Biggleswade Town F.C.

Biggleswade Town

Full name

Biggleswade Town Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Waders

Founded

1874

Ground

Carlsberg Stadium, Biggleswade

Capacity

3,000 (300 seated)

Chairman

Maurice Dorrington

Manager

Chris Nunn

League

Southern League
Premier Division

2014–15

Southern League
Premier Division, 19th

Website

[www.biggleswadetownfc.co.uk Club home page]

Home colours

Away colours

Biggleswade Town F.C. is an English football club based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. The club are currently members of the Premier Division of the Southern League and play at the Carlsberg Stadium.

History

The club were established in 1874 as Biggleswade. The club originally played at the Fairfield Road ground, which was shared with a local cricket club, and played only friendlies and cup matches until the late 1890s.^[1] In 1902 they were founder members of the Biggleswade and District League, and were its first champions, also winning the Bedfordshire Senior Cup that year. The club went onto win the league twice more before World War I, also playing in the Bedford & District League between 1909 and 1912.^[1]

In 1920 the club joined the Northamptonshire League, which became the United Counties League in 1934, and won the Bedfordshire Premier Cup in 1922–23 and 1927–28.^[2] After World War II the club adopted its current name and joined the Spartan League in 1945. They returned to the UCL in 1951, before switching to the Eastern Counties League in 1955. During their time in the ECL they set the record for biggest away win with a 12–0 victory over Newmarket Town. In 1963 they returned to the UCL due to the increasing transport costs.^[1] In 1975–76 they finished bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated.

In 1980 they joined the Premier Division of the South Midlands League.^[3] They were relegated to Division One in 1983, but were promoted back to the Premier Division in 1987. When the Spartan and South Midlands leagues merged to form the Spartan South Midlands League in 1997 the club were placed in the Premier Division North. The following season they were placed in the Senior Division, and after finishing fifth, were promoted to the Premier Division.

In 2006 the club left their Fairfield Road ground and groundshared with Bedford United & Valerio whilst a new ground was built on Langford Road, known as the Carlsberg Stadium. In 2007–08 they won the Bedfordshire Premier Cup for a third time, beating Luton Town 3–2 in the final. The following season they won the league title, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Southern League.

As of the 2012–13 season the club established a reserve side under the name of " AFC Biggleswade & Academy ", who began their first season playing in the Bedfordshire County Football League Premier Division.^[4]

The 2012–13 season saw The Waders finish in fourth and a place in the play-offs, where they beat Rugby Town 3-1 to secure promotion^[5] to the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier.

Seasons

This is 5 recent Biggleswade Town seasons for a full history look List of Biggleswade Town F.C. seasons

Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Leading league scorer		FA Cup		FA Trophy		Average home attendance
Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Name	Goals	Res	Rec	Res	Rec	Average home attendance
2009–10	Southern Football League Division One Midlands	8	42	14	13	15	56	63	-7	55	12th of 22			PR	0-0-1	QR1	1-2-0
2010–11	Southern Football League Division One Central	8	42	24	9	9	89	51	+38	81	4th of 22 Lost in playoff semifinal			QR1	1-1-1	QR1	1-1-1
2011–12	Southern Football League Division One Central	8	42	19	7	16	75	54	+21	64	8th of 22			QR2	2-2-1	QR1	1-0-1
2012–13	Southern Football League Division One Central	8	42	26	7	9	97	50	+47	85	4th of 22 Promoted through playoffs			QR1	1-0-1	PR	0-1-1
2013–14	Southern Football League Premier Division	7	44	16	16	12	85	61	+24	64	9th of 23	Sam Reed	18	R1	4-1-1	QR1	0-0-1	198

Stadium

The Carlsberg Stadium was opened for the start of the 2008–9 season, and has an official capacity of 3,000 people, with the grandstand currently containing seating for 300 spectators. The ground also has 6 floodlighting columns. The Carlsberg Stadium is located on the outskirts of Biggleswade on Langford Road. The turnstiles at the ground were once used at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane ground. The ground has a sportsbar on its premises for the use of spectators at games and is also available for other functions. Also on site are a number of all weather artificial pitches which the club also offers for hire. The first game to take place at the new stadium took place on 13 August 2008 between Biggleswade Town and Hertford Town, with Biggleswade Town winning 1–0.^[6]

Current squad

as of 18 November 2013

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Ian Brown
		GK	Alexander Taylor
		DF	Mark Coulson
		DF	Ross Dedman
		DF	Steven Gentle (captain)
		DF	Daniel Harper
		DF	Andrew Iwediuno
		DF	Cameron Mawer
		DF	Max York
		MF	Lee Allinson
		DF	George Bates

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Craig Daniel
		MF	Evan Key
		MF	Callum Lewis
		MF	Lee Reed
		MF	George Smith
		MF	Alex Witham
		MF	Jonathan Woolf
		FW	Shabazz Baidoo
		FW	Brett Donnelly
		FW	Harry Orr
		FW	Sam Reed

Management and Coaching Staff

Manager: Chris Nunn
Assistant: Joe Gatti
Coach: Craig Rydeheard
GK Coach: Scott Addy
Sports Therapists: Nikki Baker, Peter Prince

^[7]

Honours

United Counties League
- Premier Division Cup winners 1973–74
- Division One cup winners 1963–64, 1979–80
- Division One Cup winners 1979–80
South Midlands League
- Premier Division Cup winners 1991–92
- League Challenge Trophy winners 1992–93
- Floodlit Cup winners 1995–96, 2002–03
Spartan South Midlands League
- Premier Division champions 2008–09
Biggleswade & District League
- Champions 1902–03
Bedfordshire Premier Cup
- Winners 1922–23, 1927–28, 2007–08
Bedfordshire Senior Cup
- Winners 1902–03, 1907–08, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1973–74
Huntingdonshire Premier Cup
- Winners 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2002–03

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Blakeman, M (2010) The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II ISBN 978-1-908037-02-2
↑ Club honours Biggleswade Town FC
↑ Biggleswade Town at the Football Club History Database
↑ Academy Biggleswade Town FC
↑ "Biggleswade Win Promotion To Southern Premier". 6 May 2013.
↑ Picture Tour Biggleswade Town FC
↑ First Team Biggleswade Town FC

External links

Southern League

Premier Division	Arlesey Town Banbury United Bideford Biggleswade Town Burnham Cambridge City Chesham United Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Corby Town Dorchester Town Dunstable Town Frome Town Histon Hitchin Town Hungerford Town Paulton Rovers Poole Town Redditch United Slough Town St Neots Town Truro City Weymouth

Division One Central	AFC Hayes Aylesbury Aylesbury United Barton Rovers Beaconsfield SYCOB Bedford Town Bedworth United Chalfont St. Peter Daventry Town Egham Town Godalming Town Hanwell Town Kettering Town Leighton Town Marlow North Greenford United Northwood Potters Bar Town Royston Town Rugby Town St Ives Town Uxbridge

Division One South & West	AFC Totton Bashley Bishop's Cleeve Bridgwater Town Cinderford Town Clevedon Town Didcot Town Evesham United Fleet Town Larkhall Athletic Mangotsfield United Merthyr Town North Leigh Sholing Shortwood United Stratford Town Swindon Supermarine Taunton Town Tiverton Town Wantage Town Wimborne Town Yate Town

Seasons	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Coordinates: 52°04′36.61″N 0°16′0.95″W / 52.0768361°N 0.2669306°W / 52.0768361; -0.2669306