Cradley Town F.C.
 | |||
| Full name | Cradley Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Lukes, The Hammers | ||
| Founded | 1948 (as Albion Haden United) | ||
| Ground |
Beeches View, Beeches View Avenue, Cradley, Halesowen[1] | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||
| Chairman | Trevor Thomas | ||
| Manager | Nigel Birch | ||
| League | West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division | ||
| 2015–16 | West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division, 8th | ||
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Cradley Town Football Club is a football club based in Cradley, near Halesowen in the West Midlands. It plays in the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division.
History
The club was originally formed in 1970 as Albion Haden United following a merger between the Haden Rangers and the Albion Rovers. The name changed in 1975.
In 1971, the club joined the Midland Football Combination in Division Two. They were league champions at the first attempt, but were not promoted. They also finished runners-up in Division Two on two occasions in the mid 1970s, but it was not until 1979 that they finally gained promotion to Division One. In 1983 they switched to the West Midlands (Regional) League, starting off in the Premier Division, but were relegated in their first season. Promotion back to the top flight came in 1991, and for the next seven seasons they were generally a mid-table team in the Premier Division. In 1998/99, however, a sudden change of form caused the Lukes to finish in second place and gain promotion to the Midland Football Alliance, where they played until 2010. In those eleven seasons they have only twice finished outside the bottom four in the league. They were finally relegated after finishing bottom in the 2009-10 season.
In 1991, Cradley won the Wednesbury Charity Cup.[2]
Since returning to the West Midlands (Regional) League, the Hammers have seen a number of managers at the helm. Duane Darby returned to the club for the 2014-15 season due to Nigel Birch standing down at the end of the 2013-14 season.
References
- ↑ Mike and Tony Williams (2006). Non League Club Directory 2006. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-869833-54-6.
- ↑ "Fine Art & Antique at Penkridge Auction Rooms". Cuttlestones Auctioneers & Valuers. November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
External links
- Cradley Town FC at clubwebsite.co.uk
- Pyramid Passion feature on their ground
- Cradley Town at the Football Club History Database