Stevenage Borough F.C. are an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. They play their home games at Broadhall Way in Stevenage. Founded in 1976 following the demise of the town's former club, they joined the United Counties League in 1980 and enjoyed instant success. Following three promotions in four seasons in the early 1990s, the club were promoted to the Conference in 1994. Despite winning the league in the 1995-96 season, the club were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities and have since remained in the Conference.
Stevenage have enjoyed more success in cup competitions in recent years, becoming the first team to win a competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium in 2007, coming back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 to lift the FA Trophy in front of a competition record crowd of 53,262. The club reached the final again in 2009, beating York City 2–0.
History
Stevenage Borough nicknamed "The Boro" was formed in 1976 after the bankruptcy of Stevenage Athletic. The Broadhall Way pitch was subsequently dug up for non-footballing purposes after the council sold the land to a local businessman. Consequently, the new club started out playing in the Chiltern Youth league on a roped-off pitch at the town's King George V playing fields, and moved up to intermediate status joining the Wallspan Southern Combination. In 1980 the club moved back to Broadhall Way and the name Borough was added. With the council as their landlords and a refurbished stadium, Stevenage Borough took on senior status and joined the United Counties Football League in the same year.
In their first season as a senior club, the side won the United Counties League Division one championship, as well as the United Counties League Cup. In 1984, the club joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League, and the following season earned promotion to Division One. However, two years later the club was relegated after finishing second bottom of the division. After two fourth-placed finishes, the club won Division Two North in 1990-91, winning 34 of their 42 games (including every match played at home), scoring 122 goals and amassing 107 points. The following season the club won the Division One championship, remaining unbeaten at home again, and were promoted to the Premier Division. The club's long unbeaten home record was finally ended by Dulwich Hamlet, with the streak lasting 44 matches, or which 42 were won.
In 1993-94 the club won the Premier Division, and were promoted to the Football Conference. Two seasons later they won the Conference, but were denied promotion to the Football League due to insufficient ground facilities, thus reprieving Torquay United, who had finished bottom of the league. In the same season the Hertfordshire club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, but lost 2-1 at Hereford United. The 1996-97 season witnessed the club progress to the third round of the FA Cup for the first time after a 2-1 win against Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road. The side were drawn against Birmingham City at Broadhall Way, but ground issues saw the tie switched to St Andrew's; Birmingham won the match 2-0.
The following season, the club went one better, reaching the fourth round, where they drew Premier League club Newcastle United. A temporary stand was erected behind the away end to house the 'Toon Army', which increased the stadium capacity to 9,000, enough to satisfy the FA. Borough held Newcastle to a 1-1 draw, with Giuliano Grazioli famously equalising after Alan Shearer had put Newcastle ahead. Boro' were unfortunate to lose 2-1 in the replay at St James' Park. Indeed it has been proved, using computer technology, that Shearer's first goal did not actually cross the line.
Despite earning a vast amount of revenue from the two respective cup runs news emerged that the club were in financial difficulties and that the chairman, Victor Green, was going to close the club down if no buyer was found. However, after several weeks of waiting, Phil Wallace purchased the club and set about rebuilding the finances and the relationship with the local council.
In 2001-02 season the club reached the FA Trophy final for the first time, but lost 2-0 to Yeovil Town at Villa Park. The following season, Stevenage started poorly and looked destined for relegation, rooted to the bottom of the Conference National in January. However, the club's fortunes changed following the appointment of Graham Westley as manager. Westley guided the club to a respectable 12th position, winning 8 games out of a possible 12 in the league. The 2003-04 season witnessed Boro' consolidate their position in the league, making steady progression under Westley, finishing in 8th position.
During the 2004-05 season, Boro' managed to make the play-offs after finishing 5th under the guidance of Westley. After beating second-placed Hereford United over two-legs in the semi-final, the side lost the final 1-0 to Carlisle United at the Britannia Stadium. The following year, however, Boro' failed to reach the play-offs after finishing sixth, and Westley's contract was not renewed, ending his 3 and a half year reign as manager. Shortly after Westley's departure, Boro' announced the appointment of former-Grays Athletic boss, Mark Stimson as their new manager
Despite finishing in a disappointing eighth position in Stimson's first season as manager, the 2006-07 campaign saw the club reach the FA Trophy final again, where they came back from 2-0 down to beat Kidderminster Harriers 3-2 in front of a record FA Trophy crowd of 53,262. The victory means that Stevenage were the first team to win a final at the new Wembley Stadium.
After the FA Trophy success in 2007, as well as keeping the majority of the first-team at the club, Stevenage started the 2007-08 season well, breaking a new club record when the defence kept 8 consecutive clean sheets. However, speculation began to mount that Stimson would be approached to take over as manager of Football League club Gillingham. He was offered a new contract by Stevenage in October 2007, but resigned the following day and subsequently joined Gillingham. In November 2007, he was replaced by Peter Taylor. However, after failing to make the play-offs, Taylor resigned at the end of the season. The following month, it was announced that former manager Graham Westley would return to manage the side once again.
On Westley's return, Stevenage started the season slowly, but a 27-game unbeaten run stemming from December to March played a large part in Stevenage reaching the play-offs. However, Stevenage lost in the semi-finals to Cambridge United 4-3 on aggregate. Stevenage did, however, taste cup success during the 2008-09 season season. Firstly, Dino Maamria helped guide the club to Herts Senior Cup glory for the first time in their history, scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Cheshunt.. The 2008-09 season also saw Graham Westley lead Stevenage to a 2-0 win against York City in the FA Trophy final.. It was Stevenage's second FA Trophy success in three years. The win means that Stevenage have now played, and won, twice at the new Wembley Stadium since its opening in 2007.
Stadium
For more details on this topic, see Broadhall Way.The club plays at Broadhall Way, previously home to Stevenage Athletic. Following the bankruptcy of the former town club, the stadium was not used for three years. However, the newly-formed Stevenage Borough moved into Broadhall Way in 1980 as a result of the council re-purchasing the stadium. Following Stevenage's successful 1995-96 Football Conference campaign, the Hertfordshire side were denied promotion to the Football League because of insufficient ground capacity and facilities. Consequently, in the early 2000's the ground was upgraded, with a new £600,000 stand opening, providing a computer learning centre underneath and work on a new £5 million training facility was announced for nearby Shephalbury Park - which subsequently opened in Autumn 2002.
In January 2009, Stevenage Borough announced that they had signed a 7-figure sponsorship deal with the Lamex Food Group, resulting in the renaming of the Broadhall Way stadium to the Lamex Stadium.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Notable players
Main article: List of Stevenage Borough F.C. playersPlayer of the Year
Backroom staff
Directors
- Chairman: Phil Wallace
- Chief Executive: Bob Makin
- Directors: Mike Shortland, Marcus Taverner, Paul Wallace
- Club Secretary: Roger Austin
Management
- Team manager: Graham Westley
- Assistant manager: John Dreyer
- First team coach: Dino Maamria
- Fitness coach: Neil Withington
- Goalkeeping coach: Ali Uzunhasanoglu
- Youth team coach: Colin Reid
- Centre of Excellence manager: Luther Blissett
Honours
- FA Trophy
- Winners: 2006–07, 2008–09
- Runners-up: 2001-02
- Football Confere
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Stevenage Borough F.C. are an English football club based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The club currently participate in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football.
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