Ryton & Crawcrook Albion F.C.
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| Full name | Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | The Albion; RACA |
| Founded | 1970 (as Ryton F.C.) |
| Ground | Kingsley Park Crawcrook Tyne and Wear NE40 3SN |
| Capacity | 1,500 |
| Chairman | Richie Hands |
| Manager | Tony Fawcett |
| League | Northern League Division Two |
| 2016–17 | Northern League Division Two, 20th of 21 |
| Website | Club home page |
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Football Club is an English non-league football club from Crawcrook, near Ryton, in Tyne and Wear, currently playing in the Northern League Division Two. The team, nicknamed "Albion" or the "RACA", play their home games at Kingsley Park. They were known as Ryton F.C. until 2011.
The club was established in 1970 with a single adult team, operating from a local pub. The club joined the Northern Alliance Division Two in 1988, gaining promotion through winning Division One in 1996-7 and the Premier Division to the Northern League Division Two in 2004-05. During this time, they were also runner's up in the Challenge Cup (1998-99). This position was aided when, in the mid-1990s, the club was granted a Lottery grant to build a ground and club house. The work was completed in 1998 and the ground was officially opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, with the club breaking their attendance figures as they attracted 1,100 people to Kingsley Park for a game against Newcastle United.
The senior team currently play in the Northern League Division Two, playing against clubs from across the four county football associations in the region, North Yorkshire; Durham; Northumberland and Cumberland. They also have a Reserves side ('Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 'A') playing in Northern Football Alliance Division Two.
With an appearance at the Durham Challenge Cup final at the end of the 2009–10 season, club secretary Ken Rodger used the raised profile of the club to try and attract sponsorship in the summer but the money never came through, despite companies' promises. This led to the departure of manager Barry Fleming and his assistant Paul Brown. Former Ashington assistant manager Peter Craggs took over the managerial role. No consistent squad of players was formed and a total of thirty-five players made appearances for the team in the space of a month, and the inconsistency was reflected in numerous heavy defeats on the pitch, including a 10–0 loss to Shildon in October 2010. That season the club finished 22nd in Northern League Division One and was later relegated to Northern League Division Two where it has remained ever since.
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