History - A History of Wakefield FC
Wakefield FC was originally formed as Emley AFC in 1903, joining the second division of the Huddersfield League. During the sixties, the club won the Huddersfield League in four successive seasons and entered the FA Amateur Cup for the first time, reaching the last 16 and losing to Barking in front of a record crowd of 5,134 at the Welfare Ground.
The club moved on to win the Yorkshire League four times in the seventies and early eighties and joined the Northern Counties East League upon its formation in 1982. The club won the championship in two successive seasons, moving up to the Northern Premier League in 1989. The club also reached the final of the FA Vase in 1987/8, losing to Colne Dynamoes at Wembley after extra time.
The club took just two seasons to move up to the top division of the Northern Premier League, and spent several seasons there, the majority of which ended with a top half finish. The club reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1991/2, losing to Bolton Wanderers at Huddersfield Town's Leeds Road ground. In 1997/8 the club reached the third round, losing to West Ham United at Upton Park, despite putting in a tremendous display, after a memorable cup run.
In 2000/1 the club moved to Belle Vue, Wakefield in an attempt to move further up the football pyramid under the guidance of manager Ronnie Glavin. In its first season at Wakefield, the club reached a mammoth 101 points, but lost out on promotion to the Conference by a single point to Stalybridge Celtic, after losing the penultimate game 3-2 against Stalybridge in front of a bumper 3,708 crowd at Wakefield.
The departure of Glavin to take up a coaching position at Barnsley saw Ian Banks take over as manager. The club also changed its name to Wakefield & Emley AFC. After a poor start Banks resigned, and former players Paul David and Ray Dennis took the reigns, David eventually being left in sole charge. After a difficult period and a further name change to Wakefield - Emley AFC, the club missed out on the newly formed Conference North and was relegated to the first division.
The club then changed its name again to Wakefield FC and moved across the city to College Grove, the former home of Wakefield Rugby Union FC, to start the 2006/7 season. A change of club colours and badge also took place, the traditional claret and blue being replace with a blue and yellow kit, and the badge depicting an emblem of Wakefield.
The club suffered a disastrous start, losing its first 12 league games. David resigned in December 2006 and Gareth Stoker took over as player manager. Some new players were brought into the team and the club recovered, finishing well to move up to 21st place by the end of the season.
More new players were brought in over the summer months and several improvements to the pitch and ground took place. In September the club re-appointed Ronnie Glavin as manager. The club enjoyed a more successful 2007/8 campaign under the guidance of Glavin, finishing in the top half of the table. The summer of 2008 saw a complete re-branding with new kits, badge and nickname as the club continues its aim to put Wakefield on the football map and progress back to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League.
Glavin was moved to aid Wakefield FC youth, whilst full back Steve Nicholson took the helm during 2010/11 season. Wakefield FC were evicted from College Grove at the end of the 10/11 season due to Wakefield Sports Club allowing the Japanese hockey team to train there for the Olympic Games.
They started their 11/12 campaign ground sharing at local Ossett Town their Div 1 North rivals.
Financial problems meant that the club went amateur in November 2011 and Nicholson left to join Farsley as a player. Paul Lines took charge eventually in December 2011 and was given the task of building a team with £0 budget.
The club moved on to win the Yorkshire League four times in the seventies and early eighties and joined the Northern Counties East League upon its formation in 1982. The club won the championship in two successive seasons, moving up to the Northern Premier League in 1989. The club also reached the final of the FA Vase in 1987/8, losing to Colne Dynamoes at Wembley after extra time.
The club took just two seasons to move up to the top division of the Northern Premier League, and spent several seasons there, the majority of which ended with a top half finish. The club reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1991/2, losing to Bolton Wanderers at Huddersfield Town's Leeds Road ground. In 1997/8 the club reached the third round, losing to West Ham United at Upton Park, despite putting in a tremendous display, after a memorable cup run.
In 2000/1 the club moved to Belle Vue, Wakefield in an attempt to move further up the football pyramid under the guidance of manager Ronnie Glavin. In its first season at Wakefield, the club reached a mammoth 101 points, but lost out on promotion to the Conference by a single point to Stalybridge Celtic, after losing the penultimate game 3-2 against Stalybridge in front of a bumper 3,708 crowd at Wakefield.
The departure of Glavin to take up a coaching position at Barnsley saw Ian Banks take over as manager. The club also changed its name to Wakefield & Emley AFC. After a poor start Banks resigned, and former players Paul David and Ray Dennis took the reigns, David eventually being left in sole charge. After a difficult period and a further name change to Wakefield - Emley AFC, the club missed out on the newly formed Conference North and was relegated to the first division.
The club then changed its name again to Wakefield FC and moved across the city to College Grove, the former home of Wakefield Rugby Union FC, to start the 2006/7 season. A change of club colours and badge also took place, the traditional claret and blue being replace with a blue and yellow kit, and the badge depicting an emblem of Wakefield.
The club suffered a disastrous start, losing its first 12 league games. David resigned in December 2006 and Gareth Stoker took over as player manager. Some new players were brought into the team and the club recovered, finishing well to move up to 21st place by the end of the season.
More new players were brought in over the summer months and several improvements to the pitch and ground took place. In September the club re-appointed Ronnie Glavin as manager. The club enjoyed a more successful 2007/8 campaign under the guidance of Glavin, finishing in the top half of the table. The summer of 2008 saw a complete re-branding with new kits, badge and nickname as the club continues its aim to put Wakefield on the football map and progress back to the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League.
Glavin was moved to aid Wakefield FC youth, whilst full back Steve Nicholson took the helm during 2010/11 season. Wakefield FC were evicted from College Grove at the end of the 10/11 season due to Wakefield Sports Club allowing the Japanese hockey team to train there for the Olympic Games.
They started their 11/12 campaign ground sharing at local Ossett Town their Div 1 North rivals.
Financial problems meant that the club went amateur in November 2011 and Nicholson left to join Farsley as a player. Paul Lines took charge eventually in December 2011 and was given the task of building a team with £0 budget.
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