Stratford Town F.C.
Association football club from Stratford-upon-Avon, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stratford Town Football Club is a football club representing the town of Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England, but currently based in nearby Tiddington. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at Knights Lane.
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| Full name | Stratford Town Football Club | ||
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| Nickname | The Bards | ||
| Founded | 1941 (as Stratford Rangers) | ||
| Ground | The Arden Garages Stadium, Knights Lane, Tiddington | ||
| Chairman | Jed McCrory | ||
| Manager | Paul Davis | ||
| League | Southern League Premier Division Central | ||
| 2024–25 | Southern League Premier Division Central, 8th of 22 | ||
| Website | www | ||
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History
The club was formed in 1941 as Stratford Rangers, changing their name in 1949. After playing in various local leagues, they joined the Worcestershire Combination (which later became the Midland Football Combination) in 1954. In 1957, they switched to the Birmingham and District League, which became the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1962, but rejoined the Combination in 1970. In 1975, they took the unusual step of joining the Hellenic League, which does not normally include teams from Warwickshire. After two unsuccessful seasons, they rejoined the Midland Combination once again, where they remained until becoming founder members of the Midland Football Alliance in 1994.
The club entered financial difficulty in 1998 and were reformed to become Stratford Town F.C.
On 20 April 2013, a 1–1 draw with Stourport Swifts sealed the Midland Alliance title and promotion to the Southern Football League for the first time in the club's history, where they initially played in Division One South & West. After two seasons in the Division One South & West, Stratford Town earned promotion to the Premier Division via the play-offs with a 3–2 win against Larkhall Athletic on 4 May 2015. They successfully retained their status the following season.
The 2021–22 season saw The Bards reach the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, defeating National League North side Boston United 3–2 in a fourth qualifying round replay after an initial 1–1 draw at the Boston Community Stadium.[1][2] Stratford were drawn at home to League One side Shrewsbury Town, with the match televised on ITV4.[3] Despite scoring first, they were eventually defeated 5–1 in front of a sell-out 2,800 spectators at Knights Lane.[4]
Records
Stadium
Stratford Town moved into the Knights Lane ground, Tiddington in the 2007–08 season. They played their first league match there against Barwell on 16 February 2008, losing 1–0 to a Stuart Spencer goal.[5]
The record attendance is 2,800 for the FA Cup first round match against Shrewsbury Town on 7 November 2021.[citation needed]
Players
Current squad
- As of 17 August 2024 [6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The Southern Football League does not use a squad numbering system.
Management and coaching staff
Boardroom
- As of 26 May 2022 [6]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jed McCrory |
Current staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Paul David (caretaker) |
| First Team Coaches | Dale Belford |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Kieron Williams |
| Physio | Amanada Sibanda |
Managerial history
| Period | Manager |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Alan Campbell |
| –2005 | Lennie Derby |
| 2005–2006 | Ian Britton |
| 2006–2007 | Dennis Mulholland |
| 2007–2009 | Micky Moore |
| 2009–2010 | Rod Brown |
| 2010–2012 | Morton Titterton |
| 2012–2014 | Morton Titterton Carl Adams |
| 2014–2018 | Carl Adams |
| 2018 | Darren Byfield |
| 2018–2019 | Thomas Baillie |
| 2019 | Tommy Wright |
| 2019–2021 | Paul Davis |
| 2021–2022 | Tim Flowers |
| 2022–2023 | Dean Holdsworth Gavin Hurren |
| 2023-2024 | Gavin Hurren |