Cliftonville F.C.
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| Cliftonville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Cliftonville F.C. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Reds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1879 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Solitude, Belfast (Capacity 8,000) |
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| Chairman | Hugh McCartan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Eddie Patterson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Irish Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006/2007 | 3rd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cliftonville F.A.C. (the Reds) is an Northern Irish football team playing in the Irish Premier League. Founded on 20 September 1879 by John McCredy McAlery in north Belfast ward of Cliftonville, it is the oldest football team in Ireland and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2004. Since 1890 the club has played at Solitude. Its supporters mainly come from north and west Belfast and have strong links with various supporters clubs in continental Europe, above all from FC St. Pauli of Germany.
Cliftonville F.A.C. has won the Premier League three times (1906, 1910 and 1998), and the Irish Cup 8 times
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[edit] History
[edit] The Founders of Football in Ireland
Cliftonville had its birthday on September 20, 1879 with an advertisement in the Belfast Newsletter in which John McAlery, a young Belfast businessman and manager of the "Irish Tweed House", Royal Avenue, and later with premises in Rosemary Street, asked people to sign up with "Cliftonville Association Football Club". [1]
Only one week after the advertisement was launched, Cliftonville played its first recorded game on the third ground of Cliftonville Cricket Club off Oldpark Avenue against a selection of Rugby players known as Quidnunces on September 29, 1879. The newly formed club, however, was beaten 2-1. On their first match against Caledonians, they did not much better, as it ended in a 9-1 defeat.[2]
In 1880 it was again John McAlery who was the moving spirit in the formation of the Irish Football Association. A dynamic visionary, he realized the potential of the game and the fact that being one of few football clubs was in itself a problem. He therefore issued an invitation to interested parties in Belfast and district for a meeting to be called. The handful of active clubs of the time included Balmoral Academy and Knock Lacrosse Club, as well as Rugby clubs Albion and Windsor.[3]
The first meeting took place on November 18, 1880 at Queen's Hotel, Belfast, presided over by John Sinclair, from which the Irish Football Association was formed. While Major Chichester was appointed president, McAlery became the hon. secretary of the association. This meeting also paved the way for the Irish Cup.[4]
[edit] The Early Years
The first Irish Cup Final played at Cliftonville on April 9 1881 saw a 1-0 defeat against Moyola Park. The opponent was well known for "rough and brutal play". In the following year Cliftonville lost again in the Irish Cup Final, this time 2-1 against Queen's Island. It was only in 1883 when Cliftonville finally won the Irish Cup for the first time, with a 5-0 triumph over Ulster.[5]
In 1897 Cliftonville won the Irish Cup after a 3-1 win over Sherwood Foresters. A quite unusual protest was launched by Cliftonville after being beaten by Belfast Celtic, admitted to the League in 1896, in the 1900 Irish Cup competition. The Celtic goalposts were eventually measured and it was found out that they were much too short. A replay took place, in which Cliftonville reversed the 4-0 defeat in the earlier match. Subsequently they won the Irish Cup in that year, after beating Bohemians 2-1 in the Final.[6]
The inaugural meeting of the Irish Football League was held on March 14 1890 in the Belfast Estate Office of the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava with M. McNeice (Cliftonville) as its first president and eight clubs agreed to participate: Cliftonville, Clarence, Milford, Oldpark, Distillery, Glentoran, Ulster and Linfield. It was not, however, until 1906 that Cliftonville won the Irish Football League for the first time, a success repeated in 1910.[7]
[edit] Mediocrity and Glory
Being an all-amateur team until the early 1970s, Cliftonville from then on played but a minor role in Northern Irish football. It was only in 1976, under manager Jackie Hutton and his assistant Jackie Patterson, that Cliftonville experienced a "revolution in fortune", a miracle, which peaked on 28 April 1979 in the Irish Cup Final at Windsor Park. In front of 15,000 spectators, the largest attendance for may years and not matched since, Cliftonville beat Portadown 3-2 with goals from John Platt, Mike Adair and a late winner from Tony Bell. Curiously, the Reds were playing in yellow and blue that day.
In the years after this legendary triumph, Cliftonville returned to the lower reaches of the Irish Football League, and often in the Nineties were often closer to relegation than to the top. Yet after winning the Coca-Cola-Cup in 1996 and the County Antrim Shield in 1997, a dream come true after 88 years of waiting.
Under manager Marty Quinn, a player of the inspirational team of 1979, Cliftonville won the Irish Football League in 1998 for the first time in 88 years, amid euphoric scenes at Solitude after a nail-biting 1-1 draw against Glentoran. UTV's coverage of the agonising post-match wait in the home changing-room, which erupted in celebration once the title win had been confirmed, brought the Reds' triumph to a wide audience.
Yet the championship was followed by another potential highlight that turned out to be a nightmare for everybody involved, when the final of the Irish Cup between Cliftonville and Portadown was cancelled due to a Cliftonville player who had featured in the semi-final being deemed ineligible, thereby giving Portadown a walkover in the final.
[edit] The New Century
The Reds subsequently reverted to type, often struggling against relegation. Still, they showed considerable spirit in beating Ards twice in relegation matches in two consecutive years. Nevertheless, in 2003 the Reds surprised the whole league when they managed to win yet another title, the League Cup.
The Reds were back in the relegation play-off in the 2003/04 season under manager Marty Tabb, but comfortably disposed of Armagh City over the two legs. Since then the Reds have progressed, with a fifth-place finish in 2005/06 under new manager Eddie Patterson, (who replaced current Institute boss Liam Beckett), and his Assistant Tommy Breslin. Fifth was the club's highest finish since the league win of 1998.
The 2006/2007 season was a successful one for the club getting to the League Cup Final and winning the County Antrim Shield. Finishing third ensured European football for the first time in five years.
Cliftonville won their first ever game in Europe beating Dinaburg of Latvia in the First Round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007 [1].
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Honours
- League titles: 3
- 1905/06 (with Distillery), 1909/10, 1997/98
- Irish Cups: 8
- 1882/83, 1887/88, 1896/97, 1899/00, 1900/01, 1906/07, 1908/09, 1978/79
- League Cup: 1
- 2003/04
- Gold Cup: 3
- 1923, 1933, 1980
- County Antrim Shield: 7
- 1892, 1894, 1898, 1926, 1979, 1997, 2007
- Belfast Charities Cup: 10
- 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1897, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1924
- Alambra Cup: 1
- 1922
- Floodlit Cup: 1
- 1996
- Soccer Sixes: 1
- 1995
- Charity Shield: 1
- 1998
- Steel & Sons Cup: 6
- 1900, 1902, 1907, 1908, 1914, 1922
[edit] Former players
- Michael Adair
- Keith Alexander
- Tommy Breslin, assistant manager of Cliftonville
- Bobby Carlisle
- Michael Collins, midfielder, Portadown FC
- Mickey Donnelly
- George Gregg, goalkeeper (circa 1950)
- Michael Ingham, goalkeeper, Wrexham A. F. C.
- Joe Kerr
- Thomas McCallion, midfielder, Coleraine F.C.
- Dr Kevin McGarry
- Paul Munster, striker, Slavia Prague, London City
- Noel O'Donnell, fullback defender, Peterborough United F.C.
- Eddie Patterson, manager of Cliftonville
- Jim Platt
- Marty Quinn, manager of Coleraine
- Billy Scott
- Stevie Small, manager, Carrick Rangers
- Marty Tabb, assistant manager of Larne F.C.
[edit] See also
- Irish League Forums Supporters Group
[edit] References
- ^ Malcolm Brodie, "100 Years of Irish Football", Blackstaff Press, Belfast (1980)
- ^ ibid.
- ^ ibid.
- ^ ibid.
- ^ ibid.
- ^ ibid.
- ^ ibid.
