User:Abcmaxx/Scarborough Town F.C.

Scarborough Town Football Club were an English football club from Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They formed in 2008 following the demise of Scarborough F.C. in 2007, and won two successive championships (Teesside League Division Two and Wearside League) to earn promotion to the Northern Counties East League Division One. However, issues with planning permission caused the NCEL to annul their membership and so the club did not play during the 2010–11 season. They were accepted into the Humber Premier League Division One for the 2011–12 season and won the title at their first attempt, also adding the League Cup and becoming the first Division One side ever to achieve this feat. The Premier Division season of 2012–13 was beset was problems including postponements and ground improvement problems, and at the end of the campaign the committee decided it had no option but to fold the club.

The club's existence was widely seen as a embodiment of the challenges relating to Scarborough F.C.'s demise, the problems with the McCain Stadium, and problems facing the other phoenix club Scarborough Athletic F.C. and the difficulties in rebuilding the town's football heritage.

History
Scarborough Town Football Club was founded as a consequence of the liquidation of Scarborough Football Club in 2007. The previous "Boro" had been one of the oldest clubs in the country, founded in 1879, and playing in a variety of competitions such as the Northern League, Midland League and the Northern Counties League before gaining entry to the new Northern Premier League in 1968. The club performed consistently well in the NPL and enjoyed great success in the newly introduced FA Trophy, winning three Wembley Finals. In 1979 the Alliance Premier League (later known as the Football Conference) was founded and Boro took a further step upwards. In 1987, under the guidance of manager Neil Warnock, the club won the Conference championship and became the first club to gain automatic promotion to The Football League. In 12 years in the Football League, Boro competed on level terms with the likes of Hull City, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, Wigan Athletic and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The League Cup brought encounters with the likes of Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Chelsea and Arsenal. In 1999 Boro were relegated from the Football League in dramatic circumstances, when Carlisle United's on-loan goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scored an injury time winner against Plymouth Argyle which condemned Boro to last place despite a reasonable return of 48 points from 46 games. Over the following few seasons back in the Conference, the club teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. 2003–04 brought a 15th-place finish in the Conference, with the highlight of the season being an FA Cup run ending in a 4th-Round defeat to Chelsea at the McCain Stadium. Chelsea and England defender John Terry scored the only goal of the game. In 2006 the club was in administration and the Conference forcibly relegated Boro to Conference North and slapped on a 10-point deduction and a transfer embargo. Despite a valiant struggle, Boro ended in a relegation position and were preparing for a return to the Northern Premier League when a High Court Judge ruled Boro insolvent and liquidated the club.

The gates of the McCain Stadium were padlocked, and the football ground site was bought by the local Council and earmarked for housing. However, the club's superb Centre of Excellence, Football in the Community scheme and youth team were preserved by moving them to George Pindar Community Sports College at Eastfield, with some additional help and support from Sheffield United F.C. The entire Boro team of volunteer youth coaches remained faithful to the club, and the youth team continued its membership of the Northern Under-19 Alliance under a new name of Scarborough Academy. The club continued to run teams at Under-12, Under-13, Under-14, Under-15, Under-16 and Under-19 levels, with fixtures against the likes of Hull City, Halifax Town, York City, Hartlepool United and others. The youth system continued to prosper and extended its scope to bring younger players from the age of eight into the training scheme, and then extended the system into an older age group by forming an adult team which entered the Teesside League in August 2008. This team is formed by young players who have progressed through the Scarborough FC / Scarborough Academy youth system and is known as Scarborough Town.

Scarborough Town played its first ever match, a pre-season friendly, at Hall Road Rangers on 12 July 2008 and won 3–1. A second friendly, at Hutton Cranswick, resulted in a 2–1 win. On 13 August 2008 they played their first competitive fixture, in Teesside League Division Two, which was won 5–0 at Teesside Athletic. Having begun the season with four away fixtures, the club played its first home game on 30 August 2008, watched by 223 spectators and resulting in a 3–0 win for Town over Grangetown YCC. Scarborough Town then remained unbeaten in the league throughout the season and rightly earned the championship title, rounding things off with a 12–0 win over Redcar Rugby Club in front of a crowd of 235. The club also progressed as far at the Quarter Final of the League Cup before losing to Nunthorpe Athletic, the eventual winners. Meanwhile the youth side completed a League and Cup double in the Northern Under-19 Alliance.

Scarborough Town then entered the Wearside League for 2009–10, winning its first game 6–1 at Jarrow on 8 August 2009. The club lost only two matches all season, powering their way to the league championship whilst scoring 140 goals in 36 matches – the highest tally by any club in the top eleven levels of English club football. The club also won the prestigious Sunderland Shipowners Cup, beating Teesside Athletic 3–2 in the Final. The club applied to join the Northern League, but the Football Association stated that the club was not within this league's "catchment area" and instructed the Club to apply to the Northern Counties East League. The club were admitted to membership at the NCEL AGM on the proviso that planning permission for floodlights was obtained; the club were included in the league fixture lists and cup draws. Scarborough Borough Council had received a planning application for floodlights and had promised the club that planning permission would be granted in good time, but there were a series of delays and eventually the NCEL annulled the membership to Scarborough Town. The club also pursued a move to the Athletic Ground, Scarborough F.C.'s former ground. After playing two pre-season friendlies in preparation for 2010–11, the club found itself with no league in which to play.

The club negotiated membership of the Central Midlands League for 2011–12 and passed a ground grading visit; however once again the Football Association felt that Scarborough Town did not fall within this league's catchment area and at very short notice instructed the club to apply to the Humber Premier League. The Humber Premier League AGM granted membership to Scarborough Town. Town went on to win Division One of the HPL in their first season, boasting a hundred-per-cent home record, and also beat two Premier Division sides on their way to winning the HPL League Cup.

Relationship with Scarborough Athletic F.C.
Both Scarborough Town and Scarborough Athletic were formed after the demise of Football League club Scarborough F.C. in 2007. While both teams were run by former supporters of Scarborough F.C., Scarborough Town was based around the former club's Centre of Excellence and selected only players from the local area.

Scarborough Athletic had a reserve side that, in 2011–2012, competed against Scarborough Town in the Humber Premier League Division One. Scarborough Town won both league games by a wide margin, 5–1 and 6–1.

There have also been plans to merge the two clubs, but Scunthorpe Town was hostile towards the idea, as well as some opposition from a minority of Athletic's owners.

While efforts were made to develop positive links between the two clubs, there was said to be a level of antagonism amongst fans.

Youth and junior teams
Scarborough Town had a youth team in the Northern Under-19 Alliance but were excluded because the first team were unable to join a recognised league. The team won the Eastern Division of the Northern Under-19 Alliance in 2008–09 and again in 2009–10, also picking up the League Cup in 2008–09.

Programme
The 40-page match-day programme at Scarborough Town is called "Talk of the Town" and is sold for £1.

Stadium information

 * Name – McCain Sports Ground, Osgodby Lane, Cayton
 * Town – Scarborough
 * Capacity – 1,000
 * Pitch Size – 115 x 75 yards

Supporters
The club preferred to be referred to as "The Town" but many fans used the nickname "The Boro" which can be applied to any sports club from Scarborough.

Honours

 * Teesside Football League (division 2) – Champions 2008–09
 * Wearside League – Champions 2009–10
 * Sunderland Shipowners Challenge Cup – Winners 2009–10
 * Northern Under-19 Alliance (East) – Champions 2008–09 and 2009–10
 * Northern Under-19 Alliance League Cup – Winners 2008–09
 * Humber Premier League – Champions (Division One) 2011–12
 * Humber Premier League League Cup – Winners 2011–12

Records

 * Record Victories: 13–0 v Howden on 7 April 2012 in Humber Premier League and 12–0 v Redcar Rugby Club on 2 May 2009 in Teesside League
 * Record Defeat: 1–6 v Beverley Town (away)on 6 October 2012 in Humber Premier League.
 * Best League performance: Champions of Wearside League 2009–10

Attendances

 * Largest attendance : 428 v Ryhope CW on 8 May 2010, Wearside League