GRESLEY
ROVERS FC |
Moat
Street
Church Gresley
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 9RE
Phone:
01283 216315
Website:
GresleyRovers
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Founded:
1882
Nick-name:
The Moatmen
County affiliation:
Derbyshire
County FA
Manager:
Gary Norton
Assistant Manager:
Alan Titterton
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Honours:
Millennium Cup Champions 1999/2000
Southern (Dr Martens) League Premier Division Champions
1996/97
Southern (Dr Martens) League Cup Runners Up 1993/94
Southern (Beazer Homes) League Midland Division Runners Up 1992/93
FA Vase Runners Up 1990/91
West Midlands League Champions 1990/91, 1991/92
West Midlands League Runners Up 1985/86, 1988/89
West Midlands League Cup Winners 1988/89
West Midlands League Cup Runners Up 1986/87, 1991/92
Derbyshire Senior Cup Winners 1987/88, 1988/89, 1989/90, 1990/91, 1993/94,
1995/96, 1996/97
Derbyshire Senior Cup Runners Up 1956/57, 1969/70, 1999/2000, 2001/2002
East Midlands League Champions 1967/68, 1969/70
Central Alliance Champions 1964/65, 1966/67
Central Alliance Cup Winners 1952/53
Leicestershire Senior League Champions 1900/01, 1946/47, 1947/48
Leicestershire Senior Cup Winners 1988/99, 1946/47
Coalville Charity Cup Winners 1946/47
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Gresley
Rovers were formed in 1882 in the small mining village of Church Gresley,
which is near to Swadlincote - the biggest town in South Derbyshire.
Their first ground was at Mushroom Lane in Albert Village a mile or
so from Church Gresley and they played mainly friendlies and cup games
for ten years before joining the Burton Junior League for the 1892/93
season. They won their first league title in the 1894/95 season eleven
points clear of their nearest rivals in the Burton Junior League.
Rovers moved from the quaintly named Mushroom Lane ground (which they
shared with the local cricket club Mushroom Lane CC) to the newly acquired
Church Street Ground in time for the 1895/96 season.
Despite the lack of facilities (the teams changed at the nearby Boot
Hotel) they were accepted into the Midland League for the 1903/04 season
where they stayed for three seasons. Some of the clubs played are now
in the Football League. They struggled in this much higher standard
and therefore returned to the local league in 1905 to 'gather their
strength' again.
Rovers stayed at Church Street till near the end of the 1907/08 season
when they had to move as the land was required for building and moved
across the road onto the newly acquired Moat Ground - the ground they
still play on today.
Rovers stepped up a couple of grades to join the Central Alliance and
then moved up again as they joined the powerful Birmingham Combination
in 1925. However, despite reaching the First Round Proper of the F.A.
Cup in 1930/31, they experienced financial difficulties and these forced
them to leave the Birmingham Combination and join the more local Central
Alliance in 1933.
A couple of seasons later they moved to the Leicestershire Senior League
and enjoyed success in the immediate post-war years as they won the
title in 1946/7 and 1947/8 and were runners-up in 1948/9. At the start
of the fifties the Club made the decision to join the Central Alliance.
However, on this occasion, their stay in that League was only brief
and they joined the Birmingham & District League in 1954/5. They
then rejoined the Central Alliance in 1959/60 and stayed in that League
until 1974/5 during which time the League changed its title to the East
Midlands Regional League.
Gresley dominated that League and in the fourteen seasons from 1961
to 1975 the lowest they finished was in fifth place as they won the
title on four occasions, finished runners-up on four occasions, ended
in third place on three occasions, fourth on two occasions and fifth
only once. At the start of the 1975/6, they moved to the West Midlands
League, which was a much stronger League, and in the early years they
always ended in the lower regions of the table. However, after much
hard work off the field, runners-up spot was achieved in 1985/6 and
the following six seasons saw Gresley finish 4th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd, lst
and 1st. During that period they also won the Derbyshire Senior Cup
on four successive occasions. Season 1990/91 was a particularly good
one for Gresley. In addition to the League Title and the Derbyshire
Senior Cup win they also reached the final of the F.A. Vase and so had
the honour of playing at Wembley. Their opponents were Guiseley and
some National Newspapers reported it as 'the most exciting Wembley Cup
Final ever'. When one looks at the goals sequence one can see how the
game earned that accolade: After 31 minutes the score was Guiseley -
3 Gresley - 0, but Gresley came back and grabbed a very dramatic equaliser
in injury time at the end of the ninety minutes. Then in extra time
Gresley went 4 - 3 in front but this time Guiseley scored a very dramatic
equaliser as they levelled things in injury time at the end of the second
half of extra time.
The replay at Bramall Lane saw Gresley lose by 3 - 1. However, despite
that tremendous season their application to join the Beazer Homes League
was not successful but they battled on to win the league again the following
season. This time their application to the Beazer Homes League was successful
and they were placed in the Midland Division for the 1992/3 season.
That 1992/3 season had some disappointment for Gresley as they lost
in the semi-final of the F.A. Vase and so narrowly missed another trip
to Wembley, but in the League they confounded everyone by finishing
as runners- up and so gained promotion to the Premier Division at the
first attempt. The 1993/4 season saw them consolidate in 14th position
but medals did come to the Club as they again won the Derbyshire Senior
Cup and reached the Final of the Dr. Martens League Cup. An improved
League position of 8th was achieved in 1994/5 and that season saw them
reaching the First Round Proper of the F.A. Cup for only the second
time ever before losing away to Crewe.
Paul Futcher was appointed manager with Garry Birtles , former England
International, his assistant on 2nd November 1995. Rovers improved their
League position yet again in 1995/6 as they ended the season in 5th
place and had the bonus of winning the Derbyshire Senior Cup yet again.
The season 1996/7 was the best in the Club's long history because in
addition to retaining the Derbyshire Senior Cup they also won the Dr.
Martens Premier Division championship. Rovers were unbeaten in their
first seventeen league games (won 10 drawn 7) and were league leaders
for 31 weeks.
The title was finally won with a 3 - 1 home victory against Gloucester
City at the Moat Ground on April 26th 1997. Gresley Rovers became the
first Derbyshire side and first village side to win this prestigious
trophy but ground grading meant that they were unable to gain promotion
to the Football Conference.
Paul Futcher the Manager during that campaign left during the close
season and his Assistant Manager Garry Birtles stepped up into the Manager's
position. The disappointment of not being promoted to the Football Conference
saw many of Gresley's players leave the club. The 1997/8 season saw
Gresley finish in the bottom half of the Dr. Martens Premier League.
The 1998/99 season will go down in the history of Gresley Rovers as
one of the worst. At the end of 1998 they were in the top six. By the
end of April they were relegated. The season started well and 13 points
from their September games saw them in third place just four points
adrift of the leaders Nuneaton Borough. In November Gresley Rovers were
drawn to meet Walsall at the Bescote Stadium in the first round of the
F.A. Cup. Gresley went close to causing an upset but were denied at
least a replay by a goal 11 minutes from the end. Victories over Kings
Lynn and Hastings got December off to a fine start; however, three defeats
saw them drop to 6th place. After a disastrous run of 6 successive defeats
in January saw them slump to 17th place just 5 points above the relegation
places. In February two successive draws and three defeats proved to
be Garry Birtles downfall and he and his assistant, Paul Fitzpatrick
were dismissed. Stuart Ford took charge temporarily and saw the team
beat Atherstone 2-1 that ended a run of 14 games without a win. In March
1999 Brian Kenning was appointed manager. The opening game of April
produced a comfortable 3-0 victory over Cambridge City. But three defeats
followed against Nuneaton, Crawley and Rothwell. Vital game at Dorchester
and Salisbury yielded only one point. The defeat on the final day against
Bath City pushed Gresley into the Midlands Division just two years after
winning the Dr. Martens Premier Division Championship by 11 points.
The last time Gresley were relegated was in the 1958/9 season when they
went down from the Birmingham League Division one to Division two.
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Head
to head
Mossley v Gresley Rovers
P - 4 W -2 D - 0 L - 2 F - 7 A - 6
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2004-05
UniBond League Division One
Home L 0-1
Away L 0-3
2005-06 UniBond League Division One
Home W 3-1 Knight, Bingham, Downey
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2005-06 FA Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round
Away W 4-1 Challinor, Morning, Bingham, Downey |