Opposition Overview: FC Halifax Town
Chris Millington and his Solihull Moors team are facing an FC Halifax Town side led by their current Head Coach John McGrath at Damson Park in their latest game of the 2026/27 Enterprise National League season. A victory for The Moors would see them build momentum whilst also climbing up the fifth tier table.
The Shaymen, who are the former club of Premier League winner Jamie Vardy, find themselves around the midtable region of the league table, and they know that a win would see them make ground on those above them. Millington’s side will, of course, have ambitions to prevent their opponents from securing all three crucial points.
FC Halifax Town is, of course, a phoenix club. The original club was called Halifax Town Association Football Club, who were formed all the way back on 24th May 1911. Formed at the Saddle Hotel, they played their football in the Yorkshire Combination and the Midland League before then becoming one of the founding members of the Football League Third Division North in 1921.
They remained there until 1958, which was when there was a league restructuring, and subsequently they became members of the Football League Third Division.
We will now fast forward to the 1970/71 season; they finished third, which was one place below promotion from the Football League Third Division. However, then in 1971/72, they were only just able to avoid relegation, doing so on goal difference after Rotherham United had lost on the final day of the season against Tranmere Rovers. However, in 1976, they were relegated down to Division Four.
Then in 1993, they were relegated once again, this time to the Football Conference ahead of the following season, the 1993/94 campaign.
In 1996/97, they avoided relegation under returning boss George Mullhall, which came after they had a few poor seasons and some financial problems. Then in the 1997/98 season, they had a superb campaign, winning the league title with the likes of Jamie Paterson, Mark Bradshaw, and Lee Martin in the squad.
Their top goalscorer was Geoff Horsfield, who was able to find the back of the net on several occasions, with him scoring as many as 30 goals in the end.
Chris Wilder was the boss when the club found themselves in the Conference again in the 2001/02 season, and in their first season back, they finished in 8th place. In 2005/06, they finished in 4th, but could not get promotion by losing to Hereford United in the Conference League Play-Off Final.
Fast forward to 2007, The Shaymen found themselves in financial trouble again and were placed into administration by a local consortium. And, despite being deducted 10 points, they still survived relegation. They were still wound up after an appeal.
Then in May 2008, things got worse for Halifax when they, following a major error, owed more than £800,000 to HMRC, with the club now more than £2 million in the red. They would cease to exist.
It was also in 2008 that the phoenix club, FC Halifax Town, was formed who Solihull Moors will soon be facing once more. They were accepted to play in the Northern Premier League Division One North for the 2008/09 season.
Neil Aspin was appointed manager in April 2009, and in his first season in charge, 2009/10, they had what turned out to be a very successful campaign, winning the league after amassing 100 points whilst scoring as many as 108 goals as a team in the process.
In the 2010/11 season, they found themselves in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English Football. This was the season when they signed Leicester City legend and former England international Jamie Vardy. They got automatic promotion to the Conference North after beating Retford United 2 – 0, also securing them the league title.
Vardy then left for Fleetwood Town in the early stages of the 2011/12 season, finishing third before then losing in the playoffs to Gainsborough Trinity 3 – 2 on aggregate.
Promotion to the National League was sealed in 2012/13 when, after finishing in 5th place, they beat local side Guiseley 3 – 1 on aggregate in the playoff semi-finals before then going on to get the better of Brackley Town in the final, with the solitary goal to win the game 1 – 0 coming from striker Lee Gregory.
The fifth tier was now, and still is, the highest level that FC Halifax Town has ever been, and in their first season at this level, they got all the way to the promotion playoffs semi-final, where they would lose 2 – 1 to Cambridge United.
Fast forward to 2015/16, and it saw them get relegated down to the sixth tier despite the best efforts of former North Ferriby United manager Billy Heath. They were able to make an immediate return to the National League after a third place finish in 2016/17, beating Chorley 2 – 1 after extra time in the final, after having beaten Salford City 3 – 0 on penalties in the semi-finals after the scoreline was level at 1 – 1 after extra time.
It was in 2018 when FC Halifax Town became full time, with Pete Wild taking over from former boss Jamie Fullarton. They lost out in the playoffs semi finals 2 – 1 to Boreham Wood in 2018/19 before a 10th place finish the following season.
The 2021/22 season was a great one for Halifax, who were able to achieve their highest ever position in the English Football Pyramid since their formation back in May 2008. They were able to finish in 4th place, getting into the playoffs where they lost 2 – 1 at home to Chesterfield. Shortly after, Pete Wild left the club for League Two side Barrow, with Wild being replaced by the current Solihull Moors boss Chris Millington.
The club reached the National League playoffs again in the 2023/24 season when they finished in 7th place, losing 4 – 2 to the aforementioned Solihull Moors. They were then eliminated again the next season, this time losing 4 – 0 to Oldham Athletic in 2024/25.
Then in June 2025, Adam Lakeland took charge as their new manager before then leaving back in April 2026, when he took charge of Morecambe after finishing in 8th place. Current boss John McGrath was then announced as his successor in May 2026.
In 2026/27, McGrath’s Shaymen will be hoping to finish in the top half, and maybe finish in the playoffs once again.
In the opposition dugout – John McGrath
Current Halifax boss John McGrath has been in charge ever since he took over back on 19th May 2026, replacing Adam Lakeland in the Shaymen dugout. Before joining the team, he was in charge of National League club Buxton, where he was in charge for two years between May 2024 and May 2026, when he left for FC Halifax Town.
Before that stint with Buxton, he was in charge of Mickleover, which was his first job in senior club management. He was with them for as many as 8 years, from 2016 to 2024, when he left for the aforementioned Buxton FC.
McGrath also had a playing career that lasted for more than 20 years, 21 years to be exact, from 2001 to 2022. He represented the likes of Aston Villa (2001 - 2003), Dagenham & Redbridge (Loan, 2002 - 2003), Doncaster Rovers (2003 - 2005), Shrewsbury Town (Loan, 2004), Kidderminster Harriers (2005), Limerick (2005), Weymouth (2006), Tamworth (2006 - 2007), Burton Albion (2007 - 2013), York City (Loan, 2013), Alfreton Town (2013 - 2014), and finally the aforementioned Mickleover from 2015 to his retirement in 2022.
Key Player – Zak Gilsenan
Halifax’s key player is arguably wide forward Zak Gilsenan, with the 23 year old being their joint top goal scorer this season so far with 3, tied with Ben Tollitt. Gilsenan is a new signing for The Shaymen, having joined from Grimsby Town back on 6th July 2026, signing a one year deal with an option of an additional year.
Other clubs that Gilsenan has played for include the likes of Blackburn Rovers (2023 - 2025), the aforementioned Grimsby Town (2025 - 2026), Buxton (Loan, 2026), Gateshead (Loan, 2026), and, of course, current club Halifax Town, from July 2026.
Gilsenan has also spent time as a youth player for the likes of Carramar Cougars, Sorrento (leaving in 2011), Perth Glory (2011 - 2012), FC Barcelona (2012 – 2014), Liverpool (2014 - 2019), and finally Blackburn in 2019, being promoted to their senior team back in 2023.
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