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Thornaby F.C.

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Thornaby Football Club are a football club based in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, England. They play in the Northern League Division Two, the tenth tier of the English football league system.[1]

Thornaby
Full nameThornaby Football Club
Nickname(s)The Blues
Founded2000; 24 years ago (2000)
GroundTeesdale Park
Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees
Capacity5,000
ChairmanGarry Morris
ManagerDean Browne
LeagueNorthern League Division Two
2023–24Northern League Division Two, 13th of 22

History

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The club was established in 1980 when Stockton Cricket Club's football team joined the Wearside Football League. The club were known as Stockton until 2000.

In 2005–06, they finished 17th out of 21 in the Northern League Division One, but were demoted to Northern League Division Two due to the poor quality of their ground. Their ground, Teesdale Park, was formally Head Wrightson athletic ground and was a cricket field.

Manager Ray Morton was appointed in season 2008–09. They finished 20th in season 2008–09 and reached the quarter-finals of the Ernest Armstrong Second Division Cup being beaten by eventual finalists Sunderland RCA. In season 2009–10 they reached the final of the Ernest Armstrong 2nd division cup being beaten 3–1 in extra time by Whitehaven A.F.C. having played all the second half and extra time with 10 players due to a sending off after 47 mins. In season 2010–11 they finished 14th. In June 2012 they appointed Neil Radigan as manager for season 2012–13 initially with Ray Morton as assistant but he was replaced with Paul Edwards in September 2012, and they finished 19th and also the same position in season 2013–14. In May 2014 they appointed Paul Edwards as manager who had been assistant to Neil Radigan since 2012 with Mark Horkan as assistant, they finished season 2014–15 in 7th position the highest for several years.

The ground has seen widespread development – security fencing has been erected and the Teesdale Park site now has a teen shelter, fitness trail, nature trail and some wooden owl statues funded from a National Lottery Community spaces lottery grant to enable the site to be developed for the community. The Football club have also been given funding for a new community room by the Stockton council run Eastern area partnership board, the ground has hosted a forest school on the Park for local schools and groups and a recent grant from the FA has seen the changing rooms and floodlights upgraded to high standards. The club were awarded the Northern league hospitality award in 2014.

In season 2015–16 they finished 7th in Division 2 and reached the semi-finals of the North Riding Cup being defeated by Middlesbrough FC the winners. In season 2016–17 manager Paul Edwards resigned in late August, with his assistant Mark Harkin taking over. He resigned in mid-October 2016 and was replaced by experienced manager Paul Burton who left in July 2017.

Thornaby ended the 2018–19 season as runners-up in division two with 91 points, and were therefore promoted to division one. After the two covid-disrupted seasons, Thornaby finished third in division one in 2021–22, but the following season saw them relegated back to division two after finishing in 20th place out of 20 in division one. On the morning of 26 June 2023, the club were victims of a suspected arson attack at Teesdale Park, which destroyed the main clubhouse and most of the club's ground maintenance equipment.[2]

Women's and girls' football

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The club established its first women's teams in the summer of 2021. The Women's first team has competed in the North Riding Women's Football League, Premier Division[3] and in the North East Regional Women's Football League Northern Division.[4] Home fixtures are also played at Teesdale Park. Their U16 girls competed in the Russell Foster Premier Division, winning the league shield and North Riding County Cup in their first season. As of June 2024 there were girls' teams for Under 7, Under 8, Under 10, Under 11 and Under 15, with 100 girls and women playing.[5]

In June 2024, the committee of Thornaby FC led by Trevor Wing voted to remove the entire female section of the club, ranging from under 7s to the women's team.[6][7][5] The club lost their shirt sponsor, Britcab, just hours after the announcement.[8] The club's chair, Garry Morris, posted on X to say that he disagreed with the decision, asking other members of the board to reconsider their decision and their position as board members.[7] People expressing support for the Thornaby women included politician Andy McDonald, footballer Beth Mead and life peeress and Olympic wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson.[7][8] Six members of the board who had supported the decision resigned on 10 June.[9] The decision was reversed on 13 June, with Alison McGee of the club's sponsor Durata being named CEO, Garry Morris as managing director and Philip Genery, Rachel Stonehouse, and McGee's husband John McGee as board members.[10]

Honours

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Records

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Stockton FC

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Thornaby-on-Tees FC

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Thornaby FC

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References

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  1. ^ [1] EBAC Northern League
  2. ^ [2] ITV News
  3. ^ "North Riding Football League: Women's Premier". fulltime.thefa.com. The Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  4. ^ "North East Regional Women's Football League Northern Division 2022/23". Gateshead FC. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b McElwee, Jade (10 June 2024). "Thornaby FC axes 'entire female section' from club". Teesside Live. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Thornaby FC Women And Girls on LinkedIn: AND THAT'S WRAP..." www.linkedin.com. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b c O'Leary, Alex (10 June 2024). "Community in uproar after Thornaby FC axe women's team". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b Unwin, Will (10 June 2024). "'Disgusted': Mead leads criticism after non-league club shuts women's teams". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  9. ^ Banks, Georgia (10 June 2024). "Thornaby FC: Six board members who voted to axe female section resign". Teesside Live. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  10. ^ Manning, Jonny (13 June 2024). "Football club plans to restore women's team". BBC News.
  11. ^ a b c d Stockton at the Football Club History Database
  12. ^ a b Thornaby-on-Tees at the Football Club History Database
  13. ^ a b c Thornaby at the Football Club History Database
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54°33′09.58″N 1°16′55.37″W / 54.5526611°N 1.2820472°W / 54.5526611; -1.2820472

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