Stalybridge Celtic F.C.
 |
|
| Full name | Stalybridge Celtic Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | 'Bridge, The Celts, Celtic, |
| Founded | 1909 (possibly 1906) |
| Ground | Bower Fold, Stalybridge |
| Capacity | 6,500 (1,300 seated) |
| Chairman | Rob Gorski |
| Manager | Steve Burr |
| League | National League North |
| 2015–16 | National League North, 12th |
Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. The club participates in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. The team plays its home matches at Bower Fold.
In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic became a founder member of the Football League's Third Division North. After only two seasons in the new league, they became the first club to leave the new division.
The club's formation is usually given as 1909. However, it may have been as early as 1906 when an amateur club with the same name was formed. There were players called Storrs and Manwood who played in the 1906 and 1909 teams, and a player called Rhodes who played in the amateur's first game; a Herbert Rhodes was a significant benefactor of the 'later' Celtic.
The club played for two seasons in the Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League, before turning professional and joining the Lancashire Combination becoming second division champions at the first attempt. They followed it up with a fourth place and runners up spot in the Central League. In an attempt to progress the club joined the Southern League. The club rejoined the Central League for the 1919–20 season and in 1921 became one of the founder members of the Football League's Third Division North. However the club resigned after two seasons, as it was felt that it could not attract enough support to justify a League side – in spite of the fact that average attendance of 5,480 in 1922 was almost 2,000 more than neighbouring Rochdale, who played in the same Division. The full Celtic story in the League is detailed in Manchester A Football History where Celtic are given the same level of analysis and research as the Manchester region's other sides.
They joined the Cheshire County League remaining members for 60 years and winning the title only once in 1980. With the league's merger with the Lancashire Combination in 1982, they became founder members of the North West Counties League, winning the title in 1984 and 1987, with the latter triumph resulting in them being promoted to the Northern Premier League (NPL). In 1992 the club won the league title and was promoted to the Football Conference, playing at that level for six seasons to 1998 before being relegated to the NPL again, after finishing bottom.
...
Wikipedia