Knowsley United was an English football club based in what is now the

Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside, North West England. It covers several towns and villages, including Kirkby, Prescot, Huyton, Whiston, Halewood, Cronton and Stockbridge Village; Kirkby, Huyton, a ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

from 1963 to 1997. Founded in

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, Historic counties of England, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 wa ...

as Kirkby Town, the club moved to

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...

in 1988 and took the name Knowsley United.

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 i ...

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 Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

. 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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

for the first time, but lost 6–0 at

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...

. 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 The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Fo ...

. 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 ...

. 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 from the broader

. 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 Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. 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 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 Metropolitan 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 – former

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

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, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

player * Ken Dugdale – Retired Wigan Athletic player and former New Zealand national team manager. 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, more commonly known as FC United, is a semi-professional association football, football club based in Moston, Manchester, Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English ...

A.F.C. Telford, and

Fleetwood Town F.C. Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

Player. Notable for scoring F.C. United of Manchester's first ever goal in a friendly match against Flixton F.C. * John Doolan - Wigan Athletic 1990 to 1995 worked at Liverpool and Everton Academies then joining Wigan as a coach Notable went on the win Scottish Cup with Hibs 2016 after 114 years.

Honours

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

**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 cu ...

**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 Sport in the 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