Stratford Town F.C.

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.

"Stratford Rangers" redirects here. For club from Stafford, see Stafford Rangers.

Stratford Town
Full nameStratford Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bards
Founded1941 (as Stratford Rangers)
GroundKnights Lane, Tiddington
ChairmanJed McCroy
Caretaker ManagerIan King
LeagueSouthern League Premier Division Central
2021–22Southern League Premier Division Central, 13th of 21
WebsiteClub website

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]

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.

Players

Current squad
As of 27 March 2022 [6]

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

Pos. Nation Player
GK  ENG Louis Beresford
GK  ENG Liam O'Brien
DF  ENG Eniola Agemoh-Davies
DF  ENG Harry Higginson
DF  ENG Michael O'Regan
DF  ENG Will Taylor (on loan from Cheltenham Town)
DF  WAL Jack Turner
DF  ENG Dan Vann
DF  ENG Jordan Williams
DF  ENG Lewis Wilson
MF  ENG Will Dawes
MF  ENG Caine Elliott
Pos. Nation Player
MF  ENG James Fry
MF  ENG Will Grocott (captain)
MF  NIR Dan Lafferty
MF  ENG Ross Oulton
MF  ENG John Power
MF  ENG Ashley Sammons
MF  ENG Zach Tellyn
FW  ENG Thomas Chamberlain
FW  ENG Owen James
FW  ENG Simeon Okoro
FW  ENG Jack Storer
FW  ENG Harry Wakefield

The Southern Football League does not use a squad numbering system.

Management and coaching staff

Boardroom
As of 27 March 2022 [6]
Position Name
Owner Jed McCrory
Ambassador Dean Holdsworth

Current staff
Position Name
Caretaker Manager Ian King
First Team Coaches Jon Hill
Ian Weaving
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

See also
  • Stratford Town F.C. players
  • Stratford Town F.C. managers

References
  • Mike and Tony Williams (2006). Non League Club Directory 2006. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-869833-54-6.
  1. Hughes, Ian (20 October 2021). "Football fever set to grip Stratford after Town make FA Cup history". Stratford Observer. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. James, Christian (17 October 2021). "Boston United 1-1 Stratford Town: United find bold Bards so hard to edge past". Non League Football Paper. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  3. "BARDS FA CUP TIE VS SHREWSBURY TO BE SHOWN LIVE ON ITV4!". stratfordtownfc.co.uk. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  4. "Stratford Town 1-5 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 7 November 2021.
  5. Stratford Town match report Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Stratford Town". stratfordtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2022.

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