Ards F.C. is a Northern Irish football club playing in IFA Championship 1. The club, founded in 1902, is from Newtownards, but plays its home matches at Dixon Park in Ballyclare, which it shares with Ballyclare Comrades. Club colours are red and blue.
The club has suffered severe financial problems in recent times. This resulted in the club having to sell its ground, Castlereagh Park, to property developers. The club has shared grounds with Cliftonville, Carrick Rangers, Bangor and now Ballyclare Comrades. Plans for a new ground in Newtownards are stalled at the planning stage with no sign of progress. Relegation out of senior football in 2006 (for the first time since 1923) has meant a struggle for this historic football club, with the loss of players and lower attendances.
Castlereagh Park
Ards FC were forced to sell their Castlereagh Park home in 1998 to try and reduce their crippling debts. The stadium remained well tended for another three years while ambitious plans for a new ground further down the road were developed. Sadly in 2002 Castlereagh Park was demolished, as planned. The new stadium was supposed to have been ready in time for the demolition but in 2007 it remains a wasteland. As for Ards, they are now the nomads of Northern Irish football.
Honours
Senior honours
Intermediate honours
† Won by Ards II (reserve team)
Current squad
As of Sun 25th Jan 2009
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| 1 |
 |
GK |
Andy McDonald |
| 13 |
|
GK |
Lee Rutherford |
| 2 |
|
DF |
Darren Nixon |
| 3 |
|
DF |
Kris Pike |
| 4 |
|
DF |
Gary Spence |
| 12 |
|
DF |
Jonny Cleary |
| 19 |
|
DF |
James Wilson |
| 5 |
|
MF |
Jim McIlhagga |
| 22 |
|
MF |
Aaron Mckee |
| 6 |
|
MF |
David Irvine |
| 7 |
|
MF |
Craig McMillen |
|
|
|
Staff
- Life Patron: Lady Mairi Bury
- Chairman: Brian Adams
- Treasurer: J Bailie
- Company Secretary: Mark Jackson
- Manager: Tommy Kincaid
- Assistant Manager: Justin McBride
- First-team Coach: Andy Harwood
- First-team Attendant: Alan Gregg
- Under 18 Manager: Lee Forsythe
- Football Secretary: Brian Adams
- Directors: Brian Adams, Jim Bailie, Tom Graham, Billy McCully, Ronnie Bailie, Jenny Graham, Tom Beggs, John Black
- PA Announcer: Ivor Edgar
- Website Editor: Andrew McCullough
- Programme Editor: Adrian Monaghan
Representatives
- Rep. to Irish Premier League Brian Adams
- Rep. to Irish Football Association Brian Adams
- Rep. to County Antrim Football Association Tom Graham
- Rep. to Youth League Keith Bailie aka Bish
Managers
| Tenure |
Manager |
| 1935 |
Tom Adamson |
| 1937-1939 |
Sam Patton |
| 1947-1948 |
Ronnie Dellow |
| 1949-1950 |
Harry Walker |
| 1950-1951 |
John Reid |
| 1951-1953 |
Isaac McDowell |
| 1953-1959 |
George Eastham Snr |
| 1959 |
Jimmy Tucker |
| 1959-1960 |
Len Graham |
| 1960-1963 |
Tom Ewing |
| 1963-1964 |
Johnny Neilson |
| 1964-1970 |
George Eastham Snr |
| 1970-1978 |
Billy Humphries |
| 1978-1979 |
Joe Kincaid |
| 1979-1980 |
Billy Nixon |
| 1980-1982 |
Billy Humphries |
| 1983-1985 |
Lawrence Walker |
| 1985-1987 |
Jimmy Todd |
| 1987 |
John Reaney |
| 1988-1989 |
Jimmy Todd |
| 1989-1990 |
Peter Dornan |
| 1990-1991 |
Bertie Mcminn &
Ray Morrison |
| 1991-1992 |
Roy Coyle |
| 1992-1993 |
Paul Malone |
| 1993-1997 |
Roy Coyle |
| 1997 |
George Bowden |
| 1997-1999 |
Tommy Cassidy |
| 1999-2001 |
Trevor Anderson |
| 2001-2003 |
Frankie Parks |
| 2003-2005 |
Shane Reddish |
| 2005-2006 |
George Neill |
| 2006 |
Gary Hillis |
| 2006-Present |
Tommy Kincaid |
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
