Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
Full name | Gainsborough Trinity Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | Trinity, The Holy Blues | ||
Founded | 1873 (as Trinity Recreationists) | ||
Ground | The Northolme, Gainsborough | ||
Capacity | 4,304 (515 seated) | ||
Chairman | Richard Kane | ||
Manager | Dominic Roma | ||
League | National League North | ||
2015–16 | National League North, 16th | ||
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Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The club competes in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football.
Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304 (504 seated, 3,800 standing). They are known as "Trinity" or the "Holy Blues".
Contents
History
The club was established in 1873 as Trinity Recreationists by Reverend George Langton Hodgkinson, the vicar at the Holy Trinity Church.[1] In 1889 the club were founder members of the Midland League, which they won in 1890–91.[2] Trinity finished as runners-up the following season and again in 1895–96. In 1896 the club applied for membership of the Football League, and were elected after finishing third in the ballot, ahead of existing members Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra.[3]
The club's first season in Division Two of the League saw them finish seventh, but a gradual decline in form saw them finish in the bottom half of the table every season until 1904. In 1901–02 Trinity finished bottom of the division, but were re-elected.[4] In 1904–05 the club finished sixth in Division Two, their best performance in the League.[2]
In 1911–12 Trinity finished bottom of Division Two for a second time, and failed to be re-elected, receiving just nine votes to the 27 received by newly elected Lincoln City.[5] The club returned to the Midland League, finishing third in 1912–13 and second in 1913–14,[2] after which they unsuccessfully applied for readmission to the Football League.[5]
When the Football League created a new Third Division North in 1921, Trinity applied for membership, but were again unsuccessful.[6] The club won the Midland League title in 1927–28, and the following season defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time since losing their League status, beating Crewe 3–1 in the first round, before losing to Chesterfield in the second round.[2] In 1931–32 they beat Crewe again in the first round, before losing 5–2 at home to Watford. In 1937–38 Trinity beat Port Vale in the first round, before losing to fellow non-League club Yeovil & Petters United.[2] Another Football League team was beaten the following season, when Trinity knocked out Gateshead in the first round, before losing to Doncaster Rovers.[2]
The club won a third Midland League title in 1948–49, remaining in the league until it was disbanded in 1960. They spent a single season in Division Two of the Yorkshire League, before returning to a reformed Midland League in 1961. Trinity won their fourth Midland League title in 1966–67, before becoming founder members of the new Northern Premier League in 1968.
The club applied to join the Football League again in 1975 and 1976, but received only a single vote on each occasion.[5] When the Northern Premier League added a second division in 1987, Trinity were placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until becoming founder members of the Conference North in 2004.[2] In 2011–12 the club finished fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Halifax Town in the semi-finals, Trinity lost the final 1–0 to Nuneaton Town.[2] In 2012–13 the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy for the first time, losing to eventual winners Wrexham.
Ground
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Trinity moved to the Northolme ground, then also a cricket venue, in 1884.[7] During their time in the Football League the club also played home matches at the Bowling Green Ground in the north-west of the town and Sincil Bank in Lincoln when the Northolme was being used for cricket.[7] The record attendance of 9,760 was set for a Midland League match against local rivals Scunthorpe United in the 1940s.[8]
Rivals and local games
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Gainsborough Trinity's location on the bank of the River Trent pits them against a host of clubs from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The most noted local derbys for Gainsborough are against Boston United and Worksop Town, as both clubs have spent numerous seasons in both the Northern Premier League and Conference North divisions with Trinity. Games with Boston or Worksop are traditionally played on Boxing Day and New Years Day.
Professional clubs in traditional Lincolnshire such as Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town have rarely played Trinity outside of pre-season tournaments such as the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. The last competitive match between Trinity and a professional Lincolnshire club was when they played Lincoln City in the first round of the FA Cup in the 1996–97 season, with Trinity eventually losing 3–2 in the replay following a 1–1 draw at Sincil Bank.
Club officials
- Chairman: Richard Kane
- Club secretary: David Tinsley
- Director: Peter Wallace
- Director: John Myskiw
- Director: Ian Davey
- Director: Darren Ashley
- Director: Geoff Holmes
- Director: Richard Kane
- Director: Kevin Johnson
- Director: David Horsely
- Manager: Dominic Roma
- Assistant Manager Martin Foster
- Youth Football Development Manager: Peter Wallace
- Youth Coach: Simon Bull
- Groundsman: Jonathan Wood
- Kit Managers: Kevin Johnson, Matt Johnson
- Physio: Jonathan Whitehorne
- PA Announcer: Dan Page
Current squad
- As of January 2016.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
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Managerial history
Dates | Name | Notes | First Game | Last Game | P | W | D | L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1959–1960 | Charles Walker | |||||||
1960–1961 | Tom Daley | |||||||
1961–1963 | Gladstone Guest | |||||||
1964–1971 | Russell Green | |||||||
1971–1973 | Jim Kilkenny | |||||||
?-? | Bobby Ham | |||||||
1979–1980 | Roy Ellam | |||||||
1980–1981 | Neil Warnock | |||||||
1985–1987 | Pat Buckley | |||||||
1991–1993 | Gary Simpson | 24 August 1991 | 9 October 1993 | 96 | 30 | 26 | 40 | |
1993–1994 | Leighton James | 26 October 1993 | 3 January 1994 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
1994–1995 | Gary Brook | 12 February 1994 | 29 April 1995 | 52 | 18 | 15 | 19 | |
1995–1998 | Ernie Moss | 19 August 1995 | 27 April 1998 | 128 | 60 | 34 | 34 | |
1998–1999 | Steve Richards | 22 August 1998 | 15 October 1999 | 52 | 23 | 10 | 19 | |
1999–2000 | Ernie Moss | 6 November 1999 | 24 April 2000 | 33 | 11 | 13 | 9 | |
2000 | Greg Fee | 19 August 2000 | 21 October 2000 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |
2000–2001 | Phil Tingay | 24 October 2000 | 20 October 2001 | 44 | 20 | 13 | 11 | |
2001 | Phil Brown & Frank Nicholson |
Caretakers | 27 October 2001 | 17 November 2001 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
2001–2002 | Dave Norton | Player/Manager | 24 November 2001 | 23 April 02 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
2002–2003 | Phil Stant | Player/Manager | 17 August 2002 | 26 April 2003 | 44 | 16 | 11 | 17 |
2003–2007 | Paul Mitchell | 16 August 2003 | 1 December 2007 | 186 | 63 | 51 | 72 | |
2007–2009 | Steve Charles | Caretaker until 5 January 2008 then permanent |
8 December 2007 | 17 August 2009 | 72 | 24 | 22 | 26 |
2009 | Dave Reeves & Steve Blatherwick |
Caretaker Managers | 22 August 2009 | 22 August 2009 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
2009 | Adie Moses | Caretaker Manager | 22 August 2009 | 28 August 2009 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2009–2011 | Brian Little | 28 August 2009 | 20 August 2011 | 80 | 25 | 17 | 38 | |
2011– | Steve Housham | 20 August 2011 | 201 | 80 | 36 | 85 |
Honours
- Midland League
- Champions: 1890–91, 1927–28, 1948–49, 1966–67
- Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
- Winners: 1982, 1997
References
- ↑ Club Gainsborough Trinity FC
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Gainsborough Trinity at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ Dave Twydell (2001) Denied F.C.: The Football League Election Struggles, p12, ISBN 1874427984
- ↑ Twydell, p13
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Twydell, p14
- ↑ Twydell, p15
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p92, ISBN 0954783042
- ↑ Club History Gainsborough Trinity
- ↑ Club Directory Gainsborough Trinity
External links
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Gainsborough Trinity F.C.
- National League (English football)
- Former Football League clubs
- Northern Premier League clubs
- Football clubs in Lincolnshire
- 1873 establishments in England
- Midland Football League (1889)
- Yorkshire Football League
- Association football clubs established in 1873
- Football clubs in England
- Gainsborough, Lincolnshire