Gainsborough Trinity F.C.

Gainsborough Trinity

Full name	Gainsborough Trinity Football Club
Nickname(s)	Trinity, The Holy Blues
Founded	1873 (1873) (as Trinity Recreationists)
Ground	The Northolme, Gainsborough
Ground Capacity	4,304 (515 seated)
Chairman	Richard Kane
Manager	Dominic Roma
League	National League North
2015–16	National League North, 16th
Home colours Away colours

Gainsborough Trinity squad photo for 1966–67

Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is an English football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. The club competes in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football.

Between 1896 and 1912 they were members of the Football League. They are currently in the Conference North, and play their home matches at The Northolme, which has a capacity of 4,304 (504 seated, 3,800 standing). They are known as "Trinity" or the "Holy Blues".

History

The club was established in 1873 as Trinity Recreationists by Reverend George Langton Hodgkinson, the vicar at the Holy Trinity Church. In 1889 the club were founder members of the Midland League, which they won in 1890–91. Trinity finished as runners-up the following season and again in 1895–96. In 1896 the club applied for membership of the Football League, and were elected after finishing third in the ballot, ahead of existing members Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra.

The club's first season in Division Two of the League saw them finish seventh, but a gradual decline in form saw them finish in the bottom half of the table every season until 1904. In 1901–02 Trinity finished bottom of the division, but were re-elected. In 1904–05 the club finished sixth in Division Two, their best performance in the League.

In 1911–12 Trinity finished bottom of Division Two for a second time, and failed to be re-elected, receiving just nine votes to the 27 received by newly elected Lincoln City. The club returned to the Midland League, finishing third in 1912–13 and second in 1913–14, after which they unsuccessfully applied for readmission to the Football League.

When the Football League created a new Third Division North in 1921, Trinity applied for membership, but were again unsuccessful. The club won the Midland League title in 1927–28, and the following season defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time since losing their League status, beating Crewe 3–1 in the first round, before losing to Chesterfield in the second round. In 1931–32 they beat Crewe again in the first round, before losing 5–2 at home to Watford. In 1937–38 Trinity beat Port Vale in the first round, before losing to fellow non-League club Yeovil & Petters United. Another Football League team was beaten the following season, when Trinity knocked out Gateshead in the first round, before losing to Doncaster Rovers.

The club won a third Midland League title in 1948–49, remaining in the league until it was disbanded in 1960. They spent a single season in Division Two of the Yorkshire League, before returning to a reformed Midland League in 1961. Trinity won their fourth Midland League title in 1966–67, before becoming founder members of the new Northern Premier League in 1968.

The club applied to join the Football League again in 1975 and 1976, but received only a single vote on each occasion. When the Northern Premier League added a second division in 1987, Trinity were placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until becoming founder members of the Conference North in 2004. In 2011–12 the club finished fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Halifax Town in the semi-finals, Trinity lost the final 1–0 to Nuneaton Town. In 2012–13 the club reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy for the first time, losing to eventual winners Wrexham.

Ground

Main article: The Northolme

The Northolme

Trinity moved to the Northolme ground, then also a cricket venue, in 1884. During their time in the Football League the club also played home matches at the Bowling Green Ground in the north-west of the town and Sincil Bank in Lincoln when the Northolme was being used for cricket. The record attendance of 9,760 was set for a Midland League match against local rivals Scunthorpe United in the 1940s.

Rivals and local games

Main article: Lincolnshire derby

Gainsborough Trinity's location on the bank of the River Trent pits them against a host of clubs from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The most noted local derbys for Gainsborough are against Boston United and Worksop Town, as both clubs have spent numerous seasons in both the Northern Premier League and Conference North divisions with Trinity. Games with Boston or Worksop are traditionally played on Boxing Day and New Years Day.

Professional clubs in traditional Lincolnshire such as Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town have rarely played Trinity outside of pre-season tournaments such as the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. The last competitive match between Trinity and a professional Lincolnshire club was when they played Lincoln City in the first round of the FA Cup in the 1996–97 season, with Trinity eventually losing 3–2 in the replay following a 1–1 draw at Sincil Bank.

Club officials

• Chairman: Richard Kane
• Club secretary: David Tinsley
• Director: Peter Wallace
• Director: John Myskiw
• Director: Ian Davey
• Director: Darren Ashley
• Director: Geoff Holmes
• Director: Richard Kane
• Director: Kevin Johnson
• Director: David Horsely
• Manager: Dominic Roma
• Assistant Manager Martin Foster
• Youth Football Development Manager: Peter Wallace
• Youth Coach: Simon Bull
• Groundsman: Jonathan Wood
• Kit Managers: Kevin Johnson, Matt Johnson
• Physio: Jonathan Whitehorne
• PA Announcer: Dan Page

Current squad

As of January 2016.

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

No. Position Player GK Jan Budtz GK Jonathan Hedge DF Dominic Roma DF Josh Lacey DF Adam Quinn DF Jake Picton DF Matt Wilson MF Liam Davis MF Cameron Rigby

No. Position Player MF Jonathan D'Laryea MF Simon Russell MF Charlie Binns MF Stephen Brogan MF Jamie Yates FW Lynton Karkach FW Ashley Worsfold FW Nathan Jarman FW Jacob Hazel

Notable players

Main article: Category:Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players

Managerial history

Dates	Name	Notes	First Game	Last Game	P	W	D	L
1959–1960	Charles Walker
1960–1961	Tom Daley
1961–1963	Gladstone Guest
1964–1971	Russell Green
1971–1973	Jim Kilkenny
?-?	Bobby Ham
1979–1980	Roy Ellam
1980–1981	Neil Warnock
1985–1987	Pat Buckley
1991–1993	Gary Simpson		24 August 1991	9 October 1993	96	30	26	40
1993–1994	Leighton James		26 October 1993	3 January 1994	11	4	3	4
1994–1995	Gary Brook		12 February 1994	29 April 1995	52	18	15	19
1995–1998	Ernie Moss		19 August 1995	27 April 1998	128	60	34	34
1998–1999	Steve Richards		22 August 1998	15 October 1999	52	23	10	19
1999–2000	Ernie Moss		6 November 1999	24 April 2000	33	11	13	9
2000	Greg Fee		19 August 2000	21 October 2000	14	2	4	8
2000–2001	Phil Tingay		24 October 2000	20 October 2001	44	20	13	11
2001	Phil Brown & Frank Nicholson	Caretakers	27 October 2001	17 November 2001	5	2	1	2
2001–2002	Dave Norton	Player/Manager	24 November 2001	23 April 02	25	6	6	13
2002–2003	Phil Stant	Player/Manager	17 August 2002	26 April 2003	44	16	11	17
2003–2007	Paul Mitchell		16 August 2003	1 December 2007	186	63	51	72
2007–2009	Steve Charles	Caretaker until 5 January 2008 then permanent	8 December 2007	17 August 2009	72	24	22	26
2009	Dave Reeves & Steve Blatherwick	Caretaker Managers	22 August 2009	22 August 2009	1	0	0	1
2009	Adie Moses	Caretaker Manager	22 August 2009	28 August 2009	3	1	0	2
2009–2011	Brian Little		28 August 2009	20 August 2011	80	25	17	38
2011–	Steve Housham		20 August 2011		201	80	36	85

Honours

• Midland League
  • Champions: 1890–91, 1927–28, 1948–49, 1966–67
• Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
  • Winners: 1982, 1997

External links

• Official website
• Gainsborough Trinity official youtube channel