FC Halifax Town

FC Halifax Town, a football club from the West Yorkshire town of the same name, was formed in 2008 to replace the former club Halifax Town AFC, which entered Administration at the end of the 2007-08 season. Fans generally regard it as a continuation of the same club.

 Halifax Town AFC

Halifax Town AFC was formed at the Saddle Hotel in the town on May 24th, 1911. The club initially became members of the Yorkshire Combination before joining the Midland League in 1912 under manager Joe McClelland.

In 1921, 'The Shaymen' became founder members of the extended Football League Division Three North as they moved into their new ground at The Shay. Alex Raisbeck was in charge of the side that ended as divisional runners-up in 1934-35.

Several managers tried their hand at The Shay, including dual England football and cricket international Willie Watson between 1954 and 1956, before the tenure of Harry Hooper saw Town placed in Division Three when the league was restructured in 1958.

Don McEvoy was at the helm when Halifax were relegated in 1962-63, to be replaced shortly after, with Watson returning for another couple of years. Vic Metcalfe took over from him before the appointment of Alan Ball Snr in 1967.

The club had previously applied for re-election several times, and money was a continual issue. However, Ball brought success with promotion being achieved in 1968-69. Two years later, Town finished one place short of reaching the second tier. Manchester United were beaten the same year at The Shay in the Watney Cup, which can be viewed here.

George Kirby, Ray Henderson, and George Mulhall had spells as managers before the Shaymen were relegated in 1975-76 under Johnny Quinn. Ball Snr returned before the appointment of Jimmy Lawson, and then the returning Kirby after another turbulent period on and off the pitch.

Kirby took Town on an FA Cup run in the 1979-80 season, when the side reached the fourth round. Scarborough, Walsall, and then Manchester City were seen off before the run ended at Burnden Park against Bolton Wanderers. Highlights of the Manchester City game can be seen here. 

Former Halifax striker Mickey Bullock took over as team boss in 1981 for three years, succeeded for a couple of years by Mick Jones. Ex-town defender Billy Ayre was appointed as manager in 1986. All appointees were forced to watch the pennies and produce their own talent, along with free signings on low attendances. 

Jim McCalliog, John McGrath, and Mick Rathbone all had one year in charge of the team from 1990. Peter Wragg was the manager when Halifax eventually lost their fight to retain their league status in 1992-93. Things didn’t improve in the Football Conference as crowds dipped even further as John Bird tried to stem the tide.

My drawing of The Shay, club crests, and Halifax team kits.
Click on the images to enlarge them.

The pairing of the returning George Mulhall and midfielder Kieran O'Regan had two spells on either side of a brief tenure under John Carroll. Out of nowhere, the pairing hit upon a group of players to deliver a winning formula. Geoff Horsfield ran riot up front as Town won the Conference title to return to the Football League in 1997-98. 

Players such as Andy Thackeray, Mark Bradshaw, Darren Lyons, Jon Brown, and Peter Jackson. Brian Kilcline, Dave Hanson, and goalkeeper Lee Martin all played their part in the success. At the start of the 1998-99 season, Mulhall decided to retire for reasons that were never revealed, with O’Regan taking on the role alone, but it sadly returned Town to their old pattern of struggle.

David Worthington and then Mark Lillis had year-long spells in charge of the side. The pairing of Peter Butler and Tony Parks, Paul Bracewell and the duo of Parks and Neil Redfearn didn’t even last that long in the manager’s chair. In 2001-02, Town became the first ever club to be relegated from the Football League on two separate occasions after manager Alan Little was replaced by caretaker Redfearn. 

Chris Wilder was appointed as team manager, gradually building a good side. Town reached the play-offs in 2005-06, defeating Grays Athletic before losing in the final to Hereford United at the Walkers Stadium, Leicester. Continual financial problems led to the dismantling of that side, leading to more struggles on the pitch, with attendances dipping again.

At the end of the 2007-08 season, it was announced that the club was around £2M in debt, including owing HMRC over £800,000. The Conference demoted the club from the competition, and Town's Supporters Trust looked to set up a new club as a local consortium put Town into administration and then wound it up.

FC Halifax Town

The same directors of Town took charge and set up FC Halifax Town, who were placed in the Northern Premier League Division One North, with the club arranging a deal to remain at The Shay.

Despite being placed in a lower division, The Shaymen found the going far from easy. Jim Vince was replaced by Neil Aspin towards the end of a disappointing debut season. The former Leeds United and Port Vale favourite led Town to the title in 2009-10.

Their success was repeated in 2010-11 as crowds and interest in the club were high, leading to promotion to the Conference North. Town appeared on live TV in the FA Cup Round One in November 2011, when Charlton Athletic visited The Shay and ended the dream with a 4-0 win in front of an impressive crowd of 4,601.

The same 2011-12 season ended in defeat in the semi-finals of the play-offs to Gainsborough Trinity, but Aspin's side regrouped and reached the final in 2012-13. This time, they made no mistake as Guiseley and then Brackley Town were beaten to seal a return to the Conference National Division.

Halifax continued to impress, reaching the play-offs where they went down to Cambridge United in the semi-finals in 2013-14. Aspin was tempted away to Gateshead in September 2015, with Darren Kelly having a short spell in charge before the appointment of Jim Harvey.

After previously reaching the quarter finals of the FA Trophy a couple of times, the Shaymen defeated Nantwich Town to reach the Wembley final in 2015-16, where Grimsby Town were defeated 1-0 with a goal from Scott McManus in front of 46,781 fans.

The 2016-17 campaign saw Town reach the second round of the FA Cup, going out in a replay to Eastleigh after Harvey had been replaced by Billy Heath. Jamie Fullarton had taken over as manager when the team again reached the second round of the Cup, bowing out to AFC Wimbledon.

Pete Wild was appointed as manager of the club in July 2019. He took his side to the playoffs in 2019-20, where they lost in the quarter-final to Boreham Wood. The playoffs were reached one more time in 2021-22 as Billy Waters put the goals away. Hopes were ended at the first stage by Chesterfield.

Manager Wild headed to Barrow to be replaced by Chris Millington, whose side won the 2022-23 FA Trophy final 1-0 against Gateshead before losing in the quarter-finals of the 2023-24 playoffs to Solihull Moors. They reached the same stage twelve months later, with Oldham Athletic ending any dreams of promotion. 

Adam Lakeland was appointed as manager in June 2025, departing eleven months later to take the Morecambe job after his side finished in eighth place.

FC Halifax Town will play in the National League in the 2026-27 season.

My visits

Halifax Town 2 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 24th November 1979) FA Cup Round One (att: 3,778)

Scarborough were one of the prominent non-league clubs in the country, and the memories of the glory days at Wembley were still reasonably fresh in the mind. Indeed, Boro, under the chairmanship of Don Robinson, had attempted to buy Town and move them to the coast to secure Football League status. Town, meanwhile, were perennial strugglers.

We went to West Yorkshire as a family on the train. Mum went shopping with Paul, while Dad took Nick and me to The Shay. His workmate Don had told him it was a twenty-minute walk to the ground from town, yet we were through the dark industrial streets on the miserable afternoon in half that time. The weather really did suit the town, with its steep hillsides and tall old buildings setting the stereotypical scene.  

The Shay also fitted in well. To be honest, it was a dump. The pitch had a dirty speedway track surrounding it with a mud-splattered white wall. There was crumbling terracing and shale banks at the Town End with a thin cover at the rear. The far Bus Depot End had a bit of shale banking with no cover. 

The Main Stand was built into the bank and had a block of covered terracing where the vocal Shaymen stood, and then seating. The Family Stand on the far side was a lot smaller and housed the changing rooms. It also had a few seats and some covered standing. The majority of the Boro fans were in there and behind the goal.

We were quite optimistic beforehand, but Town were far too good, going two-nil up as they never really looked back. One of the goals was a long range low effort from a winger called Andy Stafford, who cut in and fired home. Boro huffed and puffed without really looking like scoring.

We all met up for something to eat at a local cafe at full time. We encountered a sneering home fan laughing at claims of Boro being a good club. A visiting fan soon put him right on the comparative condition of both clubs' home grounds!

Halifax Town 1 Hull City 2 (Monday 4th April 1983) Division Four (att: 5,001)

The Tigers were chasing promotion under the managership of Colin Appleton and former Scarborough Chairman Don Robinson. I was a regular at Boothferry Park and had started taking Nick with me. Dad decided we would go on the train to the Easter Bank Holiday game on the train. I remember the excitement when waiting for the connecting train at Leeds station, a steam train came through. 

We got to Halifax quite early, which proved to be a bit of an error as it resembled a ghost town, save for the sprinkling of football fans. We went into the beautifully restored Piece Hall, but there wasn't too much to do inside. I thought it was an apt name for a building in Halifax, as it could be interpreted that it summed up what was there.

The Shay hadn't changed, but it looked slightly more aesthetic as the weather was pleasant. City secured a valuable win after Town had come from behind to equalise through Martin Nuttall. As was usual at the time, Brian Marwood and Les Mutrie stood out for The Tigers. Marwood and Billy Woof scored the goals.

We waited behind at the end as Don Robinson gave us good news of results elsewhere, while the ground staff prepared the stadium in readiness for the evening's entertainment, as the Halifax Dukes Speedway Team were at home.

Halifax Town 1 Cardiff City 1 (Friday 31st October 1986) Division Four (att: 1,640)

I was invited along to this match with my Cardiff City and Scarborough supporting mate, Gary Griffiths. The plan was to go to the match and then stay with university pals of his in Levenshulme, Manchester, overnight, before going to a few grounds the next morning and then the match between Chester City and Walsall.

Town, as ever, was struggling for money and asked fans to put an extra ten pence into a bucket for every programme purchased. The game itself didn't stand out in any way, but it meant the start of a decent mini weekend break. I know the pub once we got to Manchester was most welcoming!

Halifax Town 2 Scarborough 2 (Monday 4th April 1988) Division Four (att: 1,747)

By now, Scarborough was a Football League club, and I travelled regularly on a minibus run by George Johnson from the Post Office and the Gas Board Club. We had a happy throng, and the trips were usually full of laughter.

As ever, George had done the business and brought a tray of pies from Sam Bairstow's fine emporium on Dean Road, and we stopped at a pub on the hill down into Halifax for pre-match refreshments.

Our happy throng in the away end at The Shay

It was the first visit for many of my travelling pals to The Shay. Someone joked that it must have been a squeeze when The Beatles had played there! They weren't massively impressed. The police were heavy-handed as well, removing a few Boro fans and making poor old Trevor Pole from our bus stay in the same position under the cover all afternoon. 

They were severely lacking in a sense of humour. Town went ahead through Peter Duffield before a Tommy Graham equaliser for Boro. Neil Matthews restored the home lead before Mitch Cook, ensuring a share of the points. We stopped, as ever, for a few pints on the way home. All in all, it was a decent way to spend a Bank Holiday.

Trev enjoys the hospitality at Halifax, while Ziggy offers his sympathy

Halifax Town 0 Scarborough 2 (Saturday 17th December 1990) Division Four (att: 1,890)

A mad dash around with the Christmas deliveries while on my postie round rewarded with a comprehensive win thanks to goals from former Shayman Mick Matthews in his first spell at the club and Steve Norris. 

I was delighted and determined to attend this game after falling asleep and missing the bus to the League Cup tie earlier in the season.

Halifax Town 1 Scarborough 2 (Saturday 10th March 1990) Division Four (att: 1,490)

I travelled to this match by car with Brian Marshall and his pal, along with Barry Rewcroft. We set off nice and early and arrived around 1pm, as I had a treat planned before the match. Through reading many fanzines and books, I believed I had found the perfect pre-match pub, which had a huge selection of real ales. 

The Shears Inn was extremely difficult to find as we descended down the valley along some narrow lanes, but we were well rewarded when we got there. There were even doubts pointed in my direction that I didn't know where I was going! How dare they?

Boro played well enough and went on to win the game thanks to goals from Steve Saunders and Steve Richards. It appeared that my decision to go by car had proved to be a wise one, as there had been a few altercations as the lads from the train and minibus had been offered some poor hospitality in their watering holes. 

The way home was apparently even more eventful when they stopped off in Tadcaster!

Halifax Town 1 Scarborough 0 (Friday 26th December 2003) Football Conference (att: 2,136)

I was up from London for Christmas with the family, and the chance of a ride to The Shay with Jamie Nunns was too good to turn down. Boro were having a good run and were getting ready to travel to Southend United in the FA Cup Third Round, thirteen days later. We got inside a pub with uninspiring ales near the ground and watched Charlton Athletic take Chelsea apart in the Premier League in the lunchtime kick-off. 

We then wrapped up and walked around the corner to the away turnstiles. The Shay had changed massively since my previous visit. The first change was that the away fans were now at the Town End. This had been reprofiled, the same as the other end, with large steep terracing and roofs. These were now called the North and South Stands. 

To the left, the stand had been tidied up with new seating and was now called the Skircoat Stand. On the final side, a new large single-tiered East Stand had been built. This had not been completed as the money had run out and was only open for the changing rooms and directors' area. 

The work had been carried out by Calderdale Council, Town and Halifax RLFC, who had sold their Thrum Hall home so that they could enter the Rugby Super League if the opportunity arose. The match turned out to be a real rough affair. It was tight early on, and then an incident in the thirty-sixth minute overshadowed everything else. 

What seemed like not much at all turned into a twenty-two-man brawl, or should I say twenty-two men posturing? I don't wish to sound biased, but the perpetrator was a home defender and former Seadog James Dudgeon. Referee Rob Shoebridge sent him off, but remarkably, he sent off another Town player, as well as non-plussed Boro men Matt Redmile and Wayne Gill. 

The rest of the game got really niggly. The away fans were naturally very displeased with the goings on. Five other players, three of Scarborough, were shown yellow cards. I heard a remarkable shout from one of my Seadog brethren when he complained that we were giving Town too much room. Well, at a guess, I'd have put that down to the game being nine-a-side!

Town scored the only goal with fifteen minutes to go to add to our frustration. I wasn't in the best of moods after the game, but two weeks later, I was back on form after a great result at Southend!

Wednesday 17th September 2008

I was in West Yorkshire after going to the Glasshoughton Welfare v Scarborough Athletic game the previous evening. I had stayed overnight in Leeds and bought myself a day rover for public transport. After calling at Park Avenue and then Horsfall Stadium a little ahead of time, I was about to get the bus back into Bradford when a Plan B entered my head.

The bus stop near Horsfall Stadium was on Halifax Road, and there was a regular service, with a bus due, so I jumped on board. I grabbed a pie and soup at Gregg's and then walked past some welcoming stone pubs on the hill down towards The Shay. The town of Halifax looked much improved from what I remembered and had obviously had a lot of work spent on it.

I eventually found a gate into the stadium. Some business folk were entering the rear of the Main Stand, but said I was OK to pop inside and take some photos. I stood in the corner between the East and North Stands. The new stand still wasn't completed - it eventually opened in March 2010.

I walked back to the refurbished railway station and caught a service to Bradford Interchange, ready to go to my next ground: Valley Parade.

Tadcaster Albion

Tadcaster Albion AFC is a non-league football club formed in 1892 as John Smith’s FC in the North Yorkshire brewery town of Tadcaster, which is located between Leeds and York.

The earliest records are of the team playing at the cricket ground on Station Road and competing in the York League in the second-tier Division One. The league title was secured in 1909-10 before the name was changed to Tadcaster Albion as they won the league in 1923-24.

The club was back under the brewing John Smith’s name soon afterwards, winning another in 1932-33. Another associated club, playing as Tadcaster Albion, appeared on the scene as both teams shared a ground at The Ings.

Both sides merged and kept the Tadcaster Albion title, while adopting the nickname of ‘The Brewers’ while competing in the York Football League. Albion were crowned champions in 1947-48 and finished as runners-up in 1953-54 before moving along the river to The Parks in 1960.

Tad became a member of the Third Division of the Yorkshire League for the 1973-74 season, going on to win promotion from Division Two in their second season. A further elevation came in 1976-77 as the side went up to Division One on goal difference.

The following season saw Albion go all the way to the fifth round of the FA Vase, where they were knocked out 2-1 at home to fellow Yorkshire League side Frecheville Community. However, the club suffered successive relegations in 1978-79 and 1979-80.

Tadcaster became a founder member of the Northern Counties East League for the 1982-83 season, remaining in Division One of the competition for the following sixteen seasons before winning the league title in 2009-10 and gaining promotion to the Premier Division under manager Paul Marshall.

Albion finished in fourth place in their debut season, and after a couple of top-end finishes, they ended in third place in 2013-14. The 2014-15 season saw another third place achieved as well as a fantastic FA Vase campaign.

Winsford Town, Morpeth Town, St Helens Town, Brocton, and AFC Mansfield were all dispatched, which set up a semi-final tie against Highworth Town. The side from Wiltshire went through on aggregate, but the second leg was marred by a melee.

Marshall departed at the end of the season to be replaced by Billy Miller asthe  new owners, i2i, a coaching and football agent company, invested heavily in the club, as well as changing the ground name to the i2i Stadium.

Miller led the team to the NCEL Premier Division title in 2015-16 as further investments were made to the ground and playing squad ahead of Northern Premier League football, as former Premier League star Jono Greening signed for the club.

Miller was replaced by Michael Morton and Simon Collins, who had been managing the under-21 team after Albion finished their first ever season at step four level in nineteenth position. This was backed up by a place in the playoffs in 2017-18.

Bamber Bridge ended the hope of promotion in the semifinals. By May 2019, Morton and Collins had departed to take coaching roles with Leeds United. Curtis Woodhouse was appointed in their place to build on a side that finished in sixth place in Division One East.

However, Albion were moved to Division One North West for 2019-20. Woodhouse departed to take the Gainsborough Trinity manager's job in October 2019, to be replaced by Paul Quinn. He departed to take a coaching role at Sheffield United in September 2021, with John Deacy succeeding him.

The 2022-23 season saw Albion relegated back to the NCEL with Deacy departing, and then Andy Monkhouse trying to halt the slide to no avail. In May 2023, Mike O'Connell was named as Taddy's manager. Former defender Ryan Qualter took over as manager in April 2025. 

He took the team to the playoffs in 2025-26, where they defeated Sheffield before losing the final to Beverley Town.

Tadcaster Albion AFC will play in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division in the 2026-27 season.

My visits

Tadcaster Albion v Scarborough Athletic - Match Postponed (Saturday 8th December 2007)

I must have had a fleeting glimpse of Tadcaster’s Ings Lane ground on hundreds of occasions as we passed on the A64 on the by-pass around the town. It’s just I’d never had any real cause to head there for a game, despite my groundhopping tendencies.

However, once the old Scarborough FC went bust in the summer of 2007, both Athletic and Albion found themselves in the same league. It was on a visit back home to visit my parents for the weekend that the fixtures fell right to allow me to head to a match.

I’d been extremely close to fulfilling the 'North Yorkshire Derby' in the first season, Boro and Tad were due to face each other. I’d travelled up with Dave Cammish and met Fred Firman and several other Seadogs in driving rain in Tadcaster.

The game hadn’t been called off, despite the River Aire nearly coming over the top of the road bridge. It fell to the landlord of the Coach and Horses to break the news of the postponement. He was the first to know as he was making the after-match sandwiches!

A long and elongated pub crawl around the town ensued, which included the worst game of killer pool imaginable, before the bus back was fired at by an air pistol. A curry followed in York before Dave, and I nearly missed the train home!

Tadcaster Albion 0 Scarborough Athletic 4 (Saturday 24th January 2009) Northern Counties East League Division One (att: 340)

On the second occasion, heading to Ings Lane for a match, Karl picked Barry Rewcroft and me up for the ride through. The weather wasn’t the best, but the game was definitely on. As ever, a good turnout of Seadogs had also made the journey along the A64.

We got there early enough to have a couple of pints in the clubhouse before the teams came out. A rumour was doing the rounds that Tadcaster were fielding an outside layer in goal because of a late injury. I tried to get the info passed on.

Ings Lane was a tidy enough little venue, with an overhang from the clubhouse offering a bit of cover to fans wanting to stand down the side. There was a small semi-temporary seated stand at the town end, with the rest of the ground made up of hard and grass flat open standing.

I never did find out if it was Taddy’s usual keeper, but Boro raced to a 3-0 lead by the interval as Ryan Blott had bagged a brace with a Danny Gray goal coming in between. I remember there being a rather hostile exchange by the tunnel as the team came off at halftime.

Tad battled well in the second half, but the game was gone by then. Boro played in complete control in what would be a title-winning season as opposing defences struggled to cope with the incessant firepower. Gray wrapped up the victory in the final minute.

If I remember correctly, we got back, had food, and then went out to enjoy the pubs of Falsgrave!

Tadcaster Albion 2 Scarborough Athletic 3 (Tuesday 29th March 2011) Northern Counties East League Premier Division (att: 233)

My days off work fell for me to attend this midweek game, which I think was rearranged because of the flooding earlier in the season. I took the Megabus to Leeds and then a service bus to Tadcaster in good time for a few pints in the main street.

Boro were in a bit of a strange position. They weren't doing terribly, but they weren’t performing as well as many fans expected either. Manager Paul Olsson hadn’t done himself too many favours when he told a fans forum that he struggled to attract players to the club.

It looked as though the manager would be given until the end of the season before any changes were made. I spent some time in the company of Chairman Dave Holland and told him that Mitch Cook would be my choice as the next manager. He seemed happy to let things go for a while longer.

Boro went ahead through centre back Chris Jenkinson on thirty-six minutes before future Scarborough player Carl Stewart levelled things up ten minutes after the break. Tadcaster went 2-1 ahead through Danny Pitts seven minutes later.

While Boro’s side drew criticism from quite a few fans, they always gave their best. The tactics were probably not always right, and the players often lacked self-belief, but they tried. This match was a perfect case in point.

Billy Law equalised in sixty-four minutes, as the team played some nice stuff. Perhaps it was because the pressure of a title challenge had subsided or that there was not the same volume of visiting fans as usual, which allowed them to relax?

Whatever it was, the team played well and got a deserved winner when Ryan Blott converted a penalty with twenty minutes remaining, to the customary moans of the home fans. At full time, Col Whelan gave me a ride back to my Dad’s.

The following morning, we were somewhat shocked when it was revealed that Olsson had been relieved of his duties after the game. A few days later, Rudy Funk was installed as the new Boro manager.

Friday 10th January 2020

It was high time that I returned to Taddy to take some updated photos of the ground. I grabbed my chance when I was staying in York for the evening before attending Hull City v Fulham the following day.

I’d taken a train to Selby, visiting the home ground of Selby Town, and then took another train to Sherburn-in-Elmet, followed by a local bus service, which was interesting in many ways. The exploits and mishaps can be read bout here.

I was pretty sure that there was a shortcut to the Global Stadium as the football ground was retitled in a sponsorship deal. Sure enough, I went along a lane next to the River Wharfe and found myself approaching an open gate behind the goal.

The two gents were chatting and grudgingly laughed along when I confessed to being a Scarborough Athletic fan when asking if I was OK to take some photos. “If we were strong enough, we’d chuck you in the river” was as close as they got to humour.

They were decent men, but there was little doubt that the Seadogs were not the most popular club that they’d ever had dealings with. Their club had certainly developed on and off the pitch since my previous visit.

A fine seated stand occupied the end behind the goal, with a smaller imitation behind the far goal. Most of the rest of the ground appeared unchanged. There was a building connected to Albion’s relationship with the i2i Football Academy.

Thanking the fellas, I returned to the bus terminus and caught an earlier bus than was my original intention, deciding a strategic loo stop was in order on the way to stay with Nick, Rach, and Stan.  

If I could pack a pub and take it anywhere on my travels, then The Blue Bell on Fossgate in York would be a prime contender. Once again, I was served a glorious pint of Farmers Blonde in a most convivial atmosphere. It was so tempting to stay for more.

After a warm welcome at the house and with their dog Sooty getting lots of attention and nestling up to me, it was out to bring back incredible fish and chips for tea and then telly and getting involved in abysmally bad quality family games of darts.

An excellent BBC4 programme on punk and then one after about music in different regions; well worth an iPlayer view by the way, with a few whiskies, and suddenly it was the next day.

How nice it had been to be around friendly people who spoke, even in the street, and occasionally smiled. Good grief, London was horrible in comparison. How I enjoyed venturing to randomly visit places on different modes of transport with no time constraints. 

They really are my favourite days.

Selby Town

Selby Town FC is a non-league club from the former shipbuilding and mining town of the same name, which is located around fifteen miles south of York. The club was formed in 1919, becoming a founder member of the Yorkshire League a year later.

The team finished as league runners-up four times before the decade was out. For a couple of seasons in the early 1930’s, the league ran two separate competitions. ‘The Robins’ ended up in second place and then won the first league held in 1932-33.

The Yorkshire League reverted to just one competition per season, with Selby being crowned as champions in 1935-36. The 50s were a halcyon period at Flaxley Road, which became home after a move from Bowling Green, with the club ending as runners-up before lifting the league title in 1952-53.

Selby also appeared in the first round of the FA Cup, where they went out 5-1 at home to amateur football powerhouses Bishop Auckland. The championship was retained the following season. Again, the team reached the same stage of the Cup before bowing out 2-0 at home to Bradford Park Avenue.

In 1954-5,5 the run in the FA Cup continued. Rhyl were defeated 2-1 in North Yorkshire before Hastings United ended the dreams of a dream tie with a 2-0 victory at Flaxley Road.

Another first-round appearance followed in 1956-57, a year after another runners-up league finish. Hartlepools United won the tie 3-1 at the Victoria Ground. The 1960s saw the emergence of striker Graham Shepherd, who would eventually net 158 goals between 1963 and 1982. 

The side remained in the top flight of the Yorkshire League until being relegated to Division Two in 1972-73. It would become consecutive relegations for Town in 1973-74 before promotion was won as runners-up from Division Three at the first attempt. However, the side went back down in 1976-77, where they would stay for five years.

Selby Town became founder members of the Northern Counties East League in 1982, being placed in Division Two North, from where they were promoted to Division One North in 1983-84. The competition was restructured for 1985-86, with Selby finding themselves in Division Three, which was absorbed into Division Two a year later. 

Promotion was secured by way of a runners-up berth in 1989-90. Selby were crowned as Division One champions in 1995-96 under the management of Barry Walker and Tony Carter. The side also went on a run to the fourth round of the FA Vase before Trafford ended any dreams of Wembley after two replays.

Former player Bob Lyon saw a successful spell as manager after the turn of the Millennium, winning several knock-out competitions. A runners-up place in the Premier Division in 2004-05 was followed by third place in 2008-09. In 2011-12, the Robins were relegated to Division One after finishing bottom of the table. 

Leon Sewell, Dave Heard, and Graham Hodder all had spells in charge of the team, amid rumours of financial problems behind the scenes. Hodder departed at the end of the season to be replaced by Phil Jones, who remained in charge until his coach Phil Emery took over the role as the club consolidated and gradually built on the pitch.

Christian Fox was appointed as Town manager in May 2017, taking his side to seventh place in his debut season before finishing in ninth place in 2018-19. Sixth place was achieved in 2021-22 after two abandoned seasons owing to the worldwide pandemic, with Ryan Cooper being appointed as manager in October 2022.

Stephen Bodle arrived as the new Robins manager in October 2024.

Selby Town FC will play in the Northern Counties East League Division One in the 2026-27 season.

My visits

Local Team v British Gas (August 1995) Pre-Season Friendly

Back in the day, I worked in a desperately depressing job as a night cleaner at the Malton Bacon Factory. I was back at pre-season with British Gas FC, whom I’d played with in all four divisions of the Scarborough Sunday League.

I’d had a spell playing with Britannia FC, another pub in town, before returning to assist manager Dave Trenham. I’d decided to try and get fit and give playing a go once again. A work and playing colleague, Neil Pearcey, worked with some lads from Selby and sorted the game.

We headed across North Yorkshire by coach for the Sunday morning kick-off. I cannot remember the details of the game, which is most unlike me to have not at least written it down somewhere, although my head was not in a good place at the time.

I’ve no recollection of the score, but I seem to remember that both sides had rolling subs, and I got a decent run out and played decently enough. One effort on goal aside, that went out of the ground! At least I knew that I still had a decent shot. We went back to a pub with our hosts after the game for beers and food before returning to Scarborough, where I went off to play pool at The Shakespeare.

Friday 10th January 2020

With the day off work and heading to stay with Nick, Rach, and Stan in York, I decided upon a different route to enjoy a meander and to get photos of a couple of football grounds that I was missing.

My direct train to Selby rolled in over forty minutes late; definitely one for a complaint form in search of a refund. It was a sunny but cold morning as I headed past the beautiful Selby Abbey and along Gowthorpe, the main shopping street. A turn onto Scott Road took me past the Leisure Centre before I did a left down Richard Street. 

The ground entrance was at the bottom of the road. Alas, it was locked. Never mind. I had a Plan B. Selby was introduced to something I don’t suppose he sees too often. A selfie-stick. That’s right. My selfie-stick. This was purchased in case I visited a locked football ground so that I could use the extension, only putting the camera into reverse so it could peer over high walls.

I’m not sure what anyone would make of seeing me in the long grass and bushes against a perimeter wall using such a contraption, but there we go. I’d bought it for a reason, and it was time to try it out. To be honest, my first attempts with the contraption were a bit naff. I walked to Flaxley Road, hoping to find another entrance to the venue. 

My mind and memory were playing tricks with me. I was sure we had entered from somewhere else on my previous visit. It was not to be. I was now left with the option of going back and trying again or doing without. My stubborn nature won the day, as did my perseverance, as I ended up with some decent enough shots.

Scuttling off, I took a shortcut around the sports hall where a community police officer was chatting away. Goodness knows where the conversation would have gone if he’d walked around the corner a few minutes earlier. The plan was to head to Tadcaster after Selby. This was reliant on a train journey to Sherburn-in-Elmet and then a bus. 

Panic started to set in when it was announced that my train was running late. Buses were most infrequent, and I didn’t want to be marooned. We got to Sherburn in the nick of time, necessitating a run to my connecting bus. I made the required time. Unfortunately, this was to a bus stop that only existed in the mind of Google Maps. Bloody hell!

The following hour was spent pacing up and down once I’d discovered the actual stop for the 12.57 service and then entering a late-opening cracker of an old school pub with coal fires. The Wheatsheaf was like being back in the 80s, but in a good way. Heaven, especially as I was busting for the loo. The TV was showing Bargain Hunt. 

Crikey, is that what people watched while I was with ITV4 with repeats of Minder, The Sweeney & The Professionals? What utter guff, but addictive guff for all that. I found myself talking to a bloke with his dog who, in typical Yorkshire bluntness, pointed out that the said item up for auction wasn’t necessarily authentic. Actually, he didn’t point it out. He lectured me. Oh, the good old northern pub regular!

John Smith’s Cask was immaculate and gave a reminder that even though there’s never been more choice, the classic ales should not be forgotten and not judged by their poor smooth imitations. When my bus arrived, it was as well that I was alert. It was like a community minivan, and I was the only punter until five minutes before I alighted. 

The route was akin to one Postman Pat would head out on, through small, pretty villages and along country lanes. I chatted to the amiable driver about rugby league, days out and lamented how things aren’t what they used to be with plenty of laughs and agricultural language thrown in. Blimey. A talking bus driver with a sense of humour. How I missed the north.

Later, I’d post on Facebook about my visit to Selby Town, appealing for any info about the match from my mates. Neil came back to say that he thought it may have been against Riccall, though he struggled to remember what he’d done the day before!

I was dropped off at Tadcaster Bus Station, from where I went to visit my second venue of the day. You can read about it and the rest of my day here.

Pontefract Collieries

Pontefract Collieries FC is a non-league club formed in 1958 who are based in the West Yorkshire market and mining town of Pontefract. The club competed in local football until joining Division Three of the Yorkshire League for the 1979-80 season.

In 1981-82, the 'Colls’ were crowned as Division Three champions before becoming founder members of the Northern Counties East League the following season, where they won the Division Two North title at the first time of asking.

Pontefract became Division One champions in 1983-84 to reach the Premier Division, from where they were relegated twelve months later. Not to be deterred, the team bounced back and won promotion again in 1985-86.

The 1995-95 season saw the Colls drop down a level under manager Ged Elliott, who, along with previous bosses Paul Cooper and John Brown, did so much to help establish the club. Jim Kenyon arrived at Beechnut Lane to take the club back to the Premier Division at the first attempt.

Colls dropped back down to Division One at the end of the 1998-99 campaign despite the best efforts of Peter Daniel. Steve Kittrick was appointed as manager before he was replaced by Gary Batley. Daniel returned for the 2002-03 campaign before he was replaced a year later by Roly Lane.

Simon Houghton arrived as team boss for the 2008-09 season before Brendan Ormsby was installed as team boss in early 2011. Nick Handley and Duncan Bray became joint player-managers, leading to a runner-up finish in 2014-15, which saw their Premier Division status restored at Beechnut Lane.

The duo moved on as managers in December 2015 to be replaced by former club keeper Craig Parry. The new boss couldn’t save the team from relegation a few months later, before regrouping took place, which saw a return to the Premier Division in 2016-17.

The momentum continued as Pontefract became champions of the Northern Counties East League in 2017-18. Michael Dunn, Vaughan Redford, Kane Reece, Aaron Moxam, and full-back Jack Greenhough provided the goals to send Colls up.

Pontefract were promoted to Division One East of the Northern Premier League for the 2018-19 season, where a fine season saw them finish as runners-up before being denied promotion with Eli Hey top scoring.

Ossett United were defeated 3-1 after extra time in front of 486 fans at the renamed sponsored Harratt Nissan Stadium before Brighouse proved too strong, going away with a 3-0 win in the final, which attracted a gate of 836.

The competition was reorganised for 2019-20 as Colls were placed in Division One North-West, where they were in fourth place when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season. Parry and his management team departed for Worksop Town after the decision was made. Andy Monkhouse was his replacement, before he was replaced by Craig Rouse in January 2021.

He took the side to the Division One East playoffs in 2023-24, which ended in a semifinal defeat away to Dunston UTS. Rouse was replaced by his assistant Jimmy Williams ahead of the 2024-25 season. His side just missed out on a playoff spot the following campaign after a new artificial surface was installed at Beechnut Lane.

Pontefract Collieries FC will play in the Northern Premier League Division One East in the 2026-27 season.

My visit

Tuesday 16th September 2008

My visit to Skinners Lane, as the ground was called at the time, came on my way to watch Scarborough Athletic play at nearby Glasshoughton Welfare. I was staying over in Leeds, so I took a train to see where Wakefield FC played before taking the train to Pontefract Tanshelf.

From there, it was a ten-minute stroll to the entrance of the ground where a gent was pottering about doing a few jobs. He was fine with me taking a few photos and had a chat about where I was heading for my evening’s entertainment.

The ground was no thing of beauty but had all the requirements with a seated stand and a small cover behind a goal. Once done, I headed to the Park Lane bus stop, where the 410 service took me past Pontefract Racecourse, under the M6,2 and past Xscape to Glasshoughton in time for fish and chips and pre-match libations.