Burton Albion were formed in 1950 and initially joined the Birmingham & District League before switching to the Southern League eight years later. They were promoted from the Southern League Division One in 1965–66, 1971–72 and 1973–74 and were relegated from the Southern League Premier Division in 1970, 1973 and 1977. Burton spent 1979 to 1987 in the Northern Premier League, before reverting to the Southern League Premier Division. The club rejoined the Northern Premier League in 2001 and were promoted to the Conference as Northern Premier League champions in 2001–02.
Nigel Clough spent seven seasons as the club's player-manager in the Conference and then led them into the Football League as champions of the Conference in 2008–09. They lost the 2014 League Two play-off final, but went on to win the League Two title in 2014–15 and were promoted from League One in 2015–16. Burton spent two seasons in the Championship until relegation in 2018.
History
1950–1998: early years
Burton Albion were formed in 1950, and joined the Birmingham & District League.[1] They finished the 1953–54 season as runners-up, and in 1958–59 joined the Southern League North Western zone.[1] In 1965–66, Burton missed out on the runners-up place on goal difference, but were still promoted to the Southern League Premier Division.[1] They avoided relegation in 1968, due to Stevenage Town folding, but were relegated to Division One after an unsuccessful 1969–70 season.[1]
Burton missed out on promotion on goal average in 1970–71, but finished as runners-up the following season and were promoted back to the Premier Division.[1] The next two seasons saw them relegated, and then promoted back to the Premier Division again.[1] They stayed in the same division until being relegated once more at the end of 1976–77.[1] League rearrangements saw Burton moved to the Northern Premier League, because of their location in the central Midlands, and then back to the Southern League in 1987–88, the season after losing in a replayed FA Trophy Final to Kidderminster Harriers.[1]
Into the new millennium
In October 1998, Nigel Clough was appointed as player-manager[2] and he led the club to two successive runners-up spots, in 1999–2000 and 2000–01.[1] Burton were again moved to the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 2001–02, which they won by a margin of 15 points, scoring 106 goals in the process.[3] The club were promoted to the Football Conference for the first time.[1]
Albion in action against Gillingham in the final match of the 2012–13 season
The club was brought to national attention when they were drawn at home against eleven-times winners Manchester United in the third round of the 2005–06 FA Cup. The Brewers held the Premier League team to a 0–0 draw at home, but lost the replay 5–0 in front of over 11,000 Burton fans, setting a record for number of away fans at Old Trafford.[4]
2009–present: Football League
In January 2009, with Burton 13 points clear at the top of the table, Clough left the club to become the manager of Derby County, with Roy McFarland installed as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Despite this managerial change, Burton went on to set a league record for the most consecutive wins, and in February 2009, when the team was 19 points clear at the top of the table, Conference sponsors Blue Square declared Burton the winners of the 2008–09 title in a public relations stunt, in which they paid out all bets. Following that announcement, the club saw their lead reduced week by week, but secured promotion to the Football League in the final game of the season, despite losing 2–1 away to Torquay United, when Cambridge United could only manage a goalless draw to Altrincham. At the end of the season Roy McFarland left the club and was replaced by Paul Peschisolido, with Gary Rowett acting as his assistant.
Burton's first win in the Football League was 5–2 against Morecambe at the Pirelli Stadium, and they finished 13th in their first campaign in the Football League. In their second season, Burton claimed a notable scalp in the FA Cupthird round when they knocked out championship team Middlesbrough 2–1 at the Pirelli Stadium.[5] In the league, Burton experienced a 17-game winless run and fell from fifth place on Boxing Day to 17th place at the end of the 2011–12 season, which led to the sacking of Peschisolido.
Chart of yearly table positions of Burton Albion in the football league.
Gary Rowett was appointed as the new manager of Burton in May 2012.[6] In his first full season in charge, he led Burton to a fourth-place finish and the play-offs, missing out on automatic promotion by two points.[7] Burton lost their play-off semi-final 4–5 on aggregate to Bradford City despite winning the first leg 3–2 at Valley Parade.[8] In the 2013–14 season, Burton finished sixth, reaching the play-off final in which they lost 1–0 against Fleetwood Town.[9]
During the 2014–15 season, Rowett left to join Birmingham City, and was replaced by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.[10] Under Hasselbaink, the Brewers won League Two and were promoted to League One for the first time in their history.[11][12] Hasselbaink left by mutual consent in December 2015 to join Queens Park Rangers as manager. Clough returned to Burton to replace him for his second spell as manager and led the club to a second-place finish in the league, earning promotion to the Football League Championship, another first for Burton.[13]
The Brewers opened their first season in the championship with a 4–3 loss to local rivals Nottingham Forest.[14] Burton went on a six-match streak without losing between 18 February and 18 March, beginning with a 2–1 win at home to ex-Premier League opponents Norwich City and culminating in a 3–5 defeat to Brentford and including a 1–0 win over Nottingham Forest in the reverse fixture.[15] Burton secured their championship status on 29 April 2017 after a 1–1 draw with Barnsley.[16] Burton spent much of their second season in the championship in the relegation zone. three wins in the late stage of the season boosted their chances of survival, including a 2–1 win over relegation rivals Sunderland.[17] However, following a 2–1 defeat to Preston North End on the final day of the season, Burton were relegated back to League One.[18]
2019–20 saw Burton reach the fourth round of the EFL Cup, defeating Premier League club AFC Bournemouth before losing 3–1 at home to Leicester City.[22] The final nine games of the season would be permanently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Burton finishing the season in 12th place. The summer of 2020 saw significant change with Nigel Clough stepping down as manager, bringing to an end a 228-game long second spell at the club and surpassing 900 games in total with the Brewers.[23] His successor, Jake Buxton, struggled to fill the void and was sacked on 29 December 2020 after winning just two of his 21 league matches, and with Burton sat six points from safety at the bottom of the League One table.[24] The club would soon respond by announcing the return of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as manager.[25] Tasked with securing survival, the new management team completed a remarkable turnaround, climbing out of the relegation zone by the start of March and finishing 16th, 10 points above the bottom four. The turnaround included a club-record run of six consecutive EFL victories.[26]
After a disastrous start to 2022–23, Hasselbaink resigned as Burton Albion manager.[27] Dino Maamria took over the reigns of a club that had just one point after seven matches, successfully guiding the club to survival in 15th place.[28]
Dino Maamria's tenure as manager would end in December 2023,[29] and was succeeded by Martin Paterson.[30] The Brewers ultimately avoided relegation on the final day of the season, however, Paterson would depart the club at the end of the season.[31][32] with first team coaches Gary Mills and John Dreyer also departing the same day.[33]
In June 2024, Chairman Ben Robinson sold the entire majority stake in the football club to the Nordic Football Group (NFG).[34] NFG's acquisition of Burton Albion includes a large group of investors from the Nordic countries. The following day, NFG made their first appointment, announcing the arrival of Chelsea U21 head coach Mark Robinson.[35] After a poor start of 11 league games without a win, Robinson was sacked and replaced with interim boss Tom Hounsell, who picked up the clubs first league win of the season at the 14th attempt and after 3 months of trying[36]
Albion began life at the Lloyds Foundry ground on Wellington Street, but high attendances meant that the club quickly searched for a more suitable home. Eton Park was built off Derby Road and officially opened on 20 September 1958, coinciding with the club's promotion to the Southern League. Until its demolition in 2005, the Brewers played all their home games at Eton Park.
The Pirelli Stadium on Princess Way was built in 2005 and is the current home of the Brewers, replacing Eton Park, also on the same road, which was demolished and developed into housing.[37] The ground cost £7.2 million to build, and was built on the former site of the Pirelli UK Tyres Ltd Sports & Social Club. The land was donated to the club by Pirelli in return for naming rights.[37]
The ground was designed by architect Jon Hawkeye, and has served as the inspiration for numerous newer grounds, including Morecambe'sGlobe Arena and the proposed Hayes & Yeading stadium.[38] It gained its most recent safety certificate from Staffordshire County Council on 12 July 2010,[39] having been subject to crowd trouble on 8 May 2010 at the hands of Grimsby Town fans following their relegation from Football League Two.[40]
The Pirelli Stadium has seen minor capacity changes since its construction, and the current capacity is 6,912, with 2,034 being seated in the South (Main) Stand. The current record attendance for the stadium stands at 6,746 for an EFL Championship match against Derby County on 26 August 2016.[41] Previous records include 6,192 for a Conference National 1–0 defeat against Oxford United, during the club's title-winning season,[42] and 6,191 for an FA Cup third-round match on 8 January 2006 against Manchester United.[43]
The stadium also hosts the National ISFA Under-13 tournament final.
Following promotion to the Football League, local rivalries with Port Vale, Notts County, Chesterfield and Walsall have arisen. Except for Notts County, all these clubs had been rivals to Albion's predecessor club, Burton United, in the early 1900s. There is also a largely friendly rivalry with near neighbours Derby County, partly because of the shared fanbase, but particularly following the transfer of manager Nigel Clough to the championship club in 2009 and the arrival of several ex-Derby players during the Paul Peschisolido era.
Jerrel Floyd "Jimmy" Hasselbaink is a Dutch professional football manager and former player.
Nigel Howard Clough is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was capped by England 14 times in the early 1990s.
Roy Leslie McFarland is an English former football manager and player. With Derby County, he played 442 league games, helping him to earn 28 caps for England.
Jonathan Philip Robert Newby is an English former footballer, who played as a striker, and manager.
Jake Fred Buxton is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender.
Gary Rowett is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently interim manager of EFL League One club Birmingham City.
Michael Ian Mancienne is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he played for the Seychelles national team. He played for football clubs in Germany, the United States, and England.
Pirelli Stadium is an association football stadium on Princess Way in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built in 2005 and is the current home of Burton Albion FC, replacing the club's old Eton Park home, also on Princess Way, which was demolished and developed into housing. The ground was built on the former site of the Pirelli UK Tyres Ltd Sports & Social Club, and having had the land donated to the club by Pirelli, in return for naming rights, the ground cost £7.2 million to build.
Justin Donovan Richards is an English former footballer who played as a striker. He has a tally of around one goal every four games and has played mostly in the Conference and lower reaches of the English Football League. Something of a journeyman player, he has tended to play for teams in his local area around the Midlands and Southern England.
Noureddine "Dino" Maamria is a Tunisian football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently manager of Burton Albion.
Colin Alan Daniel is an English footballer who plays for Northern Premier League Premier Division club Worksop Town. Primarily a left-sided defender, he can also play as a winger, wing-back, or forward.
Damien Paul McCrory is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender. He made 442 appearances in all competitions during a 15-year career.
John Robert Brayford is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently First Team Coach at Burton Albion.
Mark James Duffy is an English football coach and former player who was most recently manager of Northern Premier League Premier Division club Warrington Rylands.
Bryn Andrew Morris is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre back for EFL League Two club Newport County.
Marcus Anthony Myers-Harness is an Irish-English footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Derby County, on loan from Premier League club Ipswich Town.
Kieran Neil Wallace is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League side Tamworth, on loan from National League side Hartlepool United.
Reece Christopher Hutchinson is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Irish club Sligo Rovers.
Tyler Jaden Napier Edward Onyango is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Stockport County on loan from Premier League club Everton.
↑ Emons, Michael (9 January 2019). "Man City 9–0 Burton". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
↑ "Carabao Cup Semi Finals First Leg". Carabao Cup On Quest. Season Season 1 Episode 6. 9 January 2019. 44 minutes in. Quest. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
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