FC Halifax Town now host Brackley Town in the next round of Vanarama National League North fixtures this weekend and here are some things you may not have known about our visitors.
1) Brackley Town, known as the Saints, were formed back in 1890 making the club over 125 years old.
2) Before World War 1 Brackley competed in the Oxfordshire Senior League but switched to the North Bucks and District League once the war was over.
3) After spending most of their time as a club in the lower leagues, Brackley were promoted to the National League North for the first time in the 2011/12 season where they have remained ever since.
4) The Saints had the chance to earn promotion to the National League in their debut season in the National North after finishing 3rd, qualifying for a play-offs place. They made it to the final where they faced a certain FC Halifax Town at their home of St James Park. Luckily, the Shaymen ran out 1-0 winners’ courtesy of a Lee Gregory winner.
5) In 2015, the club had Defender Frank Sinclair on their books after signing him from Colwyn Bay. The former Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City man once played with the likes of Gianfranco Zola and Ruud Gullit during his time at Stamford Bridge. Sinclair left Brackley to take over as manager of Hednesford Town in December 2015.
6) The town of Brackley is known to have connections with Formula 1 due to being situated close to the Silverstone motor racing track.
7) Because of this, Brackley is the home of German Formula 1 team Mercedes AMG Petronas and Japanese team Honda F1 after the sides bought out British teams Brawn GP and BAR respectively.
8) The Magna Carta, a charter drafted up in 1215 to make peace between King John and rebel barons, was allegedly planned to be signed in Brackley due to an important meeting between the barons and the King’s representatives taking place there. However, it was eventually signed at Runnymede.
9) In terms of distance from the MBi Shay, Brackley Town will be the second longest trip made by Shaymen fans when it comes to the away fixture. Brackley is just one mile closer to the Shay than Gloucester City which is the longest journey of the league season. Thankfully, that one has already been done.
10) Finally, for all Morris Dancing enthusiasts out there, The Brackley Morris men are one of only seven traditional Cotswold sides remaining in England with their history dating all the way back to the 1600’s.
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