Nelson F.C.

Early years: 1881 to 1921

The club was founded in 1881. They were founder members of the Lancashire League in the 1889–90 season, finishing in 4th place. They were Lancashire League champions in 1895–96, winning 22 out of 30 games, scoring 105 goals, and runners-up two seasons later in 1897–98. However, the club folded during the 1898–99 season and their record for that season expunged when they were expelled by the Lancashire FA. They rejoined the Lancashire League in the 1900–01 season, finishing 6th. In 1901–02 they joined the Lancashire Combination. In 1903–04 the league expanded with two divisions, and Nelson played in Division One. However, after finishing 18th in 1906–07 they were relegated to Division Two, where they stayed for just one season before being promoted back to Division One. The club closed down in 1916, when bailiffs were called in they remained closed during World War I until they reformed in 1918 joining the Central League in 1919–20 where they stayed for just two seasons.

The Football League years: 1921 to 1931

In 1921, the club joined the Football League as a founder member of the Third Division North. Their first league game, a 2–1 defeat to the now-defunct Wigan Borough attracted a record attendance of 9,000 on 27 August 1921. And their first season in the Football League, 1921–22, ended with a 16th-place finish, although they struggled with comparatively low attendances.

The following season, 1922–23, proved to be the most successful in the club's history, when they finished as champions of the Third Division North, earning promotion on 24 April 1923 with a 2–0 home win over Wrexham and were promoted to the Second Division, the first and only time the club played in a national league. In preparation for the new season in the Second Division the club went on a pre-season tour to Spain in the summer of 1923, winning two of their games, beating Real Oviedo 2–1 and Real Madrid 4–2 making them the first English team to beat Real Madrid in Spain. Their stay in the Second Division was short-lived as they finished 21st (out of 22) in 1923–24 and were relegated back to the Third Division North. They were though the first team to score at high-flying Blackpool and also beat eventual champions Leeds United at home. They struggled though all season with their first away win not coming until March when they beat Manchester United. The following season they finished as runners-up to Darlington on their return to the Third Division North, but it was to be the last time the club seriously threatened to gain promotion back to a nationwide league.

Jimmy Hampson played for Nelson between 1926 and 1927. On 10 April 1926 a record attendance of 14,143 at Seedhill, saw a 2–2 draw with Bradford Park Avenue. For a town with a population of under 40,000 the attendance were considered impressive. They reached the second round of the FA Cup in 1926–27, beating Stockport County at home 4–1 in the first round, before losing 2–1 away to Ashington in the second round. That season they finished 5th, however the club then started to struggle in the league and finished in last place in 1927–28, conceding 135 goals, and they were also struggling financially and found themselves £6,500 in debt. They were though re-elected to the league. In 1930–31 they reached the second round of the FA Cup for a second time. In the first round they beat Workington 4–0 then lost 2–1 to York City in a replay after a 1–1 draw. However, they again struggled in the league, dropping to last place on Boxing Day 1930, where they stayed for the rest of the season. After finishing bottom of the league for a second time, they failed to win re-election and were voted out of the Football League after a second vote, following a tie. They were replaced by Chester City. The club's last game in the Football League was a 4–0 defeat to Hull City on 2 May 1931. The club then dropped back into the Lancashire Combination where on 7 August 1936 they folded again after incurring a big loss. Hastily reformed as Nelson Town, the "new" club entered the local Nelson & Colne League in time for the 1936–7 season and duly lost their first fixture at Seedhill against James Nelson SC 3–2. After completing two seasons in local football the club announced after their final game at Gargrave in 1939 that the following season would see them return to senior football in the West Lancashire League. Sadly only two games were played before events in Europe dictated a seven-year absence of League football in Nelson.

Post-World War II: 1946 to 1982

Following World War II, the club was reformed in 1946, and immediately rejoined the Lancashire Combination finishing 11th in 1946–47. The following season they were runners-up and for the next few seasons the club continued to do well both in the Lancashire Combination and cup competitions. A 4th-placed finish in 1947–48 was followed by the club being crowned champions in 1949–50, scoring 125 league goals, when they also won the Lancashire Combination Cup. They were runners-up in 1950–51, when they lost out on the title on goal-average, while scoring 120 goals. Also in 1950–51, Nelson won the Lancashire Combination Cup again and reached the second round of the FA Cup. Although the first time the club did so a non-league club, meaning they started the competition in the first qualifying round where they beat Lancaster City 5–2. They then beat Leyland Motors 4–1 in the second qualifying round, followed by victories over Bacup Borough (2–0 in the third qualifying round) and Hyde United (3–0 in a replay in the fourth qualifying round). In the first round they beat Witton Albion 1–0 before losing 3–2 to Port Vale in the second round. In 1951–52 they were champions for a second time, this time scoring 139 goals with Joe Fagan, who went on to manage Liverpool, as manager. A 5th-place finish in 1952–53, Fagan's second and final season in charge, was followed by a 3rd place in 1953–54. However, despite finishing as champions twice, each time they applied to re-join the Football League they narrowly failed. In 1954–55 they won the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy. They won the Lancashire Combination Cup for a third time in 1959–60. In 1960–61 they were runners-up in the Combination, the closest the club came to winning the title again. However, in 1965–66 they finished 21st (out of 22) and were relegated to Division Two. The Lancashire Combination lost many of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League in 1968. However, Nelson remained in the Combination. In their final season in the Combination, 1981–82, they finished 3rd.

Modern era: 1983 to present

Nelson became founder members of the new North West Counties Football League, joining the Third Division. They finished 10th (out of 18) in their first season, 1982–83. The 1986–87 season saw a 4th-placed finish. The following season the Third Division was scrapped, and Nelson were moved up to the Second Division, finishing in 16th. However, due to the poor state of their Victoria Park stadium, and problems with getting it up to the standard required by the league, the club were forced to drop down to the West Lancashire League, where they played in the Second Division and remained for four seasons from 1988–89 to 1991–92. They struggled though with a highest place finish of 15th. They were re-admitted to the North West Counties Second Division for the 1992–93 season after Victoria Park was upgraded, although they finished 17th (out of 18) in their first season. In 1996–97 they won the Division Two Trophy. In 1999–2000 they finished 3rd. In 2000–01 they finished in the third and final promotion place on the final day of the season above Atherton Laburnum Rovers. However, Atherton were granted a replay of their final game as their opponents had fielded an ineligible player. Atherton won the replayed game to snatch away third spot from Nelson. In 2005–06 they again finished 3rd and were promoted to the First Division, the club's first promotion in 83 years.

They finished 20th (out of 22) in 2006–07 and 20th (out of 20) in 2007–08 although they were not relegated. In 2008–09 the First Division was renamed the Premier Division; Nelson finished in 17th position out of 22 despite winning just three home games, The Blues fared much better on the road to finish 16 points clear of bottom club Atherton Collieries. On 15 July 2010, the North West Counties League announced that Nelson had resigned from the league with immediate effect. Nelson F.C. continued to operate junior teams, however, and made an application to rejoin the North West Counties League for the 2011–12 season, which was later approved by the FA. Mark Fell was appointed 1st team manager in November 2012 after Michael Morrison and Robert Grimes were sacked. Fell led the side to 10th in the NWCFL. In Fell's first full season in charge, Nelson were crowned champions of the NWCFL Division One, being promoted to the Premier Division in the process.

Seedhill

Nelson originally played its home matches on a pitch behind the Golden Ball pub moving to the Park Ground by the 1890s. They moved to Seedhill around 1905 where the club had a small wooden stand and a small covered enclosure behind one goal, with grass banking around the rest of the ground. In 1922 a large 2,000 capacity wooden stand was built. The club's highest attendance at the stadium was 14,143 for a Third Division North match at home Bradford Park Avenue on 10 April 1926.

Nelson played their final home game at Seedhill on Sunday 28 March 1971 when a crowd of over a thousand gathered to witness the first Sunday fixture at the stadium, they were duly rewarded with an eight-goal thriller as Clitheroe were beaten 5–3. Seedhill, having hosted the Nelson Admirals speedway team between 1967 and 1969, latterly became a well known stock car venue before its eventual demolition around 1980 when the M65 motorway cut through the area. The site of Seedhill remains clearly visible today.

Victoria Park

Nelson moved to Victoria Park (known locally as "Little Wembley") in time for their opening home fixture of the following 1971–72 Lancashire Combination season, when the Nelson Leader reported a "good crowd" attended to see them lose 1–0 to the recently reformed Accrington Stanley on 28 August 1971. Victoria Park now has a capacity of 2,000, with 1,700 standing. It is bordered by trees on two sides in surrounding parkland. Along one side there is a low-roofed wooden stand with seating in the centre section. The side opposite has the dugouts with a grass area. Behind one goal are the clubhouse and changing rooms at the top end of the ground.

In January 2009 Nelson launched an appeal, the "£10K Floodlight Appeal", to help improve the floodlighting facilities at Victoria Park. In October 2013 the dugouts at Victoria Park were replaced and improved to meet a league ground grading requirement.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Club officials

Board of directors

Coaching staff

Notable former players and managers

League

Cup

Records

Averages

The average league-game attendance at Victoria Park for the 2015–16 season was 126, placing Nelson 13th for the division, and was an increase of 2.4% from the previous season.

Past averages:

Source: English football site Non League Matters NW Counties Football League site