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.[citation needed]
Mike and Tony Williams (2006). Non League Club Directory 2006. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. ISBN1-869833-54-6.
^Hughes, Ian (20 October 2021). "Football fever set to grip Stratford after Town make FA Cup history". Stratford Observer. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
^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.
^"BARDS FA CUP TIE VS SHREWSBURY TO BE SHOWN LIVE ON ITV4!". stratfordtownfc.co.uk. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
^"Stratford Town 1-5 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 7 November 2021.
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Stratford Rangers redirects here For club from Stafford see Stafford Rangers 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 TownFull nameStratford Town Football ClubNickname s The BardsFounded1941 as Stratford Rangers GroundKnights Lane TiddingtonChairmanJed McCroyLeagueSouthern League Premier Division Central2021 22Southern League Premier Division Central 13th of 21WebsiteClub websiteHome coloursAway coloursCurrent season Contents 1 History 2 Stadium 3 Players 3 1 Current squad 4 Management and coaching staff 4 1 Boardroom 4 2 Current staff 4 3 Managerial history 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe 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 amp West After two seasons in the Division One South amp 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 EditStratford 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 EditCurrent squad Edit As of 27 December 2022 6 Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality Pos Nation PlayerGK ENG Louis BeresfordGK ENG Liam O BrienDF ENG Josh EndallDF ENG Kynan IssacDF ENG Josh KilbrideDF ENG Paul McConeDF ENG James O NeilDF ENG Lucas PowellDF WAL Jack TurnerDF ENG Dan VannMF ENG Will DawesMF ENG Brennan Denness BarrettMF ENG Will Grocott captain Pos Nation PlayerMF ENG Josh HawkerMF ENG Ryan InmanMF ENG Max JohnsonMF NIR Dan LaffertyMF ENG Felix MilesMF ENG Kurtis RevanMF ENG Ashley SammonsMF ENG Dexter WaltersFW ENG Jake CollinsFW ENG Curvin EllisFW ENG Jamie MolyneuxFW IRL Adam RooneyFW ENG Jack StorerThe Southern Football League does not use a squad numbering system Management and coaching staff EditBoardroom Edit As of 26 May 2022 6 Position NameOwner Jed McCroryCurrent staff Edit Position Name p s First Team Coaches Jon Hill Ian WeavingGoalkeeper Coach Kieron WilliamsPhysio Amanada SibandaManagerial history Edit Period Manager1993 Alan Campbell 2005 Lennie Derby2005 2006 Ian Britton2006 2007 Dennis Mulholland2007 2009 Micky Moore2009 2010 Rod Brown2010 2012 Morton Titterton2012 2014 Morton Titterton Carl Adams2014 2018 Carl Adams2018 Darren Byfield2018 2019 Thomas Baillie2019 Tommy Wright2019 2021 Paul Davis2021 2022 Tim Flowers2022 Dean Holdsworth Gavin HurrenSee also EditStratford Town F C players Stratford Town F C managersReferences EditMike and Tony Williams 2006 Non League Club Directory 2006 Tony Williams Publications Ltd ISBN 1 869833 54 6 Hughes Ian 20 October 2021 Football fever set to grip Stratford after Town make FA Cup history Stratford Observer Retrieved 9 November 2021 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 BARDS FA CUP TIE VS SHREWSBURY TO BE SHOWN LIVE ON ITV4 stratfordtownfc co uk 21 October 2021 Retrieved 9 November 2021 Stratford Town 1 5 Shrewsbury Town BBC Sport 7 November 2021 Stratford Town match report Archived 2008 07 24 at the Wayback Machine a b Stratford Town stratfordtownfc co uk Retrieved 19 August 2022 External links EditOfficial website Coordinates 52 11 38 94 N 1 40 34 90 W 52 1941500 N 1 6763611 W 52 1941500 1 6763611 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stratford Town F C amp oldid 1135391252, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,