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| fullname = Nuneaton Borough A.F.C | | fullname = Nuneaton Borough A.F.C | | ||
| nickname = The Nuns, Boro | | nickname = The Nuns, Boro | | ||
| founded = |
founded = 1889 as Nuneaton St Nicholas (1937) | | ||
| ground = Manor Park<br/>] | | ground = Manor Park<br/>] | | ||
| capacity = 6,000 | | capacity = 6,000 | | ||
Revision as of 23:31, 25 August 2006
Football club| Full name | Nuneaton Borough A.F.C | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Nuns, Boro | ||
| Founded | 1889 as Nuneaton St Nicholas (1937) | ||
| Ground | Manor Park Nuneaton | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 | ||
| Chairman |  Roger Stanford | ||
| Manager | Roger Ashby | ||
| League | Conference North | ||
| 2005-06 | Conference North, 3rd | ||
| |||
Nuneaton Borough F.C. are the major football club in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and currently play in the Conference North division. The club was founded in 1937 and previous club names include Nuneaton St. Nicholas and Nuneaton Town. Boro, as they are known to supporters, play at Manor Park, which has a capacity of 6,000 (500 seated) although 22,114 spectators packed into the ground for an FA Cup tie against Rotherham United in 1967. The club's recent run in the FA Cup seen the Boro reach the third round, and after holding Premier League club Middlesbrough F.C. to a 1-1 draw, Boro lost the replay 5-2 at the Riverside. It was Boro's best ever run in the FA Cup.
The club colours are traditionally blue and white stripes, which have been brought back for the 2006/07 season after being scrapped for the 2005/06 season. The club is set to move to a purpose built stadium which they will share with Nuneaton Rugby Club. Boro's local rivals include Hinckley United, Bedworth United, Atherstone Town and Tamworth. After the club announced a six-figure sponsorship deal with housing company Bloor Homes last year, which was meant to be the biggest sponsorship deal in the club's history, Nuneaton have announced that the sponsors for the upcoming 2006/07 season will be Stuart Plumbing & Heating Supplies.
The club's current manager is Roger Ashby who has previously managed such teams as Rushden & Diamonds, Bedford Town and Grantham Town in non-league football. The club are expected to be one of the main promotion contenders in the 2006/07 season as they aim to move up to the Conference National, a league they were relegated from three years ago.
The club play at Manor Park which is located in Beaumont Road, Nuneaton. The ground has three stands, the Cock & Bear end which is named after the public house just outside the ground is where the supporters gather and create a lot of noise and atmosphere. The Main Stand is the seated area at the ground and contains 500 seats. The Canal Side is named after the Coventry Canal which flows past behind it and is where the away supporters are positioned when segregation is in place. The club are set to move to a new stadium which they will share with Nuneaton Rugby Club. The stadium has been granted planning permisson and is set to be built late in 2006, despite complaints from nearby Horeston Grange residents.
History
Senior football in Nuneaton began back in 1889 when a team called Nuneaton St Nicholas were formed and after five years the Saints changed their name to Nuneaton Town and entered league football for the first time when they helped to form the North Warwickshire League. In a busy spell the club also played a part in the Coventry and District League, Coventry and North Warwick, Leicestershire, Nuneaton and District and Trent Valley Combination. In 1902/3 they were champions of the Nuneaton League and winners of the Coventry and North Warwick in 1904/5. Nicknamed the Nuns, a great step forward was made for the 1906/7 season when membership of the Birmingham Junior League was obtained. The Nuns won the Championship at the first attempt to make their mark on Midland Intermediate football. In 1908, the Junior League was retitled the Birmingham Combination and further title successes followed in 1914/5, 1928/9 and 1930/1. Nuneaton Town also competed in the Birmingham League (1919-24 and 1933-37) and the Southern League (1924-26.) On May 13th 1937 it came as a surprise when the club was disbanded. The previous December the club directors had been relieved of any financial stress when the club’s Manor Park ground was sold to the Nuneaton Corporation. But two days later Nuneaton Borough had risen from the Nuns ashes. Some of the greatest players to play for Nuneaton are George Best, Liam Widdows and Terry Angus. Playing at Manor Park and assisted by several of the old club’s younger players, the 1937/8 campaign was spent in the Central Amateur League. The following season the club had turned semi professional and had moved into the Birmingham Combination. Between 1945 and 1956 was a solid period in the club’s history, which saw them never finish below sixth place in the table, and three runners-up medals were followed by a move in 1952 to the Birmingham League where the championship was won back-to-back in 1954/5 and 1955/6. A switch followed to the Southern League in 1958 and the following year they were founder members of the Premier Division where they spent the next 16 years finishing second in 1966/7 and runners-up to Wimbledon in 1974/5. In 1979 they were founder members of the Alliance Premier League, which later became the Conference National. Borough slipped back after their second season but won the Midland section of the Southern League at the first attempt and were back among the elite of non-league football. In 1983/4 and 1984/5 they finished as runners-up but the club failed to capitalise and in 1987 they were demoted back into the Southern League due to irregularities off the field and went into freefall. They lasted just one season in the Southern League Premier Division and suffered a second relegation before being taken over by a new board of directors and Nuneaton Borough AFC 1991 was formed.
In 1993 the club won the Southern League Midland Division title but only lasted one season in the Premier Division before another relegation. But in the 1995/6 season the steps in the right direction began again and the club won the Midland Division and the Southern League Cup and three years later in 1999 the Southern League Championship finally became the property of Nuneaton Borough and they were back in the top flight again. The step back into the Conference saw the club achieve gradual improvement with mid-table and a top ten finish before an agonising relegation on the final day in 2002/3 which saw the club yet again back in the Southern League. But with the league structure being changed dramatically, a fourth place finish the following season saw the club take their position in Conference North and in the first ever season in 2004/5, second place was achieved along with a place in the play-offs eventually losing to Altrincham F.C. in the play-off semi-finals. The club was given the Fair Play award for having just one player sent off all season.
Switching from the league to cup competitions, Nuneaton Town first entered the FA Cup in 1899 but never progressed to the competition proper. This is something Nuneaton Borough have done 21 times and along the way have chalked up some wonderful memories including famous victories over Football League sides Watford, Swansea City, Oxford United and most recently Stoke City. In 1949/50 and 1966/7 (replay) the club reached the Third Round Proper. Their 1966/7 run carried them further than any other non-league club that season. A crowd of 22,114 were in attendance at Manor Park on January 28th 1967 for the visit of Rotherham United where Boro were eventually beaten in a Third Round replay. In the FA Trophy, Borough’s best run has seen them reach the quarter final stages three times in 1977 (replay), 1980 and 1987. The Birmingham Senior Cup was won for the first time in 1931 and has been won a total of eight times.
On 7th January 2006 Nuneaton pulled off one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history by drawing 1-1 with Middlesbrough F.C, a team approximately 100 places above them in the league standings. What makes this outstanding is that Nuneaton's team is filled with part-timers whereas Middlesbrough are a top-flight professional football club. Striker Gez Murphy scored the equalising penalty in the 90th minute after a Gareth Southgate handball. Middlesbrough won the replay 5-2.