Bromsgrove Rovers F.C.
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| Bromsgrove Rovers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Bromsgrove Rovers Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Rovers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1885 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Victoria Ground, Bromsgrove | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 4,893 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Tom Herbert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Rod Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Southern League Division One Midlands |
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| 2005-06 | Southern League Division One West, 11th |
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Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. are a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The club are one of the oldest in England, and were founded in 1885.
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[edit] History
Bromsgrove Rovers were formed in 1885 and initially played in the local Studley & District League, during which time they played on at least four grounds before arriving at their current Victoria Ground home in 1910. Rovers were promoted to the Birmingham & District League in 1898, where they were runners up in the 1904-05 season. The club switched to the Birmingham Combination in 1908, where they were to remain until 1953 when it was absorbed into the Birmingham & District League (later renamed the West Midlands Regional League. Rovers were champions of the Combination on two occasions (1946-47 & 1959-60) and runners-up on four other occasions.
In 1972 Rovers joined the Southern Football League, initially in Division One North. In 1979 the league was re-organised and they were placed in the Midland Division, which they won in 1985-86 to gain a place in the Premier Division.
The most successful period in the club's history is without doubt between 1991 and 1998, under the management of Bobby Hope. In the 1991-1992 season a remarkable run saw them win 15 home games in a row and pip Dover Athletic to the title with a game to spare. This saw Bromsgrove promoted to the Football Conference, the highest level of non-league football in England.
The remarkable form from the promotion season continued during the 1992-93 season. Bromsgrove were one of smallest clubs in the Conference, yet managed to finish runners-up to the eventual champions Wycombe Wanderers.
The following season saw Bromsgrove get past the first round (proper) of the FA Cup, claiming their only ever league scalp with an away victory over Northampton Town. After another away victory in the second round (against fellow Conference side Yeovil Town), Bromsgrove were drawn at home to Barnsley. A capacity crowd of nearly 5,000 was in attendance for the game. Bromsgrove were 1-0 up with just two minutes of time remaining, when Barnsley scored two late goals to end up winners. In post-match comments, the Barnsley manager Viv Anderson described his team as "the luckiest in the world".[citation needed]
Bromsgrove were eventually relegated from the Conference in 1996-97. By this time Bobby Hope had left as manager, and many of the club's finest players had also either left, retired, or were past their best. These included the inspirational captain Kevin 'Psycho' Richardson, Paul Webb (who controversially left to join local rivals Kidderminster Harriers), Chris Hanks (Rovers' all time top-scorer) and Martyn O' Connor, who went on to have a successful league career with Birmingham City.
Since then the club have been in almost constant decline. Their relegation to the Southern League Premier Division in 1996-97 was followed by relegation to Division One West in 1998-99 and then to the Midland Football Alliance in 2000-01. Promotion back to the Southern League was gained at the first attempt, but the club still finds itself a long way removed from its successes of the early 1990s. From an average support of 1,500 per game (in the first Conference season) attendance is now frequently in the low 200s.
[edit] Current first team squad
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[edit] Club records
- Best league position: 2nd in Conference (level 5), 1992-93
- Best FA Cup performance: 3rd round, 1993-94
- Best FA Trophy performance: Quarter-final replay, 1975-76
- Best FA Vase performance: 3rd round, 2001-02.
[edit] Sources
- Bromsgrove Rovers at the Football Club History Database
- Club profile on the official Southern League website
