Nickname(s) The Priorymen Manager Chris Fairless | Ground Capacity 3,500 Founded 1973 | |
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Full name Guisborough Town Football Club Ground King George V Ground,
Guisborough 2015–16 Northern League Division One, 3rd League Northern Football League Division One | ||
Guisborough Town Football Club are an English football club based in Guisborough, North Yorkshire. They were founded in 1973 and currently play in the Northern League Division One. Their home ground is the King George V Ground (sometimes abbreviated to 'KGV Ground') in Guisborough.
Contents
History
Guisborough Town Football Club formed in 1973 and after winning the Middlesbrough & District League and the South Bank & District League they were soon entered into the Northern Alliance. There is however evidence to show that there were football teams in the town as Guisborough pre-dating them, such as Guisborough Belmont Athletic as far back as the 1920s, and a team named simply Guisborough from the 1940s.
Guisborough finished top of the Northern Alliance in the 1979–80 season, and reached the final of the FA Vase tournament that same season, losing 2–0 to Stamford FC at the original Wembley Stadium.
Guisborough then played in the Midland League for two seasons, ending in 5th position in both occasions, before becoming a founding member of the Northern Counties East League where they played for the next three seasons.
In 1985, Guisborough joined Division Two of the Northern League. After spending just two seasons in the league they were promoted to Division One, having finished second in Division Two in the 1986–87 season.
Guisborough remained in Division One for the next eighteen years, before being relegated back to Division Two at the end of the 2004–05 season after being docked six points for twice fielding ineligible players. The club completed an excellent season in 2010–11 where they only lost 6 League games and finished Runner's Up earning promotion to the First Division (2011–12).
The captain of the club David Onions achieved the very rare feat of scoring a hat trick of hat tricks in 3 consecutive matches. He also captained the side to victory in the North Riding Senior Cup final defeating Marske United 1–0.
During the 1988–89 season, Guisborough made their sole appearance in the FA Cup First Round, narrowly losing 1–0 to professional side Bury at Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park.
Guisborough Town gained promotion at the end of 2010–11 back to the First Division, only being beaten 6 times in the League, scoring 110 League goals (124 including Cups) and winning the North Riding Senior Cup beating Middlesbrough, Stokesley, Thornaby and Marske United.
Guisborough Town are managed by Gary Forster (former Guisborough Town Development Team Manager and Darlington 1883 Youth Manager). Previous manager Stephen Dowling resigned in December 2016 with Guisborough in bottom place in the league. Prior to Dowling's tenure (which lasted almost exactly one year) Teessider Chris Hardy managed Town from February 2008 to December 2015 guiding them to promotion to Division One in 2011.
Club crest and colours
The club crest contains a graphic of Gisborough Priory, a notable Guisborough landmark.
Guisborough Town were formed in 1973 and play in red and white stripes, black shorts and red stockings. They wear these colours because of Sunderland's FA Cup triumph that season.
The 2013–14 season sees the home kit sponsored by Taylor Wimpey with away kit being all purple sponsored by Cleveland Land Services for the second season running.
Current squad
The following players have signed on for the 2016–17 season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable players
Ray Hankin was the club captain during the F.A. Cup match, against Bury in 1988 and was famously sent off by Tom Fitzharris. He is a former Burnley and Leeds forward who was once transferred to Vancouver Whitecaps for a large fee.
Peter Beagrie spent half a season with the club before being snapped up by local professional side Middlesbrough before stints at professional sides Sheffield United, Stoke City, Everton, Sunderland, Manchester City, Bradford City, Wigan Athletic, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town. He currently provides analysis of Football League Championship games on Sky Sports.
Darren Mowbray played as both striker and defender with Guisborough and is now Performance Analyst at Leeds United. He is the brother of former Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town player and former West Bromwich Albion and Celtic manager Tony Mowbray.
Kevin Scott made a smattering of appearances for Guisborough as well as Northern League rivals Crook Town having previously spent a professional career with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Port Vale, Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, Wycombe Wanderers and Darlington.
Danny Johnson scored 59 goals in the 2013-14 season and won the Northern League Young Player of the Year. He then signed for Cardiff City. Currently he Plays for Gateshead City.