BURTON ALBION - the present

The 60th season of Burton Albion's existence was arguably their most memorable as they celebrated bringing Football League action back to Burton Upon Trent after a 102 year absence.

Chairman Ben Robinson surprised everyone when, on May 18th 2009, he announced that former Canadian international striker Paul Peschisolido was to take up his first managerial position charged with guiding Albion through their first ever campaign as a Football League club. 'Pesch' immediately appointed former Everton and Derby defender Gary Rowett, who finished his playing career with Albion, as his assistant and set about consolidating Albion's rise after a superb decade of success inspired by Nigel Clough and capped off by ex-Derby County and England defender Roy McFarland steering the club over the finishing line to promotion after Clough took up the managerial reins at Pride Park in January 2009.

Although Albion were defeated in their first ever Football League match (3-1 away at Shrewsbury Town) the Pirelli Stadium heralded the arrival of League football with a stunning 5-2 victory over eventual play-off contenders Morecambe. The Brewers spent most of the first half of the season in the top half and briefly flirted with the play-offs before dropping back slightly in the second half of the campaign. Although relegation was never really likely a second season in the Football League was guaranteed ahead of the Easter programme and the Brewers eventually finished in a commendable 13th position with a highly respectable 62 points. Albion picked up notable doubles over Rochdale (who went on to secure automatic promotion), Aldershot Town (including a record 6-1 victory in the home match), Hereford United, Lincoln City and Grimsby Town.

Albion's ascent into the Football League came at the end of the 2008-09 season after a roller coaster campaign in the Blue Square Premier (Football Conference)

A distinctly ordinary start to the campaign gave way to genuine optimism as Albion hit the top of the Conference table in early November and after winning eleven straight games up to New Years Day looked set to win automatic promotion at a canter. The departure of long serving and influential manager Nigel Clough to Derby County in January 2009, to be replaced by former Rams and England defender Roy McFarland as caretaker manager, gave Albion's title rivals the merest whiff of a chance of overhauling the Brewers. A record 12th successive Conference victory followed but from the end of February Albion faltered and a tense final day of the season saw the Brewers needing just a point to clinch their place in the Football League. Defeat to eventual play-off winners Torquay United at Plainmoor ultimately proved irrelevant as nearest rivals Cambridge United failed to beat Altrincham.

The Brewers rise through the Football Conference has coincided with the club's move to its present home, the Pirelli Stadium in 2005. The £7.2m stadium, built just a stones throw from the club's previous home, Eton Park, offers some of the best banqueting and conferencing facilities in the area, something which has helped to build the clubs off field income to support their success on the pitch.

Although the ground opened for business in July 2005 with a low key pre-season friendly against Chester City the ground was officially opened in November 2005 by Manchester United who ironically returned to the Pirelli two months later in the FA Cup third round with Albion holding the Premiership giants to a 0-0 draw in front of a then record ground attendance of 6,191 before losing in a replay at Old Trafford.

The stadium has hosted an England 'C' international and a UEFA under 19's international along with several UEFA under 17's matches featuring England, Italy, Sweden and Malta. An England Women's U-19s international between England and Scotland also registered the highest ever crowd for a fixture at that level. The ground also hosted the Blue Square North play-off final for three years between 2006 and 2008 and is the regular host of the Independent School's Football Association junior finals each March.

Ahead of the 2009/10 season the club was granted permission to increase capacity at the Pirelli Stadium to, 6,912.

BURTON ALBION - a brief history

When Burton Albion were formed at a public meeting at the Town Hall on 5th July 1950 it restored senior soccer to the town after a ten year absence. The town had once boasted three league sides, Burton Wanderers, Burton Swifts and Burton United but when the war wiped out Burton Town there was a void to be filled.

The club began life using the Wellington Street ground belonging to Lloyds Foundry and competed in the Birmingham League for the first eight years of their existence. Whilst league success was hard to come by the club quickly made progress in cup competitions winning the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1954 and the Staffordshire equivalent in 1956. That same season saw Albion hit the national sporting headlines when they reached the third round of the F.A.Cup only to lose 7-0 to Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

In 1958 the club not only moved leagues, they also moved grounds. Eton Park became their home as Albion began to ply their trade in the Southern League. The club struggled in the Southern League although they did become the first side from outside of the Premier Division to win the Southern League Cup when they beat the then mighty Weymouth 5-2 on aggregate in 1964. The manager at the time was Peter Taylor who went on to enjoy a very successful partnership with a certain Brian Clough at both Derby County and later Nottingham Forest.

The Brewers three times won promotion to the Premier Division but also suffered relegation the same number of times. The club did enjoy the skills of former Nottingham Forest and Manchester United winger Ian Storey-Moore in the mid 1970's and he returned in 1978 as player-manager overseeing the Brewers move to the Northern Premier League in 1979 as the non-league world underwent significant change with the advent of the Alliance Premier League (now the Football Conference).

Moore was succeeded by another player-manager, ex-Brewers player Neil Warnock, who although not managing to win a league title did bring silverware to Eton Park in the shape of the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup beating Macclesfield Town in the final at Maine Road, Manchester in April 1983.

Albion again hit the national headlines in 1985 when they lost in the third round of the F.A.Cup to Leicester City at Derby County's Baseball Ground. A 6-1 defeat (including a hat-trick for Gary Lineker) was due in part to the fact that Albion goalkeeper, Paul Evans, was hit by a missile thrown from the crowd. After huge national publicity and a Football Association review the game was replayed behind closed doors at Highfield Road, Coventry with Albion losing by a far more respectable 1-0 scoreline.

Two years later, Albion now managed by Warnock's assistant, Brian Fidler reached Wembley in the F.A.Trophy Final. A goalless draw with Conference side Kidderminster Harriers was followed by a replay at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich where 15,685 (West Brom's largest crowd of the season!) saw Albion go down 2-1 with midfielder Paul Bancroft missing a late penalty and seeing a Paul Groves header ruled out.

For the 1987/88 season Albion reverted back to the Southern League. Managers came and went but none could deliver the long awaited first league championship the club craved. Former Everton and Derby defender John Barton delivered a cup double (Southern League Cup and Birmingham Senior Cup) in 1997 but he left the club in September 1998 after a disappointing start to the campaign to be replaced the following month by the most famous manager in the club's history.

Nigel Clough, son of the legendary Brian Clough and eventually the club's longest serving manager, came to Eton Park to cut his managerial teeth with former Forest colleague Gary Crosby as his assistant. Together they began to realise the undoubted potential of the club finishing runners-up in successive seasons (a club best ever finish) and delivering the Southern League Cup again in 2000.

Another geographical alignment of the feeder leagues saw Albion return to the Northern Premier (UniBond) League in 2001 but this time it was only a one season stay as Clough's team swept all before them winning the first league championship in the clubs 52 year history in style. A league record number of points were gained, over 100 goals scored and just 30 conceded as Albion at last achieved their goal of Conference football. There was even time for another run to the F.A.Trophy semi-finals where eventual winners Yeovil Town crushed dreams of an incredible double.

After three years in the Conference the Brewers moved to their third ground, the Pirelli Stadium. The Eton Park ground had served the club well but if the club was to continue its progress it was clear that newer facilities, capable of generating income away from matchdays were needed. Each season in the new ground has seen an improvement on the previous one with a 9th place finish in 2005/06, a 6th place finish, three points off the play-offs in 2006/07 and a fifth place finish along with a play-off semi-final (lost to Cambridge United 4-3 on aggregate) at the end of 2007/08.

Despite losing out in the play-offs not many people expected the Brewers to achieve automatic promotion the following season but with only minor changes to the squad, Clough led his side 13 points clear at the top before ending more than ten years at the Albion helm to take up an irresistible challenge at Derby County but with former Rams and England legend Roy McFarland brought in to see the job through, Albion finally celebrated their promotion to the Football League.