Brief History of Rimington Football Club

Brief History of Rimington Football Club


Rimington FC first came about after a public meeting on the 1st July 1971. We have Mr Neville Keighley and Mr Henry Cosgrove to thank for the formation of our wonderful football club. Without their hard work, Rimington FC would never have existed. After the first AGM meeting, it was decided the club would be called Rimington Football Club and the colours of orange and black, which we still proudly wear, would be used.
(15/3/76).
The Football Association rules that RFC must be a member of both the West Riding FA and the Lancs FA in order to play in the Ribble Valley League. The committee are not amused.
Problems continue with dual affiliation between Lancs & West Riding FA's, RFC, in dispute with West Riding FA about taking part in the Craven Cup.
(78/79)
RFC finished 5th in the RVFL Div 2, the highest league position since formation, and the RVFL agreed that RFC will compete in the Craven Cup next season.
RFC invited to join the proposed East Lancs League in
(81/82)
Decided not to join in view of the likely high standard and amount of travelling. Rimington FC won their first trophy, the Aitken Shield
(87/88)
Manager Phil Hodgson and a young Jon Penman plays in his first season for RFC.
(88/89)
RFC wins the Aitken Shield for the second time in a row (88/89), finishing third in the league.
(89/90)
Application to join East Lancs League agreed. In the first season in the East Lancs League, RFC finished RU in Div 2 & promoted, and won the East Lancs 2nd Div Cup.
(92/93)
20 years after RFC were formed, RFC won their first Craven Cup
(98/99)
Major problems Jim Tierney resigned, players do not attend training, RFC withdraw from East Lancs and apply to join the Craven League. Derek Knowles stands down as Chairman after 12 years service, only 1 team was fielded in the Craven Premier League. All sorts of problems, but manager
(99/00)
D Buckle holds the team together and avoids relegation. G. Kershaw made his RFC debut
(00/01)
Manager Terry Braithwaite takes charge. The teams promotion from East Lancs Div 2
(01/02)
RFC won the 2nd Craven Cup in its 30th anniversary year. RFC have now entered a period of stability and success, winning the Craven Cup again and again.
(02/03)
They achieved the unthinkable by beating the great Goodshaw side 2-1 in the Presidents Cup Final and also finished in their highest ever league position,1st Div RU.
More success followed - Craven Cup Winners in 03/04/06/08/09 seasons, as RFC just about made the Craven Cup their property over the last ten years.
(05/06)
RFC won their very first league title after 35 years. RFC turned relegation form to championship quality as they completed a remarkable turn around to win the league and cup double.
(07/08)
Treble winning season. RFC created history after they completed a unique treble with 24 successive wins. E Lancs, Presidents & Craven Cup, also setting a new league points record of 67.
(08/09)
RFC set more league records, winning the East Lancs league with no defeats, 20 wins and 6 draws. The Craven Cup has been won for the fifth time in seven years.
(09/10)
After 72 games unbeaten in the league and cup, RFC finally lost. Once again, RFC retained the East Lancs League and the Craven Cup, ,making it a hat-trick of titles in both competitions.
(10/11)
RFC reign supreme in the East Lancs. 1 defeat in 24 games sees RFC retain the league and equals Goodshaw's league record of 4 consecutive titles. RFC beat Mill HIll 5-2 to win theur 3rd Presidents' Cup. Granted Charter Standard Status by WRCFA,
(11/12)
Rimington FC beat the great Goodshaw Utd's 4 consecutive league titles and won the Craven Cup for the 8th time against Bentham 3-0. RFC made it to the semi-final of the WRCFA Challenge Cup only to be beaten by Lepton (Huddersfield) 3-2 AET. Injury hit RFC lose to Enfield in the League Cup Final 2-1.
(12/13)
Rimington won their first West Riding County Cup against Bay Ath (Huddersfield) at Elland Rd home of Leeds Utd. 600 fans made the journey to enjoy an unforgettable night in the history of the club. RFC. Retain the league title for the sixth time in a row, and defeat Betham 6-3 in the Craven Cup final.
(13/14)
After holding the East Lancs title from 2007 to 2013 (6 seasons), Rimington came 3rd, with newly promoted Ivy FC taking the honours. With problems both on and off the pitch, players and management clash over a number of issues. RFC lost in the 3rd round of the WRCFA. RFC won 10 out of their last 13 league games and beat Ingleton FC 3-0 in the Cup Final. Jordan Walmsley makes 300 app for RFC.
(14/15)
Manager Terry Braithwaite retires. It has been the most successful period in the history of Rimington Football Club. Words just don’t do Terry justice! He was the driving force behind Rimington’s dominance of the East Lancashire league from 2000 - 2015. Terry has taken RFC from a mediocre 2nd Division team to become the premier amateur football club in the East Lancs area. 25 trophies won over 15 fantastic years.
(15/16)
Mark Wilson takes over as manager of Rimington Football Club.Nothing changed as Rimmy won the East Lancs League title again. That's 8 in the last 10 seasons. Rimmy reached the semi-finals of the WRCFA Challenge Cup. Carleton Ath (Wakefield) won the tie 4-0. Rob Llloyd leaves after scoring 250+ in 8 seasons, and Jon Paul Fagan retires. Sadly, founding member and club president Derek Knowles passed away.
(16/17)
After a disastrous run of results, Mark Wilson and Phil Leedham leave the club 10 games into the season.Graeme Seedall and Dave Cook take charge. Rimington won the Morrison Cup 3-0 against Skipton LMS, but lost to Burnley Belvedere on pens in the Presidents' Cup and were also runners-up in the league. Graeme Seedall leaves the club. Graeme Kershaw plays his 500th game for the club. Adam Hutchinson, Glen Dinsdale, and Micky Walsh retire. Unbelievable servants to Rimmy with a combined total of 800+ games played.
(17/18)
Up and down season for RFC. Finished 5th in the East Lancs League - Lowest position for 15 years. Rimington lost the Craven Cup final on pens against Settle Utd after a 0-0 draw. Club captain Oli Mclean leaves after 12 years of service. Seeds of recovery with the influx of young players and management team, David Cook and Martin James, agree to stay.
(18/19)
Another disappointing season for Rimmy - Knocked out of the WRCFA in Round 2, lost to Oswaldtwitsle 2-1 in the League Cup 3rd Round and the final nail in the coffin beaten on penalties by Settle Utd in the Craven Cup Final - Finished 3rd in the league. Martin Seedall takes the first team assistant manager position.
(19/20)
With Rimington sat at the top of the East Lancs League with 6 games to go, the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. All football activities and events are cancelled. Matt Bagot scores his 100th goal for the first team.
After 3 years in charge, Dave Cook resigns. Reserve team manager Warren Jackson takes the first team managers position. Rimington and Wilpshire Wanderers agree to form a partnership to develop players. The agreement will see players from Wilpshire transition to Rimington U18s development team.
(20/21)
COVID-19 again affects the season. The first team's season was cut short after just five games. Rimington agree to play in the Festival of Football tournament at Clitheroe FC. A fantastic 2-2 draw with Accrington Stanley was followed by a commendable 3-1 defeat against Clitheroe and 6-2 defeat against Stockport County. Ryan McCarthy plays his 200th game.
The club enters a mixed squad of players in the Skinny Lager Cup. The team went on to beat Prairie in the final on penalties. 
(21/22)
Poor start to season and ill discipline see Warren Jackson resign his position as first team manager. Blackburn Rovers Academy coach Ben Howard appointed. A respectable league position of 3rd and the team went on to win the club's 5th Presidents Cup with victory against Mill Hill on penalties. Oli Mclean plays his 300th game.
(22/23)
An almost repeat of the previous season as Ben Howard's leaves after only 10 games of the season. Poor numbers at training, games and a string of poor results see the club part ways with Howard. Boyd Hargreaves and John Hughes agree to become the interim management team. Early exits in the County and League Cup plus the club's lowest league finish in 25 years and defeat against Rolls in the Craven Cup. A season to forget quickly! Boyd Hargreaves steps down as interim manager.  U18s win the club's first youth team title winning the ELAFL Division One.