Willenhall Town Football Club are a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of St ...

, West Midlands, England, currently playing in the .

History

Willenhall Town was formed in 1953 by the amalgamation of two local sides, Aston Road Villa and R.A.F. Association. The club played in the Wolverhampton League from their formation until 1968, when they joined the

Staffordshire County League (South) The Staffordshire County League (South) was an English football league that existed from 1892 until 1996 and catered for clubs in the South Staffordshire area. It was also known at various times as the Walsall & District Junior League, Walsall & D ...

. In 1975 they joined the

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

. They quickly won promotion to the Premier Division and then claimed the Premier Division title in 1979, pipping Lye Town to the title on goal difference. In 1981 they reached the

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

but lost to

Whickham Whickham is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The village is on high ground overlooking the River Tyne and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was formerly governed under the histo ...

, and a year later gained promotion into the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

Midland Division. In the 1983–84 season the Reds won the title, scoring 100 goals in the process, and gained promotion to the

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

. Although they finished 4th in the Premier Division in their first season, after that their performances declined until they were relegated back to the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1991. In 1994, however, the club became founder members of the new

Midland Football Alliance The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Not ...

where they were consistent mid-table finishers until the 2003–04 season when an impressive late season run saw them finish second and gain promotion to the

Northern Premier League Division One The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

. In their very first season in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

the Reds made it into the promotion play-offs but were defeated. At the end of the 2004–05 season, Willenhall were switched to the Southern League Division One West, and in 2006 they were moved once again to the newly re-organised Division One Midlands. In 2006 manager Rob Smith and assistant manager Larry Chambers left the club for the position of managing

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...

Mel Eves Melvyn James Eves (born 10 September 1956) is an English former professional footballer who had a long career playing as a striker and left sided attacker, mostly known for his time with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Career Eves, born in the Miners ...

was appointed as the new manager of Willenhall shortly afterwards. At the end of the 2006–07 season Willenhall went to the play-off final to face Bromsgrove Rovers. While the game ended 1–1 after ninety minutes, extra time saw Bromsgrove score an extra goal and gain promotion. In November 2007, Eves left the club and the first team managing duties fell to

Dean Edwards Dean Edwards (born July 30, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer and musician. His work as a voice actor includes Scottie Pippen and Spike Lee in ''Celebrity Deathmatch'', a robot in ''Robotomy'', and Donkey in ''Scar ...

for the remainder of the season. With two games remaining in the 2007–08 season, however, Edwards also parted company with the Lockmen and chairman Paul Garner and Tony Smith took charge for the last two games, winning both, against Barton Rovers and

Woodford United Woodford United Football Club is a football club based in Woodford Halse, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Byfield Road. History The club was established in 1946. After playing in the Rugby & District ...

. In May 2008 Garner announced the appointment of

Shaun Cunnington Shaun Cunnington (born 4 January 1966) is an English former professional footballer and former manager of Evesham United Career Having started playing with Bourne Town, most of his playing career was spent in the second tier of English footb ...

as manager. Cunnington previously managed

Alvechurch Alvechurch ( ) is a large village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove district in northeast Worcestershire, England, in the valley of the River Arrow. The Lickey Hills Country Park is 2.5 miles (4 km) to the northwest. It is south of Birmi ...

in the

and when he moved to the Lockmen he was joined by his assistant manager Paul Tomlinson and later by former

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

goalkeeper Tim Clarke as goalkeeping coach. In May 2009 the club underwent a period of financial unrest when it was announced the club was selling its ground to Sporting Khalsa. However, later that month the club announced that chairman Paul Garner was leaving the club. In November 2009, Shaun Cunnington and assistant manager, Paul Tomlinson left the club. The committee then appointed Steve Pomroy and Micky Rawlings as their replacements. During an uncertain period at the club, relegation to the Midland Football Alliance was confirmed for the 2010–11 season.Managerial Change at Willenhall
/ref> After finishing bottom of the Midland Football Alliance in the 2011–12 season, Willenhall Town became fan-run and were relegated to the

Premier Division. They finished in 20th place for 2012–13 season and played their last match at Noose Lane against Bromyard Town on 7 May 2013, moving to Long Lane Park, Long Lane, Essington for the 2013–14 season. Willenhall appointed Joe Ball as player-manager for the start of the 2017–18 season and after a 15-game winning streak and 17 league goals to his name, was subsequently replaced by Mark Cox.

Club records

*Best league performance: 4th in Southern League Premier Division, 1984–85 *Best

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 ...

performance: 1st round proper, 1981–82 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

performance: 3rd round, 2004–05 *Best

performance: Final, 1980–81

References

External links

Official club website Official club Twitter Feed
{{coord, 52, 36, 22.20, N, 2, 05, 01.0, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Midland Football Alliance Sport in Walsall Association football clubs established in 1953 Southern Football League clubs Northern Premier League clubs Football clubs in the West Midlands (county) 1953 establishments in England West Midlands (Regional) League Willenhall Staffordshire County League (South)