Statistics

Match Summary
Biggest Home Win		No home victories at present
Biggest Away Win	3-1	27/08/16 v Charnock Richard (First Division)
Biggest Home Defeat	3-5	10/09/16 v Chadderton (The Buildbase FA Vase)
Biggest Away Defeat	1-5	06/09/16 v City of Liverpool FC (First Division)
Highest Drawn Game	3-3	13/08/16 v Cheadle Town (A) (First Division)
Highest Aggregate Scoreline	8	10/09/16 3-5 v Chadderton (H) (The Buildbase FA Vase)

 

League Season at a Glance
	Home		Away		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Played	2		6		8
Won	0	0.00%	2	33.33%	2	25.00%
Drawn	1	50.00%	1	16.67%	2	25.00%
Lost	1	50.00%	3	50.00%	4	50.00%
Scored	4	2.00	14	2.33	18	2.25
Conceded	6	3.00	18	3.00	24	3.00

 

Progression in Cup Competitions
The Buildbase FA Vase	1st Qualifying Round	3-5	Chadderton	(H)
The Macron Cup	1st Round	v	AFC Darwen	(H)
	To be played on Sat 01/10/16

 

Home Attendance Summary
Highest Attendance	103	18/08/16 v Sandbach United (First Division)
Lowest Attendance	52	10/09/16 v Chadderton (The Buildbase FA Vase)
Average Attendance	3 games	84

 

Number of Games Since
Last Win	4 games
Last Defeat	0 games
Goalless Draw	0 games
Score Draw	3 games
Scored A Goal	0 games
Clean Sheet	0 games

 

Scored / Conceded This Season
	Scored		Conceded
	#	%	#	%
None	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
One	1	11.11%	2	22.22%
Two	4	44.44%	1	11.11%
Three	4	44.44%	1	11.11%
Four	0	0.00%	3	33.33%
Five or more	0	0.00%	2	22.22%

 

When the Goals Went In
	For		Against		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%
0-15	3	14.29%	3	10.34%	6	12.00%
16-30	4	19.05%	2	6.90%	6	12.00%
31-45	6	28.57%	4	13.79%	10	20.00%
46-60	2	9.52%	4	13.79%	6	12.00%
61-75	3	14.29%	7	24.14%	10	20.00%
76-90	2	9.52%	9	31.03%	11	22.00%
90-105	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
105-120	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%

 

History

The original Town club was in existence from 1901 to 1928, but George Fryer and a number of local businessmen decided to re-form the club in 1946. They obtained a lease on the Hoghton Road ground in Sutton, adjacent to St. Helens Junction station on the Liverpool to Manchester railway line, took over a local St. Helens Combination team, Derbyshire Hill Rovers, signing a number of players from other clubs and entered the Liverpool County Combination in the 1947/48 season, playing against Everton 'A' and Liverpool 'A' and several reserve sides from the leading non-league clubs in the Merseyside area.

Success was first attained in May 1949 when Runcorn were defeated in the final of the George Mahon Cup, played at the Prescot Cables ground. The following season, 1949/50, Town were elevated to the Second Division of the Lancashire Combination and they were promoted as Champions in only their second season to the First Division, where they ran up against teams such as Ashton United, Nelson and New Brighton, newly relegated from the Football League. Sadly, Town were themselves relegated in their first season and although promoted briefly again for the 1955/56 season, they spent most of their early years in the Second Division. Improvements were quickly made to the facilities at Hoghton Road in the early years, but in November 1952 the decision was taken to re-locate to the former St. Helens Recs' rugby league ground at City Road in order to further their ambitions of reaching the Football League. Initially, the move resulted in some encouraging crowds, but the club had a change of heart and returned to Sutton in the October 1953. The ground was purchased and further developed and a social club and floodlights were added in later years.

Town were Champions of the Lancashire Combination in 1971/72 season, losing only one game, finishing 6 points clear of Accrington Stanley. 1975 brought a switch to the Cheshire League, where they remained until the formation of the North West Counties League in 1982 and St. Helens Town is still the only club to feature in the top division of that league throughout its existence.

The club's major achievement was to win the FA Vase at Wembley in 1987. After a stuttering start in the Preliminary Round with a 5-4 extra-time win over Colne Dynamoes, further home successes over General Chemicals, Wren Rovers, Guisborough Town and Wythenshawe Amateurs, led to wins at Wisbech Town, at home to Rainworth Miners Welfare, away to Falmouth Town (after a replay) and in the away leg at Emley when, following a 1-0 home defeat in the first-leg, a 2-0 win in Yorkshire secured a Wembley Final against local rivals Warrington Town, who were dispatched 3-2 with goals from Phil Layhe (2) and Brian Rigby.

St. Helens Town boast an impressive Hall of Fame, including legendary goalkeeper and former German Prisoner-of-War Bert Trautmann, who signed for Manchester City over 60 years ago and who went on to play the game of his life in the 1956 FA Cup Final, despite breaking his neck in the latter stages. Bill Foulkes was transferred to Manchester United, where he had a glittering career, surviving the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, in which he bravely rescued some of his stricken team-mates. John Connelly, an England squad member in the victorious 1966 World Cup campaign, was sold to Burnley and he later moved to join Foulkes at Old Trafford. Sadly, all three have passed away in the last few years. Other future stars, groomed at St. Helens Town, include John Quinn (Sheffield Wednesday), Geoff Nulty (Burnley, Newcastle United and Everton) and, most recently, ace goalscorer Dave Bamber, who began and ended his league career at Blackpool and who played in all four divisions of the Football League. Captain of the FA Vase winning team was Tommy O`Neil, who began his league career playing alongside George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton at Manchester United.

Town sold their Hoghton Road ground in 2000 to move in with St. Helens Rugby League Club at their Knowsley Road base. Their farewell appearance at Sutton produced a 1-0 win over Champions Vauxhall Motors and the initial campaign at Knowsley Road got off to a cracking start, with Town leading the table for most of the season, before finishing in a rather disappointing fourth place. Recent seasons have been more of a struggle, ninth place in 2009/10 being the best finish since. Season 2010-11 saw Town slide to 16th and next to bottom in 2011-12, when they would have been relegated, but for Flixton's decision to resign from the league.

Town began the 2012-13 season under new manager Ian Granite, who brought in a new team and coaching set-up and they battled well to avoid relegation, their status being confirmed with a couple of games remaining. 2013-14 was a mirror-image of the previous campaign, with a 14-game unbeaten run between September and December putting the club just behind the front runners for two thirds of the campaign. Granite resigned in November 2013 due to work and family commitments and his assistant Ian Price took over the reins, assisted by Paul Jones and Nick Matthews, but the long breaks caused by the winter weather interrupted their earlier rhythm and Town finished the season once again in the lower reaches, although never in any serious danger of the drop.

Following the demolition of the Knowsley Road ground in 2010, Town have led a nomadic existence up the road in Ashton-in-Makerfield, sharing Ashton Town's Edge Green Street ground for three seasons before moving across town to Brocstedes Park at the invitation of Ashton Athletic in 2012. The current season is scheduled to be the club's last in exile, as plans are in place for re-location back to St. Helens for the 2015-16 season at the Council-owned Ruskin Park site, currently undergoing massive redevelopment and a brand-new facility awaits. In readiness for the move, the club is undergoing a radical re-branding, adopting the town's coat of arms as their badge once again and reverting next season to their traditional blue and white colours in preparation for an emotional return to the town in August 2015.