Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

which plays in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include Tamworth,

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

, Burton Albion and Telford United.

History

Early history

Despite extensive research, no one has been able to prove conclusively when Stafford Rangers was actually formed, as early minute books were destroyed during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Rangers' formation year is recognised as 1876 because of articles in the local ''Advertiser'' newspaper, but an alternative theory on Rangers' formation date, printed in the ''Sentinel'' newspaper during 1891, suggests that the club was founded by a Bible class in 1877. Rangers' early matches were cup games and friendlies, with the club reaching the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

First Round in both 1884–85 and 1885–86. The club then had spells in the Shropshire League, Birmingham League and North Staffordshire League up to the turn of the century, and moved to their present Marston Road home in 1896. In 1900–01 Stafford rejoined the Birmingham League and in 1904–05 had an FA Cup run to the last Qualifying Round bowing out in a replay at Second Division

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

. They were demoted to the Birmingham Combination in 1912 but won the championship at the first attempt (1912–13) and then finished runners-up in two of the next four seasons either side of the First World War. Rangers won the Birmingham League title in 1926–27, twice finished runners-up (1928–29 and 1929–30) and were twice third in five memorable seasons. During this period a total of 542 league goals were scored with striker Eddie Cameron regularly scoring goals. Due to financial troubles the team spent the mid to late 1930s struggling to avoid re-election and in one game were so short of players that the club secretary R.P. Brown had to play and actually scored a goal. During April 1935 a successful appeal for £100 to pay creditors enabled the club to survive. When war broke out in 1939, Rangers participated in an emergency Birmingham League during the 1939–40 season, finishing as runners-up, and then disbanded.

Post-war

After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the club reformed and played in the

Birmingham Combination The Birmingham Combination was an English football competition for teams in Birmingham and the surrounding areas, which was active from 1892 until 1954. It was founded as the Birmingham & District Junior League, and changed its name in 1908. The ...

for six seasons, achieving a highest position of 6th in 1950–51. With a view to progress, Rangers joined the Cheshire County Football League in 1952 and finished 3rd in the 1954–55 season. However, Rangers' spell in the Cheshire Football League was generally one of struggle and during the early sixties financial difficulties again threatened the club's existence. There were, however, some positive results, including the seven goals scored by Les Box in an 11–0

victory over Dudley Town during September 1957. In 1965, the appointment of Colin Hutchinson as manager started an improvement. Rangers won the 1967–68 Cheshire League Cup and following season finished as Cheshire League runners-up to earn a place in the

. The seventies were the most successful era in the club's history. With Roy Chapman as manager, the club recorded a

Championship,

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

and Staffordshire Senior Cup treble in season 1971–72, with Ray Williams scoring a club record of 48 goals in a single season. However, they did not apply for election to the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, and have never since finished high enough to enter the Football League. Three seasons later Rangers progressed to the

Fourth round defeating

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

, Halifax Town and

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

on the way to a defeat against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

in front of a crowd of 31,160 at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

's Victoria Ground. The home Third Round tie with Rotherham attracted a record of 8,536 people to Marston Road. After Chapman had departed to manage League club

, under his successor, Colin Meldrum, in 1975-76 Rangers came close to repeating the treble success of 1971–72. They were again at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

for their second FA Trophy Final but they lost to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

3–2 after

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

, finished as runners up in the Northern Premier League by one point and lost the Staffs Senior Cup final to Stoke City. At the end of that season Rangers competed in the Anglo Italian tournament against Serie C outfits Udinese and Monza who have since reached Serie A, winning a stormy game 3–2 against the former at Marston Road and gaining a creditable 1–1 draw away at Monza, the eventual winners. Meldrum was sacked before the return fixtures in Italy and Rangers finished mid-table in 1976–77 before

Roy Chapman Roy Clifford Chapman (18 March 1934 – 21 March 1983) was an English professional football player and manager. He was the father of former Arsenal and Leeds United striker Lee Chapman. An inside-forward, he started his career at Aston Villa ...

returned as manager and success continued with a second FA Trophy Final win in 1979, this time against Kettering Town and qualification for the new Alliance Premier League. Rangers thus became founder members of the

Alliance Premier League The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League ...

but this coincided with the club finishing low in the league, as various managers found it difficult to follow the success of the seventies. After four seasons Rangers were relegated to the Northern Premier League. This form continued, but with the appointment of Ron Reid as manager during the 1983–84 season as manager the club soon began to rebuild its reputation and won the 1984–85 League title. Back in the Alliance, the Bob Lord Trophy, Jim Thompson Shield and Staffordshire Senior Cup were all won within two seasons. During the late eighties and early nineties, Rangers struggled in the Conference, with six managers in seven seasons following Reid's departure in May 1988. The sale of striker

Stan Collymore Stanley Victor Collymore (born 22 January 1971) is an English football pundit, sport strategist, and former player who played as a Forward (association football), striker from 1990 to 2001, most notably for Nottingham Forest and later Liverpo ...

to Crystal Palace in December 1990 for a substantial six-figure fee stands out in this period. Under the management of Dennis Booth, Rangers enjoyed a tremendous 1992–93 campaign. In the league they finished 6th and reached the FA Cup second round, defeating Lincoln City in a First Round replay at Marston Road. After Booth departed for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

, Rangers found success difficult to achieve and were relegated from the Conference to the Southern League Premier Division at the end of the 1994–95 season. The slide continued at the start of the 1995–96 campaign and when Kevan Bowen took over in October 1995 Rangers had not gained a point. Bowen made an immediate impact and achieved good results in the second half of the season but the damage had already been done at the start and the club was relegated for the second successive season. With an ambition to take Stafford Rangers back to their former heights in non-league football, the Board appointed Kevin Bond as manager towards the end of 1997. Despite some good performances Rangers ended the season in a mid-table position and Bond moved on to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Ian Painter succeeded Bond in the 1998 close season and in his first term Rangers finished 5th in the Southern League Midland Division with the distinction of being the equal highest scorers in the

pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

with 92 goals. In 1999–2000, following a slow start, a strengthened side achieved a club record unbeaten run of 23 league games. Rangers were once again equal highest scorers in the pyramid with 107 goals and duly won the Southern League Western Division championship.

21st century

After two seasons in the Premier Division, finishing seventh and ninth respectively, Painter left the club in April 2002. During Painter's final season, Rangers recorded a club-record 15–0 victory over Kidsgrove Athletic in a Staffordshire Senior Cup tie on 20 November 2001. Phil Robinson, whose playing career took him to several top Football League clubs around the East and West Midlands, joined his hometown club as player-manager in the 2002 close season and immediately set about creating a structure to develop young local talent with the introduction of reserve and youth teams. He retained only a few of Painter's squad which led to increased support on the terraces due to improved results. They finished second in the Southern League Premier Division, reached the FA Cup first round for the first time in a decade and brought the Staffordshire Senior Cup back to Marston Road with a 5–1 victory over

at Port Vale's Vale Park. Robinson's second season in charge, 2003–04, brought more success with Rangers this time finishing third in the league behind

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

and Weymouth to earn a place amongst the Nationwide

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

founder members. Rangers reached the Staffordshire Senior Cup Final but lost 1–0 to Kidsgrove Athletic. At the end of the 2004–05 season, silverware returned to Marston Road as the team regained the Senior Cup, defeating Leek Town in the Final at Vale Park. As well as reaching the FA Cup first round, where they lost to Chester City, Rangers finished the inaugural Conference North season in 8th position with the tightest defence in the division, conceding just 44 goals. Stafford Rangers achieved promotion back to the fifth tier of English football after a play-off win on penalties over

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...

in May 2006 at rivals Burton Albion's new Pirelli Stadium. This came at the end of a successful 2005–06 league campaign which resulted in a second-place finish. In the 2006–07 season the club reached the second round of the

where they lost to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. A match against Dagenham & Redbridge was featured live on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

. Goalkeeper Danny Alcock was selected for the England Non-League squad in January 2007 and a month later Cameroonian Guy Madjo was selected by his nation for international duty. The club managed to avoid relegation on the final day of the season, and finished 20th in the Conference. 2007 saw Stafford struggle to compete in an increasingly difficult league with many ex-league and professional sides. Phil Robinson left the club after years in charge and many Stafford fans were unhappy to see him leave. Players Neil Grayson and Kevin Street were placed in temporary charge of the county town club as joint caretaker managers. On 21 February 2008,

Steve Bull Stephen George Bull (born 28 March 1965) is an English former professional footballer who is best remembered for his 13-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. He played there from 1986 until his retirement from playing in 1999, and holds the c ...

was appointed as head coach. Bull was unable to save the club and on 7 April 2008, Rangers were relegated to the

following a 4–0 defeat at home to York City. He left the club on 12 December, being replaced by Chris Brindley, who was assistant manager under Bull. At the end of the 2009 season, Stafford Rangers' future was uncertain as they needed to pay Slick Seating £50,000 by 7 July. The club came up with the idea of selling 250 tickets at £200, that would be repaid in weekly draws, this worked and the club was saved from going into administration. On 14 April 2010, news was leaked that chairman Jon Downing had resigned from his position, after 17 years on the club's board. In September 2010, Brindley resigned as manager of Stafford Rangers. The following month, the club appointed Tim Flowers as manager, but he resigned as manager on 11 January 2011 after just nine games in charge and his assistant Matt Elliott took over the job. Despite some improved performances Elliott could not prevent relegation to the

for the 2011–12 season. Their fate was not confirmed until the final game of the season, a 3–2 defeat at

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

. Elliott initially accepted the offer to become manager for the next season but then had a change of heart and resigned. On 31 May 2011 Greg Clowes was appointed manager, but on 8 September 2013, following defeat in all of their opening seven league games, Clowes, Garner and coach Mick Hathaway were relieved of their management duties. The club appointed Andy Mutch as interim manager until Graham Heathcote was announced as manager on 3 January 2014. Following a further relegation, this time to the NPL Division One South, Heathcote felt he could not continue as manager on a limited playing budget, and on 28 May 2014 former Rushall Olympic boss Neil Kitching was appointed as the new manager of Stafford Rangers. At the end of the 2015/16 season, Boro were promoted back to the NPL Premier Division, finishing as champions of the NPL Division 1 South with 95 points. At the end of the 2017–18 season Neil Kitching and his coaching team parted company with the club by mutual consent after four successful years at the helm. It was announced at the start of the 2018–19 season that former Stafford Rangers player

Steve Burr Steve Burr (born 12 January 1960) is a Scottish football manager and former player who is the assistant manager at 1874 Northwich. Playing career Steve Burr began his football career as a player with Stafford Rangers but it was with a summer ...

would be taking over and he was appointed the club's new Manager. On 28 December 2018 Steve Burr resigned from his position as Manager following poor results. On 1 January 2019 Alex Meechan and Andy Fearn stepped up from Assistant Manager and First Team Coach to take charge of the first team as joint managers until the end of the season. After guiding the club away from the drop zone, thus avoiding relegation the Board of Directors gave the managerial duo the job on a permanent basis. The 2020–21 season saw another managerial change with Jody Banim taking the helm. Matt Hill took the post of Assistant. Andy Fearn, who had been joint manager, joined the Board of Directors as Director of Football. At the end of the year Matt Hill took charge, until he left the club in November 2023. The 2023–24 season saw a managerial change as Matt Hill was replaced as manager by Dave Cooke in November 2023. Cooke was unable to turn around his side's fortunes, the club suffering relegation on the penultimate weekend of the season. On September 2024 Dave Cooke stepped down as manager and was succeeded by his assistant Dale Belford. However, early into January 2025 Belford left the club by mutual consent following a poor run of results and was replaced by former Stafford Rangers manager Neil Kitching who had previous success on his first spell with the club. On 2nd February John Bromley stepped down as Chairman following ongoing pressure within the fanbase over the direction he was taking the club in but still remains a director and was succeeded by John Hayne who was co-chairman before taking the reins.

Stadium

In the 2006–07 season Rangers had an average attendance of over 1000. On 14 December 2018 the new Shed End, a covered terrace at the far side of the ground, was completed and opened in a league game against local rivals Hednesford Town, with the Boro winning the game 4–1. The Shed End was a fan led project. Fans are now raising money for a cantilever stand at the Social Club End. Following its completion, the ground will have cover on all sides. Prior to the 2019–20 season a group of fans renovated two unused rooms at the football ground to create a new Fans Bar. The Fans Bar is open to home and away fans on match days. During November 2019 the club had the away turnstiles refurbished, this also included new exit gates and new fencing being erected, the club's car park situated at the front of the ground was fully tarmacked, replacing a rubble surface. As of August 2023, Marston Road has been renamed The Stan Robinson Stadium, due to a new sponsorship deal with the haulage company of the same name. This is due to the loyalty and support Stan Robinson showed over many years

Squad

Notable players

''See

Stafford Rangers F.C. Players Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021 census, and is the ...

Notable names

{, class="wikitable" , - , Manager , Neil Kitching , - , Assistant manager , Nick Amos , - , First team coach , Ian Cooper/Graham Deakin , -

Post-war managers

''See Stafford Rangers F.C. Managers'' {, class="wikitable" , - ! Dates ! Name ! Notes , - , February 1947 – May 1947 , George Austin , , - , August 1947 – May 1948 , Jack Dowen , , - , May 1948 – May 1950 , Billy Frith , , - , August 1950 – May 1951 , Charlie Evans , , - , August 1952 – November 1953 , Eric Hampson , , - , February 1955 – November 1955 , Frank Brown , , - , September 1957 – May 1958 , George Antonio , , - , August 1958 – May 1959 , Len Millard , , - , August 1959 – September 1960 , Bert Mitchell , , - , January 1961 – October 1963 , Graham Cordell , , - , February 1964 – May 1964 , Ken Griffiths , , - , August 1964 – May 1965 ,

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion (at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith also paired with Bob Lutz t ...

, , - , August 1965 – May 1969 , Colin Hutchinson , , - , August 1969 – September 1975 ,

, 1971/72 'Treble' 1974/75 FA Cup fourth round , - , September 1975 , Ken Jones , , - , September 1975 – May 1976 , Colin Meldrum , 1975/76 FA Trophy Finalist , - , ??? – ??? , Reg Berks , , - , 1977 – February 1980 ,

, , - , May 1980 – October 1981 , Paul Ogden , , - , October 1981 – January 1983 , Bobby Thomson , , - , January 1983 – September 1983 , Colin Clarke , , - , September 1983 – May 1988 , Ron Reid , , - , July 1988 – February 1989 , Bryan Chambers , , - , February 1989 – November 1989 , Ron Reid , , - , November 1989 – May 1990 , John Williams , , - , June 1990 – January 1992 , Chris Wright , , - , January 1992 – 1993 , Dennis Booth , , - , ??? – ??? , Brendan Phillips , , - , ??? – June 1995 , Mark Harrison , , - , August 1995 – ??? , Bob Horton , , - , ??? – ??? , Kevan Bowen , , - , October 1997 – May 1998 , Kevin Bond , , - , August 1998 – May 2002 , Ian Painter , 1999–2000 Southern League Western Division , - , June 2002 – November 2007 , Phil Robinson , Promotion to Conference National , - , November 2007 – March 2008 , Neil Grayson Kevin Street (Joint) , , - , March 2008 – December 2008 ,

, , - , December 2008 – September 2010 , Chris Brindley , , - , October 2010 – January 2011 , Tim Flowers , , - , January 2011 – May 2011 , Matt Elliott , , - , July 2011 – September 2013 , Greg Clowes , , - , September 2013 – January 2014 , Andy Mutch , , - , January 2014 – May 2014 , Graham Heathcote , , - , May 2014 – May 2018 , Neil Kitching , First promotion since May 2006 by winning the Northern Premier League Division One South (2015 / 2016) , - , May 2018 – December 2018 ,

, , - , January 2019 – April 2020 , Alex Meechan & Andy Fearn (Joint) , , - , May 2020 – November 2020 , Jody Banim , , - , November 2020 – November 2023 ,

Matt Hill Matthew Hill (born January 19, 1968) is a Canadian voice actor working for Ocean Productions. Career Hill's roles include Ed in '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'', Kevin Keene/Captain N in '' Captain N: The Game Master'', Kira Yamato in '' Gundam Seed'' a ...

, , - , November 2023 – September 2024 , Dave Cooke , , - , September 2024 – January 2025 , Dale Belford , , - , January 2025 - Present , Neil Kitching

Honours

League champions

Northern Premier League Division One South The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

:(1) 2015–16 *

:(1) 1912–13 * Birmingham League:(1) 1926–27 *

:(2) 1971–72, 1984–85 *

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

Western Division :(1) 1999–2000

League runners-up

* Birmingham League 1928–29, 1929–30 *Birmingham Wartime League 1939–40 *

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Fo ...

1968–69 *

1970–71, 1975–76 *

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and e ...

2002–03 *

2005–06

Cup winners

:(2) 1971–72, 1978–79 *

Staffordshire Senior Cup The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup is a football cup tournament based in the county of Staffordshire in England first competed for in 1877–78 (then under Sheffield Rules. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is competed ...

:(13) 1954–55, 1956–57, 1962–63, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1986–87, 1991–92, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2014–15, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22 *

Conference League Cup The National League Cup is an annual association football competition in England. The National League Cup is open to clubs playing in the National League and, since its revival in 2024, professional under-21 teams playing in the Premier League 2. ...

:(1) 1985–86 *Northern Premier League Shield :(1) 1985–86 * Walsall Senior Cup:(1) 2013–14

Statistics

{, class="wikitable" , - !Record Win , 15–0 v Kidsgrove Athletic 20 November 2001 , - !Record Defeat , 0–12 v Burton Town, 13 December 1930 , - !Most goals in a game , 7 – Les Box v Dudley Town, FA Cup 6 September 1958 , - !Best

run , 4th round 1974–75 , - !Record

Win , 11–0 v Dudley Town 6 September 1958

References

External links

*

s3.zetaboards.com/staffordrangersfans
Stafford Rangers JFC
staffordrangersjuniors.moonfruit.com * {{Northern Premier League Stafford Rangers F.C., Football clubs in Staffordshire Association football clubs established in 1876 National League (English football) clubs Stafford Southern Football League clubs 1876 establishments in England Football clubs in England Cheshire County League clubs