Burton Albion FC: A History-00-7059

The Early Days

The Wanderers and the Swifts merged their teams at the start of the 1901-02 season and took the Swifts league position in the Second Division. The name of the club was changed to Burton United FC and it was hoped this team would be able to provide the town with better fortune in the league. Sadly this was not to be the case and in less than 10 years the club folded after continually poor league finishes.

In 1921, another team was formed to take a stab at bringing some footballing glory to the town. Burton Town, as they soon became known, won a league title in 1928 and had some great runs in the FA Cup. The Second World War thwarted play and after the war was over, they were not reformed.

The Honours of Burton Albion FC

In 1950, Burton Albion began a new life playing their home games at Lloyds Foundry Ground in the town but high attendances meant they had to actively look for other sites to play their games. A new site was found just off Derby Road and work commenced to make Eton Park their home for the next 50 years.

The move to Eton Park for Burton Albion coincided with their promotion to the Southern League in 1958. Over the following years, Burton Albion FC would come to be a stable team playing non-league football. They reached the third round of the FA Cup on three occasions, with the last being in 2006.

Over the years, the team would go on to win countless trophies in cup and shield games like the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1954 when they beat Brierly Hill. Other trophies for the collection included the Midland Floodlit Cup Winners in 1976 and the Southern League Championship Shield.

The Bass Charity Vase is by far their most successful competition, winning it a total of 10 times and the last being in 2009. In 1998, ex-player Nigel Clough took over to become the club's most famous manager, and for the 2001-02 season, the team was placed in the Northern Premier League. This would be a one-time experience as promotion was secured for the first time in Burton Albion FC history. This season saw more than 100 goals scored and just 30 go through their own posts.

Conference and League Times

Nigel Clough was to become a legend at Burton Albion, giving the town optimism, trophies and great cup runs. In 2005, a new stadium was ready for the team and they moved across the road to the Pirelli Stadium. From here on in, things would only continue to grow, with each season welcoming a better finishing position for the team until the 2007-08 season when Burton Albion FC made the play-offs to enter the Football League. A semi-final defeat to Cambridge United left them heartbroken until the following season.

Clough had the most successful season ever in 2008-09 but he left for Derby County in January 2009, after leading Burton Albion to the top of the Conference 13 points clear. Roy McFarland was brought in to finish the job that Clough had left behind and the team went on to win the league and gain automatic promotion to League Two and professional football.

Paul Peschisolido was appointed manager of Burton Albion FC for the start of their first ever Football League campaign. The 60-year-old team finished a very respectable 13th in the 2009-10 season and only 10 points off the play-off positions. The 2010-11 season looks to be shaping up very well with new contracts being offered and the possibilities of new signings this summer looking likely.