Blyth Spartans

Blyth Spartans AFC, formed in 1899, is a non league football club from Northumberland, around thirteen miles north east of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The town of Blyth is highly industrial with trade in coal mining, fishing and shipbuilding most predominant in its past, although the port still provides for the town.

The club was formed by Mr Fred Stoker who named them after the Greek Spartan Army, in the hope it would inspire the team. The first couple of years were spent playing friendly games, before they moved into the Northumberland League.

They won three league titles before progressing to the Northern Alliance as well as moving into their Croft Park home in 1909. They went on to win that league twice. In 1913 Spartans turned semi professional and joined the North Eastern League where they remained until it folded in 1958.

The 1922-23 season saw the club play in the first round of the FA Cup for the first time; with Spartans going out at Croft Park against Stoke. Victory against Hartlepools United in 1925-26 saw the team progress to round two where they suffered defeat at the hands of Accrington Stanley.

In 1931-32 a win against Lancaster City saw Blyth advance to the second round of the cup once more. A trek to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic ended dreams of any further progression.

FA Cup first round appearances in 1934-35, 1935-36 and 1936-37 saw defeats against Stockport County, Gainsborough Trinity and Wrexham. Blyth were crowned as North Eastern League champions in 1936-37.

In 1951-52 Spartans were eventually eliminated in the second round against Tranmere Rovers after a third replay at Goodison Park before leaving the tournament in round one in

1953-54, after defeat to Accrington Stanley.

FA Cup second round defeats followed in 1954-55 against Torquay United and then in 1956-57 against Hartlepools United before the club joined the Midland League for the 1957-58 season; which also ended in second round defeat in the Cup to Stockport County.

In 1960-61 Spartans became members of the newly formed Northern Counties League, before moving to the re-formed North Eastern League a couple of years later. Blyth joined the Northern League for the 1964-65 season.

Further excursions in the FA Cup during the 1960’s had seen first round defeats to Wrexham, Mansfield Town, Hartlepools United, Chester and Bishop Auckland; along with a second round appearance against Carlisle United at Croft Park in 1962-63.

Blyth Spartans had proven to have a fine pedigree in the FA Cup over several decades, but their exploits in the 1970’s would put previous adventures in the pale.

In 1971-72 the team reached the third round, after defeating Football League sides Crewe Alexandra and Stockport County, before going down 6-1 at Reading. Spartans also ended that season as Northern League runners-up.

However, they weren’t to be denied the following season, as they ended up being crowned Northern League champions for the first time, as well as reaching the FA Cup second round where the side went out to Lawrie McMenemy’s Grimsby Town.

After finishing runners-up twelve months later Spartans won their second league title in 1974-75 as well as going out in the first round of the Cup to Preston North End, who were being led by local hero Bobby Charlton, after a replay at Deepdale.

The club regained their Northern League crown in 1975-76 but it would be in the

1977-78 season that the club would become household names all over the UK thanks to an incredible FA Cup run.

The team went on a remarkable run defeating Shildon, Crook Town, Consett and Bishop Auckland to reach the First Round. Burscough, Chesterfield and Enfield were seen off at Croft Park for Spartans to go into the hat for the Fourth Round draw.

The club was rewarded with a daunting trip to The Victoria Ground to take on First Division Stoke City. Blyth remarkably won 3-2 and were drawn away to Wrexham in the Fifth Round.

Spartans came within a minute of reaching the last eight of the competition. Terry Johnson had given them the lead to send the travelling masses into ecstasy. Time was nearly up when Wrexham were awarded a corner which was collected by Dave Clarke.

However, the referee ordered a retake as the corner flag had fallen over before the ball was delivered. From the resulting second attempt Dixie McNeil scored a heartbreaking equaliser.

Blyth moved the replay to St James' Park where a remarkable attendance of 42,167 saw the Welshmen go through 2-1. Despite the outcome, manager Brian Slane and his coach Jackie Marks along with all the players had done the club and the area proud.

To see extended highlights of both half's of the away game at Wrexham from Match of the Day, click here and here:

Spartans also ended the 1977-78 season as league runners-up. Further FA Cup first round exits came against York City and Mansfield Town as a remarkable decade came to an end.

However, it would be in the 1980’s that the club would bring in honours in league competition as Spartans set a record in the Northern League as they won the championship in five successive seasons from 1979-80 until 1983-84.

Further FA Cup tales came during the 1980-81 season, when it took Hull City three games to eventually see off Spartans at Elland Road after two replays in the Second Round. Blyth star forward Les Mutrie sealed a deal to The Tigers with his performances. A first round home exit to Walsall came in the following season.

The decade of league dominance continued as Blyth were crowned as Northern League champions in 1986-87 and 1987-88, as well as finishing as runners-up in the 1984-85 season as they went for six titles in a row. Spartans collected a remarkable ten title wins in just fifteen years.

In 1993 the club took the promotion on offer to join the Northern Premier League after finishing as Northern League runners-up as well as reaching the first round of the FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Southport. The team won the First Division title at the first attempt in 1994-95 to progress to the Premier Division.

Another FA Cup run during the 1996-97 campaign ended after a victory over Bury, but then a defeat to Stockport County in the second round. The following year Spartans reached round one, but went out away to Blackpool.

In 2004 experienced boss Harry Dunn; better known to Scarborough supporters as Harry 'A' Dunn, took over, leading the club to a league and league cup double in 2005-06, resulting in promotion to the Conference North.

The league proved to be difficult, but relief was found in 2008-09 in the way of another fine FA Cup run. Promotion hunting Shrewsbury Town were defeated 3-1 at Croft Park in front of the live TV cameras.

Spartans followed that up by drawing away to AFC Bournemouth before seeing them off in the replay through a solitary Ged Dalton goal again in front of a live TV audience. Blackburn Rovers attracted more live TV coverage to Croft Park and left with a narrow 1-0 win.

Dunn left soon after, to be replaced by Mick Tate. He didn't find the league any easier and nor did his replacement Steve Cuggy. Spartans were relegated in 2011-12 under Tommy Cassidy, despite an FA Cup first round appearance against Gateshead raising morale, after star player Robbie Dale had moved on at the start of the season.

Cassidy was sacked soon into the 2012-13 season. Paddy Atkinson’s reign lasted until March 2013 when Tommy Wade was appointed as the new manager at Croft Park. He led the side to another fantastic FA Cup run in the 2014-15 season.

After battling through four qualifying rounds and defeating Darlington along the way, Spartans reached the first round to see of Altrincham at home. A win at Hartlepool United set up a tie against Birmingham City, which ended in a 3-2 defeat at Croft Park.

Welcome additional income arrived at the club after the two big Cup games were both shown live on national TV. In 2015-16 Spartans ended as Northern Premier League runners-up, but failed to secure promotion after being defeated by Workington in the semi-final of the play-offs.

However, they won automatic promotion as league champions in 2016-17 after former Ipswich Town striker Alun Armstrong replaced Wade in September 2016.

Blyth Spartans will compete in the National League North in the 2017-18 season.


My visits

Friday 2nd October 2008

My club, Scarborough Athletic had been drawn away to Esh Winning in the FA Vase and with me having a long weekend off work I was not going to turn down the opportunity to have a good look around the clubs of the North East.

I travelled up to Newcastle by train the previous day straight after work and stayed at the rather run down resort of Whitley Bay. What it lacked in elegance, it certainly made up with cheap bars full of drinks promotions.

I decided it would have been rude not to join in, so I was rather delicate the following morning when I first ventured to bay's Hillheads Park home and then awaited a bus up the coast.

It was a cold and gloomy morning but I loved the adventure of going to new places. I was particularly happy when the bus went within a couple of hundred metres of Croft Park on its way into the town. I was even more impressed when the gates were open giving me a good photo opportunity.

Croft Park was a venue I liked immediately. It had the feel of a proper ground with plenty of good old fashioned terracing and covers. Both ends had similar full length roofs. The Main Stand was once a raised seating deck above some terracing, but it was now all seated to comply with ground requirements.

There was flat standing at either side where different buildings housed facilities. Opposite the centre section had a roof over the terracing, with banking at either side of it.

I finished my task and walked to the town centre through many streets lined by terraced houses, that no doubt once housed the hard workers from the coalfields and the port. I found the people in the department store most friendly when I called in for a cuppa before catching a small bus for the interesting ride to my next port of call, Bedlington.

Blyth Spartans 0 Whitby Town 3 (Tuesday 1^st August) Pre Season Friendly (att: 358)

At last I ticked off an iconic ground for a match following a week of night shifts at work. To save some money on the rail fare, I used the Grand Central service from King’s Cross, grabbing some valuable shut eye on the journey.

I’d bought a one day Metro rover for £7.20 when the trip was held up for thirty minutes just outside Sunderland station, as a poor bloke was threatening to jump off the Wearmouth Railway Bridge as he sat on the wide railings. 

After a short while the police arrived on the scene. They too their time and gradually coaxed the man towards then and to safety. They were marvellous; some of the passengers on the train shocking, as they filmed the incident on their phones and craned their necks for a better view.

My hotel was a ten minutes walk away from Jesmond station in a lovely leafy part of town. Once I’d checked into the excellent clean, tidy and value for money Osbourne Hotel I set out for the match, walking first to Jesmond West.

I’d probably made the wrong decision heading to Whitley Bay via Monument, but I wasn’t too worried. I had earlier pondered whether to break up my journey and take a look at the home of Percy Main Amateurs FC, but time was of the essence.

My research had alerted me to a new micro pub in the seaside resort. The Dog & Rabbit was just what the doctor ordered as I sampled the excellent Cascade from Brewsmith of Ramsbottom and a swift half of Dark Side of the Toon from the Three Kings Brewery of North Shields. The pork pie was also top notch!

The Cobalt Clipper 309 bus from just around the corner took me to the top of Rotary Way in Blyth; just a few minutes away from Croft Park. It was the same journey I’d undertaken on my previous visit; which took around twenty minutes.

A huge wind turbine stood in the distance down Plessey Road, while I was taken by the name of the barbers over the road from the ground. Surely plenty of football fans are attracted to “Blyth Smartens?”

Admission into the ground was £6 with a thick programme covering all of Spartans pre season activity costing an extra £3. The large clubhouse didn’t offer anything to tickle my fancy, so I enjoyed a home made chicken curry and chips with a tea for the excellent price of £4.50.

I was wary of loose shots as the players warmed up while I sat on the steps at the back of the Town End terrace, which had been added since my previous visit, while enjoying my super feast and taking in the scene in a marvellous non-league venue, which remained unaltered since I’d pooped in to take photos.

The two team lists made interesting reading when I checked up on Twitter. There was plenty of A Trialist on show; particularly in the home side. Jeff Stelling who loves it when such occurrences happen in the Scottish League’s would have been delighted.

Spartans were to start their National League campaign the following Saturday, so I guess manager Alun Armstrong was just checking one or two last minute possibilities. Whitby had an extra week before their opening league match.

Regardless of whoever the players were, this turned out to be a match of excellent quality and not lacking in competitiveness. It was the visitors who should have taken the lead, but Andy Monkhouse fired over when well placed on four minutes.

Blyth’s David McTiernan responded with a shot from thirty yards which Seasiders keeper Shane Bland pushed away in acrobatic fashion. Dale Hopson had moved north from Whitby in the summer and was keen to put in a performance.

He set up one of the trialists who had a shot blocked by Bland. Another trialist put the rebound wide. Whitby winger David Carson saw a shot blocked by Spartans keeper Shaun MacDonald just before the half hour mark.

Hopson had pushed Bland into keeping out another stinging effort with the follow up by a midfield trialist blocked by defender Callum Martin. Carson had another shot blocked by MacDonald as an entertaining first half came to a close.

I took up an elevated seat in the main Port of Blyth Stand for the second half as the sun began to drop as a succession of home substitutions didn’t help with the flow of the game. With thirty minutes remaining a trialist sub saw a shot hit the bar, with a fellow trialist unable to net as the ball came back.

Matthew Tymon went close for the visitors before they took the lead on seventy three minutes. Tymon was played in and cut inside to set up Whitby’s trialist to take his time to slam home. Monkhouse came close with a shot that was expertly kept out by MacDonald.

Another Whitby trialist broke through with five minutes remaining before squaring to Kieran Weledji, who dodged a couple of challenges before scoring. The last action of the match saw Whitby’s trailist goalscorer have a shot blocked by MacDonald before Weledji followed up to net his second goal.

I’d been most impressed all evening with the way the home supporters had got behind their side and offered encouragement. The gaggle of away fans were naturally delighted, as was I suspect the Town manager Chris Hardy.

Bus times weren’t ideal after the game. I could have gone for a drink in the clubhouse, but instead I opted to get some more yards in as I continued to try and shed some timber. I managed to get past the beach huts and along Links Road when I saw a bus approaching.

Although it meant paying for another single when I had a return with another company, I thought it was a price worth paying. I arrived at Whitley Bay Metro station in time for an earlier service into Newcastle; while police and revenue controllers snared unsuspecting fare dodgers. That really made my night as someone who suffers working on the Tube.

I was looking forward to some more real ale in Bacchus; a superbly appointed pub just behind the Theatre Royal near Monument station. The helpful and friendly barman served me a pint of Jarl from Fyne Brewery; one of my favourite beers.

This was followed up by a locally brewed hoppy ale with a smokey aftertaste, which was only supplied to the pub. While it was all very nice, my taste buds were out; possibly after the earlier curry and the fact I was worn out?

It doesn’t happen too often on my travels, but I headed home before the pub shut. I took the Metro back to Jesmond and walked to my hotel; tired but delighted with an absolute top day out.