Holywell Town F.C.

Football club infobox


clubname = Holywell Town
fullname = Holywell Town Football Club
founded = 1893
short name = Holywell Town
nickname = The Wellmen
founded =1893 (as Holywell Acodians)
ground = Halkyn Road, Holywell
capacity = 2,000 200 Seated
chairman =
manager = Anthony Wallis
league = Welsh Alliance League
season = 2007-08
position = Welsh Alliance League, 12th
pattern_la1=_red stripes|pattern_b1=_whitestripes|pattern_ra1=_red stripes
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FF0000|socks1=FF0000
pattern_la2=_blackshoulders|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=_blackshoulders
leftarm2=F1EF00|body2=F1EF00|rightarm2=F1EF00|shorts2=000000|socks2=000000

Holywell Town F.C. is a football club representing the Flintshire town of Holywell in Wales. They are nicknamed the 'The Wellmen', and play their home games at Halkyn Road, Holywell. They currently play in the Welsh Alliance League after being relegated from the Cymru Alliance in the 2005-06 season.

Overview

Holywell Town currently play at Halkyn Road, which lies just outside Holywell town centre. It can accommodate 2,000 spectators with 200 seated and 250 covered. In recent times, the Halkyn Road ground has been greatly improved, and it has been the venue for many Youth International fixtures. However Holywell Town's future at the historic Halkyn Road ground has been under threat from Flintshire County Council recently, as rumours abounded that the council wished them to move out of their ground, and play on a football field at the local high school, so that the council could use the land to build the new cottage hospital. Although Holywell Town have stayed at their ground, and this rumour has never been confirmed, there are still uncertainties surrounding the ground, especially with the building of the new cottage hospital nearby.

The Wellmen's first choice strip is red and white striped shirts, red or blue shorts and red and white hooped socks. The second choice strip is green and white striped shirts, with green shorts and socks.

The team's league rivals are Halkyn United but their traditional main rivals are Flint Town United. This results from the historical rivalry between the two old towns of Flintshire.

History

The history of football in Holywell can be traced back to a club that was simply known as Holywell. It was founded by a Colonel J.Llewellyn Williams. During those early days, Holywell played their football on a ground known as "Ffordd Fer" ('Short Way') and wore red and white as their strip, as the current team, Holywell Town, do today. Holywell (as Holywell Acodians) were one of the founder members of the North Wales Coast League back in 1893. However, after being engulfed by the Baron Corvo episode of 1899, the team was defunct by 1902. After three years, football returned to Holywell, with the formation of a new club, Holywell United F.C., in 1905. Holywell United was to enjoy a successful run during the next few years, winning many trophies. In 1914 they achieved the North Wales Coast League and Cup double, and in 1922 Holywell overcame Llandudno 1-0 to win the Amateur Cup. In 1931 they managed to win the Welsh League, being then known as Holywell Arcadians. Holywell's social and football history came together and combined to establish the club as it is known today. In 1946 former soldiers that were returning home from World War II established the club at Halkyn Road, where it has played its home games ever since. Success came immediately for Holywell Town, when in 1947 they managed to win both The Alves Cup and The Waterfall Cup, and this success was repeated two years later in 1949, when they won the NWCFA Amateur Cup.

More success came to Holywell when they won the Welsh League (North) in 1953. Nine years later in 1962 the record attendance was set when 3000 spectators packed into Halkyn Road for a Welsh Cup 6th round tie with Swansea City. Despite the record attendance, the home failed to win the tie, with the Swans winning 2-1. Most recently, Holywell Town were founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990-91 and then one of the founder members of the League of Wales in 1992-93. The 1992-93 football campaign was a particularly good seaon for Holywell, as they won the Clwyd League Youth Cup and the Auxiliary Youth Cup, whilst also being runners up in the Alves Cup.

The club won respect in North Wales and further afield under the shrewd management of Glyn Griffiths, who almost managed to get the club to qualify for Europe during his tenure. League placings of 6th in 1993 and 5th in 1994 prove the point. However once his reign had ended, inconsistency crept in and results started to suffer and the club slid down the league table. The club finished 8th in 1995 and 16th in 1996. The slide was complete when they finished bottom of the league during the 1996-97 season and were relegated to the Cymru Alliance. Although they were promoted as runners-up the following season, sadly they were relegated again, finishing 17th (bottom) in the 1998-99 season. Since the 1998-99 season, Holywell Town have played their football in the Cymru Alliance, the second tier of the Welsh football league system. Their first two seasons back in the Cymru Alliance ended in disappointing mid-table finishes. Things got worse for them, as they flirted with relegation by finishing 16th, 17th and 14th during 2001-04. Although they saw an improvement under the guidance of Andy Nicholls during the 2004-05 season, finishing 9th, they were relegated to the Welsh Alliance the following season when they finished 17th, with only their local rival Halkyn United below them.

The 2006-07 season in the Welsh Alliance League was not a great season for the Wellmen, and they did not live up to their pre-season hype as promotion challengers. Inconsistency was apparent, and numerous matches were abandoned due to the Halkyn Road ground being frequently waterlogged. It was a rather indifferent first season in the Welsh Alliance, finishing 10th, far below the main challengers in the league. They were eliminated from the Barrett Cup by Llandudno Junction 6-4 at Halkyn Road and from the NWFCA Cup by Bodedern 4-3.

2007-08 Season

*Welsh Cup - Preliminary Round (1-2 Corwen Away)

*Cookson Cup - Round One (0-3 Nantlle Vale Away)

*Welsh Trophy - Round Four (2-6 Corwen Home)

*Barritt Cup - Round Two (0-3 Bethel Away)

*Biggest Season Win - 6-1 vs Acrefair Youth (Home) Welsh Trophy Round Two
*Biggest League Win - 4-0 vs Halkyn United (Home) & Nefyn United (Home) Welsh Alliance League

*Biggest Season & League Defeat - 2-8 vs Bethesda Athletic (Home) Welsh Alliance League

2008-09 Season

:Key: P = Played; W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; F = Goals For; A = Goals Against; Pts = Points
* = 9pts deducted, ** = 3pts deducted
Current league position as of 13th September 2008

External links

* [http://www.carling.com/pf/holywelltownfc/ Official Holywell Town website]