Jump to content

City of Liverpool F.C.

Coordinates: 53°28′16.82″N 2°57′38.11″W / 53.4713389°N 2.9605861°W / 53.4713389; -2.9605861
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Prsquires (talk | contribs) at 11:10, 23 August 2017 (→‎Records). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

City of Liverpool
File:CityOfLiverpool.png
Full nameCity of Liverpool Football Club
Nickname(s)The Purps
Gegründet2015
GroundTDP Solicitors Stadium
Capacity1750
ChairmanPaul Manning
ManagerSimon Burton
LeagueNorthern Premier League Division One West
2023–24Northern Premier League Division One West, 5th of 20
WebsiteClub website

City of Liverpool is an English football club based in Liverpool. Formed in 2015, they are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West.

History

Formation and league application (2015-16)

The first meeting that led to the formation of the club was proposed in October 2014 by Paul Manning and present at that 1st meeting, were Peter Furmedge, Martin Jones, Kevin Morland & Nicky Allt.[1] A number of names such as "Liverpool City FC" and "Merseyside FC" were considered before the club was officially established in May 2015 as "City of Liverpool FC".[2][1] The club chose to play in the colour purple due to it being the civic colour of the city.[3]

Due to work commitments and other issues Allt & Morland had left the venture by December 2014 and in February 2015, Stuart Fitzgerald joined the remaining 3 committee members.

The club held an open public meeting in September 2015 by which time Martin Jones had left the organisation, at which the community voted to form the club as a CBS a community Benefit Society and the club then moved forward to making an application to join The North West Counties League for season 2016/17, in December 2015. In February 2016 the club held its first member's meeting at Jack Jones House in Liverpool City Centre.

Simon Burton, formerly of Runcorn Town, was appointed as the first manager of the club in March 2016.[4] The club applied to join the North West Counties Football League in early 2016 but their application was rejected by the FA in May and they were instead placed in the Liverpool County Premier League.[5] They chose to take up their option to appeal the decision, particularly in light of the league being left with a vacancy following the resignation of Northwich Manchester Villa, and attended an appeal hearing at Wembley Stadium on 8 June 2016, attended by the 2 remaining Directors, Paul Manning & Peter Furmedge, as Stuart Fitzgerald has left the board in April 2016. The appeal was successful, allowing the club to join the First Division of the North West Counties Football League for the 2016–17 season.[6]

Season 2016-2017: Debut season - 2 Cup Wins and Play-Off Winners

The club played their historic first game away to Prestatyn Town of the Cymru Alliance on 9 July 2016 in a pre-season friendly, which resulted in a 3-2 win [7] A 2-1 win away to Whitchurch Alport in November saw the team reach the top of the league[8] and they remained in the promotion race until late into the season. The club missed out on automatic promotion in the end, however, but secured a place in the playoffs after finishing 4th.[9]

The club also reached two cup finals in their maiden campaign, first defeating Widnes FC 4-0 on aggregate to reach the final of the NWCFL First Division Challenge Cup.[10] and then overturning a two-goal deficit against Chadderton before eventually winning a penalty shootout to reach the final of the NWCFL League Challenge Cup.[11] They faced Sandbach United in the First Division Challenge Cup final on 1 May 2017 in Runcorn; Jamie McDonald scored the only goal of the match to see the club lift its first ever piece of silverware.[12] They defeated Whitchurch Alport 1-0 in the playoff semi-final and beat neighbours Litherland REMYCA 3-0 in the final[13] they also faced Premier Division side Barnoldswick Town in the final of the League Challenge Cup in Fleetwood and won the game 3-2 on Penalties, after the match finished 1-1 aet.

City of Liverpool FC became only the 2nd team in the history of the North West Counties League to win the historic Cup double after Cammell Laird did the same in season 2004-05.

At the NWCFL AGM held at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool on Saturday 17th June 2017, Simon Burton was awarded the title of "1st Division Manager of the Year" and Stephen Longrigg was awarded the title of "1st Division Goalkeeper of the Year".

On 10th May 2017 the club was awarded the title of "Non-League Team of the Season" by the sports bookmaker Coral.[14]

Season 2017-18: Another Cup Win and 1st FA Cup Journey

Season 2017/18 started extremely well for the The Purps, immediately adding another trophy to the cabinet by beating Atherton Collieries 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in 90 minutes, in the annual Champions Cup game between the Premier Division Champions (in this case Atherton Collieries) and The Challenge Cup Winners (in this case City of Liverpool FC).

Atherton held a 2 goal lead until the 63rd minute when substitute Jamie McDonald got the first goal back and almost immediately Captain for the day Joe Camozzi got the equaliser. Michael Smith was then sent off in the 75th minute and then the Purps were reduced to 9 men after Player Coach Tom Spearritt handled on the line. Atherton scored the subsequent penalty for a 3-2 lead before almost unbelievably the 9 men equalised on 89 minutes via Karl Noon to force penalties (no extra time was played). City of Liverpool ran out winners 4-3 on penalties.

On 5th August The Purps travelled away to fellow Premier League side Padiham FC for the historic 1st ever game in the FA Cup 1st preliminary round match. COLFC took the lead on 6 minutes via Jame McDonald before Padiham equalised via the penalty spot on 37. Within 2 minutes though Padiham were reduced to 10 men after a high challenge on the goalkeeper Ste Longrigg. Tom Peterson came on as sub to score the winner and secure a place in the 2nd Preliminary round against local rivals Prescot Cables.

After a 2-2 draw away to Prescot Cables (complete with red cards and half way line goals) on Friday 18th August, 4 days later COLFC faced the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League side in the FA Cup replay. A new record home crowd attendance of 956 witnessed The Purps set the highest scoring game of the round as they defeated their opponents 8-2, to secure their place in the First Qualifying Round and a home tie against Nantwich Town.

Stadium

City of Liverpool originally intended to play within the Liverpool city boundaries from the start but, as suitable facilities did not currently exist at the time the club was formed, they were forced to explore other avenues. In December 2015, the club agreed a deal with Bootle that will see them ground-share at the 1750 capacity Delta Taxis Stadium in neighbouring Sefton for the 2016-17 & 2017-18 seasons while they continue to search for a permanent home within the city.[15]

Honours

Ownership

The club was officially registered as a Community Benefit Society in November 2015 and is owned completely by its supporters.[16][17] Membership is obtained by paying an annual fee to the club (£10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for children) and entitles the owner to a single share. Members aged 16 and over also receive voting rights within the club.[18]

Memberships had reached the 500 mark by February 2016 despite the club being without a manager or players and having not contested a single match at that point.[19] As the 2016/17 season, the club currently has 1414 official paid up members as at 19th May 2017.

Records

Source:[20]

References

  1. ^ a b Thomas, Joe (14 September 2015). "Revealed: Plans to create official fan-owned football club to represent Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. ^ "FAQ's". City of Liverpool FC. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  3. ^ Wilson, Paul (1 October 2015). "City of Liverpool FC seek to give community a team of its own". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. ^ Kelly, Andy (29 March 2016). "Newly formed City of Liverpool football team appoint first manager". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  5. ^ Templeman, Ian (12 May 2016). "NWCFL Constitution - Season 2016-17". NWCFL. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  6. ^ Templeman, Ian (9 June 2016). "City of Liverpool FC Join Our League". NWCFL. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  7. ^ @CityofLpoolFC (9 July 2016). "Final score: Prestatyn Town 2 - 3 #COLFC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Philbin, Paul (18 November 2016). "Purple haze - life on the road with City of Liverpool FC". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  9. ^ Burke, Patrick (29 April 2017). "Weekend Round Up - Saturday 29th April 2017". NWCFL. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  10. ^ Langley, Gary (17 March 2017). "Division One Preview - 18th March 2017". NWCFL. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. ^ Smedley, Simon (21 April 2017). "Chaddy's spot-kick agony". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  12. ^ Templeman, Ian (1 May 2017). "City of Liverpool lift the Reusch First Division Cup". NWCFL. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  13. ^ Templeman, Ian (6 May 2017). "Remy to host the Purps in play off final". NWCFL. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Coral Non-League Team of the Season". Coral.
  15. ^ Philbin, Paul (3 December 2015). "City of Liverpool FC to play in Sefton after club bosses can't find a suitable ground in the city". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  16. ^ Thomas, Joe (17 November 2015). "It's official: City of Liverpool FC confirmed as new supporter-owned club". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  17. ^ "City of Liverpool Football Club Limited". Community Shares. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  18. ^ "Memberships". City of Liverpool FC. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  19. ^ Thomas, Joe (17 February 2016). "Liverpool's newest football club on the hunt for a manager*". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  20. ^ http://www.hallmarksecurityleague.com/results.php?comp=6

53°28′16.82″N 2°57′38.11″W / 53.4713389°N 2.9605861°W / 53.4713389; -2.9605861

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=City_of_Liverpool_F.C.&oldid=796843030"