Widnes F.C.

This article is about the association football club. For the rugby league club founded as Widnes F.C., see Widnes Vikings.

Full name	Widnes Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Whites the vikings
Founded	2003 (as The Dragons A.F.C.)
Ground	Halton Stadium, Widnes, Cheshire
Capacity	13,350
Chairman	Ian Ross [1]
Manager	Michael Ellison
2022–23	Northern Premier League Division One West, 17th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Widnes Football Club are an English association football club, based in Widnes, Cheshire. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West, playing their home matches at the DCBL Stadium, Widnes. They are affiliated to the Liverpool County FA.

History

Early years: 2003 to 2012

The club was founded in February 2003 as The Dragons A.F.C. by former secretary Bill Morley as a local junior football club. In 2008, the club was awarded the FA Charter Standard Development award for its continuous development of grassroots football.

2012 to 2018 - Back to Back Promotions

In March 2012, Widnes Dragons began a consultation process with Widnes Vikings RLFC to become part of the Vikings Sports Brand, a partnership that was agreed to enhance the club's community status.

On 10 July 2012, at the club's AGM, the club's members unanimously agreed to become a part of the Widnes Sports Group and agreed on a 12-month transitional period up to the end of that current season (2012–13). The next step in the club's progression was made in season 2013–14 when Widnes Vikings FC was admitted into the football pyramid and placed within North West Counties Football League Division One.

In March 2014, the club's committee called an EGM for its members to decide on the future of the club. A unanimous vote was made that the club was to move away from the Vikings brand and to restructure the club to secure its own identity and long-term future. Subsequently, the club parted ways with the Vikings brand and became known as Widnes Football Club, which was symbolic in representing where the team and its fans came from whilst recognising that a new club needed to be built to establish confidence in the local community and support young local talent in Widnes.

In 2016, a change in board structure lead to the appointment of Ian Ross as chairman with a board of directors being established. ^[2] Danny Meadowcroft and Brian Pritchard were appointed joint managers, replacing previous manager Steve Hill who left the Club following the end of the 2015–16 season. ^[3] However, following an indifferent start to the season, Meadowcroft and Pritchard left the club and were replaced by Joey Dunn, who was subsequently appointed manager. ^[4]

The season ended on a highly successful note as under Dunn's management, Widnes were crowned North West Counties Football League Division One Champions with a game to spare after a 5–1 win at AFC Blackpool. ^[5]

In summer 2017, the club began to re-establish a youth section with the introduction of a development squad ^[6] and two junior teams at Under 7 and Under 9 age groups. ^[7]

Despite Dunn's resignation early in the 2017–18 season, ^[8] the club enjoyed yet another highly successful season. Senior players Steve Akrigg and Kevin Towey were appointed joint player managers, ^[9] leading the club to promotion to the Northern Premier League and victory in the final of the North West Counties Challenge Cup against Burscough.

2018 to Present - Northern Premier League

Widnes' first season at Step 4 brought mixed success. Early exits in the FA Cup, FA Trophy and League Cup meant The Whites only had the league to focus on. Joint managers Towey and Akrigg guided Widnes to a solid mid table finish, despite ending the season as one of the leagues form sides.

The next two seasons were affected by the turmoil caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Widnes finished the abandoned 2019–20 season in 12th, as well as the curtailed 2020–21 season in the same position.

As football returned to normal in the 2021–22 season, Widnes endured a poor start to the season, resulting in the club parting company with Managers Kevin Towey and Steve Akrigg. Former Ashton Town manager David Dempsey was hired, and not only guided Widnes to safety, but turned the side into one of the form teams in the second half of the season, boasting an impressive unbeaten run at home. Dempsey also led his side to the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy, where they were beaten on penalties by Bootle, this being the clubs best run to date. Success under Dempsey was short lived as Widnes began the 2022–23 season in very poor form, failing to win any of their first five league games and seeing their FA Cup run ended by North West Counties side Bury. Subsequently, Widnes and Dempsey went their separate ways. Widnes moved quickly to hire Michael Ellison, ^[10] who began the season with City of Liverpool. Performances under 'Ello' quickly improved, and Widnes were able to pick up their first league win of the season away to newly promoted Hanley. Despite spending a lot of the season rooted to the bottom of the table, Ellison and Widnes picked up a number of crucial wins towards the tail-end of the season, ultimately finishing in 17th place. Due to Skelmersdale not meeting Northern Premier League ground grading requirements, Widnes received a reprieve in the step 4/5 inter step playoff, thus securing their Northern Premier League Status for the 2023/24 season due to their superior points per game ratio compared to other teams around the country.

Season-by-season record

Season	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos	FA Cup	FA Trophy/FA Vase	Liverpool Senior Cup	Notes
2012–13	West Cheshire League Division Three	28	15	3	10	76	45	48	4/15	—	—	—	Promoted
2013–14	North West Counties League Division One	36	9	9	16	58	84	35	14/19	—	—	First round
2014–15	North West Counties League Division One	36	10	5	21	62	101	35	16/19	—	Second qualifying round	Quarter-final
2015–16	North West Counties League Division One	34	10	5	19	67	77	35	13/18	—	—	Quarter-final
2016–17	North West Counties League Division One	42	30	6	6	117	50	96	1/22	—	Second qualifying round	Quarter-final	Promoted
2017–18	North West Counties League Premier Division	44	30	6	8	102	52	96	2/23	Extra preliminary round	First qualifying round	Semi-final	Promoted
2018–19	Northern Premier League Division One West	38	15	6	17	60	61	51	12/20	Extra preliminary round	Extra preliminary round	Semi-final
2019–20	Northern Premier League Division One North/West	31	9	10	12	47	49	37	12/20	First qualifying round	Extra preliminary round	First round	Season Abandoned
2020–21	Northern Premier League Division One West	9	2	2	5	8	15	8	12/19	Preliminary round	Second round qualifying	Competition not held	Season Curtailed
2021–22	Northern Premier League Division One West	38	13	8	17	47	46	47	13/20	Extra Preliminary Round	Third Round Qualifying	Competition not held
2022–23	Northern Premier League Division One West	38	12	8	18	40	66	44	17/20	Preliminary Round	Second Round Qualifying	First Round
2023–24	Northern Premier League Division One West	17	7	4	6	20	13	25	8/20	First Round Qualifying	First Round Qualifying	Second Round

Crest and colours

Since its foundation, the club has always worn a white home strip. They currently play in black shorts and white socks. The club's away kit is all yellow.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Year	Kit Manufacturer	Main Shirt Sponsor	Back of Shirt Sponsor
2013–14	O'Neills	Stobart	Polyblend
2014–2016		Investec	Tax Architects
2016–18	Macron	PolyParts.co.uk	None
2018–20		Northern Premier League Football Academy	None
2020-		Hallmark Security	None

Stadium

Main article: Halton Stadium

Widnes moved into the Halton Stadium in 2012, ahead of their debut and so far only season in the West Cheshire League. They played their first home game at the stadium against Chester Nomads Reserves on 1 September 2012. The club's highest attendance at the stadium is 603 set on 2 January 2023 against Macclesfield.

Current squad

As of 5 August 2023 ^[11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   ENG Cameron Terry — GK   ENG Joe Mason — DF   ENG Jay Roberts — DF   ENG Kai Shorrock — DF   ENG Matty Rain — DF   ENG Jack Byrne — DF   ENG Will Bell — DF   ENG Louis Isherwood — DF   ENG Tom Stephens — DF   ENG Jack Walls — MF   ENG Laurence Smith — MF   KOR Isaac Lee(on loan from Radcliffe)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG Steven Irwin — MF   KOS Fisnik Hajdari — MF   ENG Kris Holt — MF   ENG Sam Bhatti — MF   ENG George Hassall — MF   ENG Sean Miller — MF   ENG MJ Monaghan — FW   ENG James Steele — FW   ENG Jack McGowan — FW   ENG Will Jones — FW   ENG Matt Van Wyk

Club officials

Boardroom

Role	Name
Chairman	Ian Ross
Director	David Day
Director	Gareth Hartley
Director	John McKeown
Club Secretary	Adrian Bevan
Club Development Officer	Bill Morley
Youth Development Officer	Lindsey Davies

Coaching staff

Role	Name
Manager	Michael Ellison
First Team Coach	Chris Lawton
First Team Coach	Paul Bowes
Goalkeeper Coach	Ryan Brookfield
Kit Man	Craig Patterson
Physio

Managerial history

As of 16 August 2023

Manager	Nationality	Period	Total
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Paul Pennington	England	2012	7	2	1	4	28.57
Steve Hill	England	2012–2016	143	46	21	76	32.17
Danny Meadowcroft and Brian Pritchard	England	2016	9	5	1	3	55.55
Danny Salt (interim)	England	2016	3	1	0	2	33.33
Joey Dunn	England	2016-2017	53	36	6	11	67.92
Steve Akrigg and Nick Matthews (interim)	England	2017	1	0	0	1	00.00
Steve Akrigg and Kevin Towey	England	2017-2021	147	66	26	55	44.90
Michael Burke (interim)	England	2021	1	0	1	0	00.00
Dave Dempsey	England	2021-2022	42	15	11	16	35.71
Michael Ellison	England	2022-	50	19	10	21	38.00

Records

Team records

• Record league victory 8 goals:
  • 8-0 v St Helens Town, 8 April 2017
• Record home victory 8 goals:
  • 8-0 v St Helens Town, 8 April 2017
• Record league defeat 9 goals:
  • 10-1 v Northwich Manchester Villa, 13 December 2014
• Record home attendance:
  • 630 vs. Macclesfield, Northern Premier League Division One West, 2 January 2023 (club record)
• Lowest home attendance:
  • 24 vs. Wigan Robin Park, North West Counties Football League Division One, 18 April 2015
• Longest unbeaten league run:
  • 16 games, 25 November 2017 to 31 March 2018
• Most league games won in a row:
  • 14 games, 4 March 2017 to 12 August 2017
• Most league games lost in a row:
  • 6 games, 14 March 2015 to 18 April 2015
• Most league games without a win:
  • 12 games, 21 September 2019 to 1 January 2020
• Best league performance:
  • 12th Northern Premier League Division One West 2018–19
• Best FA Cup performance:
  • First round qualifying 2019-20
• Best FA Trophy performance:
  • Third round qualifying 2021-22
• Best FA Vase performance:
  • Second round qualifying 2014-15
• Best Liverpool Senior Cup performance:
  • Semi-final (3 times) ^[12]

Honours

• North West Counties League
  • Premier Division runners-up 2017–18
  • Division One champions 2016–17
  • League Cup winners 2017-18

References

1. All change at Widnes FC "All change at Widnes FC". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
2. All change at Widnes FC "All change at Widnes FC". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
3. New Management Team at Widnes FC "New Management Team at Widnes FC". Hallmark Security League. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
4. Announcement "Announcement: Dunn Deal!". Widnes Football Club. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
5. Champions! "Champions!". Widnes Football Club. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
6. Development squad launched "Development squad launched". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
7. Junior Setup Launched "Junior Setup Launched". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
8. Club Statement: Joey Dunn departs "Club Statement: Joey Dunn departs". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
9. Steve Akrigg and Kevin Towey appointed joint managers "Steve Akrigg and Kevin Towey appointed joint managers". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
10. MICHAEL ELLISON APPOINTED AS NEW WIDNES MANAGER "Michael Ellison appointed as new Widnes manager". Widnes Football Club. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
11. "First Team squad". Widnes FC. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
12. "LCFA Mens Senior Cup". www.liverpoolfa.com. Liverpool County FA. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Official Twitter