Carlisle: four wins and a draw so far

Carlisle blew up on the home straight last year and will be determined to put that right this season.

The Cumbrians enjoyed a fine season under John Ward and seemed set to return to the second tier of English football for the first time since the eighties until a late blip saw Nottingham Forest usurp them for automatic promotion. They then lost to Leeds in the play-offs despite winning at Elland Road in the first leg and their dream was ended.

The summer sales of Kieren Westwood and Joe Garner left supporters worried whether United would be able to mount another promotion campaign with the likes of Leicester and Leeds earmarked as favourites. However, Ward has held on to the majority of his squad from last season ad Danny Graham is firing on all cylinders to leave Carlisle sitting pretty in second place.

Ward hasn't panicked throughout the transfer window and despite calls from supporters to splash the cash; he has stuck to his guns and maintained the nucleus of last term instead. "The strength of the squad is apparent at the moment," he said after a run of four wins and a draw from five games. "We only have Chris Lumsdon injured. It's a reason why I didnt have to jump into the transfer market. I didnt feel it was necessary at the moment."

The form of Danny Graham, Simon Hackney and Cleveland Taylor will be vital if the Blues are to finally succeed and reach the Championship as is the ability of the club to hang on to them in January. If they can hold on to their stars then there is no reason to suspect that Carlisle won't be in and around the top six once more.

Transfers In

Richard Keogh (Bristol City/undisclosed)
Michael Bridges (Hull City/loan)

Ben Williams (Crewe/Free)
Josh Gowling (Bournemouth/Free)

Transfers Out

Kieren Westwood (Coventry City/£500,000)
Joe Garner (Nottingham Forest/£1.14m)

Paul Arnison (Bradford/Free)

A Brief History of Carlisle United FC

Carlisle were elected to the Football League Third Division North in 1928 replacing Durham City and their first title came in 1965 when the lifted the old Division Three (League One) crown. However, their most famous campaign came in 1974-75, which was their solitary season in the top flight.
By 1987 the club had turned full circle and were back in the bottom tier of English football once more and finished second from bottom only avoiding the drop to the conference as Newport County slid into the Blue Square Premier League.

It hadn't got any better by 1992 as they finished bottom of the table but Aldershots demise saved the Cumbrians who lived to fight another day. Michael Knighton ambitiously stated he would bring Premier League football to Carlisle by 2003 as part of a ten-year plan and it started promisingly with the Division Three (League Two) title in the bag in 1995 as well as losing in the Auto Windscreens final to Birmingham City.

Immediate relegation was followed by another promotion campaign, which included success in the Auto Windscreens Final in 1997 against Colchester.

They were relegated again in 1998 before famously avoiding the drop in 1999. Needing to beat Plymouth to survive they were locked at 1-1 until four minutes into stoppage time goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scored from a corner to secure their league status.

They avoided the drop once again the following season as Chester dropped out and the pattern continued until 2004 when they were finally relegated. Paul Simpson guided them back to the Football League at the first tie of asking via the play-offs in the Blue Square Premier and they went on to lift the League Two title 12 months later.

Finishes of eighth and fourth have been backed by a big rise in average attendances at Carlisle and the Blues seem set for a brighter future.

Did you know? In 1998, Chairman Michael Knighton sacked manager Mervyn Day after six games and installed himself as manager! However, the move ended in failure as Carlisle were relegated.