Mansfield Town F.C.

Early years

Mansfield Town was formed under the name of Mansfield Wesleyans in 1897, the name of the club coming from the local Wesleyan church.^[2] The club played friendlies up until the 1902–03 season, when it joined the Mansfield and District Amateur League. When the league dropped its amateur tag in 1906, the church abandoned the club, which changed its name to Mansfield Wesley and moved into the Notts and District League.

In the summer of 1910, despite having lost the previous season to Mansfield Mechanics in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup, the team changed its name to Mansfield Town (much to the disgust of the Mechanics). In the following years, Mansfield Town swapped between the Notts and District League, Central Alliance League and Notts and Derbyshire League, before World War I brought a halt to proceedings.

After the war, Mansfield became occupants of the Field Mill ground, after Mansfield Mechanics failed to pay their rent. In 1921, the club was admitted into the Midland Counties League, and celebrated by reaching the sixth qualifying round of the FA Cup twice in a row. The club won the league in 1923–24 and was the runner-up the following season, but on both occasions failed to win election to the Football League.

In 1928–29, Mansfield won the Midland League again, but more famously reached the fourth round proper of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 to First Division club Arsenal, after a cup run which saw them beat Second Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers.^[2] However, York City beat the Stags in elections for a League place.^[2]

Into the Football League

In 1931, Mansfield were finally elected to the Southern Section of the Third Division.^[2] However, the club struggled to adapt to League surroundings and were frequently in the lower reaches of the table. One of very few highlights in the years before the Second World War was Ted Harston, who scored 55 goals in one season before transferring to Liverpool.^[2]

After the war, Mansfield started to see some progress. Lucky to escape the need for re-election when it was decided that no club would be relegated after the 1946–47 season, the Stags started to move up the table. In 1950–51, Mansfield reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and became the first Football League team to complete a 23–game home schedule unbeaten, although missed out on the only Third Division promotion spot.

On 23 August 1958 Mansfield fielded a Black player, the Jamaican-born Lindy Delapenha, for the first time.^[3] He joined from Middlesbrough F.C. where he had spent nine successful seasons. He went on to make 115 League appearances for Mansfield, scoring 27 goals. In 1959–60 the club was relegated to the recently created Fourth Division, before gaining promotion back to the Third Division in 1962–63. This promotion was later tainted by life-time suspensions handed out to players Brian Phillips and Sammy Chapman for bribing opponents, including players of Hartlepools United in a vital match which Mansfield won 4–3. Two seasons later, the club again narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division. The season after avoiding relegation due to a points deduction for Peterborough United, Mansfield made another headline-grabbing cup run. Mansfield beat First Division West Ham United 3–0 in the fifth round of the 1968–69 FA Cup, before narrowly losing to Leicester City in the quarter-finals. In 1971–72 Mansfield were relegated, again, to the Fourth Division.

By 1976–77, the club was back in the Third Division, and despite the distraction of a 5–2 FA Cup defeat to Matlock Town, beat Wrexham to the Third Division title. The club went straight back down, and only a good run of form at the end of the 1978–79 season saved Mansfield from a double relegation.

Mansfield won the Football League Trophy in front of 58,000 fans in May 1987, beating Bristol City on penalties after a 1–1 draw. However, the years that followed were inconsistent, with Mansfield becoming a "yo-yo" team between the Third and Fourth Divisions. Also at that time, the controversial Keith Haslam bought the club.

21st century

In 2001–02, Mansfield were again promoted to the third tier of English football, beating Carlisle United to take third place from Cheltenham Town, who lost at Plymouth Argyle.^[4] A poor season in Division Two did not improve with the arrival of Keith Curle as manager, as the club was relegated back to the fourth tier of English football. In 2003–04, Mansfield defeated Northampton Town in a penalty shoot-out in the Division Three play-off semi-finals,^[5] but lost to Huddersfield Town on penalties in the final.^[6]

In 2007–08, Mansfield's 77-year stay in the Football League came to an end as the club was relegated to the Conference.^[7] A fluke goal in a 1–0 loss to rivals Rotherham United in the last home game of the season all but guaranteed relegation.^[8] Ugly scenes erupted at the final whistle, with controversial owner Keith Haslam being attacked by fans.^[9]

Haslam left the club, with the trio of Perry, Middleton and Saunders purchasing the club (but not the ground) for £1 and installed Billy McEwan as manager.^[10][11] He was replaced after Christmas by David Holdsworth.^[12] Holdsworth's less than two-year reign bought little improvement to the club and he was dismissed as manager in November 2010.^[13] Duncan Russell led Mansfield to an FA Trophy final appearance in 2010–11, Louis Briscoe scoring a late extra-time winner against Luton Town in the semi-final second leg.^[14][15] However, the Stags lost 1–0 to Darlington at Wembley Stadium in the final after a 120th-minute extra-time goal by Chris Senior.^[16] A league position of 12th was not good enough for Russell to keep his job. His replacement, Paul Cox, led Mansfield to their highest Conference finish in his first season. A good run of form after Christmas saw the Stags finish in third in the league, although they lost 2–1 on aggregate to York City after extra time in the promotion play-off semi-final.^[17]

An indifferent start to the 2012–13 season left Mansfield lingering around mid-table. One good point to the first half of the season was the club's FA Cup run. In the third round, the Stags faced Premier League side Liverpool. A controversial Luis Suárez goal helped the Reds to a 2–1 victory,^[18] but a brave display from the Mansfield team gave the team momentum in the weeks to follow. Following the cup game the Stags won 20 of their last 24 games, including a club record run of 12 consecutive wins, to clinch the Conference Premier title, and promotion back to the Football League. The title was sealed with a 1–0 victory over Wrexham on 20 April 2013.^[19]

Mansfield finished their first season back in the Football League in 11th place.^[17] In 2018–19, the Stags narrowly missed out on promotion on the final day of the season after a defeat to promotion rivals MK Dons.^[20] They lost in the play-off semi-finals to Newport County on penalties.^[21] In 2021–22, Mansfield reached the play-offs again but lost 3–0 to Port Vale in the final.^[22] In the 2023–24 season, Mansfield were promoted to League One, finishing in 3rd place.^[23][24]

Rivalries

The 2003 Football Fans Census indicates that Mansfield's biggest rivalries are with Chesterfield and Notts County, with Doncaster Rovers tertiary rivals.^[29] Bad blood between Chesterfield and Mansfield has links to the miners' strike.^[30] Fixtures between Town and County are referred to as Nottinghamshire derbies.^[31] More recently, a lesser rivalry has grown with Grimsby Town as well as Lincoln City.^[32]

Club colours

During the Wesleyans era, Mansfield played in chocolate and sky blue shirts, firstly striped until 1902, and then halved. Upon assuming the Mansfield Town moniker, the club switched to red shirts, white shorts, and black socks, though this identity only lasted the 1910–11 season. A five-year stint in black and white quartered shirts with black shorts and socks followed before the club closed down.^[33]

Upon their return in 1919, Town introduced their now-familiar blue and amber club colour scheme, initially in halves. Becoming a league side in 1931 coincided with a change to pale blue shirts with white shorts, which the club wore until October 1934, when the blue and amber returned (albeit in quarters for the remainder of the 1934–35 season). They continued to wear this colour combination in various arrangements (including a blue shirt with amber sleeves from January 1948) for two decades. From 1954 to 1961 Town played in white shirts and black shorts, before amber shirts with blue shorts returned for seven years. All-blue with amber trim was selected in 1968, before a new look of white shirts with blue shorts was introduced in 1970.^[33]

1974 saw the classic colour scheme return, and though the composition might vary, amber and blue has reigned ever since. The only exception to this was the centenary kit worn in the 1997–98 season, which was a retro kit design styled after Mansfield Wesleyans' first, albeit with sky blue shorts and socks.^[33]

More information Selection of Mansfield Town home kits through history ...

Selection of Mansfield Town home kits through history[33]
Wesleyans' original kit 1897–c. 1900. Worn with sky blue shorts 1997–98	The first kit of the "Mansfield Town" era. Worn in the 1910–11 season	Black and white quartered kit worn from 1911 until closedown in 1916	Kit adopted upon election to the Football League. Worn 1931–1934	The Stags wore white shirts and black shorts from 1954 to 1961	The traditional club colours of Mansfield Town, as worn from 1974 to 1979

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Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

The following tables detail the shirt sponsors and kit suppliers of Mansfield by year:^[33]

Current squad

As of 13 July 2026^[34]

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

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Liam Roberts 2 DF  ENG Kyle Knoyle 3 DF  IRL Stephen McLaughlin 4 DF  WAL Elliott Hewitt 5 DF  IRL Ryan Sweeney (captain) 6 DF  ENG Baily Cargill 7 FW  GRN Lucas Akins 9 FW  SKN Jordan Bowery 10 MF  ENG George Maris 11 FW  WAL Will Evans 12 GK  IRL Owen Mason

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  ENG Rhys Oates 20 DF  ENG Frazer Blake-Tracy 21 GK  ENG Harry Lewis 22 MF  GUY Nathan Moriah-Welsh 23 DF  ENG Deji Oshilaja 24 MF  SCO Regan Hendry 25 MF  ENG Louis Reed 27 DF  ENG Luke Bolton 29 FW  WAL Tyler Roberts — FW  IRL David McGoldrick — FW  ENG Michael Smith

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Under-21s

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

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 MF  ENG Finn Flanagan 31 MF  POL Jakub Kruszynski 32 DF  ENG Elliot Hartman 33 MF  ENG Ollie Taylor 34 DF  ENG Taylor Anderson — DF  ENG George Cooper — GK  DOM Anthony Nunez — DF  ENG Louis Bonser

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Cormac Maher — DF  ENG Darien Wauchope — MF  ENG Charlie Carter — MF  CYP Ronnie Kokkinos — FW  PAK McKeal Abdullah — FW  ENG Dan Organ — FW  ENG Jack Goodman

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Former players

For details of former players, see List of Mansfield Town F.C. players

Boardroom

As of 8 September 2023^[35]

• Owner/Chairman: John Radford
• Chief Executive Officer: Carolyn Radford
• Financial Director: James Beachill
• Legal Director: Bill Broughton
• Director: Steve Hymas
• Director: Mark Burton
• Director: Paul Brown
• Director: Sid Pepper
• Club secretary: Diane Ceney

First team staff

As of 8 September 2023^[36]

• Manager: Nigel Clough
• Assistant manager: Gary Crosby
• First team coach: Andy Garner
• Strength & conditioning coach: David Waldie
• Physio: Tom Whittamore
• Goalkeeper coach: Adam Collin
• Head of recruitment: Simon Clough
• Senior performance analyst: Matt Ash
• Academy manager: Richard Cooper

Managerial history

As of match played 27 April 2024

More information Name, Nationality ...

Name[37]	Nationality	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	Win %
Teddy Davison		1926	1928	2	1	0	1	050.00
Jack Hickling		1928	1933	110	30	25	55	027.27
Charlie Bell		1935	1935	31	8	7	16	025.81
Harold Wightman		1936	1936	19	7	5	7	036.84
Harry Parkes		May 1936	January 1938	68	29	14	25	042.65
Roy Goodall		1945	1949	139	47	36	56	033.81
Freddie Steele		1949	1951	123	61	31	31	049.59
George Jobey		1952	1953	70	28	17	25	040.00
Stan Mercer		1953	1955	77	32	16	29	041.56
Charlie Mitten		February 1956	June 1958	115	49	22	44	042.61
Sam Weaver		June 1958	January 1960	73	22	17	34	030.14
Raich Carter		January 1960	March 1963	151	63	23	65	041.72
Tommy Cummings		March 1963	1964	201	87	40	74	043.28
Tommy Eggleston		1967	1970	157	59	38	60	037.58
Jock Basford		1970	1971	66	21	22	23	031.82
Danny Williams		1971	1974	123	41	42	40	033.33
Dave Smith		1974	1976	113	54	32	27	047.79
Peter Morris		1976	1978	83	36	18	29	043.37
Billy Bingham		February 1978	1979	64	17	23	24	026.56
Mick Jones		1979	1981	107	37	27	43	034.58
Stuart Boam		July 1981	January 1983	77	25	15	37	032.47
Ian Greaves		January 1983	6 February 1989	311	101	99	111	032.48
George Foster		February 1989	August 1993	217	68	50	99	031.34
Andy King		August 1993	July 1996	149	51	45	53	034.23
Steve Parkin		July 1996	1999	143	54	41	48	037.76
Bill Dearden		18 June 1999	6 January 2002	134	49	28	57	036.57
Stuart Watkiss		January 2002	December 2002	45	16	5	24	035.56
Keith Curle		3 December 2002	11 November 2004	104	39	23	42	037.50
Carlton Palmer		November 2004	September 2005	41	10	15	16	024.39
Peter Shirtliff		September 2005	December 2006	72	24	19	29	033.33
Paul Holland		19 December 2006	28 December 2006	3	2	1	0	066.67
Bill Dearden		28 December 2006	8 March 2008	63	18	13	32	028.57
Paul Holland		8 March 2008	4 July 2008	12	3	6	3	025.00
Billy McEwan		4 July 2008[38]	10 December 2008[39]	26	8	6	12	030.77
David Holdsworth		29 December 2008	18 November 2010	91	37	20	34	040.66
Duncan Russell		19 November 2010	12 May 2011	36	14	9	13	038.89
Paul Cox		19 May 2011	21 November 2014	175	78	46	51	044.57
Adam Murray		21 November 2014	14 November 2016	103	32	27	44	031.07
Steve Evans		16 November 2016	27 February 2018	76	35	22	19	046.05
David Flitcroft		1 March 2018	14 May 2019	68	26	25	17	038.24
John Dempster		14 May 2019	14 December 2019	28	7	11	10	025.00
Graham Coughlan		17 December 2019	27 October 2020	27	4	9	14	014.81
Richard Cooper (Interim)		29 October 2020	5 November 2020	2	0	2	0	000.00
Nigel Clough		6 November 2020	Present	296	124	74	98	041.89

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