FOR PEOPLE OF a certain age, Accrington Stanley is just as synonymous with being the unlikely punchline in an advert, as it is with football.
Back in the 1980s, the Milk Marketing Board in Britain wanted to produce a commercial to highlight the benefit of drinking their product – resulting in one of the most memorable television adverts ever made.
In the ad, an enthusiastic young Liverpool fan explains to his friend that he prefers to drink milk because the club’s legendary striker Ian Rush once told him that if he didn’t, he would only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley.
The boy’s friend replies with the question: “Accrington Stanley – who are they?”
He responds with perfect comic timing in his thick Scouse accent: “Exactly!”.
Turmoil off the pitch resulted in Accrington being in the footballing wilderness for decades, leaving the club the butt of the joke.
Accrington FC, the club that spawned Accrington Stanley, may have been one of the founding members of the Football League, but controversy has never been far away.
In 1962, mounting debts forced the club into bankruptcy, costing them their league status – a position they wouldn’t reclaim for another 44 years.
The football team dubbed ‘the club that wouldn’t die’ due to their determination to overcome their off-field difficulties to reform and rise through the divisions, flirted with financial difficulties again as recently as 2009, when they narrowly avoided a winding-up order by paying off a debt in excess of £300,000.
A sign at the Crown Ground, home of Accrington Stanley. EMPICS Sport
EMPICS Sport
Years spent in the lower echelons of English football coupled with the allure of bigger sides in the local area, such as Blackburn Rovers and Burnley, as well as the more established Premier League clubs in Manchester and Liverpool, has left Accrington failing to attract large crowds to the Crown Ground.
Low gate receipts among other factors, means the League Two club compares miserably with even the most of basic facilities you would expect at other clubs; something that captain Séamus Conneely knows all about.
“We don’t have a training ground at the moment; we train at the local university on a 4G pitch. We haven’t had a training ground since I’ve been here,” the former Galway United and Sligo Rovers player tells The42.
Advertisement
Despite this, the 28-year-old is ready to lead his side in today’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Premier League outfit Middlesbrough, believing the minnows can cause one of the shocks of this year’s competition.
Earlier this season, Accrington very nearly shocked West Ham in the EFL Cup, before a last-gasp Dimitri Payet free-kick saved the Premier League side’s blushes, but now they are hoping to go one better.
“The cups can be a good distraction,” Conneely says. “We had a good run in the EFL Cup before we met West Ham in the third round.
“That game is a memory I will cherish forever. It was a great occasion to play a match in the London Stadium, but it’s also positive being able to look back knowing we could compete on that higher level.
Conneely joined Accrington in 2015. Barrington Coombs
Barrington Coombs
“That has given us confidence to believe we can cause a big shock at the Riverside against Middlesbrough. If we can’t win, we hope to be able to force a replay at the very least.”
Accrington, like Middlesbrough, enter today’s encounter with league survival on their minds, with both sides hovering over the relegation zone in their respective divisions.
But it could have been so different.
In the final game of last season, Accrington would have been promoted to League One had they beaten Stevenage at home.
However, a goalless draw after they hit the woodwork on three separate occasions, meant that they had to settle for a place in the play-offs, where they eventually lost to Wimbledon in the semi-final.
Despite the ups and downs, Conneely is relishing life with the club after joining from Sligo Rovers in 2015, where he claimed a League of Ireland title.
Conneely challenging Richie Towell, while playing for Sligo Rovers. Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO
Lorraine O'Sullivan / INPHO / INPHO
“There’s an awful lot of good players in League Two. I enjoy playing in the league because it is so competitive. There is plenty of blood and thunder, with every game played at 100 miles per hour. If you do well, it is a platform to move up the leagues that’s for sure.
But the former Ireland U21 international, who can play in defence or midfield, is under no illusions that playing in League Two will set him up for life.
Conneely already has one eye on the future, as he considers the possibility of becoming a PE teacher, once he hangs up his boots.
“Life after football is in the back of your mind all the time, especially as the years go by.
“If you’re on a short-term contract, playing from season to season, like most players are in League Two, it is a concern.
“The big thing for me to make the move from Ireland to England though was the ability to have a 52-week contract, something I wasn’t able to get in the League of Ireland.
“I know most players there don’t, they are usually contracted until the end of the season.
“Luckily over here the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association] are very good too, they would have more money than the union in Ireland so that is a big help.
“They come and visit each club two or three times a year to speak to the lads about what courses are available to do, and they contribute to the costs for any university or college courses.
“They offer you career guidance, speak to you about your interests, what you like to do and suggest paths to go down. They also help with your coaching badges if you want to stay in the game.”
Accrington represents Conneely’s second stint in English football, after his big move from Galway to the Championship in 2011 with Sheffield United failed to work out as he would have hoped.
Conneely’s refreshing honesty offers an insight as to why League of Ireland exports may not be able to reproduce their form across the Irish Sea.
“I wasn’t ready. I went over and I don’t think I had the belief I was good enough to be there.
“I didn’t believe in myself enough.
“I was looking at these players, thinking they are too good for me. I was signed by Gary Speed, but by the time I came over he had become the manager of Wales, and the new manager [Micky Adams] didn’t really know who I was.
“I came back to Sligo Rovers and settled in straight away. I was with players I knew or that I played against.”
Moving back to England in 2015 meant Conneely was once again linking up with former Sligo manager John Coleman, who spent just 88 days in charge of the Bit o’ Red before agreeing to take over the reins again at Accrington.
Legendary Accrington manager Coleman had a brief managerial spell in the League of Ireland. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Coleman had previously managed Accrington from 1999 until 2012, when he guided the club from the Northern Premier League First Division [the seventh tier] to League Two.
“Going over to Accrington, I knew the manager wanted me because he brought me there from Sligo. I had no hesitation in moving back over – I always wanted to give it another try.
“I am an older now and that bit more experienced. I am happy here. Luckily, it has worked out pretty well and I’m looking forward to the future.”
In the short term however, Conneely just hopes when his side exits the Riverside Stadium this evening, Boro’s host of international stars will know exactly who Accrington Stanley are.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
The Irishman hoping to steer ‘the club that wouldn’t die’ to a famous FA Cup giant-killing
FOR PEOPLE OF a certain age, Accrington Stanley is just as synonymous with being the unlikely punchline in an advert, as it is with football.
Back in the 1980s, the Milk Marketing Board in Britain wanted to produce a commercial to highlight the benefit of drinking their product – resulting in one of the most memorable television adverts ever made.
In the ad, an enthusiastic young Liverpool fan explains to his friend that he prefers to drink milk because the club’s legendary striker Ian Rush once told him that if he didn’t, he would only be good enough to play for Accrington Stanley.
The boy’s friend replies with the question: “Accrington Stanley – who are they?”
He responds with perfect comic timing in his thick Scouse accent: “Exactly!”.
Still fondly remembered today, the ad was remade by a vodka company last year.
Turmoil off the pitch resulted in Accrington being in the footballing wilderness for decades, leaving the club the butt of the joke.
Accrington FC, the club that spawned Accrington Stanley, may have been one of the founding members of the Football League, but controversy has never been far away.
In 1962, mounting debts forced the club into bankruptcy, costing them their league status – a position they wouldn’t reclaim for another 44 years.
The football team dubbed ‘the club that wouldn’t die’ due to their determination to overcome their off-field difficulties to reform and rise through the divisions, flirted with financial difficulties again as recently as 2009, when they narrowly avoided a winding-up order by paying off a debt in excess of £300,000.
Years spent in the lower echelons of English football coupled with the allure of bigger sides in the local area, such as Blackburn Rovers and Burnley, as well as the more established Premier League clubs in Manchester and Liverpool, has left Accrington failing to attract large crowds to the Crown Ground.
Low gate receipts among other factors, means the League Two club compares miserably with even the most of basic facilities you would expect at other clubs; something that captain Séamus Conneely knows all about.
“We don’t have a training ground at the moment; we train at the local university on a 4G pitch. We haven’t had a training ground since I’ve been here,” the former Galway United and Sligo Rovers player tells The42.
Despite this, the 28-year-old is ready to lead his side in today’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Premier League outfit Middlesbrough, believing the minnows can cause one of the shocks of this year’s competition.
Earlier this season, Accrington very nearly shocked West Ham in the EFL Cup, before a last-gasp Dimitri Payet free-kick saved the Premier League side’s blushes, but now they are hoping to go one better.
“The cups can be a good distraction,” Conneely says. “We had a good run in the EFL Cup before we met West Ham in the third round.
“That game is a memory I will cherish forever. It was a great occasion to play a match in the London Stadium, but it’s also positive being able to look back knowing we could compete on that higher level.
“That has given us confidence to believe we can cause a big shock at the Riverside against Middlesbrough. If we can’t win, we hope to be able to force a replay at the very least.”
Accrington, like Middlesbrough, enter today’s encounter with league survival on their minds, with both sides hovering over the relegation zone in their respective divisions.
But it could have been so different.
In the final game of last season, Accrington would have been promoted to League One had they beaten Stevenage at home.
However, a goalless draw after they hit the woodwork on three separate occasions, meant that they had to settle for a place in the play-offs, where they eventually lost to Wimbledon in the semi-final.
Despite the ups and downs, Conneely is relishing life with the club after joining from Sligo Rovers in 2015, where he claimed a League of Ireland title.
But the former Ireland U21 international, who can play in defence or midfield, is under no illusions that playing in League Two will set him up for life.
Conneely already has one eye on the future, as he considers the possibility of becoming a PE teacher, once he hangs up his boots.
“Life after football is in the back of your mind all the time, especially as the years go by.
“If you’re on a short-term contract, playing from season to season, like most players are in League Two, it is a concern.
“I know most players there don’t, they are usually contracted until the end of the season.
“Luckily over here the PFA [Professional Footballers' Association] are very good too, they would have more money than the union in Ireland so that is a big help.
“They come and visit each club two or three times a year to speak to the lads about what courses are available to do, and they contribute to the costs for any university or college courses.
“They offer you career guidance, speak to you about your interests, what you like to do and suggest paths to go down. They also help with your coaching badges if you want to stay in the game.”
Accrington represents Conneely’s second stint in English football, after his big move from Galway to the Championship in 2011 with Sheffield United failed to work out as he would have hoped.
Conneely’s refreshing honesty offers an insight as to why League of Ireland exports may not be able to reproduce their form across the Irish Sea.
“I didn’t believe in myself enough.
“I came back to Sligo Rovers and settled in straight away. I was with players I knew or that I played against.”
Moving back to England in 2015 meant Conneely was once again linking up with former Sligo manager John Coleman, who spent just 88 days in charge of the Bit o’ Red before agreeing to take over the reins again at Accrington.
Coleman had previously managed Accrington from 1999 until 2012, when he guided the club from the Northern Premier League First Division [the seventh tier] to League Two.
“Going over to Accrington, I knew the manager wanted me because he brought me there from Sligo. I had no hesitation in moving back over – I always wanted to give it another try.
“I am an older now and that bit more experienced. I am happy here. Luckily, it has worked out pretty well and I’m looking forward to the future.”
In the short term however, Conneely just hopes when his side exits the Riverside Stadium this evening, Boro’s host of international stars will know exactly who Accrington Stanley are.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
‘I should have left Chelsea for Real Madrid’
What has Hourihane done since Keane’s critical comments and could he feature against Wales?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Accrington Stanley FA Cup League of Ireland Middlesbrough Seamus Conneely Soccer