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| Full name | Glenavon Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Lurgan Blues The Mourneview Aces | ||
| Founded | November 1889; 135 years ago (1889-11) | ||
| Ground | Mourneview Park,Lurgan County Armagh | ||
| Capacity | 3,200 seated | ||
| Chairman | Glenn Emerson | ||
| Manager | Paddy McLaughlin | ||
| League | NIFL Premiership | ||
| 2023–24 | NIFL Premiership, 10th of 12 | ||
| Website | glenavonfc | ||
 Current season | |||
Glenavon Football Club is aNorthern Irish semi-professionalfootball club that competes in theNIFL Premiership. Founded in 1889, the club hails fromLurgan and plays its home matches atMourneview Park. Club colours are blue and white. Glenavon's bitter rivals arePortadown, with their matches known as the "Mid-Ulster Derby".
Glenavon was the first provincial club to win theIrish League title (1951–52) and also the first provincial club to do the league and cup double (1956–57). The latter triumph also made them the first Northern Irish team to enter theEuropean Cup. Glenavon has had a number of talented and famous players, none more so thanWilbur Cush andJimmy Jones, who were to the fore in "the glory years" of the Fifties. The success of the 1950s is still the benchmark at the club – the closest the club have come to achieving a league success since came in the 1993–94 season, when but for two late goals in the final match Glenavon would have been crowned champions.
Glenavon enjoyed a good run throughout the 1990s, consistently achieving good placings in the league and winning several cup competitions, including Irish Cup wins in1991–92 and1996–97, and were runners-up against Glentoran in the1995–96 and1997–98 editions of the cup. The club then suffered a relatively poor spell during the early 2000s, which culminated in relegation tothe second tier in the2003–04 Irish League season. Although they were promoted the following season, Glenavon continued to struggle towards the bottom of the league throughout the remainder of the decade, going through several managers such asTerry Cochrane,Stephen McBride &Marty Quinn. McBride was aNorthern Ireland international and a popular Glenavon player in the 1980s & 1990s, but his reign lasted just seven months before he was relieved of his managerial duties with Glenavon at the bottom of the IFA Premiership.[1]
FormerPortadown &Glentoran forwardGary Hamilton was appointed player-manager in December 2011, managing to steer the club from relegation in the remainder of the2011–12 Irish League season. This was followed up by a 9th-place finish in the2012–13 season. The2013–14 season was welcomed by many as a successful season, the Lurgan club securing a top-six league finish and a return to winning major silverware with the2013–14 Irish Cup, in which Glenavon triumphed 2–1 overBallymena United in the final.
Following on from this cup triumph was a successful2014–15 season. Though Glenavon did not fare as well in the Irish Cup, exiting at the 6th round to Championship 1 sideHarland & Wolff Welders, an excellent late run of 7 consecutive wins saw the Lurgan Blues pip their Mid-Ulster rivalsPortadown to a third-placed league finish, therefore sealing European football for the 2015–16 season.
The2015–16 season would be another good season for the Lurgan Blues, once again securing Europe on the penultimate matchday by finishing third, on a points total of 69. Even more success was to follow, as the club claimed a second Irish Cup win in three years, defeatingDavid Healy'sLinfield 2–0 in the final.
Glenavon did not enjoy similar success in the2016–17 season. Despite having signed formerCeltic andNorthern Ireland wingerPaddy McCourt, the club struggled for form and could only achieve a disappointing 6th-placed finish in the league. Although the club reached the semi-finals of theMid-Ulster Cup,League Cup andIrish Cup, they were defeated in all byWarrenpoint Town,Carrick Rangers andColeraine respectively. Glenavon also suffered agonising defeat toBallymena United in the Europa League playoff final, therefore missing out on a fourth successive year of European qualification.
Despite failure to qualify for Europe and a large exodus of players at the start of the2017–18 season, the signing of players such asSammy Clingan and Andrew Mitchell, aligned with the emergence ofBobby Burns, meant that Glenavon had a resurgence in form, finishing third once again, and qualifying for Europe. However, the only piece of silverware attained was theMid-Ulster Cup, having exited the League Cup and Irish Cup via shock defeats at the hands ofArds andLoughgall.
While the2018–19 season yielded a club-record points total of 70, the club had a disappointing record in the major cups, falling to defeat againstDergview andDungannon Swifts in theLeague Cup andIrish Cup respectively. However, the Lurgan Blues did retain the Mid-Ulster Cup with a 4–3 victory overWarrenpoint Town. Despite attaining another third-place finish, Glenavon fell to a 2–4 defeat againstGlentoran in the Europa League playoff semi-final and failed to attain European qualification for the following season.
The club endured a difficult2019–20 campaign, falling to several heavy defeats in the league and exiting the Irish Cup at the 5th round with a 2–0 defeat againstColeraine. Inconsistent form meant that the club finished outside of the league's top-six for the first time since the2012–13 season.
The Lurgan Blues' form improved significantly in the2020–21 season, but the club narrowly missed out on a top-six finish; their final points total of 62 was the highest points tally recorded for a team in the bottom-six. Their seventh-place finish secured the Lurgan Blues a spot in theEuropa Conference League playoffs. They facedLarne in the semi-final, losing narrowly to aMartin Donnelly goal in injury time, leaving Glenavon without European qualification.
The2021–22 season saw the unexpected departure of the previous season's top scorer, Danny Purkis, but Glenavon would once again claim a seventh-place finish and qualification for theEuropa Conference League playoffs. They were defeated at the semi-final stage, losing 2–0 against third-placedGlentoran atThe Oval. The same opposition had eliminated Glenavon in theIrish League Cup earlier in the season. The Lurgan Blues exited theIrish Cup in controversial fashion, having had two goals disallowed againstCrusaders.
On 13 September 2023, it was announced that Gary Hamilton had vacated the post of manager, following a number of poor results at the beginning of the2023–24 season. U20s manager Gary McAlister took over as caretaker for matches againstCarrick Rangers andCrusaders, and on 25 September, formerWarrenpoint Town manager Stephen McDonnell was appointed in the role on a permanent basis.[2] McDonnell steadied the ship at Glenavon and they ultimately avoided relegation from theNIFL Premiership that season.
Since 1895, Glenavon's home stadium has beenMourneview Park, located in the south of Lurgan.
From 1992 to 2011, significant alterations were made to Mourneview Park in order to bring the ground up to a modern standard. Along the side of the pitch runs the Geddis Stand (holds roughly 1700), and on the other side the Glenfield Road Stand (holds roughly 2000), which houses away supporters. Behind one of the goals, the ground has the Crescent End (standing terrace), and at the other end the Hospital End contains a training pitch.
In addition to Glenavon's home matches, the stadium is also a regular host forNorthern Ireland under-21 matches, and was the venue for several group stage games in theUEFA Women's Under-19 Euro 2017 finals. Due to the ongoing renovation ofWindsor Park, Mourneview Park was chosen as the venue forLinfield's home ties in the2014–15 UEFA Europa League. The stadium has occasionally been used as a neutral ground forIrish Cup semi-finals, most recently in the2018–19,2020–21, and2021–22 editions of the competition.
In September 2020, Glenavon FC unveiled a new 5m x 2m Digital LED Screen at Mourneview Park, which was supplied by FSL Scoreboards. It is the first of its kind anywhere in Ireland.[3]
On 12 April 2021, it was announced that Mourneview Park would be the host venue for the2020–21 Irish Cup Final; the first time the final has been staged outside of Belfast since 1975.[4]
Mourneview Park hosted the second leg of the first round tie in the inaugural edition of theEuropa Conference League betweenFK Velež Mostar andColeraine F.C. on 15 July 2021, due to pitch redevelopments atThe Showgrounds.[5]
Prior to the2023–24 season commencing, the seated area of the Crescent End was returned to a standing terrace, with the installation of crash barriers manufactured by local company, Dawson Manufacturing & Engineering.[6]
Glenavon was the first Northern Irish team to enter the European Cup. In their first tie they drewAGF of Denmark, drawing 0–0 at home and losing 0–3 away.
Glenavon achieved some more notable results in Europe in the 1990s. In the 1992–93 season, they drew both legs of their Cup Winners Cup tie withRoyal Antwerp and lost on penalties. In 1995–96 they reached the first round proper of the UEFA Cup (the last Irish League club to do so), and were beaten byWerder Bremen.
| Competition | Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 49 |
| European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 25 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| TOTAL | 34 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 22 | 81 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957–58 | European Cup | PR |  AGF | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| 1960–61 | European Cup | PR |  Wismut Karl Marx Stadt | w/o | N/A | |
| 1961–62 | European Cup Winners' Cup | PR |  Leicester City | 1–4 | 1–3 | 2–7 |
| 1977–78 | UEFA Cup | 1R |  PSV Eindhoven | 2–6 | 0–5 | 2–11 |
| 1979–80 | UEFA Cup | 1R |  Standard Liège | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| 1988–89 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | AGF | 1–4 | 1–3 | 2–7 |
| 1990–91 | UEFA Cup | 1R |  Bordeaux | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| 1991–92 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R |  Ilves | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–4 (a) |
| 1992–93 | European Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | Royal Antwerp | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 (1–3p) |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup | PR |  FH | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 1R |  Werder Bremen | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–7 | ||
| 1997–98 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | QR |  Legia Warsaw | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–5 |
| 2000 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R |  Slaven Belupo | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–4 |
| 2001–02 | UEFA Cup | QR |  Kilmarnock | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | FH | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–6 |
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR |  Shakhtyor Soligorsk | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–5 |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR | KR Reykjavik | 1–2 | 0–6 | 1–8 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR |  Molde | 2−1 | 1–5 | 3–6 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Paddy McLaughlin |
| Assistant manager | Colin Coates |
| First-team coach | Marty McCann |
| Goalkeeping coaches | Reggie Hillen and Johnny Pollock |
| First Team Analyst | Paul McCrum |
| U20 Manager | Chris Chambers |
| Head of Academy | Chris McCann |
Glenavon's Academy consists of teams at Under 7, Under 8, Under 9, Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 13, Under 14, Under 15, Under 16 and Under 18. There is also an Under 20 development team which comes under the auspices of the Senior Club and plays as Glenavon Reserves.
The academy was formed in 2007 as a result of the Irish league licensing requirements and then first team manager Colin Malone appointed Gordon Wylie as Academy co-ordinator. Gordon's first task was to bring ex Glenavon legend Stephen McBride back to the club as the academy head coach.
The Glenavon Academy is now headed by Chris Chambers after previously being led by Alex Denver, Thomas McStravick and Ryan Prentice. The academy currently has a number of UEFA A Licence and UEFA B Licence coaches.
In recent times the club has introduced various coaching programmes and training camps aimed at increasing the numbers within the academy. These have included the Glenavon Academy Club Affiliation Programme, Schools Programme, Aces, Girls Football and annual Football Camps at Easter, Summer and Halloween.
Harry Walker (1950–54)Jimmy McAlinden (1954–68) Ted Smyth (1968) Joe Kinkead (1968–69)Jimmy Jones (1969–72) Eric Adair (1972–73) Brian Campbell (1974–75) Alan Campbell (1975–78) Billy McClatchey (1978–79) Billy Sinclair (1979–82) Terry Nicholson (1982–91) Alan Fraser (1991–94) Nigel Best (1994–98)Billy Hamilton (1998)Roy Walker (1998–00) Colin Malone (2000–03) Alfie Wylie (2003–04) Tommy Kincaid (2004–05) Jimmy Brown (2005–06) Colin Malone (2006–07)Terry Cochrane (2008)Stephen McBride (2008–09)Marty Quinn (2009–11)Gary Hamilton (2011–23)
Stephen McDonnell (2023–24)Paddy McLaughlin (2024–)† Won by Glenavon Reserves
† Won by Glenavon Reserves
† Won by Glenavon Reserves
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