A giant of Irish League football in more ways than one, Stephen Baxter’s imminent departure as Crusaders manager after 19 years at the helm marks the end of a long and successful era in the history of the club.
Regarded as one of the respected godfathers of Northern Ireland club football, mentioned in the same breath as the likes of David Jeffrey and Ronnie McFall, the announcement by the world’s longest-serving boss that he would step down from his post at the end of the season with one year of his contract to run was met with shock on Saturday.
Having taken charge of the Seaview outfit for more than 900 games and with a healthy collection of silverware to show for his efforts, Baxter has been more than just a manager.
The 58-year-old has been an ever-present mainstay for the north Belfast team, a consistent figurehead and a stabilising force who has been woven into the very fabric of the club and will be forever revered for restoring its fortunes.
For context, in terms of the impact Baxter has had, think Arsene Wenger and the influence he had at Premier League side Arsenal during his remarkable 22-year tenure.
Three Irish League titles, four Irish Cups, one Setanta Sports Cup, one League Cup and three County Antrim Shield successes bear testimony to Baxter’s ability and achievements.
Legendary status assured
Baxter had already enjoyed a notable playing career when he took over the managerial reins at Crusaders from Alan Dornan back in 2005.
His status as a legendary figure and a firm fans’ favourite for the Crues was already assured thanks to two fruitful spells as a striker with the club.
Among his memorable achievements in the black and red shirt was a hat-trick in a relegation play-off against Lisburn Distillery which ensured his team’s top-flight survival.
He was subsequently one of the key players in Crusaders’ successful ‘golden’ team of the 1990s, the tall forward winning two Irish League championships, a Gold Cup and a League Cup, and being awarded the individual accolade of Ulster Footballer of the Year for his contribution in the 1996-97 season.
Baxter also enjoyed a trophy-laden spell with Linfield, netting 102 goals in 219 appearances for the Blues, as well as turning out for Ards, Distillery and Glenavon.
In total, he scored 303 goals in 650 games during his career, before retiring and opening up a sports shop in Newtownards.
From the doldrums to trophy successes
Baxter’s long association with Crusaders was extended when he assumed the manager’s position with the club in the relative doldrums in 2005.
Their former player was initially unable to keep the club in the top division but then guided his charges to victory in the Intermediate League, Intermediate League Cup and Steel and Sons Cup in his first full season in charge.
Green shoots of recovery continued to show as a return to the top flight was followed by a sixth place finish in the 2006-07 campaign and then a first top-three finish for a decade in 2009, a season which also saw the Crues lift the Irish Cup for the first time in 41 years.
That triumph in Northern Ireland’s premier cup competition ended a 12-year wait for European football and would create the platform for further success.
A run to the final of the 2012 Setanta Sports Cup, a cross-border competition which pitted the best sides from the League of Ireland against the pick of Irish League clubs, culminated in a victory over Derry City at the Oval.
The Crues ran out 5-4 winners in a penalty shootout after the match ended 2-2 after extra-time, skipper Colin Coates having scored both goals for Baxter’s men against the Candystripes.
The League Cup also ended up in the Seaview trophy cabinet during that term to complete a memorable campaign for the club.
The league title is the most coveted piece of silverware in the domestic game however and the Gibson Cup was collected in successive seasons in 2015 and 2016, and then again after a one-year gap in 2018.
The Crues’ championship successes came hot on the heels of the league triumphs achieved by their north Belfast derby rivals Cliftonville in 2013 and 2014 as the balance of power in the capital transferred from the traditional hegemony enjoyed by the traditional ‘Big Two’, Linfield and Glentoran.
Crusaders’ 2015 league win was their first since 1997, the club’s superiority emphasised by a purple patch which saw them go unbeaten from December to April.
A successful defence made it back-to-back titles but the 2018 title race went right to the wire, the Crues coming out on top with a 2-1 win over Ballymena United on the final day of the season.
Despite struggling to make a consistent challenge for the league crown in subsequent years, there was still plenty for supporters to celebrate in the form of three Irish Cup wins in five years – 2019, 2022 and 2023, plus a third County Antrim Shield of Baxter’s tenure.
Continental competition
Getting the better of Ballinamallard in the 2019 showpiece cup decider ensured that Baxter led the Crues into European club competition for an eighth consecutive season and the ninth time in 10 years.
A glamour tie against Premier League Fulham in the Europa League play-offs in 2011 proved a major crowd-puller and in 2014 the Shore Road team ended an 18-year wait for a victory in a two-legged European tie, getting the better of FK Ekranas of Lithuania in the Europa League.
Another attractive tie with Bulgarian champions Ludogrets followed in the Champions League qualifiers on the back of their 2018 league success, while more English top flight opposition was provided by Wolves in the summer of 2019.
Full-time model trailblazers
In 2018 Baxter closed the shop he owned for 21 years to sign a five-year contract to become Crusaders’ full-time manager.
The move marked a major shift in the landscape of local football as the club entered previously unchartered territory, introducing a more full-time model, a route which other Irish League clubs would follow.
That more professional set-up was funded largely by the club’s regular European odysseys and was accompanied by the construction of the £1.2m McDonald Centre which provided a new gym, sports cafe and a cultural centre at Seaview.
All achievements that combine to make up the magnificent legacy of Stephen Baxter as Crusaders manager.
