Gloucester City A.F.C.

Gloucester City
Full name Gloucester City Association Football Club
Nickname(s) The Tigers
Founded 5 March 1883 (1883-03-05)
Ground Whaddon Road
Cheltenham
(groundshare with Cheltenham Town)
Ground Capacity 7,066
Chairman Mike Dunstan OBE
Manager Tim Harris
League National League North
2014–15 Conference North, 14th

Gloucester City Association Football Club /ˈɡlɒstə ˈsɪti/ is an English semi-professional association football club currently based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in South West England, via groundshare agreement.

The club was established in 1883 as Gloucester, they became Gloucester City in 1902, but were briefly known as Gloucester YMCA from 1910 to 1925, before returning to their previous name. The club has competed in the Conference North since 2009, having been promoted from the Southern Premier League at the end of the 2008–09 season. It spent a record 70 years within the Southern Football League from 1939 until 2009. It secured promotion after a Playoff final win against Farnborough.

In July 2007, the club was considerably affected by the Gloucestershire floods with their Meadow Park stadium under eight feet of water. The floods have meant the club has been in exile away from Gloucester since 2007. The club are currently playing their home games at Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road, after spending the previous three seasons sharing at Cirencester Town's Corinium Stadium and Forest Green Rovers' New Lawn stadium in Nailsworth. The club however has since been awarded outline planning approval by Gloucester City Council to build a new 4,000 capacity stadium, raised by several feet, on the site of their former home of Meadow Park.

The current team manager is Tim Harris. The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.

History

Formation and the early years

The club was formed on 5 March 1883 as Gloucester,[1] but the first recorded match came during 1883–84 when a scratch team representing Cheltenham played a match against the new Gloucester side.[2] Gloucester's first competitive game was in October 1889 in the 1st round of the Gloucestershire FA Junior Challenge Cup beating Clifton Association Reserves 10–0 at Budding's Field.[2]

The club became members of the Bristol and District League which subsequently became the Western League. During this era the club was noted as 'The Gloucestrians' and 'The Citizens' in local media.

After the end of the First World War in 1918 most of the players who had been with City joined Gloucester YMCA. By 1925 they had assumed the name of Gloucester City once more and had become founder members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League. In 1934–35, after winning both the Cup and League, City turned semi-professional, and joined the Birmingham Combination, as well as moving to a new stadium in Longlevens in which the club stayed for the next 26 years.

They won the Tillotson Cup for being the best club in the Combination, and then had former Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Reg Weaver blow away all records with his stunning tally of 67 goals in the 1937–38 season.

Southern League entry and Cup success

In 1939 the club played in the Southern Football League for the very first time, albeit in a restricted wartime competition as they took part in the west section.

After the war City rejoined the Southern League and went on to become the League's longest serving members. For three consecutive seasons, 1948–51, the club reached the First round Proper of the FA Cup, each time losing to League opponents: Mansfield Town (1–4 away), Norwich City (2–3 home) and Bristol City (0–4 away). The attendance record was set at Longlevens in 1952 when Stan Myers and Peter Price scored both goals to beat a Tottenham Hotspur side 2–1 in front of 10,500 spectators, a side which included the superstars of the day such as Alf Ramsey, Ted Ditchburn, Charlie Withers and Les Medley.

In the early years the competition was fierce and it was no surprise that it took until the 1955–56 season for Gloucester to taste success. A famous Southern League Cup final win against Yeovil Town in which City had lost the first leg 4–1, only to beat Yeovil 5–1 in the second leg, won the club their first Southern League honour.

Horton Road era

In 1964 the club moved grounds again, from Longlevens to the massive Horton Road stadium, closer to the centre of Gloucester, which could possibly held over 30,000 people if full. Although Gloucester City were promoted to the Southern Football League Premier Division in the 1968–69 season, it was generally a barren spell in the club's history.

In the 1981–82 season a sixth-place finish was enough to clinch a place in the reformed Premier Division. They were also runners-up in the League Cup, going down 1–2 to Wealdstone, who included future England captain Stuart Pearce in their ranks.

Despite Kim Casey scoring 40 goals, the club were relegated to the Midland Division in 1984–85, after 3 seasons in the Premier Division. It is generally seen as one of the lowest moments in the club's history.

Meadow Park

In 1986 the club moved grounds again, this time to the Hempsted area and Meadow Park. The Horton Road ground became a housing estate which now boasts the names of City legends: (Stan) Myers Road, (Dicky) Etheridge Place and (Ron) Coltman Close amongst others.

In 1988 chairman Geoff Hester wanted to appoint a new manager and after an exhaustive search found his man: former Aston Villa and Wales player Brian Godfrey. The new manager went about trying to assemble a squad capable of fighting their way out of the Midland Division.

Players such as Lance Morrison, Steve Talboys, Wayne Noble and Brian Hughes were among those who walked to the Championship, but the most important signing came just before Christmas when Chris Townsend joined from Cheltenham Town. Despite being a very competitive league and although a look at the final table would suggest that City strolled to the title, it was actually the penultimate game of the season at King's Lynn's The Walks Stadium that saw them crowned Champions.

The next big achievement of the Godfrey years was the famous FA Cup run to Cardiff City. Mangotsfield United (4–0), Barry Town (2–2,2–0), Folkestone (1–0) and Dorchester Town (1–0) all came and went before City suffered heartbreak in the replay after being 2–0 up at Ninian Park with just five minutes to go. The club was beaten 1–0 in the replay at Meadow Park.

In the winter of 1990, Gloucester saw its worst snow in a century and when the thaw came the River Severn overwhelmed all the local flood plains. The knock-on effect of the flood saw incredible scenes at Meadow Park as the pitch was submerged under four feet of water, and the whole ground was out of commission for over a month. The first game back at Meadow Park, however, saw City defeat Gosport Borough 9–0.

Promotion heartbreak and debt

The 1990–91 season was one of the most exciting ever seen at the club. It all started when Geoff Hester stepped down as Chairman and was replaced by Les Alderman, a Bath based businessman. Godfrey had held onto most of his squad from the previous season, and had been able to add several quality players to it. Jeff Sherwood (£15,000 from Yeovil Town), Derek Dawkins, Keith Knight (£7,000 from Reading), Jason Eaton (£10,000 from Bristol City), and Steve Fergusson and Brendan Hackett (£25,000 from Worcester City) were just some of the signings that bolstered the squad. Due to the previous season's Cup exploits City had been made exempt until the fourth qualifying round where they faced Farnborough Town away and lost heavily 1–4. Little did they know then what an important part Farnborough would play in the season.

As the season climaxed, the Tuesday before the end of the season Gloucester City had needed to beat VS Rugby at home to go top of the table, but could only manage a 2–2 draw, so it was all on the last day of the season at the Victoria Ground, the home of Bromsgrove Rovers.

Farnborough headed up to Atherstone needing to win, and went 0–1 down in the first half to the delight of the thousand travelling City fans. Just when the City game looked as though it might end in stalemate, substitute John Freegard got his head to Jeff Sherwood's long free kick and minutes later had won. In the meantime Farnborough had scored, but it was not enough. City fans were on the pitch celebrating the Championship and promotion to the Conference National, but all they had heard were premature radio reports from Atherstone; Farnborough had actually scored a winner three minutes before the end of the game and they were promoted instead of Gloucester.

Into the 1991–92 season, one that promised to start where the previous one had left off, and the bombshell hit City that Les Alderman had left the club. The squad was ripped apart: major players were released for derisory sums, some went unpaid and took the club to the FA, and forced a transfer embargo. Brian Godfrey was sacked and replaced by his assistant Steve Millard. Millard only lasted three months in what was a disastrous spell. In February Godfrey was re-appointed to the hot seat and started to turn things around again. The club survived the next few seasons under the guidance of Chairman George Irvine. The club had crippling debts and were about to fold when former Moreton Town owner Keith Gardner stepped in.

The glory years and FA Trophy run

Gardner appointed former Cheltenham Town and Trowbridge Town boss John Murphy as the club entered the most exciting period in their history. The whole 'Meadow Park' area into a footballing centre, and he had a great idea to develop the ground into an all-seater stadium and add a leisure centre, ice rink and all weather pitch. His ambitions were matched on the field too, after seeing the club get by with local players, talent was brought in from further afield and the Tigers became a force to be reckoned with. Dave Porter only played a handful of games but will be remembered for the part he played in the 1–0 victory over rivals Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road in 1994. However it soon became apparent that Murphy didn't have what it took to turn a good side into Champions and was sacked in March 1996. Former West Ham United and Bristol City striker Leroy Rosenior took over and had to virtually rebuild the team from scratch after most of the players walked out in the wake of Murphy's dismissal.

Adie Mings scoring against Dagenham and Redbridge

Dale Watkins was signed from Rushden and Diamonds for the 1996–7 season, with Adie Mings from Bath City and record signing David Holmes being persuaded back after the Murphy furore. This formed one of the most potent front lines in non-league football and it was no surprise to see the Tigers beat all comers. Despite having to play manager Leroy Rosenior in goal against Kingstonian in their first game in the FA Trophy, City managed to reach the semi final before being beaten by Dagenham & Redbridge after a dramatic replay. The cup run proved to be a thorn in the side for City as they had to play three games a week to claw back games in hand and eventually lost out to Cheltenham Town in the race for second spot (after Champions Gresley Rovers ground was deemed ineligible for promotion).

Almost bankrupt

City struggled to keep their heads above water and the club's weekly playing budget was slashed. Considering that the club had seen just four different managers in the 1990s, the turn of the 21st century saw another three come and go. First, Brian Hughes tried his luck in a move that was very popular among the majority of the supporters. He didn't last as the playing budget was cut and this proved to be the catalyst that saw the club relegated. Then Tommy Callinan took over in a player-manager role, and left at the end of the 2000–01 season. The third to try his hand was Chris Burns, who remained manager until January 2006. He was tempted back to Meadow Park from Forest Green Rovers and brought with him a largely untried bunch of young players to fit in with the very limited wage structure. It took the side a while to find its feet, and they had some real setbacks too (namely the 1–7 home defeat at the hands of Bedworth United), but gradually began to look the part.

As the management bandwagon rolled on, just before Christmas 2000 Meadow Park was struck another hammer blow when the River Severn burst its banks for the second time in a decade. This time the flood water did more damage than before because it reached just under seven feet high, and also managed to get inside the changing rooms ruining whatever stood in its way. The club was unable to hold matches at the ground for more than six weeks as the environmental health inspector ruled that due to the filthy content of the water, Meadow Park wasn't fit for public population.

The lack of revenue for the club almost saw it go under and it meant that due to non-payment of players several walked out on the club. This was added to a contract dispute with ex-squad-members, and meant that the club couldn't offer contracts to players.

However, in November 2001 ex-director Colin Gardner returned to the club to take over the chairmanship. Working hand in hand with the Supporters' Club, together they settled with ex-players and lifted the contract restraints imposed by the FA. On the pitch things were looking up with new manager Chris Burns moulding his former City youth team into a force to be reckoned with. A mid table finish surprised many, especially those that had suggested that City would finish in the bottom two.

The Burns era

If ever the feeling that the club was bouncing back, then the 2002–03 season proved it. Off the field, a deal was struck between the club and Eamonn McGurk, where the latter bought the ground and took on the majority of the clubs debts. Financially, the club made a trading profit for the first time and were within reach of wiping out all of the historical debts. To add to the upturn, on the field Burns' young team upset a lot of the more fancied challengers, brought on some of the younger players and reached the quarter finals of the FA Trophy. The run included memorable victories away at league leaders Merthyr Tydfil, then two wins at Conference sides Woking and Southport. Aylesbury United of the Isthmian League proved to be too big of a challenge, however, and City bowed out. In the league, a fifth-placed finish was a remarkable achievement.

The 2003–04 season saw further progress with the Tigers finishing second in the Western Division and gaining promotion to the Premier Division. At the end of the season, Colin Gardner stepped down as the highly respected chairman, and Ken Turner took over in an acting capacity. Chris Burns resigned as manager in January 2006, Neil Mustoe took over as caretaker-manager until the permanent appointment of Tim Harris from Merthyr Tydfil was made.

Flooding, promotion and exile

In July 2007, Gloucester City's home, Meadow Park, was affected by the Gloucestershire flooding that engulfed the county. The club was hit with almost 8 feet of water, almost submerging the crossbar. This astonishing picture, featured in The Sun, Sky News and the BBC shot the club to national attention both in the media and football supporters across the Country. This caused many of the club's supporters to start a donation fund to help the club.[3]

The club's first season of exile was at Forest Green Rovers New Lawn Stadium,[4] despite the loss of a stadium and revenue stream the club finished a creditable 6th in the league, just outside the Playoffs.[5]

The club's second season of exile at Cirencester Town proved to be one of the greatest in the history of the club. The club finished 3rd in the Southern Premier League thus qualifying for the Playoffs. In the Southern League Playoff semi-final Cambridge City were beaten 3–1 at the Corinium Stadium. They went on to play Farnborough in the final at Cherrywood Road and won 1–0 with Matt Rose scoring the crucial goal, ending a 70-year continuous association with the Southern Football League, and gaining promotion to Conference Football for the first time.[6] A quite remarkable achievement considering the club's predicament.

In a controversial decision, the F.A. placed Gloucester City in the Conference North for the 2009–10 season.[7] The reason given was that Worcester City, despite being considerably further north than both Gloucester and Cirencester, was given a guarantee after being moved to the Conference South the previous year against its will that it would not be moved back to the North for three seasons without its consent. Worcester City refused to consent to an early move back to the North, thus forcing Gloucester to take their place. The club finished 18th in its maiden Conference North season.

Near the end of the club's maiden Conference North season, new F.A. ground regulations meant that Cirencester Town's Corinium Stadium would not be suitable for use in the following season meaning if the club failed to find a suitable new home, it would be forcibly relegated.[8] It was announced in March 2010 that the club would be groundsharing with major rivals Cheltenham Town for the forthcoming two seasons.[9] Gloucester City Council provided £20,000 towards helping this agreement,[9] heralding a new era in co-operation between the club and the council, and with Cheltenham Town.

On 21 November 2010 against Chelmsford City, Midfielder Tom Webb became the club's all-time appearance holder,[10] beating Stan Myers who had broken the record 50 years previously.

In 2012–13, the club reached the FA Cup 1st Round proper for the first time in 23 years, drawing Football League One outfit Leyton Orient at home. They eventually lost 2–0 to two late goals.

The club repeated this success the following season, drawing Football League Two side Fleetwood Town at home, they also lost that one 2–0.

Grounds

DatesGround
1883–1895Buddings Field
1895–1896Avenue Road Ground
1896–1897Co-operative Field
1897–1898Buddings Field (2nd)
1898–1902Avenue Road Ground (2nd)
1902–1913Buddings Field (3rd)
1913–1925Llanthony Ground
1925–1926Avenue Road Ground (3rd)
1926–1927Buddings Field (4th)
1927–1933Sutgrove Park
1933–1936Bon Marche Ground
1936–1964The Ground at Longlevens
1964–1986Horton Road Stadium
1986–2007Meadow Park
2007–2008The New Lawn, Nailsworth[4]
2008–2010The Corinium Stadium, Cirencester[11]
2010–presentWhaddon Road, Cheltenham[9]

Throughout its history, the club has played at many grounds in Gloucester and the surrounding region of Gloucestershire.

The T-End at Meadow Park

In the late 19th century the club played at Buddings Field near the city centre for 16 non-consecutive seasons, they then moved to the Avenue Road Ground on Tuffley Avenue for another non-consecutive 6 seasons. During this period the club also played at Co-operative Ground on India Road.

In 1910, Gloucester YMCA played at the Llanthony Ground in Hempsted for, believed to be only a stones throw from Meadow Park. During this period the club played multiple games at Gloucester R.F.C. and the Kingsholm Stadium.

In 1928 the club moved to Sutgrove Park, which is now the site for the Ribston Hall High School. They moved once again in 1934 to the Bon Marche Ground on Estcourt Road for two seasons.

In 1935, the club moved to The Ground in Longlevens. It spent the next 26 seasons at the stadium, where the club's all-time record attendance was set: 10,500 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly.

In 1964 the club moved to the massive Horton Road stadium, a huge bowl which if fully developed could've held over 35,000 spectators. The club stayed here until 1986 until the move to Meadow Park in Hempsted.

The club had played at Meadow Park since 1986. The ground had a total capacity of 4,500 with a 560-seat stand.

Following the floods of summer 2007, on 22 July, Meadow Park was almost 8 feet under water. A combination of a lack of insurance due to previous flooding, this was the third time in seventeen years that the stadium had been flooded, and contamination by sewage water, the club had no choice but to abandon the ground for the foreseeable future.

Exile from Gloucester

During the club's exile period away from the City it played at Forest Green Rovers the New Lawn in Nailsworth for one season.[4] They spent the following two seasons at Cirencester Town's ground The Corinium Stadium.[11]

The New Lawn, home to Gloucester City during the 2007/08 season.

The club's attempts to relocate back to the city have been scuppered on multiple occasions. A groundshare with local county league side Quedgeley Wanderers, who play around 4 miles outside of the city boundaries in Quedgeley, was rejected in November 2007 after the Wanderers' board and the local parish rejected the proposal.

Hopes of any groundshare with Gloucester Rugby Club's Kingsholm stadium was deemed too expensive. Gloucester Rugby Club had also earlier rejected plans to move to a new purpose built 15,000 capacity community stadium in a derelict area of the city nicknamed "The Triangle" near to the railway station. Both the rugby and football club were earmarked to use the facility and it could have been extended to hold 25,0000.[12]

Other options spoken about for a ground was at Blackbridge, a former athletics ground in an area around 3 miles outside of the City centre called Podsmead. Any news regarding this possible switch soon went quiet, with the main area of concern being poor access roads and a spate of vandalism already occurring in that district.[13]

Another option was a shared new purpose built stadium in Javelin Park, an area in-between Gloucester and Stroud off Junction 12 of the M5 motorway.The ground was to be used by the football club and Stroud rugby club. However, in the end the rugby club decided not to pursue the proposal, and the area is now being lined up to have an incinerator instead.[14]

After the one season at Forest Green, the club moved to Cirencester Town and spent two seasons there, culminating in promotion to the Conference North.

In November 2008, local MP and supporter Parmjit Dhanda spoke in the House of Commons regarding the search for a new home for the club in the city hoping for a successful outcome.[15]

For the 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, the club played its home games at rivals Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road stadium,[9] due to League legislation meaning Cirencester Town's Corinium Stadium was not up to a good enough standard. Not finding a stadium suitable would have meant immediate relegation for the Tigers.[8]

Plans to return to Meadow Park are now the forerunner for the clubs return to Gloucester in the future.[16] On 16 February 2011 it was announced that the club are applying for planning permission in early March 2011 for a brand new stadium at Meadow Park, incorporating flood defence measures and a business park.[17] On 29 December 2011 Gloucester City Council formally validated plans for a new stadium in Gloucester, but the plans collapsed in September 2012 when the Council advised it could not approve the plans without more detailed flood risk assessments.[18]

For the 2014–15 season, the club once again played in Cheltenham however new plans had since been drawn up, using the same architects who designed AFC Telford United's and Forest Green Rovers' new stadium, for a "Category A" 4,000 capacity stadium. Outline planning was submitted to Gloucester City Council in June 2014.

On 7 October 2014, After seven years in exile, the club plans for a new stadium at Meadow Park have been approved by Gloucester City Council subject to completing 45 conditions.[19]

On 25 March 2015, the club announced a further one season stay at Whaddon Road but with increased rent to Cheltenham Town. This would mean the club would have been in exile for 9 seasons, 6 of them at Cheltenham. Confirmation that outline planning permission had been granted by the council came on the 22 September. The club now needs to be submit a full planning application before anything can be built.

Honours

Club records

Player records

Most appearances

(Bold = Presently at club)

# Name Career Appearances Goals
1 England Tom Webb 2000–present 607 34
2 England Stan Myers 1950–1960 413 26
3 England Neil Mustoe 2002–2014 380 9
4 England Gary Kemp 1990–1999 368 28
5 England Lee Smith 2000–2011 364 76
6 England Rob Coldray 1954–1969 348 108
7 England Frank Tredgett 1949–1959 328 2
8 England Chris Burns 1996–2005 315 41
9 Scotland Bobby McCool 1965–1974 297 57
10 England Neil Griffiths 1998–2005 274 22

Most Goals

(Bold = Presently at Club)

# Name Career Goals Appearances Goals/Game
Ratio
1 England Jerry Causon 1930–1936 201 194 1.036
2 England Rob Coldray 1954–1969 108 348 0.31
3 England Reg Weaver 1937–1946 103 84 1.226
4 England Jimmy Cox 1999–2006 96 245 0.392
5= England Karl Bayliss 1985–2004 92 243 0.379
5= England Doug Foxwell 1972–1988 92 264 0.348
7 England John Evans 1976–1982 85 265 0.321
8 England Enos Drew 1931–1938 79 252 0.313
9 England Lee Smith 2000–2011 76 364 0.209
10 England Andy Hoskins 1997–2004 74 170 0.435

Players

Current squad

As of 5 February 2016

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

No. Position Player
England GK Jasbir Singh
England DF Billy Jones
England DF Sam Avery
England DF Robbie Cundy (on loan from Oxford United)
England DF Marc Richards
England DF Spencer Hamilton
England DF Mike Green
England MF Tom Webb
England MF Calvin Dinsley
No. Position Player
England MF Chris Knowles
England MF Lewis Hall
England MF Joe Hanks
England MF Omari Sterling-James (on loan from Cheltenham Town)
England MF George Miller
England FW Ed Williams
England FW Luke Hopper
England FW Joe Parker
England FW Bobbie Dale (on loan from Cheltenham Town)

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
England MF Connor Thompson (on loan at Cirencester Town F.C.)
England MF Sammie Hicks (on loan at Shortwood United FC)
England FW Will Morford (on loan at Shortwood United FC)
England DF Matt Williams (on loan at Cinderford Town)

Notable former players

For details on former players, see Category:Gloucester City A.F.C. players.

Former international players

Notable other internationals

Notable other sportsmen

Management

Management Team

Job titleName
ManagerTim Harris England
Assistant ManagerMatt Rose England
Coach Marc RichardsEngland
Head PhysiotherapistCharlotte Wigmore England
Assistant PhysiotherapistAde Tandy England
Club DoctorDr. Bob Byrne England
Kit ManLee Randall Scotland
Head of Youth Development ManagerKenny Blackburn England
Youth Team ManagerNeil Mustoe England

Managerial history

Pre 1931, the term Manager was interchangeable with the term Secretary, thus the difference is noted.

Secretaries

1883–84W.H. Clarke England
1884–86A.J. Smith England
1888–89Algernon S. King England
1889–90Rev. Henry L. Brereton England
1890–93William H. Benfield England
1893–97Henry T. Robins England
1897–98James G. Washbourn England
1898–02Randolph Lewis England
1902–03Henry W. Arkell England & Henry Sherwood England
1903–04Frank R. Crawley England& Henry Sherwood England
1906–09J.E. Palmer England
1909–10Oliver J.A. Carter England
1910–11A.J. Hayward England
1911–14H. Barry England
1919–31Lemuel A. Beddis England

Managers

1931–38Maurice Hukin England
1938–40Albert Prince-Cox England
1940–43William S. Blunn England
1946–48Cyril Dean England
1948Jack F. Whiting England & Bill Carver England
1948–52Douglas Hunt England
1952–54Jimmy Buist Scotland
1954–59Harry Ferrier Scotland
1959–60Ollie Norris Northern Ireland
1960Frank Tredgett England
1960Phillip Friel (Temporary) Scotland
1960–62Maurice Hukin (2nd) England
1962–63Ron Humpston England
1963–65Tommy Casey Northern Ireland
1965–66Robert Grant Scotland
1966–67Cyril Williams England
1967Dick Etheridge England
1967–68Harold Fletcher England
1968–70Ian McIntosh Scotland
1970Rob Coldray England
1970Dick Etheridge (2nd) England
1970–71John Preece Wales
1971–72Ian McIntosh (2nd) Scotland
1972–73Dick Etheridge (3rd) England
1973–76Bobby Etheridge England
1976–77Colin Moulsdale England
1977–80Bob Mursell England
1980Dick Etheridge (4th) (Caretaker) England
1980–82Bobby Campbell Scotland
1982John Layton England
1982–84Bob Murcell (2nd) England
1984–85Tony Freely England
1985Bobby Etheridge (2nd) England
1985Paul Richardson England
1985–87Steve Scarrott England
1987–91Brian Godfrey Wales
1991–92Steve Millard England
1992–94Brian Godfrey (2nd) Wales
1994Gary Goodwin England & Brian Hughes England
1994–96John Murphy England
1996–98Leroy Rosenior Sierra Leone
1998–00Brian Hughes (2nd) England
2000–01Tommy Callinan England
2001–2006Chris Burns England
2006Neil Mustoe England & Adie Harris England (Caretaker)
2006–08Tim Harris England
2008–14David Mehew England
2014-dateTim Harris (2nd) England

Rivalries

Main Rivals

Cheltenham Town – The near proximity of Cheltenham to Gloucester has led to the rivalry being competed for more than a century, in local and regional divisions. The first of these matches were played in 1898 and since then 212 matches have been contested between the clubs. However, the most recent league game between the two was in 1997 and since then, competitive matches between the clubs have stopped due to Cheltenham Town's rise up the English football league system. This could have been Gloucester City if they had beaten Salisbury City on the final day of the 1996–97 season, however City lost 3–1 and Cheltenham were promoted due to champions Gresley Rovers' ground not being to a sufficient standard for Conference football. Since the 2010–11 season, Gloucester City have been ground-sharing at Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road stadium.

Worcester City – Gloucester City and Worcester City contest the Severn Derby, as the game has recently been named. The rivalry has blossomed in the 2000s due to both clubs participating in the Conference North and the close proximity between the two cathedral cities. The two sides have met 99 times during their history.

Forest Green Rovers – The rivalry between the two clubs has only become a recent phenomenon. For the majority of both club's history, Gloucester City were in a higher league. In 1998, Forest Green Rovers achieved promotion to the Football Conference after only a couple seasons in the Southern Premier League. However, in 2007, Gloucester City began groundsharing at Rovers' New Lawn Stadium, which ended acrimoniously between the clubs, forcing the Tigers further into exile at Cirencester Town. In 2014, the club's met in the FA Cup; their first competitive meeting in a generation.

Other Rivals

Historically Barry Town were rivals of the club, however a move to Welsh Football caused a stop in matches between the two.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Clark, Timothy R.D.; Kujawa, Rob (2009). The Complete Record of Gloucester City AFC 1883–2009. Gloucester: Tiger Timbo Publications. ISBN 978-0-9557425-1-4.
  2. 1 2 Clark & Kujawa (2009), p1
  3. ↑ "Fans of flood-hit club issue appeal for help". BBC Gloucestershire. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "Forest Green agree to groundshare". BBC Sport. 6 August 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  5. ↑ "2007/08 Southern Premier League Table". Southern Football League. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  6. ↑ "Promotion delight for Gloucester". BBC. 2 May 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Gloucester City confirmed in Conference North". This Is Gloucestershire. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Gloucester City forced to end Corinium groundshare". Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Gloucester City move to Cheltenham Town for two years". BBC Sport. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  10. ↑ "Landmark looms for Gloucester City Skipper". BBC Sport. 18 November 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  11. 1 2 "Press Release: City Secure Corinium Ground Share For Next Season". Gloucester City F.C. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  12. ↑ "New masterplan approved for Gloucester's Railway Triangle". Gloucester Citizen. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Gloucester News – Gloucester City new ground site- Western Daily Press – Bristol Post". Bristol Post. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  14. ↑ http://iwc2.labouronline.org/164625/pledge_one
  15. ↑ http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2008–11–10b.610.0
  16. ↑ "MPs discuss return to Meadow Park". This is Gloucestershire. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  17. ↑ "weston". gloucestercityafc.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  18. ↑ Chapman, Caroline (6 November 2013). "Gloucester City: The non-league nomads who can't go home". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Gloucester City's plans for a new stadium are approved by the city council". Gloucester Citizen. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.

Further reading

Clark, Timothy R. D in collaboration with Kujawa, Rob (2009). The Complete Record of Gloucester City AFC 1883–2009. (566 pgs) Tiger Timbo Publications. ISBN 978-0-9557425-1-4.

External links

Official

Coordinates: 51°54′22.17″N 2°3′36.76″W / 51.9061583°N 2.0602111°W / 51.9061583; -2.0602111

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