Ludlow Town F.C.

Ludlow Town

Full name	Ludlow Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Knights
Founded	1890
Dissolved	2012
Ground	The SBS Stadium Ludlow Shropshire
2011–12	Shropshire County Premier Football League Premier Division, 6th
Home colours Away colours

Ludlow Town F.C. was a football club based in Ludlow, Shropshire, England.

History

Ludlow Town Football Club was founded in 1890 and played on council grounds around the town until 1981 when they acquired their own facilities at The Riddings Park.

The club played in the South Shropshire, North Herefordshire, Kidderminster and Shropshire County Leagues until 1978 when their success in local football was rewarded with election to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division Two. In their debut season they won the title to clinch promotion to Division One.

Rise

The club was mainly a mid-table side until 1990–91 when they finished as runners-up in Division One to Cradley Town, unfortunately they were denied promotion as their ground did not come up to the required standard. After ground improvements were made, the club was elected into the Premier Division in 1994 and during their first season at that level also reached the Premier League Cup Final and won the Shropshire County Cup and the Presteigne Otway Cup.

In 1995 Town merged with local rivals Ludlow Colts, as the town was proving unable to sustain two clubs. In 2000 Les Bristow took over as manager and led the club to the championship of the Premier Division, dominating the division with just one loss all season and 100 goals scored. This saw the club promoted to the Midland Football Alliance, where they spent four seasons before succumbing to relegation in 2005. During this time they also re-located to their new ground, the SBS Stadium.

Rapid decline

Ludlow finished 10th in the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League in 2009–10, however in 2010 the club announced its intention to withdraw from that League with immediate effect and drop three levels to the Shropshire County Premier Football League, due to financial difficulties.^[1] The team merged with their reserve side, which already played in the Shropshire County League, and they played their final seasons in the Premier Division of that League, finishing 3rd in the 2010–11 season and 6th in their final season of 2011–12. With the folding of the Shropshire Alliance in 2011, the Colts team joined the County League's Division One in 2011–12, as Ludlow Town Reserves.

Receivership

In July 2012 the club entered receivership, with debts exceeding £400,000.^[2]

A "phoenix" club, called AFC Ludlow, now play in the Mercian Regional Football League in Ludlow Town's place;^[3] there is no Reserves team.

Stadium

Town moved to The SBS Stadium in 2002 after selling their previous home at The Riddings Park for housing. It boasts a well-appointed main stand with physio room and club offices, and in 2004 it hosted an international match between the England learning difficulties football team and their German counterparts.

A deal to sell the ground (and lease it back to the club) in order to cancel out the club's considerable debts in 2011 failed.^[2] This was a major factor in the club's folding in 2012. The stadium was eventually sold to a local businessman in 2013, who plans to use it for various sports until the site is redeveloped for housing.^[4]

Honours

• West Midlands (Regional) League
  • Premier Division champions 2000–01
  • Division Two champions 1978–79
• Shropshire County Challenge Cup
  • Winners 1973–74, 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1996–97

Club records

• Best league performance: 10th in Midland Football Alliance, 2001–02^[5]
• Best FA Cup performance: 2nd qualifying round, 2004–05
• Best FA Vase performance: 1st round, 2003–04 and 2004–05

See also

• Shropshire#Football

References

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 52°22′50.48″N 2°43′54.05″W / 52.3806889°N 2.7316806°W / 52.3806889; -2.7316806