The History of Burton Albion: The Rise of The Brewers

Jan 2, 2011
Steve Rogerson

Burton Albion's Princess Way stadium - Photo by Steve Rogerson

Burton Albion are one of the newest members of the Football League but are enjoying their elevated status at the Princess Way stadium.

The Staffordshire town of Burton-on-Trent has a bigger history in rugby than football, but the young football club Burton Albion are trying to change that. The club won promotion to the Football League in 2009 and are trying to establish themselves. Only formed in 1950, they moved to a brand-new stadium in 2005 and have built up a small but loyal following.

The club can claim roots that date back before the 1950s, to clubs that were started in Burton but eventually folded. These include the likes of Burton Swifts and Burton Wanderers, which merged in 1901 to form Burton United, which lasted until 1910. Burton Swifts and then Burton United enjoyed a short spell in the Football League. In 1921, a new club called Burton All-Saints joined the Birmingham & District League, which it won in 1928 after changing its name to Burton Town. When football stopped for World War II, Burton Town folded.

The Early Days of Burton Albion

Senior football came back to Burton in 1950 when a public meeting at the town hall resulted in the formation of Burton Albion. They played on the Lloyds Foundry ground on Wellington Street and joined the Birmingham & District League. Eight years later, they were promoted to the Southern League and moved to the Eton Park stadium on Derby Road, but not before they had bagged their first two trophies – the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1954 and the Staffordshire Senior Cup in 1956. That year also saw then reach the third round of the FA Cup with wins over Wycombe Wanderers and Halifax Town before losing 7-0 to Charlton Athletic.

Under manager Peter Taylor, who was later to partner the famous Brian Clough in management at Derby County and Nottingham Forest, Burton Albion won the Southern League Cup in 1964. They enjoyed though an up-and-down spell in the Southern League with promotions to the Premiership in 1966, 1972 and 1974 and relegations back to Division One in 1970, 1973 and 1977. Under the guiding hand of another famous name – Ian Storey-Moore – the club moved briefly to the Northern Premier League in 1979. Neil Warnock took over shortly afterwards and helped the club win the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup in 1983.

The club’s most controversial match happened in 1985, when they again reached the third round of the FA Cup and played Leicester City at Derby County’s old Baseball Ground. Burton’s goalkeeper Paul Evans was hit by a missile thrown from the crowd and that was significant in the 6-1 defeat. The FA though ordered the game to be replayed behind closed doors. Albion still lost, but only by 1-0. They rejoined the Southern League in 1988.

The Nigel Clough Era

Nigel Clough, son of Brian Clough, took over as manager in 1998 and led then to runners-up in the Southern League twice before winning the Southern League Cup in 2000. They moved back to the Northern Premier League in 2001 and won it at the first attempt, achieving promotion to the Conference. Three years later, they left Eton Park to their new stadium on Princess Way.

After Nigel Clough led them to the Conference play-offs in 2008, where they lost to Cambridge United, they kicked off the following season in style. They went on a record breaking unbeaten run that saw them at one stage nineteen points clear at the top of the Conference. But Nigel Clough departed for Derby County and the team went into decline but still managed to win promotion to the Football League, despite losing the last match of the season because Cambridge United could only draw with Altrincham.

They finished thirteenth in their first season as a Football League club and did slightly worse in their second season.

Burton Albion and Beer

The club’s nickname of The Brewers is because of the rich brewing history in Burton-on-Trent. Regarded by many as the home of British brewing, it hosts the National Brewery Centre, which is always worth a visit, as are many of Burton’s real ale pubs and bars.