Accrington Stanley F.C.

Accrington had been without a football team following the collapse of the original Accrington Stanley in 1966. The original team had been formed in 1891 and played in the Football League from 1921 to March 1962, but had spent its final four seasons in the Lancashire Combination. At a meeting at Bold Street Working Men's Club in 1968 the revival was initiated, and in August 1970 the new club played at a new ground, the Crown Ground.[2] Eric Whalley, a local businessman, took control of the club in 1995 and began the development of the club's ground. After the club was relegated in 1999, Whalley appointed John Coleman as manager.

The club's rise to the Football League is attributed in part to the windfall of hundreds of thousands of pounds reaped by the sell-on clause in the December 2001 transfer of former Stanley star Brett Ormerod to Southampton, which paid Blackpool over a million pounds for his contract. Stanley had taken £50,000 from Blackpool in 1997, with the agreement that Blackpool would pay Accrington a quarter of what it might have received if it in turn transferred Ormerod to another team. The 2002–03 championship of the Northern Premier League followed quickly on Accrington getting the cash.

In May 2003, the club was promoted for the first time in history to the Football Conference, following its win of the Northern Premier League. The club's first-ever game in the league was away to another reformed club, Aldershot Town, on Sunday 10 August 2003. The game was shown live on Sky Sports and resulted in a 2–1 loss. The season was a success, with a final league position of 10th being achieved. The highlight of that first season in the 5th tier was a run to the FA Cup 3rd round, losing in a replay at League One side Colchester United.

In 2004, Accrington Stanley turned professional. The following 2004–05 season, Stanley yet again achieved a final position of 10th placed, with Stanley legend Paul Mullin amongst the top goal scorers yet again, adding another 20 to his tally.

Stanley's stay in the Conference didn't last long, with the club returning to the Football League at the end of the 2005–06 season. Finishing on 91 points, the club went on a 19-game unbeaten run stretching from October to March, leaving the club an easy passage to League Two. The likes of Paul Mullin, Rob Elliot and Gary Roberts led the club back to the league after 46 years away.

The club's first Football League game took place on 5 August 2006 away to Chester City; it resulted in a 2–0 loss. The club was involved in a relegation battle throughout its first season in the fourth tier. A run of 5 wins in the last 9 games of the season led to a 20th-place finish and was enough to save the club from relegation in its first season back in the Football League.

Highlights of that first season back included the club's first-ever Football League Cup match against former European Cup winners Nottingham Forest. The game resulted in a 1–0 win, leaving the club a 2nd-round away tie against then Premier League team Watford, eventually losing 6–5 on penalties after a 0–0 draw and extra-time. The club also took part in the Football League Trophy for the first time as a league club (after playing in the two previous seasons as one of 12 Conference sides, beating Bradford City away in September 2004) and, after defeating Carlisle United and Blackpool in the early rounds, were knocked out by Doncaster Rovers in the Area Quarter-finals.

The 2007–08 season produced more of the same, with the club involved in another relegation battle with strugglers Chester City, Wrexham and Mansfield Town. 5 wins in the final 12 games were enough to secure a 17th-place finish and another season in the 4th tier of English Football. However, the club failed to win a game in the FA Cup and League Cup, losing to Huddersfield Town and Leicester City respectively.

Performance during the 2008–09 season improved, with the club achieving a modest 16th-place finish in League Two. A run of 6 League wins in the last 12 games was a nice way to finish the season. This season saw the emergence of young prospect Bobby Grant, who finally fulfilled the early promise seen in previous seasons. The club again failed to make it past the early round of any of the domestic cups, losing in the first round to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup and Tranmere Rovers in both the FA Cup (albeit after a replay) and Football League Trophy.

The 2009–10 season was far better, with the club pushing for a playoff place at the turn of the year. A run of 9 wins in 10 League games saw the club with a chance of making the playoffs, only for this to fade in March/April. The emergence of the Michael Symes and Bobby Grant partnership was a key aspect and, following their achievements throughout the season, both moved on to bigger clubs. In terms of cup performance the club was superb, reaching the 2nd round of the League Cup losing only 2–1 to Queens Park Rangers, the quarter-finals of the Football League Trophy losing 2–0 to Leeds United, and the 4th round of the FA Cup losing 3–1 to Premier League team Fulham.

The club reached the Football League Two play-offs during the 2010–11 season, one of the most successful in its history. A run of 1 loss in 19 games, from February till May, saw the club finish in a best-ever 5th position, eventually losing to League Two newcomers Stevenage in the Playoff Semi-finals. The season saw the emergence of Jimmy Ryan as a star in the making, along with a number of others, including goalkeeper Alex Cisak and midfielder Sean McConville. In the domestic cups, Stanley reached the 2nd round of the League Cup, losing 3–2 to Premier League team Newcastle United. The club actually won the 1st-round game of the Football League Trophy away to Tranmere Rovers, but was then forced to resign from the competition after fielding the ineligible Ray Putterill in the game. The club also reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup, but lost to fellow League Two side Port Vale.

2011–12 was a season of transition for the club. The loss of no less than six of the playoff-chasing side of the previous season was a tough act to follow. Following a shaky start to the season the arrival of Bryan Hughes in October transformed the club's fortunes. A run of 6 wins in 7 games over the Christmas period saw the club briefly enter the play-offs. However, following the sale of club captain Andrew Procter to Preston North End in the January 2012 transfer window, the third-longest serving management team of John Coleman and Jimmy Bell departed for Rochdale. Former Burnley and club favourite Paul Cook was brought in as manager, along with the promotion of Leam Richardson from caretaker manager to full-time assistant. Only 3 wins in the final 17 games of the season was a pretty poor finish the season. However, this meant the club achieved a solid mid-table finish in 14th position. In terms of the domestic cups Stanley exited both the League Cup and FA Cup at the 1st round stages, losing to Scunthorpe United and Notts County respectively. The club reached the second round of the Football League Trophy, after knocking out holders Carlisle United, but lost to Tranmere Rovers in the 2nd round after an eventual replay. This was following a serious head injury to young defender Thomas Bender in the initial tie.

On 28 October 2015, the board of Accrington Stanley voted to approve local businessman Andy Holt's takeover of the club. Holt, whose company What More UK sponsored, and still sponsor, Stanley's Wham Stadium, attained a majority share of 75% in Accrington Stanley, in return for clearing the club's £1.2m debt as well as providing the club with further funds of £600,000. Stanley's chairman, Peter Marsden, remained as chairman whilst five new people joined the club's board.[3] At the time of the takeover, Stanley had been on the verge of folding due to crippling debts and its inability to fund day-to-day running costs, including wages and its suppliers.[4] Due to its precarious financial situation, the club had been accepting sponsorship deals at a value lower than what should have been demanded.

Holt's involvement with Stanley began in July 2015, when Holt attended Stanley's pre-season friendly at home against local rivals Burnley, which they won 4–2. It was during this game that Holt got an insight into the dire state of Stanley, having discovered that the club's bar was unable to serve spectators as a result of its failure to pay its suppliers.[5] In his first season as owner of the club, the 2015–16 Football League Two season, the club narrowly missed out on promotion to League One on the final day of the season, having been held to a 0–0 draw with Stevenage. Stanley were then defeated in the semi-final of the League Two play-offs, losing 3–2 on aggregate to AFC Wimbledon, with Wimbledon going on to defeat Plymouth Argyle 2–0 in the play-off final. At the end of the season, Stanley lost several of its players who had helped spur them on a promotion push, such as Tom Davies, Ross Etheridge and Josh Windass, who had agreed contracts with clubs in a position to offer higher wages than Stanley had been able to. With Windass and Crooks being under-24, Stanley received £120,000 for the duo's transfer to Rangers.[6]

During the 2016–17 pre-season, Stanley made several improvements to the facilities on offer at the Crown Ground, including the replacement of vendors with its own in-house service. It was also during the 2016–17 pre-season that Stanley's chairman, Marsden, stepped down after a decade at the helm of the club.[7] Marsden was replaced by Holt in the position. In the following 2016–17 season, Stanley finished mid-table in 13th position, having struggled to replicate its promotion push from the season before. The club had, however, enjoyed a run to the fourth round of the FA Cup, with a 1–0 defeat away to Middlesbrough putting an end to their cup campaign.[8]

At the end of the 2017–18 season, Stanley won the League Two, with their 2–0 win over Yeovil Town on 17 April 2018 sealing promotion.[9][10] In their first season in League One finished the season in 14th place.[9]

In January 2020, Stanley icon Billy Kee announced his retirement from professional football,[11] having battled with mental health issues that had seen Kee last appear for Stanley the previous season. In honour of the forward, Stanley announced that they were to retire Kee's 29 shirt number.[12]

Stanley were relegated to League Two in 2022–23 after finishing second from bottom in League One.[9]

As of 28 August 2023[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Toby Savin 2 DF  ENG Lewis Shipley (on loan from Norwich City) 3 DF  AUS Jay Rich-Baghuelou 4 DF  ENG Kelvin Mellor 5 DF  ENG Brad Hills (on loan from Norwich City) 6 MF  NIR Liam Coyle 7 MF  ENG Shaun Whalley 8 MF  ENG Ben Woods 9 FW  ENG Matt Lowe 10 MF  ENG Joe Pritchard 11 MF  ENG Sean McConville 12 MF  ENG Sebastian Quirk 13 GK  ENG Liam Isherwood 14 DF  ENG Rosaire Longelo 15 DF  GNB Baba Fernandes 16 DF  ENG Joe Gubbins (on loan from Queens Park Rangers) 17 MF  ENG Jack Nolan 18 MF  ENG Tommy Leigh

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  ENG Josh Andrews (on loan from Birmingham City) 20 MF  ENG Oliver Patrick 21 GK  SCO Jon McCracken (on loan from Norwich City) 22 MF  ENG Dan Martin 23 DF  ENG Bailey Sloane 24 MF  FRA Emerich Poilly 25 DF  ENG Aaron Pickles 26 FW  IRL Leslie Adekoya 27 MF  NIR Lewis Trickett 28 MF  IRL Seamus Conneely (captain) 30 MF  ENG Alex Henderson 31 FW  ENG Owen Devonport 32 FW  ENG Jack Massey 33 FW  ENG Anjola Popoola 38 DF  ENG Connor O'Brien 39 FW  ENG Josh Woods 55 FW  NGA Korede Adedoyin 61 GK  ENG Jack McIntyre

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 FW  ENG Billy Kee (2009–10, 2015–20)[22]

In a PFA Fans' Favourites survey published by the Professional Footballers' Association in December 2007, Chris Grimshaw was listed as the all-time favourite player amongst Accrington Stanley fans.[23]