"Phoenix club"

I never heard the term before this week, but apparently it's accepted footballing terminology. What I'm trying to find out is how old the term is. Does it predate WPFC?

Probably predates WPFC. 'Phoenix Company' is a commonly recognised term referring to a new company which has a similar name to a failed company which carried on the same business as the new company. It's probably just a related word/phrase to that. 

Cardiac rehabilitation and support through exercises, badminton, table tennis, swimming and tramping.

Secretary: George Sutherland.

Fax: (03) 467 5999

• Address: 18 Grendon Street, Maori Hill, Dunedin
• Area: All of Otago
• Phone: (03) 467 5999

Wiki - Had to look it up:

The term phoenix club is one used in professional team sports to refer to a new parent company that is set up to replace the parent company of a club that has failed in business terms but not in sporting terms, ideally while maintaining the continuity of the sporting activity.[1][2] In some cases, the phoenix club is created by the supporters of the club which has ended (or appears to be on the point of ending). A phoenix club will often have the same or similar name, logo and playing uniform to the original club. The term is particularly prevalent in the United Kingdom in relation to association football, though it is also used in other countries.

The term is also occasionally used to refer to a club formed by disgruntled supporters of a major team when a change of ownership or policy causes them to lose faith in the management of their favoured side (as happened in 2005 when FC United of Manchesterwas formed by fans of Manchester United as a protest at the sale of the latter to Malcolm Glazer).[3] although their status as such may disputed if the original club is still in existence at the time.

The term is taken from the mythical phoenix bird, which is said to resurrect itself from its own ashes. In the Australia-New Zealand A-League the demise of the sole New Zealand team, New Zealand Knights FC, resulted in the newly created club actually calling itself the Phoenix, albeit that the club moved a different city, Wellington.

In some cases, phoenix clubs will retain the name of the club which they replaced, implying a continuation from the former team. In other cases, name changes occur, perhaps due to proprietorial ownership existing on the old club's name.

Which is funny because technically speaking the Nix aren't a "phoenix club", by that definition.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldershot_Town_F.C.

Wellington Phoenix Franchise Club-ish