- Northern Spirit FC
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Northern Spirit FC Full name Northern Spirit Football Club Nickname(s) Spirit Founded 1997 Dissolved 2004 Ground North Sydney Oval League National Soccer League Northern Spirit Football Club was a football (soccer) club based in North Sydney, Australia. Northern Spirit entered the National Soccer League in the 1998-99 season. Its founding was inspired in part by the success Perth Glory was enjoying as a mainstream club (as opposed to the league's mainstay European migrant founded clubs), as well as an opportunity to tap into the previously unrepresented northern suburbs of Sydney.[citation needed]
Contents
History
On the field, the club had early success in the National Soccer League, reaching the finals in its first attempt[1], but the next two seasons were not nearly as successful, the club finishing 13th in both of them. The club recovered somewhat to finish mid-table in its last 3 seasons, but only managed to make the finals once more, in 2002/03[2].
During Northern Spirit's first season, then Crystal Palace owner Mark Goldberg bought a 31 per cent stake in the club and secured an option for a further 35 per cent. Beset by Palace's financial problems, he relinquished his option to a group of players and coaches including Graham Arnold, Robbie Slater and Ian Crook.[3] The club was later owned by Rangers FC[4] for a small period of time. Rangers temporarily changed the club's home colours to their own royal blue.
Northern Spirit's home games were played at North Sydney Oval[5] and their first league home game (against Sydney Olympic FC) attracted a then Australian club football record crowd (for a non finals match) of 18,985[6] a record which stood until 2005 when it was broken by Queensland Roar crowd of 20,725 (a record subsequently broken by other games). In the club's final season, Chairman Antonio Gelonesi decided to move the club to Pittwater Park[7], on Sydney's Northern Beaches. The decision was motivated mainly by money, with North Sydney Oval not drawing enough people to make a profit.
After enduring financial problems for much of its existence, the club folded after the 2003/2004 NSL season.
Notable former players
- Australia
Graham Arnold
Matthew Bingley
Luke Casserly
Tony Faria
Craig Foster
Adam Griffiths
Ryan Griffiths
Paul Henderson
John Hutchinson
Adam Kwasnik
Mark Milligan
Matthew Osman
Mark Rudan
Jonti Richter
Abbas Saad
David Seal
Brett Holman
Robbie Slater
Noel Spencer
Alex Tobin
Vuko Tomasevic
Alex Wilkinson
Clayton Zane
Adam Foti
- England
Ian Crook (1998-00)
Julian Watts
- Scotland
Stephen Dobbie (2001-02)
Ian Ferguson (2002-04)
Stewart Petrie (2003-04)
- Ireland
Ben Burgess (2000-01)
Wayne O'Sullivan (2003-04)
- Italy
Nicola Berti (1999)
Former Managers
References
- ^ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Clubs/N/NorthernSpiritDH.html
- ^ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Clubs/N/NorthernSpiritDH.html
- ^ Hall, Matthew (2006). The Away Game. pp. 189. ISBN 9781740663458. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=BLNg_4jTzrwC&pg=PA189&lpg=PA189&dq=northern+spirit+goldberg&source=bl&ots=YVvAY0YPNy&sig=Y4Ihqy_ZkE_cf7SpmjD_JyEtqsw&hl=en&ei=NHzETrytDYyhiAe__fSODg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=northern%20spirit%20goldberg&f=false.
- ^ http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Rangers-buy-remaining-Northern-Spirit.2250559.jp
- ^ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/NSL/9899/Round01.html
- ^ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/NSL/9899/Round01.html
- ^ http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/NSL/20032004/Round01.html
External links
Soccer in Australia National teams Current national leagues Former leagues Cup competitions Australian Cup (defunct) • FFA Cup (proposed)Domestic leagues Australian Capital Territory • New South Wales (Northern, Southern) • Queensland • South Australia • Tasmania (Northern, Southern) • Victoria • Western AustraliaNational Soccer League Seasons Teams APIA Leichhardt · Adelaide City · Adelaide United · Blacktown City · Brisbane City SC · Brisbane Lions SC · Brisbane Strikers · Brunswick Juventus · Canberra City SC · Canberra Cosmos · Canterbury-Marrickville · Carlton S.C. · Collingwood Warriors · Eastern Pride · Footscray JUST · Green Gully Cavaliers · Heidelberg United · Inter Monaro · Marconi Stallions · Melbourne Knights · Mooroolbark SC · Football Kingz · Newcastle Breakers · Newcastle KB United · Newcastle Rosebud United · Newcastle United · Northern Spirit · Parramatta Eagles · Parramatta Power · Penrith City SC · Perth Glory · Preston Lions FC · South Melbourne · St George Saints · Sunshine George Cross · Sydney City · Sydney Olympic · Sydney United FC · West Adelaide · Western Suburbs SC · Wollongong Macedonia · Wollongong WolvesCategories:- Defunct Australian soccer clubs
- Association football clubs established in 1997
- Association football clubs disestablished in 2004
- National Soccer League (Australia) teams
- Sydney soccer clubs
- Soccer clubs in New South Wales
- Australian soccer club stubs
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