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| Full name | Bangor City Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Citizens | ||
| Founded | 1876 as Bangor F.C. | ||
| Ground | Farrar Road Bangor Gwynedd (Capacity: 1,500 (700 seated)) |
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| Chairman |  Dilwyn Jones |
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| Manager |  Neville Powell |
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| League | Welsh Premier League | ||
| 2008–09 | Welsh Premier League, 6th | ||
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Bangor City Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl Droed Dinas Bangor) are a semi-professional Welsh football club from the City of Bangor. The club compete in the Welsh Premier League, being ever present since the league was founded in 1992[1].
Founded in 1876, Bangor City have played in the inaugural season on the Welsh Cup and the UEFA Europa League, along with being founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the Welsh League (North), the Northern Premier League, the Alliance Premier League and the League of Wales.
The club's home colours have traditionally been Royal blue shirts, Royal blue shorts and Royal blue socks, although over the years home colours have varied to include Royal blue and yellow[2] and scarlet and Royal blue[2].
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History
Bangor City F.C. is one of Wales' older football clubs, and has an illustrious history of competition in Europe. They were founder members of the North Wales Coast League in 1893, the Welsh National League in 1921, the North Wales Combination in 1930, the Welsh League (North) in 1935, the Northern Premier League in 1968, the Alliance Premier League (now Football Conference) in 1979, and in 1992 the League of Wales.
In the 1961/62 season, Bangor City won the Welsh Cup, and consequently were entered in the European Cup Winners' Cup for the first time. In the first round, Bangor were drawn against the Italian Cup winners, Napoli, at the time one of Europe's greatest football teams. A thrashing was confidently expected. In the first leg, played at Farrar Road, unexpectedly Bangor won 2-0; three weeks later, in front of a crowd of 80,000 in Naples, the result was 3-1 in Napoli's favour. Under modern rules, Bangor would have progressed under the "away goals" rule, but at the time the tie was drawn 3-3 and a playoff had to be played, at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium, in London (this was the first ECWC tie played at Highbury), and this time AS Napoli won 2-1, scoring the winner seven minutes from the end of the match, to put an end to Bangor's dreams for the moment.
In 1979/80 they would co-found the Alliance Premier League, which would become the English game's de facto fifth division.
On 12 May, 1984 Bangor became the first Welsh club to play at Wembley since Cardiff in 1927, when they reached the FA Trophy final against Northwich Victoria. The match finished 1-1, with local boy Paul Whelan scoring for Bangor. The replay was played in Stoke's Victoria Ground, and despite a goal from another Bangor lad (Phil Lunn), Bangor lost 2-1 in the last minute.
In 1985 Bangor City were back in the ECWC, in the first round drawn against the Norwegian cup winners, Fredrikstad. The first leg in Norway was a 1-1 draw, while the return leg in Bangor was a 0-0 draw, resulting in Bangor progressing to the second round, where they were drawn against the mighty Spanish side Atlético Madrid. Atlético were expected to win easily, but in the event the first leg in Bangor was only won 2-0; in the return leg in Madrid, Bangor won much admiration with a dogged defence which only allowed Atlético one more goal, and Bangor saved an Atlético penalty kick.
In 1994 as League of Wales Champions, Bangor City entered the UEFA Cup. They were drawn against the Icelandic champions, IA Akranes, and were seriously hampered by UEFA's ruling that a team could only contain three foreigners - many of Bangor's team were English, and despite some creative genealogy it was not possible to field a full-strength Welsh side. Akranes won the leg in Bangor by 2-1 (the match was played in the close season when Bangor hadn't played a competitive match in three months), while Bangor lost the match in Iceland by 2-0.
In 1995 Bangor City retained the League of Wales championship, and this time drew the Polish champions Widzew Łódź in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup. Lodz were an extremely powerful side, having played Liverpool, Juventus and Manchester United in earlier campaigns, and quite simply outclassed Bangor City, winning 4-0 in Bangor and 1-0 in Lodz.
In 1998 Bangor were back in the Cup Winners' Cup, and were drawn against the Finnish side FC Haka. Unfortunately between winning the Welsh Cup and playing Haka, the manager and most of the team had left, so new manager John Hulse had the impossible task of putting together a completely new side, a week before the start of the Welsh football season (and three-quarters of the way through the Finnish football season). Unsurprisingly Bangor were well beaten, 2-0 at home, and 1-0 in Finland.
In 2005, the club was also duped into thinking they had signed the next Italian football legend, Alessandro Zarelli, who turned out to be a conman.[3][4]
In 2006 the club made it to the Welsh Cup final where they were beaten by nearby rivals and cup favourites Rhyl 2-0 at Wrexham's Racecourse ground. The game having turned on a controversial handball decision 3 minutes after the break when Paul O'Neill was adjudged to have handled the ball, the resulting spot kick gave Rhyl a decisive lead and a second goal added 12 minutes from the end broke Bangor hearts on the day.
The club managed to win back the Welsh Cup in 2008 by defying the odds and defeating league high fliers Llanelli 4-2 after extra time at Latham Park, Newtown. However, the game was marred by ugly scenes and stopped for 10 minutes following a pitch invasion by celebrating Bangor fans with Llanelli goalkeeper Duncan Roberts shoved to the ground.
The cup win meant that Bangor had yet again qualified for Europe and in the following seasons UEFA Cup they were drawn to face FC Midtjylland of Denmark. The first leg held at the Racecourse ground, Wrexham saw Bangor beaten heavily by the Danish side, losing 6-1 in the home leg, and 4-0 in the away leg.
Despite this early setback Bangor ended the 2008-09 season with yet more silverware as they retained the Welsh Cup by defeating Aberystwyth Town 2-0 in a match held at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli. The result maintained manager Neville Powells 100% record in the Welsh Cup competition since joining the Farrar Road club at the start of the 2007-08 season. En route to the final Bangor City managed to overcome traditional rivals Rhyl FC on penalties in the Fourth round. The Cup success now means that Bangor will participate in the inaugural Europa League competition entering at the 2nd qualifying round phase.
On 24 July 2009 Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, nephew of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, declared an interest in investing into the club after receiving his Economics doctorate from Bangor University, "I don't see any reason why my family wouldn't want to invest in the club. We love our football. This is something we will definitely look at in the near future." [5]
Stadium
When the club was first founded, Bangor played their home games on a small field called Maes-y-Dref in the Hirael area of the City. However, visiting teams often protested about the condition of the playing area and the cramped conditions[6]. Despite this Bangor remained at their Maes-y-Dref ground until being evicted to make way for allotments in 1919.
Needing to fulfill their home fixture in the league the club used the Bangor Cricket Club ground at Farrar Road. The Farrar Road ground has served as home to the club ever since and has also hosted two Welsh Senior Cup Finals in 1928 and 1953.
In the near future Bangor City will be relocating to a purpouse built Stadium near the Menai Straits at Nantporth.
Honours
League
- League of Wales:[1] 2
- Northern Premier League: 1
- North Wales Coast League: 2
- 1895–96, 1899–1900, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1905–06, 1907–08, 1918–19
Cups
- Welsh Senior Cup: 7
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup: 1
- 1969
- North Wales Coast Challenge Cup: 12
- 1927, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1947, 1951, 1958, 1965, 1968, 1993, 1999, 2005
- North Wales Coast Amateur Cup:[7] 9
- 1895, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1912
- North West Wales Challenge Cup: 1
- 1886
European record
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Second Qualifying Round |  |
FC Honka | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-3 |
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-63 | First Round |  |
Napoli | 2-0 | 1-3 | 3-3 (Napoli won playoff game 2-1 @ Highbury, London) |
| 1985-86 | First Round |  |
Fredrikstad | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1-1 (a) |
| Second Round |  |
Atlético Madrid | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-3 | |
| 1998-99 | Qualifying Round | |
FC Haka | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-3 |
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | Preliminary Round |  |
ÍA Akranes | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1-4 |
| 1995-96 | Preliminary Round |  |
Widzew Łódź | 0-4 | 0-1 | 0-5 |
| 2000-01 | Qualifying Round |  |
Halmstads BK | 0-7 | 0-4 | 0-11 |
| 2002-03 | Qualifying Round |  |
Smederevo | 1-0 | 0-2 | 1-2 |
| 2008-09 | Qualifying Round |  |
FC Midtjylland | 1-6 | 0-4 | 1-10 |
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | First Round |  |
Gloria Bistriţa | 0-1 | 2-5 | 2-6 |
| 2005 | First Round |  |
Dinaburg FC | 1-2 | 0-2 | 1-4 |
Biggest victories and losses
- Biggest win: Not recorded
- Biggest defeat: 0-12 v. Everton Reserves in the 1930s.
- Biggest League of Wales win: 9-0 v. Haverfordwest County in 1994.
- Biggest League of Wales defeat: 0-6 v. Holywell Town in 1992; 0-6 v. Cwmbran Town in 2000
Current squad
(Correct as of 7 March 2009)
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Managerial history
| Dates | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1876–1928 | Unknown | |
| 1928–?? | Sydney Beaumont |
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| 1932–1935 | Len Davies |
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| 1935–1936 | Harry Hadley |
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| 1937–1939 |  David Pratt |
Manager until the outbreak of WWII |
| 1948–1952 | George Richardson |
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| 1952–1957 | Ronald Depear |
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| 1957–1967 | T. G. Jones |
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| 1967–1970 |  Mick McGrath |
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| 1970 | Ken Barnes |
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| 1970–1972 | John Doherty |
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| 1972–1974 | Alex Smith |
Player-manager |
| 1974–1975 | Dick Jones |
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| 1975 | Barry Ashworth |
Caretaker player-manager |
| 1975–1976 | Roy Rees |
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| 1976–1978 | Dave Elliot |
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| 1978–1979 | Stuart Mason |
Player-manager |
| 1979–1980 | Stan Storton |
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| 1980–1981 | Hawkins | |
| 1981–1984 | Dave Elliot |
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| 1984-?? | John Mahoney |
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| ??-?? | John Aspinall |
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| ??-?? | Kevin Mooney |
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| ??-?? | Owen | |
| ??-1992 | John Mahoney |
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| 1992 | Ernie Walley |
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| 1992-93 | Paul Rowlands |
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| 1993-96 | Nigel Adkins |
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| 1996 | Bryan Griffiths |
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| 1996-1997 | Kevin Langley |
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| 1997-1998 | Graeme Sharp |
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| 1998 | John King |
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| 1998-1999 | Lee Williams |
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| 1999-2001 | Meirion Appleton |
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| 2001-2005 | Peter Davenport |
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| 2005-2006 | Mel Jones |
Caretaker manager |
| 2006 | Clayton Blackmore |
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| 2006-2007 | Steve Bleasdale |
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| 2007-present | Neville Powell |
Notable former players
- Alessandro Zarelli (from Sheffield Wednesday)
Dele Adebola (on loan from Crewe Alexandra 1993-1994)- Peter Aitken (1970-1972) 3 Wales U-23 caps
- Sam Ayorinde (1998-1999) Nigeria caps
- Tommy Banks 6 England caps
- Clayton Blackmore (2000-2006) 39 Wales caps
- Reggie Blore 4 Wales U-23 caps
- Terry Boyle (2000-2001) 2 Wales caps
- Warren Bradley (1964-1965) 3 England caps
- Mark Brennan (1996-1997) England B caps
- Les Cartwright 7 Wales caps
- Bobby Charlton (1 game in March 1978) 106 England caps
- Peter Corr 4 Rep of Ireland caps
- Peter Davenport (2001-2004) 1 England cap
- Dai Davies (1985) 52 Wales caps
- Les Davies (2003-2005); (2007-Present) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Simon Davies (2001-2003); (2004-2005) 1 Wales cap
- Malcolm Edwards 2 Wales U-23 caps
- Mike Foster (2000-2001) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Deiniol Graham (2000-2001) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Roy Gratrix (1965-1966) England B cap
Billy Hughes (1958-1960) 1 Northern Ireland cap- John Hughes (1971-1974); (1976-1983) 2 Wales U-23 caps
- Eifion Jones (2002-2005) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Frank Jones (1981-1983) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Kevin Langley (1994-1997) (League Champion with Everton 1986-87)
- Chris Lawler (1978-1979) 4 England caps
- Iam Lawther (1976-1977) 4 Northern Ireland caps
- Glan Letheran (1984) 1 Wales U-23 cap (also member of full squad)
- Brian Lloyd (1984-1985) 3 Wales caps
- Marc Lloyd-Williams (5 separate spells between 1994 and 2007, scoring 149 league goals in 189 appearances) Wales B-cap
- Alec Lucas (1967-1972) 1 Wales U-23 cap
- John McClelland (1975-1978) 53 Northern Ireland caps
- Mick McGrath (1967-1969) 22 Rep of Ireland caps
- Lee Martin (2005-2006) 2 England U-21 caps
- Leyton Maxwell (2005-2006) 14 Wales U-21 caps
- Jackie Mooney (1958-1960) 2 Rep of Ireland caps
- Eamon O'Keefe (1990) 5 Rep of Ireland caps
- Bryan Orritt (1954-1956) 3 Wales U-23 caps
- Stephen Pugh (1995) 2 Wales U-21 caps
- Neil Roberts (on loan from Wrexham 1996-1997) 4 Wales caps
- Paul Roberts (1999-2007) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Ron Roberts (1964-1965) 2 Wales U-23 caps
- Aled Rowlands (1999-2004) 5 Wales U-21 caps
- Tony Rowley (1961) 1 Wales cap
- Graeme Sharp (1997-1998) 12 Scotland caps
- David Smallman (1981) 7 Wales caps
- Neville Southall (1975-1976) 92 Wales caps
- Paul Whitfield (2004-2005) 1 Wales U-21 cap
- Phil Woosnam (1950-1951) 17 Wales caps
References
- ^ a b Prior to 2002 the Welsh Premier League was known as the League Of Wales
- ^ a b Bangor Historical Web site
- ^ "Alert over Italian soccer 'star'". BBC News. 2005-10-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/4326350.stm?SectionID=1014&ArticleID=1595920. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ "Sarreli turns out to be Italian conman". Fife Today. 2006-06-29. http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/sport/Sarreli-turns-out-to-be.1595920.jp. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2552325/Sheikh-Hazza-bin-Zayed-Al-Nahyan-eyes-up-Bangor-City-FC.html
- ^ The History of the Welsh Cup 1877-1993 by Ian Garland (1991) ISBN 1-872424-37-6
- ^ originally known as North Wales Coast Senior Cup
External links
- Bangor City home page
- The Independent Bangor City Football Club Historical Website
- The Citizens Choice
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