Ryde Sports (1888–1997) were an English football club based in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

. Before their untimely demise, Ryde Sports was for many years a successful and significant club on the

and in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, and an important part of the town.

History

Ryde Sports F.C. was founded in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

and became one of the eight founder members of the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides of ...

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

. Although finishing at the foot of the table in the inaugural season, the club soon improved by twice finishing runners-up, they also spent the 1898–99 season in the Southern League where they finished as runner-up in the short lived Division 2 South & West Section. The 1899-1900 season was a highly successful one in which they won the Hampshire League and Hampshire Senior Cup double. After the Great War, Ryde joined the Isle of Wight League, twice being champions before returning the county fold in 1923 when they promptly won the East Division title at the first attempt. Further success soon arrived, in 1925-26 they were league champions and

Hampshire Senior Cup The Hampshire Senior Cup is a cup competition open to football teams affiliated with the Hampshire Football Association. The competition was founded in 1887 and has been contested every year since, with the exception of 1914 to 1919 when it was p ...

winners the following year. The thirties continued to be very successful for the club, twice more winning County Senior Cup 1935–36 and 1938–39. The league title eluded Ryde during this period, although a top five final position was achieved each season. It was also during this period that Ryde recorded some fine runs in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, most notably when they twice reached the 1st Round proper; in 1932–33 they lost 0–5 away v Margate, then in 1936–37, when they lost 1–5 at home to Gillingham in front of a record 5,000 crowd. They nearly made it again in 1947–48, when after navigating their way past some tough opponents they heartbreakingly lost 0–1 at home against Trowbridge Town in the final qualifying round. It was not until the 1952–53 season that the club suffered its first setback when, for the first time, they were relegated. After several years of consolidation Ryde returned as Division 2 runners-up in 1957–58, only to be relegated straight back again. Worse was to follow in 1963–64 when Ryde were relegated again to Division 3 but made a good recovery by immediately returning as champions; and in 1967–68 they finished as runners-up in Division 2, which was enough to clinch promotion back to the top flight. The seventies continued to up and down for Ryde. After two seasons in Division 1 the club was again relegated in 1969–70 and in 1976–77 again dropped down into Division 3. The early Eighties saw troubled times for Ryde, twice finishing bottom of the league and having to apply for re-election. Luckily Ryde regained its place and slowly rebuilt, and in 1986 were placed in restructured Division 2 following the formation of the

Wessex League The Wessex Football League is an English association football league formed in 1986, with its premier division currently at the fifth step of the National League System, or the ninth tier of the overall English football league system. The part ...

. Finally, Ryde's fortunes changed and with a powerful side the club won the Division 2 and Division 1 titles in successive seasons 1988–89 and 1989–90. For a number of years, developers had been eyeing up the clubs much loved Partlands home, and in 1990 the club vacated the premises to play at a new multi-purpose Sports Complex at Smallbrook Stadium, on the outskirts of the town. The team was elected to the

that year. During the 1990s, Ryde hosted a series of prestigious friendly matches against Premier League opposition, most noticeably

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

, Aston Villa and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Ryde initially did well in the

where they were frequently in the top half of the table with its highest positions being 3rd in 1995–96 and 4th a year later. Ryde ran into financial problems and a player exodus saw the club struggle badly during the 1997–98 campaign. During the off season the club brought in former Bournemouth FC Coach Larry Clay who in turn brought with him a youthful group of players from the mainland to help rebuild the club. The younger youth players included Hose Edin, Peter Williams and Lee Johnson of who all ended up playing in the first team far sooner than intended. The club played a friendly against Bristol City at Smallbrook Stadium with the professional side winning 7-0 with a certain Shaun Goater scoring 5 goals. That season he left to join Manchester City. A very youthful team took on the challenges of a tough Wessex League and performances started improving before a local appeal for support was unsuccessful and Ryde, rock bottom of the table, withdrew from the competition in December 1997 with its playing record being expunged.

Honours

* Southern League Division 2 South & West Section **Runners-up 1898/99 *

Division 1 **Champions 1899/1900, 1925/26 and 1989/90 **Runners-up 1897/98, 1898/99 and 1932/33 *

Division 2 **Champions 1988/89 **Runners-up 1957/58 and 1967/68 *

Division 3 **Champions 1964/65 *

East Division **Champions 1923/24 * Isle of Wight League Champions **Winners 1919/20 and 1920/21 * Hampshire FA Senior Cup Winners **Winners 1899/1900, 1903/04, 1926/27, 1936/37, 1938/39 **Finalists 1925/26 and 1935/36 *Isle of Wight Senior Cup **Winners 1926/27 and 1980/81 *Isle of Wight Gold Cup **Winners 1926/27, 1946/47, 1948/49, 1955/56, 1961/62 and 1962/63 **Finalists 1927/28, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1930/31, 1932/33, 1933/34, 1947/48, 1950/51, 1956/57, 1960/61 and 1963/64 *Portsmouth Senior Cup **Winners 1899/1900, 1900/01, 1905/06, 1919/20, 1953/54, 1966/67 and 1989/90 *

**1st Round Proper 1932/33 and 1936/37

Playing records

League

FA Cup

FA Vase

{, class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style=text-align:center !Season !Round !Opponents !Result , - , 1991/92, , Extra-Preliminary Round, , H v Kintbury Rangers, , W 3-2 , - , , , Preliminary Round, , A v AFC Lymington, , L 0-1 , - , 1992/93, , Extra-Preliminary Round, , H v Wantage Town, , L 1-2 , - , 1993/94, , Preliminary Round, , A v Hamworthy United, , W 5-1 , - , , , Round 1, , H v Andover, , L 0-3 , - , 1994/95, , Preliminary Round, , A v Banbury United, , L 0-3 , - , 1995/96, , 1st Qualifying Round, , A v Brockenhurst, , W 4-0 , - , , , 2nd Qualifying Round, , A v Bicester Town, , D 1-1 , - , , , ''Replay'', , H v Bicester Town, , W 3-1 , - , , , Round 1, , A v Whitstable Town, , L 0-4 , - , 1996/97, , 1st Qualifying Round, , A v North Leigh, , L 0-1

Successor clubs

A phoenix club, Ryde '98 was immediately formed to play in the local Isle of Wight League but the new team never climbed out of the basement division and folded in 2004. The town is now represented by Ryde Saints who currently run three sides in the Isle of Wight League. In 2014 they began using the Smallbrook Stadium for their 1st Team home fixtures and are ambitious to regain past glories. Wessex League football returned to Smallbrook for the 2021/22 season, when Newport took up temporary residence whilst their new ground was being built.

External links

(https://www.fchd.info/RYDE.HTM) (https://www.fchd.info/RYDESP.HTM) Defunct football clubs in England Football on the Isle of Wight Association football clubs established in 1888 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997 Defunct football clubs on the Isle of Wight Southern Football League clubs 1888 establishments in England Ryde