Histon F.C.

Histon

Full name	Histon Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Stutes
Founded	1904 (as Histon Institute)
Ground	Bridge Road, Impington (Capacity: 3,800 (1,700 seated))
Chairman	Tony Roach
Manager	Steve Fallon
League	Conference National
2008–09	Conference National, 3rd
Home colours Away colours

Histon Football Club is an English football club based in the twin villages of Histon and Impington, approximately 3 miles (5 km) north of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. Since the 2007–08 season they have competed in the Conference National, after having won and been promoted from the Conference South in 2006–07, the highest level that the club has ever reached in the English football league system. Their current manager is Steve Fallon.

Histon are nicknamed "The Stutes", originating from the club's previous name Histon Institute, and they play their home matches at Bridge Road in Impington. Histon's crest features a rose, the flower representing the rose-covered field given to the people of Histon & Impington in perpetuity for sporting activities in the community by local firm Chivers. Histon play in red and black, their traditional colours, with red and black striped jerseys, black shorts and black socks.^[1] Their current away kit is sky blue shirts, royal blue shorts and sky blue socks.

Histon's traditional rivals used to be Ely City, but the clubs have not met in recent years; Histon consider nearer neighbours Cambridge United as current-day rivals, as the two clubs are now in the same division.^[2]

History

20th Century

Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (November 2007)

The club was formed in 1904 as Histon Institute F.C. and played for many years in the Cambridgeshire Football League. John Chivers, the chairman of the major employer in Histon & Impington, the jam company Chivers, helped to found the Histon Institute in 1903, from where the football club has its origins.^[3] The company donated a field, then covered in roses, for the club to play on, which is commemorated in the rose on Histon's crest.

In 1960 the club (which by now had dropped the "Institute" from their name) joined the Delphian League, but just three years later this league disbanded. Histon, along with most of the other member clubs, joined the Athenian League. In 1966 they switched to the Eastern Counties League, where they were to play for nearly twenty-five years. When the ECL adopted a two-division format, in 1988, Histon were placed in the Premier Division. In the 1989–90 season Histon won the Jewson League Cup, but lost players Lance Key and Shaun Sowden to Sheffield Wednesday and Giuliano Maiorana to Manchester United.

In 1993 a new club committee was formed and the recovery started. They were relegated to Division One in 1995 but were promoted back up two years later. During this time manager Graham Daniels departed for Cambridge City, and this meant the arrival of Simon Allen and once again the standards were raised. He guided the first team back from the Eastern Counties League Division to the Premier Division. The 1997–98 season saw Neil Kennedy establish a club record by scoring 46 senior goals in the season, winning the golden boot for the League, and Histon finished 3rd.^[4] The club also won the Fair Play award for the third season running. In the same season, Sean Audley also established a club record by scoring the most goals recorded to date in one season. He scored a record 79 goals in the reserve side, and by doing so he earned himself the golden boot for the League top scorer. The following season produced another manager in Trevor Collins who took over the role and by doing so took the team to 4th in the league. But in the 1999–2000 season they won the Premier Division title under the management of another manager, former Cambridge United player Steve Fallon, and were promoted to the Southern Football League. The title was won on the last day of the season with a 2–1 defeat of Gorleston.^[4]

21st Century

The start of the 21st Century for Histon was slow, and in the first three seasons Histon managed 4th spot twice and a disappointing 10th which momentarily halted the fast rise they had experienced with Steve Fallon up the non-league pyramid. The 2003–04 season saw Histon finish 2nd in the Southern League's Eastern Division to claim promotion to the Premier Division, and they followed this up by winning the Premier Division championship at the first attempt, and with it promotion to Conference South, the highest level at which the club had ever played. In the same season, Histon took on League Two side Shrewsbury Town in the F.A Cup 1st Round Proper, setting up a 2nd Round tie at home to Yeovil Town with a 2–0 victory. They lost to Yeovil in the 2nd Round, but it did not affect their league performances as they clinched the Southern League Premier Division title on the last day of the season.

Bridge Road, viewing back of Main Stand and Red Gate Stand.

In their first season at this level Histon finished in 5th place, enough to secure a place in the play offs for promotion to the Conference National. They won their first game away at Farnborough Town 3–0, but lost 2–0 in the play-off final at Broadhall Way against St. Albans City.

In the FA Cup they managed to reach the second round proper after beating Hednesford Town in the first round. The team managed a draw away at Nuneaton Borough but were defeated in the replay at Bridge Road 2–1. They would have played Premier League club Middlesbrough if they had won. The second round replay saw 3,077 people at Bridge Road,^[5] the highest attendance of the whole season.^[6] The season was also notable for a 5–0 win against local rivals Cambridge United, for many years the "big" club in the region, in the FA Trophy.

The two mainstands under snow cover.

On the 14 April 2007, the Stutes beat Welling United 1–0 at Bridge Road to secure promotion to the Conference National for the first time in their history, Adrian Cambridge scoring the winner in the 89th minute. Two days previously, officials from the Conference had passed Bridge Road as fit for Conference football, paving the way for promotion - the club's 4th in 7 years - to the highest point in the football league pyramid reached in the club's history. In the same season striker Neil Kennedy got his 300th goal for the club with a hat-trick against Havant & Waterlooville.

In Histon's first season in the Conference National the Stutes played their first televised game, Setanta broadcasting their 1–0 home win against Oxford United. Later in the season the club broke their record home attendance when a crowd of 3,721 saw Histon beat local rivals Cambridge United 1–0 on January 1st 2008.^[7] Histon finished the season in 7th, two places and 9 points away from the play-offs,^[8] and bade farewell to the club's record goalscorer, Neil Kennedy. He played his last competitive game against Forest Green Rovers on the last day of the season in a substitute appearance.^[9]

Histon's second season of Conference started well, and the Stutes were top of the division during November.^[10] They finished third in the league season, qualifying for the play-offs, where they were defeated 2–1 on aggregate by Torquay United in the semi-final.^[11] In the FA Cup, Histon reached the third round for the first time after beating Football League opposition in Swindon Town 1–0 at home in the first round,^[12] and Leeds United 1–0 at home in the second round, the first time Leeds had lost to a non-league side.^[13] They lost 2-1 to Swansea City at home in the third round.

Histon's recent successful period has been under the management of Steven Fallon and John Beck, both former Cambridge United players. It is now believed that John Beck may be leaving the club, as he has not been seen at matches since the end of the 2008-09 season. Along with bought-in players such as Matthew Langston and John Kennedy, Fallon's team draws its foundations from local players that have risen through the ranks, such as Jamie Barker and Neil Andrews.

In November 2009, Gareth Baldwin ended his seventeen year tenure as chairman of the club when he was replaced by Tony Roach.^[14]

Leagues

• 1960 - Delphian League
• 1963 - Athenian League Division Two
• 1965 - Eastern Counties League Premier Division
• 1995 - Eastern Counties League Division One
• 1997 - Eastern Counties League Premier Division
• 2000 - Southern League Eastern Division
• 2004 - Southern League Premier Division
• 2005 - Conference South
• 2007 - Conference National

Ground

View from main grandstand at Bridge Road. Since taken, the terrace has been modified with seats put in.

Histon play at Bridge Road, also known as the Glassworld Stadium for sponsorship purposes. Due to the club's fast rise up the non-league system, the stadium has had to undergo major transformations, the latest being a new 500-seat stand contains headquarters for the Cambridgeshire FA. It was finished in late 2007, bringing the ground's seated capacity to over 1,000. Plans are also in place to build a new away stand due to The Football League regulations that require a 1,500 stand.^[15] The ground was graded as an A grade Non-League stadium on 7 January 2008 when delegates from the The Football League passed it fit to play Football League Two football, should Histon become eligible through promotion.^[16]

View from Red Gate stand.

Further ground improvements were started in early March 2008. Covered terracing for the whole of the 'Rec End' and a seated stand running the length of the pitch opposite the Main Stand are also now complete.

Reserves

Histon's reserve team are unusual in that they play at a high level of the National League System, only 4 divisions below the 1st team. They joined the Eastern Counties League Division One in 2001 and achieved second place in 2002. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division, after escaping relegation at the end of the 2007–08 season by winning 7 of their final 8 games,^[17] finishing two points above relegated Swaffham Town.^[18] The side has been managed by former players Neil Kennedy and Ossie Mintus since May 2008 when they took over from Ian Hart.^[19]

Players

As of 12 December 2009.^[20]

Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Danny Naisbitt 2 DF Adam Tann 3 DF Gareth Gwillim 4 MF Sam Long 5 DF Matt Langston 6 DF Adam Bygrave 9 FW Michael Frew 12 MF Andrew Tidswell 14 MF Daniel Sparks 15 MF Callum Stewart 17 FW Craig Hammond 18 MF Nathaniel Knight-Percival 19 MF Billy Crook (on loan from Peterborough United)

No. Position Player 20 MF Lee Brennan 21 DF Lanre Oyebanjo 22 FW Kieran Leabon 23 FW Daniel Wright 25 FW Lee Smith 27 GK Joe Welch 31 MF Jay Dowie 32 MF James Stevenson 33 DF Joe Stroud 34 FW Sam Mason-Smith 35 FW Lewis Taffe 36 DF Seb Baxter 37 DF Erkan Okay

Out on loan

No. Position Player 10 FW Bradley Hudson-Odoi (at Grays Athletic) 24 MF Josh Simpson (at Peterborough United until 31 December 2009) — MF Tyler Campbell (at Harlow Town until the end of 2009–10 season)

Honours and achievements

Conference National

• Play-off semi-finals - 2008–09

Conference South

• Champions - 2006–07

Southern League Premier Division

• Champions - 2004–05

Southern League Division One East

• Runners-up - 2003–04

Eastern Counties League Premier Division

• Champions - 1999–00

Eastern Counties League Division One

• Runners-up - 1996–97

FA Cup

• Third Round - 2008–09

FA Trophy

• Fourth Round (last 32) - 2000–01, 2004–05
• Third Round (last 16) - 2006–07, 2007–08

FA Vase

• Fourth Round - 1990–91, 1996–97, 1999–00

Sources

• Histon at the Football Club History Database

References

External links

• Histon F.C. Official website
• Histon F.C. on BBC Sport: Club News – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Club stats

• BBC Cambridgeshire Review of the Season 05/06
• Histon FC: Champions Gallery