Full name Bury Football Club Stadium
capacity 11,840 2015–16 League One, 16th Manager Lee Clark League EFL League One Founded 1885 | Nickname(s) The Shakers Chairman Stewart Day Website Club home page Arena/Stadium Gigg Lane Location Bury, United Kingdom | |
Profiles | ||
Bury Football Club is a professional association football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Contents
- Formation of the club and the first hundred years 18851985
- The Hugh Eaves years 19852003
- Recent years 2003present
- Nickname
- Rivals
- Current squad
- Youth team
- Coaching staff
- Former managers
- Championships
- Cup wins
- Minor wins
- Records
- References
Bury have been members of the Football League since 1894 and have won the FA Cup twice, in 1900 and 1903. Gigg Lane has been their home ground since 1885.
Formation of the club and the first hundred years (1885–1985)
The club was formed in 1885 by Aiden Arrowsmith following a meeting at the White Horse Hotel, between the Bury Wesleyans and Bury Unitarians Football Clubs. Gigg Lane's first ever game took place on 12 September 1885 when Bury played a friendly match against Wigan and won 4–3.
In 1887 the first shed was built at Gigg Lane at a cost of £50 (although this debt was written off and never paid for), also in the same year Bury recorded their record defeat, 0–10 v. Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup's 1st round.
Bury's first ever floodlit game took place on 5 November 1889, when Bury were defeated 4–5 by Heywood Central. In 1892 Bury were Lancashire Challenge Cup Winners, before joining the Football League Second Division in 1894, which they won at the first attempt and in this division they stayed until 1912. Bury's membership of the Football League from 1894 is now the 3rd longest ongoing run (after founders Preston North End and Notts County).
Bury won the FA Cup on 21 April 1900 they beat Southampton 4–0 in the FA Cup final at Crystal Palace, and returned to the London venue in 1903. The second win was achieved without conceding a goal in the entire competition, including a record FA Cup Final score of 6–0 over Derby County on 18 April, which remains the highest ever victory in an FA Cup Final.
In 1906 the South Stand was built at Gigg Lane. By 1922, the ground was finally handed over to the club from the Earl of Derby as a gift. In 1924 the Main Stand was built, during this period Bury's ground was one of the best in the Football League.
In 1923 Bury were promoted again, and in 1926 they achieved their highest League position ever, fourth in the First Division. Two years later they were relegated and have never played top-flight football again. Steady decline following this relegation and by 1971, they had reached the Fourth Division.
The Hugh Eaves years (1985–2003)
The club's greatest benefactor was Hugh Eaves, a local benefactor under the stewardship of whom Bury were promoted to the second tier of English football following back to back promotions.
In 1998–99, Bury were relegated from the second tier on goals scored, the only team to have ever done so.
Bury, along with long-fallen former First Division regulars Huddersfield Town and Grimsby Town pushed to remain at that level, only to see their plans being derailed by the financial crisis caused by the collapse of ITV Digital. In 2001–02, the club was relegated to League Two following a spell in administration for financial irregularities.
In May 2005, Bury became the first football club to score a thousand goals in each of the top four tiers of the English football league.
In 2006, Bury became the first team to ever be thrown out of the FA Cup after fielding an ineligible player.
After the FA Cup debacle, Bury failed to win in 16 games, and relegation to the Conference beckoned for the first time in the club's history. They survived the relegation battle of the 2006–07 season, where a 0–0 draw with Stockport County ensured they would stay up to play another season in League Two.
It was announced on 14 January 2008 that co-managers Chris Casper and Keith Alexander had been sacked, the board terminating the pair's contracts simultaneously. A club statement said the pair had "lost the confidence of a large majority of the fans". Chris Brass, formerly the manager of the club's Centre of Excellence, was given the vacant manager's post on a caretaker basis. His first match in charge resulted in a cup upset, the Shakers knocking Norwich City out of the FA Cup in the third round. Despite this early success, results remained inconsistent, and a more full-time solution was sought by the board after Brass led Bury to a humiliating 5–1 home defeat to MK Dons.
Recent years (2003–present)
On 4 February 2008, Bury appointed Alan Knill as manager. A former player with over 140 appearances, he went to coach the side from second-to-bottom up to 13th position during the 2007–08 season.In his first full season in charge, Knill led Bury to 4th place, missing out on automatic promotion by a single goal. In the play-off semi-final they were beaten on penalties by Shrewsbury Town. Bury finished the following season 9th, and partway through 2011–12 Knill and Assistant Manager Chris Brass left the club to take over at Scunthorpe United. Youth Team Manager Richie Barker took over as caretaker manager and lead the Shakers to promotion. Barker was subsequently appointed as the club's permanent manager, and led Bury to a 14th-place finish. During the 2012–13 pre-season Barker left to become the manager of newly promoted Crawley Town. His assistant, Peter Shirtliff, was appointed as caretaker manager but, after a poor run of form and the club in the relegation zone, was replaced on a permanent basis by Kevin Blackwell in September 2012. Bury pulled out of the relegation places, but in December were placed under a transfer embargo after falling into financial difficulty as a result of poor attendance figures, and ended up relegated at the end of the season. After a 12th-place finish in 2013–14, Bury finished 2014–15 third in League Two, with a club record points haul of 85 and promotion back to League One. At the conclusion of 2015–16 Bury were 14th in League One but, almost two months later, were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player for the final 15 minutes of their final game and dropped down to 16th in the amended table.
Nickname
The club's nickname is "The Shakers". According to the club website, the nickname was first used at the 1892 Lancashire Cup final, which Bury won. Prior to the match, J T Ingham, the club manager cum chairman, told the players "We shall shake 'em, in fact, we are the Shakers". It was popularised by the media and the club subsequently adopted "Shakers" as the official nickname.
Rivals
Bury have a number of rivalries with both local and other clubs.
Bury's most bitter rivalry is with Bolton Wanderers, who are Bury's oldest traditional rivals and the nearest by distance. Since the late 1960s, Bury and Bolton have rarely played as Bolton have been in the Premier League or Championship while Bury have largely remained in the lower leagues, so the rivalry has faded somewhat. However, come the 2016/17 season Bury and Bolton will once again be playing in the same division, reigniting the rivalry. The head to head record between the two clubs is: Bury – 30 wins, Bolton Wanderers – 29 wins and there are 17 draws between them.
Bury also have a fierce rivalry with Rochdale, also known as the M66 Derby, a rivalry that has been heightened by acts of hooliganism between the clubs. This is because Rochdale have largely been in the same league as Bury in recent times. The head to head record between the two clubs is: Bury - 26 wins, Rochdale - 17 wins and there are 20 draws between them.
Bury also have smaller rivalries with local clubs such as Oldham Athletic, Burnley, Wigan Athletic, Preston North End, Stockport County and Accrington Stanley.
Current squad
As of 25 January 2017.Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Youth team
As of 14 December 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.