History of York City F.C. (1980–present)

York made their seventh re-election bid after 1980–81, before the club won its first and only league title after finishing first in the Fourth Division in 1983–84 with 101 points.

They beat Crewe Alexandra on penalties at Wembley Stadium in the play-off final in 1992–93, winning promotion back to the third tier of English football, now renamed as the Second Division.

[6] Former York player and club director Barry Swallow took over as caretaker manager in March 1982,[7] and several convincing home wins toward the end of the season[6] helped the team to 17th place.

[8] Denis Smith, who had played on loan from Stoke City the previous season, was appointed player-manager in May 1982, with Viv Busby as his assistant player-coach.

[18] In January 1985, York beat First Division team Arsenal 1–0 at home in the FA Cup fourth round, courtesy of a late penalty scored by Keith Houchen.

[23] After being unbeaten in the last nine matches,[23] they finished seventh in the table,[24] marking the fifth consecutive season in which York's end-of-season league placing improved.

[25] They reached the FA Cup fifth round for the second consecutive season, again drawing 1–1 at home to Liverpool, before losing 3–1 after extra time at Anfield.

[29] Only two players were under contract at the time of Saxton's arrival; his hastily arranged squad struggled from the start of 1987–88,[30] and only won their first match in late October 1987.

[38] In September 1990, York player David Longhurst collapsed and died after suffering heart failure during a home match against Lincoln City.

[43] York had won 2 of 11 matches by mid October 1991;[44] Bird was dismissed and was replaced in November by Aston Villa assistant manager John Ward.

[54] Wayne Hall scored the decisive penalty as York won promotion to the third tier,[55] now named the Second Division after the formation of the Premier League in 1992.

[71] A flurry of transfers, including the departure of leading scorer Richard Cresswell to Premier League club Sheffield Wednesday for a club-record fee of £950,000, followed.

[84] They reached the FA Cup third round for the second time since 1986,[25] but were beaten 3–0 by Premier League team Leicester City at Filbert Street.

[85] Record losses of £1,261,038 were reported in November 2001,[86] before Craig announced in December that the club and the ground had been put up for sale for £4.5 million.

[89] He pledged to give the Supporters' Trust (ST) two seats on the board[90] and announced a sponsorship deal with Persimmon that would see an undisclosed amount split between the club and his racing team.

[97] Persimmon, which had bought 10% of the shares in BCH,[98] submitted planning applications for 93 homes on the site of Bootham Crescent,[99] and Batchelor spoke of building York a new stadium at Clifton Moor.

[106] Batchelor had diverted almost all of the £400,000 Persimmon sponsorship money away from York to his racing team,[107] and his promise of having ST members on the board never materialised.

[113] The club's lease of Bootham Crescent was extended to May 2004, and plans proceeded to develop Huntington Stadium ahead of a possible move, but problems bringing the ground to Football League standards were encountered.

[123] In November 2004, Brass was dismissed after a home defeat to Forest Green Rovers,[124] which left York fourth from the bottom of the table.

[134] McGill's company JM Packaging made a proposal to the ST to become majority shareholders, and would lend the club £650,000 to cover the current losses and meet the loan repayments for the next five years.

[149] Under his replacement, former Port Vale manager Martin Foyle,[150] the team avoided relegation in the penultimate match of the season against Weymouth,[151] and they finished 17th in the table.

[158] They reached the FA Cup third round that season, and were beaten 3–1 by Premier League team Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

[166] York reached the FA Cup third round for the second consecutive year, and lost 2–0 to Premier League team Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.

[169] Playing a passing style of football but producing results when needed,[170] they earned 83 points that season—the second highest in the club's history.

[173] They then beat Newport County 2–0 at Wembley Stadium in the 2012 FA Trophy final, which was the first time the club had won a national knockout competition.

[174] A week later, they returned to Wembley Stadium for the play-off final, beating Luton Town 2–1, with goals from Ashley Chambers and Matty Blair.

[182] A number of influential signings in January 2014 helped York improve their form, and from early February they were unbeaten in 17 consecutive matches, conceding no goals from open play.

[195] This heralded the end of a four-year return in the Football League, and Dave Flett of The Press argued that McNamara would "always be held most accountable for the second-worst campaign, points wise, in the club's 94-year history".

[199][200] However, York were relegated to the National League North for the first time on the last day of the season, after a 2–2 home draw with Forest Green Rovers.

[211][212] York were promoted after defeating Boston United 2–0 in the play-off final to return to the fifth tier thanks to goals by Lenell John-Lewis and Maziyar Kouhyar.