South Shields F.C.

South Shields Football Club is a football club based in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. The third club of this name, it was formed in 1974 and plays its home matches at the 1st Cloud Arena, formerly known as Mariners Park and before that, Filtrona Park. South Shields currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

For the original club of the name, see Gateshead A.F.C. For the second and previous club, see Gateshead United F.C.
South Shields
Full nameSouth Shields Football Club
Nickname(s)The Mariners
Founded1974
Ground1st Cloud Arena, South Shields
Capacity3,500
ChairmanGeoff Thompson
ManagerLee Picton and Graham Fenton
LeagueNorthern Premier League Premier Division
2019–20Northern Premier League Premier Division (season abandoned)

History

The club was formed in the same year as the previous club failed, after a second move to Gateshead by the previous club, and the sale of Simonside Hall, given to the club by supporters. The re-formed club under chairman Martin Ford (a director at the club who disagreed with the sale of Simonside Hall and subsequent move to Gateshead International Stadium) was based at the council's Jack Clark Park which was primarily a cricket pitch, and began a 17-year crusade for a home of its own.

After two title winning seasons in the Northern Alliance, and an appearance in the quarter-finals of the FA Vase in 1976, Shields joined the Wearside League winning the league at the first attempt in 1977 and completing a league and cup double by winning the Durham Challenge Cup against Consett at Roker Park, the first county cup win for the club since it was reformed. The team however was broken up as the club did not have the facilities needed to meet the requirements of joining the Northern League. So the club spent the next 15 years languishing in mid table in the Wearside League while the club searched for a suitable home.

Ultimately, chairman John Rundle and his family provided the long wished-for new ground by purchasing the run down and vandalized facilities next door to the Filtrona factory, the ground was refurbished and ready for use in 1992, the team thanks to the management of Bobby Elwell and the goals of striker Steve Harkus responded by winning a double of the Wearside League for the first time since 1977 and the Sunderland Shipowners Cup.

In 1994–95 the club won the Wearside League for the second time in three years (with a big highlight being a run to the final of the Durham Challenge Cup, in which Filtrona Park hosted the replay which Shields lost 3–0 to Spennymoor United in front of a record attendance 0f 1'500), and were promoted to Northern League Division Two. Shields were quickly promoted again to Northern League Division One the following season after finishing runners up, The club enjoyed a 4-year stay in the 1st division with a big highlight in that time being a run to the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup in 1997 which ended in a close 3–2 defeat at Gainsborough Trinity. The club however could not build upon this and ultimately were relegated down to Division 2 in the 1999–2000 season with just 16 points. Chairman John Rundle publicly threatened to fold the club if they went down, though he did not follow the threat through.

After several seasons stuck in mid table in Division Two, John Rundle again threatened the club with closure in 2006, locking the gates at Filtrona Park before a home game. However, a new committee was formed, headed by new chairman Gary Crutwell, and the club was saved, the team was quickly rebuilt under the management of Micky Taylor and come the end of the season, a 2–1 win at home to Penrith on the final day prevented relegation back to the Wearside League. The club's performance improved the following season, although the team missed out on promotion by just 5 points. An FA Vase run to the 3rd round that season was a big highlight, coming to end in a 7-goal thriller at home to eventual semi-finalists Curzon Ashton. The club however built on the success of the previous season and won promotion back to Division 1 finishing runners-up to Penrith. Shields then settled down as a solid mid-table Division one side with a big highlight being winning the Northern League Cup in 2010 after beating Ashington 6–5 on penalties after a 2–2 draw at Dunston, the club's first honour since joining the Northern League.

In the 2012–13 season, despite uncertainty regarding the ground, there were early positive signs shown in a good FA Cup run which included a win over Darlington RA and knocking out NPL opposition in the form of Harrogate Railway Athletic before falling to Spennymoor Town in the 1st Qualifying Round. From then on, the season went downhill, despite some positive performances, these were few and far between and despite a late season charge of 5 successive wins, Shields were ultimately relegated from Northern League Division One. Things took a turn for the worse when the club were forced to move to Eden Lane in Peterlee, after its lease on Filtrona Park expired.

The club spent the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons in Division Two of the Northern League, despite having to play home games 20 miles away in Peterlee in front of double digit crowds and difficulties when it came to raising teams to play, manager Jon King still managed to maintain the club's Northern League status with 17th and 15th-place finishes.

In the summer of 2015 however, a local businessman by the name of Geoff Thompson, founder of Utilitywise, bought the original Filtrona Park from John Rundle, moved the club back in, renamed the ground Mariners Park and became the new club chairman. To celebrate the return, a crowd of over 650 showed up to see Shields play a friendly against Darlington. The new season itself started off brightly with genuine hopes for promotion back to Division 1 before the club pulled off a coup, tempting the former Sunderland and Middlesbrough midfielder Julio Arca out of retirement to sign for South Shields and become a massive part of Jon King's reconstruction of the team.

Arca was joined by the likes of former Hartlepool United forward David Foley and ex Gateshead and Spennymoor midfielder Wayne Phillips as well as the return of the likes of Leepaul Scroggins and Robert Briggs to name but a few. Shields went on to achieve promotion with a new division record of 107 points. Attendances slo improved massively as the club were beginning to generate a positive buzz around the town peaking with a then new Filtrona/Mariners Park record attendance of 1,827 for the local derby against Hebburn Town.

The rebuilding continued in the summer with further additions, the likes of Jon Shaw, Gavin Cogdon, Carl Finnigan and Craig Baxter (to name but a few) were brought in as Shields attempted to push for the Division 1 championship. However part-way into the season, manager Jon King was dismissed and a new management team brought in of Lee Picton and North Shields manager Graham Fenton. In October 2016, South Shields then appointed former Sunderland defender Martin Scott as assistant manager.[1]

These changes however did not deter the squad, in fact it appeared to galvanise the team even further, between the appointment of the new management team and the end of the season, South Shields went on to lose just ONE game in all competitions out of 55, this included a period between November and April of 32 successive wins, an unofficial world record. During this time, the club embarked on a crusade in the cups, they would go on to win the Durham Challenge Cup for the first time since 1977, beating Billingham Synthonia 2–0 in Hartlepool, they then went on to win the Northern League Cup with an astonishing 5–0 beating of rivals North Shields at Whitley Bay, but the most notable and memorable achievements came in the FA Vase. Shields had dispatched Esh Winning, Runcorn Linnets, Marske United, Staveley Miners Welfare, Morpeth Town and Team Solent before a home quarter-final against Newport Pagnell Town, here the attendance record was smashed as 3'161 saw Shields dispatch their Buckinghamshire opponents 6–1 setting up a semi-final tie against Warwickshire outfit Coleshill Town.

Despite a spirited display from their opponents, Shields managed to grind out what turned out to be a crucial 2–1 win in the away leg at Coleshill, a week later, Shields turned on the style in a 4–0 win in front of a new ground record of 3,464 meaning South Shields would be going to Wembley for the first time in the history of the town. In the final on 21 May 2017, South Shields's opposition was in the form of the Northern Counties East League champions Cleethorpes Town in which Shields played in front of an estimated 14,000 of their own fans. Shields went on to win 4–0 to lift the FA Vase.

In this time, South Shields also managed to use their games in hand to overturn a 17-point deficit to North Shields at the top of the Northern League to win it with 108 points meaning that when the FA Vase was won, South Shields had completed a 'quadruple' of trophies.

The 2017–18 season brought more success in the form of a club record run in the FA Cup, after a Preliminary Round 3–1 win over Bridlington Town in front of the BBC cameras and a 2–0 victory at Witton Albion, South Shields then inflicted two of the biggest cup shocks of that season's qualifying campaign, firstly going away to Darlington and impressing hugely in a 3–0 win and then in the 3rd qualifying round, Gavin Cogdon scored an injury time winner in a pulsating 3–2 win over the previous season's FA Trophy winners York City. Their cup run ended in the 4th Qualifying Round with a narrow defeat to Hartlepool United (a team three divisions higher) in front of another sellout crowd. As the season went on, Shields reached the 2nd Qualifying round of the FA Trophy, a competition that the town had not been represented in since 1974, they dispatched Scarborough Athletic and Farsley Celtic (after a replay) on the way to being knocked out by Stafford Rangers in a 3–1 away defeat.

Apart from that, the club enjoyed a run in the Integro League Cup, knocking out Farsley Celtic, Stocksbridge Park Steels, Cleethorpes Town and Workington on a run to the semi-finals where they fell to Coalville Town despite a valiant showing by a largely youthful Shields eleven. Both promotion and the league title were secured with games to spare and for the third season running. A 4–2 defeat at Colwyn Bay in September ended an unbeaten run in all competitions that stretched back 11 months and the 100 point mark was surpassed for the third successive season. Julio Arca went on to lift the league championship trophy in front of a jubilant home crowd of over 2,000 on the final day, however this turned out to be his last act as a South Shields player as he would announce his retirement weeks later [2]

In the summer of 2018, the club held the first edition of the South Shields FC International Tournament. They were beaten 3-0 by Southampton in the semi-final. Southampton went on to beat Marseille 1-0 in the final [3]

In the 2018–19 season, South Shields played their trade in the NPL Premier Division, the same division which the previous incarnation of the club left behind in 1974 and also the highest level of non league football that the current incarnation of the club will have ever played at. Here the club's academy side made history by qualifying for the main stages of the FA Youth Cup for the first time with wins over Stockton Town, Spennymoor Town, Gateshead and Chorley. Further success has since followed with a 6-2 win over Macclesfield Town which earned the academy team a trip to Lincoln City in the 2nd Round, a game they lost valiantly 4-2.

The first team would have a very positive first season at NPL Premier Division level. Despite a sluggish start, Shields would then go on to lose just 2 of their remaining 28 league games to take the title fight all the way to the final day. But ultimately they lost out to Farsley Celtic by just three points. Despite this though, they still claimed a highly respectable 2nd place finish. However the playoffs would end at the second hurdle where Shields would fall to Warrington Town in the league final. This ended the streak of promotions at three.

The 2019-20 season saw many changes at the club, the biggest being the switch to a hybrid model encompassing both part-time and full-time players, the first steps towards Shields becoming a full-time professional club. Many changes in the playing staff saw the departure of some popular names, especially strikers Carl Finnigan & Gavin Cogdon, defender Anthony Callaghan and also veteran Barrie Smith who announced his retirement.

The league season started very strongly, winning 10 of their first 12 games before an mid-season blip saw their 10 point lead wiped out. Form began to pickup though after the winter with 5 wins in 6 before the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic put a premature end to the league season. At the point of stoppage, Shields held a 12 point lead at the top of the NPL Premier Division with just 9 games left to play. A legal challenge attempting to overturn the ruling to null and void the season proved unsuccessful thereby confirming Shields would once again participate in the Northern Premier League whenever that would occur.

Mixed in with the league campaign was a new club record run in the FA Trophy with the club making it to the 1st round proper for the first time even in the history of the current incarnation of the club. This was thanks to wins over Stalybridge Celtic, AFC Rushden & Diamonds and perennial FA Cup giantkillers Stourbridge. Shields did not disgrace themselves in that 1st round tie against Southport taking the National League North playoff chasers to a replay before losing out 3-1. But the big achievement was the youth team once again in the FA Youth Cup Wins over Gateshead, Carlisle City, North Shields, Harrogate Town, Morecambe and Hartlepool United sent the academy into the 3rd round with the reward being a tie against one of the country's elite academy teams, Fulham. Sure the tie resulted in a 10-1 defeat but that did not detract from a terrific achievement to reach that stage in the first place.

Stadium

South Shields today play their home games at Mariners Park situated on the Bede Industrial Estate, East Jarrow. It has a capacity of around 3,000 with 250 seats.

The facility boasts a clubhouse, covered standing on three sides and an adjacent 3G pitch. The club have been based here since 1992 bar an enforced spell at Eden Lane, the former home of Peterlee Newtown FC between 2013 and 2015. This was before Geoff Thompson bought the current facility from previous landlord John Rundle in May 2015 and moved the club back in.

The ground is within a 2 minute walk of the nearest Tyne & Wear Metro stop, that being Bede.

Between 1974 and 1992 however, the club had no home to call its own and spent the vast majority of its time at the council owned Jack Clark Park in Horsley Hill. Home games were also played at The Nook.

In September 2017, the ground was also the home of Sunderland AFC Ladies.

Club colours

The home colours of South Shields are Claret and Blue shirts and white shorts, this harks back to the colours worn by the first incarnation of the club just before the move to Gateshead in 1930 and also the first known colours of that first incarnation of the club as early as 1905 when they were known as South Shields Adelaide. The current club (when reformed in 1974) played in Dundee United style tangerine and black before altering to Claret and Blue at some point during the 1980s.

The previous incarnations of the club played (for the vast majority of their existences) in Red and Green which was an ode to the town's booming shipbuilding industry in the early part of the 20th century, Red and Green being the indicating colours for Port and Starboard respectively. At some point in the mid 1920s the club switched to Blue and White before the switch to Claret & Blue in 1929. The second incarnation when formed in 1936 played in Red and Green quarters until the early 1960s when the club mirrored Leeds United's change in colours to all White. At some point in the decade, the club switched again, this time to Amber and Blue, the colours worn when Shields made it to the 3rd round of the FA Cup in the 1969-70 season before finishing their existence in 1974 reverting to all Red.

When the club left to form Gateshead United F.C. in 1974, they switched again to white and green, they would fold in 1977.

Club Officials

Officials
PositionName
Chairman Geoff Thompson
Vice Chairman Gary Crutwell
Commercial Director David Mitchell
Managing Director Keith Finnigan
Secretary Phillip Reay
Media Manager Daniel Prince
Honorary Presidents Jade Thirlwall & David Miliband

First team
PositionName
First Team Managers Lee Picton & Graham Fenton
First Team Assistant Manager Brian Smith
Goalkeeper Coach Phil Naisbett
Club Physiotherapist Andrew Morris
Kitman George McLaughlin

Youth / Academy

PositionName
Head of Academy David Lynch
Head of Professional Development Jon Shaw
Academy & Recruitment Manager Wess Brown
Head of Youth Performance & Development Jamie Williams
Head of Foundation Steve Camm

Players

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
— GK  ENG Myles Boney
— GK  ENG Ross Coombe
— DF  ENG Blair Adams
— DF  ENG Craig Baxter
— DF  ENG Gary Brown
— DF  ENG Dillon Morse
— DF  ENG Jon Shaw
— DF  NED Wouter Verstraaten
— DF  NED Jordan Hunter
— MF  ENG Luke Daly
— MF  ENG Robert Briggs
— MF  ENG Aaron Thompson
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG Josh Gillies
— MF  ENG Nathan Lowe
— MF  ENG Callum Ross
— MF  ENG Phil Turnbull
— MF  ENG Josh Elcoate
— MF  ENG Will Jenkins
— MF  ENG Will McCamley (On Loan from Huddersfield Town)
— FW  ENG Sam Hodgson
— FW  ENG Jason Gilchrist
— FW  ENG Lee Mason
— FW  ENG Darius Osei
— FW  ENG Alex Kempster

Past Seasons
Season Manager(s) League Level P W D L F A GD Pts Position Top Scorer (All Competitions) Goals FA Cup FA Trophy FA Vase Average Gate
2006–07 Mickey Taylor / Gary Steadman Northern Division 2 10 40 23 7 10 89 58 +31 76 4th Simon Dolman 26 Extra Prelim' – Round 3 153
2007–08 Gary Steadman Northern Division 2 10 38 24 5 9 98 52 +46 77 2nd Mark Johnson 23 Preliminary – QR 1 186
2008–09 Gary Steadman Northern Division 1 9 42 9 10 23 52 79 −27 39 19th Jonny Wightman 12 Preliminary – QR 1 172
2009–10 Gary Steadman Northern Division 1 9 42 19 6 17 83 87 −4 63 11th Stephen Ramsey 21 Extra Prelim' – Round 1 184
2010–11 Gary Steadman Northern Division 1 9 42 17 7 18 61 66 −5 58 11th Lee Paul Scroggins 16 Preliminary – Round 1 208
2011–12 Gary Steadman / Jon King Northern Division 1 9 42 15 6 21 81 92 −11 51 13th Alex Benjamin 15 Preliminary – Round 1 211
2012–13 Jon King Northern Division 1 9 46 11 5 30 54 117 −63 38 23rd Jonny Wightman 16 QR 1 – Round 1 164
2013–14 Jon King Northern Division 2 10 42 11 15 16 62 88 −26 48 17th Adam Burnicle 11 Preliminary – Round 1 69
2014–15 Jon King Northern Division 2 10 42 16 5 21 78 74 +4 53 15th Paul Kane 24 – – QR 2 70
2015–16 Jon King Northern Division 2 10 42 35 2 5 122 31 +91 107 1st Warren Byrne 31 – – Round 3 765
2016–17 Jon King / Lee Picton & Graham Fenton Northern Division 1 9 42 34 6 2 127 35 +92 108 1st David Foley 35 Extra Prelim' – Winners 1,226
2017–18 Lee Picton & Graham Fenton NPL Division 1 North 8 42 32 7 3 112 37 +75 103 1st Carl Finnigan 25 QR 4 QR 2 – 1,489
2018–19 Lee Picton & Graham Fenton NPL Premier Division 7 40 27 6 7 86 41 +45 87 2nd Robert Briggs 19 QR 2 QR 3 – 1,546
2019–20 Lee Picton & Graham Fenton NPL Premier Division 7 33 21 6 6 64 34 +30 69 1st Jason Gilchrist 23 QR 1 Round 1 – 1,670
2020–21 Lee Picton & Graham Fenton NPL Premier Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0 QR 1 QR 3 – 0

NOTE 1: Home games in 2013-14 and 2014-15 season were played at Eden Lane in Peterlee

NOTE 2: Average Gates count League and playoff games only

YELLOW: 2019-20 Season cancelled due to the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic, no promotion or league title was awarded and subsequent legal challenges were unsuccessful

Records
  • FA Cup Best Performance: 4th Qualifying Round - 2017-18
  • FA Trophy Best Performance: Round 1 - 2019-20
  • FA Vase Best Performance: Winners - 2016-17
  • FA Youth Cup Best Performance: Round 3 - 2019-20
  • FA Womens Cup Best Performance: 3rd Qualifying Round - 2016-17 & 2017-18
  • Record Attendance: 3,464 vs Coleshill Town, 2016-17, FA Vase Semi-Final 2nd Leg
  • Largest Victory: 14-0 vs Murton Colliery Welfare, 1984-85, Wearside League
  • Heaviest Defeat: 0-11 vs Shildon, 2012-13, Northern League Division 1


Honours
  • FA Vase
  • Northern Premier League
    • Premier Division Runners-Up: 2019
    • Premier Division Playoffs Runners-Up: 2019
    • Division One North Champions: 2018
  • Northern League
    • Champions: 2017[4]
    • Division Two Champions: 2016
    • Division Two Runners-Up: 1996, 2008
    • League Cup Winners: 2010, 2017
    • J.R. Cleator Cup Winners: 2010
    • Craven Cup Runners-Up: 2001
  • Wearside League
    • Champions: 1977, 1993, 1995
    • Wearside League Cup Winners: 1993
    • Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Winners: 1987
    • Sunderland Shipowners Cup Winners: 1993
  • Northern Football Alliance
    • Champions: 1975. 1976
  • Durham Challenge Cup
    • Winners: 1977, 2017
    • Runners-Up: 1995, 2019

Academy Honours
  • National League U19 Alliance
    • League Cup Winners: 2019
    • Regional Division Runners-Up: 2018
  • English Colleges FA
    • Premier Division National Playoff Runners-Up: 2019

Ladies Team Honours
  • North East Regional Womens Football League
    • Northern Division Champions: 2018
  • Durham County League
    • Division 1 Champions: 2016

Top 10 Attendances
Rank Match Competition Date Attendance
1 South Shields 4-0 Coleshill Town 2016-17 FA Vase Semi-Final 2nd Leg Saturday March 18, 2017 3,464
2 South Shields 5-3 FC United of Manchester 2019-20 BetVictor NPL Premier Division Saturday March 14, 2020 3,274
3 South Shields 0-2 Sunderland Pre-Season Friendly Thursday July 11, 2019 3,261
4 South Shields 6-1 Newport Pagnell Town 2016-17 FA Vase Quarter-Final Saturday February 18, 2017 3,161
5 South Shields 1-2 Hartlepool United 2017-18 FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Saturday October 24, 2017 2,887
6 South Shields 3-2 York City 2017-18 FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round Saturday September 30, 2017 2,806
7 South Shields 0-1 North Shields 2016-17 EBAC Northern League Division 1 Saturday November 5, 2016 2,651
8 South Shields 1-2 Warrington Town 2018-19 Evo-Stik NPL Playoff Final Saturday May 4, 2019 2,337
9 South Shields 2-1 Colne 2017-18 Evo-Stik NPL Division 1 North Saturday April 28, 2018 2,104
10 South Shields 3-2 Scarborough Athletic 2018-19 Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division Monday April 22, 2019 2,061

Kit & Main Sponsors
Period Kit Supplier Main Shirt Sponsor Rear Sponsor
1974-1988 ? ? ?
1988-1991 Umbro Anglia Windows None
1991-1993 Northumbria Windows None
1993-1995 Reg Vardy None
1995-1997 Vaux Samson None
1997-2000 ? Dicksons Pork Butchers None
2000-2001 Avec Wimpey Homes None
2001-2004 Pendle None
2004-2005 Prostar - None
2005-2006 Complete Seal Windows None
2006-2007 Ashley Bathrooms None
2007-2009 Nike Ashley Timber None
2009-2011 Port of Tyne None
2011-2013 Macron Complete Soccer Academy None
2013-2014 Stanno Westoe Lettings None
2014-2015 Westoe Dental Practice None
2015-2016 Nike Site For Eyes None
2016-2017 Jennings Ford Direct
2017-2018 Errea
2018-2019 Puma Business Energy Claims
2019-2021 Pulman Volkswagen

Previous Managers
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References
  1. "Ex-Sunderland defender Martin Scott appointed assistant manager at South Shields"
  2. "'A class act' fans' messages to Julio Arca as South Shields, Sunderland and Boro cult hero retires"
  3. Carruthers, Mark (8 June 2018). "South Shields FC to host Celtic, Southampton and Marseille - here's how you can watch it". nechronicle. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  4. South Shields at the Football Club History Database

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