Stratford Town F.C.

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Stratford Town
Stratford-Town-FC-2021.png
Full nameStratford Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bards
Founded1941 (as Stratford Rangers)
GroundKnights Lane, Tiddington
ChairmanJed McCrory
ManagerGavin Hurren
League Southern League Premier Division Central
2023–24 Southern League Premier Division Central, 6th of 21
Website Club website
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Stratford Town Football Club is a football club representing the town of Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England, but currently based in nearby Tiddington. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at Knights Lane.

Contents

History

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 (which later became the Midland Football Combination) in 1954. In 1957 they switched to the Birmingham and District League, which became the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1962, but rejoined the Combination in 1970. 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 they 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.

On 20 April 2013, a 1–1 draw with Stourport Swifts sealed the Midland Alliance title and promotion to the Southern Football League for the first time in the club's history, where they initially played in Division One South & West. 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. They successfully retained their status the following season.

The 2021–22 season saw The Bards reach the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, defeating National League North side Boston United 3–2 in a fourth qualifying round replay after an initial 1–1 draw at the Boston Community Stadium. [1] [2] Stratford were drawn at home to League One side Shrewsbury Town, with the match televised on ITV4. [3] Despite scoring first, they were eventually defeated 5–1 in front of a sell-out 2,800 spectators at Knights Lane. [4]

Stadium

Stratford Town moved into the Knights Lane ground, Tiddington in the 2007–08 season. They played their first league match there against Barwell on 16 February 2008, losing 1–0 to a Stuart Spencer goal. [5]

The record attendance is 2,800 for the FA Cup first round match against Shrewsbury Town on 7 November 2021.[ citation needed ]

Players

Current squad

As of 17 August 2024 [6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos.NationPlayer
GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Maxx Clutterbuck
GK Flag of England.svg  ENG Callum Smith
DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Finley Brennan
DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Chris Hussey
DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Paul McCone
DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Dan Vann
DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Lewis Wilson
DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Alex Worley
MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Jack Cund
MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Josh Hawker
MF Ulster Banner.svg  NIR Dan Lafferty
MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Lewis Ludford-Ison
Pos.NationPlayer
MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Michael McGrath
MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Devonn O'Sullivan
MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Tom Solanke
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Kieron Berry
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Callum Ebanks
FW Flag of Gibraltar.svg  GIB Reece Styche
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Andre Wright
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Owen James
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Jamie Molyneux
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Tyrell Skeen-Hamilton
FW Flag of England.svg  ENG Charlie Williams

The Southern Football League does not use a squad numbering system.

Management and coaching staff

Boardroom

As of 26 May 2022 [6]
PositionName
OwnerJed McCrory

Current staff

PositionName
ManagerGavin Hurren
First Team CoachesJon Hill
Ian Weaving
Goalkeeper CoachKieron Williams
PhysioAmanada Sibanda

Managerial history

PeriodManager
1993 Alan Campbell
–2005Lennie Derby
2005–2006 Ian Britton
2006–2007Dennis Mulholland
2007–2009Micky Moore
2009–2010Rod Brown
2010–2012Morton Titterton
2012–2014Morton Titterton
Carl Adams
2014–2018Carl Adams
2018 Darren Byfield
2018–2019Thomas Baillie
2019 Tommy Wright
2019–2021Paul Davis
2021–2022 Tim Flowers
2022–2023 Dean Holdsworth
Gavin Hurren
2023-Gavin Hurren

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Hughes, Ian (20 October 2021). "Football fever set to grip Stratford after Town make FA Cup history". Stratford Observer. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. ↑ James, Christian (17 October 2021). "Boston United 1-1 Stratford Town: United find bold Bards so hard to edge past". Non League Football Paper. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "BARDS FA CUP TIE VS SHREWSBURY TO BE SHOWN LIVE ON ITV4!". stratfordtownfc.co.uk. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Stratford Town 1-5 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 7 November 2021.
  5. ↑ Stratford Town match report Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "Stratford Town". stratfordtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2022.

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