Bath City F.C.: Difference between revisions
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==Notable former managers== |
==Notable former managers== |
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Revision as of 13:52, 16 February 2010
| Bath City logo | |||
| Full name | Bath City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | City, The Romans (Unofficial) | ||
| Founded | 1889 as Bath AFC. | ||
| Ground | Twerton Park, Bath | ||
| Capacity | 8,800 (1,006 seated) | ||
| Chairman |  Geoff Todd | ||
| Manager | Adie Britton | ||
| League | Conference South | ||
| 2008-09 | Conference South, 8th | ||
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Bath City Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset. They currently play in the Conference South, having gained promotion from the Southern Football League in 2007. Their manager (since October 2008) is Adie Britton.[1]
Formed in 1889 as Bath AFC, Bath City's history is entirely in non-league football partly because of the election system formerly used to control entrance to the Football League.[2] They changed their name to Bath Railway in 1902 before settling on the name Bath City F.C.[3]
After many years playing in the upper echelons of non-league football they spent a decade in the Southern Premier League after being relegated from the Conference in 1997. [4] They were promoted to the Conference South by winning the Southern League in the 2006-07 season. They have an excellent cup tradition, reaching the FA cup third round no fewer than six times. In 2004 they continued this when they lost in the FA Cup second round to Peterborough United and in the third round of the FA Trophy to Canvey Island. In 2009, City beat League 2 side Grimsby Town in the FA Cup first round, only to lose to Forest Green Rovers in the second round.
History
In 1889 Bath City were formed as Bath AFC and began to play at the Belvoir ground. In 1908 they commenced playing competitive league format football, joining the Western League Division Two. For the 1921-22 season they moved up to Southern League, English section. Here they remained until the Second World War when they were by chance accepted to join the temporary Division Two Northern Division competing with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton, finishing the eventual champions, thereby becoming the only semi-professional side ever to win a Football League trophy. After the War they were forced to resume playing in the Southern League which they won in the 1959-60 season. A year later they were runners up in the same league.
Over the next thirteen years they were three times relegated into and again promoted from the Southern League Division one. In the 1977-78 season they won the Southern League title for a second time. For the next season they fell short of election to the Football League by a narrow margin[1] so they became founder members of the Alliance Premier League, now the Conference National. In 1989 however they were relegated back to the Southern League but were promoted back next season. Here they remained until they were relegated once more to the Southern League in 1997.
They narrowly missed out on promotion to the Conference South in the season 2005-06 season finishing second in the Southern League and lost to Bedford Town. However the following season they won promotion as winners of the Southern League in their second season under manager John Relish.
They finished in 8th position in the Conference South in the 2007-08 season. In the same season they developed a local arrangement to establish a junior footballing set-up called Bath City Youth. This set-up is now being developed into a football academy and in October 2008 manager John Relish moved aside from managerial duties to concentrate on creating this. He was replaced by his former assistant Adie Britton.
Notable former players
Bobby Black
Paul Bodin
Tony Book- Wilf Carter
- Jason Dodd
- Ray Drinkwater
- Charlie Fleming
- Stan Mortensen
- Cliff Pinchbeck
- Alan Skirton
Paddy Sloan- Bobby Zamora
Phil Walsh
Notable former managers
Ground
Twerton Park became Bath City's ground in 1932; it is located in Twerton, a suburb of Bath. It can hold nearly 9,000 spectators with over 1,000 seated. This is larger than most grounds of clubs in equivalent divisions and is known to be one of a few of the last remaining 'classically British' football grounds in England.
In the past it has been shared with: Bristol Rovers, a Football League club and has hosted an epic league decider between Rovers and Bristol City, a fiercely competitive derby; Team Bath who were a full-time professional team playing in the Conference South but folded at the end of the 2008 / 09 season.
Bath City's Main Sponsors are SN Scaffolds, a local scaffolding firm.
On the 21st August 2008 Bath City FC's Chairman Geoff Todd stated that "the club held talks with Bath Rugby over a possible ground share at the Rec" meaning in the future, Bath City FC could be playing at the Recreation Ground (Bath).
Club records
- Best league position: 1st in Southern League 1959-60 and 1977-78 (Level 4 in old league system)
- Best FA Cup performance: 3rd round replay, 1963-64 and 1993-94
- Best FA Trophy performance: 3rd round replay, 1991-92 and 1995-96
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Bath City Youth FC
Formally known as Avon Arsenal FC who were established in 1981. The club linked up with Bath City FC in 2007 and renamed as Bath City Youth Football Club and play in the traditional BCFC colours black and white.
The club plays mainly in the Midsomer Norton League and Mid-Wilts League and has teams from age seven through to eighteen. The club's ethos is based upon inclusion and encouragement for players to improve their individual skills and their team-work. It is not just about winning although we do have county player and academy/centre of excellence successes. This club ethos has proved to be very popular with players and parents as it creates a supportive and friendly environment to develop and practice football skills.
Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, and Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, presented Bath City Youth FC with the Football Association’s prestigious FA Charter Standard at Twerton Park on Saturday, January 31st. The ceremony took place at half time during the Blue Square Conference match between Bath City and Newport County. Foster was joined by Bath City FC’s Managing Director, Paul Williams, Marcus Holmes, Football Development Officer for the Somerset FA & BANES together with the Mayor of Bath, Tim Ball, in presenting the award to Mike Charlton, Chairman of Bath City Youth FC. Having been in existence for a number of years as Avon Arsenal, Bath City Youth FC was recently reformed and renamed. The decision to change its name to that of the city’s senior football club was welcomed by Williams and fellow Bath City FC director Philip Weaver. “We felt it was important for the local community that we lent our name to the development of youth football,” said Williams. “Bath City FC has been in existence for 120 years and the fact that this youth initiative within the region has attracted over 300 players – boys and girls aged 7 upwards to 16 – can only be good for the club’s future.” Mike Charlton said that he was delighted that all the hard work by his fellow committee members in recent weeks had culminated with the Club receiving this Award from the FA’s nationwide grassroots initiative. “This will give us the impetus to push the club forward, to find commercial partners and attract even more boys and girls to the great game of football.” Marcus Holmes also commented that he felt Bath City Youth had an important role to play with the development of youth football in the region and would endorse the club’s efforts to achieve their objectives.
== Committee Members & Team Managers ==
- Under 8s Manager: Ed Tann |
- Under 9s Manager: Paul King |
- Under 10s Manager: Nick Prescott |
- Under 11s Manager: Wayne Flint |
- Under 11s Coach: Max Bennett |
- Under 12s Manager: Phil Rochford-Smith |
- Under 12s Colts Manager : Shane Davies |
- Under 13s Gladiators Manager: Ian Lanning |
- Under 13s Romans Manager: Eric Chalmers
| - Under 14s Manager: Shaun Walter |
- Under 15s Manager: Steve Benjamin |
- Under 16s Manager: Andrew Mackney |
- Girls Manager: Ray Li
| - Adult Social Team: Matthew Pearson |
- Club Secretary: Andrew McPhee |
- Chairman: Michael Charlton |
- Vice Chairman: Ray Li |
- Welfare Officer: Patrick Taylor |
- Head Coach: Ian Lanning |
References
- ^ "All Change at City". Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ^ "Bath City Football club". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
- ^ "Bath City History". Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ "Football Conference 1996-97". Retrieved 2008-11-09.
Sources
- Bath City at the Football Club History Database
- Club history
- Player lists