Mansfield Town F.C.
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Mansfield Town Football Club are an English football club who will play the 2005-06 season in League Two of the Football League.
Based in the small former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, the club are nicknamed "Stags" (the club is never referred to locally as "the" Stags) and play in the colours of yellow and blue. The club's current manager is former Sheffield Wednesday defender Peter Shirtliff, who got the job in November 2005 following a six-week spell as caretaker manager.
The club is fierce rivals with neighbouring Chesterfield. The rivalry between the two is considered by some to be amongst the fiercest in the lower leagues. Stags also enjoy rivalries with Notts County, Lincoln City and Doncaster Rovers.
They play at Field Mill, which holds just under 10,000 seated spectators - although Mansfield's attendances are usually a fraction of this. In 1995 they were considering building a new stadium in the town, but opted to improve their existing ground instead.
History
Mansfield Town were founded in 1897 under the name of Mansfield Wesleyans. Like many football clubs, Stags can trace their origins to a local church, in this case the Wesleyan church on Bridge Street.The present name was adopted by the club in the summer of 1910. This move angered rivals Mansfield Mechanics but the name change went ahead nonetheless.
By this time Stags had moved to their present home, Field Mill. Football has been played there since 1861 and is widely regarded as one of the oldest football grounds in the world.
After several attempts, Stags finally won election to the Football League in time for the 1931-32 season.
Perhaps the club's most famous moment came in 1969, when they beat West Ham United, a team containing many of England's World Cup heroes, 3-0 in the FA Cup. Stags progressed to the quarter final stage where they eventually lost to Leicester City.
The most successful period in Stags' League history came during the 1970s.
Mansfield claimed the Division Four title in 1974-75 before being promoted to the second tier for the only time in their history in 1976-77. Stags were relegated at the end of the season.
Stags captured the Leyland Daf Trophy in 1987. It was Stags' only game at Wembley stadium to date and was played in front of 58,000 fans. After a 1-1 draw with Bristol City, Stags won the cup 5-4 in the deciding penalty shootout.
1994-95 was a dramatic season for Stags as they made the playoffs. Here they lost out at the home of their greatest enemies Chesterfield to miss out on a place in the final.
Mansfield finished 3rd in the league in the 01-02 season and gained promotion to Division 2. However they finished 23rd in Division 2 and so were relegated back to Division 3 after only a season. In Stags' attempt to regain promotion the following year they reached the playoff final (in 2003-04). The club won another dramatic penalty shootout, this time against Northampton Town. Stags were rewarded with a visit to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Here they were involved in another penalty shootout, losing to Huddersfield Town.
Current squad
(as of July 17, 2006)
Player Records
- Most league goals in a season - 55 Ted Harston (1936-37)
- Most league goals in total - 104 Harry Johnson (1931-36)
- Most league appearances - 440 Rod Arnold (1970-83}
External links
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