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Stalybridge Celtic, as it is known today,
was formed in 1909. After two seasons in the Lancashire
and Cheshire Amateur League the club turned professional
and joined the Lancashire Combination, where they won
the Second Division championship in their first season.
After that initial success, the club joined the Central
League where they stayed for two brief seasons when they
joined the Southern League Second Division, and by 1915
the club were promoted after finishing runners-up to Stoke
City.
In
1921 the club became founder members of the Football League,
Third Division North. However, after two seasons of consolidation,
the club resigned because the small amount of support
the team were getting was not enough to sustain the club
in such a high division. Therefore the club made history
by becoming the only club ever to voluntarily resign from
the Football League. The club went into the Cheshire County
League where they replaced their own reserve side and
this is where they stayed for the next 60 years.
It
wasn't until 1980 that the club actually won the championship.
This triumph sparked a period of success as the club clinched
the NWCL championship in 1984 and 1987 and achieved promotion
to the NPL two seasons later. The club's stature grew
over time and in 1992 manager Phil Wilson guided the club
to promotion to the GM Vauxhall Conference. After the
initial honeymoon was over life, became tough for Stalybridge
and Wilson, who parted company with the club in March
1994, with the club firmly in the relegation zone.
Former
manager Peter Wragg rejoined the club after a 13 year
absence and transformed the season around. The club won
nine of the last twelve games and finished 14th. However,
the club continued to struggle and were finally relegated
to the Unibond League in 1998.
In
the 2000/01 season the club were in second place for much
of the campaign, but a strong finish to the season where
the club won ten out of its last 13 games, saw Celtic
overtake Emley and seal their place back in the Conference
and also added the President's Cup and the Cheshire Senior
Cup along the way.
The
club were tipped to struggle in their first season in
the Conference, and struggle they did. Losing manager
Phil Wilson to Southport before even a ball had been kicked
was not the best of starts. Paul Futcher was installed
as his replacement, but the team began badly, winning
only two of their opening 18 fixtures. After six straight
defeats in March, Futcher was replaced by Dave Miller.
However, he could not turn the club's fortunes around
either and five defeats in the last five games confirmed
Celtic's relegation back to the Unibond League. Once there
they failed to make a big impression after a stuttering
start as Accrington ran away with the league. However,
a run of ten wins in eleven games from November to March
help Celtic achieve a respectable fourth place. They didn't
find things quite so easy the following year, however,
their eighth place finish was enough to book them a place
in the new Conference North. |
