FC Halifax Town
Huge tax debts buried Halifax Town A.F.C. after almost 100 years as a football club. In May 2008, it was revealed that Halifax owed over £814,000 to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.[2] It was originally thought the club owed the taxman around £500,000, which might have left scope for a deal.[3] At a meeting of the FA, discussing the makeup of the football pyramid for the 2008–09 season, it was decided that FC Halifax Town would be placed in the Northern Premier League Division One North (the eighth tier of English football) despite various appeals.[4]
Northern Premier League (2008–2011)
The club’s first game under the new name FC Halifax Town was a friendly defeat against Tamworth on 19 July 2008.[5] The Shaymen’s first competitive match came in a 3–0 loss to Bamber Bridge.[6] FC Halifax’s first ever season was filled with inconsistency: ending outside the play-off positions in 8th place.[citation needed]
In April 2009, Neil Aspin was appointed as the new manager, which would prove to be an excellent appointment.[7] His first season in charge was a successful one; winning the league with 100 points (scoring 108 goals in the process). Halifax reached the FA Cup 4th qualifying round that season: eventually losing to Wrexham in front of a record crowd of 2,843.[8] The title was sealed with a 2–2 home draw against Clitheroe.[citation needed]
Halifax started the 2010–11 season in the Northern Premier League, (the 7th tier of English football). New-signing Jamie Vardy (who would later play for Leicester City and the England National Team) helped fire Halifax to back-to-back promotions to the Conference North as top scorer with 22 goals. Once again, Halifax would lose in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup to a fifth tier side; this time it would be a narrow defeat to Mansfield Town. On New Year’s Day 2011, Town beat FC United of Manchester 4–1 at the Shay which attracted a crowd of 4,023, an attendance that at the time held the record crowd for the Northern Premier League.[9] They finally won the title after winning 2–0 at Retford United and gained automatic promotion to the Conference North.[citation needed]
