Portadown F.C.

Portadown
Full name Portadown Football Club
Nickname(s) The Ports
Founded 1887
Ground Shamrock Park
Ground Capacity 2,770 (seated 2,770)
Chairman Roy McMahon
Manager Vacant
League NIFL Premiership
2015–16 NIFL Premiership, 9th
Website Club home page

Portadown Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club which plays in the NIFL Premiership.

The club was founded in 1887 as a junior team looking to participate in the Mid-Ulster Cup.They eventually joined the Irish League with the help of other local clubs in 1924. They are based in Portadown in County Armagh and plays their home games at Shamrock Park. The clubs colours are red and white, their home kit consists of red shirts, red shorts and red socks with white trim on all, while their away kit is yellow. The clubs main rivals are Glenavon with their derby game being known as the "Mid Ulster Derby" the league fixtures are compiled each season so that one of their league meetings always takes place on Boxing Day. Since the late 1980s the club has also developed a fierce rivalry with Glentoran.

Ronnie McFall served the club for 29 years from 1986 to 2016 as manager.

History

Junior Years (1886–1924)

In 1887 the Mid Ulster Football Association was established and in Portadown a young group of men set about creating a football club to participate in the Mid-Ulster Cup.Early meetings in the committee were held in a dimmly lit room for the Young Men's Institute in Edwards Street in Portadown.Where club secretary William Mullen would read the minutes by candlelight.Early games were played at Tavanagh and Ripleys Field on the Armagh Road and Oldthree minutes left and the scores tied at 0–0, William Kelly Johnston scored the winning goal amid scenes of wild celebration for the Ports supporters.

The team that won that historic first senior trophy was Charles Lawson, Robert Gourley, Ben Clarke, Hugh Bulloch (captain), James Hart, William Ewing, Henry Johnston, Harry Sinnamond, Alex Smyth, WK Johnston and George Cochrane (uncle of the famous Davy Cochrane.

The scenes that greeted that winning goal were nothing compared to the hysteria as the team returned to town that night. They were met by thousands of people at the railway station and toured the town in an open top coach before stopping at St. Marks Church for speeches. Chairman William Mullen led the speeches before igniting a terrific bonfire. Little did those fans know that this was to be the start of a great love affair with the Gold Cup in years to come.Shamrock Park located approximately where Clounagh Junior High School is now sited.Amongst the early names to turn out for The Ports were Val Wilson who would later become High Sheriff for County Armagh and Harry Bell, whose father owned brickworks on the Armagh Road.

It didn't take them long to put some silverware in the trophy cabinet when they won the Irish Junior Cup beating Larne at Grosvenor Park on Saturday 18 March 1899.That same season The Ports won their first ever cup double by bringing home the Mid-Ulster Cup for the first time.Portadown retained the trophy the following season and the next five seasons before the outbreak of the great war.The junior game was very strong in the town at the time and The Ports had to compete for talent with teams such as Edenderry Arrows, Greenview from Edgarstown, Portadown Celtic and Parkmount.Portadown are the only one of these clubs that remain.In 1916 the new Irish Intermediate League was formed and Portadown were selected as one of the inaugural clubs for the new competition.However they were forced to withdraw due to the large number of players who had gone of to fight in the great war.

With the return of the local men from the war the clamour for senior football was growing. One man in particular was leading the bid for the club's senior status, William A Mullen the man responsible for coining the phrase "The Hub of the North" which is used in songs by Portadown fans today, back in the late Victorian days when Portadown's extensive rail network led to all parts of Ireland. The many junior clubs in that area put aside their rivalry with The Ports to back the club's bid to join the Irish League. This was in a time of expansionism in Irish Football with the league keen to take the game beyond the boundary of Belfast. The only team who were in the league at the time were bitter rivals Glenavon. In 1923 the Irish League was expanded from six to ten clubs with the introduction of Newry Town (now Newry City), Ards and Barn. Then finally after several years of preparation, Mr Mullen together with Tom Dawson and his committee met the league chiefs in June 1924 and were able to present a strong case for joining the league. Their good work in winning friends and influencing people paid dividends and at long last Portadown became a full member club of the Irish League together with the readmittance of Belfast Celtic. The nucleus of the first teams to represent the club came from the local junior clubs who had supported the bid. Names such as Nisbet, Dinnan, Carraher, Boyd, Cochrane and Hunter.

Early Irish League Years (1924–1932)

And so it was in August 1924 Portadown played their first senior game the opponents that day were Glentoran.The first game played at Shamrock Park was against the champions Queens Island in game that finished 0–0.

Portadown had a fantastic first season in the Irish league, finishing 4th two points behind Belfast Celtic with Queens Island taking 2nd place behind champions Glentoran.Along the way The Ports had some memorable games including a 4–3 victory over Linfield at Shamrock Park and a 1–0 win against the mighty Belfast Celtic in the City Cup.

With the historic first season behind them the Ports settled well in the environment of senior football season 1925–1926 saw a continuation of their consoldiation in the league with away victories at Belfast Celtic and Linfield three minutes left and the scores tied at 0–0, William Kelly Johnston scored the winning goal amid scenes of wild celebration for the Ports supporters.

The team that won that historic first senior trophy was Charles Lawson, Robert Gourley, Ben Clarke, Hugh Bulloch (captain), James Hart, William Ewing, Henry Johnston, Harry Sinnamond, Alex Smyth, WK Johnston and George Cochrane (uncle of the famous Davy Cochrane.

The scenes that greeted that winning goal were nothing compared to the hysteria as the team returned to town that night. They were met by thousands of people at the railway station and toured the town in an open top coach before stopping at St. Marks Church for speeches. Chairman William Mullen led the speeches before igniting a terrific bonfire. Little did those fans know that this was to be the start of a great love affair with the Gold Cup in years to come.

Tommy Sloan Trophy Winning Era (1932–1938)

Tommy Sloan was appointed manager in 1932 and it did not take long for his first,and Portadown's first major trophy success came in the 1933–34 season when they won the Gold Cup under manager Tommy Sloan and winning the same trophy again in the 1937–38 season before his resignation due to the war in 1938 and being replaced by Hugh Bullough before Sloan coming back to the club for a brief spell during the war.

Post War Era (1945–1954)

Portadown had very little to shout about in the post war era,with them being in the shadow of Mid Ulster rivals Glenavon who won several league titles in this period of time.

Gibby McKenzie Era (1958–1977)

In 1958, the club appointed Scottish manager Gibby McKenzie the press described him as "the fast-talking Scot with the fanatical zeal for the game who eats sleeps and breathes football" after Glenavon legend Harry Walker's short spell in charge and McKenzie very nearly clinched that first illusive league title in the 1960–61 season with Albert Mitchell missing a penalty that would have secured the league championship against Glentoran and in the 1961–62 season where they finished second to Linfield in these seasons and finished third in the Irish League the following season.McKenzie left the Ports for good in 1977 after his second spell in charge of the club.

Bertie Neil Era (1977–1979)

In 1977,the club appointed former Bangor Bertie Neil,famed for the development of Northern Ireland legend and now Sky Sports commentator Gerry Armstrong.Neil's spell,although short was considered successful with an another Gold Cup and an Irish Cup Final appearance in a 3–2 defeat to Cliftonville and in 1979 the club announced that Neil had left the club by "Mutual Consent".

Terry Kingon Era (1983–1986)

After Jon Flanagans short spell incharge,the club appointed former player and Glentoran legend Terry Kingon. It was a somewhat of a surprise appointment for although he had been a great player and firm favourite of the fans, he lacked managerial experience. He brought the old determination and commitment to the post, but failed to match his great playing ability with similar success as manager. In fairness, it wasn’t an easy period, as the ‘Troubles’ were at their height and football experienced great difficulties with falling attendances and gate receipts. His team did manage to reach the Ulster Cup final in 1985, beating Linfield 3–1 in the semi-final at the Oval. But the serious injury in that game to ace Scottish striker, Billy Paton – who had netted 28 goals the previous season for the Ports – was a devastating blow. Portadown held Coleraine to a scoreless draw during the 90 minutes but collapsed in extra-time, finally losing 5-0. Paton, who had started the game with pain-killing injections, broke down early on. Deprived of his scoring qualities for the rest of the season, Portadown struggled financially and this resulted in the sale of the training ground to meet creditors’ demands. Kingon did his best with limited resources and one of the fascinating features of his season in charge at Shamrock Park was the large number of drawn games involving Portadown. In fact, before he resigned in December 1986, Portadown had drawn nine of the first 14 Irish League games, losing the other five. Always approachable and available at all times to football reporters for interviews and team news, Terry Kingon always was frank and honest in his post-match analysis. He left Portadown in a dignified manner - "by mutual consent" as the statement from the Board put it - and, as was typical of the man, in subsequent interviews he refused to blame anyone, instead accepting that he had found managerial responsibilities a lot more difficult and a lot less enjoyable than playing. ] slop the squad that was left to him and brought new faces to the club before the club in the 1989–90 season finally broke the famed "Gipsy Curse" at Shamrock Park when,after coming so close so many times in the past,the club finally won the Irish League,and in the final game there was a serreal pitch invasion by Ports fans who looked confused and were in utter disbelief at what had just happened.The following season was without a doubt the best one in the club's history when in the 1990–91 season the club dominated the Irish League that season nearly beating every team in the division and they managed to retain the title that season and they beat hated rivals Glenavon in the Irish cup final by two goals to one to secure the clubs first ever league and cup double.The season after was a disappointing one with players from the first two titles who were in the prime of their careers at the time,had started to age and the attendances were starting to fall.In the 1993-1994 season the club had partially recovered from this slump and were involved in a three way battle for the title between themselves and Linfield and Glenavon with a reduvinated squad arguably not as good as the last one,The Ports took on Glenavon when the winners would secure the league title and a draw would hand the title to Linfield Glenavon raced into a two-goal lead against Portadown at Mourneview Park and with Linfield drawing with Glentoran,the Lurgan Blues would win their first league title in 34 years.However Portadown,who looked dead and buried for most of the game,scored two quick fire goals to level it at 2–2 and with Linfield beating the Glens they would now be champions.Everything at Mourneview had know turned in Portadown's favour,who were creating chance after chance with the Ports missing the chance to win the title themselves when Robert Casey missed an easy goal and Linfield were champions.In the 1994–95 season the Ports spent recovering from being so close the previous season and for the 1995–96 season a new crest was introduced and the Ports managed to win their third league title that season with Gary Haylock and Sandy Fraser the institigators in the title winning team.

Transition Period (1996–2000)

After their title win the club lost many of their ageing star players to retirement and to other clubs and McFall is fondly remembered signing Notts County striker Vinny Arkins and "Big Vin" famously talks about how McFall refused to let him walk away from talks until he signed the contract offered to him. A generation of players such as Philip Major an Kyle Neill coming through and a few signings helped McFall build another team to win yet another league title in 2002 and losing 2–1 to Linfield to prevent another double. Club success from then on was quite poor with cost cutting measures coming in and many ageing players retireing or going to bigger clubs. The club's last major trophy came in 2005 when the club took on Larne in the Irish Cup Final with the inver park side scoring early on before the Ports scored 5 goals to secure the Irish Cup.

Demotion (2008)

On 30 April 2008, Portadown, who had been a senior football club in Northern Ireland since 1924, were demoted to the Championship as a result of the club's final application form for the new IFA Premiership (due to replace the Irish Premier League for 2008–09) having been received 29 minutes late and thus not considered. The club unsuccessfully appealed its exclusion.[1] Due to the drop from Northern Ireland's top domestic football league, the IFA Premiership, Portadown took on intermediate status, due to the IFA Championship, which is Northern Ireland's second tier of football, being an intermediate league. McFall described the time as "the toughest point of his managerial career" and managed to keep several star players and in their first season in the Championship, the club won promotion straight back into senior football, beating their closest rivals Donegal Celtic 2–0 in the last (and decisive) match of the season. Also after beating Newry City 1–0 at Mournview Park on 28 February 2009, Portadown became the first intermediate club to win the Irish League Cup. Scotsman Gary McCutcheon scored the winning goal.

Portadown qualified to play UEFA Europa League football in the 2010–11 season on account of being runners-up in the 2009–10 Irish Cup to Linfield. They defeated the Latvian side Skonto Riga 2–1 on aggregate to advance to the second qualifying round. It was their first win in European cup competition since 1974. The second qualifying round 1st leg match was played at Shamrock Park on 15 July 2010 with Richard Lecky scoring the opening goal against the Azerbaijani side FK Qarabağ, but two second half goals from the Azerbaijanis saw them take a 2–1 lead back home for the second leg on 22 July 2010. The 2nd leg in Azerbaijan ended 1–1 which was not enough for the Ports who were knocked out 3–2 on aggregate.

The 2011–12 season saw the Ports recover and build a team that hit form that was largely spearheaded by Welsh striker Matthew Tipton and the Ports put away every team in the league however in around January,a broken collarbone for Matthew Tipton caused the Ports title challenge to fade away before finishing the season in 2nd place.

The 2012–13 season saw Matthew Tipton sign for champions Linfield and Portadown sent shock waves through the Irish League when it was announced that they had beaten strong competition from Linfield for Shamrock Rovers striker Gary Twigg who managed to score on his debut but the Shamrock Park club could only muster 7th place.

The 2013–14 season was a largely frustrating one of what might have been, with Gary Twigg playing a valuable part and scoring regularly along with inform young striker Darren Murray and Kevin Braniffs moments of sheer class at times and the skill of Peter McMahon.The club showed form at times capable of winning the league by contantly hammering Glenavon and famously beating Ballinamallard United 11–0 showed that they could do it. But poor results against teams lower in the table meant they finished only 4th and the falling out between striker Kevin Braniff and Ronnie McFall with the striker leaving the club and heading to Australia.

In the 2014–15 season the Ports laid out a marker in the summer by signing Linfield playmaker Robert Garrett legendary Blues captain Michael Gault and reliable Blues striker Mark McAilaster.Meaning a lot was expected of the club to challenge for the title and they started the season with a 3–0 win over Linfield and several wins over Glenavon and eventual champions Crusaders They also showed the mantle of champions when in a game against Institute with the tie leveled at 1-1-1 Michael Gault scored a late long distance effort to secure the three points. A 2–1 defeat away to Warrenpoint and losing 3–2 to the Linfield missing a penalty saw the Ports fall away but in the Irish Cup Quarter Final they took on Linfield again at Shamrock Park with Chris Casement putting the home side 1–0 up with a penalty very early on and then a brilliant performance from Gary Twigg scoring twice meant that Portadown were 3–0 up at half time going on to win the game 3–2 and seal and Irish Cup Semi Final with Glenn Fergusons Ballymena United at The Oval and yet again within 25 minutes they had blown Ballymena away and were 3–0 up again and sealed their place in the final by winning 3–1. With the Kop Stand at Windsor Park collapsing the final was forced to be moved to The Oval where they would take on Glentoran.In the league Portadown played Glenavon at Mourneview Park with the winner being guaranteed 3rd place and a Europa League Qualifying Round spot. Glenavon raced into a two-goal lead before James Singleton was sent off for clashing with Ken Oman and Portadown had pulled It back to 2–2 through Peter McMahon and Gary Twigg before Eoin Bradley was hauled down by Ross Redman and a last-minute penalty was dispatched by Andy McGory. Portadown were strong favourites going into the final but the final failed to live up to expectations with virtually nothing happening In the first half until In the second period Glens defender William Garrett played a poor back pass that Michael Gault managed to run onto before being taken down by Garrett and Elliot Morris picked up the back pass and with three officials in clear view of the incident absolutely nothing was given and Glentoran went up the other way and David Scullion scored to give The Glens the lead and straight after there was a blatant handball by Calum Birney missed again by the 3 officials Ross Dunlop, Richard Storey and Raymond Crangle and Glentoran went on to win the cup final 1–0 Ronnie McFall said after he was furious with the decision made "It was a blatant trip on Gault on the edge of the box and should have been a free kick and a red card for yer boy and a blatant handball not picked by the referee, they don't want to know because they think they never get anything wrong and in a game of this importance officials have to be up to the mark and unfortunately they weren't up to it today" winning the game would have been worth a minimum €200,000 to the club from European Qualification and the incident is remembered as one of the worst refereeing mistakes in Irish League history.

2015–16 Season

The club suffered greatly financially from this incident meaning that they could sign no one in summer 2015 however they started the season by beating the champions Crusaders 2–1 and beat Warrenpoint Town by the same scoreline three days later. However the club started to rapidly decline losing to several teams 3–0 and the fans had started to become unhappy with results and started to ask for the board to consider Mcfalls position as manager which was ignored completely annoying fans who began to constantly boo the manager and following a 3–1 defeat to Crusaders at Shamrock Park, a group of fans were protesting with a banner asking for the removal of the manager which was removed by the chairman who engaged in large arguments with supporters and receiving tyrades of abuse from supporters at the game. The abuse both the chairman and the manager got week after week brought the mood at the club down massively with automatic relegation on the cards. In January the club signed former Linfield midfielder Philip Lowry in the hope that fortunes would improve with Lowry creating a reasonable impact scoring an amazing outside of box piledriver to beat Coleraine in the Irish Cup and he scored again in a 2–1 win over Linfield. Things were slowly improving until Portadown were hammered 4–1 by Glenavon at Mourneview causing great anger from large amounts of fans. The club took on NIFL Championship 1 side Lurgan Celtic in the Irish Cup Quarter Final with Celtic scoring twice to go into a 2–0 lead at half time with the home support showing their anger at half time. Portadown piled on the pressure in the second half and leveled the scores to 2–2 before conceding a last second penalty with Celtic defender Fitzpatrick disbatching it and winning the game 3–2 to get Celtic into their first ever Irish Cup Semi Final with fans chanting "OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT! OUT!" Directing chants and abuse at the manager and the players. That evening it was announced that Ronnie McFall had resigned from his post as manager after one of the worst seasons in the clubs history.

The Ronnie McFall era (1986–2016)

From 11 December 1986 to 5 March 2016 the club's manager was Ronnie McFall. He signed another in five-year contract in 2009 and signed a two-year deal in August 2014.Mcfall brought great success to the club winning their elusive first ever league title in 1989 and league title wins in 1991,1996 and in 2002 he also won the club 3 Irish Cups.He was born and raised in Portadown and played left-back for the club during the 1960s and 1970s. He has also played for Dundee United of Scotland, and afterwards Ards and Glentoran where he began his managerial career. Ronnie McFall was the longest serving manager in European football surpassing Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 and being surpassed by Arsene Wenger in 2016.McFall is also one of the most successful managers in Irish league football.Following a run of poor results, McFall announced he would step down from his position as manager following a shock 3–2 defeat to Lurgan Celtic in the Irish Cup Quarter Final.

Pat McGibbon Era (2016)

The following day it was announced that former defender Pat McGibbon who was the clubs physio would take over as Interim manager until the end of the season bringing club legend Vinny Arkins on board as a coach.Despite winning 1 game in 10 in Interim charge against the bottom six sides,McGibbon was announced as manager on a two-year contract and managed to help the club successfully avoid relegation.The club was fined £10,000 which was halved on appeal to £5,000 and received a one-year ban on signing profesional contracts for until June 2017 for not declearing extra payments made to striker Gary Twigg for doing coaching work over the summer.[2] The club also received a 12-point deduction for the 2016–17 for an administrative error made in relation to the contract of exiled midfielder Peter McMahon who later left the club in July 2016. After a series off bad results in October 2016, Pat McGibbon announced his resignation from the club. Vinny Arkins was appointed Interim manager.Port's legend Arkins won his first game in charge in a 2-1 win against Ballinamallard United with the goals coming from Stephen Hughes and a penalty from Niall Henderson.It was followed up with a 3-1 win over Ards with the goals coming from Robert Garrett ,Stephen Hughes and Brendan Shannon scoring his first goal for the club from the penalty spot ,however it was latter found that the club had fielded midfielder Robert Garrett who was supposed to be serving a one game ban and despite Ards officials informing Portadown that they believed that Garrett suspended which was ignored in the end with Ards being awarded a 3-0 win and the home side being fined £500.It was followed up by a decent goalless draw with rivals Glentoran and a one nil defeat to Champions Crusaders as well as a one one draw with Carrick Rangers and a 0-5 defeat to Linfield at a very foggy Shamrock Park.

Problems

In 1999 a social club outside the stadium was the scene of a violent incident in which members from the Loyalist Volunteer Force, some of whom were out on Christmas parole, were attacked by members of the rival Ulster Volunteer Force,[3] beginning a violent feud that resulted in multiple deaths.[3][4]

In 2007 there was an incident at The Oval when rival Portadown and Glentoran fans clashed in the streets outside the ground and missiles were thrown and cars damaged. The club management condemned the incident.[5] In 2015 Portadown fans clashed outside of Shamrock Park with Glentoran fans with police getting involved. Portadown have signed up to the UEFA 10 point plan on racism. along with the eleven other NIFL Premiership clubs.

European Record

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg
1962–63 Cup Winners Cup R1 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia OFK Belgrade 3–2 1–5 4–7
1974–75 UEFA Cup R1 Iceland Valur 2–1 0–0 2–1
R2 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Partizan Belgrade 1–1 0–5 1–6
1990–91 European Cup R1 Portugal F.C. Porto 1–8 0–5 1–13
1991–92 European Cup R1 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 0–4 0–4 0–8
1992–93 UEFA Cup R1 Belgium Standard Liège 0–0 0–5 0–5
1994–95 UEFA Cup PR Slovakia ŠK Slovan Bratislava 0–2 0–3 0–5
1996–97 UEFA Cup PR Federal Republic of Yugoslavia FK Vojvodina 0–1 1–4 1–5
1999–00 UEFA Cup QR Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 0–3 0–5 0–8
2002–03 UEFA Champions League QR1 Belarus FC Belshina Bobruisk 0–0 2–3 2–3
2003–04 UEFA Cup QR Sweden Malmö FF 0–2 0–4 0–6
2004–05 UEFA Cup QR1 Lithuania FK Žalgiris Vilnius 2–2 0–2 2–4
2005–06 UEFA Cup QR1 Norway Viking FK 1–2 0–1 1–3
2006–07 UEFA Cup QR1 Lithuania FBK Kaunas 1–3 0–1 1–4
2010–11 UEFA Europa League QR1 Latvia Skonto Riga 1–1 1–0 2–1
QR2 Azerbaijan Qarabağ FK 1–2 1–1 2–3
2012–13 UEFA Europa League QR1 Republic of Macedonia FK Shkëndija 2–1 0–0 2–1
QR2 Croatia NK Slaven Belupo 2–4 0–6 2–10

By competition

Competition P W D L GF GA
European Cup / UEFA Champions League 6 0 1 5 3 24
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 2 1 0 1 4 7
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 28 3 7 18 16 62
Total 36 4 8 24 23 93

Last updated on 26 July 2012

Honours

Senior honours

† Won by Portadown Reserves

Intermediate honours

† Won by Portadown Reserves

Junior honours

Managers

Dates Name Notes
1947–1948 Northern Ireland Tommy Sloan Sloan was back for his second spell in charge of the club.
1948–1949 Northern Ireland Tommy Lipton Lipton had a brief spell in charge following Sloans departure.
1949–1952 Scotland Hugh Bulloch Bullouchs spell was a moderately successful one.
1952–1953 Northern Ireland Billy Ross Ross's spell was short and lacked real success.
1953–1954 Northern Ireland Billy Cook Cook managed for just one year.
1955–1957 Northern Ireland Harry Walker Walkers spell was an unsuccessful one with the club going through a baron spell.
1957–1958 Scotland Gibby Mackenzie The famous Scot started with just a brief spell in charge,resigning after just twelve months due to the war.
1962–1963 Scotland Gibby Mackenzie In his second spell in charge post war Gibby grew a reputation as a much loved figure at Shamrock Park.
1963–1966 Northern Ireland Wilbur Cush The legendary international had a total of a three year spell at Shamrock Park in the early sixties.
1966-1969 Scotland Jim Conway Conway's first spell was just a year long one before taking charge again in a two year spell.
1969-1977 Scotland Gibby Mackenzie Mackenzie came back for his third spell in charge becoming one of the clubs most loyal managers the highlight was coming so close to winning the clubs first ever league title in 1976.
1977-1980 Northern Ireland Bertie Neil Neil was appointed as Mackenzies replacement wihave the highlight of his reign being a Gold Cup win and an Irish Cup final appearance.
1980-1984 Scotland Jackie Hutton Scot Hutton was at the helm for four years winning several honours in the process.
1984-1986 Northern Ireland John Flanagan Flanagan took charge for a brief spell in the mid eighties.
1986 Northern Ireland Terry Kingon Kingon had a brief unsuccessful time in charge at the helm being sacked after one year.
1986-2016 Northern Ireland Ronnie McFall McFall was a some what suprise appointment having originally not being considered at all was appointed in December 1986.McFall cleared out the squad and the club won their first ever league title in 1990.The following season the club retained the league title and beat rivals Glenavon to win the league and Cup double and winning two other titles in 1996 and 2002 and resigned in 2016 and will be remembered as the clubs greatest ever figure.
2016 Northern Ireland Pat McGibbon Ex Manchester United defender Pat McGibbon was appointed as the successor to Ronnie McFall and resigned in October 2016.
2016 Republic of Ireland Vinny Arkins (Interim) Club legend Arkins was appointed as Interim boss for 60 days in 2016 and was a firm fan favourite.

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
1 Northern Ireland GK David Miskelly
2 Northern Ireland DF Brendan Shannon
4 Northern Ireland DF Keith O'Hara (Captain)
5 Republic of Ireland DF Ken Oman (Vice-Captain)
6 Republic of Ireland DF Garry Breen
7 Northern Ireland MF Niall Henderson
8 Northern Ireland MF Sean Mackle
9 Northern Ireland FW Stephen Hughes
10 Northern Ireland FW Mark McAllister
11 Northern Ireland MF Tim Mouncey
12 Northern Ireland FW Matthew Rooney
14 Northern Ireland GK Chris McGaughey
No. Position Player
15 Republic of Ireland FW Eoin Kirwan
16 Northern Ireland DF Ben Murdoch
17 Northern Ireland MF Matthew Parker
18 Republic of Ireland FW Sam Simpson
20 Northern Ireland MF Robert Garrett
21 Northern Ireland MF Mark Carson
22 Northern Ireland FW Nathaniel Ferris
23 Northern Ireland FW Aaron Haire
25 Northern Ireland MF Ciaran Doherty
26 Republic of Ireland MF Alan Byrne
27 Northern Ireland MF Zack Wilson
31 Northern Ireland GK Conor Larkin

Club Officials

  • Caretaker Manager: None
  • Assistant Manager: Trevor Williamson (Interim)
  • First team coach: Keith O'Hara (Interim)
  • Physiotherapist: Chris Loughran
  • President: Vacant
  • Directors: Roy McMahon
  • David Jameson
  • Cyril Connolly
  • Ronnie Stinson
  • Trevor Marshall
  • Peter Hunniford
  • Club Secretary: Bill Emerson
  • Legal Secretary: Lewis Singleton
  • Treasurer: Trevor Marshall

  • Media Officer: Trevor Clydesdale
  • Groundsman: Walter McElroy
  • Health & Safety Officer: Ronnie Thompson
  • Chief Steward: Leo McNeill
  • Deputy Chief Steward: Chris Leathem
  • Club Chaplain: Rev. Kenneth Crowe
  • Club Shop Managers: Linda Casey
  • Cheryl Coaton
  • Sponsorship Committee: Stephen Winter
  • Mervyn Woolsey
  • Bill Emerson

Attendance Figures

Season No of Home Games Total Season Attendance Average Per Game
2009–10 17 15,241 897
2010–11 18 13,373 743
2011–12 17 14,854 874
2012–13 18 13,628 758
2013–14 19 14,040 739
2014–15 19 18,099 953
2015–16 19 12,633 665
2016–17 9 7,447 827

References

  1. "Portadown out of Premier League". BBC News. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  2. Portadown fined £10,000 for undisclosed payment made to player
  3. 1 2 "What bloody sparked the UVF/LVF feud; AS LOYALIST PARAMILITARY GROUPS". Sunday Mirror. 17 December 2000. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  4. David McKittrick (11 January 2000). "Fatal gun attack may signal fresh loyalist infighting". The Independent.
  5. Stuart McKinley (12 February 2007). "Violence discredits real fans say Ports and Glens". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 2011-02-24.

External links

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