Merely three days after Wednesday’s last-minute antics, The Coasters are back in action as The Celt Army visits Mill Farm. 

We welcome Farsley Celtic, just under three weeks after the last encounter between both teams for their FA Cup fixture. The Coasters will hope for another positive result in this 3 pm kick-off. 

History 

The West Yorkshire club was established in 1908 as Farsley Football Club playing in Leeds’s amateur leagues. 1926 saw Farsley FC joining the West Riding County Amateur League, and in 1949 they moved on to the Division Two of the Yorkshire League. This was a successful move as they won the Division in 1951/52 and earned a promotion to the Division One. Farsley achieved further success in this Division, winning the League in 1959/60 and 1968/69, and achieved several top 7 finishes throughout the 1960’s before being relegated back to Division Two at the end of the 1977/78 season. The 1974/75 season also saw The Celt Army reach the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 2-0 to Third Division Tranmere Rovers in a match that had to be moved to Elland Road to accommodate the record 11,000 in attendance. 

In 1982, the Yorkshire League merged with the Midland League to form the Northern Counties East League with Farsley joining the Division One North where they remained until winning it in 1984/85 to progress to the Premier Division. 1986/87 saw Farsley achieve promotion to the Division One of the Northern Premier League where the club remained for 17 seasons until achieving promotion through a third-place finish at the end of the 2003/04 season to the Premier Division. 

Their first Northern Premier League Premier Division season ended in controversy, as Spennymoor Town failed to fulfil their fixtures, folding the League with their results being expunged. This left The Celt Army as champions, but The FA over-ruled the League awarding three points to all clubs that had not played Spennymoor meaning that both Workington, and Hyde United moved above Farsley. 2005/06 would see Farsley finally achieve promotion to the Conference North through the play-offs, and The Celt Army then went on to earn back to back promotions to the Conference National. However, Farsley was then relegated back to the Conference North and financial problems led to the club being expelled from the league prior to 2009/10 – being readmitted soon after, before going into administration and disbanding in March 2010.

 A new era began as the club was reformed as Farsley A.F.C. and joined the Premier Division of the NCEL again for the 2010/11 season. They won in their first season and returned to the Northern Premier League and in 2015, returned to the name of Farsley Celtic. The Celt Army is now back in the National League North, after promotions at the end of the 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons. Paul Barthorpe has also taken over the club in 2019, changing their playing colours from blue to green, adopting a new badge and renaming the ground. 

The Manager – Adam Lakeland

 Adam Lakeland has managed The Celt Army since being appointed during May 2017. He joined Farsley after a break from football, despite having a very successful track record of the level of football Farsley were playing at the time which Lakeland brought further success whilst leading the club. 

Starting as a coach at the age of 17, Lakeland now holds a UEFA A licence who has gathered a good amount of successful experiences in English non-league. Starting his senior coaching career as a first-team coach at Curzon Ashton, he achieved promotion to the National League North in just two seasons before moving on to work with Blackburn Rovers’ academy for a year.

 Lakeland then took his first step as a manager joining Northwich Victoria, guiding them to the Northern Premier League Division One play-offs despite the club suffering a nine-point deduction. He was then forced to resign due to The Vics’ financial troubles, taking a break before taking over The Celt Army. 

His first season in charge of Farsley saw Lakeland lead the Celts to a West Riding County FA Cup, as well as Northern Premier League championship in the following 2018/19 season meaning the club would now move on to the National League North. 

2019/20 saw Lakeland’s Celts place 11th in the National League North – achieving 14 wins, 6 draws and losing 14 times. 

The Captain – Daniel Ellis 

Danny Ellis has been with The Celt Army since joining prior to the 2017/18 season, signing for the club after choosing to depart from Harrogate Town after Town decided to go full-time. The hard-hitting defender started his career with now League Two side Bradford City, before joining Guiseley AFC in 2005. 

Ellis was a fan favourite at Guiseley having spent 10 seasons with the club as a player before departing to join Harrogate Town. At Guiseley, Ellis also held roles as an Academy coach as well as coaching for the Community Foundation partaking in coaching behind the closed doors of Wetherby Young Offenders Institute on behalf of Guiseley.

 The defender holds a UEFA A Coaching Licence, and as a player, he has earned a reputation for himself as a footballer that will put everything into every game in order to win at all costs. 

Scout Report 1 Steven Drench 2 Jordan Richards 6 Adam Clayton 5 Daniel Ellis © 4 Tom Allan 3 Joe West 8 Chris Atkinson 7 Carl Johnston 11 Tyler Walton 10 Luke Parkin 9 Jimmy Spencer 

THE CELT ARMY have seen their match against Leamington be postponed, creating a break over 10 days long since their last fixture against Curzon Ashton – which Farsley lost 2-1 away from home.

 Farsley lost their National League North opener to Spennymoor Town in a 2-1 away defeat, even though this was in controversial fashion after having a goal chalked off for an infringement as well as after having penalty shouts ignored due a Spennymoor handball. Since then, The Celt Army have also drawn to York City away from home and then suffered a loss to Curzon Ashton. Their FA Cup run was also cut short as The Coasters achieved a win at The Citadel. 

Fylde on the other hand have continued their tremendous form making it now a 6-game win streak which The Coasters hope to continue. Wednesday’s fixture against Kettering saw Fylde’s winning ways be threatened, as Danny Philliskirk’s goal was seen off by questionable penalty conversion from Kettering. Nonetheless, Jordan Hulme provided an almost immediate response with a goal 3 minutes later. Super Nick Haughton’s last-minute top bins winner was enough to see off Kettering and secure the three points.

 As the last ‘Get to Know’ for Farsley featured, the history had benefited The Celt Army considering that the first two times the teams faced during the 2010/11 season saw Farsley beat Fylde 2-0 at home before drawing 2-2 at Kellamergh Park. However, their last encounter at The Citadel for the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round saw The Coasters progress with a solid 3-1 win in difficult conditions, with Luke Burgess getting on the scoresheet twice as well one of many Nick Haughton goals. Fylde will be hoping for a repeat performance in a more familiar environment at Mill Farm.

PREDICTED LINE-UP 

The Celt Army sprung some surprises with the line-up at The Citadel, but with some players earning more regular time their starting eleven should be fairly unchanged from recent games. We would like to wish all the best for the recovery of experienced midfielder Joel Byrom who featured in the last fixture between Fylde and Farsley but has suffered an injury which requires surgery and will miss out on Saturday’s fixture. 

Experienced 35-year-old shot-stopper Steven Drench is predicted to be starting in goal for Farsley. The Celt Army is expected to be starting with a three centre back system, which should provide safety for Farsley’s goal in the form of Adam Clayton, captain Danny Ellis, and the imposing Tom Allan. 

The wing-back position should feature the energy of Jordan Richards, and the pinpoint crossing ability of former Sheffield Wednesday Joe West. 

Farsley should be featuring three in the midfield. The experienced Chris Atkinson could feature for The Celt Army, as he is an ever-present player ever since joining Farsley in 2017. As Byrom will be missing out, 18-year-old Fleetwood Town loanee Carl Johnston could start in his position. Johnston was a goal scorer in Farsley’s recent friendly against Huddersfield Town B. Creative midfielder Tyler Walton is also predicted to start in the midfield for Farsley.

 Upfront for The Celt Army could be the young Luke Parkin, who’s performed efficiently for Farsley whenever he is called upon. Parkin is a product of the Leeds United youth academy and has gathered some non-league experience for the likes of Guiseley on loan as well as Gainsborough Trinity, Brighouse Town and Tadcaster Albion also on loan. The hard-working Jimmy Spencer is also expected to start up front for Farsley as the former Northern Premier League Player of the Year is a key player for The Celt Army. 

THE ONE TO WATCH

Jimmy Spencer remains as one of Farsley’s most important players despite yet to start his prolific ways this season as Spencer has only secured 1 goal in his 3 appearances this season. However, the hard-working forward’s energy provides a threat for Farsley at all times and his goals could start at any moment – could very well see a repeat of last season’s 29 goals in 31 appearances for Spencer this season when the forward gets going again. The striker will still be worth keeping an eye out for in Saturday’s fixture as he will be one of the West Yorkshire club’s key players. 

The 28-year-old forward started his career with Championship side Huddersfield Town in 1998 at the age of seven. He signed as a professional with the club and experienced several loans to the likes of Northwich Victoria, Morecambe, Cheltenham Town, Brentford, Crawley Town and Scunthorpe United. He made his Huddersfield debut in the League Cup First Round 2-0 away defeat to Preston North End and made his league debut in a 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City in 2012. 

Spencer then moved on to League One side Notts County after having his contract with Huddersfield terminated. He made 29 appearances for Notts County between 2013 and January 2016, before moving on to Cambridge United where he scored with his first touch of the ball for The U’s. He spent half a season with United before joining Plymouth Argyle where he turned out 25 times in League Two and scored 3 goals. He spent the 2017/18 season with Mansfield Town before finally settling with Farsley Celtic. 

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