Burton Albion F.C.

Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of English football. Burton Albion competed in non-League of English football from their formation in 1950 until 2009, when they were promoted to the Football League.

Burton Albion

Full name	Burton Albion Football Club
Nickname(s)	Brewers
Founded	1950 (1950)
Ground	Pirelli Stadium
Capacity	6,912 (2,034 seated)
Chairman	Ben Robinson
Manager	Jake Buxton
League	League One
2019–20	League One, 12th of 23
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005, and their nickname is The Brewers, stemming from the town's brewing heritage dating back hundreds of years.

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, thanks 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 11-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 and Rise to the Championship

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 Cup third round when they knocked out Championship team Middlesbrough 2–1 at the Pirelli Stadium. 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.

Gary Rowett was appointed as the new manager of Burton in May 2012. 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. Burton lost their play-off semi-final 4–5 on aggregate to Bradford City despite winning the first leg 3–2 at Valley Parade. In the 2013–14 season, Burton finished sixth, reaching the play-off final in which they lost 1–0 against Fleetwood Town.

During the 2014–15 season, Rowett left to join Birmingham City, and was replaced by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.[5] Under Hasselbaink the Brewers won League Two and were promoted to League One for the first time in their history.[6][6][7] 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 Championship, another first for Burton.[8]

The Brewers opened their first season in the Championship with a 4–3 loss to local rivals Nottingham Forest. 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.[9] Burton secured their Championship status on 29 April 2017 after a 1–1 draw with Barnsley. 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.[10] However, following a 2-1 defeat to Preston North End on the final day of the season, Burton were relegated back to League One.

In 2018-19, in spite of being in mid-table in League One, they made the semi-finals of the 2018–19 EFL Cup, after wins over Shrewsbury, Aston Villa, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough.[11] Facing Manchester City, Burton lost the first leg 9–0 at the Etihad Stadium, eventually losing 10–0 on aggregate.[12][13]

Stadium

Pirelli Stadium

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.[14] 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.[14]

The ground was designed by architect Jon Hawkeye, and has served as the inspiration for numerous newer grounds, including Morecambe's Globe Arena, and the proposed Hayes & Yeading stadium.[15] It gained its most recent safety certificate from Staffordshire County Council on 12 July 2010,[16] having been subject to crowd trouble on 8 May 2010 at the hands of Grimsby Town fans following their relegation from Football League Two.[17]

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.[18] Previous records include 6,192 for a Conference National 1–0 defeat against Oxford United, during the club's title-winning season,[19] and 6,191 for an FA Cup third-round match on 8 January 2006 against Manchester United.[20]

The stadium also hosts the National ISFA Under-13 tournament final.

Rivalries

In their non-League days the Brewers' local rivals were Gresley Rovers,[21] Nuneaton Borough, Stafford Rangers[22] and Tamworth. However, since the club's rise to the Football League these rivalries have become less intense.

Following promotion to the Football League, local rivalries with Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Notts County, Chesterfield and Walsall have arisen. Except for Notts County, all these clubs had been rivals to Albion's predecessor, Burton United in the early 1900s. There is also a largely friendly rivalry with 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.

Their 2016 promotion into the Championship resulted in matches with local big clubs Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Players

As of 5 August 2020[23]

First-team squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ENG John Brayford 3 DF  ENG Colin Daniel 4 MF  AUS Ryan Edwards 5 DF  ENG Michael Bostwick 6 DF  ENG Kieran Wallace 7 MF  IRL Stephen Quinn 8 MF  ENG Joe Powell 9 FW  ENG Kane Hemmings 10 FW  ENG Lucas Akins 11 MF  SCO Steven Lawless 12 MF  ENG Ben Fox 14 FW  ENG Luke Varney

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  ENG Reece Hutchinson 18 FW  ENG Charles Vernam 19 DF  SCO Jevan Anderson 20 GK  ENG Callum Hawkins 21 MF  IRL John-Joe O'Toole 23 DF  WAL Neal Eardley 24 GK  ENG Ben Garratt 25 MF  IRL Ciaran Gilligan 26 DF  ENG Ben Hart 27 FW  ENG Tom Hewlett 28 GK  ENG Teddy Sharman-Lowe 29 DF  ENG Tom Armitage

Former players

Player of the Year

As voted for by supporters of the club.[24]

1971 Bobby Goodwin 1972 Phil Annable 1973 John Beresford 1974 Frank Gregg 1975 Phil Annable 1976 Brendon Phillips 1977 Phil Annable 1978 Barry Alcock 1979 Phil Annable 1980 Ken Blair 1981 Bryan Kent 1982 Owen Bell 1983 Clive Arthur

1984 Paul Evans 1985 Doug Newton 1986 Alan Kamara 1987 Alan Kamara 1988 Ian Straw 1989 Nick Goodwin 1990 Nick Goodwin 1991 Mark Owen 1992 Nick Goodwin 1993 Alan Kurila 1994 Nicholas Harlow 1995 Darren Acton

1996 Matt Smith 1997 Simon Redfern 1998 Mark Blount 1999 Mark Blount 2000 Darren Stride 2001 Darren Wassall 2002 Darren Stride 2003 Matt Duke^1 2003 Christian Moore^1 2004 Aaron Webster 2005 Andrew Corbett 2006 Darren Tinson

2007 Kevin Poole 2008 John McGrath 2009 Jake Buxton 2010 Tony James 2011 Adam Legzdins 2012 Calvin Zola 2013 Lee Bell 2014 Ian Sharps 2015 Stuart Beavon 2016 Stuart Beavon 2017 Jackson Irvine 2018 Lucas Akins 2019 Lucas Akins

¹ Matt Duke and Christian Moore joint recipients of 2003 award.

Backroom staff

Club officials

Position	Staff
Chairman	Ben Robinson (BEM)
Board of Directors	Frank Spiers Philip Brown Charles Simpson Paul Simpson Rob Brown Ian English Terry Clarke John Williams Colin Brodie
Commercial manager	Fleur Robinson

Source: Burton Albion | Club | Who's Who

Position	Name
Team Player-Manager	Jake Buxton
Assistant Manager	Gary Crosby
First Team Coach	Andy Garner
Goalkeeping Coach	Martin Taylor
Youth team manager	George Carden

Club honours

Records

• Best League position: 20th Football League Championship (Level 2) – equivalent to 40th overall (2016–17)
• Best FA Cup performance: 4th Round
  • 2010–11 (vs. Burnley F.C.)
• Best FA Trophy performance: Final
  • 1986–87 (After Replay) (vs. Kidderminster Harriers)
• Best Football League Cup performance: Semi-final
  • 2018–19 (vs. Manchester City)
• Best Football League Trophy performance: 2nd Round
  • 2010–11 (vs. Rotherham United)
  • 2014–15 (vs. Doncaster Rovers)
• Biggest win: 12–1 vs. Coalville Town – Birmingham Senior Cup, 6 September 1954
• Heaviest defeat: 10–0 vs. Barnet – Southern League Premier Division, 7 February 1970[25]
• Biggest Football League win: 6–1 vs. Aldershot Town – Football League Two, 12 December 2009
• Biggest Football League defeat:
  • 1–7 vs. Bristol Rovers – Football League Two, 14 April 2012
  • 1–7 vs. Port Vale – Football League Two, 5 April 2013
  • 0–6 vs. Fulham – Football League Championship, 20 January 2018
• Biggest FA Cup win: 0–4 vs. Halifax Town, 10 November 2007
• Biggest FA Cup defeat: 8–0 vs. AFC Bournemouth, 17 November 1956
• Biggest Football League Cup win: 2–4 vs. Leicester City, 28 August 2012
• Biggest Football League Cup defeat: 0–9 vs. Manchester City, 9 January 2019
• Biggest Football League Trophy defeat: 5–1 vs. Chesterfield, 1 September 2009
• Highest scoring Football League game: 5–6 vs. Cheltenham Town – Football League Two, 13 March 2010

Titles

• Football League One (Level 3)
  • Runners Up: 2015–16
• Football League Two (Level 4)
  • Winners: 2014–15
• Football Conference (Level 5)
  • Winners: 2008–09
• Northern Premier League (Level 6)¹
  • Winners: 2001–02
• Southern Football League Premier Division (Level 6)¹
  • Runners-up: 1999–2000, 2000–01
• FA Trophy
  • Runners-up: 1986–87
• Southern League Cup
  • Winners: 1963–64, 1996–97, 1999–2000
  • Runners-up: 1988–89
• Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
  • Winners: 1982–83
  • Runners-up: 1986–87
• Northern Premier League President's Cup
  • Runners-up: 1982–83, 1985–86
• Staffordshire Senior Cup
  • Winners: 1955–56
  • Runners-up: 1976–77
• Birmingham Senior Cup
  • Winners: 1953–54, 1996–97
  • Runners-up: 1969–70, 1970–71, 1986–87, 2007–08

¹Before re-arrangement of non-League pyramid to include Conference North/South.
Source: Burton Albion | Club | History | Honours | Club Honours

Personnel records

Goalscoring

Top goalscorers

As of 20 September 2010 (competitive matches only):

#	Name	Career	Goals	Apps	Average	Source
1	Richie Barker	1960–62, 1963–67	159	270	0.58	[26]
2	Stan Round	1963–67	149	199	0.75	[27]
3	Darren Stride	1993–2010	124	646	0.19	[28]
4	Aaron Webster	1998–2013	101	588	0.17	[29]
5	Simon Redfern	1987–97	86	457	0.19	[30]

Top Football League goalscorers

As of 23 April 2017 (Football League matches only):

#	Name	Career	Apps	Goals
1	Lucas Akins	2014–present	205	44
2	Billy Kee	2011-2014	95	37
3	Shaun Harrad	2005-2011	62	31
4	Jacques Maghoma	2009–2013	155	26
5	Calvin Zola	2010–2013	79	25
6	Greg Pearson	2008–2012	89	19
7	Aaron Webster	1998–2013	108	18
8	Adam McGurk	2013–2015	71	15
9	Stuart Beavon	2014–2017	97	13
10	Justin Richards	2011–2013	48	12

Appearances and goals count for Football League only.
Source: Burton Albion, The Football League

Other goalscoring records

• Most goals in a season: Stan Round – 59 (1965–66)[26]
• Most goals in Football League season – Shaun Harrad – 21 (2009–10)
• Most hat-tricks: Stan Round – 12[27]
• Most Football League hat-tricks – Greg Pearson, Shaun Harrad, Billy Kee, Lucas Akins– 1

Appearances

Most appearances

As of 15 June 2012 (competitive matches only):

#	Name	Career	Apps	Goals	Source
1	Darren Stride	1993–2010	646	124	[28]
2	Aaron Webster	1998–2013	588	100	[31]
3	Phil Annable	1970–80, 1981–83	567	70	[32]
4	Nigel Simms	1981–1993	535	11
5	Nick Goodwin	1988–95, 1997–99	508	0

Most Football League appearances

As of 23 April 2020. (Football League matches only):

John McGrath, 123 Football League appearances.

#	Name	Career	Apps	Goals
1	Lucas Akins	2014–Present	213	53
2	Damian McCrory	2012–2019	196	10
3	Robbie Weir	2012–2016	160	7
4	Jacques Maghoma	2009–2013	155	26
5	Jon Mclaughlin	2014–2017	113	0
6	John McGrath	2007–2013	123	4
7	Andrew Corbett	2003–2013	123	2
8	Jimmy Phillips	2009–2015	121	5
9	John Mousinho	2014–2017	118	2
10	Aaron Webster	1998–2013	108	18

Appearances and goals count for Football League only.
Source: Burton Albion, Football League

Transfers

• Highest Transfer fee paid: Liam Boyce – £500,000
• Highest transfer fee received: Jackson Irvine – £2,000,000[33]

Full international players

Burton Albion players who have represented their country while contracted to the club.

DR Congo – Jacques Maghoma (2010)  Luxembourg – Aurélien Joachim (2015)  Australia – Jackson Irvine (2016)  Jamaica – Lee Williamson (2016)  Northern Ireland – Jamie Ward (2016)  Northern Ireland – Tom Flanagan (2017)  Northern Ireland – Matthew Lund (2017)  Northern Ireland – Liam Boyce (2018)  Ireland - Kieran O'Hara (2019)

Managers

As of 6 May 2018[34]

Name	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Don McPhail	1950	1951
Billy Wrigglesworth	1951	1952
Tally Sneddon	1952	1953
Reg Weston	1953	1957
Sammy Crooks	1957	1957
Jackie Stamps	1957	1959
Bill Townsend	1959	1962
Peter Taylor	1962	1966
Alex Tait	1966	1968
Ian King (footballer)	1968	1969
Richie Norman	1970	1973
Ken Gutteridge	1973	1975
Harold Bodle	1975	February 1976
Mick Walker	1976	1977
Phil Waller	1977	1978
Ian Storey-Moore	1978	1981
Neil Warnock	January 1981	February 1986
Brian Fidler	1986	1988
Vic Halom	1988	1988
Bobby Hope	1988	1988
Chris Wright	1988	1989
Ken Blair	1989	1990
Frank Upton (caretaker)	1990	1990
Steve Powell	1990	1991
Brian Fidler	1991	1992
Brian Kenning	1992	1994
John Barton	1994	September 1998
Nigel Clough	October 1998	6 January 2009	709	310	101	298	043.72
Roy McFarland	6 January 2009	18 May 2009	22	9	3	10	040.91
Paul Peschisolido	18 May 2009	17 March 2012	102	33	26	43	032.35
Gary Rowett	17 March 2012	27 October 2014	142	63	34	45	044.37
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	13 November 2014	4 December 2015	54	33	11	10	061.11
Nigel Clough	7 December 2015	18 May 2020	228	78	57	93	034.21
Jake Buxton	18 May 2020	Present	0	0	0	0	!—

References

1. "BURTON ALBION". Football Club History Database.
2. "Nigel Clough: Burton Albion confirm former manager's return". BBC Sport. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
3. "2001–02 NPL logo Northern Premier League". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
4. "Man Utd 5–0 Burton Albion". BBC Sport. 18 January 2006.
5. "Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink named as Burton Albion manager". BBC Sport. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
6. "Morecambe 1–2 Burton". BBC Sport. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
7. "Cambridge United 2 -3 Burton Albion". BBC Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
8. Garry, Tom (8 May 2016). "Doncaster Rovers 0- Burton Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
9. "Matches". www.burtonalbionfc.co.uk.
11. "EFL Cup quarter-finals: Man City beat Leicester on penalties, Burton win". BBC Sport. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
12. Emons, Michael (9 January 2019). "Man City 9–0 Burton". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
13. "Gabriel Jesus hits four in Manchester City's 9-0 destruction of Burton Albion". Guardian. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
14. "Chairman is working to keep Burton Albion ahead of the game". This Is Derbyshire. 23 March 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
15. "Hayes model new ground on Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium". Uxbridge Gazette. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
16. "County Council stamps safety seal of approval for Pirelli Stadium". Staffordshire County Council. 12 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
17. "FA to investigate incidents at Hull and Burton". BBC Sport. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
19. "Oxford United – We've Met Before". Burton Albion FC. 6 August 2010. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
20. "League football comes to Burton's Pirelli Stadium". BBC Sport. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
21. "Club Guide: Whippets Rovers". Clough The Magic Dragon. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
22. "Club Guide: Stafford Rangers". Clough The Magic Dragon. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
23. "First Team". Burton Albion F.C. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
24. Page, Rex (2010). Burton Albion: The Complete History. The Derby Books Publishing Company Limited. p. 268. ISBN 978-1-85983-816-7.
25. "Carabao Cup Semi Finals First Leg". Carabao Cup On Quest. Season Season 1 Episode 6. 9 January 2019. 44 minutes in. Quest. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
26. "Albion Oldboys: Richie Barker". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
27. "Albion Oldboys: Stan Round". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
28. "Darren Stride Leaves Albion". Burton Albion FC. 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
29. "Aaron Staying With Albion". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012.
30. "Albion Oldboys: Simon Redfern". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
31. http://www.burtonalbionfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10950~2791389,00.html Archived 4 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine
32. "Albion Oldboys: Phil Annable". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
33. "Derby complete Legzdins signing". BBC News. 1 July 2011.
34. Page, Rex (2010). Burton Albion The Complete History. ISBN 978-1-85983-816-7.

External links

• Burton Albion F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• Official website
• Burton Albion at the Football Club History Database