Stratford Town F.C.

"Stratford Rangers" redirects here. For club from Stafford, see Stafford Rangers.

Stratford Town

Full name	Stratford Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Bards
Founded	1941 (as Stratford Rangers)
Ground	Knights Lane, Tiddington
Chairman	Jed McCrory
Manager	Gavin Hurren
League	Southern League Premier Division Central
2023–24	Southern League Premier Division Central, 6th of 21
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
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.

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 27 December 2022 ^[6]

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

Pos. Nation Player GK   ENG Louis Beresford GK   ENG Liam O'Brien DF   ENG Josh Endall DF   ENG Kynan Issac DF   ENG Josh Kilbride DF   ENG Paul McCone DF   ENG James O’Neil DF   ENG Lucas Powell DF   WAL Jack Turner DF   ENG Dan Vann MF   ENG Will Dawes MF   ENG Brennan Denness-Barrett MF   ENG Will Grocott(captain)

Pos. Nation Player MF   ENG Josh Hawker MF   ENG Ryan Inman MF   ENG Max Johnson MF   NIR Dan Lafferty MF   ENG Felix Miles MF   ENG Kurtis Revan MF   ENG Ashley Sammons MF   ENG Dexter Walters FW   ENG Jake Collins FW   ENG Curvin Ellis FW   ENG Jamie Molyneux FW   IRL Adam Rooney FW   ENG Jack Storer

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

Management and coaching staff

Boardroom

As of 26 May 2022 ^[6]

Position	Name
Owner	Jed McCrory

Current staff

Position	Name
Manager	Gavin Hurren
First Team Coaches	Jon Hill Ian Weaving
Goalkeeper Coach	Kieron Williams
Physio	Amanada Sibanda

Managerial history

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

See also

• Stratford Town F.C. players
• Stratford Town F.C. managers

References

• Mike and Tony Williams (2006). Non League Club Directory 2006. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. ISBN   1-869833-54-6.

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. "Stratford Town". stratfordtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2022.

External links

• Official website

52°11′38.94″N1°40′34.90″W / 52.1941500°N 1.6763611°W / 52.1941500; -1.6763611