Everything about Boston United F C totally explained
David Newton |
manager =
Tommy Taylor |
league =
Conference North |
season =
2007–08 |
position =
Conference North, 10th |
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Boston United Football Club are a
football club based in
Boston,
Lincolnshire,
England.
History
The club was founded in
1934 as a successor to a club called Boston F.C., and had a moderate amount of success in various leagues, including the
Midland League and
Southern League. They were founder members of the
Northern Premier League in
1968, of which they were champions four times, and of the Alliance Premier League (now the
Football Conference) in
1979. Their main rivals are
Lincoln City. Boston are nicknamed the Pilgrims, although they were briefly nicknamed the Skyrockets during the 1985/86 season due to their long-ball style of play.
Boston finished third in the Conference in
1988-
89, but were unable to build on this and were relegated to the NPL in
1993. They transferred again to the Southern League, winning the title in
2000, and went fully professional in
2001. In their first season as a professional club, Boston won the Conference and were promoted to
the Football League.
However, in the wake of their promotion, Boston's manager,
Steve Evans, and former chairman, Pat Malkinson, were charged with breaking
the Football Association's rules over the registration of players. Both men received bans from the FA, and the club were fined and docked four points from their first season in the League. This angered some, especially the Conference runners up
Dagenham & Redbridge, who believed that any points deduction should have applied to the previous season, which would have meant Dagenham being promoted instead. In their promotion to the Football League, Boston never really looked like challenging for promotion to the third tier of the league and most of their time from
2002 was spent in mid-table.
In May
2007 Boston were relegated from
Football League Two on the last day of the season.
Steve Evans and his assistant
Paul Raynor on May 27th resigned from the club, and two days later joined
Crawley Town F.C..
Originally scheduled to play the 2007/8 season in the
Conference National, this position was immediately placed in doubt after the club's chairman Jim Rodwell entered Boston into a
Company Voluntary Arrangement late in their last game so as not to be penalised for the 2007/8 season - 10 points are docked from the past season, instead of the next, allowing them to have a clean start in the Conference. As a result of
HM Revenue & Customs placing a restriction into the CVA of Boston not being allowed to pay football creditors 100% of what they were owed, as per FA rules, on
June 9, Boston were relegated two divisions and are now scheduled to start 2007/8 in the Conference North division, two steps below the Football League.
Stadium
Boston United play at
York Street, currently styled as
The Staffsmart Stadium through a
sponsorship deal. Former club chairman Jon Sotnick has claimed it isn't up to Football League standard and has called for a new ground. Planning applications were made to
Boston Borough Council in June 2006, but the council turned down the application. The ground has a total capacity of 6,645.
Financial situation
On the 4th of December 2006 Boston's plan to relocate to a new stadium on The Broadsides was unanimously rejected by
Boston Borough Council. This has plunged the club's future into serious doubt. Chairman
James Rodwell said the club's future was "Hanging in the balance". Rodwell confirmed that he'd be meeting with
shareholders over the next couple of days to determine the best course of action, but did admit that the club’s future was ultimately now in the hands of the
Inland Revenue, who are owed a sizeable six-figure sum by the club.
In a statement he released to the club's official website on the 5th of December he said: "The club’s financial situation at the present moment is dire. I'd urge all supporters and anybody interested in the future of the football club, be that investors or potential purchasers, to come forward immediately".
In November 2006 Boston manager
Steve Evans and his former chairman
Pat Malkinson pleaded guilty to "conspiring to cheat the public revenue between 1997 and 2002". Both were given suspended jail sentences. This admission of guilt means many football fans feel considerably less sympathy towards Boston than they've done towards other lower league clubs encountering major financial problems.
In May 2007, Boston entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement towards the end of their last game of the season when they knew they'd be relegated to the Conference. This allowed them to avoid a points deduction in the next season, but has proved a controversial move.
On the 10th June 2007 the Football Conference's annual general meeting voted in favour of demoting Boston United to the Conference North, stating that the terms of the Company Voluntary Agreement which Boston entered was behind the decision.
Altrincham F.C. were subsequently spared relegation for the second season running. Chief Executive John Moules released this statement:
"Because Boston United are in breach of certain rules, it was felt Blue Square North was the best place for them. The Inland Revenue put a caveat on that CVA that Boston couldn't pay football creditors. That breaks
Football Association, Football League and
Football Conference rules and regulations. We're giving Boston the opportunity to re-establish themselves as a leading club outside the
Football League. They believe the decision we've made is fair and just, and they're not going to appeal. We had meetings all day on Friday with Boston United and then informed Altrincham that they were staying up."
On 4th July 2007, Chestnut Homes, a local housing development company, announced that they'd acquired Boston United FC.
Players
» As of 4 May 2008.
Current squad
Notable Former Players
Managerial history
Below is a list of Boston United managers in
chronological order:
»
Honours
FA Trophy runners-up 1984-85
Football Conference champions 2001-02
Southern League champions 1999-2000, runners-up 1998-99
Northern Premier League champions 1972-73, 1973-74, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1997-98, runners-up 1971-72
Midland League runners-up 1955-56
Central Alliance League champions 1961-62
United Counties League champions 1965-66
West Midlands (Regional) League champions 1966-67, 1967-68
Lincolnshire Senior Cup Winners 2005-2006
Records
Highest attendance
11,000 vs Derby County
Football League Records
Heaviest defeat - 0-6 vs Grimsby Town (February 3, 2007)
First club to start on less than 0 points.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Boston United F C'.
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