Rushen United F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Rushen United F.C.


fullname = Rushen United Association Football Club
nickname =
founded = 1910
ground = Croit Lowet Port Erin, Isle of Man
capacity = "not known"
chairman = Shaun Watterson
manager = Gareth Jones
league = Isle of Man Football League Premier League
season = 2007-08
position = Premier League, 6th
pattern_la1 =
pattern_b1 = _blackstripes
pattern_ra1 =
leftarm1 = FFC000
body1 = FFCC00
rightarm1 = FFC000
shorts1 = 000000
socks1 = 000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Rushen United Football Club are a football club from Port Erin on the Isle of Man. They compete in the Isle of Man Football League. The team wear yellow and black stripes kit and play their home games at Croit Lowey in Port Erin.

History

Formed in September 1910 following a civic meeting at St Catherines Church Hall in Port Erin. The club motto is "Moryn Vannin", which in Manx roughly means the "The Pride of Mann". The club has a reserve team who compete in the the Isle of Man Football Combination as well as a ladies team and a junior academy

The club's highest profile match came in July 2005 in front of 3,288 spectators at the National Sports Centre in Douglas when Bolton Wanderers beat Rushen United 10-0.cite news
title = Rushen Round Table 1072 - Rushen United vs Bolton Wanderers
publisher = Rushen Rond Table
date = 2005-07-25
url = http://www.rushenroundtable.org/stories/storyReader$544
accessdate = 2008-09-01 ] Bolton included eight first team regulars including striker Kevin Davies who scored four times in the first 28 minutes as well as Kevin Nolan, Henrik Pedersen and Gary Speed all of whom also scored.cite news
title = Rushen United 0-10 Bolton
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2005-07-09
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/4667995.stm
accessdate = 2008-09-01 ] The match was filmed by Sky Sports to be featured on the stations Premier League Preview Show. It was also a fund rasier for the club's proposed new indoor training facility for which the club needed to raise £250,000. They managed to raise a total of £35,000 from the match and a Gala Dinner.cite news
last = Heys
first = Mark
coauthors = Knight, Lisa; Watterson, Shaun
title = Bolton Trip Strengthens Rushen Links
publisher = Walking Down the Manny Road
date = 2005-08-05
url = http://news.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s474/st78674.htm
accessdate = 2008-09-01 ]

Locally, the clubs biggest game each year is against Peel. The rivalry is believed to have begun as many of Peel's players were fishermen. Whilst Port Erin and nearby Port St Mary both had teams prior to the formation of Rushen United, many of the players in these teams also went to sea. Also, both clubs are overlooked by "Towers". Peel have Corrins Folly and Rushen have Milners Tower, which stands sentry to Port Erin Bay.

During 2002, and at the age of 50, club stalwart Eric Nelson played his 1000th game during a Division One fixture against Pulrose United at Croit Lowey, and was presented with a momento to mark the occasion. During the late 1970s and up to the late 1980s, the club won the First Division seven times in eleven seasons, inlcuding four years on the trot from 1977 to 1981. As of the 2008-09 season they are still in the top flight in Isle of Man football, which in 2007 was rebranded as the Sure Mobile Premier League.

Honours

First team

League

*Division One Champions (9): 1925-26, 1935-36, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1984-85, 1985-86, 1987-88

Cup

*Manx FA Cup (8): 1923-24, 1924-25, 1925-26, 1933-34, 1935-36, 1950-51, 1977-78, 1989-90
*Hospital Cup (15): 1925-26, 1927-28, 1930-31, 1934-35, 1938-39, 1950-51, 1963-64, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1992-93, 2000-01
*Railway Cup (15): 1921-22, 1922-23, 1947-48, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1987-88, 2001-02
*Cowell Cup (12): 1953-54, 1955-56, 1963-64, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1969-70, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1982-83, 1991-92, 2003-04

Reserve team

Cup

*Junior Cup (15): 1929-30, 1935-36, 1936-37, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1971-72, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1988089, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 2001-02

References

External links

* [http://rushenutd.intheteam.com/modules/page/page.aspx?pc=home Official website]
* [http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?division=9756332 Sure Mobile Premier League League table at the Isle of Man FA website]