Supporters of most football clubs think they have it tough. Supporters of Bangor Football Club have every right to feel particularly hard done by.
The Northern Irish side are currently celebrating their 100th year but it has been a turbulent recent history for the Seasiders.
Bangor, based a dozen miles outside of Belfast, have been an established Irish League side for much of their existence. Their peak came in the 1990s when they finished runners-up in the Premier League and lifted the Irish Cup. That saw Bangor twice compete in Europe against Sigma Olomouc and Apoel Nicosia.
While Apoel Nicosia have been competing in the European Champions League, the direction of travel for both Bangor has been vastly different. For the Seasiders, they were relegated from the top flight into the First Division in 1996 and they have never really recovered. A restructure of Irish League football presented Bangor with a season back in the top flight competing against sides like Linfield and Glentoran – but it was short lived. The then board of directors, charged with running the club and looking after its best interests decided midway through the season that they could not renew the club’s domestic licence – a prerequisite for playing in the top flight – and Bangor retook their place in the second tier.
For many, self-relegation is unheard of. For Bangor fans, this was only the first occurrence.
Having just missed out on promotion in 2015 on a penalty shootout, the following season saw the club again decide that they would not be applying for the necessary licence to stay in the second tier.
If the first relegation was met with dismay by supporters and players, the second was received with outright anger.
Off the field turmoil reflected performances on the pitch with a young Bangor side relegated out of Irish League football for the first time in their history in 2017. The club had gone from a penalty kick away from Premier League football to regional football in two seasons. The end seemed nigh after 99 years.
But where their is life their is hope. Wholesale changes in the boardroom last summer saw seven lifelong Bangor supporters take over the running of the club as they embarked on a life in regional football – the Ballymena and Provincial Intermediate League.
Bangor, under the guidance of the newly appointed manager Hugh Sinclair, missed out on promotion back to the Irish League structure by one point last season. This season, the Seasiders have a point to prove.
