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Nelson Football Club are an English football club, based in Nelson, Lancashire. They are currently in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division, and play their home matches at Victoria Park.
History
The club was founded in 1881, and originally played its home matches at Seedhill. They joined the Lancashire League in 1891 (which was subsumed into the Lancashire Combination in 1903), and although expelled in 1899, they were readmitted in 1900. The club closed down in 1916, but reformed at the end of the First World War, and joined the Central League.
In 1921, the club joined the Football League as a founder member of Third Division North. Their first league game against the now-defunct Wigan Borough attracted a record attendance of 9,000, and their first season in the Football League ended with a 16th-place finish.
The next season was arguably the most successful in the club's history. They finished as champions of Third Division North, and were promoted to the Second Division. In addition, during their pre-season tour in the summer of 1923, the club famously became the first British team to beat Real Madrid, when they won 4-2.
The club were relegated back to the Third Division North in their first season in the Second Division, having finished 21st out of 22. New record attendances of 14,000 (vs. Darlington) and 14,143 (vs. Bradford (Park Avenue)) were set during the mid-1920s. Though these record attendances may seem reasonably low for a professional football club in England, it should be borne in mind that the town's population was less than 40,000 at its peak.
In the late 1920s, the club began to struggle, and was eventually voted out of the Football League at the end of the 1930-31 season, being replaced by Chester City. The club dropped back into the Lancashire Combination, but folded again in 1936.
Following the Second World War, the club was reformed in 1946, and immediately rejoined the Lancashire Combination, which they won in 1950 and 1952, but narrowly failed to win re-election to the Football League. The Lancashire Combination lost many of its clubs to the newly-formed Northern Premier League in 1968. However, Nelson remained in the Combination. During this period, Seedhill was demolished to make way for the new M65 motorway, and the club moved to their present ground at Victoria Park.
In 1982, the club became founder members of the new North West Counties League, in which they were assigned to the Third Division. In 1987, the Third Division was scrapped, and Nelson were moved up to the Second Division. However, due to the poor state of their Victoria Park stadium, the club was expelled and forced to play in the West Lancashire League for four seasons, before being readmitted to the North West Counties Second Division. They remained there until 2006, when promotion to the First Division was achieved.
Since losing their league status, the club has managed to reach the first round of the FA Cup on two occasions: in 1932-33, when they lost to Southport, and in 1950-51, when they beat Witton Albion 1-0 before losing 3-2 to Port Vale in the second round.
Stadium
Nelson play at Victoria Park. It has a capacity of up to 2,000 specatators, 1,900 standing. The club moved to Victoria Park in 1968 after their previous ground, Seedhill, was demolished to make way for the M65 motorway.
Current squad
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| -- |
 |
GK |
Billy Carrington |
| -- |
|
GK |
Chris Thompson |
| -- |
|
DF |
Darren Wright |
| -- |
|
DF |
Marc Berry |
| -- |
|
DF |
Mark Taylor |
| -- |
|
DF |
Ben Walker |
| -- |
|
DF |
Luke Hargreaves |
| -- |
|
MF |
Lee Kershaw |
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|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| -- |
|
MF |
Alex Miller |
| -- |
|
MF |
Martin Payne |
| -- |
|
FW |
Alex Mugan |
| -- |
|
FW |
Sam Heap |
| -- |
|
DF |
Jake Anderson |
| -- |
|
MF |
Paul Crorken |
| -- |
|
MF |
Stephen Hobin |
| -- |
|
FW |
Yasser Ahmed |
|
Honours
Football League Third Division (North)
- Champions 1922/23
- Runners-up 1924/25
Lancashire League
Lancashire Combination
- Champions 1949/50, 1951/52
- Runners-up 1947/48, 1950/51, 1960/61
North East Lancashire League
Hospital Cup
Lancashire Combination Cup
- Winners 1949/50, 1950/51, 1959/60
Bridge Shield
George Watson Trophy
Green Bank Shield
- Winners 1988/89, 1990/91, 1991/92
Jim Towler Trophy
North West Counties League Division Two Trophy
Famous players/managers
- Joe Fagan - player/manager 1951-53. Joe later went on to manage Liverpool, winning the treble in his first season as manager.
- Joe Eddleston - player 1921-26. Joe's 22 goals helped seal the Third Division North title in the 1922/23 season. He later transferred to Swindon Town where he formed a successful partnership with the prolific Harry Morris.
- Jimmy Hampson - player 1925-27. Free-scoring Jimmy was famously poached by Blackpool while watching a film at the cinema. He continued his prolific goalscoring with the Seasiders. He was lost at sea during a fishing trip in 1938.
External links
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Abbey Hey | AFC Fylde | Alsager Town | Ashton Athletic | Atherton Collieries | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | Bacup Borough | Colne | Congleton Town | Flixton | Formby | Glossop North End | Maine Road | Nelson | New Mills | Newcastle Town | Ramsbottom United | Runcorn Linnets | Silsden | Squires Gate | St Helens Town | Winsford United
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| League competitions |
The FA |
Cup competitions |
| Premier League |
England (B) (C) |
FA Cup |
| The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) |
(U-21) (U-20) (U-19) |
Football League Cup |
| Football Conference (Nat, N, S) |
(U-18) (U-17) (U-16) |
FA Community Shield |
| Northern Premier (Prem, 1N, 1S) |
List of clubs |
Football League Trophy |
| Southern League (Prem, 1Mid, 1S&W) |
List of venues |
FA Trophy |
| Isthmian League (Prem, 1N, 1S) |
(by capacity) |
Conference League Cup |
| English football league system |
List of leagues |
FA Vase |
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Records |
FA NLS Cup |
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Foreign players |
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