Coalville Town F.C.

Coalville Town
Full nameCoalville Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Ravens
Founded1926
GroundOwen Street Sports Ground, Coalville
ChairmanPaul Tubb
ManagerAsh Brown
LeagueUnited Counties League Division One
2023–24Southern League Premier Division Central, 11th of 21 (resigned)
Websitewww.coalvilletownfc.co.uk
Current season

Coalville Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the United Counties League Division One and play at the Owen Street Sports Ground. Established in 1926 as Ravenstone Miners Athletic, the club adopted its current name in 1995. In 2003 they moved up from playing in county leagues to the Midland Alliance. After reaching the final of the FA Vase in 2009–10, the following season saw them promoted to the second tier of the Northern Premier League. Following another promotion in 2016, they were transferred to the Southern League and played in its Premier Division Central until 2024, when the club resigned and dropped three tiers into the United Counties League.

History

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The club was established as Ravenstone Miners Athletic in 1926, and were originally based in the village of Ravenstone.[1] They joined the Coalville & District League and were Division Two champions in 1933–34.[2] The club were renamed Ravenstone Swifts in 1947 and then Ravenstone Miners Athletic in 1951.[2] They won the Division One title five times, including in 1952–53.[1] In 1958 the club were renamed Ravenstone.[3] They joined the Premier Division of the North Leicestershire League in 1974 and were runners-up in 1976–77.[2] The club were relegated to Division One at the end of the 1978–79 season, but returned to the Premier Division after being promoted in 1980–81.[2] After finishing as runners-up in 1985–86 and 1986–87,[2] they went on to win the Premier Division in 1988–89 and 1989–90,[1] and moved up to Division One of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1991.[4]

In 1995 the club moved to nearby Coalville after being unable to upgrade their Ravenslea ground, and were renamed Coalville Football Club.[1] In 1996–97 they finished second in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division.[5] The club adopted their current name in 1998,[3] and won the Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup in 1999–2000.[2] They were Premier Division champions in 2001–02 and 2002–03, after which they were promoted to the Midland Alliance.[5] In 2004–05 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, and reached the first round, eventually losing 1–0 at Second Division Wycombe Wanderers.[5] They were league runners-up in 2009–10, and the following season saw them reach the final of the FA Vase, losing 3–2 to Whitley Bay at Wembley Stadium.[5] They also won the Midland Alliance, scoring 153 goals in the process and earning promotion to Division One South of the Northern Premier League.[5]

In 2012–13 Coalville won the Westerby Cup, beating Loughborough Dynamo 2–1 in the final at the King Power Stadium. They were also Division One South runners-up and qualified for the promotion play-offs. However, they lost 2–1 to Chasetown in the semi-finals. The following season saw them finish as runners-up again. However, they lost the play-off semi-final against Mickleover Sports.[5] In 2015–16 they qualified for the play-offs again. After beating Basford United 5–0 in the semi-finals, they defeated Shaw Lane 3–1 to earn promotion to the Premier Division.[5]

The 2017–18 season saw Coalville win the Leicestershire & Rutland Challenge Cup with a 7–6 victory on penalties against Loughborough Dynamo.[6] At the end of the season they were transferred to the Premier Central division of the Southern League as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid. The club retained the Leicestershire & Rutland Challenge Cup the following season, beating Loughborough University 4–1 in the final. In 2022–23 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 4–1 at Charlton Athletic. They finished the league season in second place, missing out on the league title on goal difference. In the subsequent promotion play-offs, they lost 4–3 on penalties to Rushall Olympic in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw. At the end of the 2023–24 season the club withdrew from the Southern League and announced they were shutting down their men's first team,[7] but subsequently joined Division One of the United Counties League.[8]

Ground

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The Owen Street Sports Ground

When based in Ravenstone, the club played at Ravenslea. However, after the parish council refused the club permission to erect floodlights, they moved to the Owen Street Sports Ground in Coalville.[1] Floodlights were installed at the new ground in 1996.[1] The ground is currently also known as the Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium for sponsorship purposes.[9]

Managerial history

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Period Name
2001–2006 Lee Harriman
2006–2007 Brendon Phillips
2007–2014 Adam Stevens
2014 Jimmy Gray[10]
2014–2018 Tommy Brookbanks[11]
2018–2024 Adam Stevens[12]
2024 Ian King
2024–present Ash Brown

Honours

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  • Midland Alliance
    • Champions 2010–11
  • Leicestershire Senior League
    • Champions 2001–02, 2002–03
  • North Leicestershire League
    • Premier Division champions 1988–89, 1989–90
    • Cobbin Trophy winners 1989–90
    • Junior Cup winners 1985–86
  • Coalville & District League
    • Division One champions 1952–53
    • Division Two champions 1933–34
  • Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup
    • Winners 1999–2000
  • Leicestershire and Rutland Challenge Cup
    • Winners 2017–18, 2018–19
  • Leicestershire & Rutland Junior Cup
    • Winners 1986–87[2]
  • Leicestershire County Junior Cup North
    • Winners 1948–49, 1949–50[2]
  • Westerby Cup
    • Winners 2012–13
  • Coalville & District Charity Cup
    • Winners 1952–53[1]

Records

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  • Best FA Cup performance: First round, 2004–05, 2022–23[5]
  • Best FA Trophy performance: Quarter-finals, 2023–24[5]
  • Best FA Vase performance: Finalists, 2010–11[5]
  • Most appearances: Nigel Simms[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g History Archived 21 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine Northern Premier League
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Coalville Town Leics Football
  3. ^ a b c Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p418 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
  4. ^ Ravenstone at the Football Club History Database
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Coalville Town at the Football Club History Database
  6. ^ Coalville Win Leicestershire Challenge Cup Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine Coalville Town F.C.
  7. ^ Coalville Town quit league as chairman steps away BBC News, 25 May 2024
  8. ^ Club statement Coalville Town FC
  9. ^ Major Sponsorship Deal Announced Archived 9 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine Coalville Town F.C.
  10. ^ "Jimmy Gray Announced As New Manager". Coalville Town F.C. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  11. ^ "New Manager Announced". Coalville Town F.C. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Adam Stevens Appointed New First Team Manager". Coalville Town F.C. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
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