Knowsley United was an English football club based in the town of

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which it f ...

, Knowsley

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

. Originally named Kirkby Town they folded in 1997.

History

Kirkby Town joined the Second Division of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

in 1963. In 1966–67 they won the division, and were promoted to the First Division. In 1969–70 they finished fourth, and were promoted to the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

. In the same season they reached the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

for the first time, but lost 6–0 at

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

. However, after finishing bottom of the Northern Premier League in 1971–72, they returned to the Lancashire Combination. In 1978 the club switched to Division Two of the Cheshire County League. They finished third in 1979–80, and were promoted to Division One. However, they were immediately relegated back to Division Two after finishing 19th. In 1982 they switched leagues again, joining the Third Division of the new

North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

. They won the division at the first attempt, and were promoted to Division Two, which they also won at the first attempt, resulting in promotion to Division One for the 1986–87 season. In 1988 they changed their name to Knowsley United in an attempt to attract further support. After two-second-placed finishes, the club won the league in 1990–91 and were promoted to Division One of the Northern Premier League. In 1992–93 they finished as runners-up, and were promoted to the Premier Division. The following season they reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, where they lost 4–1 at home to Carlisle United. The club folded in 1997.

Stadium

Kirkby Town played their home games at Simonswood Lane and later Kirkby Sports Centre. The Football Ground and the night club ituated in the Main Stand of the Simonswood Lane Groundappeared in the 1991 Frank Clarke film ''Blonde Fist''. Upon becoming Knowsley United, they relocated to Alt Park in

which was previously used by

Huyton RLFC Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the Liverpool City (1906) (rugby league), original Liverpool club of the same name. The cl ...

from 1969 to 1984. Although by the time Huyton RLFC had vacated Alt Park the ground had become subject to vandalism and general disrepair, after Knowlsey United moved into Alt Park the ground underwent a series of renovations thanks largely to the involvement of the Orr family, who were the footballing proprietors of Kirkby Town FC and also the people responsible for the team's relocation to Huyton with Roby. Due to the initial success of Knowlsey United floodlights were installed and with the help of Knowsley Borough Council the clubhouse, grandstand & social club were recommissioned & upgraded as well. Alt Park was transformed into a respectable ground for a club the size of Knowsley United.

Notable former players

David Fairclough David Fairclough (born Liverpool, 5 January 1957) is an English retired footballer, most famous for playing for Liverpool as a striker during the 1970s and 1980s. Life and playing career Known affectionately as ''Supersub'' (because he was a t ...

- former

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

striker and England under-21 international. Scored the winner for England B in their 2-1 away win against their West German counterparts in February 1978. * Mike Marsh – Started as a youth player eventually playing for Kirkby Town from 1984 to 1987, Former

and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

player *

Ken Dugdale Kenneth William Dugdale (born 7 December 1950) is an English association football coach and former player, who manages Norwegian club Vollen UL. Career Born in Liverpool, Dugdale spent his early career with Kirkby Town, Aston Villa and Wolv ...

– Retired Wigan Athletic player and former New Zealand national team manager. Played for Kirkby Town at the start of his career * Alan Dugdale – Retired

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

player. Possibly played for Kirkby Town at the start of his career * Gary Bennett – Kirkby Town was one of the first clubs he ever played for. Former Prescot Cables F.C.,

F.C. United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Found ...

A.F.C. Telford, and

Fleetwood Town F.C. Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

Player. Notable for scoring F.C. United of Manchester's first ever goal in a friendly match against

Flixton F.C. Flixton F.C. were an English football club based in Flixton, near Urmston in Greater Manchester. They played in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division until 2012 when they resigned from the league. In the late 1990s they spen ...

Honours

* North West Counties Football League **First Division champions 1990–91 **First Division runners-up 1989–90 **Second Division champions 1985–86 **Third Division champions 1984–85 *

Liverpool Senior Cup The Liverpool County Football Association Senior Cup, commonly known as the Liverpool Senior Cup, is a Football (soccer), football knockout tournament involving teams from the city of Liverpool, England and surrounding areas. It is the County ...

**Winners 1986–87 *

**First Division runners-up 1992–93 *Champions Cup **Winners: 1989–90 *Raab Karcher Cup **Winners 1989–90

References

External links

* *{{fchd, id=KIRKBYT, name=Kirkby Town
Photo of main stand at Alt Park during Knowsley United's tenure at the ground.
Defunct football clubs in Merseyside Defunct football clubs in England Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Lancashire Combination 1967 establishments in England 1997 disestablishments in England Association football clubs established in 1967 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997 North West Counties Football League clubs Northern Premier League clubs Cheshire County League clubs