Northern League Division 1 South Opponents
Club
Alvechurch
Basford United
Bedworth United
Belper Town
Carlton Town
Chasetown
Cleethorpes Town
Corby Town
Gresley
Ilkeston
Kidsgrove Athletic
Leek Town
Lincoln United
Loughborough Dynamo
Market Drayton Town
Newcastle Town
Romulus
Sheffield
Spalding United
Stamford Town
Stocksbridge Park Steels
Average
Peterborough Sports
2016/17
Ave Att
138
172
173
243
109
164
200
473
238
298
160
244
149
120
119
125
105
230
167
285
118
201
95
Twitter
Followers
4871
3801
713
5509
2603
5684
6833
8998
5682
9820
4608
6832
3752
3892
3877
5241
3517
14400
3637
4310
4819
5400
1503
Post Code
B48 7RS
NG6 0LD
CV12 8NN
DE56 1BA
NG4 2QS
WS7 3QL
DN37 0AG
NN17 2LJ
DE11 9RE
DE7 8JF
ST7 1DH
ST13 8LD
LN6 0DY
LE11 3YE
TF9 3SL
ST5 3BX
B72 1NL
S18 2GD
PE11 1DA
PE9 1US
S36 2AN
PE1 3HA
Miles from
PSL
94.1
65.3
67.3
81.5
57.9
94.6
78.3
27.4
67.0
68.6
112.9
109.0
64.7
52.3
128.7
124.3
83.8
90.7
18.4
15.5
108.4
80.16
Time
(From AA)
1:45
1:25
1:21
1:52
1:12
1:44
1:56
0:41
1:39
1:34
2:19
2:23
1:13
1:15
2:26
2:12
1:41
1:51
0:31
0:25
1:55
1:38.7
Seats
?
?
300
500
164
?
?
577
?
?
2000
?
?
75
?
300
?
250
1000
250
450
Standing
Capacity
?
?
3000
2650
1500
2000
?
3893
2400
3029
?
3600
2200
1500
1000
4000
2000
2089
3500
2000
3500
168
2100
Northern League Division 1 South League Table 2016/17
#
Team
Pl
HW
HD
HL
AW
AD
AL
W
D
L
F
A
Diff
Pts
Adj
1.
Shaw Lane AFC
42
18
3
0
14
3
4
32
6
4
104
36
68
102
0
2.
Witton Albion
42
16
4
1
15
2
4
31
6
5
100
41
59
96
-3
3.
Spalding United
42
11
4
6
13
3
5
24
7
11
74
42
32
79
0
4.
Stocksbridge Park Steels
42
11
3
7
11
4
6
22
7
13
67
50
17
73
0
5.
AFC Rushden and Diamonds
42
8
8
5
12
3
6
20
11
11
73
52
21
71
0
6.
Basford United
42
15
4
2
5
9
7
20
13
9
78
53
25
70
-3
7.
Newcastle Town
42
14
2
5
7
2
12
21
4
17
59
59
0
67
0
8.
Lincoln United
42
11
2
8
8
6
7
19
8
15
67
61
6
65
0
9.
Leek Town
42
10
5
6
8
5
8
18
10
14
63
63
0
64
0
10.
Belper Town
42
7
8
6
8
5
8
15
13
14
55
55
0
58
0
11.
Bedworth United
42
8
5
8
7
7
7
15
12
15
73
72
1
57
0
12.
Kidsgrove Athletic
42
9
2
10
7
5
9
16
7
19
72
66
6
55
0
13.
Romulus
42
8
5
8
6
4
11
14
9
19
65
75
-10
51
0
14.
Market Drayton Town
42
11
1
9
5
1
15
16
2
24
60
93
-33
50
0
15.
Sheffield FC
42
8
3
10
5
6
10
13
9
20
62
60
2
48
0
16.
Stamford
42
7
5
9
6
4
11
13
9
20
62
80
-18
48
0
17.
Chasetown
42
7
5
9
6
3
12
13
8
21
64
75
-11
47
0
18.
Gresley FC
42
7
4
10
5
5
11
12
9
21
56
83
-27
45
0
19.
Carlton Town
42
6
8
7
4
4
13
10
12
20
48
68
-20
42
0
20.
Loughborough Dynamo
42
6
3
12
4
1
16
10
4
28
45
94
-49
34
0
21.
Rugby Town
42
3
3
15
5
3
13
8
6
28
44
77
-33
30
0
22.
Northwich Victoria
42
4
5
12
4
7
10
8
12
22
53
89
-36
26
-10
Club Histories
Alvechurch
The earliest mention of a Football Club in Alvechurch dates back to 1913 when a team called
Alvechurch Juniors was recorded. By the 1920s, the team were known as Alvechurch Swifts and
were playing football on Crown Meadow and using the Red Lion Inn as their headquarters. They
were a successful team winning the Redditch Cup and Shield in 1924.
1926 brought the General Strike followed by the depression. The club folded until late in 1929 when
a team of young players, resurrected the Alvechurch Juniors name. To be called juniors the average
age of the players had to be less than 21. The Meadows at the end of Meadow Lane, had been
donated to the village by Col. Wiggins, making an ideal venue for the team. The team played
successfully in the Redditch League until 1939, but was disbanded following the outbreak of war.
It took a little while after the war for Alvechurch Football Club to re-establish itself. Several village
lads, after demobilisation, went to work at H.D.A. and joined the factory football team, which was a
successful club playing in top class amateur football. When the village team was revived it attracted
a number of these players. By 1948 a strong football committee had formed chaired by Major
Border, with an excellent hard working secretary/groundsman in Frank Bullock and an equally
excellent treasurer in George Louch. The president was Harold Norton, a gentleman whose word
was his bond and gave support by attending matches and providing team strips.
The club became the hub of village life and a supporters club was formed under the chairmanship of
Tom Atkins. The majority of the committee members were ladies, who organised social events such
as the Christmas Whist Drive and on one occasion a Carnival with Roy Court and Angela Teague as
the Prince and Princess.
The club prospered from the funds raised by these events. Few village clubs at the time could own
and use three different coloured strips in a season and what is more to have a committee who
ensured that the kit was washed after each match. The level of support for Alvechurch F.C. was such
that for a needle match against Feckenham, six coach loads of supporters travelled from the village.
During this successful period matches were still being played at the Meadows, but as this venue
belonged to the village no admission charge could be made. A box would be passed round hoping for
donations to the club, so when the opportunity arose to move to a new ground at the Guants, the
club took the decision to do so. This was a field situated below the Church, off Snake Lane. Hence it
was possible to make an admission charge, but when the land was required for building houses a
further move was necessary. Mr Philip Palmer sold the field adjoining his house on Redditch Road to
the club for £1,000. As a result of determined fund raising, the club was able to raise this sum in five
years, this providing a permanent home – Lye Meadow.
In 1955 the club achieved a rare accolade from the “Birmingham Sports Argus” newspaper when it
was voted “ in the top ten in the midlands”.
Junior League Clubs, never mind a Worcestershire village team, were rarely given that kind of
coverage at the time, if at all.
Lye Meadow - The Glory Years
The move to Lye Meadow in 1957 was the turning point in the clubs history and it began to go from
strength to strength. Alvechurch finished runners-up in the West Midlands Alliance League In 1961
under the guidance of Rhys Davies they joined the Worcestershire Football (now Midland)
Combination and claimed their first league title the following year. In twelve seasons they won the
championship four times and were runners-up on five other occasions. They also claimed the League
Challenge Cup five times and were runners-up twice in this period.
The club captured the imagination and enthusiasm of the Midlands in the mid-sixties with the team’s
giant-killing runs in the FA Amateur Cup. In the 1964/65 season Alvechurch were the first side in the
history of the Worcestershire FA to reach the quarter finals, before losing 3-1 at home to Enfield
before an estimated crowd of 16,000. The following season they were one step from Wembley,
reaching the semi final, played at Chelseas Stamford Bridge before losing 1-0 to Wealdstone in front
of a 14,225 gate.
In their second year in the FA Cup Church reached the first round proper in 1971/72 after the 11
hour, 6 match marathon in the Fourth Qualifying Round against Oxford City. This tie is now recorded
in the Guinness Book of Records. However Alvechurch then went down 4-2 to Aldershot in the first
round proper, in a match that was the 12th in 3 weeks for some of the team.
In 1972/73 Church became the first amateur side to ever win the Worcestershire Senior Cup –
retaining it the following year. In 1973/74 was, in fact the most successful season in the clubs
history. Joining the West Midlands (Regional) League, the club won the Premier Division
Championship, the League Challenge Cup, the Birmingham Senior Amateur Cup and the
Worcestershire Senior Cup. In the FA Cup Church reached the Third Round Proper, going down 4-2 at
Bradford City after beating Exeter City at St James Park in the First Round Proper.
In 1974/75, again Alvechurch achieved the West Midlands League and Cup double, despite losing
five players, but were beaten in the final of the Worcestershire Senior Cup by a single goal.
In 1975/76 the club completed a hat trick of League Championships and also won the Border
Counties Floodlit League.
In 1976/77 saw Church win the League Championship a fourth consecutive time and this was the
year the Worcestershire Senior Cup and the Border Counties Challenge Cup returned to Lye
Meadow.
The club gained entry into the Southern League for the 1978/79 season and as the only true village
club playing in the league finished in a creditable third position.
1980/81 saw another milestone for Alvechurch with the winning of the Midland Division and the
Championship of the Southern League having beaten Southern Division Champions Dartford in the
two legged final.
The 1981/82 season produced a seesaw battle to retain the League Championship but Nuneaton
finished the stronger to push Alvechurch into the runners-up position. During that season Alan Smith
gained international honours when representing the England Non-league team and subsequently
joined Leicester City. He then joined Arsenal for £800,000 where he gained full international honours
playing for England.
It was back to success in the 1982/83 season when having gaining promotion to the Southern League
Premier Division, the club won the Southern League Cup following a 7-2 aggregate win against
Waterlooville. The club achieved it’s highest Southern Premier league finish in 1985/86, finishing
4th.
The Decline
Following the demise of benefactor Philip Palmer and the president Alan Wiseman, the club were
relegated to the Midland Division of the Southern league at the end of the 1989/90 season, and
there began a gradual decline. Geoff Turton of the Rockin’ Berries pop group stepped in to keep the
club alive aided by the sale of Andy Comyn to Aston Villa for a club record fee of £30,000
At the end of the 1991/92 season, the club were relegated to the WMRL Premier Division. Financial
speculators gained control of the club in 1992 resulting in closure the following November 1993.
The Resurrection
In 1994 a dedicated band of supporters resurrected the club as Alvechurch Villa, rebuilding the
seated stand and refurbishing the clubhouse to gain admission to the Midland Combination Premier
Division, finishing in fifth position in the league and beaten finalists in the Smedley Crook Cup. The
team went onto reach the League Cup Final the following season, only to lose out to League
Champions Bloxwich Town.
In 1996 the club reverted back to its original name and became simply, Alvechurch F.C.
The next few seasons were a struggle but the 2000/01 season ended with clubs first trophy since
being reformed, when the Smedley Crook Cup was won.
Season 2001/02 introduced the management duo of Andy Hibbert and Neil Bryan, after a
management and player exodus. The club struggled through the season, just escaping relegation
finishing 20th. The board kept faith however and season 2002/03 witnessed Church’s best season in
20 years with the League and Cup double, winning the Midland Combination Premier League and
Challenge Cup, a feat last completed in 1971/72. At the end of the season, Church where promoted
into the Midland Football Alliance.
The MFA years
In season 2003/04 the Worcestershire Senior Urn was won for the first time and then retained the
following season.
Season 2006/07 brought further success when the Worcester Infirmary Cup came to Lye Meadow
for the first time, which was then retained the following year 2007/08.
A double success was achieved that season with The Worcestershire Senior Urn returning to Lye
Meadow for the third time.
In season 2009/10 Church reached their highest league position since reforming by finishing 7th in
the Midland Football Alliance. In the cup the Worcestershire Senior Urn was won for the 4th time of
asking and the final of the Birmingham Senior Cup was reached, falling to a stoppage time winner
against Nuneaton Town.
Season 2010/11 proved to be a tumultuous one – with three sets of managers running the first team
throughout the campaign. Church’s lowest MRA finish resulted in a run of poor results leading up to
the end of the season could have seen the club in relegation trouble – but just enough points had
been secured in the first half of the campaign proved sufficient to maintain league status.
2011/12 saw a new management team in place, with Graham Scott/ Vaughan Pearshouse taking
over the hot seat. Finishing 13th, they reached the final of the Worcester Senior Urn, where they lost
3-2 to Bewdley Town.
2012/13 the club finished 11th, following the appointment of Dean Holtham as manager in
September, and won the Worcester Senior Urn, defeating Pershore Town on penalties after drawing
1-1 after 90.
2013/14, the club finished 13th, after their best ever start to a MFA campaign and reached the 3rd
round proper of the FA Vase before going out 1-0 to Westfields. The season also saw Dean Holtham
leaving in early November, being replaced by Ross Thorpe as manager.
A new beginning - The MFL
2014/15 saw the Midland Football Alliance and Midland Combination Leagues merge into the newly
formed, Midland Football League, with Alvechurch playing in the Premier Division. Ross Thorpe was
replaced at the end of August by new manager, Lee Adams, who himself was replaced by his
assistant Lee Knight in January 2015. The club finished a disappointing 15th.
2015/16 started with yet another new management team in place, with former Tividale, title
winning management team of Ian Long and his assistant, Richard Colwell taking charge and bringing
most of their squad with them from Tividale. The club amassed a record 101 points and 99 goals
scored, finishing runners-up to phoenix club, Hereford F.C. The club also won the Worcester Senior
Urn, beating Bromsgrove Sporting 3-0 in the final.
2016/17 saw the club finally win the Midland Football League Premier Division, beating Coleshill
Town by six points with 92 points. They have also reached the Polymac Packaging League Cup Final
where they will play Hinckley AFC at Walsall F.C. in the final and are in line for a historic treble when
they take on Wednesfield in the final of the J.W. Hunt Cup at Molineux.
Basford United
Please note, “Basford” is pronounced as “Baseford” - the “e” disappeared from the spelling
sometime around the fifteenth century!
Basford United have made their mark on the Non-League football scene with successive promotions
that have seen them make a rapid transition from Notts Senior League to Step Four football in the
Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division One South. One of Nottingham’s oldest established
football clubs, with a history stretching back to 1900, Basford’s fortunes were at a low ebb when in
2004, they dropped out of the County Premier League for the first time, after a couple of poor
seasons coincided with a reorganisation of Notts senior football.
New ideas and enthusiasm saw the club win the Notts Amateur Alliance in 2006 and move into the
Notts Senior League. In five years in the Senior League, Basford never finished below fifth, and in
2011 the club entered the national league system by joining the Step 7 Central Midlands League
South Division.
The stay in the Central Midlands League was short as the team won the league and Floodlit Cup in
their first season to earn promotion to the Step 6 East Midlands Counties League. Basford stormed
through the EMCL, winning the league at their first attempt with a record points total and becoming
the first club to do the league and cup double.
Whilst in the EMCL, Basford also entered the FA Vase for the first time, reaching the Second Round
where they went down 5-3 away to AFC Rushden & Diamonds in front of a near 600 crowd. Success
in the EMCL saw the club promoted to Step 5 for 2013-14. Their debut at that level in the Northern
Counties East League Premier Division saw a creditable fifth place finish in a season that also saw
Basford’s return to the FA Cup after a long absence.
Basford were then moved sideways into the newly formed Midland Football League Premier Division
for 2014-15, a move the club took in its stride, winning the league, which earned them promotion
into the Evo-Stick Northern Premier League for season 2015-16, which was the sixth successive
season that the club have played in a new league, surely some sort of record.
They proved more than equal to the challenge by finishing their first NPL season in fourth place,
losing to eventual promotion winners Coalville Town in the play-offs. Some consolation was gained
by winning the Notts FA Senior Cup for the second successive season. To keep pace with the team’s
progress on the field, extensive ground redevelopment has been carried out. New floodlights were
installed in November 2011 and a new dressing room complex was opened two years later. A
refurbished clubhouse and additional spectator facilities have been added.
In November 2013 the club was announced as one of eight recipients nationally of a £50,000 grant
as part of the Budweiser Club Futures programme, which helped the club review its electricity setup
and install an irrigation system to recycle rainwater.
Season 2016-17 saw the opening of the club’s new 3G pitch, an initiative that will open up the
Greenwich Avenue ground for wide community use.
Founded in 1900 at the Old Pear Tree Inn, Basford, the club quickly became a power in Notts
football, and in 1905 were approached by the Football League with a view to joining the League’s
Second Division. The invitation was declined, which paved the way for a newly formed London club
to enter the League without previously having played a game - Chelsea.
For much of its history, Basford United played in the Notts Alliance, which was until 2004 the county
premier league. Between 1905 and 1921, thirteen seasons allowing for the war time break, the club
were champions three times and runners up five times.
Basford won the Notts Alliance Cup on two occasions -1915 and 1939, both times just prior to the
war-time suspension of football. In 1989 they again reached the Alliance Cup final, but lost, much to
the relief of those who believed that history always repeats itself.
The club have won the Notts FA Senior Cup four times, first time in 1947 and then in 1988 with a
team that included some legendary players in Nottinghamshire football. In addition to the first team
winning the Notts Senior Cup in 2016, Basford’s under 21 side won the Notts FA Junior Cup,
testament to strength in depth.
The club also has a thriving youth section, which has produced a number of players who now feature
in the first team. The most recent player to move into the professional ranks is Kirmani Smith, who
signed a contract with Sheffield United in July 2016, other players who have joined Football League
clubs in recent years include Blair Anderson (Crawley Town) and Colby Bishop (Notts County).
Basford United started life playing on the Dolly Tub pitch, now a housing estate, but in 1903 they
moved to the Catchems Corner ground, so called because of its proximity to the railway station and
tram and bus terminus. Housing development saw the club move off there in 1930, moving to
Vernon Avenue, before they moved to Mill Street in 1935, a ground that was to become part of
Nottingham football history, for its unique atmosphere and its hosting of local cup finals and
representative games.
In 1990 the much loved ground was lost to housing and the club made the short hop to its current
ground, the official title of which is Mill Street Playing Field but which is actually situated on
Greenwich Avenue, Basford. Wallace Brownlow became Basford United club secretary in 1907, a
position he held until his death in 1970.
Former Basford players who have gone on to play professionally include Bert Bowery (Nottingham
Forest), Chris Freestone (Middlesbrough, Northampton, Hartlepool) who returned to Basford in 2013
as assistant manager, Will Hoskins (Brighton), Shaun Derry (Notts County, Sheffield Utd, Leeds Utd,
QPR, now manager of Cambridge United) and Paul Cox (Notts County, now manager of Barrow).
Basford United Honours List
Midland Football League Premier Division Champions 2015
East Midlands Counties Football League Champions 2013
East Midlands Counties Football League Cup Winners 2013
Central Midlands Football League South Champions 2012
Central Midlands Football League Floodlit Cup Winners 2012
Notts FA Senior Cup Winners 1947, 1988, 2015, 2016
Notts FA Intermediate Cup Winners 2006
Notts FA Junior Cup Winners 2016, Runners Up 1906
Notts Senior League Runners Up 2010, 2011
Notts Senior League Junior Cup finalists 2008
Notts Amateur Alliance Champions 2006
Notts Football Alliance Champions 1905, 1907, 1920
Runners Up 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913, 1921
Notts Football Alliance Division One Champions 1998
Runners Up 1972, 1985, 1994
Notts Football Alliance Cup Winners 1915, 1939
Finalists 1989
Notts Combination Football League Champions 1904
Runners Up 1903
Notts Amateur League Runners Up 1946
Bedworth Town
The first Bedworth Town football club was formed in 1895 when several matches were played
against other local teams. They became founder members of the Nuneaton and District League in
1898 but by 1900 the club had disbanded.
Another team, Bedworth Evening Combination School, became forerunners of the second Bedworth
Town club five years later in 1905. Finishing runners up in the Second Division of the Coventry and
North Warwickshire League in the 1904-05 season, the ECS changed their name to Bedworth Town
on winning promotion and stayed in existence until the early 1920s. During that time, the town
fielded a fine player in Jack 'Sandy' Sheldon who later played for Manchester United, Liverpool and
Luton Town.
A third club came on the scene in 1925, when Collycroft United, formed in 1916, became the third
team to name themselves Bedworth Town. This was the most successful of the pre-war clubs, they
were members of the Coventry and North Warwickshire League and spent one season in 1936-37 in
the Central Amateur League. The last club to become Bedworth Town was formed in 1947, and as a
semi-professional club, secured membership of the Birmingham Combination and soon hit the
headlines. They won the championship in successive seasons - 1948-49 and 1949-50 seasons - and in
the 1949-50 season were also defeated in the final of the Birmingham Senior Cup.
For season 1954-55, Bedworth joined the Birmingham League and they qualified for the Northern
Section for the league’s inaugural First Division. The Birmingham League was re-named the West
Midlands League in 1962, but lack of success and problems off the field saw Bedworth Town change
their name to Bedworth United in 1968. In 1972 they obtained membership for the Southern League
Division One North. In their first season they finished bottom, but this was only to be a setback as
they made rapid strides into the Premier Division when the league was re-formed in 1982.
In the Premier Division, they finished 5th in 1982-83 season, and were stable in this league until a
poor run saw them relegated at the end of the 1988-89 season.
On February 23rd 1982, the non-league world was staggered when a crowd of 5,172 - then a record
for the Southern League in its new form - turned up at their Oval ground to watch them beat
Nuneaton Borough 1-0 to go top of the league. After becoming Bedworth United, they won the
Birmingham Senior Cup on three occasions in the 1980s and were beaten finalists to West Bromwich
Albion in the 1987-88 season.
Bedworth United were relegated to the Southern League Midland Division in 1988-89 season until
the appointment of St Lucia-born Brendan Phillips as manager in 1990 launched a revival in the
clubʼs fortunes. From 1990 to 1997, the Greenbacks pushed for promotion back to the Southern
League’s top flight and enjoyed a top six finish in four of the next five seasons. Phillips was tempted
to move to Stafford Rangers during the 1992-93 season but progress was continued under the helm
of former Notts County midfielder Dean Thomas.
Unfortunately, achieving the heady heights of a third place finish in the 1995-96 season, the club
overstretched itself financially - and they faced possible closure until a group of die-hards acted to
keep the club alive. After that, the Greenbacks occupied a bottom half finish for 14 seasons until the
appointment In May, 2011, of a bright, forward-thinking management team led by Steve Farmer,
assistant Adam Cooper, and the experienced Ian Roper on the field. In his first season, Farmer - at 31
the youngest manager in the club’s history - led them to their first promotion in their 65-year semiprofessional history.
After finishing in a highly-creditable third place, they won promotion after beating Uxbridge 2-1 in a
semi-final play-off, and defeating Beaconsfield SYCOB 3-1 in the final. Sadly, the fledgling manager
showed his inexperience by changing his promotion-winning team from the start and it culminated
in the club lasting just one season back in the Southern League Premier Division as they finished in
21st place and went down on goal difference
2013-14 The Greenbacks played in the Evo Stick Northern League Division One South. Andrew Fuller
took over as Manager, however he resigned after a few weeks and was replaced by Nick Hawkins
who unfortunately was unable to improve the results. He was then replaced by our current
Manager, Stuart Storer along with Andy Penny as his assistant. Both came from Hinckley United.
After a difficult start they produced a settled squad and staved off relegation at the end of the
season.
2014-15 The Greenbacks returned to the Southern Football League. Stuart Storer remained as
manager and in his first full season in charge the club once again won promotion after a 2-0 win over
Barton Rovers in the play-off final. This was after finishing 4th after the league programme had been
finished. This was the club's first season on its new artificial grass pitch.
2015-16 The club player once again in the Southern Football League Premier Division. The season
started slowly and a number of changes to playing staff made up until Christmas. The club pushed to
avoid relegation but ultimately were unsuccessful, and the club returned to the Northern Premier
League Division 1 South for season 2016/17 where the side finished mid table in 11th
Belper Town
Belper Town's unusual nickname, 'The Nailers', came about because the craft of nail making began In
Belper in the middle ages when it was the site of a hunting lodge for John of Gaunt. The huntsmen
needed nails for the shoes of their horses and the trade in nails eventually grew.
Nail making was a domestic industry with the Nailers working in family groups but, in 1861, the
introduction of machinery to manufacture nails was the begin¬ning of the end for the local trade
which died out altogether at the beginning of the century to be replaced by modern industry and
commerce in the town.
Like the nail making industry, Belper Town FC has faded away in the past. Originally formed in 1883,
the Nailers went out of existence three times through lack of finance.
The main highlight in those early years was an FA Cup 1st Round tie against Sheffield Wednesday on
15th October 1887 in which the Nailers were narrowly defeated 2-3 by the Yorkshire giants.
In those days, the club played on the Acorn ground, which is just under half a mile from the current
ground but in truth there is very little documentary evidence of the club’s early history, although
fixtures lists, membership cards and some photographs all dated from around the turn of the
century, are held in the club’s archives.
The Club reformed, possibly for the fourth time, in 1951 and took up residence at the current ground
at Christchurch Meadow. In those early days, there were very few amenities on the ground and for a
number of seasons, players used to get changed at the Talbot Hotel, a few hundred yards from the
ground.
Eventually, a prefabricated building was acquired to house the dressing rooms and a small clubroom
whilst an atmospheric old stand was in use for over 40 years prior to the more recent ground
improvements.
The ground was purchased in 1986 from the Tootal Group, owners of the adjacent mill complex, for
the princely sum of £6,000 and has afforded the club the security of tenure over its facilities ever
since.
Lying in a picturesque setting, Belper’s Christchurch Meadow ground is now well appointed with
excellent facilities and a first class playing surface.
The club has made many improvements in recent seasons, including new dressing rooms and
conference facilities built in 1999. In 2003, the club opened a new 500-seater stand to bring the
stadium up to UniBond Premier Division standard and beyond. This supplemented the provision of
an earlier covered stand that accommodates 300 spectators, improved spectator terracing and
perimeter barriers. The current ground capacity is 2,640.
On the playing side, the club joined the Central Alliance League on its reformation in 1951, taking
over the fixtures of Mansfield Town ‘A’ who withdrew their team midway through the season.
In the early years, Belper Town enjoyed its record attendance when 3,600 fans turned up to see
Belper play Ilkeston Town. Regular four figure attendances were commonplace at Christchurch
Meadow in those days.
Season 1958/59 was a turning point as the Nailers outshone wealthy Heanor Town and Ilkeston
Town, their strongly backed neighbours, with 2,000+ gates to win the Central Alliance League
championship and the Derbyshire Senior Cup.
Three years later, they were invited to join the revamped Midland Counties League although three
times the Club finished bottom of the League, the last time in 1978/79, when only the charitable
overtures of member clubs at the League AGM saved Belper from comparative obscurity once again.
Under the astute managership of lvan Hollett and John Harrison, the Nailers responded to the
challenge in magnificent style by winning the Midland League championship in the very next season
and, just for good measure, the Derby¬shire Senior Cup as well.
The Midland Counties League merged with the Yorkshire league in 1982 to form the Northern
Counties East League and the Nailers won the League Championship in 1984/85 the guidance of the
late Harry Bethell.
The championship success that season coincided with the arrival of former Derby County and
England striker, Kevin Hector.
However, lack of finance at that time held the Club back from taking up a place in the newly formed
First Division of the Northern Premier League.
In more recent seasons the club has enjoyed tremendous success in the FA Vase, reaching the 5"
Round twice and also a semi-final appearance in which they lost 2-3 on aggregate to Oxford City,
having won the first leg 1-0 at home, in front of nearly 2,000 spectators.
Highlights that season included a 5-1 win at Falmouth Town (the longest distance ever travelled for a
competitive match) and a 1-0 success at Metropolitan Police in the quarter final.
Having achieved the runners-up position in the Northern Counties League in 1996/97 under the
excellent stewardship of Martin Rowe, the Club took its place in the Northern Premier League 12
years after the first opportunity had been spurned.
Initially the club did well in the NPL but then struggled in subsequent seasons. Ernie Moss and his
assistant, Sean O’Neil, kept the club safely away from the relegation positions during their time in
charge at Christchurch Meadow but the club did not really challenge for honours during their time at
the helm.
Ernie and Sean resigned their positions midway through the 2006/07 season, to be replaced by
goalkeeper, Andy Carney and club captain, Danny Hudson, initially on a caretaker basis. The joint
managers did more than enough though to secure the managerial reins on a permanent basis and
enjoyed consistently successful results in the League during their time in charge..
The new managerial team achieved their first piece of silverware in 2008 by winning the Derbyshire
Senior Cup with a 4-3 aggregate victory over neighbours, Alfreton Town
In 2008/09, the Nailers finished the league campaign in second place, having secured 81 points and
equalling their record points score of 1984/85 when the club won the Northern Counties East
League championship. A heartbreaking home defeat in the play-off final against Stocksbridge Park
Steels was a bitter pill to swallow.
But the Nailers went close again the following season before just missing out for a play-off position
by finishing in sixth position. They did capture the League President’s Cup with a 3-1 victory over
Stamford but missed out on a cup double, losing 0-2 against neighbours Matlock Town in the
Derbyshire Senior Cup Final at Pride Park Stadium.
Last season saw the resignation of manager Andy Carney after a six-year stint at the club and the
appointment in the close season of former West Ham and England International defender, Tommy
Taylor, as the club’s new manager assisted by Jon Froggatt, the clubs leading goal scorer in the
2010/11 season.
But, the expected early season expectations failed to materialise and Taylor resigned his position
after just nine games in charge, leaving the Nailers with only two wins to their credit.
The Belper board acted quickly to appoint former Retford United manager, Peter Duffield into the
hot seat, supported by Mick Godber as his assistant and Shaun Hird as first team coach. The results
since their arrival at Christchurch Meadow were quite remarkable with the team winning seven
consecutive matches, a feat not achieved by the club for over 30 years.
The manager for the 2016/17 season was Charlie Palmer and the side finished mid-table in 10th
Carlton Town
The Club was founded in 1904 under the name of Sneinton FC and for much of the 20th century
played its football in the local leagues of Nottinghamshire.
The Club led somewhat of a nomadic existence, playing at various grounds, and only settled at its
current location of Stoke Lane, Gedling, in the early 1990s. This move coincided with the ambition
from within the Club to progress beyond the confines of local parks football and the Club took the
bold step of joining the Central Midlands Football League for the 1995-96 season, a move previously
undertaken by only two other Nottingham parks sides.
It is perhaps from this point that the modern-day Carlton Town FC really started to take shape. The
first season in the CML was reasonable, but at the start of the 1996-97 campaign the Club was left
with just three players and no manager. In a desperate quandary, chairman Bill Stokeld turned to
former players Tommy Brookbanks and Neil Cooper who agreed to take over the managerial reigns
at Sneinton, and there began a period of outstanding success.
Promotion from the Premier Division to the Supreme Division of the CML was gained within two
years and Brookbanks immediately set about trying to gain promotion out of the CML and into the
next step of the pyramid, the Northern Counties East League. A third-placed finish in 2000-01 should
have secured that but promotion was denied due to ground grading issues.
This leads to the next stage of the story, the introduction of Chairman Mick Garton. His company,
MSR Newsgroup, became involved with the Club in 2002 when he took over the hot seat at Stoke
Lane. This financial input transformed the behind-the-scenes set up at the Club and allowed close to
£200,000 to be spent over subsequent years upgrading the ground and facilities to ensure that
promotion, should it be achieved, would not again be refused on ground issues.
In 2002 the Club changed its name to Carlton Town and in that first season under their new name
they won the CML Supreme Division title by one point from Sutton Town, clinching the
championship with a last day 3-1 win against Holbrook. As a result, the Club were promoted to the
First Division of the NCEL. Three years were spent in this division, during which the Millers improved
year on year, missing promotion in 2004-05 by just two points. However, on 23 October 2004, Club
President Bill Stokeld passed away, collapsing whilst watching Carlton. Bill had been involved with
the Club for over 50 years and a player, secretary, chairman and president and without his financial
assistance and sheer effort, the Club simply wouldn't exist today. It is fitting that his name lives on
through the name of the stadium itself.
2005-06 saw the Club romp to the First Division title, finishing eight points ahead of runners-up
Retford Utd. The campaign was built on an excellent start and the 64-goal contribution of strikers
Steve Chaplin and Phil Bignall.
As the Club prepared for life in the Premier Division of the NCEL, the building of a new road through
the site of the old pitch meant that the Club couldn't play at home for the first month of the 2006-07
season. The ground was moved to a site adjacent to the road and despite the disruption, the Club
enjoyed an excellent season, always being near the top of the table. The Club were also aware of the
fact that the FA was planning to expand step four of the National League System, the step
immediately above the one they were currently in.
The Millers travelled to Garforth Town on the final day of the 2006-07 season needing a point to
finish third and gain a second successive promotion. Garforth, meanwhile, were themselves in fourth
place and knew that a win would enable them to leapfrog Carlton. In front of a crowd of 560 (and
bear in mind the reverse fixture had attracted 52!), Dean Gent was Carlton's hero, scoring in the
94th minute to clinch a 2-1 victory and send the Millers into the Northern Premier League First
Division South. This was of course, subject to ground grading approval which was granted after a lot
of hard work at the Club, which involved new changing areas, toilets, hospitality, tea bar and the
like.
The Millers finished a creditable tenth in their first season at this higher level, and went even better
in 2008-09, never being out of the play-off positions and eventually finishing in fourth place. This led
to a play-off semi-final at Stocksbridge Park Steels where Carlton recovered a 2-0 half time deficit to
be level at 2-2 within 10 minutes of the restart. However, the Yorkshiremen were too strong and
eventually ran out 5-2 winners thanks to a hat-trick from future Premier League winner and England
striker Jamie Vardy before themselves sealing promotion with a play-off final win at Belper Town.
Although 2009-10 began promisingly league form was inconsistent and the side eventually finished
ninth in the table. The Club enjoyed some of its best cup results in recent years and made it through
two rounds of the FA Cup before being finally knocked out in a replay by higher-ranked Nuneaton
Town, having drawn 1-1 in Warwickshire in front of a crowd of 905. The Club's youth team were also
the only Unibond side to make it into the second round proper of the FA Youth Cup, before going
down to Stockport County.
Following the end of the campaign, manager Tommy Brookbanks announced he was leaving, after
14 years, to take over at Premier Division Hucknall Town. He took with him most of the first team
players and coaching staff, plus the youth academy set-up, leaving new boss Les McJannet, formerly
of near neighbours Glapwell, to build a squad from scratch over the summer. Indeed, the 16 players
who lined up for the opening match of the 2010-11 season contained just one member who had
been at the club the previous year.
Nevertheless, with most Millers fans expecting no more than a relegation battle, McJannet's side got
off to a wonderful start to the season, winning 12 of the opening 15 league fixtures and briefly
topping the table in November. A poor run of form in January and February saw Carlton drop out of
the play-off places and although the side rallied late on with some impressive results, they
eventually finished just outside the play-offs, in a creditable eighth place.
They did however make it to the final of the Notts Senior Cup for the first time, beating Brookbanks's
Hucknall 3-2 in a thrilling semi-final. Although they were eventually well beaten 6-1 by Conference
North outfit Eastwood Town at Mansfield Town's Field Mill ground, they more than held their own
for the first hour and approached the 2011-12 season full of confidence.
That confidence was fully justified as Carlton enjoyed an outstanding campaign. After a slow start
the Millers really hit form in November moving into the top three in the table where they stayed for
the remainder of the season. They eventually finished second, pipping Ilkeston to runners-up spot
on goals-scored with a last minute goal on the final day of the season, their 101st of the campaign.
However, there was to be the heartbreak of a penalty shoot-out defeat at home to Leek Town in the
play-off semi-final and that after surrendering a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 during the 90 minutes.
The club was unable to maintain that level of form throughout 2012-13 and an inconsistent league
campaign eventually saw a 12th placed finish. However, the cups brought tangible success. Carlton
made it through to the third qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history
before bowing out to ex-Football League side Bradford (Park Avenue). That was only the precursor
to McJannet bringing home the Millers' first silverware in seven years as Carlton won the Notts
Senior Cup for the first time ever, with a 5-2 win over the manager's former side Sutton Town in the
final. And that despite having to play centre-half Grant Brindley in goal due to an injury crisis!
The Millers made a great start to 2013-14, winning their opening five matches without conceding a
goal. However, McJannet struggled to put out a settled side and results suffered, with Carlton
eventually finishing tenth in the table. Once again, the team save its best performances for the cup
competitions, with another third qualifying round appearance in the FA Cup and a best-ever semifinal showing in the League Cup in a run which saw Carlton beat three Premier Division sides
including a memorable quarter-final win at home to FC United of Manchester. The Millers also
retained the Notts Senior Cup in some style, beating Rainworth MW 6-2 in the final.
2014-15 was a huge disappointment. The Millers opened with three defeats and never really
recovered, spending far too much of the season flirting uncomfortably with relegation, eventually
finishing in 18th position and failing to win any of their last 13 matches. Early exits were made in all
cup competitions and at the end of the campaign McJannet decided to call it a day.
He was replaced for 2015-16 by his assistant Wayne Scott who had led the under 21s to an
impressive second place in their division in McJannet’s final year. Scott had to deal with the
departure of a number of players and it showed in the opening months of the campaign as Carlton
struggled for form and consistency and as a result hovered in and around the relegation zone for the
first six months of the season. However, the team clicked in March, winning five out of seven games
including four in succession away from home and finished in 18th position again, well clear of the
drop. They also enjoyed another cup run in the league cup, making it as far as the quarter-finals.
2016/17 was also something of a struggle for the Millers who finished 19th, though 12 points outside
the relegation zone.
Chasetown FC
Chasetown FC begin a new era in 2015-16 a year after celebrating their 60th anniversary season,
with a new manager at the helm. The club was started in 1954 as Chase Terrace Old Scholars Youth
Club, when Brian Baker – who is still involved with the club today – and schoolmaster Ray Derry
formed a soccer section from the Chase Terrace Secondary Modern School.
The side played their first competitive games in the Cannock Youth League, remaining there until
1958-59 when they were accepted into the Lichfield and District League. An impressive debut season
saw them finish third. During their three-year stay in the League, the Old Scholars were runners-up
in the League and Challenge Cup competition.
1961-62 saw them enter the Staffs County League, while a reserve team stayed on in the former
League. First-team success followed with the Lichfield and Rugeley Charity Cups, before the club
were admitted to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One and changed to their current
title of Chasetown FC in 1972-73.
Larry Percival was the first manager of the renamed Chasetown FC and wrote his name permanently
in the history of the club as the first manager ever to win a league title – a feat that was not
repeated until 2005-06 when a side led by Charlie Blakemore won the Midland Alliance title. Under
Percival, the newly club established themselves as one of the leading clubs in the division. In 11
seasons they won the title in 1977-78, finished second five times, third twice and fourth twice to
earn a much-respected record.
After 6 years at the helm, Bill Murray took over as Chasetown manager, but despite the club’s on the
field success, Chasetown were, however, prevented from promotion because they were playing on a
park pitch at Burntwood Recreation Centre. A breakthrough came in 1983 when they re-homed with
a move to the current ground, The Scholars Ground, which coincided with a move up into the West
Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division. Manager Bryne Scorey was the man in charge as
Chasetown made Church Street their permanent home.
The club took their time to adapt to life at the top, finishing in the lower reaches of the table in their
first three seasons. Things changed though from 1986. Paul Darby arrived with assistant Mervyn
Rowe, who took the helm when Darby joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as a physiotherapist.
Rowe brought about an improvement in the playing squad, with mid-table finishes in the late 1980s
followed by a trophy in 1989-90 when we lifted the League Cup with a 5-2 win over Halesowen
Harriers in the Final.This catapulted Chasetown into a successful period during the early 1990s. The
Scholars scooped a West Midlands League cup and Walsall Senior Cup double in 1990-91, with a
second Walsall Senior Cup win in 1992-93 at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium.
Mervyn Rowe stepped down as manager at the start of the 1993-94 season part way through an
astonishing run of 36 league games unbeaten – a complete calendar year without defeat. However,
success progressively slid away and a succession of managers (Graham Smith, Benny Brown and Cliff
Painter) could not recapture any of Rowe’s successes, resulting in three seasons in the bottom three
or four of the newly formed Midland Football Alliance, of which Chasetown was a founder member.
Rowe returned to the helm in 1997-98 and remained as manager for four years, as Chasetown
regained mid-table status with the likes of former Wolves striker Shaun Bradbury leading the way in
the goal scoring stakes winning two MFA Golden Boot awards in three seasons. Rowe stepped aside
again, but unsuccessful tenures with Kevin Foster and Paul Darby as manager (his second spell) saw
the Scholars struggling again, until November 2002 when Michael Rowe, Mervyn’s son, took over as
boss, with Charlie Blakemore as his assistant.
An excellent end to the 2002-03 season saw the club finish 9th, after languishing near to the
relegation zone for most of the campaign. Rowe Jr left The Scholars Ground in February 2004 due to
work commitments but, under Blakemore’s leadership, the Scholars improved again, finishing 6th,
and in Blakemore’s first full season in charge of the first team, 2004-05, Chasetown lifted the Walsall
Senior Cup for the third time beating Tividale 2-1 at Walsall FC and finished second to Rushall
Olympic in the Midland Football Alliance.
That disappointment of missing out on promotion spurred Chasetown into an incredible season in
2005-06 when the club were first thrust into the national spotlight in November 2005 when the
Staffordshire side upset all the odds by reaching the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time in
their history, overcoming famous non-league side Blyth Spartans in front of a then record
Chasetown attendance of 2,134.
The BBC were quick to bring this feat to a Sunday lunch-time audience of 3.2 million on “Match of
the Day Live” as they broadcast the first round proper tie against Oldham Athletic. In front of 1,997
supporters, Chasetown took the lead through Nicky Harrison, only for the Latics to level the scores a
few minutes later and send the game into a replay. Over 2,300 supporters followed Blakemore’s
men up to Boundary Park – the highest away following at Oldham Athletic all season – but the
romance was over as the home side won 4-0.
During that record breaking 2005-06 season, the Scholars notched a record eight consecutive
victories in the league, went 22 games unbeaten in league and cup, and regularly smashed their
record league attendance, topping 500 for the first time when Leamington came to the Scholars
Ground in January 2006, then ending the season with 839 for the visit of Romulus in the game which
clinched Chasetown the league title.
At the time of the FA Cup run, Chasetown lay in 14th place and 20 points adrift of league leaders
Malvern Town, before beginning an astonishing run of victories – 12 wins out of 13 in December,
January and February lifted Chasetown into the top 8 of the division while 5 more wins in March put
the Scholars into 4th place, just one point behind the leaders.
On April 20th, 2006 Chasetown topped the league table for the first time in the season. Stourbridge
overhauled them briefly, but the final day saw Chasetown in pole position and the locals came out in
force to see Karl Edwards notch two goals and Chasetown lift the Midland Alliance trophy and gain
promotion to the Southern League Division 1 Midlands. The BBC cameras were at the Scholars
Ground again, featuring both goals in their FA Cup Final programme.
Season 2006-07 saw the club finish third in the Southern Midland Division One but suffered the
heartbreak of losing out in the play-off semi-finals, losing 1-0 to local rivals Willenhall Town. 2007-08
saw Chasetown Football Club became even more firmly embedded in FA Cup folklore when they
defeated Football League Division One side Port Vale in a Second Round Replay to become the
lowest ranked side to ever make the Third Round of the World’s most famous domestic cup
competition. Their reward was a home tie against Championship side Cardiff City who boasted multi-
millionaire players like Robbie Fowler, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Trevor Sinclair amongst their
highly rated squad.
In front of a record breaking home attendance of 2,420 the Scholars dared to take the dream one
step further as they took the lead against Dave Jones’ Bluebirds side via a Kevin McNaughton own
goal in the 17th minute. The class of a team six leagues and some 136 places higher than Chasetown
did tell and a first half injury time equaliser from former Aston Villa man Peter Whittingham enabled
Cardiff to regroup at the interval and further goals from 17 year old debutant Aaron Ramsey (his
stepping stone to a great career at Arsenal) and Paul Parry finally ended Chasetown’s marathon ten
game cup run.
When the cup was over, the Scholars lost several key playing personnel, including the influential
Chris Slater and Kyle Perry who were quickly snapped up by Chasetown’s second round opponents
Port Vale. “Charlie’s Angels” ended up 7th in the table, missing out on the play off places by a single
point.
Season 2008-09 saw Chasetown amongst the front runners and a fourth place finish ensured that
they would contest the play offs. In the semi-final the Scholars demolished third placed Atherstone
Town at Sheepy Road 5-0 to take their place in the play off final. A record crowd of 3,111 at
Nuneaton Town’s Liberty Way stadium witnessed a tight, tense game, but a solitary strike from Ben
Foster ended the Scholars dream of promotion for another season at least.
The club again made history on Friday July 10th 2009 when they became the first team to play a
competitive match at the Bluebirds’ new multi million pound home – the Cardiff City Stadium – in
front of 5,270 spectators. Relocated to the Northern Premier League Division One South for 2009-10,
Chasetown’s remarkable story finished on a high note as the club went on to become runners up
and, after a 3-2 play off semi-final win over Sheffield FC, a 1-0 win versus Glapwell at the Scholars
Ground in front of 1,265 spectators ensured Chasetown would be playing in Step 7 of the Football
League Pyramid for the first time in their history.
For much of the 2010-11 season, Chasetown were in or around the play off positions, eventually
finishing 10th in their inaugural season. Chasetown’s league campaign was distracted though by
another incredible cup run. Despite being from the third tier of non-league football, Chasetown
upset the odds time and time again in the FA Trophy.
After victories over Sheffield FC and Mickleover Sports, the Scholars disposed of Workington from
the Conference North, Kettering Town and Grimsby Town from the Conference National and
Eastleigh from the Conference South to set up a quarter-final with Conference National side
Mansfield Town. A dramatic 89th minute own goal earned Blakemore’s side a replay at Field Mill,
where skipper Richard Teesdale scored a second half equaliser, before the hosts went on to win 3-1,
on their way to being losing FA Trophy finalists (just as Cardiff City had in the FA Cup in 2008).
2011-12 was the 40th season the club has been known as Chasetown FC, but unfortunately, was a
historic season for all the wrong reasons, as they were relegated for the first time in their existence.
Charlie Blakemore left the managerial role due to work commitments, and the appointment of Chris
Brindley yielded 19 points from his first 8 games in charge.
However, a run of 13 league games without a win saw Chasetown slip towards the relegation zone,
and despite a 4-0 win at Kendal with 4 matches remaining, 3 consecutive defeats left The Scholars
needing victory on the last day of the season at Burscough. A 4-4 draw was not enough. 2012-13
started slowly and Chasetown found themselves in the bottom half of the table at Christmas.
In the second half of the season though, the Scholars went on an amazing run, culminating in them
sneaking into the final play-off place. A victory at runners-up Coalville Town resulted in a play-off
final at Stamford, which was one game too far for Chasetown as the Lincolnshire side were
promoted at our expense.
Another slow start in 2013-14 ended with success though, with Craig Harris winning his first trophy
as Chasetown boss. After a run of eleven consecutive defeats in competitive matches to our biggest
rivals, Rushall Olympic, the Scholars upset the odds with an emphatic 4-1 win in the Bescot Final to
win the Walsall Senior Cup for the fourth time in the club’s history.
2014-15 saw Craig Harris start the year in charge but after a disappointing first half of the season,
with the club hovering just above the relegation zone, Harris was relieved of his duties with the
former Tamworth FC manager Marcus Law appointed, giving him the sole aim of keeping Chasetown
from getting relegated. In the end, with sides dropping out of the league, relegation would have
been avoided anyway but renewed form saw an impressive run that took Chasetown to 13th in the
league and another Walsall Senior Cup Final, narrowly beaten 4-3 by Walsall after extra-time.
The summer break saw Law return to his former club Kettering and a new manager was sought.
Former Rugby Town boss Dave Stringer was appointed, thrust quickly into a friendly list of fixtures
that had been arranged before his appointment. Two defeats in seven fixtures saw the Scholars start
the season with renewed hope, though in the end the side had to settle for a 17th place finish
Cleethorpes Town FC
Cleethorpes Town has come a long way in its relatively short history. Initially formed in 1998 as
Lincolnshire Soccer School, it was the brainchild of former Grimsby Town player Tommy Watson.
The team was an immediate success with both boys and girls across every age group and the club
began to grow quickly.
In 2003, the club set up a flagship senior team. In the team's first season within the Lincolnshire
League they secured a credible fourth place finish for which the foundations for the future were set.
Now rebranded as Cleethorpes Town, the club has redeveloped into an important community outlet.
With over 35 teams competing at every level of local and regional football, the Owls are one of the
largest clubs in the area and still continues to expand in all areas. The excellent array of teams and
high quality coaching saw the club awarded with Football Association Charter Standard Community
Club Status thus further underlining the clubs commitment to providing high quality football
coaching alongside enjoyment for youngsters.
The development and evolution of Cleethorpes Town Football Club has been spearheaded by the
first team. With the arrival of a new manager during the 2010-11 season it saw the club who were
languishing in the lower echelons of the Sills and Betteridge Lincolnshire League go on to finish the
season in an amazing third place. In addition, the club collected the Supplementary Cup by defeating
Heckington United in the final at Sincil Bank.
The 2011-12 season saw the Owls not only become champions of the Lincs League but also win the
Challenge Cup. Additionally the club was accepted into the Northern Counties East League.
Our first season in the NCEL saw us finish fourth in the Division 1 table with some impressive
victories along the way. It was a steep learning curve for the players, management and staff.
The 2013-14 started with a change of management and Marcus Newell was brought in. The season
started off at a medium pace but a long unbeaten streak mean the Owls were top of the league at
Christmas. However, we had a slow start to the new year and fell 7 points behind with only a handful
of games remaining. With the pressure at its highest, others around us felt it most and we managed
to secure the title with one game to go.
In 2014-15 the club started life in the NCEL Premier Division in slow fashion and with a mountain of
cup games fell behind the main pack. But once the FA Cup exploits had finished, we went on a run of
11 then 9 games without defeat which saw us climb the league table and had the rest looking over
their shoulders. We finished the campaign in 4th place, and also got to the NCEL League Cup Final
which we narrowly lost.
Cleethorpes Town represented the Northern Counties East League in July 2015 in the Toolstation
Cup in Bristol where the team played Willand Rovers. A nine-goal thriller ensued and the Owls lifted
the trophy.
The Owls began season 2015-16 in sluggish fashion and sat second bottom in the league table in
September. However, a great run for the rest of the season saw the team finish in third place to
record the sides highest ever league finish. In addition to this Cleethorpes Town reached the last 32
of the FA Vase for the first time and finished the season in style by beating league champions
Tadcaster Albion 3-2 to lift the Northern Counties East League Cup in a thrilling cup final.
2016/17 was an historic year for the club as the Northern Counties East League Title was won as well
as a trip to Wembley where they against South Shields in the final. With construction underway for a
new stadium back at the true home of Cleethorpes Town Football Club, the Linden Homes Club, it is
a truly exciting time for the Owls.
LINCS LEAGUE SUPPLEMENTARY CUP WINNERS: 2010/11 & DEVELOPMENT SQUAD 2015/16
LINCS LEAGUE WINNERS: 2011/12
LINCS LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP WINNERS: 2011/12
NCEL LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONS: 2013/14
TOOLSTATION CUP WINNERS 2015
NCEL LEAGUE CUP WINNERS 2015/16
Corby Town
Corby Town Football Club were formed in 1948 and are the second club to represent the town,
following Stewarts & Lloyds Corby, who were formed 13 years earlier in 1935. The club’s nickname
‘The Steelmen’ derives from the old steelworks that were in Corby.
The first chairman of the club was local MP William Montgomery, whilst Reg Smith was named the
first manager. Smith had previously played for Millwall and Dundee whilst representing England at
international level. Things started well for the newly formed Steelmen, winning their first game 5-1
against Wellingborough Town on 21 August 1948 at Occupation Road, which was home to Corby
Town until the move to the Rockingham Triangle in 1985. It took the club only three years to win
their first title, wrapping up the United Counties League in 1951 before doing the same again only a
year later, with Ernie Middlemiss scoring a club record 135 goals in 136 games, a record that was to
stand for 40 years. 1958 saw the introduction of floodlit football in Corby and in the same year the
club moved from the Midland League to the Southern League.
The move to the Southern League looked to be a good one as the club narrowly missed out on
promotion to the Premier Division in 1964, but promotion was gained the following year. The club
made several unsuccessful applications to join the Football League, although they did receive one
vote in 1966.
The club moved to the multi-purpose Rockingham Triangle venue in 1985 but it didn’t prove to be a
lucky move as the Steelmen were once again relegated from the Premier Division in 1990. They
didn’t spend long out of the Premier as they achieved a league and cup double the following season.
The mid-90s saw a cash crisis at the club which threatened to put the club out of business, and
although they were spared, relegation was to follow.
The turn of the millennium brought about more positivity at the Triangle as they consolidated their
mid-table position in the Dr Martens league. More was to follow in 2005 as they just missed out on a
play-off place under manager Rob Dunion. Dunion’s side went one better in 2006 as they were
promoted once more.
Corby Town saw a change of ownership in 2007 as a new board made up of ex-Kettering Town
chairman Peter Mallinger, David Dunham and Mick Leech and in 2009, under Graham Drury, the
Steelmen won the Southern League title. The Steelmen narrowly missed out on a play-off spot
during their first season in the Conference North.
Club chairman Peter Mallinger sadly passed away in January 2011, just months before the club’s new
3,000 capacity Steel Park stadium was due to open. His son David Mallinger took charge of the club
and a positive start to life in their new home led the Steelmen into play-off contention and the first
round proper of the FA Cup, where they were beaten by Bristol Rovers at the half-way stage.
Sadly off-field issues had an affect on results and Corby only managed to avoid relegation on the
final day of the 2011/12 season, with Graham Drury leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
In the summer of 2012, a Leicestershire businessman took control of the club, with Ian Sampson
being installed as manager. However after a tough start to the season Sampson departed and was
replaced by his assistant manager Chris Plummer. The former Peterborough Northern Star manager
could not repeat the survival act of the previous year however, with Corby Town being relegated
from the Blue Square North at the end of the season.
Plummer remained in charge of the side, however resigned just two games into the 2013/14 season
after heavy defeats against Burnham and Hemel Hempstead Town. The Chairman moved to appoint
the managerial duo of Tommy Wright and Andrew Wilson, who helped to guide the club up the
Southern League Premier Division table, however once again financial issues at the club prevented
any real challenge to reach the play-offs.
In April 2014 it was announced that a local consortium of seven businessmen headed by Paul Glass
had agreed a deal to purchase the club and save it from the threat of administration. Stevie Noble
was appointed as the chairman and Tommy Wright was given sole charge of the first team, with
Andrew Wilson departing.
In his first year in charge of the side Tommy Wright led his team to the Southern League Premier
Division Championship. The Steelmen secured the title and promotion back to the Conference North
with a dramatic 3-2 win on the final day of the season against Poole Town who had led the division
by one point going into that fixture. Spencer Weir-Daley scored the winning goal for Corby with just
nine minutes remaining. However, Corby suffered relegation after just one season in the National
North and in 2016-17 kicked off in the Northern Premier League under new management in the
shape of Gary Mills for the first time where a 2nd consecutive relegation was suffered on the last day
of the season
Gresley FC
Gresley FC was formed in 2009 and enjoyed a very successful first season in the East Midlands
Counties League. The side, managed by Gary Norton, finished as runners up and therefore narrowly
missed out on promotion.
Gresley also enjoyed a long run in the FA Vase by beating Spennymoor, Dawlish and Long Buckby.
The Dawlish tie in particular will live long in the memory as the original tie was abandoned in extra
time and the Moatmen won the replay in South Derbyshire on penalties. The Vase run came to an
end in front of the home fans in disappointing fashion at home to Whitehawk in the quarter-finals.
New directors then joined the club looking to turn the dream of moving to a new stadium into a
reality. Manager Gary Norton and his assistant Martin Rowe invited Martyn Rowntree to step up
from the reserves to become first team coach.
2010-2011, Gresley's second season as a club and also their second in the East Midlands Counties
League, saw another good FA Vase run getting to the last 32 and then going one step further from
the previous season by winning the league after an exciting run-in. Being a few points behind the
leading contenders Gresley could not afford to slip up again after an unexpected home defeat in
early January if their dreams were to be realised. An amazing 20 game unbeaten run with the final 8
all victories saw Gresley crowned as champions and promoted into the Midland Football Alliance.
Season 2011-2012 saw another good run in the FA Vase reaching the last 16 and to top off a superb
season Gresley achieved a remarkable back-to-back title success as they lifted the Midland Football
Alliance title at their first attempt and promotion to the Evo-Stik NPL Division One South. The first
season back at level four was successful as Gresley settled into the Division One South. Gresley
finished just outside the top ten in the league and reached the 3rd Qualifying round of the FA Cup.
At the end of the season joint manager Gary Norton stepped down with Martin Rowe named as
manager.
After losing their first two league fixtures of 2013-2014 and then an indifferent spell up to Christmas
Gresley managed to stabilise their performances and ended the season in a creditable 9th place.
However, in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy Gresley had good runs going out of the cup after forcing
Conference South outfit Brackley Town to a replay after a good draw at St James Park in the 2nd
Qualifying Round and in the Trophy they took Conference Premier side Wrexham almost all the way
in the First Round Proper losing by the odd goal in three at the Racecourse Ground.
In September 2014 Martin Rowe resigned and his assistant Wayne Thornhill was appointed as first
team manager at the end of October. Wayne, along with his assistants Jamie Barrett and Russell
Peel, turned the season around and they finished in a creditable fifth place making the play-offs
where they met Leek Town at Harrison Park who narrowly beat the Moatmen by a single goal.
An appearance in the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final at the home of Chesterfield FC ended with Gresley
as runners-up losing to Evo-Stik Premier side Matlock Town. At the beginning of September Wayne
stepped down and Dave Langston appointed as caretaker manager. In October Scott Goodwin was
appointed as manager with Jamie Barrett and Gary Rickets as his assistants.
After a run of defeats Scott was released and Gary Ricketts appointed as player/manager assisted by
Jamie Barrett and Dave Langston. The 2015-2016 ended with Gresley in a disappointing 16th
position. Ricketts stood down as manager and former Leicester Nirvana manager Damion BeckfordQuailey appointed in the close season though the Moatmen found the going tough in 2016/17
finishing in 18th place.
Ilkeston Town
Ilkeston FC are striving to produce a new football fairy story and the first few chapters make terrific
reading. It all began in September 2010, when Ilkeston Town were liquidated. It’s important to
realise that the club didn’t just go into administration, ripe for someone to step forward and pick up
the pieces.
They were actually wound up by the courts, principally because they owed some £150,000 to the
Inland Revenue, and desperate supporters had every reason to believe it would be the end of
football in the Derbyshire town. Fortunately, Dave Mantle had other ideas. A few months earlier he
had formed an alliance with the stricken club through his company - SR Education - who are
specialist education providers.
Their role was to set up a scholarship scheme at the New Manor Ground and when the end came, he
felt it would be a shame to allow the good work done with manager Kevin Wilson and his assistant
Darren Caskey to go to waste. Consequently, Mantle decided to launch a bid to take over the assets
at the New Manor Ground - and he pulled off the deal with the liquidator and Erewash Borough
Council, who own the ground, in 2010.
It was too late to apply for a position within the League structure for that season. But the scholars
were kept on and relieved fans of the new Ilkeston FC took great delight in seeing them complete a
League & Cup double in the Central Alliance. Mantle wisely took on Wilson and Caskey as part of his
new team and together, they worked out a five-year plan. It was aimed at getting the club into the
Conference North within that period of time and the success would be based on discovering and
developing their own young players.
“Going young” was the firm policy and among the first moves Mantle made was to spend £100,000
on purpose-built classrooms within the ground to ensure the scholars had the best possible chance
to earn qualifications. He knew full well that the majority of the scholars wouldn’t be good enough
to earn a living from football and argued that the club had a massive responsibility to ensure that
when they left Ilkeston FC, they would be equipped to get themselves a job.
Perhaps controversially, the FA took at good look at the resources available at the New Manor
Ground, studied the incredibly detailed five-year plan and decided to award the new Ilkeston FC a
place in the South Division of the Evo-Stik League. That decision was fully justified when Wilson’s
men hit the ground running, winning promotion to the Premier Division in their first-season and
attracting huge support by non-league standards.
The 2012-13 season was a period of consolidation as they finished mid-table in the League. But there
was a trophy success to celebrate on a memorable night at Chesterfield when the Robins came from
behind to beat Matlock Town in the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final. All the while, the Academy was
absolutely central to the activities of the club and although progress ground to halt at first-team
level last season - at one stage they were embroiled in a relegation battle - the bigger picture was
starting to emerge.
Caskey was instrumental in developing a really talented group of scholars who cleared five hurdles in
the FA Youth Cup to reach the second round proper and also got to the semi-finals of the nationally
run Conference Youth Alliance Cup. There’s no doubt that it was a massive blow when Caskey, the
former Tottenham and Reading star, left to become assistant-manager at Gateshead. But Mantle
and Wilson pulled off a major coup when they persuaded Steve Chettle to leave Nottingham Forest
and take over as Academy manager.
By the start of the 2016/17 season, influenced by the need to bring costs more in line with income,
the decision was taken to make home grown talent the nucleus of the team. According to Wilson, it
was happening a year earlier than planned. But several of the youngsters had already been in and
around the first-team for a year or more and he was confident that they would respond to the
challenge.
Some fans were sceptical about the decision to start the season with a team that had an average age
of 19 - including 31-year-old striker Rob Duffy. But they kicked off with a 4-1 win at Witton Albion
and when Trafford were trounced 6-0 the following Saturday, the doubters were quickly won over.
Mantle deserves great credit for having the vision to take the club down a ‘different’ route but
establishing Ilkeston FC as a non-league force has not been achieved without problems. Before a ball
had even been kicked in League action, Mansfield defender John Thompson suffered horrific head
and other injuries in a clash with Gary Ricketts during a pre-season game at the New Manor Ground.
For the first four years of the club’s existence, the threat of legal action hung over them and the
situation was made infinitely worse when Ilkeston FC discovered that their insurance policy did not
cover the type of incident that caused Thompson’s injuries. Although an out-of-court settlement was
eventually reached with Thompson in August 2014, that payment - plus legal costs - has had a
massive impact on the club’s finances.
At last, though, Ilkeston FC found themselves in a position where they knew where they stood. The
damaging uncertainty had been removed and although it’s bound to take time to get the finances
back in order, they can finally look to the future with confidence, ready to extend the fairy story.
Finishing the 2014/15 season in fifth place and just inside the play-off places, The Robins were
looking to end the season on a high. Beating Workington 0-1 in the Play-Off Semi Final, saw them
face Curzon Ashton in the Play Off Final. Here The Robins went down 1-0 and just missed out on
promotion. This was also to be the last game for the management duo of Kevin Wilson and Steve
Chettle, who both moved onto pastures new.
A new era was now upon the New Manor Ground with a new Head Coach in Gavin Strachan.
However, Gavin was to leave the New Manor Ground in Mid October, when he had the opportunity
to join Darren Ferguson at Doncaster Rovers. He was replaced by his assistant at Ilkeston FC, Andy
Watson. Watson came with a wealth of experience, having worked as assistant manager to Alex
McLeish at Glasgow Rangers, Birmingham City and the Scottish National side.
Ilkeston FC finished the 2015/16 season looking very different from the start. Gavin Strachan left the
club in October to join Doncaster Rovers as Assistant manager. This move saw his assistant at
Ilkeston, Andy Watson take over first team duties until the end of the season. Eight of the first teams
quad were released in February 2016 and the squad for the remainder of the season was made up of
the club’s FA Youth Cup team. A run of nine straight defeats saw Ilkeston flirt with relegation for a
short while, before three wins in the final five games of the season saw them move up to 14th place.
For the 2016/17 season, Academy Director Paul Holland took over in the hot seat assisted by
Academy Manger Steve Welsh, but the side struggled and the side finished 23rd, just one place off
the bottom and were relagated
Kidsgrove Athletic
There was a team in Kidsgrove dating back to the nineteenth century which evolved into Kidsgrove
United. Kidsgrove Athletic were formed in December 1952 purely for local men to play in the side. A
pitch was acquired down on the A50 when Kidsgrove played in the now defunct Burslem and
Tunstall league and in 1961 the club took a year out to develop the land the present ground is on.
In 1963 the club joined the Staffs County league after winning both Burslem and Tunstall leagues.
Three years later, the club had won the County league and the Staffs Challenge Cup. Some animosity
was caused when the club left Staffordshire to join the Mid-Cheshire league where they became
champions four times and challenge cup winners three times.
During the seventies the club lifted several trophies as both the first and second teams enjoyed a
successful spell and the club grew and grew. These successes included the Staffs FA Vase, the
Challenge Cup once more and the prestigious Sentinel Cup which was won three times.
If the club had success on the field in the Seventies, it was the Eighties when the clubhouse and pitch
developed. This period also lead to the building of the current changing room block by the then
strong committee, providing some of the best facilities in the area.
In 1989 the club had at last been accepted into the North West Counties League, having been
rejected twice. In 1989 Kidsgrove became the first club to win the Staffs FA Vase twice. With ground
criteria becoming stricter they found themselves promoted to the first division of the NWCL in 1992
having finished tenth in the second division a year earlier.
Stoke City opened the floodlight era in 1992 but the demise of Eastwood Hanley strengthened the
playing side in 1997 and the club became champions the following April as well as Challenge Cup
winners beating Vauxhall in the final. The club also reached the semi-final of the FA Vase that year,
and this got the clubs record crowd against Tiverton Town.
Four years later with more work carried out the club became champions again and were promoted
to the Unibond NPL. It was a struggle and in 2004 the club found themselves bottom of the league.
The formation of a new league structure then came into force and the club remained in the league
which saved the club from being relegated for the first time in their history. There was one bonus
that year was the lifting of the Staffs Senior Cup for the first time beating Stafford Rangers 1-0 at the
Britannia Stadium, a competition that the club has won on no fewer than 5 times.
In 2004/05 the club finished a respectable tenth and lifted their first piece of Unibond silverware
with an exciting 7-6 win over Woodley Sports in the Chairman's Cup final. The club suffered highs
and lows d ground face lifts during the early years in the Northern Premier league with the stamps of
Terry Hillman and Stan Brown being left on the club in the forms of ground improvements that make
it one of the best in the league today. During this period the club also suffered financial woes.
The 2009/10 season Grove achieved our highest ever Unibond League position when heading the
table on no less than three occasions, however the ‘enforced winter break’, due to the extreme
weather that gripped the country, seemed to do us no favours.
A strong finish to the season however, did put Grove into the play-offs where we were to lose by a 10 score line away to Glapwell FC. Grove once again lifted the Fair Play Award (for the third year out
of the last four) and in the prolific Dave Walker had the top goal scorer in the Unibond League.
2011/12 saw us have our best ever FA Cup run reaching 4th Qualifying round before bowing out to
Bradford Park Avenue in front of a crowd of 1140 fans. The end of this season however was to prove
very significant with our Chairman Michael Fitzjohn stand down due to work commitments.
The next three seasons saw the club decline only escaping relegation to the North West Counties
league by deems of reelection. In November 2014 with the club on the brink Mick Fitzjohn returned
as Chairman.
2016/17 saw a stabilising of fortunes with the side finishing in a comfortable mid-table position
Leek Town
Although some say the origins of Leek Town go back as far as 1876, the history of the club as we now
know it begins in 1946. Starting out as Leek Lowe Hamil in the Leek and Moorlands League and
progressing to the Staffordshire County League, where they still hold the record of being the only
team to win the championship without the loss of a match in 1949/50.
On moving into the Manchester League in 1951/52, they became Leek Town and won the
championship at the first attempt. After a brief flirtation with the Birmingham League in 1954/55,
they moved back to the Manchester League and eventually back to the Staffordshire County League.
It was 1968 when Leek Town started to become the club it is now. The ground was improved adding
a clubhouse, small stand and floodlights. Manager Paul Ogden led the team to success in the
Staffordshire County League and the Manchester League before joining the Cheshire League in the
1973/74 season and winning that championship at the second attempt. The chairman at the time
was the late Geoff Harrison, after whom Harrison Park is named. Leek became founder members of
the North West Counties League in 1982, but had little success.
When the Northern Premier League was formed in 1987, Leek were again, founder members. After
two seasons finishing third, they were promoted to the Premier Division on topping the First Division
in 1989/90. This season also saw them reach the FA Trophy final at Wembley, where they lost 3-0 to
Barrow. This was a historic achievement, as no other side from that level of the pyramid had ever
done so previously. The success, all under the guidance of manager, Neil Baker, continued in the
following season in the form of an FA Cup run where they defeated Scarborough in the First Round
Proper and forced a replay against Chester City in the Second Round.
Leek’s second place finish in 1993/94 should have been enough to see them promoted to the
Vauxhall Conference. Instead, they were rewarded by being shunted sideways to the Southern
League, as they were denied a place for financial reasons. They enjoyed a fairly successful campaign,
finishing in 7th place, but due to the crippling financial commitment, requested a move back to the
Northern Premier League. Success followed shortly as they won the championship in the 1996/97
season and were promoted to the Conference. The club managed to retain its Conference status at
the end of the first season, a feat that required them to play six matches in the final eight days of the
season.
The following season proved one too many and relegation back to the UniBond Premier Division
resulted. The relegation saw a complete change in the playing staff, with a side of mainly local
players. The team struggled and was relegated again at the end of the 2000/01 season to the
UniBond First Division. Following the league restructuring at the end of the 2003/04 season, Leek
returned to the Premier Division where they finished in 7th position.
In the following three seasons Blues struggled against relegation and after two great escapes they
succumbed in the 2007/08 season. Relegation saw a complete rebuilding of the side but under
managers Wayne Johnson and Neil Cox they failed to reach the promotion play-offs. Lee Casswell
then took charge and has led the Blues to the promotion play-offs three times in four seasons, losing
twice in the final including most recently in 2014/15 against Sutton Coldfield Town. In 2016/17 the
side finished a respectable 9th
Lincoln United
Lincoln United Football Club was founded in 1938 as Lincoln Amateurs, playing in the Lincoln League.
In 1951, the Club signed its first professional player (on 5 shillings a week, 25p in today’s money) and
Lincoln Amateurs was re-named Lincoln United aka ‘The Whites’.
The Club won its first honours in the 1963-64 season with the Lincolnshire League Championship and
the Lincolnshire Senior ‘B’ Cup. Three years later, the Whites joined the Yorkshire League and, once
again, completed the League and Cup double. The Club went on to play in a number of Leagues,
including (as founder members) the Northern Counties East League and the Central Midlands
League. In one of its most impressive periods, the Club was promoted three times between 1987
and 1990.
In the mid-90s, United entered the Unibond Division One and then moved into the restructured
Unibond Premier Division and won the Lincolnshire FA Senior Shield. In 2008, Lincoln United was
relegated to the Unibond Division One South, now known as the EVO-STIK NPL Division One South,
where it has remained to this day.
Throughout its history, Lincoln United has been a major force in the city of Lincoln’s football scene,
thanks to the efforts over the years of its officials, players, volunteers and supporters – too many to
record in full. Some names do warrant a mention, however, like the legendary manager, Fred Green;
former Secretary, Bryan Smith; former chairmen, Keith Roe and Robin Taylor; current President and
long-time benefactor, Maurice Bull; and managers, Allen Crombie, Gary Goddard, John Wilkinson
and Terry Fleming. Key players in recent years include Tony Simmons, Rick Ranshaw, Terry Fleming,
Gary Crosby, Steve Carter and record appearance-maker, Brendan McDaid.
The last few years have seen the Club ‘in transition’ after a period of relative stagnation, on and off
the field. A new Committee was formed in 2010-11 with three main objectives: Gain Promotion;
Improve the Club’s Facilities; and Strengthen its Links with the Community. Improvements off the
field were not mirrored on it and after a disappointing first two seasons, which saw the Club flirting
dangerously close with relegation, United changed its management team and appointed new
Manager, Dave Frecklington, and Assistant Manager, Sam Wilkinson in 2013-14. After a
disappointing first season, ‘Freck’ went on to take the Club to 9th in his second season and, for the
first time in the Club’s history, into the Play-Offs in his third and last season.
For the 2016-17 season, United had Sam Wilkinson as its new Manager with Chris Hall and Stuart
Reddington as Assistant Manager and First Team Coach, respectively. The new Management Team,
and what is largely the squad of the previous seasons players, brought success to the Club with a
place in the Lincolnshire FA Senior Cup Final, having knocked out teams from higher Leagues in the
quarter and semi-finals. A respectable 8th place finish was achieved in the league
Loughborough Dynamo
Loughborough Dynamo FC is a member of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier league, playing in Division
One South. The club, founded in 1955, plays at the Nanpantan Sports Ground in Watermead Lane,
Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Dynamo was formed in 1955 by pupils of Loughborough Grammar School. A few years after World
War II the school switched from football to rugby. Several pupils wanted to play organised football,
so they formed Dynamo to do so. The club’s name came from FC Dynamo Moscow, which had
played in the United Kingdom in friendly matches on tours in both 1945 and 1955. The club colours
of gold and black came from Wolverhampton Wanderers, who played against Dynamo Moscow at
Molineux on November 9th 1955.
After two seasons of leading a nomadic existence playing away friendly matches, the club ventured
into league football in 1957 and found its first home, the old Shelthorpe playing fields in
Loughborough (now Shelthorpe golf course). The league was the Loughborough Alliance League.
Dynamo entered in Division 3 and quickly rose through the divisions, eventually winning the League.
However, Dynamo was prevented from moving into the Leicestershire Senior League due to lack of
facilities.
The club switched to the Leicester and District League in 1966, by which time Dynamo had moved
across Loughborough to Bottleacre and the old ground of Morris Sports. This ground had been the
sports club of the company of Herbert Morris Crane Manufacturers. The firm had vacated the
ground, but still owned it. Dynamo played in this league for five years, moving into the East Midlands
League in 1971. However Dynamo underperformed at this level and saw relegation to the Central
Alliance League and almost immediately back to the Leicester and District League.
During this period Dynamo experienced two further moves of ground, enforced by Morris Sports
sale of the Bottleacre ground for use as industrial premises. First was back to Shelthorpe, this time to
Shelthorpe Primary School, then on to the club’s current home of the Nanpantan Sports Ground
(NSG), on the Charnwood Forest side of the town and on the edge of Loughborough. This ground
had recently been bought by Charnwood District Council from the Brush manufacturing company of
Loughborough. The Council own it to this day.
It was at its current home that the club was playing in the Leicestershire Senior League Division 1,
but the facilities were not good enough to enable promotion the Premier Division. The specific
requirement was floodlights. It was then that discussions took place between the club and
Loughborough University. Following these discussions an offer came from the University. The
education facility was looking to integrate into the local community, and the offer was to develop,
with Dynamo, the facilities at the NSG. Also James Ellis came on board as manager. All this occurred
in the early 2000’s and enabled the club to gain promotion to the Premier Division and start its
development to where it is today.
The period of James Ellis’s management saw the club stabilise in the Premier Division and then go on
a period of success in Leicestershire football circles. The club won the Premier League title, won the
Leicestershire Senior Cup and retained it the following season, and also won the League Cup and
President’s Cup. Promotion was then achieved to the Midland Football Alliance (MFA). This
promotion was also thanks to the massive effort from volunteers to enable the NSG to be ready to
stage football at MFA level.
James Ellis eventually moved on, but the club still continued to develop and retains its strong links
with Loughborough University to this day, as can be seen by the fact that the pitch, regarded as one
of the best in non league circles, is cared for by ground staff of the University. Dynamo stabilised in
the MFA, and then came the memorable season of 2007-8 when under the management of Adam
Beazeley, assisted by John Folwell and Simon Tebbutt, the club achieved promotion to the Northern
Premier League Division One South, at which level it currently plays.
2010 saw Dynamo lift the Westerby Challenge Cup, the main knockout cup for Leicestershire sides,
at the Walkers (now King Power) Stadium, the home of Leicester City. The club had a joint
managerial team at this point of Ian Blyth and Scott Clamp, Barwell being the defeated opponents.
Two years later, with the Walkers Stadium now renamed the King Power Stadium and with Scott
Clamp as sole manager, Dynamo won the trophy for a second time, defeating Hinckley United from
two leagues higher in the non league pyramid.
Tom Brookbanks became Manager in May 2013, and by the start of the 2014-15 season had built an
entertaining side, and in September of that season Dynamo topped the division, the highest position
in the club’s history. But off fields matters came to a head the following month and the management
team and squad was suddenly ripped apart, and the club slid down the table. Matters became worse
in 2015-16, and at the end of February Dynamo was starting relegation in the face. The arrival of
Wayne Hallcro and his management halted the downward trend, relegation being avoided with a
game to spare. It was a theme that continued into 2016/17 with the side finishing 1 spot outside the
relegation spots thanks to Northwich Victoria sinking into administration.
Market Drayton Town
Market Drayton Town FC has roots which go well back to 1893. Records show that the main game
that season was against Blackburn Rovers and other games were played against Shrewsbury,
Wellington and Oswestry. Drayton must have had a team of repute as three teams were operating in
the town up to the end of 1930. The Town team was known as the Nomads and played on the
Maer’s Lane ground – now the site of Pork Farms (ex Palethorpes). Attendances were up to 500
supporters in attendance at most home games.
Just after the war in 1946, the town ran two teams – one in the Market Drayton and District League,
another in the Shrewsbury and District League. In the season 1952- 53 the Town successfully applied
for membership of the Shropshire County League and played that year in the Challenge Cup Final at
the Gay Meadow, Shrewsbury Towns previous ground. After a number of years, winning local cup
and league trophies, the club moved into the West Midlands League gaining promotion swiftly into
the West Midlands Premier League.
The club improved vastly over this period and in 2004-05 saw Town achieve runners up spot to
Tipton Town in the League. In the same season Town also won the Shropshire Challenge Cup. In the
following 2005-06 season Town finally gained promotion to the Midlands Alliance by winning the
league by 18 points. After a long season in 2008-09 where Town played 56 games, Town achieved
their main objective and were crowned Midland Football Alliance League Champions, finishing 8
points ahead of second place Barwell Town, and gaining promotion to the then Unibond Division
One South.
In their first season at Step 4 of non-league football in 2009-10 Town finished 13th in the League –
and entered the FA Trophy for the first time. In the seasons 2011/12 through to 2014/15 Town have
finished 16th,15th 19th and 19th in the now Evo Stik Division One South. During this period there
have been various managers including Simon Line, Jimmy Mullen, Andy Cooke, Greg Clowes and
Dorian Garner.
In December 2014 Town appointed Martyn Davies as player - manager. Martyn is a club stalwart
who has scored almost 300 goals in his time as a player for the club. Having staved off relegation in
2014/15, last year 2015/6, was Martyn’s first full year as manager and led the team to their best
ever league performance by finishing in 11th position and for a while were thereabouts in the play
off places. The side were unable to repeat that in 2016/17 finishing down in 14th
Newcastle Town FC
Newcastle Town FC emerged in its current format from a merger with Parkway Clayton in 1986 and
are now enjoying life in Evo-Stik Northern Premier League football.
Their recently renamed Aspire Stadium in Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire has a capacity of
4,000, covered accommodation for 1000, seating for 300, a tidy well equipped clubhouse which
offers amongst other beverages quality cask conditioned ale, and a £60,000 floodlighting system.
The playing surface is surrounded by one of the few recognised cycling tracks in the north of the
country which hosts many competitions and has been used by the Great British Cycling Team in the
recent past.
In the season immediately after the merger with Parkway Clayton Newcastle Town enjoyed much
success ending runners up in the Mid Cheshire League and moving into the North West Counties
League as a limited company in 1987. After promotion from Division Two in the early 1990’s the club
enjoyed a lot of success in Division One winning the Tennants Floodlit Trophy, the Walsall Senior Cup
and the NWCL Floodlit Trophy although constantly just missing out on promotion at the death.
In the 96/97 season the club enjoyed a tremendous run in the FA Cup defeating Winsford United,
Frickley and Bamber Town from the Unibond League on their way to the first round proper where
they narrowly lost to Notts County, the oldest league club in the world, at what was to be one of the
last cup ties at Stoke City’s famous Victoria Ground. Following the turn of the century promotion
continued to escape the clutches of Newcastle Town although playing extremely entertaining
football under the likes of managers Ray Walker before his move to Crewe Alexandria and Nigel
Gleghorn formerly with Stoke City.
In the season 2006/07 Towns form fell away after a very promising start and management duo Greg
Clowes and Dorian Garner took over the reins after a successful period with Unibond side Alsager
Town. Results picked up and new players arrived with Castle only losing 4 of their last 18 games in
the new duos first season in charge. Paul Ratcliffe also took over as Chairman of the club at this time.
The next couple of years saw the management continue to build a side that would challenge for
promotion although both proved disappointing with Castle again narrowly missing out mainly due to
key players injuries. Despite the disappointment of no promotion Newcastle players Simon
Eldershaw (Player of the Month) Jon Ritchie (Safe Hands) and Richard Minor (Division 1 Player of the
Season) brought success with their awards.
Finally, in season 2009/10 Newcastle Town achieved their dream of promotion. They led the Vodkat
League from day 1 and by the time they dropped their first points having won the first 28 games, the
title was almost secure. Best start, most League wins in a season and most points were three of the
records that the club broke. They also lifted the Staffs Senior Cup for the first time with an amazing
6-1 victory over Port Vale at Vale Park. Hardly had the team’s success sunk in when Newcastle Town
were rocked in the close season with both Manager Greg Clowes and Assistant Dorian Garner
leaving for Stafford Rangers taking the whole squad with them. Undaunted the club followed current
policy and appointed from within with John Diskin, Dave Sutton and Ivan Lodge being promoted
from their respective roles with both the second Team and the Youth Team. Their brief was to
rebuild a First Team squad capable of confirming their position within the Evostik First Division.
Castle ended the 2011-12 season in a respectable position but with higher hopes as there was a
great deal of success from the younger players coming through at the club. Town continued to build
for the future in 2012-13 in a season which saw an influx of their successful Youth Team into the
First Team Squad as the season progressed. Season 2013-14 saw Castle’s young side improve
throughout the season and finish a very respectable eighth in the League. With the Young Reserve
side reaching the final of the Leek Cup and the Youth Team winning the County Youth Floodlit Cup
Newcastle will be looking to push on and continue their development.
Further improvement came in 2014-15 with Castle reaching the play-offs where they were defeated
by Sutton Coldfield Town who were promoted to the Premier Division. Town’s policy of developing
youngsters looks to be paying dividends as more trophies were forthcoming. Newcastle also won
awards for Fair Play and their lack of dissent as they build a reputation of playing the game in the
right manner with good football.
2015/16 saw Town struggle with injuries culminating with manager Ivan Lodge suffering a stroke.
Ivan decided to step down to concentrate on his recovery and at the end of the season his brotherin-law and former Norton and Witton manager Scott Dundas was appointed with assistant Steve
Chadwick to the role to take the club forward. In 2016/17 the side came 7th
Romulus
The story of Romulus Football Club began in 1979, when Club Founder and President Roger Evans aided by a small band of other parents - decided to form a club where the best young players from
North Birmingham were able to play football, irrelevant of their ability to pay subs.
The club started with two age groups: the Under 12s, managed by George Griffin, and the Under
13s, managed by Roger. The teams played at their first home, Penns Lane, in Sutton Coldfield.
Success was instant and consistent. During their early years Romulus were regular winners of both
the Lichfield League and the Birmingham Boys League, as well as the Staffordshire FA Youth Cup.
As well as winning trophies, the Roms quickly developed a reputation for producing top class youth
team players. Dean Sturridge (Derby, Leicester), Stuart Bowen (West Bromwich Albion), Luke Rogers
(Shrewsbury Town & LA Galaxy) Darius Vassell (Aston Villa, Man City and England), Pablo Mills (
Derby, Rotherham United and Crawley), brothers Stefan and Luke Moore (Aston Villa), and Zat
Knight (Fulham, Aston Villa and Bolton), Marvin Johnson (Kidderminster and Motherwell), Nathan
Blissett (Kidderminster and Bristol Rovers), and Ben Richards Everton (Partick Thistle via Tamworth
FC) are all players who went on to flourish in professional football after lengthy youth service to the
Roms.
While the youth sides continued to flourish, the Romulus story then took an exciting new turn by
entering senior football in the Sutton and District Sunday League. Initially placed in Division Two,
Roms won three successive championships, and this heralded a move to the stronger Birmingham
Sunday Festival League. This time Roms started off in Division Four, and another four consecutive
promotions followed, taking the club directly to the Premier Division.
At the tender age of 28, current boss Richard Evans took the Player/Manager's role having played in
every season since Romulus began, doing that alongside a successful Saturday career in the now
Conference South with Moor Green (Now Solihull Moors FC) and Stourbridge FC. For the next two
years Romulus continued to succeed at the top of local Sunday football, before the decision was
taken to progress into the Saturday game.
Twenty years after they were formed, the club joined the English Football Association's Saturday
Pyramid system. And what a success this proved to be! Promotions followed as Roms climbed their
way up through the pyramid, and the club has been at Northern Premier level for nine years to date
- no other Sunday team has ever emulated this feat and it’s unlikely any other club ever will.
The season 2003-4 was a record breaking season for the club, and an enthralling battle for the
league title with Leamington FC ended with The Roms gaining promotion to The Midland Football
Alliance as champions. This was just one triumph that season, with the Roms completing a unique
treble: they also lifted the Birmingham Midweek Floodlit Challenge Cup with a 2-1 triumph over
Nuneaton Griff, and they won the Midland Combination Endsleigh Challenge Cup, beating Coventry
Marconi 2-0.
The following season Roms finished a creditable 12th in their Midland Football Alliance debut season
in the Midland Football Alliance, with more cup success following, as they defeated arch rivals
Leamington 1-0 in the Terry Allden Memorial Cup final.
Champagne corks were popping once again in 2005-6, winning promotion to the Southern Football
League, secured as runners-up behind runaway champions Leamington. This success was
compounded by an impressive FA Cup run to the 2nd Qualifying Round, coming within seconds of
beating Worcester City of the Conference North at St Georges Lane - but a late equaliser and
subsequent defeat in the replay ended the Roms dream.
But it put the club on the map though, and sent the club on its way to the next level with plenty of
belief and impetus.
THE SOUTHERN/NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE YEARS
Romulus joined the Southern League Midlands Division for the 2007-8 season and finished the first
season at this level in 10th place. It was a learning curve and hopes were high for the following
season. Another successful season followed in 2008-9, both in the league and cup competitions, with
Roms again reaching the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, as well as a best ever run in the FA
Trophy.
The Roms had another groundbreaking season the following year, securing an excellent eighth
position in the league, and reaching two County cup semi-finals. Beating Burton Albion 2-1 in the
Birmingham Senior quarter final was a notable achievement.
In the summer of 2010, with Richard Evans still in charge of team affairs, Romulus were moved
sideways in the FA pyramid, to the Evo Stik Northern Premier League. The team finished the season
in 10th place on 67 points, our highest ever points tally in a Step 4 league to date.
The following two seasons proved a challenge, and in the summer of 2012 Andy Wilson took over as
chairman from Richard Evans, who had been combining that role with his duties as manager. But a
year later there was more change, an in October 2013 - 10 games into the season, with the team
riding high at the top of the NPL League - Evans stood down as manager after 15 years and over 900
games at the helm. He wanted to concentrate on the off field duty’s required to take the club
forward, and took over again as chairman. Evans successor as first team manager was Dave Barnett,
and the team finished a creditable 11th in The NPL league on 55 points that season.
In 2014 Roms set up a Football Academy for 16-18 year olds, which also allows the players to study
full time in B Tec Sports Studies. The Club saw this as a massive step to producing more players
capable of moving into the full time game via the Roms first team - with Yohan Rutty Smith achieving
it in March 2015 when he signed for Notts County. Nearly 50 youngsters have enrolled for the
2016/17 Academy - a fantastic achievement. And Roms have now launched a Futsal Academy,
offering more youngsters an opportunity to gain a professional qualification and give them an
opportunity to improve their football skills.
Future plans for the club include developing the newly acquired Lindridge Road site, and continuing
the tradition of producing top class young people and players - a reputation that is spreading
nationwide. And in the summer of 2015 former Tottenham winger Andy Turner was appointed
Academy Director - an exciting move that followed his appointment earlier in the year as joint first
team manager with Richard Evans, after Dave Barnett moved on after giving sterling service to the
club.
Roms finished a respectable 12th at the end of the 2014/15 and 10th in the 2015/16 season, though
slipped slightly to 13th in 2016/17.
Sheffield FC
Early Football
Versions of football evolved in many early civilisations, example of these can be found in ancient
China, Greece and Rome. In England the original games were played between villages in fields and
streets. This ‘Mob Football’ involved hundreds of players and was little more than prolonged and
violent street battles. During the 19th century a more refined version of the game grew in popularity
within the public schools and universities, each playing to their own sets of rules.
The Birth of Sheffield Football Club
During the 1850s the enthusiasm and influence of ex-public school and university students spread
the popularity of the game around Sheffield. In the summer of 1857 William Prest and Nathaniel
Creswick agreed that the game would be a splendid candidate for organised sport during the winter
months. The pair wrote to the Public Schools for information, regarding their varying rules, with the
aim of drawing up a set of laws embodying the best points from each. On October 24th, 1857, the
world’s first football club was born in a greenhouse, at the home of Harry Chambers. Chambers went
on to become one of the club’s greatest players, and Secretary, in a career that spanned over 40
years.
Among the first rules drawn up were laws asserting that “no hacking or tripping up is fair under any
circumstances”, “no player may be held or pulled over” and “it is not lawful to take the ball off the
ground [using hands]”. Upon the formation of the Football Association in 1863, Sheffield Club’s
insistence on these laws began the evolution into the game we recognise globally today. Heading,
solid crossbars, corner kicks, free-kicks for fouls, throw-ins, a half-time change of ends and floodlit
matches can all be traced to the innovators of Sheffield F.C.!
Early Years
Initially early matches, such as Married men v Unmarried, had to be played between Club members.
Records also show games against local army sides. Following victory over the 58th Army Regiment in
1860 a local report stated that, “most of the officers were adepts at the game, having, in their
younger days, played in the public school matches, and the victory of the civilians was quite
unexpected.”
Following the birth of Hallam F.C., the world’s first inter-club game took place on Boxing Day in 1860.
The match “was conducted with good temper and in a friendly spirit”, concluding in a 2-0 win for
Sheffield. For several years all matches were played locally, against a rising number of new sides,
before the first ‘out of town’ match was played in Nottinghamshire in 1865. In 1866 the first game
limited to a length of 90 minutes was played at Battersea Park against London.
The FA Cup was founded in 1871 and in its third season Sheffield became the first northern side to
take part. They succeeded in reaching the quarter finals in this and two further seasons also, 1876
and 1878. 1872 saw the first international game, between England and Scotland in Glasgow, with
Sheffield’s Charles Clegg playing for the England side. Clegg would later go on to be Chairman, and
President, of the FA and receive a knighthood for his services to the game.
From the 1880s onwards the rise of professionalism and Sheffield Club’s firm insistence of retaining
their amateur status saw them overtaken and overshadowed by other sides in the area. During these
years the very survival of the club owed much to the leadership of former players Harry Chambers
and Harry Broughton Willey. After the death of the latter in 1933 the minutes stated that “Mr H.B.
Willey for years had carried the Club on his back, administratively and financially, making up a yearly
deficit from his own pocket.” It wasn’t all doom and gloom though! In fact Sheffield enjoyed possibly
their greatest hour in 1904 when they won the Amateur Cup, beating Ealing 3-1 at Valley Parade,
Bradford.
Yorkshire League
1949 brought admission to the Yorkshire League and a resurgence, which saw the side promoted to
Division One in their third season and reach the League Cup final in 1953. In 1957 they celebrated
their Centenary year and reached their first Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Cup final in 1962. The
1950s also saw the emergence of the Club’s greatest legend with forward Geoff Robinson (above)
scoring 232 goals over 216 appearances. After a period of yo-yoing between divisions the 1977 side
were crowned Division Two Champions and reached that season’s FA Vase final at Wembley. They
established themselves as a top division side in the Yorkshire League, lifting the League Cup in 1978,
before joining the newly founded Northern Counties East League in 1982.
Northern Counties East League
The Division One title was won in both 1989 and 1991 and a first Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Cup
win came in 1994. In 2001 the club acquired a permanent ground, for the first time, when moving to
its current home. After the turn of the century the side began to consistently challenge for
promotion, winning both the League Cup and Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Cup on two occasions.
The 2006/07 season ended with a 2nd place finish and promotion to the Northern Premier League.
Northern Premier League
The side made an instant impact in reaching the 2008 play-off final, narrowly losing only on
penalties. That first season also saw games against Inter Milan and Ajax at Bramall Lane, as part of
the 150th birthday celebrations, and a few years later a win at Hallam’s Sandygate ground to mark
the anniversary of the first inter-club match. Sheffield have twice more been involved in the season
ending play-offs and lifted the Sheffield & Hallamshire FA Cup on two further occasions.
Manager James Colliver took over at the start of 2016, and some progress was made as the side rose
to 15th from the 17th place finish in 2015/16. In addition the SFC Ladies’ team have now risen from
the lowest rung of women’s football, to play alongside the elite of the game in the FA Women’s
Super League. Sheffield Futsal Club were again amongst the country’s leading sides, the Under 19s
won the League Cup and the Over 35s won the treble, whilst the newly formed Sheffield FC Veterans
(with Jim Fern scoring, right) went to the San Siro Stadium in Milan to win the ACLI Invitational
Trophy as the club continues to go from strength to strength in the grass roots game in its 160th
season.
Spalding United
Spalding United FC were nicknamed ‘The Tulips’ because of the town’s association with the bulb
growing industry. The club was formed in 1921 but the town did have football in the guise of
Spalding Thursday and Spalding Town prior to that. They have always played at the same Sir Halley
Stewart Field venue, although it was originally known as the Black Swan Field.
During their early days the club played in the Spalding and District League, eventually progressing to
the Peterborough League. Their first honours came in 1933 when they won the Lincolnshire Junior
Cup. The feat was repeated in 1938 and they progressed to senior level and won the Lincolnshire
Senior B Cup in 1951. Further progress followed with success in the Lincolnshire Senior A Cup in
1953. In 1952 the Tulips recorded their record ground attendance when playing Peterborough
United, then a Midland League side, in a qualifying round of the FA Cup. A crowd of 6,973 packed
into the Sir Halley Stewart Field and saw Spalding leading 2-0 with ten minutes to play but Posh
fought back to equalise and went on to win the replay 3-0.
The club has reached the first round proper of the FA Cup on two occasions. In 1957/58 they lost 3-1
to Durham City and in 1964/65 they played Football League opposition for the first time, being
beaten 5-3 in a thrilling encounter at Newport County. Spalding became United Counties League
champions for the first time in 1955, having been
runners-up in 1951, 1952 and 1953. They joined the Eastern Counties League but were without
success and joined the Central Alliance League. They stayed just one season before transferring to
the re-formed Midland League in 1961. Again no honours came their way and in 1968 they rejoined
the United Counties League and won the title for a second time in 1975.
Spalding changed competitions once more in 1982, joining the Northern Counties East League. They
were champions in 1984 but returned once again to the United Counties League in 1986. A third title
was won in 1988, a season which also saw them lift the Lincolnshire Senior A Cup. This time their
success earned promotion to the Southern League and their first two seasons in the Midland
Division saw them finish eighth and sixth in the table.
In 1989/90 Spalding enjoyed an excellent run in the FA Vase, progressing to a home quarter-final tie
with Guiseley, who included former Leicester City and England striker Frank Worthington in their
side. A crowd of 2,020 saw Guiseley win 3-1 in extra time, with the visitors a tad fortunate at having
equalised in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes.
Things took a downturn with relegation back to the United Counties League the following season.
The club went into decline and it took a number of years before they started to rebuild. The recovery
followed the appointment of Alan Day as manager in 1994. Spalding won the UCL Knockout Cup in
1995 and in 1997 they were runner-up in the league as well as reaching the last-16 of the FA Vase
when they were defeated by Taunton Town.
In 1998 they finished third in the league and again reached the quarter-final stage of the FA Vase,
losing 2-1 at home to eventual winners Tiverton Town in front of 2,038 spectators. In 1998/99 the
club won the United Counties League championship, the Lincolnshire A Cup and the Hinchingbrooke
Cup. As UCL champions Spalding regained membership of the Southern League and competed in the
Eastern Division for season 1999/2000. After a disastrous period they finished the season in a
creditable 15th position.
The following season saw the Tulips start well, but by the end they had slipped to bottom position.
However, the expected relegation did not materalise as two other clubs resigned, giving The Tulips
and Sittingbourne a reprieve. The 2001/02 season saw the Tulips start with quite a few new players,
plus a new management set up with Nick Andersen being assisted by Alex Irvine. After getting off to
a good start the team suffered a spate of injuries and again the club saw themselves at the foot of
the table by the end of the season. Again they evaded relegation but the club was in turmoil for the
start of the next campaign with the chairman “retiring”. However, co-manager Irvine took the
initiative and stepped into the breach to ensure the club’s immediate future.
Irvine resigned at the end of the year shortly after the departure of manager Andersen to be
replaced by Chris Toynton. A procession of managers followed with little or no success, doing little
more than ensuring the club fulfilled its Southern League commitments. The outcome was a return
to the United Counties League. Following his success in leading neighbours Holbeach United to the
UCL championship, their manager Dick Creasey became a target of new chairman Toynton. Creasey
accepted the challenge of winning back-to-back championships with a different club. It was achieved
on 8th May with a convincing 5-1 victory at Ford Sports, Daventry. To round off an excellent season
the Tulips also won the East Anglian Cup for the first time in their history, beating Aveley 3-1 in the
Final.
The Tulips entered a new era by being placed in the UniBond Northern Premier League. After seeing
his side lose a number of matches by a single goal manager Dick Creasey resigned in early
November, 2004. His most senior player Steve Charles took charge until a new manager could be
appointed. Charles, with more than 600 Football League appearances behind him, guided the side to
an unbeaten spell of six matches before the arrival of Steve Welsh, another vastly experienced
League player, in England and Scotland.
The debut season in the UniBond League was was one of highs and lows but too many defeats by a
single goal resulted in the team finishing in 18th position, but they ended the season on a high by
beating Lowestoft Town 4-2 in the Final to retain the East Anglian Cup. Welsh resigned as manager
to take up a full time coaching role with Boston United in midOctober, 2005, and was replaced by
former Kettering Town assistant boss Alan Biley who had immediate success, taking the team from
bottom spot to mid-table in weeks of arriving. But come early February 2006 Biley had returned to
Kettering and ten days later former Lincoln City, Grimsby Town and Norwich City midfielder Phil
Hubbard was named as his successor. With Mark Hone as assistant manager, he guided the team out
of the Unibond League relegation area and to safety at Level-4.
The 2006/07 season saw the Tulips return to the Southern League for a third time and finish 19th of
22 teams after a roller coaster campaign. But in the final phase of FA restructuring the club was
relocated back to the UniBond League for the 2007/08 season, competing in Division One (South).
The close season also saw the club enter new and exciting era with the formation of a Youth
Academy under the direction of former Kettering Town boss Dominic Genovese who had been
handed the title of Director of Football. In mid-September Genovese took over the manager’s reins
following the departure of Phil Hubbard after a dismal start to the season. But the hoped for results
failed to materialise and Biley, who had been released amid managerial changes at Corby Town, was
enticed back to the Tulips for a third time as manager. After successfully carrying out his remit to
maintain Level 4 status Biley departed again in June 2009.
After two weeks former player Mark Hone was appointed to his first managerial position. But he
resigned in mid-November with the team languishing in penultimate position in the league. Assistant
manager Richard Scott was appointed as manager in mid-February following an eightmatch “trial”
period. But his hopes of success for the club did not materialise and with Spalding United again in
the relegation positions, Scott resigned in mid-January 2011 which also prompted a mass exodus of
players.
Andrew Stanhope, who had enjoyed a lengthy playing career with the Tulips, stepped into the
breach together with another former player and manager in Bob Don-Duncan. Unfortunately they
were unable to halt the slide and the club was relegated back to the United Counties League. After
11 months in charge Stanhope was relieved of his duties. Pat Rayment was appointed manager in
mid-January 2012. He set about re-structuring the club and the start of the 2012/13 season brought
a new management team with former Peterborough United player Marcus Ebdon joining as
Assistant Manager and Bob Don-Duncan moving up the ladder as Director of Football. After a largely
successful campaign which saw an extended run in the FA Vase (the Tulips eventually going out at
home in the 5th Round to eventual Semi-Finalists, Guernsey, the club narrowly missed out on
winning promotion from the UCL Premier Division by a solitary point at the end of the 2012/13, but
emerged victorious in that season’s UCL Knockout Cup, beating promoted St Ives Town 4-0 in the
Final.
The club’s 90th anniversary year (2011/12) started on a high when a partnership deal with top local
junior club Spalding Athletic JFC was agreed, putting us in contact with age group football from
under-8 to under-18. The 2013/14 Pre-Season saw a huge influx of talented players to the club and it
came as no surprise to many that the UCL Premier Division crown was won at a canter. With the
talented squad at his disposal, much had been made of Pat Rayment’s potential in guiding the Tulips
deep into the latter stages of that season’s FA Vase, but following a 3-0 2nd Round victory over
Walsall Wood in early November the Tulips’ world fell apart temporarily when it was discovered that
they’d fielded an ineligible player for the final few moments of that tie. Despite protestations
directly to The FA the decision was upheld and the Tulips wre thrown out of the competition; harsh
by many people’s reckoning, considering the fine details of the case.
With promotion back to Step 4 of the Non-League pyramid secured for the 2014/15 season, the
Tulips gave a good account of themselves in the Evo-Stik NPL First Division South but a late season
collapse, when it had seemed highly likely for so long that they’d qualify for the end-of-season Play-
Offs,saw the team finish 7th and left management & supporters baffled when all had seemed to be
going so well between Christmas and the end of February 2015. The 2015/16 campaign began much
as had the previous one, with the Tulips showing they belonged at Step 4. However, manager Pat
Rayment again tendered his resignation in November 2015, shortly after the shock FA Cup 3rd
Round Qualifying Replay defeat at home to Sporting Khalsa during October 2015; Rayment cited that
he felt he’d taken the team as far as he could and that after almost four years in charge he was
ready for another challenge. As potentially unsettling as Rayment’s abrupt departure could have
been, former Assistant Manager, Marcus
Ebdon, and Coach, Danny Hussey, agreed to take on the reins in a Joint Management arrangement
and duly saw out the role until the end of the 2015/16 season, which the Tulips finished in 12th
place.
With the season complete by what seemed a matter of minutes, Mssrs Ebdon/Hussey announced
that they would not be carrying on the role of Joint Managers due to increasing work commitments.
Many wondered what direction the club would take and whether such news would mean a mass
exodus of talent. Most assumed a familiar face from the past would be invited back to captain the
ship, but it came as a great filip when news was announced in May 2016 that former Lincoln United
boss and Tulips player, David Frecklington, had agreed to lead the club on a three-year contract.
Dave was quickly joined by his former Assistant at Lincoln United, Chris Rawlinson, and the
rebuilding project began in earnest. Six key members of the Tulips squad (inc stalwarts such as
Michael Duggan, Nathan Stainfield, Neal Spafford, Tom Waumsley and Jonny Lockie) were retained
for 2016/17 and a host of new faces were either signed or trialled during Pre-Season.
Having overseen Lincoln United go from strength-to-strength in his three-year tenure at the helm
(2015/16 saw The Whites finish in the Play-Off places), Frecklington & Rawlinson made no secret of
their ambition to take the Tulips to Step 3 of the non-league pyramid. Early season preparations and
results suggested they were indeed men on a mission as the Tulips began 2016/17 with a string of
impressive results. Frecklington moved on mid-season but Rawlinson oversaw a campaign that
ended with a play off defeat against Witton Albion having finished 3rd in the regular season
Stamford Town
There is evidence to support the existence of a football club in Stamford as far back as 1870 and
various clubs came & went in the next twenty years until 1894 when the town’s two most prominent
clubs Stamford Town & Rutland Ironworks agreed to amalgamate. Initially the club adopted the
name of the Rutland Ironworks who were viewed as the stronger of the two, but the current club’s
existence is generally accepted to date back to 1896 when the Stamford Town name was adopted to
give the club a higher profile. It was to be some years before the club became known as “The
Daniels” after Daniel Lambert, the heaviest British man ever, who died in 1809 in Stamford weighing
52 stone or thereabouts and is buried in St Martin’s churchyard in the town.
The club’s first ever match was played on Hanson’s Field, at the location of Wothorpe Road and the
club has enjoyed continuous use of the ground ever since. Evidence has come to light that the site
staged football in the early 1870s making it a candidate for the world’s oldest football ground.
Stamford Town enjoyed success from the off and won the Younger Cup in their first season. Several
other trophies followed in the next decade and a half as Stamford established themselves as one of
the area’s most successful clubs. Most notable were back to back successes in the prestigious
Hinchingbrooke Cup in 1907 and 1908, the trophy being won in front of four figure crowds in the
finals at Huntingdon.
Encouraged by these successes Stamford turned professional in 1909. Stamford was quick to
progress and in only their third season of Northants League football they won the championship. In
1913-1914 Stamford enjoyed their best ever FA Cup run reaching the 5th Qualifying Round before
losing 2-0 at Chatham. Financial troubles plagued the club towards the end of the thirties and in
1939 they decided to take a season’s break to put the finances right. Within a few weeks war was
declared and it was 1945 before league football resumed.
After a season regrouping in the Peterborough League Stamford returned to the United Counties
League, successor to the Northants League, in 1946. They soon earned a reputation as cup
specialists winning the Lincolnshire Junior Cup in 1949, UCL Knockout Cup in 1952 and Lincolnshire
Senior Cup ‘B’ in 1952 and 1954. Football in the early post war years captured the public’s
imagination with a record crowd of 4,200 watching a 3-3 FA Cup draw with Kettering in 1953. In
1955 Stamford joined the Central Alliance before stepping up in class to join the Midland League in
1961. The sixties were years of struggle although 1961 saw Arsenal come to Wothorpe Road to beat
the Daniels 9-0 in a match arranged to mark the town's quincentenary.
1972 saw the Daniels return to the United Counties League where they became a power under the
guidance of former Peterborough manager Norman Rigby. Another FA Cup run to the 4th Qualifying
Round in 1973-1974 was followed by an excellent FA Vase campaign a year later, Stamford reaching
the semi-finals of the new tournament. After several near misses Stamford won the UCL league &
cup double in 1976, also going one better in the Vase, losing 1-0 to Billericay in extra time at
Wembley. Malcolm Hird – later voted Stamford’s Player of the Century by supporters and goal ace
Dick Smith, the club’s highest postwar marksman, were stars of this side. Stamford continued to
dominate the UCL under Rigby winning a further title in 1978, their first Lincs Senior Cup ‘A’ success
the following season was the highlight of a disappointing campaign under Ray Medwell, but the
appointment of ex-skipper Hird as boss in the summer of 1979 proved a masterstroke.
Three seasons under the management of the Casterton schoolmaster saw the Daniels complete a
hat-trick of UCL championships, Knockout Cup successes in 1980 & 1982 & best of all a Wembley
return in 1980, goals from Keith Alexander & Andy McGowan giving Stamford a 2-0 win over
Guisborough. Under Chris Corby’s management Stamford enjoyed Lincs Senior Cup ‘A’ success in
1982-1983 and a third Wembley visit in 1984, losing 3-2 to Stansted in the Vase final, while Paul
Brackwell steered the Daniels to Knockout Cup success in 1986. By now the club’s golden age was at
an end although the club continued to produce good players with Keith Alexander & Andy Tillson
(both Grimsby), Darren Edey (Peterborough) & Brett McNamara (Northampton) all graduating to the
pro ranks.
The appointment of Steve Evans as manager in 1994 started Stamford’s revival. His policy of signing
high profile players brought ex-Posh favourites Trevor Quow, Steve Collins, Milton Graham and
Micky Gynn to the club, along with Scottish international David Speedie and ex-Olympic decathlon
champion Daley Thompson. The club’s centenary season saw Stamford win the UCL for a seventh
time after a spectacular late burst through the pack, while 1997-1998 was even better as Stamford
retained the title, also carrying off the Lincs Senior Cup’A’ & Hinchingbrooke Cup.
Promotion to the Southern League was the outcome and the club’s debut campaign in the Midland
Division proved hugely eventful. After steering Stamford to Benevolent Cup success and a place in
the Lincolnshire Senior Cup final manager Evans moved to Boston United with Billy Jeffrey arriving
from Rushden & Diamonds to take the reins. The new manager rebuilt with younger players and a
final placing of 18th in the Midland Division. League reshuffling saw Stamford placed in the Eastern
Division for 1999-2000 and an 11 match unbeaten start – the club’s best ever – proved invaluable as
Stamford accumulated a record 18 draws over the season, eventually finishing 17th in the table.
Seventh place in the 2003-2004 season was enough to earn the Daniels a Premier Division place for
the first time in their history. Unfortunately too many draws proved costly as Stamford were
relegated. In July 2005, new manager Graham Drury arrived from Harrowby and his new look side
regained the club’s Premier Division place at the first attempt. After finishing fourth in Division One
East the Daniels defeated Wivenhoe to progress through the play offs. Stamford fared much better
on their return to the Premier Division & briefly topped the table in January.
In 2006-2007 the season ended with silverware on display as the Daniels claimed their fifth different
county cup, beating Brigg to win the Senior Shield at Lincoln City’s Sincil Bank Stadium. In the
summer of 2007 the club was transferred to the Northern League Premier Division after nine years
playing in the Southern League, but suffered instant relegation to Division One South after losing
manager Graham Drury.
Graham Drury returned to take over as manager within a couple of weeks of the 2011-2012 season
ending. Graham departed for Boston United in December 2012. He was replaced by Wayne Hatswell
in January 2013, which culminated in the club gaining promotion via the play-offs defeating
Chasetown in the final. We then had another managerial change with Hatswell leaving for a coaching
role at league 2 Newport County. His deputy David Staff was promoted for his first managerial
position for the 2013-2014 campaign. The season culminated in winning the Lincolnshire Senior
Trophy in the final against Brigg Town.
The 2014-15 season was started at our Wothorpe Road ground, and we played out last game there
on the 22nd November before moving to our new home at the Zeeco stadium. On 13 December
2014 we started a new chapter of the clubs life with our first game at the Zeeco Stadium.
Unfortunately it took us longer than expected to get that first home league win - it came down to
the last game of the season against Witton Albion when the win was the only way to say in the
Premier Division.
The 2015-2016 season was the first full season at the Borderville Sports Complex. This was a
turbulent season which saw David Staff replaced by Andrew Wilson whose tenure only last 10 games
and saw him being replaced by Graham Drury for his third stint with the club. Despite an upturn in
form it was not enough to stop the Daniels being relegated.
The downward spiral continued in 2016/17 so far as the league was concerned with early flirtation
with relegation eventually swept away with a late climb up to 16th. The side had compensation in the
form of a fair-tale FA Cup run that included a win away at Conference side Wrexham in the 4th
qualifying round before going out in the 1st round proper away at league 2 side Hartlepool United
Stocksbridge Park Steels
Stocksbridge Park Steels was created in 1986 with the merger of Stocksbridge Works F.C. and
another Stocksbridge Club Oxley Park Sports F.C. Stocksbridge Works had the ground and only one
team and Oxley Park had three teams and no ground.
In the early years 1986-91 the new Club ploughed all its resources into the Bracken Moor Stadium so
as to meet ground grading criteria and enable the Club to rise through the Non-League pyramid
system. There was an opening of a social club, refurbishment to the dressing rooms, erection of
floodlights, the building of new stand and extension to the social club new canteen area, making the
ground the best junior stadium in South Yorkshire, which currently hosts 8 to 9 Sheffield and
Hallamshire County FA Finals.
The appointment of Mick Horne and Trevor Gough as Team Manager and Assistant in February 1991
heralded a period of success to rival the works in the 1950/1964 period. Under Mick and Trevor,
Steels started their run to the present Unibond League.
1993/4 saw steels win Premier division of the NCEL, but Steels celebrations were cut short when the
ground improvements necessitated were not at an advanced enough state to allow Steels to take
place in the Unibond League. The following season Steels finished in 3rd place and in 1995/96 they
were runners up to Hatfield Main and gained promotion to the Unibond First Division.
Steels made steady progress in the first five seasons in the Unibond League, with the highest placed
position of 4th achieved in 2000/01. In 2002 Wayne Biggins was subsequently appointed
Player/Manager after a short spell as Assistant Manager, with Graham Furness as Assistant. In the
2002/03 season, Paul Jackson, equalled an FA Cup record of ten goals in one game, during the Steels
17-1 thrashing of Oldham Town.
Steels had their best FA Cup run in the 2003/2004 season reaching the fourth qualifying round
eventually losing away at Shildon. In November 2003 Peter Rinkcavage was appointed as Manager
from Gainsborough Trinity with Paul Bradshaw as Assistant with Jason Maybury, taking over from
Bradshaw in 2004. A good season followed in 2005/2006 with the Steels, just missing out on
promotion after losing to Kendal in the play-offs.
In the 2006/2007 season Steels missed out on a play-off position after being in the top three in 90%
of the season. But the team finished the season on a high note beating local rivals Worksop Town in
the Sheffield senior cup final at Hillsborough. This was to be the last game, with Peter Rinkcavage in
charge. He along with assistant Jason Maybury, left to join Worksop Town in the summer of 2007.
Gary Marrow, along with his assistant Mark Ogley was appointed manager before the start of the
2007/2008 season, with former player Gary Ingham taking over from Ogley midway through the
season. In his First season at the club, Marrow steered them to a credible 5th place losing to local
rivals Sheffield F.C. in the play-off semi-final.
Steels have just been awarded the prestigious top FA Charter Standard Community Club Award (3 of
3) and representatives from most of the Clubs 22 squads were at the Presentation on August 6th
when Sheffield United player Geoff Horsfield and Blades Legend Keith Edwards handed over the FA
plaque. At the moment the club has 420 players either playing in a squad or being coached on a
regular basis (12 Junior Boys, 3 Junior Girls and 7 Seniors). Stocksbridge Park Steels is now
acknowledged to be the top 'grass roots' Community Club in South Yorkshire.
2008/09 was a fabulous season for Gary Marrows team, having finished third in Unibond League
Division 1 South they won the play-off final against Derbyshire rivals Belper Town 1-0 and were
promoted to the Unibond Premier league for the first time in the club’s history. Steels supporters
were in for a roller coaster debut season in the Unibond premier league, 10 games into the season
while his team were top of the league, manager Gary Marrow resigned. Former Steels player Simon
Collins took over but unfortunately his tenure didn’t last long. Reserve manager Steve Shutt took
over and guided Steels to an excellent 11th place.
The 2010/11 season started with the return of Gary Marrow as manager. Gary Marrow resigned just
before Christmas during the 2011/12 season and was replaced with Chris Willcock, Darren Schofield
was appointed his assistant. Willcock guided the Steels to safety that season with a little help from
Mickleover Sports who were docked points for playing an ineligible player. Willcock's second season
in charge didn't start well and he was replaced by his assistant Darren Schofield who brought in the
experienced defender Brett Lovell as his number two. Once again Stocksbridge managed to avoid
relegation but again it went down to the wire.
The 2013/14 season started on a high with an exciting victory over Droylsden but from then on the
Steels struggled, spending most of the season in the relegation zone. The club and long serving
player/manager Darren Schofield parted company at the end of the season. Former Worsborough
Bridge manager Chris Hilton was appointed the new boss for the 2014/15 season. Chris immediately
brought in the former Emley midfielder Mark 'Willy' Wilson as his assistant and experienced former
Barnsley defender Ryan Laight as player coach.
After a season mainly of consolidation, Hilton started his second season in charge with a change of
assistant. Ryan Laight stepping up replacing Mark Wilson. Lee Thompson became the new player
coach. 2015/16 was a successful season for Stocksbridge having their best ever run in the FA trophy
eventually losing out to National side Gateshead, this was after they had beaten the holders North
Ferriby in the previous round. Steels finished the league in sixth place just a couple of points behind
the play-off positions and manager Chris Hilton was rewarded with a contract for the next two years.
In 2016/17 the side improved again to finish 4th though they lost in the play-off semi-final at Spalding
United