Reports

First Team

Reserve

U18's

Blue square bet premierove

Welcome to the Wrexham FC Thread for Football Manager 12

Club Background

Founding, Name Changes and First Taste of Success

First League Titles and League Swapping

Football League Debut and Club Firsts

War Times, Famous Guest, Records and Firsts

New Badge, Famous Wins and Surprise Cup Runs

Euro Joy but Hard Times

Domestic Giant Killings and Promotion at Last

Greedy Owner, Financial Woe but Trophy Joy.

Points Deduction Drop and Dubious Owners

Final Day Drama and League Stay Ended

Conference National Days

The Racecourse

Colliers Park

The season over and to say we nearly hit the play-off's I would of never thought that when took over with 10 games left.

Now to be "del boy wealing and dealing" to move on the deadwood & bring in some hungry players although i made a boo bo with a pre-contract signing what I thought was a 25 year old turns out to be a 35 year old

Here the fixtures i had

Ben heard from Aldershot won the player of the season

The Fa Cup Winners was Everton

The Fa Trophy Winners were Stockport

The Blue Square Premier

Hartlepool United Football Club was formed as a professional club in 1908 from a successful Amateur Cup-winning team, and joined the League in 1921.

Through two minor name changes, Hartlepool United have spent all of their years in the lower two divisions of the Football League, but nonetheless have a fascinating if somewhat chequered history.

As the Club approaches its centenary year they are currently enjoying one of the stronger periods since their formation.

We take a leisurely four part look at the story so far.

The Club rose from the remnants of a previously successful amateur side in 1908, survived the now infamous bombing by a German zeppelin in 1916 and join the Football League in 1921.

A string of interesting characters pass through the Club's books over the years, both on the playing and managerial side, and this period is no exception.

1881 West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club was formed.

1883 Became founder members of the Durham FA.

1886 West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club buy land from the North-Eastern Railway Company, once part of a limestone quarry, now covered with allotments. The club cleared the land and the new ground was named the Victoria Ground in Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year.

1889 The Northern League is formed and West Hartlepool join soon afterwards. playing at various venues in the town. 1905 West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club win the FA Amateur Cup, beating Clapton 3-2 at Shepherd's Bush in London.

May 1908 The Rugby club folds due to financial difficulties leaving the Victoria Ground in need of repair. On May 2nd a newly-formed association club was announced which would go forward on professional terms and had applied to join the North Eastern League.

http://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/javaImages/c0/65/0,,10326~91584,00.jpg

June 1908 On June 1st 1908 a limited liability company was registered under the name "The Hartlepools United Football Athletic Company Limited" with 2000 £1 shares offered to form a professional club. The shares are not fully subscribed, as there are doubts about professional sport, but Messrs R Martin and W Paterson, former vice-presidents of the rugby club and W J Coates, a former committee member formed the Board of directors of the new company. Although playing at the Victoria Ground, situated in West Hartlepool, the team is named Hartlepools United against public opinion as the company believe it should represent the two Hartlepool boroughs (Hartlepool and West Hartlepool).

September 1908 On September 2nd 1908 a Newcastle United team were the opposition as Hartlepools played their first game at Victoria Park. The Magpies outfit were put to the sword as goals from Smith, Fletcher, Edgley, Seal and Lenagahan (2) meant a 6-0 win for the hosts.

1908-9 The amateurs of West Hartlepool continue to play in the Northern League but ironically need to share the Victoria Ground with the professionals, having lost their Park Road ground. Hartlepools United's first captain is Fred Priest, formerly a professional with Sheffield United, and they poach players from the amateurs and join the North-Eastern League. The ground share does not last long, as in June 1910 the amateur team folds and their assets are taken over by the professional club.

1909 United embark on a tour of Germany, an ambitious venture for a team outside of the powerful Football and Southern leagues.

27 Nov 1916 A German Zeppelin on a bombing mission to the Teesside industrial area under attack from a Royal Flying Corps pilot jettisons it's load onto the Victoria Ground, destroying the main stand. A "temporary" replacement is built . which lasts until the eighties! The ground is also damaged by a German naval bombardment of the town. The club pressed the German government for compensation, but never received a penny.

1918-19 United took part in the Northern Victory League along with Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle United.

1921 United put their case for election to the new northern Section of the Football League at a meeting in Manchester. They need to finish in the top half of the North Eastern League to qualify, which they do.

1921 - 22 Workington transferred one of their players named Forman, for a fee reputed to be £10 and a box of kippers.

27 Aug 1921 United play their first ever League game away to Wrexham. The team is Gill, Crilly, Thoms, Dougherty, Hopkins, Short, Donald, Kessler, Mulholland, Lister & Robertson. United win 2-0 with goals from Mulholland and Lister. United finish a creditable fourth with seventeen wins and eight draws.

1923 - 24 Egyptian Tewfik Abdallah, the first non-European to wear the club's colours, signs from Derby County, making 11 appearances at inside right and scoring one goal. He had previously played for International SC (Cairo) and Cowdenbeath and later coached in the US.

Late 20's With the Victoria Ground covered in a blanket of snow, and the temperature just above freezing, Bill Norman, United's manager ordered players to strip for training. When they complained about the conditions, Norman stripped naked and rolled in the snow. The players were amused, but did as they were told.

1936 Jack Howe was transferred to Derby after signing forms on a Lincoln railway station. He later played for England and won an FA Cup medal in 1946.

1936-7 Former Irish international centre-forward Sam English joined the club - he had previously played for Rangers and Liverpool.

1939-45 War again caused normal competitions to be suspended and a North-Eastern Division formed and later the Football League North. Various guest players (usually stationed nearby) played for the teams. Albert Stubbins seemed to take a particular liking for Pools' defence, scoring 18 goals against them in 10 games. Stubbins' picture appears on the cover of the Beatles' Sergeant Peppers album.

The position as Manager of Hartlepool United FC has been filled by a few interesting characters over the years . and indeed by a greater number of people than at most clubs!

Fred Westgarth's length of tenure is unlikely to be beaten in the modern game - neither will his practice keeping hens at the ground.

Brian Clough cut his managerial teeth at the Victoria Ground, arriving in May 1966. He turned around a club in the doldrums and instilled a sense of pride. Along with Peter Taylor his assistant, he built a side which went on to gain the first promotion in the Club's history under Gus McLean

1943 - 1957 Fred Westgarth's term as manager is unlikely ever to be equalled in the modern game. He brought stability and success to the club, almost got them into the second division and enjoyed cup success too.

31 Aug 1946 Pools play their first post-war game wearing blue & white striped shirts and black shorts, drawing 1-1 with Barrow - Leo Harden scored the goal. The team was: Heywood, Brown, Gregory, Spellman, Lambert, H Jones, Copeland, Moses, Price, McMahon and Harden.

June 1948 Club Chairman J M Stathers installs new terracing at Victoria Ground, with the aim of increasing average attendances for the first team to 10,000 and the reserves to 4,000!

12 Jan 1952 Pools are drawn away to then First Division Burnley in the FA Cup Third Round. Hartlepool is little more than a ghost town as thousands travel to Turf Moor to swell the crowd to 38,608. Burnley are expected to win easily, but Pools push them all the way, and eventually lose 1-0 in a classic cup-tie.

7 Jan 1956 Pools lose 1-0 at home to Chelsea in front of a crowd of 16,862.

5 Jan 1957 Possibly the most famous game in Pools' history - the FA Cup 3rd round tie against Manchester United's Busby Babes. In front of 17,426, Pools eventually lose 4-3 in what Matt Busby later described in his autobiography as "the most exciting match I've ever watched."

27 Apr 1957 A 2-0 victory at home at Bradford Park Avenue sees Pools finish second in the Third Division North, but miss out on promotion as only champions Derby were promoted. 1958/9 Having finished in the bottom half of the previous season's Third division north, Pools find themselves in the newly formed Fourth Division.

25 Oct 1958 Visitors Aldershot take the lead through Albert Mundy in six seconds and go on to win 3-0.

4 April 1959 Pools record their record league victory - a stunning 10-1 home win over Barrow which sees each of the five man forward line score.

March 1964 Goalkeeper Ken Simpkins signs and wins Welsh Under-23 international honours. However he is possibly best remembers for his last season where he was pressed into action as an emergency centre-forward and scores the winner in a 3-2 victory over Port Vale.

October 1965 Brian Clough appointed manager and brings in Peter Taylor from Burton Albion to help him. The legendary manager famously visits every pub and club in the town to raise funds for the club and builds one of the most successful teams in the club's history.

21 May 1966 Clough gives a debut to John McGovern, then still attending Henry Smith School, at the age of 16 years 205 days - a club record.

May 1967 Having built a successful team, clough and Taylor move on to Derby County and are succeeded by Angus 'Gus' McLean.

http://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/javaImages/e8/67/0,,10326~92136,00.jpg

6 May 1968 Pools win 2-0 at Swansea and gain promotion for the first time in the club's history. A crowd of 11,011 see them celebrate promotion in their final home game - also against Swansea.

10 Aug 1968 Hartlepools United gain promotion, but it is "Hartlepool AFC" who play in the Third Division after the amalgamation of the two boroughs of Hartlepool and West Hartlepool. Pool fall 2 points short of survival and are relegated in 22nd place after just one season out of the bottom flight.

The Club's first spell out of the bottom division lasted just one season, and it took them another twenty years of often soul-destroying struggle before they enjoyed their next promotion.

Cap in hand visits to the Football League AGM were the order of the day to plead the case for re-election and "one more chance".

Thankfully the days of automatic relegation to the Conference were a long way off. Former Spurs full-back Cyril Knowles built the squad which won our second promotion but sadly didn't live to see them achieve success and Alan Murray takes the team up.

They enjoy two good seasons ending mid-table but the third ends in relegation and financial crisis forces the dismantling of what many say was one of our best line-ups.

The darkest hour was the winding -up order served on the Club in the High Court. However local businessman Harold Hornsey saved the day and re-built the Club on solid foundations.

February 1972 Pools release a single - "Never Say Die / Who Put Sugar in My Tea" - sadly it fails to reach the charts.

Article continues

1974-75 An excellent League Cup run sees Pools beat Workington, Bournemouth (in a third replay), Blackburn (again in a replay) before going out in yet another replay at Aston Villa. Villa go on to win the cup, playing fewer games than Pools' nine cup-ties.

Oct 1976 Billy Horner appointed manager replacing Ken Hale. The 7 year stint is Horner's first of two as full time manager and numerous in a caretaker role.

20 Aug 1977 Pools kick off the new season as Hartlepool United, having dropped the "Hartlepool AFC" appellation

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28 Feb 1978 Pools go down 4-1 at Ipswich Town in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, having beaten Tranmere, Runcorn and Crystal Palace on the way.

2 Oct 82 United lose 3-2 at Torquay and after Roy Hogan is sent off, Kevin Johnson and Rob Smith are dismissed . for squaring up to each other!

1985 The temporary wooden stand on the Clarence Road side, erected as a "temporary" measure after the Zeppelin bombing, is demolished following new safety concerns after the Bradford City fire tragedy.

23 Oct 1986 Middlesbrough FC are locked out of Ayresome Park, having been declared bankrupt, and play their opening fixture of the new season at Victoria Ground immediately after our opener against Cardiff City.

9 Feb 1988 On a windswept night at Roker Park, a Brian Honour goal direct form a corner seals victory over Sunderland in the Sherpa Van Trophy and a Northern Area Semi-final against Preston. Black Cats' manager Dennis Smith describes the defeat as a "stigma".

24 Aug 1988 Pools beat Manchester United containing Viv Anderson, Paul McGrath, Mike Duxbury, Lee Sharpe and Chris Turner 6-0 in a pre-season friendly.

1989 Cyril Knowles is appointed manager and builds a promotion-winning side, but sadly a terminal illness means he doesn't see his side gain the reward.

11 May 1991 A 3-1 home victory over Northampton Town wins automatic promotion in third place. Joe Allon scores 28 league goals and equals Bill Robinson's 1927-28 tally.

2 Jan 1993 An Andy Saville penalty seals a 3rd round FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace in a game broadcast live all over the world by the BBC. Pools then go a League record 1,227 minutes without scoring - Saville finally breaking the hoodoo at Blackpool on March 6th.

23 Jan 1993 Pools play at Sheffield United in the 4th round with a High Court winding-up order hanging over the club.

1994 Local businessman Harold Hornsey rescues the club from the hands of previous Chairman Garry Gibson, who had taken the club on a roller-coaster ride which included the heights of the second division but almost into oblivion.

25 Jul 1995 Harold Hornsey fulfils his promise to build new East Stand. Cyril Knowles' widow Betty officially opens the stand named in his memory.

Aug 1995 A new covered terrace at the town end of the ground is built in partnership with local company Expamet. Hornsey renames the stadium "Victoria Park" to reflect the transformation of the facilities.

Harold Hornsey took the Club as far as his resources would allow, then took everyone by surprise when selling out to an Aberdeen-based oil company.

Many fans were sceptical as to the intentions of a company with no other obvious links to the town, or indeed football.

Building on their predecessors' foundations IOR have won over the doubters with their progressive investment in the Club both on and off the pitch.

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1997 Aberdeen-based Increased Oil Recovery Ltd (IOR) buy the club from Harold Hornsey and set about building on the solid base now in place. New Chairman Ken Hodcroft keeps Harold on in a paid consultancy role and as a Director. The other Directors are replaced.

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1997 -1998 IOR use their oil business connections to bring Norwegian International Jan Ove Pedersen to the Club on loan from Brann Bergen for three months. He is widely acclaimed as the best player of the modern era to have worn the club's colours.

Sep 1998 The Club start up their own Centre of Excellence to bring through their own young stars for the future. History turns full circle as West Hartlepool Rugby Club commence a planned three-year ground share at Victoria Park as they play in the Allied Dunbar Premiership. However the deal ends after one year and West suffer successive relegations out of National League rugby.

02 Jan 1999 England legend Peter Beardsley makes his debut and scored in the 2-2 draw with Cambridge United.

March 1999 Former Sunderland and Manchester United goalkeeper Chris Turner is appointed manager, with the immediate task of saving the club form relegation. He does this, with full financial support from IOR, despite being three points adrift at the bottom with only four matches left, and begins the task of building a strong side which is soon fighting for promotion.

Oct 1999 Turner brings in Colin West as his assistant.

31 Oct 1999 Club mascot H'Angus the monkey makes his debut at the !st Round FA Cup victory over Millwall at Victoria Park.

Nov 1999 Taylor Report improvement work starts on Victoria Park with the first phase being completed early 2000.

May 2000 Chris Turner's side qualify for the Play-offs in a thrilling 3-0 away victory over Hull City, but lose the semi-final over two legs to Darlington. Midfielder Tommy Miller is leading goalscorer and finishes second behind Kevin Phillips but ahead of Alan Shearer in NE Football Writers' Player of Year.

Dec 2000 Pools go on a record 21 match unbeaten League run, beginning with a 1-0 home win over Southend United and ending with a 2-1 defeat at Southend.

Jan 2001 Turner's achievements earn him the Division 3 Manager of the Month award.

May 2001 Pools qualify for the Play-offs, winning their last three matches to confirm fourth place, three points behind Chesterfield, but lose out to Blackpool.

June 2001 The club invest £ 100,000 in a new pitch including, for the first time, a full drainage system. Second phase of Taylor Report improvements work begins at Victoria Park, featuring improvementsto spectator facilities including turnstiles, catering outlets and toilets. The £1,360,000 cost takes the total spent on the ground during IOR's tenure to the £2 million mark.

Dec 2001 Chairman Ken Hodcroft reports a loss of £917,000 for the financial year to 31 Dec 2000, fully funded by IOR.

Apr 2002 A late run takes us into the Play-offs for the third successive year, but after a superb performance in the second leg at Cheltenham we suffer the heartache of losing a penalty shoot-out.

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Nov 2002 With the team at the top of the 3rd Division table, Chris Turner & Colin West leave to join Sheffield Wednesday; former Blackburn & Everton striker Mike Newell becomes the new manager.

Dec 2002 Another former Evertonian, Kevin Sheedy joins Newell as Assistant Manager.

May 2003 Promoted to the 2nd Division as runners-up. Mike Newell's contract is not renewed.

June 2003 Neale Cooper is appointed as the new manager and former Youth Team Coach Martin Scott promoted to Reserve Team Manager.

January 2004 A crowd of 40,816, including 10,000 Pools fans sees Sunderland edge an epic FA Cup 3rd round tie 1-0 at The Stadium of Light.

April 2004 The Reserves win Pontin's Holidays League Division 1 East, finishing ten points clear of nearest rivals Newcastle. The Youth Team win the U-19 Group at The Dallas Cup, winning all of their games and beating the Metrostars 4-1 in the final.

May 2004 Finish 6th in Second Division and reach play-offs for fourth year out of five but again miss out on Cardiff as Bristol City come back from the dead to score twice in last five minutes.

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April 2005 The Youth Team follow up the previous season's Dallas Cup triumph with a third-place finish in the prestigious USA tournament's Super

Group section. After qulaifying as Champions from their Group phase, they are beaten in the semi-finals but win the play-off against Mexican side Tigres.

May 2005 The Youth Team win the Durham Challenge Cup with a 3-0 victory over Dunston Federation Brewery. Two goals from James Brown and one from David Foley hand Pools the win in front of a bumper crowd at Durham's New Ferens Park.

May 2005 Manager Neale Cooper leaves the Club by mutual consent. Martin Scott steps up to take charge of First Team affairs on a temporary basis.

May 2005 Meanwhile, the First Team finish their season on a high by squeezing in to the play-offs with a point at Bournemouth. They face Tranmere Rovers in the semi-final and Adam Boyd scored twice in the first leg to hand Pools the advantage going to Prenton Park for the second leg. Rovers come back in to it with two late goals, but Pools go through to Cardiff after a tense penalty shootout - Ritchie Humphreys buried his Cheltenham demon with the winning spot kick.

May 2005 Pools fall at the last hurdle as Sheffield Wednesday defeat them in the Play-Off Final at The Millennium Stadium. Goals from Eifion Williams and Jon Daly saw Pools come from behind to lead but nine minutes from time a dubious penalty was awarded against Chris Westwood who was then sent off. The spot-kick was converted and The Owls made their man advantage pay in Extra Time scoring twice to win promotion to The Championship and condemn Pools to another season in League One.

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June 2005 Martin Scott is named permanent Manager in a Victoria Park Press Conference. He quickly appoints former Barnsley and Sunderland midfielder Steve Agnew as Reserve Team Manager.

February 2006 Martin Scott leaves his post as First Team Manager after discussions between himself and the Club. With Reserve Team boss Steve Agnew also leaving the Club, Youth Team Coach Paul Stephenson is handed control of First Team affairs on a temporary basis, while former boss Chris Turner arrives in the capacity of The Director of Sport.

May 2006 Pools are relegated from League One after three seasons following a home draw with Port Vale.

June 2006 Danny Wilson is appointed First Team Manager with Ian Butterworth joining the Club soon after as Reserve Team Manager.

September 2006 Boss Danny Wilson takes the League Two Manager of the Month prize for September following a goal-filled month. Wins over Boston, Mansfield, Peterborough, Grimsby and Wrexham were enough to see Wilson handed the award.

February 2007 After being on the shortlist for the Manager of the Month award in the two previous months, it was a case of third time lucky for Danny Wilson. He was named League Two's top boss for the second time in the season after a perfect month of five consecutive victories, including wins over Swindon and Walsall.

March 2007 Danny Wilson makes it a hat-trick of awards when he nets the League Two Manager of the Month prize for March. Wilson had led his team to three wins and two draws as they made their way onwards to promotion.

April 2007 A diving header from Richard Barker secured all three points at Wycombe and finalised Pools' automatic promotion back to League One.

May 2007 Pools are defeated at home by Bristol Rovers on the final day of the season meaning they miss out on the League Two title but take the runners-up spot.

April 2008 The Reserves finish top of the Pontins Holidays East League Division One, meaning they qualify for the end of the season play-offs. However, they are beaten by Nottingham Forest at Billingham Town.

May 2008 Pools finish 15th in their first season back in League One.

June 1st 2008 The Club celebrates 100 years of football by officially reaching its 100th birthday.

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December 2008 Danny Wilson leaves Hartlepool United and Director of Sport Chris Turner takes temporary charge of First Team affairs.

May 2009 Despite defeat at Bristol Rovers on the last day of the season, Pools survive in League One. They finish 19th with 50 points - just one point above the drop zone.

November 2009 The Club launch the brand new Official History of Hartlepool United - a book which charts every major event in the Club's history since its inception in 1908.

May 2010 The Club are deducted three points by the Football League after playing Gary Liddle in an Easter Monday fixture with Brighton when he should have been serving a suspension. Pools reveal their dismay at the decision and announce plans to appeal against the deduction, which plunges them back in to a relegation battle with just one game of the season remaining.

On a tense final day at Brentford, Pools secure their League One status with a 0-0 draw against The Bees. With Tranmere and Exeter both winning, they climbed above Pools in the table but it was Gillingham who slipped to relegation after a dismal 3-0 defeat at Wycombe Wanderers. It means the Club will play League One football for the fourth consecutive season - a record.

July 2010 Mick Wadsworth arrives at the Club as Assistant Coach following the summer departure of Colin West.

August 2010 Chris Turner resigns from his position as Director of Sport with immediate effect, and Mick Wadsworth is handed responsibility for the First Team. He is to be assisted in the role by Youth Team Coach Micky Barron and Club Captain Ritchie Humphreys.

December 2010 Despite some terrible weather, Pools take points from visits to high-flying Huddersfield and Bournemouth, while also moving past Yeovil Town in the FA Cup. The string of impressive performances results in Mick Wadsworth being named League One Manager of the Month and Sam Collins celebrating as Player of the Month.

May 2011 Pools finish the season with a 0-0 draw at Charlton Athletic which leaves them in 16th position in the League One table.

December 2011 Mick Wadsworth is relieved of his duties as Head Coach after a record-breaking run of seven successive home defeats.

December 2011 Neale Cooper is appointed as First Team Coach, to be assisted by Micky Barron in his role as Reserve Team Coach.

As you van see James Brown is the man

[video=youtube;SzlpTRNIAvc]

So not the Biggest squad so the first thing to do is fetch in players

The season just about to get under way. So I did My del boy wheeling and dealing, but with a another club.

I done to much though in the striker department. Now I'm overloaded with them.

I had to bring in Panagiotis Rampavilas who i had great susses with at p.s.n.i

I asked the board to get me a new parent club were I had QPR now we set-up a new link with EVERTON so I got a couple of there players on loan.

This time I left pre-season to my Coaching staff.

The board expect me to challenging for promotion , were the media say I will fall shot with the of automatic but might do it through the play-off's

Season ticket holders 5,969 @ £242 average ticket price £16.20

Estimated value £875k (Loan Debt £475k)

The transfers

The squad

Another Job offer think I'm off again boys but this time I applied for it because it's a bit 2 cold up north , plus I'm going to cost £30k

I leave the club in a decent position

So it will be my 5th job in 3 years