1.
Southern Football League
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Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. The structure of the Southern League has changed several times since its formation in 1894, the Premier Division is at step 3 of the National League System, and is a feeder division, mainly to the National League South but also to the National League North. Feeding the Premier Division are two divisions, Division One South & West and Division One Central, which are at step 4 of the NLS. These divisions are in turn fed by various regional leagues, professional football developed more slowly in Southern England than in Northern England. Additionally, a league, the Southern Alliance was founded in 1892, with seven clubs from the region. Nonetheless, another attempt was made to form the Southern League, a competition for both professional and amateur clubs was founded in 1894 under the initiative of Millwall Athletic. Initially only one division was envisaged, but such was the enthusiasm, the sixteen founder members were, 2nd Scots Guards withdrew before the first season started and were replaced by Southampton St Marys. Woolwich Arsenal attempted to add their reserve side to the second division, the Southern League soon became the dominant competition below The Football League in Southern and Central England. By the turn of the century a few of the Southern League sides began to rival the Football League in the FA Cup, Two Southern League clubs, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur reached the final of the FA Cup around the turn of the century. Tottenham Hotspur are the club from below the 2nd level of English football to have won the FA Cup. The champions of the two leagues during this period met in the annual Charity Shield, in 1907, it accepted Bradford Park Avenue, a northern club, as a member, reflecting its senior position at the time. In 1920, virtually the top division of the Southern League was absorbed by the Football League to become that leagues new Third Division. A year later the Third Division was expanded and regionalised, the Third Division clubs from the previous season became the Third Division South, with the addition of the Third Division North. Of the original members, six – Gillingham, Luton Town, Millwall, Reading. For the next six decades, the Football League and Southern League would exchange a number of clubs as a result of the older leagues re-election process. From 1920 onward, the Southern Leagues status as a league was firmly established. In turn, the APL would eventually succeed in becoming a feeder to the Football League, the league lost more of its top clubs in 2004 when the Conference added two regional divisions below the existing National League, the Conference South and Conference North. The first sponsor of the Southern League was Beazer Homes who sponsored the league from 1987–96, the sponsors after Beazer Homes to the present day are, Dr Martens, British Gas, Zamaretto, Evo-Stik, Calor Gas, and Evo-Stik
2.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
3.
Away colours
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Away colours are a choice of coloured clothing used in team sports. They are required to be worn by one team during a game between teams that would wear the same colours as each other, or similar colours. This change prevents confusion for officials, players, and spectators, in most sports it is the visiting team that must change – second-choice kits are commonly known as away kits or change kits in British English, and road uniforms in American English. Some sports leagues mandate that teams must always wear an alternative kit. In some sports, conventionally the home team has changed its kit, in most cases, a team wears its away kit only when its primary kit would clash with the colours of the home team. However, sometimes teams wear away colours by choice, occasionally even in a home game, at some clubs, the away kit has become more popular than the home version. Replica home and away kits are available for fans to buy. Some teams also have produced third-choice kits, or even old-fashioned throwback uniforms, in American sports, road teams usually wear a change uniform regardless of a potential colour clash. Further, almost all road uniforms are white in American football, in the National Basketball Association, home uniforms are white or yellow, and visiting teams wear a darker colour. In the United States, color vs. color games are a rarity, most teams choose to wear their color jerseys at home, with the road team changing to white in most cases. White road uniforms gained prominence with the rise of television in the 1950s, a white vs. color game was easier to follow in black-and-white. According to Phil Hecken, until the mid 1950′s, not only was color versus color common in the NFL, even long after the advent of color television, the use of white jerseys has remained in almost every game. The NFLs current rules require that a home jerseys must be either white or official team color throughout the season. If a team insists on wearing its home uniforms on the road, the road team might instead wear a third jersey, such as the Seattle Seahawks Wolf Grey alternate. According to the Gridiron Uniform Database, the Cleveland Browns wore white for home game of the 1955 season. The only times they wore brown was for games at Philadelphia and the New York Giants, in 1964 the Baltimore Colts, Browns, Vikings and Rams wore white regularly for their home games according to Tim Brulias research. The St. Louis Cardinals wore white for several of their home games, until 1964 Dallas had worn blue at home, but it was not an official rule that teams should wear their colored jerseys at home. The use of white jerseys was instigated by general manager Tex Schramm, the Cowboys still wear white at home today
4.
Football (soccer)
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
5.
Yate
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Yate is a commuter town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, at the southwest extremity of the Cotswold Hills,11 miles northeast of Bristol city centre. Yate developed from a village into a town from the 1960s onwards. Although not a new town in the sense, Yate took on many of the characteristics of one. At the 2011 census the population was 21,603, the town of Chipping Sodbury is contiguous with Yate to the east. In addition, a southern section of the built-up area spills over into the parish of Dodington. Yate has 2 secondary schools and 8 infant/junior schools along with 1 special needs school, the town is to the north-east of Bristol city centre, which is about 11 miles away by road. A couple of miles to the south of Yate is the M4, the South Wales Main Line, a branch of the Great Western Main Line runs along the south of Yate. This line does not have a station in Yate, the Cross Country route from Bristol to Birmingham and the north runs through the west of Yate. Yate railway station is situated on this line, apart from Chipping Sodbury to the east, Yate is surrounded by countryside and is situated to the south-west of the Cotswolds. The A432 is the road to serve Yate and runs through the centre of the town. Yate is represented in the UK Parliament by the constituency of Thornbury, historically part of Gloucestershire until 1974 it then became part of the district of Northavon within the newly formed county of Avon. In 1996, Avon was abolished, and the became part of the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. Yate Town Council provides local services, the first mention of Yate is the existence of a religious house in about AD770, Yate is also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is derived from the Old English word giete or gete, during the Anglo-Saxon period and well into medieval times, most of this part of south Gloucestershire was covered with forest. Through the centuries the land was cleared for farming, the towns parish church, St Marys, dates from Norman times. It was altered during the 15th century and was restored in 1970. St Marys Primary School, situated outside the walls, was built on the site of a former poorhouse. It was the opening of the station in 1844, as part of Bristol and Gloucester Railway
6.
Gloucestershire
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Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the fertile valley of the River Severn. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other towns include Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stroud. Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, then a small town. The local rural community moved to the city, and Bristols population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became a county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and it later became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. The official former postal county abbreviation was Glos, rather than the frequently used but erroneous Gloucs. or Glouc. In July 2007, Gloucestershire suffered the worst flooding in recorded British history, the RAF conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas. The damage was estimated at over £2 billion, the county recovered rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven schools, two are in Stroud, one in Cheltenham and four in Gloucester. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges, all but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms, each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. Most of the old market towns have parish churches, at Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain. These are, however, adjudged to be of English workmanship, other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey. Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve, the mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey
7.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
8.
English football league system
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There are more than 140 individual leagues, containing more than 480 divisions. As there are no definitions of any level below 11, any references to the structure at level 12. The pyramid for womens football in England runs separately to nine tiers, the Football League was created in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor. It was dominated by clubs who had supported professionalism. The twelve founding members consisted of six from Lancashire and six from the Midlands, no sides from the South including London initially participated. The system consists of a pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, in addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances. In theory it is possible for a local amateur club to rise to the pinnacle of the English game and become champions of the Premier League. While this may be unlikely in practice, there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid, the top five levels contain one division each and are nationwide in scope. Below this, the levels have progressively more leagues, with each covering progressively smaller geographic areas. Many leagues have more than one division, at the lower levels the existence of leagues becomes intermittent, although in some of the more densely populated areas there are leagues more than twenty layers below the Premier League. Clubs from these leagues may, if they feel they meet the standard of play and have suitable facilities. The seven levels immediately below the Premier League and English Football League are known as the National League System, in May 2014 The Football Association announced provisional plans for a new division between the English Football League and the National League which would include B teams of higher level clubs. The English football league system does not include the version of the game often called Sunday league football. These leagues are independent entities with no promotion or relegation involving the football pyramid, however, some Sunday League clubs have been known to join pyramid leagues if they desire to progress higher. There are also some Saturday leagues such as the Lincolnshire League which are not officially part of the pyramid, at the top is the single division of the Premier League, containing 20 clubs, all of which, up to the 2010–11 season, were based in England. Below the Premier League is the English Football League, which is divided into three divisions of 24 clubs each, The Championship, League One and League Two, the 92 clubs in the Premier League and English Football League are all full-time professional clubs. They are often referred to as League clubs because, before the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, clubs outside this group are referred to as non-League clubs, although they too play most of their football in league-type competitions
9.
Gloucestershire County Football League
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The Gloucestershire County Football League is a football league in England, founded in 1968. The league is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA and it sits at step 7 of the National League System and is a feeder to the Hellenic League Division One West and Wessex League. Clubs to move from the GCL to the Hellenic League in recent seasons are Brimscombe & Thrupp, Longlevens, the league has always consisted of a single division of clubs. In the 2015–16 season,17 teams competed in the league, the Bristol & Suburban League, Bristol Premier Combination, and the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League feed the Gloucestershire County League. The League has a size of 20 member clubs, who have to be affiliated to the Gloucestershire Football Association. The clubs ground or headquarters have to be located within the County of Gloucestershire or in parts of the City of Bristol that were within the 1908 city boundaries. The league is part of the National League system and clubs may apply for promotion to or from the League, the Committee is drawn from the Western Football League, Gloucestershire County League, Somerset County League, South West Peninsula League and the Wiltshire League. The league was formed in 1968. Its first Chairman was F. Dowling, who was assisted by the Hon. Secretary. Les James has the Leagues Cup Competition named after him in recognition of his service to football, Chairman, Mr F. Dowling, presented the championship trophy to Stonehouse FC, who were the first winners of the County League. Stonehouse Town were original member of the County League and competed in the competition for 20 years until 1988, from 1947 until 1960 the club played in the Western Football League
10.
Gloucestershire County Football Association
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The Gloucestershire County Football Association, also simply known as the Gloucestershire FA or GFA, is the governing body of football in the county of Gloucestershire. The Gloucestershire County Football Association has developed from beginnings in 1886 into an Association of more than 2000 affiliated teams and 20 affiliated Leagues. Gloucestershire’s first President was the famous cricketer Dr W. G. Grace who was also an active Referee, 1889–90,33 Clubs had affiliated to the County, which enabled a delegate to be sent to the Football Association. 1892, The Association was running two Cup Competitions and playing five or six County matches a season with the first League commencing operations,1898, The Associations Management Committee became the Council with representatives from 15 Clubs and a representative from each League affiliated to the Association. 1919–20, A major change in the structure of the Council occurred when Northern Council was formed from areas north of Thornbury, however all decisions still had to be sanctioned by the full Council. 1927, The County Minor Association was formulated,1933, The responsibilities of the County Minor Association were assumed by the Main Council. 1946, The County Youth Association was revived following its demise in 1933,1967, Moves were made to form an entirely separate Council in the North. But at a meeting in December it was agreed that two separate Associations were impractical, the immediate result was that a joint annual meeting was introduced in addition to the A. G. M. 1976, The last independent North and South Council meetings took place,1999, The County took the significant step of becoming a Limited Company becoming known as Gloucestershire Football Association Ltd. 2000, The development of Oaklands Park that included the addition of a Floodlit All-Weather Pitch and these facilities are now being extensively used for training groups from local junior clubs and disabled organisations. 2001, The development of the All-Weather Pitch and Dressing Rooms released capacity within the building for the development of office space. 2002, The County Youth Association ceased to be a semi- autonomous Association when it was incorporated into the main Association as the Youth Committee,2006, David Neale was appointed Chief Executive following the death of Paul Britton in December 2005. Almondsbury Town FC became tenants at Oaklands Park in 1995 until May 2010, and in addition to using the pitch, in addition to accommodating their staff, the GFA also needed training facilities to assist the development of clubs, coaches and referees. The situation has resulted in damaging publicity for the GFA in the local press, the Association have reiterated that their main purpose as an organisation is to drive increased participation in football. As a direct result of the Oaklands Park refurbishment programme, were able to host a team of four FA Tesco Skills Coaches, the GFA expressed disappointment that the club were unsuccessful in their discussions with other parties
11.
Hellenic Football League
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There is also one team each from Hampshire and Northamptonshire The league was established in 1953. In the 2000–01 season the Hellenic League absorbed the Chiltonian League and now has a Premier Division, Division One East, Division One West and three divisions for reserve teams. In the 2006–07 season the Hellenic League absorbed the Banbury District, starting with the 2004–05 re-organisation the Hellenic League became a step 5 and 6 league in the National League System. Premier Division clubs play at Step 5 level, which offers progression to the Southern Football League Division One for Premier Division winners who have the required ground status. Acceptance to HL Division One is also offered to teams playing in the various Step 7 County Leagues of the related Hellenic League area,50 teams play in the Hellenic Premier and Division Ones. 18 teams play at Veterans level The league started with only a Premier Division, for the 1971–72 season, Division One was split into Division One A and Division One B. The following season, Division One A and B were merged, after the 1999–2000 season, Division One was regionalised into East and West. The Hellenic League football cups are the Floodlit Cup, the Supplementary Cup and the Challenge Cup
12.
Newport County A.F.C.
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Newport County Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. The team play in League Two, the tier of the English football league system. Most recently reformed in 1989, the club is a continuation of the Newport County club which was founded in 1912 and was a member of the Football Leagues new Third Division in 1920. Newport County were Welsh Cup winners in 1980 and subsequently reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1981, the club was relegated from the Football League in 1988 and went out of business in February 1989. The club reformed shortly afterwards and entered the English football league system at a lower level. In 2013 the club won back to the Football League for the first time since 1988. Newport County, originally nicknamed The Ironsides due to Newport being home to Lysaghts Orb Works steel works, the official name of the club was The Newport & Monmouth County Association Football Club, although the shorter Newport County was soon adopted. The club were reformed in 1919 and were first elected to the Football League in 1920 and they were not re-elected after the 1930–31 season but rejoined for 1932–33. After almost 20 years in the Third Division South, the club clinched promotion to the Second Division as champions in 1939 under manager Billy McCandless. Hopes were high that the side could prosper in the Second Division. Newport County managed a 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur and a 3–1 win over Southampton, the War League operated for the remainder of the 1939–40 season and County finished 10th in the South-West Division. After the war, the reformed and competed in the temporary Football League South for the 1945–46 season. Newcastle player Len Shackleton remarked they were lucky to get nil, despite victories over Coventry City, Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham, the club needed four wins out of the last four games to have any hope of safety. Despite a revenge victory over Newcastle United, defeats to Birmingham City, Luton Town, County finished bottom of the Second Division and were relegated. Newport reached the round of the 1948–49 FA Cup under manager Tom Bromilow. They only narrowly lost the game 3–2 away to Portsmouth, the eventual FA Cup semi-finalists, after 11 further seasons in the Third Division South, the club narrowly avoided another effective relegation with the creation of the Fourth Division for the 1958–59 season. The bottom 12 teams from the Third Division North and South were placed in the new division, County avoided this fate by a mere four points. However, in 1962, with seven wins all season
13.
FA Cup
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The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual knockout association football competition in mens domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest association football competition in the world and it is organised by and named after The Football Association. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2018 it is known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent womens tournament is held, the FA Womens Cup. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12, the tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, into the draw for the Third Round Proper, in the modern era, only one non-league team has ever reached the quarter finals, and teams below Level 2 have never reached the final. As a result, as well as who wins, significant focus is given to those minnows who progress furthest, especially if they achieve an unlikely giant-killing victory. Winners receive the FA Cup trophy, of which there have two designs and five actual cups, the latest is a 2014 replica of the second design. Winners also qualify for European football and a place in the FA Community Shield match, in 1863, the newly founded Football Association published the Laws of the Game of Association Football, unifying the various different rules in use before then. On 20 July 1871, in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper, the inaugural FA Cup tournament kicked off in November 1871. After thirteen games in all, Wanderers were crowned the winners in the final, Wanderers retained the trophy the following year. The modern cup was beginning to be established by the 1888–89 season, following the 1914–15 edition, the competition was suspended due to the First World War, and did not resume until 1919–20. The 1922–23 competition saw the first final to be played in the newly opened Wembley Stadium, due to the outbreak of World War II, the competition was not played between the 1938–39 and 1945–46 editions. Having previously featured replays, the modern day practice of ensuring the semi-final and final matches finish on the day, was introduced from 2000 onwards. Redevelopment of Wembley saw the final played outside of England for the first time, the final returned to Wembley in 2007, followed by the semi-finals from 2008. The competition is open to any club down to Level 10 of the English football league system which meets the eligibility criteria, all clubs in the top four levels are automatically eligible. Clubs in the six levels are also eligible provided they have played in either the FA Cup. Newly formed clubs, such as F. C. United of Manchester in 2005–06 and also 2006–07, all clubs entering the competition must also have a suitable stadium
14.
Cheltenham Town F.C.
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Cheltenham Town Football Club /ˈtʃɛltnəm ˈtaʊn/ is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in League Two, the tier of English football. Their nickname is The Robins, and the club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA. Promoted to The Football League as Conference Premier champions in 1999, Cheltenham have played as high as League One and their best FA Cup run saw them reach the last 16 in 2002. The last piece of silverware won by the club was the National League title in 2015–2016 and its league status was lost with relegation in 2015, only for the team to return, as champions, a year later. Cheltenham has a history of prior to The Robins. In 1849, the first use of three referees in a match, two in field and one in tribune, was recorded in the town. However, the club was founded in 1887 by Albert Close White. The club spent its first three decades in local football, notable players from those days include cricketers Gilbert Jessop and brothers Charles Barnett and Edgar Barnett. In the early 1930s the club turned professional and joined the Birmingham Combination before joining the Southern League in 1935 and they won promotion to the Alliance Premier League in 1985, but were relegated seven years later. They were promoted back to the Conference in 1997 and two years later gained promotion to the Football League, after two mid-table finishes in Division Three they won via the playoffs and were promoted to Division Two. The appointment of Steve Cotterill as manager during the 1996–97 was the start of a period of success at the club resulted in Cotterill being their most successful manager. In 1997–98, Cheltenham finished runners-up in the Conference and were close to champions Halifax Town until the end of April 1998 and they secured a place at Wembley in the FA Trophy final, beating Southport 1–0 in front of a crowd of 27,000. In 1998–99 Cheltenham secured the Conference title and entry to the Football League, after two mid-table finishes in Division Three, Cheltenham finally won promotion to Division Two at the end of the 2001–02 season. Shortly after winning promotion, Cotterill left Cheltenham to join Stoke City as their manager, Cheltenham replaced Cotterill with first-team coach Graham Allner who had won the Conference championship with Kidderminster Harriers in 1994. Allner and assistant manager Mike Davis, who was assistant to Cotterill, were sacked in January 2003, after six months in the job. Cheltenham turned to Bobby Gould, one of the most experienced managers in English football whose exploits include an FA Cup victory with Wimbledon in 1988. Cheltenham continued to struggle, and defeat in their game of the season condemned the club to relegation back to Division Three after just one season
15.
Slough Town F.C.
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Slough Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club. The club was founded in 1890 after the amalgamation of three local clubs, Swifts, Slough Albion and Young Mens Friendly Society, who between them forged a new club, Slough F. C. The club is a senior football club representing Slough, England. Nicknamed The Rebels, the team plays in the Southern Football League Premier Division. In 1921 it attempted to join the Isthmian League but lost out to Wycombe Wanderers in the voting, instead Slough chose to join the Spartan League. In 1936 the owners of the ground, The Dolphin Stadium, sold up to a greyhound racing consortium. After being forced to groundshare with Maidenhead United for several years, the new club took the name Slough United F. C. After The Second World War Slough Utd was reluctant to rejoin the Spartan League and led a movement to form a new league. It was from this that the club derived its nickname of The Rebels, the Rebels were champions of this league on three occasions, with the third win earning promotion to the Isthmian League in 1973. During the 1980s they were champions on two occasions, the second of which brought promotion to the Football Conference. Slough lasted four seasons at this level, were relegated back to the Isthmian League, bounced back at the first attempt, in the 2004–05 season, Slough knocked Walsall of Football League One out of the FA Cup. Slough transferred over to the Southern Football League Division One South & West for the 2007–08 season, although initially relegated, they were one of the teams given a provisional reprieve after Halifax Town went into administration. In the season of 2004–05 Slough Town beat Walsall to reach the 2nd round of the FA Cup however they then lost to Yeading, over the next two seasons, and now playing in the Southern Football League Division One Midlands, Sloughs performance continued to improve. In the 2009–10 season, Slough Town finish 5th in the table, having beaten second-placed Hitchin Town 2–1 in the play-off semi-final, Slough lost 4–0 to Chesham United in the final, meaning they had to remain in the same division for the 2010–11 season. Once again they finished 5th in the 2010–11 season, but lost to Hitchin Town in the play-off semi-final 4–1. The club looked to take a new direction in 2013–14 and appointed Neil Baker and Jon Underwood, with Godalming forced to relocate to the South & West Division following their failure to win the play-offs, the majority of their squad decided to follow Baker and Underwood to Slough. In their very first season, the new management team steered the club to promotion via the play-offs. Slough claimed a 3-0 victory at Rugby Town in the semi-final before winning the final against Kettering Town in front of 2,331 at Kettering’s temporary home of Latimer Park on 5 May 2014
16.
FA Vase
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The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing below Step 4 of the English National League System. For the 2013–14 season 535 entrants were accepted, with two qualifying rounds preceding the six rounds, semi-finals and final to be played at Wembley Stadium. The 2016 winners were Morpeth Town, who beat Hereford 4–1 at Wembley Stadium, until 1974, football players were either professionals or amateurs. Professionals were paid to play by their clubs, and the cup competitions such clubs were allowed to enter were the FA Cup and after 1969, for clubs outside The Football League. Amateurs, on the hand, did not get paid by their clubs, and such clubs had their own cup competition. In recent years, entry to the FA Vase has been restricted to clubs in the ninth, reorganization of the National League System for 2004 onwards moved the dividing line down to the new Step 5. Clubs from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man also entered the Vase in the past, guernsey F. C. who were formed in 2011 and played in the Step 5 Combined Counties League, gained entry for the 2012–13 season and reached the semi-finals. Eligible teams who played in the FA Trophy the previous season and were relegated from a Step 4 league are exempt from qualifying and start play in the First round Proper of the Vase as well. Clubs that played in the 4th round or later of the previous seasons FA Vase are exempt from qualifying, only six teams have managed to win the FA Vase more than once. Whitley Bay are the team to win the FA Vase three times in successive seasons. Two FA Vase winners, Forest Green Rovers and Tamworth, have gone on to play in the National League at the top level of the non-league pyramid, billericay Town won three times in the mid to late 70s. BT Sport showed the 2016 FA Vase Final between Hereford and Morpeth Town live on 22 May as part of a double-header along with the 2016 FA Trophy Final, the FA Vase at the FA website
17.
FA Trophy
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The competition was instigated in 1969 to cater for those non-league clubs that paid their players and were therefore not eligible to enter the FA Amateur Cup. This covers the National League, the Southern League, Isthmian League, the final of the competition was held at the original Wembley Stadium from the tournaments instigation until the stadium closed in 2000. The final has been played at the new Wembley Stadium since its opening in 2007, the record for the most FA Trophy wins is shared by Woking and two defunct clubs, Scarborough and Telford United, with three victories each. The Trophy is currently held by FC Halifax Town who beat Grimsby Town F. C. in the 2016 final, the competition was created by the Football Association in 1969 to afford semi-professional teams an opportunity to compete for the chance to play at Wembley Stadium. The first winners of the competition were Macclesfield Town of the Northern Premier League, Northern Premier League clubs dominated the first decade of the competition, with Telford United the only Southern League team to break the northern clubs hold on the competition. In the early years of its existence the competition struggled to achieve the level of prestige as the long-established Amateur Cup. In 1974 the FA abolished the distinction between official professional and amateur status and discontinued the Amateur Cup, and the Trophy soon had 300 entrants and this figure was gradually reduced until by 1991 only around 120 clubs took part. Telford Uniteds win in 1989 made them the team to win the Trophy three times. Between 1990 and 2000 three more teams claimed multiple wins, as of 2001 the competition was sponsored by Umbro, in the 2007-08 season it was sponsored by Carlsberg. The competition is a tournament with pairings drawn at random. If a match is drawn, there is a replay, usually at the ground of the team played away from home for the first game. Drawn replays are now settled with extra time and penalty shootouts, originally the competition included as many qualifying rounds as were required to reduce the number of teams to 32. In 1999 the format was amended to match that of the FA Cup, with six rounds prior to the semi-final stage, albeit without qualifying rounds. Teams from the Football Conference received byes through the early rounds, as of 2008–09 the competition featured four qualifying rounds and four rounds proper before the semi-finals. The FA pays prize money to all teams win at least one match in the Trophy competition. In the 2014-15 season the prize for the 64 preliminary round winners was £2,500, the final was traditionally held at the original Wembley Stadium, but was moved to Villa Park during Wembleys redevelopment, and a final was also played at West Ham Uniteds Boleyn Ground. In 2007 the final moved to the new Wembley Stadium, Scarborough, Telford United, and Woking share the record for the most victories in the final. In 1985 Wealdstone became the first team to win the Non-League Double of FA Trophy, since then Colchester United in 1992 and Wycombe Wanderers in 1993 have equalled Wealdstones achievement
18.
AFC Rushden & Diamonds
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Rushden & Diamonds is an English football club based in Northamptonshire. They played their season at Kiln Park, the home of Raunds Town. The club was formed in July 2011 by supporters after Rushden & Diamonds, at an open meeting chaired by a supporters group called SaveRDFC, a mandate was agreed upon to create a phoenix club, fully owned and controlled by its supporters. A team was created and accepted into the Northants Senior Youth League for the 2011–12 season, for the 2013–14 season, an Under-21 team was added, which plays in the Midland Football Combination Under-21 division. The original Rushden & Diamonds was formed on 21 April 1992, following the merger of Irthlingborough Diamonds, the clubs early years were marked by success. Within four seasons the club had reached the Conference National, however, following their promotion to Division Two the Diamonds fortunes took a turn for the worse. The club were relegated twice in three years, and suffered instability off the field, seven different managers took charge of the team between March 2004 and May 2011, while the club itself was controlled by four different parties during the same period. Following a period of sustained financial difficulties during the 2010–11 season, the club were expelled from the Conference at the end of the campaign, and entered administration that July. Following an open meeting, supporters voted to play their games for the 2011–12 season at Kiln Park, Raunds. On 18 July 2011 the club announced the appointment of former Rushden & Diamonds head of youth development Mark Starmer as their first manager, on 22 July 2011, AFC Rushden & Diamonds U18s were accepted into the Northants Senior Youth League for the 2011–12 season. With no senior side registered in time for the 2011–12 season, AFC R&D played their first official match in a 3–0 loss to Raunds Town in a friendly youth match played on 6 August 2011, attended by 350 supporters. The Diamonds played their first competitive game on 25 August 2011, running out comfortable 3–0 winners against Daventry Town in the Northants Senior Youth League, watched by 467 supporters. On 9 October 2011, the club won its first ever competitive cup match, throughout the season much was done to integrate AFC R&D into the local footballing community. Deals were struck with St Neots Town, South Rushden Junior Football Club, Raunds Town, on 24 March 2012, Mark Starmer was announced as First Team Manager for the 2012–13 season. The club ended the campaign in a respectable mid-table position. The first season of existence for AFC Rushden & Diamonds also ended in cup success, winning the NSYL Knock-Out Cup at Steel Park, in the final Diamonds beat AFC Kempston Rovers 4–1, securing their first piece of silverware ahead of a 479-strong crowd. Ex-Rushden & Diamonds player Andy Peaks was appointed as First Team Assistant Manager on 5 May 2012. A senior side was registered to play in the United Counties Football League Division One for the 2012–13 season, playing its games at the Dog and Duck
19.
Alvechurch F.C.
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Alvechurch Football Club is English association football club based in Alvechurch, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, currently playing in the Midland League Premier Division. They are affiliated with the Worcestershire County Football Association, Alvechurch F. C. was founded in 1929 and played in the local park prior to a move to Lye Meadow. In November 1993 they folded, but a group of supporters resurrected the club under the name Alvechurch Villa in 1994, the name changed back to Alvechurch in 1996. Alvechurch reached the 1st round of the FA Cup in 1971–72 after five replays in their 4th round qualifying tie with Oxford City, the tie lasted eleven hours making it longest in the history of the FA Cup. The scores were 2–2, 1–1, 1–1, 0–0, 0–0 and 1–0 to Alvechurch and this tie was included in the Guinness Book of Records – now never to be beaten after the advent of penalty shoot-outs at the end of the first replay. Two years later the club achieved their best ever result in the FA Cup and this tie was the first FA Cup tie to be played on a Sunday. Specific Club website Info from RSSSF Info from The Pyramid
20.
Banbury United F.C.
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Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the Premier Division of the Southern League, the club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Spencer Corsets factory. They initially played matches, with their first match against St Johns of the Oxfordshire Junior League played on 29 August 1931. In 1933 they joined the Banbury division of the Oxfordshire Junior League, later in the season they were renamed Banbury Spencer, and went on to win the league title in their first season. They then joined the Oxfordshire Senior League for the 1934–35 season, after winning the league at the first attempt, they were elected to the Birmingham Combination. After World War II the club turned professional, the 1947–48 season saw them finish as runners-up in the Combination and reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, where they lost 2–1 at Colchester United. The league was reduced to a division in 1960. The 1961–62 season had seen the club reach the FA Cup first round again, in 1965 the club was renamed Banbury United after a change in ownership, and at the end of the 1965–66 season they transferred to Division One of the Southern League. When Division One was split into two divisions in 1971, the club was placed in Division One North, in 1972–73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for a third time, this time losing 2–0 at home to Barnet. The following season saw them repeat the feat, this time losing 3–2 at Northampton Town in a replay after a 0–0 draw at home, after winning the Premier Division in 1999–2000, Banbury were promoted to Division One East of the Southern League. An eighth-place finish in 2003–04 was enough to be promoted to the Premier Division after the creation of the Conference North and South led to clubs being moved up a division. The season also saw the win the Oxfordshire Senior Cup. They remained in the Premier Division until the end of the 2014–15 season, in August 2015, a supporter-led Community Benefit Society took formal control of the club. Their first season in Division One South and West saw them finish as runners-up, after beating Winchester City 1–0 in the semi-finals, they defeated Taunton Town 2–0 in the final to earn promotion back to the Premier Division. The club has played at the Spencer Stadium on Station Approach since the start of the 1934–35 season, when the club joined the Southern League in 1966, floodlights were installed and a new clubhouse was built to replace the railway carriages that the club had used for changing rooms. Financial problems led to the deteriorating, and the main stand was closed in 1985 before being demolished in 1990. A new stand was built on the touchline in the summer of 2000. Both ends of the ground had uncovered terracing installed, with the other touchline having terracing along half its length, the ground currently has a capacity of 6,500, of which 250 is seated and covered. C
21.
Barwell F.C.
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Barwell Football Club is a football club based in Barwell, near Hinckley in Leicestershire. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, in 1994 Barwell were founder members of the Midland Alliance, and went on to win the League Cup in 2005–06, beating Leamington 3–1 in the final. After finishing as runners-up in 2008–09, they won the league the following season and their first season in the division saw them win the title, earning promotion to step three of the National League System. Instead of playing in the Northern Premier Leagues Premier Division, the club were moved to the Premier Division of the Southern League, however, two seasons later, they were transferred back to the Northern Premier League. In 2015–16 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, the club play at Kirkby Road in Barwell. The sports complex also incorporates bowling facilities and a cricket pitch, floodlights were installed prior to the 1992–93 season, and a number of seats were obtained from the old main stand at Leicester Citys Filbert Street ground. A new covered stand to accommodate five hundred spectators was built prior to the 1996–97 season, towards the end of the 2000–01 season, a new 256 seater cantilever stand was erected, and the club have made further improvements to allow them to progress up the pyramid. The ground currently has a capacity of 2,500, of which 256 is seated and 750 covered. C, players Barwell F. C. managers Official website
22.
Bedworth United F.C.
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Bedworth United Football Club is a football club based in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One South, the first club from which the modern Bedworth United traces its lineage was Bedworth Town, established in 1895. In 1898 they were members of the Nuneaton & District League. The name Bedworth Town was resurrected in 1905 when Bedworth Evening Combination School of the Coventry & North Warwickshire League changed their name, however, they folded in the early 1920s. The name was restored to use again in 1925 when Collycroft United (founded 1916, in 1936 they joined the Central Amateur League, but played in the league for only one season. Following World War II, a new Bedworth Town club was established in 1947 and they joined the Birmingham Combination, finishing third in their first season, before winning back-to-back titles in 1948–49 and 1949–50. In 1954 the club moved up to the Northern Division of the Birmingham & District League, in 1962 the league was renamed the West Midlands League. After several seasons struggling in the league, finishing bottom in 1959–60, however, a replacement club was formed under the name Bedworth United, which took over from Town in the West Midlands League. In 1972 the club moved up to Division One North of the Southern League, a sixth-place finish in 1981–82 was enough to earn a place in the new Premier Division in 1982. In 1988–89 they finished bottom of the division and were relegated to Division One Midlands, in 2006 they were transferred to Division One Midlands, which became Division One Central in 2010. A third-place finish in 2011–12 saw the club qualify for the promotion play-offs, after beating Uxbridge 2–1 in the semi-final, they defeated Beaconsfield SYCOB 3–1 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. However, the season saw them finish second-bottom of the table, resulting in relegation. They were transferred back to Division One Central of the Southern League in 2014, a 2–1 win over Aylesbury in the semi-finals and then a 2–0 victory against Barton Rovers in the final saw them promoted back to the Southern Leagues Premier Division. However, the season saw them relegated again, again to Division One South of the Northern Premier League. Between 1911 and 1939 the club played at the British Queen Ground and it has a capacity of 3,000, of which 300 is seated and covered. C. Players Bedworth United F. C. managers Official website
23.
Biggleswade Town F.C.
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Biggleswade Town Football Club is a football club based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. The club are members of the Southern League Premier Division. The club were established in 1874 as Biggleswade, later becoming known as Biggleswade & District, in 1902 they were founder members of the Biggleswade and District League, and were its first champions, also winning the Bedfordshire Senior Cup that year. The club went on to win the league twice more before World War I, in 1920 the club joined the Northamptonshire League, which became the United Counties League in 1934, and won the Bedfordshire Premier Cup in 1922–23 and 1927–28. After World War II the club adopted its current name and joined the Spartan League in 1945 and they returned to the UCL in 1951, before switching to the Eastern Counties League in 1955. During their time in the ECL they set the record for biggest away win with a 12–0 victory over Newmarket Town, in 1963 they returned to the UCL due to the increasing transport costs. In 1975–76 they finished bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One, in 1980 they joined the Premier Division of the South Midlands League. They were relegated to Division One in 1983, but were promoted back to the Premier Division in 1987, when the Spartan and South Midlands leagues merged to form the Spartan South Midlands League in 1997 the club were placed in the Premier Division North. The following season they were placed in the Senior Division, in 2007–08 they won the Bedfordshire Premier Cup for a third time, beating Luton Town 3–2 in the final. The following season won the league title, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Southern League. In 2010 the division was renamed Division One Central, and the 2010–11 season saw Biggleswade finish fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs and losing 2–0 to Daventry Town in the semi-finals. In 2012–13 they finished fourth again, and in the subsequently play-offs they beat Godalming Town 2–1 in the semi-finals, in 2014–15 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 4–1 at Stourbridge. The club originally played at the Fairfield Road ground, which was shared with a cricket club. A wooden stand was erected in the 1920s, and for years had an Anderson shelter on either side. Floodlights were installed in 1989, and the stand was demolished after being condemned in the 1990s. In 2006 the club left Fairfield Road and groundshared with Bedford United & Valerio whilst a new ground was built on Langford Road. The Carlsberg Stadium was opened for the start of the 2008–09 season, the ground has a capacity of 3,000, of which 300 is seated. C
24.
Coalville Town F.C.
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Coalville Town Football Club is a football club based in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the club was established as Ravenstone Miners Athletic in 1926, and were based in the village of Ravenstone. They played in the Coalville & District Amateur League, winning the title five times. In 1958 the club were renamed Ravenstone, and in 1975 they joined the North Leicestershire League and they won the league in 1988–89 and 1989–90, and were promoted to Division One of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1991. In 1995 the club moved to nearby Coalville after being unable to upgrade their Ravenslea ground, in 1996–97 they finished second in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division. The club adopted their current name in 1998 and they won back-to-back Premier Division titles in 2001–02 and 2002–03, after which they were promoted to the Midland Alliance. In 2004–05 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time and they were league runners-up in 2009–10, and the following season saw them reach the final of the FA Vase, losing 3–2 to Whitley Bay at Wembley Stadium. They also won the Midland Alliance, scoring 153 goals in the process, in 2012–13 Coalville won the Westerby Cup, beating Loughborough Dynamo 2–1 in the final at the King Power Stadium. They were also Division One South runners-up and qualified for the promotion play-offs, however, they lost 2–1 to Chasetown in the semi-finals. The following season saw them finish as runners-up again, however, they lost the play-off semi-final against Mickleover Sports. In 2015–16 they qualified for the play-offs again, after beating Basford United 5–0 in the semi-finals, they defeated Shaw Lane 3–1 to earn promotion to the Premier Division. When based in Ravenstone, the played at Ravenslea. However, after the council refused the club permission to erect floodlights. Floodlights were installed at the new ground in 1996, the ground is currently also known as the Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium for sponsorship purposes, and has a capacity of 2,000, of which 240 is seated and covered. C
25.
Halesowen Town F.C.
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Halesowen Town Football Club is an English association football club formed in 1873, that play in Halesowen and as of 2014 are playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team is nicknamed The Yeltz, Halesowen Town FC was formed in 1873, making it one of the oldest clubs in the Midlands, and initially played in the Birmingham Combination. In 1946, it joined the Birmingham and District League and was champions in its very first season, the 1960s saw it consistently finish high in the league, but by contrast the 1970s saw it struggle, finishing bottom of the table twice. The 1983 final saw the club lose 1–0 to VS Rugby, in 1983, the club also beat Heybridge Swifts in the final of the Thorn EMI six-a-side tournament at the Alexandra Stadium and won a £20,000 set of floodlights for their ground. The early 1990 were dominated by players leaving to join clubs, including Dean Spink, Stuart Cash, Andy Pearce, Tim Clarke, Sean Flynn. For its first eight seasons at this level Halesowen never finished outside the top 10, including being beaten to promotion by Rushden. Financial difficulties, however, led to a slump which culminated in relegation in 2001, although Halesowen bounced back in style, winning the Western Division championship at a canter, the club was relegated once again in 2003. The club failed to return to two of the non-league pyramid the following season, finishing fourth and missing out on the new Conference North. The club appointed the former Walsall and Birmingham City captain Martin OConnor as manager in late 2006, Halesowen came close to gaining promotion in 2006–07, losing to Hitchin Town in the last game of the season, which meant missing the playoffs. In October 2007, the club was sold to an owner who brought in former Kettering FC manager Morell Maison. On October 18, former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager Ron Atkinson was appointed as a consultant to the new manager, in autumn 2009, insolvency experts Marshman Price were appointed as the clubs administrators. The team enjoyed a successful start to the 2009–10 season after receiving a 10-point deduction for entering administration. Brendan Phillips left the club and the rose to fifth position by the turn of the new year. Shaun Cunnington appointed Paul Tomlinson as his assistant manager and made staying up his top priority, according to the clubs records, it has played at The Grove since its formation in 1873. The ground was originally a cricket pitch and was therefore a three sided stadium, in the 1930s, a small wooden stand was constructed along the perimeter of the James Grove Button Factory. During the 1950s, the Old Hawne Lane end was constructed along with changing rooms, during this time players had to change in the Waggon and Horses public house on Stourbridge Road. In the 1980s, the three sided ground was converted to four with the addition of the uncovered terracing along the Recreation Park side of the ground. In 1987, the 420 seater Harry Rudge Stand was completed on the site of the 1930s vintage wooden cover, the stand was extended in 1998 and again in 2000
26.
Hitchin Town F.C.
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Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They will compete in the Southern Football Leagues Premier Division for the 2016–17 season and their most recent league honour has been the Southern League Division One Central, finishing play-off winners in 2010–11, their second season in the competition. The original Hitchin club, Hitchin F. C. were formed in 1865, the club took part in the inaugural FA Cup competition in 1871–72, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to runners-up Royal Engineers. In 1905, Hitchin defeated Chelsea 3–2 to become the first away team to win at Stamford Bridge, Hitchin turned professional during the early years of the 20th century, but following financial difficulties and a fire at their ground, the club folded in 1911. Hitchin Town F. C. were formed in 1928, the club colours were settled as yellow and blue, replacing the old clubs white and magenta — green replaced blue after only a few seasons. The new club were admitted to the Spartan League, and their first season, 1928–29, was a success — Hitchin won the Herts Charity Shield, promotion to the top flight of the Spartan League was won in 1930–31 and Hitchin won the AFA Senior Cup a year later. Reg Smith, a future England player, led Hitchin to the Spartan League championship in 1934–35 before moving on to Millwall a year later. The club moved from the Spartan League to the Athenian League for the 1939–40 season, the Athenian League returned for 1945–46, and Hitchin finished 10th out of 14 clubs. The next season saw an improvement to sixth, but Hitchin did not achieve a higher than mid-table until the 1953–54 campaign — Hitchin finished as runners-up. The club reached the quarter-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, two years later, Hitchin beat Wycombe Wanderers 1–0 in the same competition in front of 7,878 spectators, but the club once again failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals. Peter Hammond became the first Hitchin player to represent his country in 1958, former Arsenal player and England international Laurie Scott was appointed manager the same year. Scott worked to bring the club more into line with their professional counterparts. The club met Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time during 1958–59, Hitchin travelled to Crystal Palace two years later in the same competition and lost 6–2. Meanwhile, Scott prepared his team for an assault on the Athenian League title, scotts team finished fifth during 1960–61, and lost in the semi-finals of the Cup. Hitchin came sixth the year, and 1962–63 saw another fifth-place finish. The move to the Isthmian League coincided with a time of financial strife at the club, the club finished in the bottom half of the division during their first five seasons in the league, as the club struggled to attract players of a sufficient quality. The club were not helped by corruption behind the scenes — some supposedly amateur players were receiving salaries, and when this emerged and it took some time for the clouds to disperse, and the result was the departure of Scott. The late 1960s saw the arrival of Vince Burgess as manager, led by Burgess, Hitchin finished as Isthmian League runners-up in 1968–69 and won the London Senior Cup a year later
27.
Kettering Town F.C.
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Kettering Town Football Club is an English football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the town of Burton Latimer. The club participates in the Southern League Premier Division, the tier of English football. Kettering Town were originally formed in 1872, turning professional in 1891, the club graduated through twelve different leagues from 1892 until they became founding members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979. The club maintained its status in the top flight of football until the 2000–01 season. Many honours have found their way to Rockingham Road, winning the Midland Football League title in 1896 and 1900, the Southern League Championship was won on three occasions by the club, in 1928 and 1957 under Tommy Lawton and in 1973 under the guidance of Ron Atkinson. In the 1930s the club won the East Midlands League and in 1948 the Poppies became Birmingham League Champions, during the 1970s, Kettering Town sought election to the Football League, coming five votes short of election in 1974. The deal was brokered by chief executive and manager Derek Dougan, four days later, The Football Association ordered the club to remove the slogan, but Dougan changed the words on the shirts to Kettering T, and claimed that the T stood for Town. Nonetheless, the FA ordered the club to remove the words, shirt sponsorship was eventually permitted within the English game in 1977, although the ban on shirt sponsors in televised games wasnt lifted until 1983. Kettering are also the first ever British team to have their initials on their grounds floodlights, the club finished runners-up in the Football Conference in 1981,1989,1994 and 1998. The GMAC Cup was won in 1987 and the Poppies were runners-up in 1995, County competitions have been won regularly by Kettering Town, with the Northants Senior Cup won on 28 occasions and the Maunsell Cup 13 times. The FA Cup has brought success and publicity to Rockingham Road with the first round proper being reached on 41 occasions. During the 1994–95 season the club made their debut live on Sky TV in a first round tie against Plymouth Argyle, as of 2016 the Poppies had scored more goals than any other team in the FA Cups history, with 870 goals scored in 381 appearances. Wembley has been reached on two occasions before, the Poppies lost 2–0 to Stafford Rangers in the 1979 FA Trophy Final. More recently, the FA Trophy Final in 2000 saw the Poppies lose a closely fought final with Kingstonian 3–2, most recently, the club were narrowly relegated on the last day of the 2000–01 season which ended 30 years in the top flight of non-league football. The following season was a disappointment and the club, rarely out of the bottom three, were again demoted – this time to the Isthmian League. Carl Shutt left the club in April 2003 and Dominic Genovese, after a period as acting manager. After a poor run of results and a disappointing defeat to Boreham Wood in the FA Cup Dominic Genovese was replaced by former Northampton Town manager. Changes to the team were made and the finished the season on a 12-game unbeaten run
28.
King's Lynn Town F.C.
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Kings Lynn Town Football Club is an English football club based in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. They were founded 2010 after the winding-up of their predecessor, Kings Lynn F. C. and are members of the Southern League Premier Division. Their first season was successful, having managed to reach the FA Vase semi-final, the Norfolk Senior Cup final and they repeated this feat in 2012 and were promoted to the Northern League Division 1 South. On 30 April 2013, they overhauled Coalville Town, who had a 17-point lead at one point, to win the league, Kings Lynn Town returned to the Northern Premier League for the 2013–14 season, the league in which the previous club had folded in 2009. They finished 11th in their first season but struggled in the 2014–15 season, FA restructuring moved the Linnets into the Southern Premier League for the 2015–16 season. The club is affiliated to the Norfolk County FA, the club plays at The Walks, the ground of their predecessor club, located on Tennyson Road. It has a capacity of 5,733, with 1,200 seats in a single stand, prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, new Chairman Keith Buster Chapman and the local Council oversaw a ground improvement programme that brought The Walks up to Conference standard. These included new turnstiles and ticket office, new toilets and perimeter fencing, improvements were also made to the Main Stand including refurbishments to the bar and hospitality lounges, dressing rooms and a new cafe and club shop. The new club retained the blue and gold home colours of the original Kings Lynn F. C. when reforming in 2010. The change strip colours have varied from season to season, the current kit supplier is Joma. The main shirt sponsor is currently Optima Stainless, trophy tie with Carshalton Athletic on 27 October 2012, the first team wore pink shirts in place of the usual blue and gold. After the match, which Kings Lynn won 6-1, the shirts were auctioned off to help raise money for Cancer Research. Lynn recently announced a new deal with Joma. Kings Lynn Town Reserves have enjoyed continued success since the reformation of the club in 2010, having joined the UCL Reserve League Division 2 for the 2010/11 season, they won that league and promotion at the first attempt. This was the first of four titles and promotions in their first four seasons through both United Counties League Reserve divisions and then divisions of the Peterborough & District League. After winning the Peterborough & District League Premier Division title at the end of the 2013/14 season, in June 2015 the club announced the formation of an Under-18s team which was elected to the Thurlow Nunn Youth League for the 2015/16 season. Some of the players from the Under 18s team also featured in games for the Reserves, in March 2016 the club announced that an Under-16s team would be formed in partnership with the Kings Lynn Community Football Elite scheme to attract and develop further young players. Best league position, 1st, Northern Premier League Division One South2012-13 Biggest win, heaviest defeat, 1-6 vs Skelmersdale United
29.
Leiston F.C.
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Leiston Football Club is an English football club based in Leiston, Suffolk. The club are members of the Isthmian League Premier Division as of the 2016-17 season. They reached the final of the Suffolk Senior Cup in 1892,1897 and 1904, losing on each occasion, in 1894 they joined the North Suffolk League, which they played in until 1909. In 1900 they also joined the Ipswich & District League and were champions in their first three seasons, in 1904 they transferred to the South East Anglian League, but left in 1907 before rejoining in 1911. Between 1912 and 1914 they also played in the Ipswich & District League, after World War I the club was reformed as Leiston Works Athletic and rejoined the Ipswich & District League and the East Anglian League. In 1920 they left the EAL and joined the Essex & Suffolk Border League, at the end of the 1920–21 season they left both the IDL and ESBL to join the Norfolk & Suffolk League before rejoining the IDL in 1926. After finishing bottom of the table in 1934–35 they were reformed as Leiston and they won all seventeen league matches in 1937–38 and were promoted to Division One after defeating Division 2A winners Manningtree Rovers in a play-off. In 1948 they rejoined the Norfolk & Suffolk League, but transferred back to the Ipswich & District League in 1953, after finishing bottom of the Senior Division in 1981–82 they were relegated, and the following season finished below local side Leiston St Margarets. However, they did win the Junior Cup, retaining it in 1983–84 when they won the Division One title and were promoted back to the Senior Division. They then spent several years as a yo yo club as they were relegated in 1988–89, promoted back in 1989–90, relegated again in 1991–92, after finishing third in 2000–01 they stepped up to Division One of the Eastern Counties League. In 2003–04, they finished third, and were promoted to the Premier Division, in the same season they beat Brentwood Town on penalties to win the East Anglian Cup. In the 2008–09 season the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time after beating Conference club Lewes 3–1 in a replay, in the first round, the club was drawn at home to Conference North club Fleetwood Town. After drawing 0–0 in front of a crowd of 1,250. In 2010–11 Leiston won the Eastern Counties League Premier Division, earning promotion to Division One North of the Isthmian League, in 2011–12 Leiston won the Isthmian League Division One North, achieving back-to-back promotions, moving up to the Isthmian League Premier Division. Leiston initially played at the old Recreation Ground, today known as Park Hill, in 1921 they moved to their current ground on Victory Road, then known as the Leiston Works Athletic Association, after Garretts bought the ground. It was later renamed the Leiston Town Athletic Association
30.
Lowestoft Town F.C.
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Lowestoft Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club from Lowestoft, Suffolk. The club was formed in 1887 by the merger of East Suffolk and their home ground is the Crown Meadow, and their home colours is all blue with white trims. The club currently compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division as of the 2016-17 season, the club was established in 1887 as Lowestoft F. C. by a merger of East Suffolk and the original Kirkley, and were renamed Lowestoft Town in 1890. They reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1900, losing the final 5–1 to Bishop Auckland, in the 1926-27 season they reached the first round of the FA Cup the first time, losing 10–1 at Watford. They won the Norfolk & Suffolk League again in 1928–29 and 1930–31, in 1935 the club merged with another incarnation of Kirkley, and joined the new Eastern Counties League. They shared the first championship with Harwich & Parkeston, before winning it outright in 1937–38, the following season they won the League Cup with a 4–1 win over Colchester Town reserves, and also reached the first round of the FA Cup losing 6–0 at Swindon Town. They won the League Cup again in 1955, and after turning semi-professional in 1962, dominated the league during the 1960s, winning the championship in 1962–63 and finishing runners-up in 1963–64. They then won four championships, before finishing second in 1968–69. They also reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1966–67, losing 2–1 at home to Orient, and again the following season, when they lost 1–0 at home to Watford. They won the league again in 2005–06, and in 2008 reached the final of the FA Vase, where they lost 2–1 to Kirkham & Wesham. The following season won the Premier Division of the Eastern Counties League again, together with the Suffolk Premier Cup. They won the league at the first attempt to earn promotion to the Premier Division, also reaching the first round of the FA Cup, in their first season in the Premier Division they finished fourth and reached the play-off final, where they lost 4–3 at Tonbridge Angels. In 2011–12 the club reached the final again after finishing third. The club also reached the final of the Suffolk Premier Cup, in 2012–13 Lowestoft reached the play-off final for the third consecutive season after finishing as runners-up, this time losing 2–1 at home to Concord Rangers. After finishing fourth the season, the club finally earned promotion to the Football Conference North. The Lowestoft Town Reserves team play in the Reserves Premier Division section of the Eastern Counties League after joining the league in the 2012-13 season, the team finished their first season in 7th position. Lowestoft Towns club colours are all blue with white strips and the second choice kit, usually when away from home, is all white with blue. The club badge is the town crest of Lowestoft, Lowestoft originally played at the Crown Meadow Athletics Ground, which shared part of the same site as the modern Crown Meadow
31.
Needham Market F.C.
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Needham Market Football Club is an English football club based in Needham Market, Suffolk. The club are members of the Isthmian League Premier Division as of the 2016-17 season. Although records show the existence of a Needham Market Football Club during the late 1890s and they later moved to Crowley Park, and joined the Suffolk & Ipswich League, winning Division Two in 1946–47 and Division One in 1952–53. They won the League Cup in 1978 and again in 1980, the Suffolk Junior Cup was won in 1985, and the Suffolk Senior Cup in 1990. In 1995–96 the club won the Senior Division, and were promoted to Division One of the Eastern Counties League, the club finished runners-up in 2004–05 and were promoted to the Premier Division, winning the Senior Cup in the same season. A new record crowd of 750 was set for a Suffolk Premier Cup match against Ipswich Town reserves during the 2006–07 season, in which they also won the East Anglian Cup. The following season the club won the Suffolk Premier Cup and the League Cup, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase, a new record attendance of 1,375 was set during the home leg. In 2009–10 the club won the Premier Division of the Eastern Counties League, in their first season in Division One, Needham finished as runners-up, but lost 3–1 at home to Brentwood Town in the play-off semi-finals. The following season the finished third and reached the play-off final. In 2014-15, they won Division One North and were promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division for the first time, in 2013 the clubs reserve team joined Division One of the Eastern Counties League
32.
Redditch United F.C.
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Redditch United Football Club is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club participates in the Southern League Premier Division, and play their games at The TRICO Stadium. Redditch Town were established in 1891 and immediately joined the Birmingham Combination, the club achieved its first success by winning the Worcestershire Senior Cup in 1894 and becoming runners-up in 1898. In 1914 they won the Birmingham Combination Championship for the first time and, finally, the 1930s were a much more rewarding period for the club and its supporters, starting by winning the Worcestershire Senior Cup and the Birmingham Senior Cup in successive seasons. Reds almost achieved a double in 1932–33 when, having won the Combination. Apart from an appearance in the Birmingham Senior Cup final just before the World War. In 1953 Redditch regained the Combination Championship and were runners-up in the Worcestershire Senior Cup and this Championship success was repeated in 1955. In 1957 they were runners-up in the Birmingham Senior Cup, in 1971–72 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 6–0 in the replay at Peterborough United after a 1–1 draw at home in front of a crowd of 4,500. At the end of the season they finished sixth in the West Midlands League Premier Division and they won the Worcestershire Senior Cup in 1974 and 1975. The following season they won Division One North and were promoted to the Premier Division, in 1978–79 they finished eighth in the league, and became founder members of the Alliance Premier League. However, they finished bottom in its first season, and dropped into the Southern Leagues Midland Division, after finishing as runners-up in 1985–86, the club were promoted to the Premier Division, where they remained until relegation in 1989. The following season, they reached the first round of the FA Cup, at the end of the season they beat Northwich Victoria 4–3 over the two-legged final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup. In 1997–98 the Reds reached two cup finals, the Southern League Cup and the Birmingham Senior Cup, both were lost, and the cup run caused a large fixture backlog that resulted in the club having to play nine matches in nine days at the end of the season. In 2003–04 the club won the Southern League Western Division, due to league reorganisation caused by the establishment of the Conference North and South, the club entered play-offs to be promoted to the new leagues. After beating Kings Lynn 1–0 and Merthyr Tydfil 3–0, the club were promoted to the Conference North, after a ninth-place finish in 2004–05, Redditch struggled in 2005–06, only avoiding relegation on the final day of the season. After a very difficult 2010–11 campaign in the Conference North, Redditch were relegated to the Southern League Premier Division where they remain currently, on 17 March 2011, businessman Chris Swan took over the club, after a previous attempt to purchase Kidderminster Harriers fell through. This is 5 recent Redditch United seasons for a full history look List of Redditch United F. C. seasons Note, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Players with international caps in bold See Redditch United F. C
33.
Royston Town F.C.
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Royston Town Football Club are an English football club based in Royston, Hertfordshire, England, and have played their home games at Garden Walk since 1932. Founded in 1875, they are the second oldest club in Hertfordshire behind Hitchin Town and they reached the Fifth Round of the FA Vase in season 2009–10 for the first time in their history and the Third Qualifying Round in the FA Cup in 1998–99. They won the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division in 2011–12, the current first team manager is former St Albans City boss Steve Castle who arrived at the club in 2013. The 2014-15 season was a successful one finishing 2nd in the league, however Royston lost to Barton Rovers 5-4 on penalties and their promotion dreams were ended. During the summer, Royston started to rebuild by bringing in the likes of Rhys Hoenes, Lewis Donovan, Ryan Towner, a poor first few games in the new season came before an incredible run which included a 7-1 hammering of North Greenford United. Royston beat Great Wakering Rovers 3-0 in the round of the FA Trophy. Goals from Rhys Hoenes, The club-captain Scott Bridges and Ryan Towner, Royston Town, known as The Crows were formed in 1875 and are the second oldest club in Hertfordshire. One of the first traces of the club was in October 1875 when Royston visited Saffron Walden, the game was played at Saffron Walden common. This game was re-lived in October 1975 to celebrate the Essex Clubs centenary year, after the First World War the club entered the Buntingford & District League and in 1921, when the Club was affiliated to the Cambs F. A. they won the Creake Shield. The clubs first major honour came in guise of the Herts County Premier League title in 1969–70 and they repeated the feat in 1972–73, in 1978 they rejoined the South Midlands League and won the Division One title at the first time of asking. Success continued with a Cup Final appearance in the Herts Charity Shield for the first time in 1979, the Herts Charity Shield was won in 1981–82 and two years later the club joined the Isthmian League Division Two North were they remained for six years. One of the legacies of their spell in the Isthmian League is the stand at Garden Walk, erected in 1984, it replaced an earlier timber structure and is constructed largely from brick with a sloping metal roof supported by ten posts. The official seated capacity is 300, although this is largely on benches, in 1990 the club lifted the Herts Charity Shield again with a 1–0 defeat of Pirton. However, after a start to the following season, the club dropped from 6th place to 16th. As a result, were relegated to Division Three where they remained until resigning from the Isthmian League at the end of the 1993–94 season despite finishing 8th spot. The club had never been well supported and were instructed to construct a new stand behind the dugouts opposite the existing stand at an estimated £20,000. Rather than comply with the ruling, Royston resigned from the Isthmian League after ten seasons and it was during this season that the club achieved its highest official attendance of 876 with the visit of Aldershot Town. The following season saw a 6th-place finish and the departure of Tony Galvin, Paddy Butcher took over as player/manager having returned to the club from Ware
34.
Rushall Olympic F.C.
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Rushall Olympic Football Club are an English football club based in Rushall, a former mining village now forming part of the northern suburbs of Walsall. They play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the club joined the Cannock & District League in 1895, finishing as runners-up in their first season and later joined the Junior, Amateur, Parks and Senior sections of the Walsall & District League. During the inter-war years the team won a number of local honours, at this time the team comprised mainly local colliery workers and played on a field behind the Miners Arms pub in Rushall and changed in the pub itself. However, some prior to World War II the club disbanded. In 1951, a group of young men decided to reform the club. They approached the proprietor of a fish and chip shop for permission to use his premises as their headquarters. Following promotion to the First Division, the club won four titles between 1960 and 1965. In 1975, in a bid to gain a higher league status, meanwhile, the club obtained the lease on some land in Daw End, Rushall, and the new Dales Lane ground was officially opened on Sunday 14 August 1977. The club were accepted into the West Midlands League in 1978, the club enjoyed fourteen seasons of moderate success in the Premier Division, with a highest finish of fifth place achieved in season 1988–89. In 1994 the Pics became founder members of the new Midland Football Alliance, after finishing in second place in both 2000–01 and 2002–03, the Pics finally claimed the league title in 2004–05 and with it promotion to the Southern League Division One West. They were then transferred to the Southern League Division One Midlands for the 2006–07 season where they stayed for two years, qualifying for the playoffs in their last season by finishing 5th and they were also unsuccessful in achieving promotion this time. A 2–0 victory over Grantham Town in the final saw Rushall Olympic to reach Northern Premier League Premier Division, the first season at this higher level saw Rushall Olympic finish 8th in the league. They reached the final of three cup competitions, the cup, the Staffordshire Senior Cup and the Walsall Senior Cup which they retained. Rushall also equalled their best ever performance in the FA Cup reaching the fourth qualifying round where they suffered a defeat at the hands of Stourbridge. In 2012–13 Rushall made their debut in the first round proper of the FA Trophy having qualified with victories over Woodford United, Chasetown and their reward was a trip to Wrexham where they suffered a defeat against a team that went on to win the final of the competition. In the League Rushall again were on the verge of the play offs finishing in 6th position, in 2013–14 Rushall Olympic made the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup before losing out at Grimsby Town. Rushall eventually finished in 7th place in the league narrowly missing out on the play offs, however, there were two cup final appearances. The Pics lost out in the final of the Walsall Senior Cup, at the end of the season the club amicably parted company with manager of five years Neil Kitching
35.
St Ives Town F.C.
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St. Ives Town F. C. is a football club based in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. They play in the Southern League Premier Division and this St Ives Town should not be confused with the Cornwall Combination team playing in St Ives, Cornwall, which is also called St Ives Town F. C. The club is managed by Ricky Marheineke and assisted by Jack Cassidy who both joined from Histon in preparation for the 2014-15 Season, St Ives Town Football Club was formed in 1887. The club briefly played in the United Counties Football League Division Two for two seasons in the early 1950s and they rejoined the United Counties Football League Division One in 1985–86, and gained promotion to the Premier Division in 2004–05 after a third-placed finish. They reached the Fifth Round of the FA Vase in 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10 and they won promotion to the Southern Football League after finishing second in the United Counties League Premier Division in 2012–13. They also produced Conor Washington who now plays at Queens Park Rangers and has several appearances for Northern Ireland. In the 2015–16 season, the club earned promotion to the Southern League Premier Division via the play-offs, FA CupFirst Qualifying Round 2006–07, 2009–10 FA Vase Quarter Finals 2011–12 St Ives Town official website
36.
St Neots Town F.C.
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St Neots Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. The club are members of the Southern Football League Premier Division. Founded in 1879 and known as The Saints, St Neots Town play their matches at Rowley Park stadium. St Neots Town was formed in 1879 when it was known as plain St Neots, the club clinched its first honour when it became inaugural winners of the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup in 1888–89. They went on to win the cup four times before the turn of the century in 1892–93, 1894–95, 1895–96. In the 1901/02 season the Club recorded its first known ‘double’ when it won the Hunts Senior Cup, for the time. During this period played in the Biggleswade & District League. For the 1924–25 season the club was renamed St Neots & District, by 1927 they had joined the Bedfordshire & District League, which later became the South Midlands League in 1929. The South Midlands League title was clinched in 1932–33 and they won the league and league cup double in its first season, but returned to the UCL in 1951. In 1956 they switched again, joining Division One South of the Central Alliance. The following year the club was renamed for the time to its present name St Neots Town F. C. In 1960 they returned to the Metropolitan League and won the Professional Cup in 1964–65, in 1966–67 St Neots enjoyed their best run to date in the FA Cup reaching the first round proper, where they were beaten 2–0 away at Walsall. They went on to win the United Counties League and League Cup double in 1967–68 after rejoining the season earlier, the following season they retained the league cup and also won the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup for the twelfth consecutive season, a record for senior cups in England. In 1969 the club transferred to the Eastern Counties League because it was felt it would be a stronger league, but returned for a fourth spell in the UCL Premier Division in 1973. They were relegated at the end of the 1981–82 season after eight years of moderate success, but made an immediate return the following season after finishing as runners-up in Division One. During the 1987–88 season the owner of their long term home at Shortsands yard sold it to a housing developer, meaning the club had to finish the season on a sub-standard borrowed works pitch. At the end of the 87–88 league season just four places from the bottom of the table the club was forced to disband in order to clear its outstanding debt. After four consecutive titles and a six year absence from senior football and they won Division One at the first attempt and were promoted to the Premier Division, where they would stay for the next 17 years
37.
Stourbridge F.C.
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Stourbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Stourbridge, West Midlands. The club currently plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard. The 1923–24 season was one of the best in the history, as they clinched the Birmingham League championship. The club returned to the Birmingham League in 1954 on the disbanding of the Birmingham Combination and were runners-up in 1955–56. The Birmingham Senior Cup was won for a time in 1958–59. Twin strikers Ray Haywood and Chic Bates each notched 50 goals that season and were transferred to Shrewsbury Town, where Bates served 13 years as both player and manager. Another highlight in 1973–74 was a run in the Welsh Cup. A record crowd of 5,726 saw the Glassboys lose the home leg 1–0, Stourbridge were one of the first English semi-professional clubs to tour the South East of the USA in the early Eighties. In 2000 a new owner came to the club, and swiftly appointed Mark Serrell as chairman, along with FA Qualified coach and ex-Birmingham City player Mark Harrison as manager. Despite an influx of new players, continued poor results meant Stourbridges 29-year spell at Southern League level ended with defeat in the last game of the season at Hinckley United in May 2000. With many players moving on, the new management team had to rebuild the side from scratch, the following season saw a memorable run in the FA Vase, culminating in a quarter-final defeat at A. F. C. Sudbury in the quarter-final before finally succumbing to a 4–1 defeat after extra time, in May 2005 Hackett took sole charge of the team after Ford decided to step down due to work and family commitments. After a poor start, a run of 14 league games unbeaten was enough to clinch a runners-up spot and with it promotion back to the Southern League. Victories over Burton Albion and Moor Green also saw the team reach the Birmingham Senior Cup Final for the first time in 30 years, Stourbridges first season back in the Southern League Midlands Division in 2006–07 saw them finish in seventh place. The 2007–08 season saw Stourbridge seal a third-place finish in the Midlands Division to reach the play-offs, however Stourbridge once again suffered heartbreak in the final as Hednesford Town defeated the Glassboys 2–0 at Burton Albions Pirelli Stadium. In the 2009–10 season, Stourbridge reached the FA Cup first round for the first time in their 133-year history and were drawn at home to Walsall, the game ended in a 1–0 defeat for Stourbridge in front of 2,014 fans. In the 2011–12 season, the club won their way through four qualifying rounds to reach the first round of the FA Cup. They were drawn away to League Two side Plymouth Argyle where they drew 3–3 at Home Park to earn themselves a replay, the replay at the War Memorial Ground was chosen for live coverage by ESPN, netting the club over £33,000
38.
Stratford Town F.C.
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Stratford Town Football Club is a football club based in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League. The club was formed in 1941 as Stratford Rangers, changing their name in 1949, after playing in various local leagues they joined the Worcestershire Combination in 1954. In 1957 they switched to the Birmingham and District League, which became the West Midlands League in 1962, in 1975 they took the unusual step of joining the Hellenic League, which does not normally include teams from Warwickshire. After two unsuccessful seasons they rejoined the Midland Combination once again, where remained until becoming founder members of the Midland Football Alliance in 1994. The club entered financial difficulty in 1998 and were reformed to become Stratford Town F. C.1998 and they have reached the third qualifying round of the FA Cup three times, in seasons 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2011–12. The team is managed by Carl Adams, who had previously shared the role with Morton Titterton. After two seasons in the Division One South & West, Stratford Town earned promotion to the Premier Division via the play-offs with a 3–2 win against Larkhall Athletic on 4 May 2015 and they successfully retained their status the following season. Stratford Town moved into The DCS Stadium at Knights Lane, Tiddington in the 2007–08 season and they played their first league match there against Barwell on February 16,2008, losing 1–0 to a Stuart Spencer goal. The record attendance is 1,054 for the Southern League Division One South & West play-off final against Larkhall Athletic in May 2015, note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
39.
Tamworth F.C.
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Tamworth Football Club is an English football club based in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The club participates in the National League North, the tier of English football. The club were formed in 1933 after the previous Tamworth club, Tamworth Castle and they originally played at The Jolly Sailor Ground but after a year moved into The Lamb Ground. Local rivals include Burton Albion and Nuneaton Town, and to a lesser degree Atherstone Town, Bedworth United, the team are currently managed by Andy Morrell, and the current club captain is Paul Green. The town of Tamworth had been represented at football by Tamworth Castle F. C. until the club folded in 1933. This void was filled thanks to a campaign started by a letter from a businessman in the local newspaper setting in motion the formation of Tamworth F. C. Originally playing next to the Jolly Sailor pub, the moved to their present ground, The Lamb Ground. Tamworth began life competing in the Birmingham Combination, before joining the West Midlands League,1972 saw Tamworth promoted to the Southern League, but a period of falling attendances and financial difficulties followed. The club returned to the West Midlands League, and it was taken over by a consortium of businessmen in 1984. In 1987–88 Tamworth won the League and were promoted back to the Southern League, Tamworth, managed by Graham Smith, won the FA Vase in 1989, beating Sudbury Town. The final was played at Wembley Stadium, but the game finished 1–1, the replay was played at London Road, the home of Peterborough United, and Tamworth won 3–0 to lift the FA Vase for the first time. Tamworth won promotion to the Football Conference in 2002–03 after winning the Southern League in 2001–02 and that year, Tamworth earned a 3–3 draw on the final day at Folkestone Invicta while Kettering Town won, passing Tamworth for first place and winning promotion to the Football Conference. Tamworth also reached the final of the FA Trophy in 2002–03 season where they played Burscough but were denied a double, losing 2–1. The club completed perhaps their highest profile signing of all time on 23 February 2006, with the capture of former Arsenal, Aston Villa, Walsall and English national midfielder Paul Merson. However, the arrangement meant that until the end of the season, the arrangement however only lasted two games, although Merson only played once in the 2–1 home loss to Halifax Town. Merson was dropped to the bench for the game, which was a 5–0 defeat away to Grays Athletic. Merson later announced his retirement from football as a player on 9 March 2006. Although the club finished the 2005–06 season in 21st position, in the Conference National, the Lambs did, however, reach the 3rd round of the FA Cup for the first time that season
40.
Basingstoke Town F.C.
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Basingstoke Town Football Club is a football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. The club are members of the Southern League Premier Division. Their motto, Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum, means No stepping back, the club was established in 1896 by a merger of Aldworth United and Basingstoke Albion. They joined the Hampshire League in 1901, and when the league was split into divisions in 1903, were placed in the North Division. They finished bottom of the division in both 1903–04 and 1904–05, and again in 1906–07 and 1907–08, however, after consecutive second-bottom finishes and then finishing fifth out of seven clubs in 1910–11, they were North Division champions in 1911–12. Finishing as champions resulted in promotion to the County Section, although the continued to play in the North Division. They won the North Section again in 1919–20, After league reorganisation in 1929 Basingstoke were placed in Division One and they finished as runners-up in 1965–66 and 1966–67, before winning the league in 1967–68. After finishing as runners-up again in 1968–69, they won titles in 1969–70 and 1970–71. After their third Hampshire League title, Basingstoke moved up to Division One South of the Southern League and their first season in the Southern League saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, eventually losing 5–1 to Northampton Town. The club remained in Division One South until 1979, when league restructuring saw them placed in the Southern Division and they won the division in 1984–85, earning promotion to the Premier Division. Two seasons later they were transferred to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, although they were relegated to Division One at the end of the 1987–88 season, they made an immediate return to the Premier Division after ending the following season as runners-up. The 1989–90 season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup again, after beating Bromsgrove Rovers 3–0, they lost 3–2 to Torquay United in the second round. In 1993–94 they were relegated to Division One, returning to the Premier Division after finishing as Division One runners-up in 1996–97 and they then took Northampton to a replay in the second round, before losing 4–3 on penalties. They reached the first round again in 1998–99, losing 2–1 to Bournemouth, in 2003–04 the club finished fourteenth in the Premier Division, entering a play-off against Lewes for a place in the new Conference South. Although they lost 4–1, they gained a place in the new league after Hendon decided against promotion. The club made another appearance in the FA Cup first round in 2006–07, a fifth-place finish in 2011–12 saw the club qualify for the promotion play-offs. However, they lost the two-legged semi-final to Dartford 3–1 on aggregate, losing 1–0 at home and they also reached the FA Cup first round again, losing 1–0 to Brentford. They qualified for the play-offs for a time in 2014–15 after finishing third
41.
Beaconsfield Town F.C.
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Beaconsfield SYCOB Football Club is a football club based in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Division One Central, in 2000–01 the club won the Premier Division. After repeating this in 2003–04 they were promoted to Division One East of the Southern League and they were transferred to Division One West for the following season, which became Division One South & West for the 2006–07 season. However, after finishing bottom of the division that season, they were relegated back to the Spartan South Midlands League, Beaconsfield won the league at the first attempt, and were promoted back to Division One South & West of the Southern League. The following season, 2008–09, saw them finish fourth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, however, they lost 2–1 to AFC Totton in the semi-finals. In 2009 the club were transferred to Division One Midlands, which became Division One Central the following season. A fifth-place finish in 2011–12 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, another fifth-place finish the following season led to another play-off campaign, but they were beaten 1–0 by Rugby Town in the semi-finals. The club play at Holloways Park on Windsor Road in Beaconsfield, floodlights were installed in 1991 and a large clubhouse incorporating a 200-capacity covered terrace built behind one goal. C. Players Beaconsfield SYCOB F. C. managers Club website
42.
Chesham United F.C.
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Chesham United Football Club is a football club in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed the Generals, they are members of the Southern League Premier Division. The club was established in 1917 by a merger of Chesham Town, the new club joined the Spartan League in 1919, which the Generals had been members of prior to World War I. They won back-to-back league titles in 1921–22 and 1922–23, and were again in 1924–25. League reorganisation in 1928 saw them placed in Division One West, however, the following season saw them placed in the Premier Division after further reorganisation, and they were league runners-up in 1929–30, before going on to win the league in 1932–33. During World War II they played in the Great Western Combination, when the league resumed after the war, Chesham were placed in the Western Division of the Spartan League for the 1945–46 season. The league was reduced to a division for the 1946–47 season. In 1966–67 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, the following season saw them reach the final of the FA Amateur Cup, losing 1–0 to Leytonstone at Wembley Stadium. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 1968–69 ended with a 5–0 defeat at Colchester United, in 1973 Chesham switched to Division Two of the Isthmian League, which was renamed Division One in 1977. They reached the FA Cup first round again in 1976–77, losing 2–0 at Brentford, a fifth appearance in the first round in 1982–83 resulted in a 1–0 defeat by Yeovil Town. The club were relegated to Division Two North at the end of the 1985–86 season, the 1990–91 season saw Chesham win Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They went on to win the Premier Division in 1992–93, but were denied promotion to the Football Conference due to their failing to meet the necessary criteria. The club were relegated back to Division One at the end of the 1994–95 season, although they did reach the FA Cup first round. However, they returned to the Premier Division after winning Division One in 1996–97, Chesham finished bottom of the Southern League Premier Division in 2005–06, resulting in relegation to Division One South & West. After one season in the division they were transferred to Division One Midlands, a fifth-place finish in 2008–09 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 2–1 to Nuneaton Town in the semi-finals. The club went on to qualify for the Premier Division promotion play-offs in 2011–12, the following season resulted in another play-off qualification, this time losing 2–0 to Hemel Hempstead Town in the semi-finals. The following season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1994, in 2016–17, another first round appearance resulted in a 2–1 defeat at Peterborough United. As of 19 November 2016 Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
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Dorchester Town F.C.
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Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England. They currently play in the Southern League Premier Division, the tier of English football. The club is affiliated to the Dorset County Football Association and is a FA chartered Standard club and they play at the Avenue Stadium, on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. They were founder members of the Conference South in 2004, which was the highest standard they have ever reached, founded in 1880, Dorchester Town were Dorset Senior Cup finalists in 1888 and 1890 before joining the Dorset League in 1896. Despite being founder members of the league, the club had success before winning the championship in 1937/38 with a 2–0 victory at Sherborne on 25 April 1938. The club joined the Western League in 1947, winning promotion from Division Two in 1950, and going on to take the league championship in 1954/55. In 1954, Dorchester reached the 2nd Round before eventually losing out to York City in front of 5,500 fans at the old Avenue ground, following four more victories in the Dorset Senior Cup, the club entered the Southern League in 1972. Stuart Bell succeeded David Best as manager during the season, before leaving the Magpies, Senior helped the club reach the 2nd Round of the FA Cup again before losing out to AFC Bournemouth in a replay at Dean Court in front of a crowd of 8,700. A goal four minutes from the end of time was enough to end Dorchesters dreams of a place in the third round – a feat they have still yet to achieve. Relegated at the end of the 1983/84 season following a financial crisis. The return to the top division has been a rollercoaster of emotions for Dorchester fans. Having been a team for a number of years, a brush with relegation came at the start of the nineties. In his first full season, Morgan took the club to sixth in the league, a season earlier the Magpies had picked up the Southern League Cup for the first time, again defeating Kings Lynn in a 4–0 aggregate victory in the final. A season later the Magpies almost saw further play-off glory, but missed out on another promotion opportunity on the day of the season. A mid-table finish the year ended with the resignation of Mark Morris – arguably the clubs most successful manager in recent history – with Mick Jenkins taking charge of the first team. In September 2014, Dorchester suffered a loss, their kitman Alex Legge, aged 38. He was well known around the club and town and was loved by many, the club is democratically run by its supporters. The club have a tradition of playing in black and white striped shirts with black shorts
44.
Farnborough F.C.
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Farnborough Football Club is a football club based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are members of the Southern League Division One Central. The club was established as Farnborough Town in 1967 and joined the Surrey Senior League in 1968 and their first league match saw them beat Surbiton Byron 7–6. In 1971 they reached the top division of the Surrey Senior League and they went on to win three consecutive league titles, losing only one league match during each of the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons. When the league merged with the Metropolitan–London League to form the London Spartan League in 1975, the club were placed in Division One, following their move to Cherrywood Road, Farnborough moved up to Division Two of the Athenian League in 1976. They won the division at the first attempt, and were accepted into Division Two of the Isthmian League. During their domination of the Spartan and Athenian league divisions, the club went 87 matches unbeaten at home between 1973 and 1977, in 1978–79 they won Division Two of the Isthmian League, earning promotion to Division One. The 1980–81 season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, another first round appearance in 1983–84 ended with a 2–1 defeat at Barking. They reached the first round again the season and faced Football League opposition for the first time. The season also saw them win the Division One title, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division, Farnborough were relegated at the end of their first season in the Conference and were placed in the Premier Division of the Southern League. They won the division at the first attempt to earn promotion back to the Conference and they were drawn at home to top division West Ham. With the game switched to the Boleyn Ground, they held West Ham to a 1–1 draw before losing the replay 1–0, the season also saw them finish fifth in the Conference, but they were relegated back to the Southern League at the end of the following season. Farnborough were Southern League champions again in 1993–94, making a return to the Conference. The club spent five seasons in the Conference until being relegated at the end of the 1998–99 season and they were placed in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, which they went on to win in 2000–01, resulting in promotion back to the Conference. They were then drawn at home to Arsenal in the fourth round, following a 5–1 defeat, manager Graham Westley left the club, also taking seven players with him as he moved to Stevenage Borough. Farnborough remained in the Conference until the end of the 2004–05 season, a third-place finish in 2005–06 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, but they lost 3–0 to Histon in the semi-finals. In 2006–07 Farnborough went into administration and were deducted ten points, in May 2007 the club was expelled from the Football Conference and were reformed as Farnborough Football Club. They were admitted to Division One South & West of the Southern League, in 2008–09 they were Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs
45.
Frome Town F.C.
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Frome Town Football Club is an English football club based in Frome, a town in the county of Somerset. They play in the Southern Football League Premier Division, the clubs nickname is the Robins and they play in a predominantly red kit. After the league successes the club made its debut in the FA cup in the 1911–12 season reaching the fifth qualifying round before losing 4–1 to Southport Central. The club then joined the Western league in the 1919–20 season starting in Division two, where won the division at their first attempt. However they did not gain promotion and stayed in the league for a two seasons before leaving, only to return to Division two for another three seasons at the beginning of the 1924–25 season. The club returned to the Western league in the 1931–32 season and stayed there for eight seasons, during this time the Club had success in the Somerset Senior FA Cup, winning it in the 1932–22 and 1933–34 seasons. The club also played its first FA cup game for 35 years in the same season. The 1953–54 season, saw the club reach the First round of the FA cup where they were defeated by Football League side Leyton Orient in front of a crowd of 8,000. The same season saw the club gain promotion to Division one. The club however was relegated back to Division two four seasons later and left the Western league, at the end of their first season back in Division two to join the Wiltshire League. The club once again joined the Western league in the 1963–64 season, the club spent the next 32 seasons in the top division during which time they went on to become champions once during the 1978–79 season. At the end of the 1995–96 season the club was relegated to Division One, at the end of the 1999–00 season the club finished bottom of Division one but were spared relegation as the league was restructured that season. Two seasons later at the end of the 2001–02 campaign the club were Division One champions, in the 2003–04 campaign the club gained media attention when they asked local white witch Titania Hardie, to help improve their home form as they struggled at Badgers Hill. The witch blamed the Decor of the rooms, and once the club changed them the team won eight of their nine remaining home games. The club also achieved cup success that season when they beat Paulton Rovers 3–1 to win the Somerset Premier Cup. In their second season in Division One South and West the club gained promotion to the Premier Division when they beat Sholing 1–0 in the play-off final, the club has since remained in the Premier Division of the Southern Football League. Frome Town play their games at the Special Effect Stadium, Berkley Road, Frome, in 2012 the club added a new 250 seater stand to Badgers Hill, so that their ground would meet the requirements set out for the Southern Football League Premier Division. Note, Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality
