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The club was formed when two Carlisle based teams, Shaddongate United and Carlisle Red Rose, merged in 1903. The newly formed club initially played at Milhome Bank and later at Devonshire Park, finally settling at their current home Brunton Park .
Carlisle were elected to the Football League Third Division (North) in 1928 replacing Durham City . Carlisle spent one season in the old First Division, the 1974-75 season. But by 1987 the club had been relegated back to the Fourth Division and spent just two of the next 17 league seasons outside the bottom division of the Football League.
Carlisle finished bottom of the last ever Fourth Division in season 1991-92 but was saved from demotion to the GM Vauxhall Conference because bankrupt Aldershot resigned from the league with just eight games to go. Carlisle won the Division Three championship in 1995 and a takeover by Michael Knighton gave the club hope for the future. But the 1995-96 season saw Carlisle slip back into Division Three, only for them to regain their Division Two status the following season and lose it again the season after that. Carlisle's league status was preserved on the last day of the 1998-99 season when an injury time winner by emergency goalkeeper Jimmy Glass saw Scarborough relegated to the Conference instead. The next two seasons saw Carlisle narrowly avoid relegation until they finished mid table in 2002. But Carlisle's luck finally ran out in 2003-04. Manager Roddy Collins was sacked after a terrible start to the season, and despite a transformation of form under new manager Paul Simpson the club lost its relegation battle on the penultimate day of the season and was relegated to the Nationwide Conference after 76 years as a league team.
Carlisle have since started the 2004-05 Conference season very well and are favourites to win the title and regain their league status at the first time of asking.
The club's honours include two Third Division Championship trophies in 1964- 1965 and 1994- 1995.
Due to the club's geographical location (Carisle is somewhat isolated in the far north-west of England, very close to the Scottish border) and their lack of recent success in England, the club is rumoured to be interested in joining the Scottish football league system. This suggestion has been vehemontly played down by both supporters and officials of the club, which is based in a city steeped in history dominated by a struggle to keep the town English.
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