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Worcester City F.C.

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Worcester City F.C.
File:Worcester City FC logo.png
Full nameWorcester City Football Club
Nickname(s)City, The Blues, The Faithful
Founded1902
GroundVictoria Ground, Bromsgrove (Groundshare at Bromsgrove Sporting F.C.)
Capacity4,893
ChairmanAnthony Hampson
ManagerCarl Heeley
LeagueNational League North
2015–16National League North, 17th

Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club participates in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football. Established in 1902, they have spent the majority of their history in non-league football. They currently play at Aggborough, home to Kidderminster Harriers, after leaving St George's Lane in 2013.

History

Worcester (blue and white shirts) in action against Dover Athletic in 2009

The club was formed on 9 September 1902 when, following the liquidation of another local side, Berwick Rangers, Worcester Rovers amalgamated taking the present name of Worcester City F. C.[1] taking over Berwick's fixture list in the Birmingham & District League. Initially they played on Pitchcroft on an enclosed area called Severn Terrace (behind the modern day Swan Theatre).[2] They played there until the start of the 1905 season.[3] It was in 1905 that they reached the first round of the FA Cup, losing 6–0 at home to Watford. In 1924–25 they won the league for the first time, and the following season reached the FA Cup first round again, losing 2–0 to Kettering Town in a second replay at St Andrew's. The club won back-to-back league titles in 1928–29 and 1929–30, also reaching the FA Cup first round in the former, losing 3–1 at Walsall.

In 1938 they joined the Southern League. In 1940 they won the Southern League Cup beating Chelmsford 7–3 over two legs under the guidance of former Fulham F.C. legend Syd Gibbons. During World War II the club returned to the Birmingham & District League for two seasons.

After the war Worcester rejoined the Southern League. In 1958–59 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again. After beating Chelmsford City in a replay and then Millwall 5–2 in the second round, they were drawn against Liverpool. A 2–1 win saw Worcester qualify for the fourth round against Sheffield United. They were defeated 2–0 in front of a record home attendance of 17,042 at St George's Lane.

In 1973–74 the club were relegated to Division One North of the Southern League. They returned to the Premier Division as Division One champions in 1977, and in 1978–79 won the title. The following season they became founder members of the Alliance Premier League, finishing third in their first season. However, they were relegated at the end of the 1984–85 season.

The 1973–74 season saw City reach the quarter-final of the FA Trophy (reached 5 times in the club's history). They beat Taunton Town 1–0 away from home and then a 5–1 home win over Bletchley saw the club reach the third round. Having beaten Sandbach Ramblers 4–1, City progressed to the last eight where a 2–0 away defeat followed a goalless draw against South Shields ended their cup run. Also in 1973–74 Worcester played in the Welsh Cup for the first time, losing in the quarter-finals to Stourbridge In 1975–76 City were drawn against Shrewsbury Town in the quarter-finals at home and took them to a replay after a 2–2 draw, losing 3–0 in the replay. In the 1978–79 season, Worcester reached the semi-finals after beating Cardiff City 3–2 in the quarters. They again played Shrewsbury, this time losing 2–0 away.

The club remained in the Southern League Premier Division until 2004, when a fifth-placed finish earned them a place in the newly established Conference North. In 2008 they were moved to the Conference South after no southern teams were relegated from the Conference National. In 2009–10 they finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved after several other clubs were demoted or folded – these clubs were all based in northern England so Worcester were transferred back to the Conference North.

Arguably the best result for over 50 years, possibly in their history while also considering the defeat of Liverpool in 1959, occurred on 9 November 2014. In the FA Cup first round Worcester went to the Ricoh Arena and beat Coventry City in a 2–1 victory. This earned them a second-round away tie against Scunthorpe United four weeks later. City secured a replay at Aggborough after a 1–1 draw, in which Daniel Nti equalised immediately after half-time with a strike into the roof of the net in front of the 2,200 travelling fans. The replay also finished 1–1 and, some 2½ hours after kick-off, Scunthorpe won 14–13 on penalties, setting a record for the longest shoot-out in FA Cup history.[4]

Stadium

St George's Lane
LocationWorcester, Worcestershire, England
OwnerShareholders
Capacity4,523
Construction
Built1905
Demolished2014
Entrance to St George's Lane

The club used to play at St George's Lane. The ground had four main areas; the Dressing Room End and the Canal End (which was used for away fans), the Main Stand (containing all 1,121 seats) and the Brookside Terrace. The capacity was 4,523.

The ground's record attendance is 17,042 from a fourth round FA Cup game against Sheffield United in 1959.

The ground was vacated in June 2013, as it has been sold to a housing developer. The sale of the ground was aimed at helping to fund the building of a new 6,000-capacity ground to be built at Nunnery Way on the edge of Worcester but the sale of the ground failed to provide sufficient finances to pay for such a stadium.[5] On 30 January 2013, it was announced that Worcester would ground-share with Kidderminster Harriers at their Aggborough ground from the 2013–14 season.[6]

Worcester City Decided to terminate their arrangement with Kidderminster and Move to Bromsgrove and groundshare their Victoria Ground from the start of the 2016-17 season.[7]

New stadium

In 2013 previous plans for the club's new stadium to be built out of the city at Nunnery Way were shelved. The Worcester City Supporters' Trust have since tabled plans for a multi-use sporting facility on land currently occupied by Perdiswell Sports Centre, close to the city centre. Being a modest stadium with a capacity of 4,130, it would consist of a covered stand with 500 seats and two covered, terraced stands to hold 130 each (the capacity could be increased to 5,540 if tiered terraces are utilised). The proposal includes a full-size, all-weather and flood-lit artificial pitch, alongside three existing grass pitches. It would incorporate community facilities, in conjunction with the proposal of a new swimming pool. A full planning application has been submitted to the City of Worcester Council and is currently pending. [citation needed]

Players

Current squad

As of 30 March 2016

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK England ENG Ethan Ross (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
— GK England ENG Nathan Vaughan
— GK England ENG Calum Kitscha (on loan from Cheltenham Town)
— DF England ENG Alex Gudger
— DF England ENG Clayton McDonald
— DF England ENG Sam Minihan
— DF England ENG Kieran Morris
— DF England ENG Tom Sharpe
— DF England ENG Jamie Smith
— DF England ENG Wayne Thomas
— DF England ENG Tyler Weir
— MF Republic of Ireland IRL Leo Donellan (on work experience from Queens Park Rangers)
— MF England ENG Tristan Dunkley
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Connor Gater
— MF England ENG Danny Jackman (Captain)
— MF England ENG Ben Ward-Cochrane
— MF Republic of Ireland IRL Shaun Donnellan (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
— MF England ENG George Nash (on loan at Banbury United)
— MF England ENG Dean Waldron
— MF Romania ROU Marius Ologu
— FW Jamaica JAM Deon Burton
— FW England ENG Lee Hughes
— FW England ENG Daniel Nti
— FW England ENG Jordan Murphy (on loan from Walsall FC)
— FW England ENG Alun Webb
— FW England ENG Kyle Perry

Management and coaching staff

Current staff

Position Name
Manager England Carl Heeley
Joint Manager England Matt Gardiner
Coach England John Snape
Goalkeeper Coach England Ashley Kingdon
Physio England Lawson Mayor
Physio England Rudi Farquharson
Kit Manager England Chris Andrews

Managerial history

List of Worcester City F.C. managers
Image Name Nationality From To P W D L GF GA Win% Honours Notes
Frank Womack  England May 1928 July 1930 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Joe Smith  England 1930 1932 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Alex Hair  Scotland 1932 1934 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Jack Whitehouse  England 1934 1935 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Frank Keetley  England 1935 1936 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Jack Russell  England 1936 1937 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Syd Wallington  England 1937 1938 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Syd Gibbons  England 1938 1946 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Bob Jackson  England 1946 1947 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Jack Vinall  England 1947 1950 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Percy Percy  England 1950 1953 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Bill Jones  England 1953 1957 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Roy Paul  Wales 1957 1958 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Bill Thompson  Scotland 1958 1962 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Danny McLennan  Scotland 1962 1962 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Bill Jones  England 1962 1968 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Eddie Stuart  South Africa 1968 December 1971 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Wilf Grant  England December 1971 1973 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Graham Newton  England 1973 1973 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Bill Jackman  England 1973 July 1974 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Ronnie Radford  England July 1974 1975 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Nobby Clark  England 1975 1984 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Bobby Shinton  England 1984 1984 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
George Armstrong  England 1984 1985 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Ian Cooper  England 1985 1986 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
John Jones  England 1986 1986 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
George Rooney  England 1986 1989 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Doug Grifiths  England 1989 1989 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Steve Fergusson  England 1989 1990 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Ally Robertson  Scotland 1990 1991 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Phil Lines  England 1991 1991 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Martyn Bennett  England 1991 1992 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
George Rooney  England 1992 1998 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Graham Allner  England 1998 1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
John Barton  England 1999 January 2005 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Richard Dryden  England November 2007 17 January 2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Carl Heeley  England 13 March 2010 Present 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—

Records

Honours

  • Birmingham & District league winners: 1913–14, 1924–25, 1928–29, 1929–30 runners up: 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34
  • Southern League Western Section runners up: 1939–40
  • Southern League Division One North winners: 1967–68, 1976–77
  • Southern League Premier winners: 1978–79
  • Football Conference (Alliance Premier League) third place: 1979–80
  • Southern League Cup winners: 1940, 2001
  • Worcestershire Senior Cup winners: 28 times
  • Staffordshire Senior Cup winners: 1976–77
  • Welsh Cup semi finalists: 1978–79
  • FA Trophy quarter finalists: 1969–70, 1973–74, 1980–81, 1981–82,
  • FA Cup fourth round: 1958–59

References

  1. ^ Not Just a Racecourse Judd Doughty Worcestershire Life June 2010 p42
  2. ^ Not Just a Racecourse Judd Doughty Worcestershire Life June 2010 p42
  3. ^ Not Just a Racecourse Judd Doughty Worcestershire Life June 2010 p42
  4. ^ Worcester City 1 – 1 Scunthorpe
  5. ^ Worcester City Football Club sells ground, Planning Resource, 7 April 2008. Archived 2014-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Harriers and Loyals agree to groundshare, Blue Square North, 30 January 2013.
  7. ^ [1]

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