| Full name | Leamington Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Brakes | ||
| Founded | 1891 (as Leamington Town) | ||
| Ground | New Windmill Ground, Whitnash (Capacity: 2,300) |
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| Chairman | Jim Scott | ||
| Manager | Paul Holleran | ||
| League | Southern Football League Premier Division | ||
| 2010-11 | Southern Football League Premier Division, 5th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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| Current season | |||
Leamington Football Club is the main football club in Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division.
In 2005 the team beat 5 teams (with 2 replays and penalty shoot-outs) to make excellent progress in the FA Cup, gaining significant national media coverage, culminating in a 9-1 defeat to Colchester United, a professional team six leagues above Leamington, in the First Round Proper. To celebrate the cup run the Warwickshire Beer Company created a bespoke beer called Brakes Fluid, only available from the club shop. At the start of the 2008/09 season the senior team became affiliated with Leamington Lions, the ladies team and the Leamington Junior Brakes teams.
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The club was founded in 1891 as Leamington, and became known as Leamington Town the following year. In 1937 they sold their ground to Coventry City and did not then re-form until 1944 when they became known as Lockheed Borg & Beck, as they became associated with a local works. The team soon became Lockheed Leamington, and then AP Leamington in 1973, as the works team for Automotive Products. In 1985 the club returned to their original name, but within three years the ground had been sold and the club went into hiatus until re-emerging in 2000.[1]
With the club at its playing pinnacle, Automotive Products decided to sell the Windmill Ground in Tachbrook Road for housing. The last match was played in April 1988.
The club was relaunched in 2000 playing at the New Windmill Ground in Harbury Lane, Whitnash, (a large village adjoining Leamington to the south), and winning two successive promotions: the Midland Football Combination Division Two title in the first year and as runners-up in Division One a year later. Three years later Leamington gained promotion to the Midland Alliance
Famous ex-players include former Coventry City captain Charlie Timmins (1958–1961), and George Green, who won the 1925 FA Cup Final with Sheffield United.
Leamington FC's colours are gold shirts, black shorts and black stockings.
The Leamington FC badge shows a windmill and a football. The windmill image has been associated with the club for a long time, since both the old Windmill Ground and the current New Windmill Ground were near iconic windmills.
The away kit for 2011/12 is royal blue with a yellow flash across the chest.
Home to Leamington Town, Lockheed Leamington, AP Leamington and Leamington FC the Windmill Ground was situated on the Tachbrook Road, Leamington Spa.
The ground began its life known simply as the "Tachbrook Road Ground" with the first "Leamington FC" match taking place in late September, 1891, between "Leamington Association Football Club" and Queen's College, Birmingham.
By 1913, when Leamington Town moved back to the ground (after using various sites around the town), it had been renamed as "The Windmill Ground", the name reflecting the fact that there was a derelict windmill (which was domolished in 1968) adjacent to the site on the Tachbrook Road.[2]
In 1937 Leamington Town fell foul to money matters, the club was voluntarily wound up, and the Windmill Ground was sold to Coventry City. Coventry paid £1,739 6s and 8d for the ground which was to be used for their 'A' team. During the 2nd World War the ground also hosted Forces matches and Birmingham City matches.
Lockheed, the company situated opposite the Windmill Ground, formed a club in 1946 called Lockheed Leamington and bought the ground back from Coventry City to house their team.
It was after this time that the ground saw most of its development work - stands, terracing, etc. The floodlights were installed in 1965. By its demise it boasted a 440 seater stand running half the length of the Tachbrook Road side. At the left hand side (looking from the pitch) were the changing rooms.
To the right, and extending behind the northern goal, was terracing. The terracing gradually faded into a gently sloping gravel bank that continued round the other 2 sides of the pitch. The north end was covered, as was a very small section of the embankment opposite the stand.
The stated capacity of the ground was 5,000 - with cover for 1,600 spectators. The clubhouse (built in the late 1970s) sat behind the stand, up towards the northern end of the ground.
A First Round FA Cup tie, vs Stafford Rangers in the 1975/76 season, saw the largest attendance at the ground. 3,200 turned up to see Stafford triumph 3-2.
With the ground's owners, Automotive Products, struggling financially, property developers AC Lloyd purchased the ground in 1985. The downfall of the club could be said to have started two years previously. Despite winning the Southern League championship in 1983, the club was denied promotion to the Football Conference due to the condition of the ground. Kidderminster Harriers were promoted instead, and a sad downward spiral was put in motion.
The final league match at the ground was on 16 April 1988 against Walsall Wood. The very last match played at the ground was between teams managed by two old (AP) Leamington managers a "Farewell to the Windmill Ground".
Where the ground once stood there is now a housing development. The turnstiles were sold to VS Rugby and some of the stand went to Stratford Town. The floodlights, originally from Manchester City's Maine Road ground, were sold to a security firm.
The New Windmill Ground has been Leamington's home since the 2000/01 renaissance. The ground is built in the shadow of nearby Chesterton Windmill on Harbury Lane, Whitnash just outside Leamington Spa. It is fully owned by the club.
As of February 2008, the ground contains a match pitch and a practice pitch, car park, licensed clubhouse and changing rooms, a snack bar, club shop and a tuck shop, and an electronic scoreboard. There is covered terracing on the South side ("The Harbury Lane End"), covered seating on the East side ("The Sheepside"), terracing on the North side ("The North Bank"), and a new small covered stand on the West side. The ground has full floodlighting and PA facilities. Entrance is via turnstiles at the southwest and, since February 2008, northwest corners.
In June 2007, planning permission was granted for further development, intended to bring the ground to the standards required by the Southern League. This planned development includes a new covered stand on the west side of the ground (subsequently completed in 2010), and an extension to the clubhouse. In December 2007 terracing to the North Bank was completed and first used on 26 December for a league game against Romulus, which ended as a 1–1 draw.
In April 2008 the ground was awarded a 'D' grading making it suitable for use in the Southern League Premier Division. New terracing to the Harbury Lane end, consisting of six steps, was unveiled in a pre-season friendly against Conference South team Newport County on July 19, 2008.
Leamington used to enjoy a high level of support for the club's position in the league system. The average attendance for home matches for the 08/09 season was 666. The highest attendance at a New Windmill Ground match was 1,634 when Stourbridge visited on 5 May 2008. Below are the top five ever attendances at the New Windmill Ground:
| Attendance | Opponents | Match | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,634 | Stourbridge | Southern Football League Division One Midlands Play-Off Final |
May 2008 |
| 1,380 | Retford United | FA Vase | February 2007 |
| 1,263 | Rugby Town | Midland Football Combination Division Two |
May 2001 |
| 1,251 | Nuneaton Town | Southern Football League Premier Division |
April 2010 |
| 1,204 | Rugby Town | Midland Football Combination Division One |
April 2002 |
Leamington does not have an official club song but in the early seasons "Pomp 'n' Gold", a fusion of Elgar and Spandau Ballet was used prior to the teams walking out onto the pitch. For the 2011/12 season The Roller by Beady Eye is played whilst the teams run onto the pitch. In addition a popular song on the terraces is 2Bods adapted from an FC United of Manchester song with the words changed to suit the club. To celebrate the FA Cup run of 2005 the Warwickshire Beer Company, a local microbrewery based in Cubbington produced a special ale called Brakes Fluid especially for the club which is still sold today. The clubs fanzine is entitled Windmill Wonderland.
Leamington's primary rivals are Rugby Town AFC and Nuneaton Town. Other rivals are Bedworth United, Racing Club Warwick from the nearby town of Warwick, and Stratford Town from Stratford-upon-Avon.
In 2006/07 Leamington were the first team to win the Midland Football Alliance League, and League Cup in the same year. Leamington later went on to win the J. McGorian Cup, the division's equivalent of the Community Shield.
| Season |
League Contested[note 1] | Tier |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
League Position |
Avg. League Home Attendance |
FA Cup |
FA Trophy |
Leading scorer[note 2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Midland Football Combination Division Two | 12 | 34 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 96 | 31 | +65 | 88 | 1st of 18 Promoted |
535 | n/a | n/a | Josh Blake 31 (2) |
| 2001–02 | Midland Football Combination Division One | 11 | 36 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 107 | 30 | +77 | 90 | 2nd of 19 Promoted |
483 | n/a | n/a | Josh Blake 23 (4) |
| 2002–03 | Midland Football Combination Premier Division | 10 | 42 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 92 | 48 | +44 | 90 | 3rd of 22 | 399 | n/a | n/a | Paul Nicholls 28 (2) |
| 2003–04 | Midland Football Combination Premier Division | 10 | 40 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 101 | 36 | +65 | 94 | 2nd of 21 | 410 | n/a | n/a | Paul Nicholls 26 (6) |
| 2004–05 | Midland Football Combination Premier Division | 10 | 42 | 35 | 4 | 3 | 132 | 40 | +92 | 109 | 1st of 22 Promoted |
396 | n/a | n/a | Richard Adams 37 (1) |
| 2005–06 | Midland Football Alliance | 9 | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 79 | 44 | +35 | 74 | 5th of 22 | 473 | R1 | n/a | Jon Adams 13 (8) |
| 2006–07 | Midland Football Alliance | 9 | 42 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 105 | 36 | +69 | 103 | 1st of 22 Promoted |
601 | 1Q | n/a | Ben Mackey 19 (10) |
| 2007–08 | Southern Football League Division One Midlands |
8 | 40 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 74 | 27 | +47 | 89 | 2nd of 21 Play-off final losers |
604 | 1Q | R1 | Ben Mackey 22 (6) |
| 2008–09 | Southern Football League Division One Midlands |
8 | 42 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 114 | 44 | +70 | 101 | 1st of 22 Promoted |
661 | 1Q | 1Q | Mark Bellingham 46 (2) |
| 2009–10 | Southern Football League Premier Division |
7 | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 84 | 75 | +9 | 65 | 10th of 22 | 636 | 1Q | 1Q | Mark Bellingham 27 (5) |
| 2010–11 | Southern Football League Premier Division |
7 | 40 | 24 | 6 | 10 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 78 | 5th of 22 Play-off semi final losers |
525 | 1Q | 3Q | Luke Corbett 17 (1) |
Last Updated: April 25, 2011
Q = Qualifying Round
P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points;
[3] [4] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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