Formby

Formby History

Formby FC was founded in 1919 and played under the name of Formby United until the summer of 1923. They spent their first season playing in the
Southport and District League at several pitches in the town before settling at the ground that would be their home for more than 80 years, Brows Lane. The move coincided with a graduation to the Liverpool and District League, where they were First Division champions in 1924/25.

Soon after they transferred to the Liverpool League, achieving honours in two of that league�s cups in 1927/28, winning the Barnes Benevolent Cup and being finalists in the league�s knockout trophy, the RP Houston Cup. In 1929/30 the Squirrels achieved an extraordinary double, winning the RP Houston Cup on May 2nd 1930, and just three days later winning the Liverpool County FA Amateur Cup.

After a few years in Liverpool�s I Zingari league, in 1938 Formby joined the Liverpool County Combination where they soon established a reputation as one of the top sides. They were particularly strong just after the war, and for eight out of ten seasons Formby were winners or runners-up for a trophy or league title.

After nearly a decade without honours, they won the Liverpool Challenge Cup again in 1964, and in �65 were runners up for the cup and in the league as well as winning Liverpool County Combination�s knockout competition the George Mahon Cup.

In 1971 they moved to the Cheshire County League (showing a certain geographical license, but this was, after all, only a few years before Ted Heath took an axe to the entire national county structure � certain Formby residents have never forgiven him for shoving them in Merseyside).

The 1973/74 season put Formby in the national news when they reached the
First Round Proper of the FA Cup. Sadly for the record crowd at Brows Lane
the result was a 2-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic, who at the time were top of the Third Division. (Note to children: this is what we now call League One. Grade inflation isn�t just for GCSEs...)

In 1978 Formby became the first non-league team to lift the Liverpool Senior Cup, a trophy usually reserved for local big boys Liverpool, Everton, Southport or Tranmere Rovers.

Formby were founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982. In the first four seasons of the new league Formby finished mid-table in the First Division (now the Premier Division, more grade inflation�), and in 1984/85 almost equalled their record showings in the FA Cup and Liverpool Senior Cup. Their FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round tie with Penrith saw them lose out by a solitary goal, and having secured a Senior Cup final against local rivals Marine they lost, again, by one goal.

The following year they finished bottom of the table and were relegated. After spending 1986/87 playing in Division Two there was a two-season return to the top level, before going back down again in 1989.

Despite spending the next thirteen seasons in the lower division, this period saw two pieces of silverware come Formby�s way. They won the second division`s knockout competition - the Lamot Pils Trophy, now called the First Division Trophy - in 1994/95. They went one better in 2000/01 when - a rare achievement for a lower division side - they won the league`s knockout Challenge Cup.

In 2002 the club moved from their home of over 80 years, Brows Lane, to new grounds at Altcar Road, next to the Formby by-pass. The ground was not completed to the required standard in time for the start of the season and Formby spent a year back in the Liverpool County Combination, but jumped straight back to the NWCFL Second Division the next year, where a third-place finish that season sent them up to the First Division.

Since 2007 Formby have had results that rank among their best. In 2007/08 they reached the fourth round of the FA Carlsberg Vase, their best performance to date in the competition and a full two stages beyond their previous record, as well as finishing 13th in the league, equalling their highest-ever placing of 1983/84.

Mid-table finishes continued, and reaching the 2nd round of the Vase in 2008/09 and the 3rd round in 2010/11 show that the team is sustaining and building its prowess. At the end of the 2010/11 season an administrative error garnered serious sanction from the league and Formby were relegated to the First Division. An entirely new regime of chairman, management and players took the helm over the summer of 2011, leading to sweeping positive changes and a secure foundation for the future of football in Formby.