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Revision as of 16:29, 11 July 2006
Football club| Full name | Northwich Victoria Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Vics | ||
| Founded | 1874 | ||
| Ground | Victoria Stadium Wincham Northwich | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 (1300 seated) | ||
| Chairman |  Mike Connett | ||
| Manager | Steve Burr | ||
| League | Conference National | ||
| 2005-06 | Conference North, Champions | ||
| |||
Northwich Victoria F.C. are an English football team based in Wincham, Northwich, Cheshire.
Northwich are an old club, having been founded in 1874. They played at the same Drill Field ground for over 125 years, but after a ground sharing period with Witton Albion they started the new 2005-06 season in their new stadium (Victoria Stadium) in Wincham, just outside Northwich and across the Trent & Mersey Canal which separates them from local rivals Witton Albion.
The club were briefly members of the Football League Second Division from 1892 to 1894, but otherwise played in various regional leagues until joining the newly formed Cheshire County League after WWI. They remained members of that league, winning the title just once, until 1968 when they became founder members of the Northern Premier League. In 1884, Northwich reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, but were knocked out by Blackburn Olympic.
In 1979, Northwich were founder members of yet another league, when the Alliance Premier League (later the Football Conference) was formed, and were the last club to be ever-present in that league 1979-2005. They finished last in the 2003-04 season and were slated for relegation to the Conference North division as part of the National League System restructuring, but circumstances including the bankruptcy of Telford United and the demotion of Margate led to Northwich Victoria being allowed to remain at the Conference National level. In the 2004-05 season, the team went into administration, and thus were deducted 10 points under National League rules, which left them in relegation trouble. However, the team recovered and finished in 19th place, nine points clear of the relegation zone (had they not had a points deduction, they would have finished 14th). Unfortunately for the Vics this turned out to be for nothing, as they were voluntarily demoted from the Conference National due to legal problems (after going into administration they renamed the club Northwich Victoria 2005 and FA deadlines over the transfer of their Conference membership to the club's new owners were not met) (the alternative would have been outright expulsion from the Conference, which would have forced them into starting again in one of the lower regional divisions).
In the 2005/2006 FA Cup, Northwich reached the 3rd round with over 4,000 fans travelling to Sunderland to watch the game. After an honourable fight, Northwich were defeated 3-0 and the team received huge applause from their fans. However at the end of the season, compensation came in the form of the Conference North Championship. In the penultimate game the team beat their nearest rivals, Stafford Rangers, in front of more than 3,000 supporters to guarantee an immediate return to the Conference National.
Honours
- FA Trophy winners 1984
- Conference North winners 2006
- Northern Premier League runners up 1977
- Cheshire League champions 1957; runners up 1925, 1948
- Football Combination runners up 1892
- Welsh Cup runners up 1882, 1889