FC Halifax Town

Formation

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. It was originally thought the club owed the taxman around £500,000, which might have left scope for a deal. 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.

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. The Shaymen's first competitive match came in a 3–0 loss to Bamber Bridge. FC Halifax's first ever season was filled with inconsistency: ending outside the play-off positions in 8th place.

In April 2009, Neil Aspin was appointed as the new manager, which would prove to be an excellent appointment. 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. The title was sealed with a 2–2 home draw against Clitheroe.

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. They finally won the title after winning 2–0 at Retford United and gained automatic promotion to the Conference North.

Conference North years (2011–2013)

Four games into the 2011-12 season, star-striker Jamie Vardy signed for Fleetwood Town. Vardy was replaced as Halifax's main striker by Lee Gregory (who would later play for Millwall and Stoke City in the Championship). Halifax had a sluggish start to their first ever season in the 6th tier. For the first ever time, Halifax reached the 1st round of the FA Cup: a televised home tie against League One leaders Charlton Athletic. The result was a 4–0 defeat in front of 4,601 supporters. The club rose from 13th at the start of the match to 3rd by the end of the season. Halifax lost in the play-offs to Gainsborough Trinity (3–2 on aggregate).

The 2012–13 season was the club's second consecutive season in the 6th tier. The season was defined by successful cup-runs and another promotion. In the FA Cup, Halifax took Conference Premier side Lincoln City to a replay in the 4th qualifying round. In the FA Trophy Halifax reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, eventually losing out to 5th tier side Dartford. Due to Town's cup-runs and postponements from poor weather caused a huge back-log in fixtures. By February, Halifax had ten games in hand on certain teams. Halifax had a difficult run at the end of the season (despite playing 12 games in 27 days), reaching the play-offs in 5th. In the play-off semi-final, Halifax won 3–1 (on aggregate) against local side Guiseley. The play-off final was won 1–0 against Brackley Town with a solitary goal by Lee Gregory.

National League years (2013–)

The National League (5th tier) was the highest level that the newly formed FC Halifax Town side had played at since formation. Neil Aspin started the 2013–14 season by signing a two-year contract. Their first season in the 5th tier started with a disappointing 5–1 defeat to Cambridge United. Town's first win in the 5th tier was against Wrexham. From March onwards, the Shaymen won 9 of 10 matches (keeping 7 clean-sheets) Halifax finished their first season in the Conference play-off positions (the highest placed semi-professional team in the country). Halifax lost 2–1 to Cambridge United in the play-off semi-final, rounding off a sensational first season in the 5th tier.

During pre-season, Lee Gregory was sold for £250,000 to Millwall after being Halifax's top scorer for three consecutive seasons (scoring 18, 20 and 29 goals respectively). Halifax started the new season with five consecutive wins, placing the Shaymen at the top of the league. In the 1st round of the FA Cup, Halifax were drawn against old rivals Bradford City. The televised match attracted 8,042 spectators (FC Halifax Town's record attendance): which Town lost 2–1. Eventually, form dropped off in the league with too many draws (15), leaving Halifax Town in 9th place at the end of the season.

The Shaymen's third season in the National League was a poor one, culminating in relegation back to the 6th tier. Neil Aspin was sacked and replaced by Darren Kelly. Kelly oversaw disastrous results against Grimsby Town (7–0), Cheltenham Town (7–1) and Braintree Town (6–3). Kelly left the club by mutual agreement after 47 days in charge. Jim Harvey became caretaker manager, he turned the club's fortunes around but could not prevent Halifax's relegation back to the National League North following a draw against Macclesfield Town. Meanwhile, Halifax reached the 2016 FA Trophy final, defeating Grimsby Town 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.

Harvey was replaced by North Ferriby United manager Billy Heath. Town made an immediate return to the National League, finishing in 3rd place. Halifax met Salford City in the play-off semi-final, drawing 1–1 (winning 3–0 on penalties). In the play-off final, Halifax beat Chorley 2–1 after extra time in front of nearly 8,000 fans.