Chasetown F.C.
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Chasetown Football Club are an English football club based in the village of Chasetown, Staffordshire.
The club is nicknamed The Scholars, in reference to the fact that the club were formed by former members of a local school.
The club take part in the Southern Football League and came to national attention in November 2005 when the BBC decided to broadcast their FA Cup first round home tie with Oldham Athletic.
Despite 130 places separating the two sides in the English football league system, Chasetown caused some surprise by holding the Latics to a 1-1 draw, ensuring that the club's Cup run would continue with a visit to Oldham's Boundary Park ground for a replay.
In the replay at Oldham's Boundary Park ground, Chasetown lost 4-0.
They went on in the 2005/06 season to finish as Midland Alliance champions after a dramatic finale to the season. Stourbridge pushed them all the way, but a final day 2-0 win over Romulus in front of over 800 people clinched the title, as well as promotion.
History
Chasetown were formed in 1954 as Chase Terrace Old Scholars Youth Club, when Brian Baker and schoolmaster Ray Derry formed a soccer section from the Chase Terrace Secondary Modern School. The side played their first competitive games in the Cannock Youth League, remaining there until 1958/59 when they were accepted into the Lichfield and District League. An impressive debut season saw them finish third. During their three-year stay in the League, the Old Scholars were runners-up in the League and Challenge Cup competition.1961/62 saw them enter the Staffs County League, while a reserve team stayed on in the former League. First-team success followed with the Lichfield and Rugeley Charity Cups, before the club were admitted to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One and changed to their current title of Chasetown FC in 1972/73.
The newly renamed club soon established themselves as one of the leading clubs in the division. In 11 seasons they won the title in 1977/78, finished second five times, third twice and fourth twice to earn a much-respected record. Chasetown were, however, prevented from promotion because they were playing on a park pitch at Burntwood Recreation Centre, but a breakthrough came in 1983 when they re-homed with a move to the current ground, The Scholars Ground, which coincided with a move up into the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division.
The club took their time to adapt to life at the top, finishing in the lower reaches of the table in their first three seasons. A gradual improvement followed and they captured their first trophy in 1989/90 when they lifted the League Cup with a 1-0 win over Oldbury in the Final, then they overcame Blakenall in the Walsall Senior Cup at Bescot Stadium.
The 1991/92 season saw the club again break new ground when they finished fifth in the League and reached the Final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup. The Final was held over until the next season when they lost 4-2 on aggregate to then Conference outfit, Stafford Rangers. The following year The Scholars regained the Walsall Senior Cup by beating Pelsall Villa 3-1.
1993/94 was a relatively disappointing campaign, but they had done enough on the field to become founder members of the newly formed Midland Football Alliance. However, they failed to make an impression in the first season, finishing 17th out of 20 clubs. A disappointing second season followed, with a change of management early in the season, early FA Cup and FA Vase exits, eased only by small success in the Midland Triangular Cup and the Midland Football Alliance League Cup, going out in both to eventual finalists Oldbury United.
The 1997/98 campaign heralded a new chapter in the history of the club when they picked up their first Midland Football Alliance Award thanks to the goalscoring exploits of Shaun Bradbury, who scooped the top goalscorer trophy with a volley in a dramatic final game of the season.
Honours
- Midland Football Alliance
- *Champions: 2006
- West Midlands (Regional) League Division One
- *Champions: 1978
- West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division Cup
- *Winners: 1990, 1991
- Walsall Senior Cup
- *Winners: 1991, 1993, 2005
Crest
Chasetown's crest features a deer, in reference to nearby Cannock Chase, and a Staffordshire Knot.The Scholars Ground
- Address: Church Street, Chasetown, Staffordshire, WS7 3QL
- Opened: 1983
- Record Attendance: 2,134 Chasetown versus Blyth Spartans, The FA Cup, Fourth Qualifying Round Replay, October 25th 2005
- Record League Attendance: 839 Chasetown versus Romulus, Midland Football Alliance, April 29th 2006
Supporters
During the 2005/2006 season Chasetown had an average home League attendance of 243, up from 108 the previous season.A total of 11,706 people saw Chasetown's 33 league and cup home games in 2005/06.
This figure was 5,102 for the 21 home league games.
Statistics and records
- Final Midland Alliance Table (Top 4)
PL W D L F A G.D. Pts Chasetown 42 29 7 6 74 32 + 42 94 Stourbridge 42 29 5 8 110 55 + 55 92 Malvern Town 42 27 4 11 95 56 + 39 85 Romulus 42 23 11 8 84 49 + 35 80
League Record
- 1954-1958 - Cannock Youth League
- 1958-1961 - Lichfield & District League
- 1961-1972 - Staffordshire County League
- 1972-1983 - West Midlands (Regional) League Division One
- 1983-1994 - West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division
- 1994-2006 - Midland Football Alliance
- 2006- Southern Football League Division One Midlands
National Cup Record
- Best FA Cup performance : First Round Proper - 2005/2006
- Best FA Vase performance : Fifth Round Proper - 1999/2000
Team records
(1972/73 Onwards)- Most league goals (season) : 94 (West Mids Div 1 ; 1975/76)
- Most points scored :
- * Two points for a win : 64 (West Mids Div 1, 40 Games, 1975/76)
- * Three points for a win : 94 (Midland Alliance, 42 Games, 2005/06)
Individual Records
- Most goals scored (career) : Tony Dixon - 197
- Most goals scored (match) : Keith Birch - 11 versus Lichfield Laundry (21-1)
- Highest transfer fee received : £200 for Chris Aullet (Telford United)
Current squad
- Leading goalscorer 2005-2006 : Lee Bullimore 34 goals
- Most appearances 2005-2006 : Chris Slater
- Striker Karl Edwards once scored in 10 consecutive league games
- Striker Danny Smith was Chasetown's youngest modern day goalscorer aged 17 years and 143 days
- Chasetown's 2nd goal versus Westfields on April 24th was the Scholars 2000th league goal as Chasetown F.C.
- The Scholars have notched 700 goals in the Midland Football Alliance - the 700th coming in the 3-1 defeat to Racing Club Warwick
- Statistics compiled by Paul Mullins, Press Officer
Famous players
- Former Premiership youngest goalscorer Andy Turner is a current Chasetown player and is part of the Chasetown FC coaching team
Managers
- J. Garbett
- B. Baker
- M. Boot
- L. Percival
- B. Murray
- B. Scorey
- P. Darby (two spells)
- Mervyn Rowe (two spells)
- G. Smith
- B. Brown
- C. Painter
- Mick Rowe
- C. Blakemore
Chairmen
- R. Derry
- A. Heath
- F. Sarsfield
- A. Stratton
- J. Selvey
- A. Scorey
- G. Rollins
- B. Baker
- J. Walker
- B. Scorey
- B. Davies
- J. Donnelly
References
External links
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