Worcester City F.C.
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| Full name | Worcester City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | City, The Blues, The Faithful | ||
| Founded | 1902 | ||
| Ground | Victoria Ground, Bromsgrove (groundshare at Bromsgrove Sporting F.C.) | ||
| Capacity | 4,893 | ||
| Chairman | Anthony Hampson | ||
| Manager | Carl Heeley | ||
| League | National League North | ||
| 2015–16 | National League North, 17th | ||
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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 Victoria Ground, home to Bromsgrove, after leaving St George's Lane in 2013.
History
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
| Location | Worcester, Worcestershire, England |
|---|---|
| Owner | Shareholders |
| Capacity | 4,523 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1905 |
| Demolished | 2014 |
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.
Players
Current squad
- As of 14 August 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Management and coaching staff
Current staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Carl Heeley |
| Assistant Manager | John Snape |
| Coach | Ian King |
| Physio | Kim Haynes |
| Kit Manager | Leigh Woodall |
Managerial history
| Image | Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% | Honours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Womack, FrankFrank Womack | England |
May 1928 | July 1930 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Smith, JoeJoe Smith | England |
1930 | 1932 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Hair, AlexAlex Hair |  Scotland |
1932 | 1934 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Whitehouse, JackJack Whitehouse | England |
1934 | 1935 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Keetley, FrankFrank Keetley | England |
1935 | 1936 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Russell, JackJack Russell | England |
1936 | 1937 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Wallington, SydSyd Wallington | England |
1937 | 1938 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Gibbons, SydSyd Gibbons | England |
1938 | 1946 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Jackson, BobBob Jackson | England |
1946 | 1947 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Vinall, JackJack Vinall | England |
1947 | 1950 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Percy, PercyPercy Percy | England |
1950 | 1953 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Jones, BillBill Jones | England |
1953 | 1957 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Paul, RoyRoy Paul |  Wales |
1957 | 1958 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Thompson, BillBill Thompson | Scotland |
1958 | 1962 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| McLennan, DannyDanny McLennan | Scotland |
1962 | 1962 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Jones, BillBill Jones | England |
1962 | 1968 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Stuart, EddieEddie Stuart |  South Africa |
1968 | December 1971 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Grant, WilfWilf Grant | England |
December 1971 | 1973 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Newton, GrahamGraham Newton | England |
1973 | 1973 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Jackman, BillBill Jackman | England |
1973 | July 1974 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Radford, RonnieRonnie Radford | England |
July 1974 | 1975 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Clark, NobbyNobby Clark | England |
1975 | 1984 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Shinton, BobbyBobby Shinton | England |
1984 | 1984 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Armstrong, GeorgeGeorge Armstrong | England |
1984 | 1985 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Cooper, IanIan Cooper | England |
1985 | 1986 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Jones, JohnJohn Jones | England |
1986 | 1986 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Rooney, GeorgeGeorge Rooney | England |
1986 | 1989 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Grifiths, DougDoug Grifiths | England |
1989 | 1989 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Fergusson, SteveSteve Fergusson | England |
1989 | 1990 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Robertson, AllyAlly Robertson | Scotland |
1990 | 1991 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Lines, PhilPhil Lines | England |
1991 | 1991 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
 |
Bennett, MartynMartyn Bennett | England |
1991 | 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Rooney, GeorgeGeorge Rooney | England |
1992 | 1998 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Allner, GrahamGraham Allner | England |
1998 | 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
| Barton, JohnJohn Barton | England |
1999 | January 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
 |
Dryden, RichardRichard Dryden | England |
November 2007 | 17 January 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Heeley, CarlCarl Heeley | England |
13 March 2010 | Present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||
Records
- Largest victory: 19–1 vs Bilston, Birmingham League, 21 November 1931
- Heaviest defeat: 0–19 vs Wellington Town, Birmingham League, 29 August 1920
- Highest attendance: 17042 vs Sheffield United, FA Cup, 24 January 1959
- Highest transfer fee received: £27,500 for John Barton to Everton, 1979
- Highest transfer fee paid: £10,000 for Jai Stanley from Moor Green, 2003
- All-time goalscorer: John Inglis (189, 1970–77)
- Most appearances: Bobby McEwan (596, 1959–75)
- Youngest scorer: Sam Wedgbury, aged 16 versus Bemerton Heath Harlequins, FA Cup, 2005
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
- ↑ Not Just a Racecourse Judd Doughty Worcestershire Life June 2010 p42
- ↑ Not Just a Racecourse Judd Doughty Worcestershire Life June 2010 p42
- ↑ Not Just a Racecourse Judd Doughty Worcestershire Life June 2010 p42
- ↑ Worcester City 1 – 1 Scunthorpe
- ↑ Worcester City Football Club sells ground, Planning Resource, 7 April 2008.
- ↑ Harriers and Loyals agree to groundshare, Blue Square North, 30 January 2013.
- ↑
External links
- Official Site
- Worcester City at the Football Club History Database
- This is Worcester City
Coordinates: 52°20′23″N 2°03′23″W / 52.339615°N 2.056424°W