As the festive period beckons, so do AFC Telford United, who visit the Shay on Saturday for a Vanarama National League North clash.
The Bucks face the Shaymen looking to avenge the 2-1 defeat that was inflicted upon them by Halifax in the reverse fixture back in September.
Before that, let’s have a look at 10 things about AFC Telford United…
1. Andy Sinton, the former QPR and England winger, managed the club between May 2010 and January 2013. In his first season at the club he clinched promotion to the Conference Premier.
2. The highest fee the club has ever received for a player is £25,000. That was for Duane Courtney, who was bought by Burnley in 2005. His move to the Championship didn’t really move on to bigger and better things and the defender only made seven appearances before joining the likes of York City, Tamworth and Corby Town.
3. Jagielka played for the Bucks. No, not Phil, the other one. Stephen Jagielka, the older brother of the England international played for Telford between 2007 and 2009 after making over 170 appearances for neighbours Shrewsbury Town.
4. Another claim to fame for Telford is that they also had Andre Gray in their ranks once upon a time. The current Burnley striker made six appearances and scored just the solitary goal whilst on loan at the Bucks from Shrewsbury Town.
5. Telford’s best FA Cup performance came in the 2014/15 season as they reached the Second Round of the competition before bowing out to Bristol City 1-0 thanks to Keiran Agard’s 90th minute winner. Bristol eventually went on to play Premier League outfit West Ham.
6. Telford also nearly tasted success in the FA Trophy in 2008/09. The Bucks reached the semis before losing 4-1 on aggregate to York City who later lost 2-0 to Stevenage in the final.
7. 2006 was a year to celebrate for Telford fans, as the club went 37 games unbeaten from January 21st to December 9th.
8. The record home attendance is 5,710. This was achieved against Burscough on the final day of the 2006-07 season where Telford could clinch the title with a win. However, Burscough came out 2-1 winners to snatch the title, although Telford did earn promotion in the play-offs, so no hard feelings, right?
9. The club badge features the words “numquam obliviscere”. Unfortunately, I never took Latin at school, but thanks to Google, I can reveal that those words translate to “we will never forget”.
10. And lastly, AFC Telford United’s first ever competitive game as the current club was in the 2004/05 Unibond Northern Premier League Division One and was against North Ferriby United. The game ended 2-2.
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