Shepshed Dynamo F.C.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shepshed Dynamo

Full name

Shepshed Dynamo Football Club Ltd

Nickname(s)

Dynamo

Founded

1994

Ground

The Dovecote, Shepshed

Capacity

4,000 (500 seated)

Chairman

Peter Bull

Manager

Peter McGurk

League

Northern Premier League First Division

2005-06

NPL First Division, 10th





Home colours





Away colours

Shepshed Dynamo F.C. are a football Club based in the small town of Shepshed in the North West of Leicestershire, England.

Their home ground is called The Dovecote, which is situated on ButtHole Lane. Football has been played on this ground for over 100 years. Previous Shepshed clubs include Shepshed Albion and Shepshed Charterhouse.

Formed in 1994, Shepshed Dynamo originally played in the Midland Football Alliance and were champions in season 1995/96. They were therefore promoted to the Southern League, and took their place in the Western Division. In 1996 they reached the First Round proper of the F.A. Cup, losing 6-0 away to Carlisle United.

They currently play in the Northern Premier League First Division and are managed by Peter McGurk.

[edit] Club History

The town of Shepshed, adjacent to Junction 23 of the M1 motorway in North West Leicestershire, has had football teams associated with it since 1879. Whilst many of these teams achieved local recognition over the years, it was with the formation of the Charterhouse club in the mid-1970’s, that the name of Shepshed became known nationally.

Between 1978 and 1984, the club rose from the lower reaches of the Leicestershire Senior League to the summit of the Southern League Premier Division, winning seven consecutive promotions (including six successive championship titles) on the way. During this period, they also reached both the semi-final and quarter-final of the F.A. Vase, as well as the First Round Proper of the F.A. Cup. Unfortunately the Charterhouse club, then known by its original name of Shepshed Albion, closed down in 1994. The current Dynamo club was formed in the summer of that year in an attempt to resurrect the town’s former glories on the football field.

Initially playing in the newly formed Midland Alliance, the club enjoyed a successful first season, finishing 4th. The following season, under Manager Mark O’Kane, the club won the title by eight points. The season included a remarkable 23 game unbeaten start, which stretched into March.

After a hectic summer of improvement works, the club took up their place in the Southern Football League for the 1996/97 campaign.

Whilst league success proved harder to come by in their debut Southern League season, the club more than made up for this in the F.A. Cup by emulating their famous predecessors and reaching the First Round Proper. Despite a heavy away defeat at the hands of Carlisle United, the memory of the day will live long with all that were there.

The second season in the Southern League proved less successful, and with the team struggling near to the bottom of the league, Manager Mark O’Kane was replaced in February 1998, by John Hanna. The change of leadership had the desired effect with the club climbing to a creditable 16th place by the end of the campaign.

1998/99 saw the best league season to date. Shepshed were in the top six of the league for most of the season, but slipped to a final placing of 10th, after a poor run-in that was not helped by player availability problems.

1999/2000, the Centenary year for the club’s ground ‘The Dovecote’, saw a season-long battle against relegation, a final placing of 18th and the resignation of Hanna in July 2000. His assistant, Dave Williams, was immediately appointed as Manager.

Williams’ first season in charge saw a creditable 15th place finish. The next two seasons saw the financial purse strings tightened, however whilst Shepshed flirted with relegation, a 16th place position was comfortably achieved in both seasons.

The summer of 2003 saw a change in the constitution of the football club that led to it becoming a private limited company whereby shareholders elect the board of directors. However, in footballing terms, the season can be fairly described as disastrous, as it saw two changes in management after Williams was sacked in October and his successor Dave Clay resigned in January. Pete McGurk is now in charge of first team matters but despite improved results and performances, he had insufficient time to prevent Shepshed from finishing bottom of the Southern League Western Division.

However, the restructuring that took place during the summer of 2004 reprieved Dynamo from relegation and so saw them start their 10th anniversary season as new members of the UniBond League. McGurk led the team to a respectable 15th place finish in a season that also saw them win the Loughborough Charity Cup and Coalville Charity Cup double.

Season 2005/06 culminated in a fine 10th place finish and saw the club receive the UniBond League Club Of The Month Award, Fair Play Award and Goalscorers Award for April 2006. Dynamo also reached the finals of both the Loughborough Charity Cup and the Coalville Charity Cup.

[edit] External links

Northern Premier League First Division 2006/07

Football in England

v • d • e

League competitions	The FA	Cup competitions
FA Premier League	England	FA Cup
The Football League (Champ, 1, 2)	(U-21) (B)	Carling Cup
Football Conference (Nat, N, S)	List of clubs	Community Shield
Northern Premier League (Prem, 1)	List of venues	Johnstone's Paint Trophy
Southern League (Prem, Mid, S&W)	(by capacity)	FA Trophy
Isthmian League (Prem, 1N, 1S)	List of leagues	FA Vase
English football league system	Records	FA NLS Cup