Worcester City F.C.
 | |||
| Full name | Worcester City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | City, The Dragons, The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1902 | ||
| Ground | Aggborough, Kidderminster | ||
| Capacity | 6,250 (3,140 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Anthony Hampson | ||
| Manager | Carl Heeley | ||
| League | Conference North | ||
| 2012–13 | Conference North, 15th | ||
| |||
 Current season | |||
Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club participates in the Conference North, the sixth tier of English football. Established in 1902, they have spent the majority of their history in non league football. The team plays at Aggborough, Kidderminster after leaving St George's Lane in 2013.
History
The club was formed on 9 September 1902 following the liquidation of another local side, Berwick Rangers. They took over Berwick's fixture list in the Birmingham & District League. Three years later 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. 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 Millwall 5–2 in the second round, they were drawn against Liverpool. A 2–1 win saw Worcester qualify for the fourth round, where they lost 2–0 at home to Sheffield United, setting their record attendance of 17,042.
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 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 they 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.
Stadium
| St George's Lane | |
|---|---|
| Location | Worcester, England |
| Built | 1905 |
| Owner | Shareholders |
| Capacity | 4,523 |
The club used to play at St George's Lane. The ground has four main areas; the Dressing Room End and the Canal End (which can be used for away fans) located behind the goals, the Main Stand (containing all 1,121 seats) alongside one touchline, with the Brookside Terrace opposite the main stand. The current capacity is 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, although due to poor negotiating by the incumbent board of directors, the sale of the ground failed to provide sufficient finances to pay for such a stadium.[1] On 30 January 2013, it was announced that Worcester would ground-share with Kidderminster Harriers at their Aggborough ground from the 2013–14 season.[2]
New stadium
On 6 January 2012, Plans for a retail park were approved Worcester City Council, which includes a scaled down football ground with a capacity of c.3,000, less than the capacity required for the football club to even play at the present level of football.[3]
Players
Current squad
- As of 11 October 2013.
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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For recent transfers, see 2012–13 Worcester City F.C. season.
Management and coaching staff
Current staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Carl Heeley |
| Assistant Manager | Matt Gardiner |
| Coach | John Snape |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Ashley Kingdon |
| Physio | Lawson Mayor |
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: 4056 vs Sheffield United, FA Cup, 24 January 1959
- Highest transfer fee received: £127,500 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
References
- ↑ Worcester City Football Club sells ground, Planning Resource, 7 April 2008.
- ↑ Harriers and Loyals agree to groundshare, Blue Square North, 30 January 2013.
- ↑ "Nunnery Way Retail Park plans approved". BBC. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
External links
- Official Site
- Worcester City at the Football Club History Database
- This is Worcester City