Gainsborough Trinity F.C.

Gainsborough Trinity
Full name Gainsborough Trinity Football Club
Nickname(s) Trinity, The Holy Blues
Founded 1873 (1873) (as Trinity Recreationists)
Ground The Northolme, Gainsborough
Ground Capacity 4,304 (515 seated)
Chairman Richard Kane
Manager Dominic Roma
League National League North
2015–16 National League North, 16th
Gainsborough Trinity squad photo for 1966–67

Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The club competes in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football.

Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304 (504 seated, 3,800 standing). They are known as "Trinity" or the "Holy Blues".

History

The club was established in 1873 as Trinity Recreationists by Reverend George Langton Hodgkinson, the vicar at the Holy Trinity Church.[1] In 1889 the club were founder members of the Midland League, which they won in 1890–91.[2] Trinity finished as runners-up the following season and again in 1895–96. In 1896 the club applied for membership of the Football League, and were elected after finishing third in the ballot, ahead of existing members Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra.[3]

The club's first season in Division Two of the League saw them finish seventh, but a gradual decline in form saw them finish in the bottom half of the table every season until 1904. In 1901–02 Trinity finished bottom of the division, but were re-elected.[4] In 1904–05 the club finished sixth in Division Two, their best performance in the League.[2]

In 1911–12 Trinity finished bottom of Division Two for a second time, and failed to be re-elected, receiving just nine votes to the 27 received by newly elected Lincoln City.[5] The club returned to the Midland League, finishing third in 1912–13 and second in 1913–14,[2] after which they unsuccessfully applied for readmission to the Football League.[5]

When the Football League created a new Third Division North in 1921, Trinity applied for membership, but were again unsuccessful.[6] The club won the Midland League title in 1927–28, and the following season defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time since losing their League status, beating Crewe 3–1 in the first round, before losing to Chesterfield in the second round.[2] In 1931–32 they beat Crewe again in the first round, before losing 5–2 at home to Watford. In 1937–38 Trinity beat Port Vale in the first round, before losing to fellow non-League club Yeovil & Petters United.[2] Another Football League team was beaten the following season, when Trinity knocked out Gateshead in the first round, before losing to Doncaster Rovers.[2]

The club won a third Midland League title in 1948–49, remaining in the league until it was disbanded in 1960. They spent a single season in Division Two of the Yorkshire League, before returning to a reformed Midland League in 1961. Trinity won their fourth Midland League title in 1966–67, before becoming founder members of the new Northern Premier League in 1968.

The club applied to join the Football League again in 1975 and 1976, but received only a single vote on each occasion.[5] When the Northern Premier League added a second division in 1987, Trinity were placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until becoming founder members of the Conference North in 2004.[2] In 2011–12 the club finished fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Halifax Town in the semi-finals, Trinity lost the final 1–0 to Nuneaton Town.[2] In 2012–13 the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy for the first time, losing to eventual winners Wrexham.

Ground

Main article: The Northolme
The Northolme

Trinity moved to the Northolme ground, then also a cricket venue, in 1884.[7] During their time in the Football League the club also played home matches at the Bowling Green Ground in the north-west of the town and Sincil Bank in Lincoln when the Northolme was being used for cricket.[7] The record attendance of 9,760 was set for a Midland League match against local rivals Scunthorpe United in the 1940s.[8]

Rivals and local games

Main article: Lincolnshire derby

Gainsborough Trinity's location on the bank of the River Trent pits them against a host of clubs from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The most noted local derbys for Gainsborough are against Boston United and Worksop Town, as both clubs have spent numerous seasons in both the Northern Premier League and Conference North divisions with Trinity. Games with Boston or Worksop are traditionally played on Boxing Day and New Years Day.

Professional clubs in traditional Lincolnshire such as Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town have rarely played Trinity outside of pre-season tournaments such as the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. The last competitive match between Trinity and a professional Lincolnshire club was when they played Lincoln City in the first round of the FA Cup in the 1996–97 season, with Trinity eventually losing 3–2 in the replay following a 1–1 draw at Sincil Bank.

Club officials

[9]

Current squad

As of January 2016.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
England GK George Willis
England DF Josh Lacey
England DF Dominic Roma
England DF Jake Picton
England DF Matt Wilson
England DF Adam Quinn
Wales DF Ioan Evans
England DF Brad Beatson
England MF Reece Hands
Northern Ireland MF Adam Chapman
England MF Laurie Wilson
England MF Alex Wiles
No. Position Player
England MF Gavin Rothery
England MF Matt Thornhill
England MF Matty Templeton (on loan from Barnsley)
England MF James Reid
England FW Jack McGovern
England FW Noel Burdett (on loan from Scunthorpe United)
England FW Jordan Thewlis
Saint Kitts and Nevis FW Jacob Hazel
England FW Nathan Jarman
England FW Ashley Worsfold
England FW Darnelle Bailey-King (on loan from Rotherham United)

Managerial history

Dates Name Notes First Game Last Game P W D L
1959–1960 England Charles Walker
1960–1961 England Tom Daley
1961–1963 England Gladstone Guest
1964–1971 England Russell Green
1971–1973 England Jim Kilkenny
?-? England Bobby Ham
1979–1980 England Roy Ellam
1980–1981 England Neil Warnock
1985–1987 Scotland Pat Buckley
1991–1993 England Gary Simpson 24 August 1991 9 October 1993 96 30 26 40
1993–1994 Wales Leighton James 26 October 1993 3 January 1994 11 4 3 4
1994–1995 England Gary Brook 12 February 1994 29 April 1995 52 18 15 19
1995–1998 England Ernie Moss 19 August 1995 27 April 1998 128 60 34 34
1998–1999 Scotland Steve Richards 22 August 1998 15 October 1999 52 23 10 19
1999–2000 England Ernie Moss 6 November 1999 24 April 2000 33 11 13 9
2000 England Greg Fee 19 August 2000 21 October 2000 14 2 4 8
2000–2001 England Phil Tingay 24 October 2000 20 October 2001 44 20 13 11
2001 England Phil Brown &
England Frank Nicholson		 Caretakers 27 October 2001 17 November 2001 5 2 1 2
2001–2002 England Dave Norton Player/Manager 24 November 2001 23 April 02 25 6 6 13
2002–2003 England Phil Stant Player/Manager 17 August 2002 26 April 2003 44 16 11 17
2003–2007 England Paul Mitchell 16 August 2003 1 December 2007 186 63 51 72
2007–2009 England Steve Charles Caretaker until 5 January 2008
then permanent		 8 December 2007 17 August 2009 72 24 22 26
2009 England Dave Reeves &
EnglandSteve Blatherwick		 Caretaker Managers 22 August 2009 22 August 2009 1 0 0 1
2009 England Adie Moses Caretaker Manager 22 August 2009 28 August 2009 3 1 0 2
2009–2011 England Brian Little 28 August 2009 20 August 2011 80 25 17 38
2011–2016 England Steve Housham 20 August 2011 8 March 2016 201 80 36 85
2016– England Dominic Roma Player/Manager 12 March 2016 9 2 4 3

Honours

References

  1. ↑ Club Gainsborough Trinity FC
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gainsborough Trinity at the Football Club History Database
  3. ↑ Dave Twydell (2001) Denied F.C.: The Football League Election Struggles, p12, ISBN 1874427984
  4. ↑ Twydell, p13
  5. 1 2 3 Twydell, p14
  6. ↑ Twydell, p15
  7. 1 2 Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p92, ISBN 0954783042
  8. ↑ Club History Gainsborough Trinity
  9. ↑ Club Directory Gainsborough Trinity

External links

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