Located in the heart of Cheshire and equidistant from both Liverpool and Manchester, it can be difficult to build a consistent fanbase and interest in the area. However following its formation in 2012, 1874 Northwich have found themselves enduring a period of sustained and steady success.
Year Founded: 2012
Nickname: The Greens
Stadium: Townfield Barnton
Capacity: 1000
Manager: Chris Herbert
League: North West Counties Premier Division
Origins
Following the continued mismanagement of fellow Northwich based club, Northwich Victoria, local fans became incredibly disgruntled with the situation.
Most Notably, Vics went into administration two times in just five years in the 2000s, were evicted from their stadium and suffered enforced relegations as punishment for poor financial management.
After a meeting of the Northwich Victoria Supporters Trust, a decision was overwhelmingly made to create a new football club, with the name 1874 Northwich chosen, a nod to the year in which Northwich Victoria were founded.
Early years
With no club owned ground readily available to 1874 Northwich after its inception, a ground sharing arrangement had to be drawn up.
This came in the form of Winsford United and its Barton Stadium, around a 20 minute drive from Northwich town centre.
They would go on to play in this stadium until 2019, and during these years the club would find stable if unspectacular levels of success.
Starting with a bang in 2013/2014, the club would go on to be promoted from the North West Counties League division one at the first attempt.
A period of consolidation would then follow, with the club remaining within the North West Counties League Premier Division for the next few years.
Despite not gaining promotion in this period, the greens found great levels of consistency and placed within the top half of the division in every single season that it competed there and even more remarkably, would finish in the top 5 in five out of their six seasons there.
Highs and Lows
After the aforementioned tremendous consistency, the club would finally get its day in the sun in 2021, winning promotion to the Northern Premier League Division one, and in the process would go on to play at a higher level than their fierce northwich rivals Victoria for the first time in their history.
Despite the 2019/20 and 2020/21 season getting curtailed because of the COVID 19 pandemic, 1874 were still awarded a promotion from the North West Counties league based on the fact that they had acquired the highest amount of points per game over the previous two years.
The club’s first two years at the higher level were stable, with two mid table finishes achieved respectively.
However, following the departure of long standing and successful joint managers Wayne Goodison and Paul Bowyer, the clubs fortunes would change for the worst, and 1874 would lose some key players, eventually resulting in their first relegation of their history back to the North West Counties Premier Division.
With a strong fan base behind them, it will be interesting to see how they fare next season, and if they can secure an immediate return to the Northern Premier League Division One.
