Nickname(s) The Hillmen Chairman David Atkinson Manager Chris Willcock | Ground Capacity 1,350 (209 seated) Founded 1886 | |
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Full name Glossop North End Association Football Club Ground Arthur Goldthorpe Stadium, Glossop 2015–16 Northern Premier League Division One North, 4th League North West Counties Football League Arena/Stadium The Arthur Goldthorpe Stadium | ||
Glossop North End Association Football Club are an English football club in Glossop, Derbyshire. Formerly members of the Football League, they are currently in the Northern Premier League Division One North and are members of the Derbyshire County Football Association. They play their home matches at Surrey Street, which has a capacity of 1,350 (209 seated, 1,141 standing). The club play in blue, and are known as the Hillmen. Between 1899 and 1992 the club were known as Glossop.
Contents
- Early years
- 1950s onwards
- Grounds
- Current squad
- Notable former players
- Current backroom staff
- Notable former managers
- Managerial records
- Leagues
- Cups
- Awards
- Records
- Historical kits
- Ladies team
- Youth teams
- References
Glossop was, before Rushden & Diamonds and Fleetwood Town, often cited as the smallest town in England to have had a Football League club: it still is the smallest town whose team has played in the English top flight. At the turn of the 20th century, Glossop played in the Football League First Division, the highest level of English football at the time. During this period the club was bankrolled by Sir Samuel Hill-Wood, who was later to become chairman of Arsenal, and the club retains connections with Arsenal to this day.
Early years
Glossop North End were founded in 1886, when they played friendly amateur matches. They played at various grounds in the town, including Pyegrove, Silk Street, Water Lane and Cemetery Road before settling at North Road. The club joined the North Cheshire League in 1890, before moving to the Combination in 1894 and turning professional. In their first season in the Combination, 1894–95, they finished as runners-up. After ending the following season, 1895–96, in third, the club moved to the Midland League and in the 1896–97 season finished as runners-up. After a second season in the Midland League, they were elected to the Second Division of the Football League in 1898–99 finishing as runners-up to Manchester City and winning promotion to the First Division. They then changed their name to Glossop (to avoid any confusion with Preston North End) before spending their one and only season in the top flight, 1899–1900 when they finished in last place and were relegated back to the Second Division, having won only 4 matches, all at home, against Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Aston Villa.
They then spent the next fifteen seasons in the Second Division, during which time they reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1908–09 where they lost to 1–0 to eventual finalists Bristol City in a replay on 10 March 1909. The club's chairman and benefactor at the time was Sir Samuel Hill-Wood, who was later to become chairman of Arsenal. However, the club became perennial strugglers in the Second Division.
The 1913–14 season saw a club record attendance of 10,736 for an FA Cup second round match against Preston North End on 31 January 1914. However, the following season they finished bottom of the league. The start of World War I meant the Football League closed down. Glossop were re-formed toward the end of the war by Oswald Partington, but failed to be re-elected to the Football League. Glossop then joined the Lancashire Combination, playing just one season, 1919–20. Northern Nomads ground-shared with Glossop for several years during this time. The club then dropped out of the Lancashire Combination and into the Manchester League. In the 1920s and 1930s they won the Gilcryst Cup three times and were crowned Manchester League champions in 1927–28. They won the Gilcryst Cup for a fourth time in 1947–48.
1950s onwards
During 1955, the club moved from its original home of North Road to their current ground Surrey Street. In 1957 Glossop rejoined the Lancashire Combination, finishing in eighth in 1957–58. They spent nine seasons in the league before dropping back down once more to the Manchester League after the 1965–66 season. They joined the Cheshire County League as founder members of Division Two in the 1978–79 season, finishing in 17th. In 1980–81 they were Division Two runners-up, only losing out on the title on goal difference, but still winning promotion to Division One. After a sixth-place finish in 1981–82, the club became founder members of the newly formed North West Counties Football League in 1982 when the Cheshire County League merged with the Lancashire Combination. In 1986, the club marked their centenary season with a match with sister club Arsenal. They joined Division One, however they struggled in the league for the next six seasons and after finishing bottom in 1987–88 were relegated to Division Two. The 1990–91 season saw the club reach the fourth round of the FA Vase where they lost to Cammell Laird 2–1 in a replay. They also won the North West Counties Football League Division Two Cup, beating Cheadle Town 2–1 in the final. However, the club almost folded in 1990–91 when their then Chairman sold the ground to the local council and left the club with large debts. The present Board of Directors took over in January 1991. After a sixth-place finish in 1991–92 they were promoted back to Division One over higher-placed clubs and after the season the directors reverted the club's name to Glossop North End.
In their first season under the club's original name, they reached the semi-finals of the North West Counties League Cup, before losing to Nantwich Town 5–2 over two legs. They reached the semi-finals of the League's floodlit Cup in 1994–95, losing to Penrith 3–1 over two legs. In the 1996–97 season they beat Trafford in the final of the Manchester Premier Cup at Old Trafford, before winning the competition again the following season, this time beating Radcliffe Borough in the final at Maine Road. They also reached the semi-finals of the North West Counties League Cup, losing to Vauxhall Motors 3–1 over two legs.
In the 2000–01 season they won the Derbyshire County Football Association Senior Challenge Cup beating Glapwell in a two-legged final, drawing 3–3 away and 2–2 at home before winning 4–2 on penalties. In the league the club struggled to avoid relegation from Division One throughout much of the early 2000s, before finishing ninth in 2006–07, the highest position attained by manager Chris Nicholson in his six seasons at the club. Nicholson announced in March 2007 that he was to step down at the end of the season following confirmation of his emigration to Perth, Australia. As a result, the vacancy was advertised and his assistant Steve Young was eventually appointed manager for 2007–08. In the 2008–09 season they reached the final of the FA Vase where they lost 2–0 to Northern League First Division side Whitley Bay at Wembley Stadium, on 10 May 2009. Due to this achievement, Arsenal, with whom they retain connections due to Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood's grandfather Sir Samuel Hill-Wood having owned and bankrolled Glossop during their run in the Football League, invited them to their state-of-the-art London Colney training ground during their stay in London, to prepare for the FA Vase final.
In late May 2013 the club appointed Chris Willcock as first team manager. In his first season the team finished third in the North West Counties League which was their highest position in any league since the 1980–81 season in the Cheshire County League. During the season Glossop produced an unbeaten run in the league of 22 games, with only 5 draws, stretching from November 2013 until they were beaten by Bootle on April 2014.
The 2014–15 season was the most successful season in Glossop's recent history. On 19 April Glossop beat Nelson to win the North West Counties League Premier Division. They also reached two cup finals: the North West Counties League Cup where they faced Atherton Collieries winning 2–0 in front of a crowd of 1,012. They also reached the FA Vase final facing North Shields at Wembley Stadium. In a repeat of the 2009 final, Glossop were beaten 2–1 after extra time.
Glossop began the 2015–16 season in the Northern Premier League Division One North, and played in a new league for the first time in 33 years after promotion from the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. They also competed in the FA Trophy for the first time since 1986. Glossop finished 4th and qualified for the playoffs but lost 2–1 to Northwich Victoria in the semi final.
Grounds
Glossop played at a variety of grounds, including Pyegrove, Silk Street, Water Lane and Cemetery Road before settling at North Road where they played in Division One, and stayed until after the resumption of football post WWII .
During 1955, the club moved from its original home to the club's home ground Surrey Street (official title: Arthur Goldthorpe Stadium) has a capacity of 1,350 with 209 seated. North Road. Floodlights were installed in 1992.
During the off-season of 2010 the Supporters' Club funded and helped build the new team benches, replacing the aged and basic ones with new spacious dugouts. In the summer of 2011 the club upgraded more of the facilities at Surrey Street. The new clubhouse, dressing rooms, refreshment bar and hospitality room were completed in a relatively short amount of time being ready for the first pre-season game of 2011–12. By March 2012 the club/ground had achieved the FA Ground Grading grade of E which is required for football clubs to participate at step 4 of the National League System.
During the off season of 2014 season Glossop were approved a grant from the Football Foundation to replace the aged pitch perimeter fence with a new sports rail with mesh panel infill. With that and a few other improvements they achieved the FA Ground Grade of D which is required to remain at step 4 of the National League System.
Current squad
As of 4 March 2017 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable former players
Players who have international playing experience or top division experience who have played for Glossop include:
Current backroom staff
As of August 2016
Notable former managers
(Managers who have international playing experience before managing Glossop)
Managerial records
Based on win % in all competitive matches
Leagues
Cups
Awards
Records
Historical kits
Ladies' team
The club have a ladies team, Glossop North End Ladies, which was established in 1998. Glossop North End Ladies are currently competing in the Derbyshire Girls & Ladies League Division One, which is on Level 7 of the ladies football pyramid league structure, where they have played since the 2012–13 season. In the 2014–15 reached the final of the Ladies Challenge Cup, the first time in their history they had reached a cup final. On 10 May they played Mackworth ST Francis FC but lost 2–1.
On 1 May 2016 they played Castle Donnington Ladies FC in the Ladies Challenge Cup and won 4–1, making this the 1st trophy won by the ladies team. On 11 May 2016 the ladies won the league for the first time in their history making the 2015–16 season a double success.
Current squad
As of 3 April 2016 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Leagues
Cups
Youth teams
Glossop North End AFC Juniors was established in 1989. They have teams of both boys in age groups from 6 years old right to Under-19, and girls in age groups from Under-9 to Under-16. They were accredited to the FA Charter standard Award in 2004, and in 2015 were awarded Derbyshire FA Charter Standard Community club of the year.