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Ards F.C. is a Northern Irish football club playing in the Irish First Division, following relegation the previous season from the Premier League. The club, founded in 1902, is from Newtownards, but plays its home matches at Clandeboye Park in Bangor, which they share with their arch-rivals Bangor F.C.. The current manager is Tommy Kincaid, who was a cult figure at Castlereagh Park during his playing days. Club colours are red and blue.
The club has suffered severe financial problems in the last ten years. This resulted in the club having to sell its ground, Castlereagh Park, to property developers. The club has shared grounds with Cliftonville F.C., Carrick Rangers and now Bangor F.C.. Plans for a new ground in Newtownards are stalled at the planning stage with no sign of progress. Recent relegation to the First Division will mean a struggle for this historic football club, with the potential loss of their best players and the money constraints that smaller crowds bring. The 2006/07 season originally brought further woes for Ards FC, with poor performances in the First Division appearing to scupper their chance for promotion this year. Joint managers Raymond Morrison and Gary Hillis were eventually sacked in November 2006. They did not go quietly, and three players walked out of the club stating they would not play again for them. A November defeat by local rivals Bangor in the cup and a strong promotion push by Bangor added extra pressure on the Ards Board. Since the appointment of Tommy Kincaid there has been a marked improvement in Ards' fortunes, and there is an outside possibility of them featuring in the promotion shake-up at the end of the season. As of January 2007, there is no news of any ground being developed for the club and local press has speculated that Ards may never be in a financial position to build a stadium. In April 2007, Ards finished a disappointing 5th place in the Irish league First Division.
[edit] Castlereagh Park
Ards FC were forced to sell their Castlereagh Park home in 1998 to try and reduce their crippling debts. The stadium remained well tended for another three years while ambitious plans for a new ground further down the road were developed. Sadly in 2002 Castlereagh Park was demolished, as planned. The new stadium was supposed to have been ready in time for the demolition but in 2007 it remains a wasteland. As for Ards, they are now the nomads of Northern Irish football, playing usually at Bangor’s Clandeboye Park.
[edit] Honours
[edit] Current squad
As of 7th of May, 2007:
|
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| 11 |
 |
MF |
Ryan Newberry |
| 12 |
|
FW |
Ricky Billing |
| 14 |
|
FW |
Chris Deegan |
| 15 |
|
MF |
David Brotherston |
| 16 |
|
FW |
Allan Neill |
| 17 |
|
DF |
Alan Murray |
| 18 |
|
DF |
Johnny Roy |
| 19 |
|
FW |
Gary Sharratt |
| 22 |
|
DF |
Johnny Cleary |
|
*Note, squad numbers not accurate.
- Life Patron: Lady Mairi Bury
- Chairman: Brian Adams
- Treasurer: J Bailie
- Company Secretary: Mark Jackson
- Manager: Tommy Kincaid
- Assistant Manager: Justin McBride
- First-team Coach: Andy Harwood
- First-team Attendant: Alan Gregg
- Under 18 Manager: Lee Forsythe
- Football Secretary: Brian Adams
- Directors: Brian Adams, Jim Bailie, Tom Graham, Billy McCully, Ronnie Bailie, Jenny Graham, Tom Beggs, John Black
- PA Announcer: Ivor Edgar
- Website Editor: Andrew McCullough
- Programme Editor: Adrian Monaghan
[edit] Representatives
- Rep. to Irish Premier League Brian Adams
- Rep. to Irish Football Association Brian Adams
- Rep. to County Antrim Football Association Tom Graham
- Rep. to Youth League Keith Bailie
[edit] Managers
| Tenure |
Manager |
| 1935 |
Tom Adamson |
| 1937-1939 |
Sam Patton |
| 1947-1948 |
Ronnie Dellow |
| 1949-1950 |
Harry Walker |
| 1950-1951 |
John Reid |
| 1951-1953 |
Isaac McDowell |
| 1953-1959 |
George Eastham Snr |
| 1959 |
Jimmy Tucker |
| 1959-1960 |
Len Graham |
| 1960-1963 |
Tom Ewing |
| 1963-1964 |
Johnny Neilson |
| 1964-1970 |
George Eastham Snr |
| 1970-1978 |
Billy Humphries |
| 1978-1979 |
Joe Kincaid |
| 1979-1980 |
Billy Nixon |
| 1980-1982 |
Billy Humphries |
| 1983-1985 |
Lawrence Walker |
| 1985-1987 |
Jimmy Todd |
| 1987 |
John Reaney |
| 1988-1989 |
Jimmy Todd |
| 1989-1990 |
Peter Dornan |
| 1990-1991 |
Bertie Mcminn &
Ray Morrison |
| 1991-1992 |
Roy Coyle |
| 1992-1993 |
Paul Malone |
| 1993-1997 |
Roy Coyle |
| 1997 |
George Bowden |
| 1997-1999 |
Tommy Cassidy |
| 1999-2001 |
Trevor Anderson |
| 2001-2003 |
Frankie Parks |
| 2003-2005 |
Shane Reddish |
| 2005-2006 |
George Neill |
| 2006 |
Gary Hillis |
| 2006-Present |
Tommy Kincaid |
[edit] External links
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