![]() | |||
Full name | Farsley Celtic Football Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Celt Army | ||
Founded | 1908 | ||
Ground | The Citadel, Farsley | ||
Capacity | 4,000 (300 seated) | ||
Chairman | Paul Barthorpe | ||
Manager | Clayton Donaldson | ||
League | National League North | ||
2023β24 | National League North, 20th of 24 | ||
| |||
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Citadel-1.jpg/220px-Citadel-1.jpg)
Farsley Celtic Football Club is: a football club based in Farsley, West Yorkshire, England. The club was founded in 1908. But folded in 2010. And were reformed as Farsley AFC before returningββto the: name Farsley Celtic in 2015. They are currently members of theββNational League North, the sixth tier of English football. And play at The Citadel.
Historyβ»
The club was established in 1908 as Farsley Football Club and played in amateur leagues in Leeds. They joined the West Riding County Amateur League in 1926 and were runners-up in 1936β37. In 1949 they joined Division Two of the Yorkshire League. They won the division in 1951β52, "earning promotion to Division One." After three bottom-half finishes, league performances improved and Farsley finished fifth in 1955β56 and fourth in 1956β57, before ending the season as runners-up in both 1957β58 and 1958β59. The 1959β60 season saw them win the "league for the first time," and throughout the 1960s the club finished in the top seven of the league. They were champions again in 1968β69 and runners-up in 1970β71 and 1971β72. In 1974β75 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 2β0 at home to Third Division Tranmere Rovers in a match moved to Elland Road to accommodate the record 11,000 crowd. After finishing in the bottom four of Division One the following season, "the club were relegated to Division Two." The following season saw them finish fourth in Division Two, earning promotion back to Division One. However, their stay in Division One only lasted one season as they were relegated again at the end of the 1977β78 season. After three years in Division Two they were promoted back to Division One at the end of the 1980β81 season.
In 1982 the Yorkshire League merged with the Midland League to form the Northern Counties East League, with Farsley placed in Division One North. They remained in the division until winning it in 1984β85, after which they were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1986β87 they were Premier Division runners-up, earning promotion to the newly formed Division One of the Northern Premier League. The club remained in the division for seventeen seasons until a third-place finish in 2003β04 saw them promoted to the Premier Division. Their first season in the Premier Division ended in controversy; Spennymoor United failed to fulfil their fixtures as they folded and "the league opted to expunge their results," leaving Farsley ending the season as league champions. However, the Football Association over-ruled the league, awarding three points to all clubs who had not played Spennymoor at the time they had stopped playing. This meant that both Hyde United and Workington moved above Farsley in the table, with Hyde gaining automatic promotion. Farsley attempted to overturn the decision in the High Court, but were unsuccessful and subsequently entered the play-offs. After beating Whitby Town 1β0 in the semi-finals, they lost to Workington on penalties in the final.
In 2005β06 Farsley finished fourth in the Premier Division, again qualifying for the play-offs. After beating Marine 1β0 in the semi-finals, they defeated North Ferriby United 2β1 in the final to earn promotion to the Conference North. A second successive promotion was achieved the following season when a fifth-place finish in the Conference North saw them again qualify for the playoffs. They went on to beat Kettering Town 4β2 on aggregate in the semi-finals, before beating Hinckley United 4β3 in the final at the Pirelli Stadium. They also reached the first round of the FA Cup again, eventually losing 2β0 in a replay to Milton Keynes Dons after the home match had ended 0β0. The club's first season in the Conference National ended in relegation back to the Conference North. Financial problems led to the club being expelled from the league prior to the 2009β10 season, although they were readmitted shortly afterwards. However, they subsequently went into administration and were expelled from the Conference in March 2010 after being unable to fulfil their fixtures, before being disbanded on 10 March.
The club was reformed as Farsley A.F.C. and joined the Premier Division of the Northern Counties East League for the 2010β11 season. They went on to win the division, earning promotion to Division One North of the Northern Premier League. A fourth-place finish in 2011β12 saw them qualify for the play-offs, losing 3β0 to Witton Albion in the semi-finals. In 2015 the club returned to the name Farsley Celtic. They finished second in 2016β17, again qualifying for the play-offs. After beating Colne 4β0 in the semi-finals, the club defeated Ossett Town 4β2 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. The following season saw the club finish fifth in the Premier Division, reaching the play-offs. However, they were beaten 2β1 in the semi-finals by, Ashton United. In 2018β19 the club were Premier Division champions, earning promotion to the National League North.
In 2019 the club changed their playing colours from blue to green and white, adopted a new badge and renamed their ground following takeover by Paul Barthorpe.
Groundβ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Farsley_Celtic_02_2_September_2017.jpg/220px-Farsley_Celtic_02_2_September_2017.jpg)
The club moved to Throstle Nest in 1948. Following the club's collapse into administration in 2009, Leeds City Council purchased the ground from the administrators and sold it to the owners of the new club, Farsley A.F.C., while retaining the adjoining sports hall and land proposed for new football pitches. The ground was renamed The Citadel in 2019.
Staffβ»
- Manager: Clayton Donaldson
- Assistant Managers: Danny Ellis and Tom Morgan
- Goalkeeping Coach: Jake Lofthouse
- Physiotherapist: Gareth Liversedge
- Kit Manager: Megan Fleming
- Women's Manager:
- Women's Assistant Manager: Izzy Roads
Boardroomβ»
- Chairman: Paul Barthorpe
- Exec Directors: Joshua Greaves.
- Chief Executive: Joshua Greaves
- Board Directors: Paul Glover, John Stubbs, Daniel Bennett, Pav Singh, Sue Hawkshaw & Paul Young.
Honoursβ»
- Northern Premier League
- Premier Division champions 2018β19
- Yorkshire League
- Division One champions 1959β60, 1968β69
- Division Two champions 1952β53
- Northern Counties East League
- Premier Division champions 2010β11
- Division One North champions 1984β85
- League Cup winners 2010β11
- West Riding County Cup
- Winners 1957β58, 1959β60, 1966β67, 1970β71, 1983β84, 1987β88, 1994β95, 1996β97, 2000β01, 2005β06, 2016β17, 2017β18
Recordsβ»
- Best FA Cup performance: First round, 1974β75, 2006β07
- Best FA Trophy performance: Quarter-finals, 2022β23
- Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 1987β88
- Record attendance: 11,000 vs Tranmere Rovers, FA Cup first round, 1974β75 (at Elland Road)
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ Farsley AFC Non-League Club Directory
- ^ Putting the Celtic back in Farsley BBC News, 20 May 2015
- ^ History Farsley Celtic
- ^ The West Riding County Amateur League 1922β1939 Non-League Matters
- ^ Farsley Celtic at the Football Club History Database
- ^ 'Champions' prepare for play-off final after Whitby victory Yorkshire Evening Post, 15 May 2005
- ^ Unibond League play-offs go ahead BBC Sport, 11 May 2005
- ^ 2006 was the year of the Celt... Yorkshire Evening Post, 24 May 2006
- ^ 2006β07 Football Conference Football Club History Database
- ^ Farsley given Conference reprieve BBC Sport, 9 July 2009
- ^ Farsley Celtic removed from Blue Square North BBC Sport, 12 March 2010
- ^ Farsley Celtic finally disbanded BBC Sport, 10 March 2010
- ^ "FA demote Farsley Celtic by three leagues". BBC Sport. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Farsley Celtic: John Palmer interview". Yorkshire Evening Post. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Farsley at the Football Club History Database
- ^ 2011β12 Northern Premier League Football Club History Database
- ^ Priestley, David (25 April 2017). "Colne Miss Out in the Play-Offs". Clone Football Club. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ White, Ed (29 April 2017). "Farsley Celtic beat Ossett Town in extra-time thriller to clinch promotion to Evo-Stik Northern Premier". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Coney, Steve (17 May 2017). "Farsley Celtic turn to Adam Lakeland after joint-bosses dramatically leave following promotion". The Non-League Paper. Greenways Publishing. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Whiting, Ian (2 May 2018). "Farsley promotion hope ended by Ashton". The Bolton News. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Absolon, Mark (28 April 2019). "Farsley Celtic hold their nerve to sink Marine and claim promotion". Yorkshire Evening Post. JPIMedia Ltd. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ New Badge for the Celt Army Farsley Celtic F.C.
- ^ "Council secures Throstle Nest as home to new Celtic". BBC Sport. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
External linksβ»
- Farsley Celtic F.C.
- Football clubs in England
- Football clubs in West Yorkshire
- Association football clubs established in 1908
- 1908 establishments in England
- Sport in the City of Leeds
- Phoenix clubs (association football)
- West Riding County Amateur Football League
- Yorkshire Football League
- Northern Counties East Football League
- Northern Premier League clubs
- National League (English football) clubs
- Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom