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| Full name | Farsley Celtic Association Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Villagers, the Celts | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| Ground | Throstle Nest Farsley Leeds West Yorkshire (Capacity: 3,900 (400 Seated)) |
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| Chairman | Vacant | ||
| Manager |  Neil Parsley |
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| League | Conference North | ||
| 2008–09 | Conference North, 19th | ||
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Farsley Celtic Association Football Club are an English football club based in Farsley, in the City of Leeds. The club is known by the nicknames of the Villagers and the Celts; their colours are blue and white. The club were preparing to play in the Conference North for a second season having been relegated following a season in the Conference National in 2007/08, but were removed from the Conference North by the ruling body on July 3 2009, for financial irregularities, leaving them with no alternative league to play in. [1] [2] [3]
However that decision was reversed on July 10 2009, but they started the Conference North season on -10 points. After a good start which soon removed the 10 point deduction the club was folded by the administrators. Founded in 1908, the club have spent their entire existence to date in non-league football, where they have won several titles in Northern England. In the FA Cup, the club has reached the First Round twice to play league opposition. On 4 September 2009 it was announced that Farsley Celtic had folded. However, shortly afterwards they were given a reprieve after possible new investors contacted the club.
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History
Farsley Celtic was founded in 1908 by a group of local men from the village of Farsley. During their earliest years, Farsley competed in local leagues around the Leeds area and Hospital Cups. As the club moved into the 1920s they moved to a more permanent ground at Red Lane, opposite Farsley Cricket Club.
After the Second World War ended the club purchased their current ground of Throstle Nest from the local council, where they played their first match in 1948 against West Yorkshire side Frickley Athletic.
Yorkshire League
The Villagers moved up a level for the 1949-50 season, into the Yorkshire League Division Two where they finished eighth during their first season and scored 100 goals in 34 games, however they also conceded heavily[4]. By the 1951-52 season Farsley Celtic were Yorkshire League Division Two champions and as thus, were promoted to the Yorkshire League Division One, which was its top level.
By the mid-1950s, Farsley had started to steady themselves in the upper half of the Yorkshire League. During the 1954-55 season they also had a notable run in the FA Cup, where they reached the Fourth Qualifying Round, going out to Wigan Athletic 3-1. After two consecutive seasons of finishing runners-up, Farsley were champions of the Yorkshire League in 1959-60; however the club were not promoted due to failing to measure up to ground regulations.
Through-out the 1960s the club were stable within the Yorkshire League, always finishing within the top 7 places. For the second time in their history, the Celts were crowned champions of the league in 1968-69 but again were not promoted to a higher level. They came runners-up twice in the early 1970s, proving themselves to be among the best in the league.
In the FA Cup, Farsley Celtic reached the First Round in 1974, the game was against Football League Division Three side Tranmere Rovers at Elland Road before a crowd of 11,000, it ended 2-0 to Tranmere. The rest of the decade for the West Yorkshire club was largely unremarkable, as they bounced between the Yorkshire League Divisions One and Two.
Northern Leagues: 1980s and 1990s
In 1982, the Yorkshire and Midland Leagues merged to form the Northern Counties East League. Celtic started in Division One North and for the first two seasons they finished 3rd, in 1984-85 they won the Division One North championship and were promoted to the Northern Counties East League Premier Division.
It didn't take the club long to rise up that league either, after only two seasons in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, they finished as runners-up to Alfreton Town and were invited into the Northern Premier League as founding members of the Northern Premier League First Division. Farsley's first slew of seasons in the Northern Premier League First Division often saw the club near the bottom end of the table, this pattern continued on until the mid to late 1990s where they finished in the top six for three seasons in a row. Farsley had striker Robbie Whellans scoring 25 goals regularly a season in the 1990s.
Upper regions of non-league
Farsley finished third in the 2003-04 season and earned themselves promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division. Their stay in the Northern League Premier Division was short but productive, in their first season they finished 3rd and then the following season, after a fourth place finish they won promotion to the Conference North after defeating North Ferriby United 2-1 after extra time in the Northern Premier League play off final in May 2006.
Farsley reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup for only the second time in their history, during the 2006-07 season, after beating Cambridge City 2-1 in the 4th Qualifying Round. They were drawn against Milton Keynes Dons and held them to a 0-0 draw[5], before being defeated 2-0 in a heated replay at the National Hockey Stadium[6]. In the Conference North, the club also performed well and reached the play-off finals after finishing in 5th, they played Hinckley United for the chance to be promoted into the Conference National. In a memorable match Farsley took the lead early on through Gareth Grant. However Hinckley hit back with a quickfire double to go in at half time 2-1 ahead. Farsley equalised through Damien Reeves late in the second half but again the Leicestershire outfit took the lead with a 3rd goal. All looked dead and buried until first a Ryan Crossley header then a Simeon Bambrook penalty for the winning 4th goal confirmed the Villagers promotion to the top flight of non league football for the first time in their history.[7]
The promotion meant that for the first time, only two leagues separated them from locals Leeds United (just six miles away) and one league separated them from Bradford City who are four miles away from Farsley. However Farsley were relegated at the end of the 2007-08 season back to the Conference North, widening the gap once more, but Leeds United's possible promotion via the play-offs were ended with a 1-0 loss to Doncaster Rovers at Wembley Stadium, preventing the gap being widened even more so.
Possible name change
Farsley Celtic announced in July 2007 that they were considering changing their name to FC Leeds or Leeds Celtic because Farsley is not well known and so their fanbase is small. Farsley chairman Andy Firbank said: "If we need to change our name to take us up another level from a crowd support point of view then that's what we need to do."[8] In January 2008, Firbank confirmed that the club still planned a name change at the end of the season with the name Farsley Celtic Leeds, which would then be shortened to FC Leeds, his personal choice for the new name.[9] However, as of 2009 no name change has taken place.
Ground Development & Administration
Years of success began to catch up on the club and unpaid taxes began to grow. In 2008, land adjacent to the ground was going to be sold off for re-development; however Leeds City Council rejected planning permission, concluding that the development of the Greenfields could not be supported. The recession meant that the value of the land decreased significantly. Former chairman Andy Firbank continued to campaign for the development during September and October 2008 and was able to lodge another planning application which was met with a positive response by committee members but was ultimately rejected. On May 27th 2009, it was announced by club president John Palmer that the club were "owing at least £200,000 in unpaid taxes". Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs told the club that they would have to attend a 'winding-up' hearing at the high court of London and refused a request to adjurn the hearing pending on the formal appointment of an administrator. It looked like it was going to be the end of the 101-year-old club but on the evening of June 30th it was announced that the club would enter administration with Robert Adamson and Philip Lyon of Mazars LLP, which meant the club would not have to travel to the hearing the following day.
Players
- As of 24 July 2009.
Current squad
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Notable former players
- Chris Brandon
- Paul Madeley
- Lee Duxbury
Amjad Iqbal- Craig Midgley
- Anthony Lloyd
- David Walls
- Thomas Hallam
- Micah Richards (Youth Player)[10]
- Denis Metcalf
Stuart McCall (Youth Player)
Notable former managers
Staff
- Manager: Neil Parsley
- Assistant Manager: Simeon Bambrook
- First Team Coach: Mark Jackson
- Reserve Team Manager: Glenn Walton
- Reserve Team Assistant Manager: Harvey Dean
- Under-19s Manager: Mark Jackson
- Scout: Nathan Johnson
- Physio: Gary Liversedge
- Kitman: Alan Hirst
- President: John Palmer
- Chairman: Vacant
- General Directors- TBC
- Football Club Secretary/ Ground Safety Officer: Josh Greaves
- Commercial Manager: Michael Binns
- Matchday Hospitality Manageresses: Margaret Lobley
- Programme Editor/Press Officer: James Grayson
Honours
- Conference North
- Promoted: 2006-07
- Northern Premier League
- Promoted: 2005-06
- Northern Premier League Division One
- Promoted: 2003-04
- Northern Counties East League Premier Division
- Runners-up: 1986-87
- Northern Counties East League Division One North
- Champions: 1984-85
- West Riding County Cup
- Winners: 1957-58, 1959-60, 1966-67, 1970-71, 1983-84, 1987-88, 1994-95, 1996-97, 2000-01, 2005-06
- Yorkshire Football League
- Champions: 1959-60, 1968-69
- Runners-up: 1957-58, 1958-59, 1970-71, 1971-72
- Yorkshire Football League Division Two
- Champions: 1951-52
- Promoted: 1976-77, 1980-81
- Yorkshire Football League Division Three
- Champions: 1961-62, 1962-63[11]
- Runners-up: 1963-64
References
- ^ BBC.co.uk
- ^ BBC.co.uk
- ^ Farsley Today
- ^ FCHD.info
- ^ BBC.co.uk
- ^ BBC.co.uk
- ^ BBC.co.uk
- ^ "Farsley Celtic ponder name change". BBC Sport. 2007-07-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/farsley_celtic/6916178.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ Walker, Wendy (2008-01-13). "Celts in hunt for big-name players". Yorkshire Evening Post. http://news.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/yorkshire-soccer/Celts-in-hunt-for-bigname.3667565.jp. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
- ^ Farsley Celtic AFC
- ^ All Yorkshire League Division Three results achieved by Farsley Celtic reserves
External links
- Farsley Celtic AFC official website
- Forza Farsley - Unofficial website
- Farsley Celtic news at FarsleyToday.co.uk
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