Bray Wanderers A.F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Bray Wanderers


fullname = Bray Wanderers Association Football Club
nickname = "The Seagulls"
founded = 1942
ground = Carlisle Grounds, Bray,
County Wicklow
capacity = 7,000
chairman = Eddie Slevin
manager = Eddie Gormley
league = FAI Premier Division
season = 2007
position = 9th
pattern_la1=_whiteshoulders|pattern_b1=_whiteshoulders|pattern_ra1=_whiteshoulders
leftarm1=008000|body1=008000|rightarm1=008000|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=008000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=000033|socks2=000033

Bray Wanderers A.F.C. (Irish: "Cumann Peile Bhré") is an Irish football (soccer) club playing in the FAI League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1942 and elected to the League in 1985, hails from Bray and play their home matches at the Carlisle Grounds. Club colours are Green and White, and it goes by the nickname Seagulls. The current manager is Eddie Gormley and the General Manager is Jack O'Neill.

History

In 1922, some members of St Kevin's Gaelic football club in Bray left the club as a result of a dispute and they formed a soccer club called Bray Wanderers. They won the Miller Cup, which at the time was one of the most prestigious junior cups in the country, in 1927/28. Through the 1930s and 1940s, however, Bray Unknowns were the leading team in the town, playing in the National League from 1924 until the mid-1940s. The club went into decline in the mid-thirties but were reformed in 1942/43 and entered the Athletic Union League (AUL) Division 3 for the 1943/44 season. By the 1948/49 season Wanderers had reached Division 1 of the AUL but the period in between did not go by without controversy. In 1944 the club reached the Leinster Football Association Shield final but were disqualified for fielding an illegal player in the semi-final. When in Division 2 of the AUL in 1946/47 the club were expelled from the league due to their B team not fulfilling a league fixture, although the club were reinstated the following season. In 1950/51 Wanderers won the FAI Junior Cup, defeating Drogheda United 2-1. Wanderers also reached the Leinster Junior Final that season, but were defeated by Rathfarnham in the final. Wanderers won the Junior Cup again in 1953-54, defeating Ierne 1-0 in the Final. The following season Wanderers left the AUL and join the Leinster Senior league (LSL).

In 1955/56 Wanderers won the Intermediate Cup, defeating Workmens Club 2-1 in the final. They won it again two years later defeating Chapelizod 2-1 in the final. In 1958/59, Wanderers clinched the Leinster Senior League, setting a new club and LSL record for the highest number of goals scored in a season. They went on to win three League titles in a row. In 1960-61 Wanderers withdrew from the LSL and returned to the AUL. From 1963, however, they once again went into decline.

By 1973, Bray Unknowns were playing in the LSL and the management changed the name to Bray Wanderers in a partially successful effort to amalgamate the two. In 1975/76 the new Wanderers won the Metropolitan Cup for the first time since 1924. Bray Wanderers were elected to the National League when it expanded to two Divisions for the 1985/86 season, and secured promotion to the Premier Division by winning the First Division Championship that year. The were relegated back down to the First Division in the 1987/88 season. Wanderers did not regain Premier Division status until the 1990/91 season but had their first major success during their spell in the First Division. They won the FAI Cup in 1990 beating St. Francis F.C. 3-0 in the first Lansdowne Road final. They made history by becoming the first ever First Division side to win the trophy. Due to this success, Wanderers competed in European competition for the first time in their history in the 1990/91 season. They were defeated, however, by Trabzonspor in the European Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round.

Bray remained having difficulties achieving success in the league. After two seasons in the Premier Division the club were once again relegated to the First Division where they remained for the three seasons thereafter. In 1995/96 season Wanderers were promoted back to the Premier Division as First Division champions but were relegated back down in the following season. The next two seasons followed the same script as they went back up and came straight back down. In 1998/99, which was the season they got relegated again, Wanderers won their second FAI Cup after defeating Finn Harps F.C. after two replays.

In 1999/00 the club won promotion back to the Premier Division and in 2000/01 Wanderers achieved their highest ever league finish of 4th place in the Premier Division. The club could not build on this as they were relegated back down in 2002/03 but were once again promoted in 2004 and have remained in the Premier Division since.

European record

UEFA Cup:

Past opponents

Current squad

Noted players

*Alan Kelly, Sr.

Notable former managers

*Pat Devlin

Honours

*FAI Cups: 2
**1990, 1999
*League of Ireland 1st Division:
**Champions: 1985/86, 1995/96, 1999/00, 01/02
**Runner Up: 1990/91, 1997/98, 2003

Records

*Record Victory: 7-0 v Cobh Ramblers 17 October 1997, 7-0 v St. Mochta’s 17 June 2007
*Record League Defeat: 1-7 v Shamrock Rovers 8 January 1988, 0-6 v Derry City 29 November 1987
*Most Points in a Season: 72 in 1999-00
*Most League Goals in a Season: 19, Eamon Zayed, 2003
*Most League Goals: 64, Kieran O’Brien 1994 - 2004

See also

*Carlisle Grounds

References

* [http://www.braywanderers.com/showarticle.php?id=18 Bray Wanderers A.F.C. - a brief history] , compiled by Michael Duffy incorporating material by Jim Tobin; updated 2006 by Mícheál Ó hUanacháin
* [http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=105 Past League Tables on FAI.ie]
* [http://www.eircomloi.ie/the-divisions/premier-division/club-profiles/bray-wanderers/index.xml Bray Wanderers on eircomloi.ie]

External links

* [http://www.braywanderers.ie/ Bray Wanderers FC Website]
* [http://www.braywanderers.com/ Bray Wanderers Supporters Club Website]
* [http://foot.ie/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5 Discuss The Wanderers at Foot.ie]