Ballymena United F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Ballymena United


fullname = Ballymena United Football Club
nickname = "The Sky Blues";" "The Braidmen"
founded = 1928 (as Ballymena)
1934 (reformed as Ballymena United)
ground = Ballymena Showgrounds,
Ballymena, County Antrim
capacity = 5200
chairman = flagicon|Northern Ireland Robert Cupples
manager = flagicon|Northern Ireland Roy Walker
league = IFA Premiership
season = 2007/08
position = 6th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=AAD0FF|body1=AAD0FF|rightarm1=AAD0FF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=AAD0FF
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=AAD0FF|socks2=FFFFFF

Ballymena United is a Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. Ballymena United hail from the town of Ballymena and play their home matches at Ballymena Showgrounds. Club colours are sky blue and white.

The club was founded on April 7 1928, originally called simply Ballymena Football Club. After a dispute during the 1933-34 season, the club folded and was reconstituted as Ballymena United in 1934.

The club's manager since 20 May 2008 has been Roy Walker. Previous manager Tommy Wright, the former Northern Ireland international goalkeeper, resigned following United's final game of the 2007–08 season; the club initially announced Wright's assistant Jim Grattan as his successor until the appointment was vetoed by Grattan's full time employers, the Irish Football Association. [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/7410229.stm|title=Walker named new Ballymena boss|work=BBC Sport|publisher=BBC|date=2008-05-20|accessdate=2008-05-20]

The club's main rival is Coleraine, with the highlight of the season the "local derby", which falls on Boxing Day each year.

Ballymena has yet to win the Irish League title, but has been runner-up twice. The club has been successful in the Irish Cup, however, six times since the club's inception, most recently in 1989.

United is generally considered one of the better-supported clubs in Northern Ireland and has a large vocal support in the form of the "Sky Blue Crew" who follow the fortunes of the team both home and away.Fact|date=February 2007

Club history

The early years (1928-1934)

Ballymena Football Club was formed in April 1928, when local businessmen and football enthusiasts decided that the town of Ballymena needed a senior football team in the Irish League.

The new club gathered together a number of players from the area and further a field and played its first competitive game on 20 August, 1928 in front of a packed Ballymena Showgrounds, against reigning Irish League champions Belfast Celtic. Ballymena lost this game 3-0.

Five days later, however, Ballymena gained its first point in a 2-2 draw away to Larne, and won its first game a few weeks later, beating Ards, 2-1 away. The Sky Blues finished a highly respectable 6th in the 14-team Irish League in its debut season, but it was the Irish Cup which saw the “Ballymena Babes” shine.

Defying all odds, they defeated Glentoran, Broadway United and Coleraine to reach the 1929 Irish Cup dinal – where they met the mighty Belfast Celtic. The Braidside team prevailed to defeat Celtic at Solitude by two goals to one, to win the Irish Cup at the first attempt. Ballymena was presented with the Irish Cup trophy to keep as reward for winning the illustrious trophy in its first season – the trophy remains in the United board room to this day.

This was followed by two more Irish Cup finals in the next two years, losing to Linfield twice: first in 1930 (losing 4-3), and again in 1931 (this time losing 3-0). The Sky Blues also challenged in the Irish League, finishing in the top six in all but one season during its first six years up until 1934/35.

Liquidation, success and the War (1934-1946)

The honeymoon period began to end after the early success, as in 1934 Ballymena was forced to withdraw from the Irish League due to mounting financial difficulties. The club was liquidated and Ballymena United Football Club rose from the ashes.

Still playing at the Showgrounds with the same set of players, Ballymena United finished 10th in its first season in existence (1934/1935), but the following five years saw the difficulties continue on and off the pitch – as in 1937, United finished bottom of the 14-team league with only 4 wins in 26 games. This is officially still United’s worst ever league campaign.

Despite record defeats to Belfast Celtic and Derry City in 1937 and 1938, the fortunes of the Braidmen began to pick up as they finished second in the league in the 1938/39 season and were finalists in the Irish Cup, losing 2-0 to Linfield – in which was their third final defeat to the Blues in the 1930s.

After the 'hungry thirties', however, United reached another Irish Cup final in 1940 - this time facing Glenavon. United beat the Lurgan side, 2-0, to bring the trophy back to north Antrim for the first time in eleven years and four attempts.

After the victory in the Irish Cup, United gave up the Showgrounds for use by the military to assist in the war effort. United were promised re-entry to the Irish League after the war. It was, however, to be a number of years before senior football could return to the town.

New beginnings (1957-1969)

In 1957, Scottish born Alex McCrae took over as player-manager of Ballymena United. McCrae had been a successful inside-forward for Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough in his playing days. He brought instant success to the Braid, as Ballymena finished third and won the Irish Cup in 1957/1958.

The 1958 Irish Cup-winning team was deemed one of the best Ballymena United teams ever to grace the Showgrounds, and it deservedly beat Jackie Milburn’s Linfield in the showpiece final – with McGhee and Russell scoring the goals in a 2-0 win at the Oval in front of 24,000 spectators.

The next year, another impressive team marched on to another Irish Cup final (the club's eighth final). The Sky Blues were expected to beat Glenavon in a Windsor Park final, but United drew 1-1 and lost the replay 0-2.

Former Liverpool legend, Geoff Twentyman, then came along as manager and brought the Ulster Cup to the Showgrounds in 1960 with a 3-1 win over Glenavon. Barr grabbed two final goals while McKinstry picked up the other. The following season, the Sky Blues were only two points away from winning the Irish League for the first time – finishing third in 1961/1962.

Twentyman's success did not continue and he was replaced in time by George Smyth, Dave Hickson, Alex Parker, and Dave Hickson again. Despite this hunt for success, manager after manager failed, as the Braidmen constantly finished mid-table in the Irish League, with only one trophy in the 1960’s. McCrae was then brought back to end another period of failure at the Warden Street Showgrounds.

Honours

Senior honours

*Irish Cup: 6
**1928/29, 1939/40, 1957/58, 1980/81, 1983/84, 1988/89
*City Cup: 1
**1971/1972
*Gold Cup: 1
**1974/75
*Ulster Cup: 2
**1960/1961, 1980/1981
*Festival of Britain Cup: 1
**1951/1952
*Irish League First Division: 1
**1996/1997
*County Antrim Shield: 4
**1947/48, 1950/51, 1975/76, 1979/80

Intermediate honours

*IFA Reserve League: 1
**2006/07†
*Steel & Sons Cup: 1
**1995/96†
*Louis Moore Cup: 1
**1952/53†
*George Wilson Cup: 2
**1989/90†, 1990/91†

† Won by Ballymena United Reserves

Club staff

*President:
*Vice-Presidents: Norman McBurney, Billy Anderson
*Chairman: Robert Cupples
*Vice-Chairman: Maurice Smyth
*Treasurer: Noel Millar
*Company Secretary: Kenny Whitbread
*Football Secretary: Don Stirling
*PR Officer: Brian Thompson
*PA Announcer: Davy "Kingo" King
*Chief Steward: Adrian Scullion
*Community Relations: Iain Black

*Manager:Roy Walker
*Assistant Manager: Jim Grattan
*First Team Coach: Billy Sinclair
*Sports Therapist: Michael Lavery
*Reserve Team Coach: Alfie Stewart
*Team Attendant: Bertnal Thompson

Managerial history

Records

*Record Home League Victory: 8-0 v Cliftonville, (18 September 1965); 8-0 v Glenavon, (8 March 1975); 8-0 v Distillery, (8 December 1979)
*Record Away League Victory: 8-0 Newry Town, (17 December 1994)
*Record Home League Defeat: 0-8 Belfast Celtic, (5 November 1938)
*Record Away League Defeat: 1-9 Derry City, (23 August 1937); 0-8 Ards, (12 February 1949)
*Most Goals Scored in a Season: 82 in 26 matches (1939/1940)
*Fewest Goals Scored in a Season: 20 in 22 matches (1976/1977)
*Most Goals Conceded in a Season: 87 in 26 matches (1936/1937)
*Fewest Goals Conceded in a Season: 21 in 22 matches (1980/1981)
*Most Clean Sheets in a Season: 9 in 22 matches (1980/1981)
*Most Wins in a Season: 15 in 26 matches (1938/1939) & (1939/1940)
*Fewest Wins in a Season: 3 in 22 matches (1956/1957)
*Most Defeats in a Seaosn: 20 in 26 matches (1936/1937)
*Fewest Defeats in a Season: 4 in 22 matches (1961/1962),(1962/1963)& (1979/1980)
*Most Draws in a Season: 16 in 36 matches (1999/2000)
*Most Capped Player: 3 Joe McNinch - Northern Ireland

Current squad

Notable players

* Dave Hickson
* Glenn Hunter
* Graham Fox
* flagicon|Ireland Jimmy Kelly
* flagicon|Ireland Billy McMillan
* Gerry Mullan
* Stephen Penney
* Jim Platt
* John Sloan
* Geoff Twentyman
* Nigel Worthington
* Tommy Wright
* Alex Donald
* Alex McCrae
* Paul Malone
* Arthur Stewart
* Jimmy Martin
* Bobby Averill
* Norman Clarke
* Hubert Barr
* Kevin Kelbie

See also

* www.irishleaguesupporters.com

References

External links

* [http://www.ballymenaunitedfc.com Official Ballymena United Website]
* [http://irishpremierleague.com/ballymenaunited.htm Ballymena United page on the IPL Website]
* [http://www.irishfootballclubproject.co.nr Irish Football Club Project]