Torrington F.C.

Torrington F.C.
Full name Torrington Football Club
Nickname(s) Torrie, The Super Greens
Founded 1908
Ground Vicarage Field
Manager Nathan Delaune & Adam White
League North Devon League Premier Division
2016–17 North Devon League Premier Division, 7th of 15

Torrington Football Club are an English association football club based in Great Torrington, Devon. Founded in 1908, the club currently compete in the North Devon League Premier Division. Based at Vicarage Field, Torrington have previously played in the Western League, South Western League and Devon and Exeter League, and rejoined the North Devon League in 2007.

Known by the nicknames "Torrie" and "The Super Greens", Torrington have won a number of local honours, including one Western League Division One title, five North Devon League Premier Division titles and one North Devon League Senior Division title. They have also won a number of local cup tournaments, including the Combe Martin Cup, Arlington Cup and Torridge Cup.

History

1908–1978: Early years and North Devon League

Torrington Football Club was founded in 1908, and was originally known to be "a church side", with reverends playing for the club as late as 1914.[1] The team quickly established themselves as consistent contenders in the Premier Division of the North Devon Football League (then called the Senior Division), winning the league title for the first time in the 1912–13 season, the penultimate season before the break during World War I.[2] In the first season after the war, they were crowned champions for the second time,[2] and also won the inaugural Hansen Cup thanks to a 1–0 win over Bideford.[1] Torrington continued performing in the top-flight of the North Devon League for several decades.[2]

In the 1948–49 season, the club won their third North Devon League Senior Division title, and also broke a number of club records. One of these records was an 18–0 win over Ilfracombe Town, in which "scoring phenomenon" Sid Trickett is rumoured to have scored all 18 goals with headers.[1] Ten years later, they were crowned Senior Division champions for a fourth time, and also won the Combe Martin Cup for the first time with a 2–0 victory over Appledore.[3]

The club also briefly played in the Devon and Exeter League, winning the Senior Division title in 1973 and the Premier Division title in 1974.[4]

1978–2007: South Western and Western Leagues

At the beginning of the 1978–79 season, Torrington made their first step up from the North Devon Football League to the South Western Football League.[1][5] The team struggled in their first two seasons, finishing 17th and 15th out of 19 teams, but in both 1980–81 and 1982–83 they were crowned runners-up of the division,[5] in both cases behind champions St Blazey.[6][7] In the first of those two successful seasons, they also won the South Western League Cup.[4]

Torrington were elected to join the Western Football League for the 1984–85 season, beginning in Division One but achieving immediate promotion to the Premier Division after they finished second in the league, just one point behind champions Portway Bristol.[8] In this season, the club also achieved their furthest progression in the FA Vase,[1] reaching the fifth round of the tournament before being knocked out by Steyning Town.[5] For their first few seasons in the Premier Division, Torrington struggled to move out of the bottom half of the league table, but in 1990–91 they finished second in the league.[9]

They remained in the Premier Division until 1998, usually finishing in the top eight, before finishing with just 14 points (18 fewer than 19th-placed Chard Town) to suffer relegation back to Division One.[10] In 2002–03, the club won their first Western League Division One championship.[5]

2007–present: Return to the North Devon League

At the end of the 2006–07 season, despite a last-minute survival in the league due to results elsewhere, Torrington were forced to withdraw from the Western League due to financial difficulties, announcing on 20 June 2007 that they would be returning to the North Devon League alongside their reserve team.[11] In their first season back in the North Devon League, the club won the Combe Martin Cup for the first time since 1959.[12] They then defended the cup the following year, when they also won the Senior Division title for the first time.[13]

Ground and support

Torrington play their home games at Vicarage Field, on School Lane in Great Torrington.[14] In the 2004–05 season, Torrington's attendance at home games ranged between 72 and 245 people, with an average crowd of 108;[15] in 2005–06, this reduced to an average of 85, with a range between 32 and 189;[16] and in 2006–2007, the club's latest season in the Western League, average attendance fell further to 44, with a maximum of just 100 people in attendance.[17]

Players

The following players played for Torrington in the 2014–15 season.[18]

Non-playing staff

The current manager of Torrington is Tom Bulley, who took over from previous coach Steve Bartlett in 2014.[19] Bulley's assistant manager is Kevin Darch, who had worked with him previously at Ilfracombe Town.[19] Previous managers of the club include former Fulham and Torquay United defender Robbie Herrera and former Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle winger David Pook.[11]

Club honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "100 years and still Super Green - that's Torrington FC". North Devon Gazette. 6 August 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Team History Page". North Devon Football League. Retrieved 14 July 2015. Note: User must manually select Torrington from the drop-down list.
  3. ↑ "1958-59". Leagues Tables and Cups. North Devon Football League. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Club Honours". Torrington F.C. 29 June 2004. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Torrington". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "1980-81 South Western League". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "1982-83 South Western League". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "1984-85 Western League". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "1990-91 Western League". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "1997-98 Western League". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Latest News". Torrington F.C. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "2007-08". Leagues Tables and Cups. North Devon Football League. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "2008-09". Leagues Tables and Cups. North Devon Football League. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Club Directory". North Devon Football League. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "Western Premier Division Attendances". Archive 04-05. Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Western Premier Division Attendances". Archive 05-06. Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Western Premier Division Attendances". Archive 06-07. Tony's English Football Site. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  18. ↑ "Player Season Totals". Torrington. The Football Association. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Former Ilfracombe Town manager Tom Bulley takes charge at Torrington". North Devon Journal. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Complete List of Clubs". North Devon Football League. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
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