South Shields

South Shields FC have a long and complicated history with many name changes and amalgamations. The current incarnation was formed in 1974. The club are based in the town which is close to the southern mouth of the River Tyne, about ten miles from Newcastle.

South Shields AFC's first recorded result was from 1889. Other clubs at that time were South Shields Athletic and South Shields Adelaide, who dropped the Adelaide from their name in 1905. Confusion reigns as to the records of each club but all seem linked. The club joined the newly extended Football League Division Two in 1920. The club reached the FA Cup Quarter Finals once but folded in 1930 and were virtually taken over in their entirety by Gateshead FC.

The Shields Gazette newspaper helped the team reform. Games attracted over 10,000 to their Simonside Hall home. Shields were a leading light in northern non league football. They joined the Northern Premier League in 1968 but folded in 1974, despite reaching the FA Trophy semi-finals that season. For a second time the club defected to Gateshead.

Shield's former Jack Clark Park home
as scanned from a book

The present incarnation was set up soon after with the club playing at the basic Jack Clark Park while winning the Northern Alliance twice, which led to promotion to the Wearside League. After winning that league for the second time in three years, The Mariners moved into the Northern League. By now they were based at Filtrona Park which had been generously developed by Chairman, John Rundle and his family.

However things went sour as Rundle twice threatened to fold the club before a new committee took over in 2006. Things picked up, on and off the pitch and the Supporters Association was reformed.

Rundle stated his intention to sell Filtrona Park in 2012. The club's supporters and board tried to get enough money together for a mortgage to buy the ground from Rundle, but they came up short. It looked like the club would be left homeless and facing extinction until Rundle gave them a one year extension to give them time to find further finance to secure the deal. 

However, the club could not raise the required monies so they decamped to play at Eden Lane, Peterlee from the start of the 2013-14 season. Unfortunately this led to poor form on the pitch and relegation.

South Shields FC will play in the Northern League Division Two for the 2014-15 season.

My visit

Friday 3rd October 2008

I was near the end of an exhausting whistle stop tour of grounds, when I arrived at Filtrona Park. The ground is very conveniently located a few minutes walk from Bede Metro station, down an industrial road called Shaftesbury Avenue.

The ground is pretty basic on three sides. It consists of a small area of open flat standing of mainly concrete with only the dugouts breaking the monotony down one side. However, the far side from the grounds entrance is very impressive.

The main feature is an unusually designed Main Stand with a large wall dividing the seating level from the terracing. The seats are claret with the paintwork sky blue, to reflect the clubs colours. A small covered area is in front of an impressively large two storey clubhouse, which also contains the changing rooms and club facilities.

The ground has everything a club of the status of The Mariners could want, all in one area of the ground so as to minimise the effects on spectators from bad weather.

Drinking

There are no pubs near the ground, so its a case of using the social club or drinking and eating in South Shields before taking the Metro to the ground.