Woodbridge Town F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Woodbridge Town


fullname = Woodbridge Town Football Club
nickname = The Woodpeckers
founded = 1885
ground = Notcutts Park, Woodbridge
capacity =
chairman = John Beecroft
manager = Glen Read
league = Eastern Counties
Premier Division
season = 2007-08
position = Eastern Counties Premier
17th

Woodbridge Town F.C. is a football club based in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. They were established in 1885 and joined the Eastern Counties Football League Division One in 1989. They reached the Quarter-Finals of the FA Vase in the 1998-99 season. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties Football League Premier Division.

History

Woodbridge Town Football Club was formed following a meeting held on the 23rd July 1885, and the first match was played between the Club’s own members, “The Hornets” and “The Wasps” on Farlingaye Hall pitch. The first recorded match against another club took place on the 7th November 1885 when St Helens (Ipswich) were defeated 10-0. This year also saw the formation of the Suffolk County Football Association with Woodbridge Town as one of the founder members, and Woodbridge had the distinction of becoming the first winners of the Suffolk County Senior Cup after beating Ipswich Town 3-1 in the final at Portman Road. A 2-1 win over R.F.A. Ipswich in 1908/09 secured the Suffolk County Junior Cup, and later that season Senior status was regained followed by, in 1912/13, the winning of the Ipswich and District League Senior Division Championship. In 1925/26 Town regained the County Junior Cup by defeating Southwold Town 4-2, whilst the previous season the Reserves were the first winners of the County Minor Cup. In the 1928/29 season Woodbridge reached the County Senior Cup final but their opponents, Ipswich Town, who were by this time playing in the Southern League, gained revenge for their defeat 43 years previously with a 5-0 victory in front of a crowd of 8,349. 1908-09 - Suffolk Junior Cup The Woodpeckers experienced many changes over the following decades, with one major problem being the securing of a permanent home venue. During the 1950’s and 1960’s no fewer than five different venues were used, whilst on the field the highlight was the winning of both the IDL Division One Championship and the County Junior Cup in the 1970/71 season. Woodbridge therefore regained their Senior status which had been lost in 1957, and in 1977/78, after a 92 year wait, Town, now with Mick Banthorpe as Manager, regained the Suffolk Senior Cup by defeating Cranes 2-1 at Portman Road. 1970-71 - Suffolk Junior Cup In 1982/83 Town were relegated, but four years later Dave Dixon and Mick Banthorpe steered Woodbridge to the double of the Division One Championship and victory in the Junior Cup final. In 1988/89 the Suffolk and Ipswich League Senior Division Championship was won under the management of Bill Riseborough, and it was during this season that Woodbridge applied for membership to the expanding Eastern Counties League. Town were duly accepted into Division One of the Jewson League and for the first season, 1989/90, home games were played at Kingston Field. During the three previous years negotiations had been taking place to secure a new ground and in March 1990 work began on the pitch, changing rooms and clubhouse facilities at Notcutts Park. In September that year Town moved to the new ground and the official opening in October was marked by a floodlit friendly against an Arsenal XI, which attracted a crowd of around 3,000. 1977-78 - Suffolk Senior Cup After managing Woodbridge to respectable mid-table positions in their first two Jewson League seasons, Bill Riseborough resigned in March 1991 and was replaced by Dave Dixon and Les Simmons who steered the team to third place in each of their first two seasons, missing out on promotion in 1992/93 on goal difference. Consolation came with another Suffolk Senior Cup Final victory by defeating Stonham Aspal 5-3. The 1993/94 season was one of Woodbridge’s most memorable so far. By finishing runners-up in Division One the Club achieved promotion to the Premier Division, and further successes came via the retention of the Suffolk Senior Cup, the Harwich Charity Cup and the Churchman Cup. Woodbridge also became the first Division One side to win the Jewson League Cup by beating Chatteris Town 2-0 in the final. Having gained promotion, Town finished in a respectable tenth position under the guidance firstly of Dave Dixon and then, following his resignation, by Malcolm MacKenzie, whilst 1995/96 saw further improvement when fifth place was achieved and the final of the Suffolk Premier Cup was reached for the first time, although after two goalless games Bury Town lifted the trophy following a penalty shootout. In 1996/97 the last 32 of the F.A. Vase was reached for the first time and the Harwich Charity Cup was won for the third time in five seasons. Towards the end of the season Malcolm MacKenzie resigned as Manager and was succeeded by ex-Town striker David Hubbick. In his first season in charge Hubbick guided Woodbridge to their second Jewson League Cup triumph, defeating Warboys Town 4-2 in the final, and also presided over The Woodpeckers’ best F.A. Cup run so far, reaching the Third Qualifying Round before losing to Solihull Borough. Town’s F.A. Vase hopes were ended by AFC Lymington in the last 64, and after enjoying a promising run in the New Year, Woodbridge faded to finish twelfth in the league. For much of the 1998/99 campaign Woodbridge remained in the relegation zone, before finally finishing safely in 19th position, but they provided their followers with some memorable moments in reaching the quarter-final of the F.A. Vase for the first time. A record crowd of 1,051 gathered at Notcutts Park but after a tense and goalless ninety minutes Woodbridge went out of the competition as Thame United struck with two goals in extra-time. The following season saw a dramatic improvement, with the team ending the campaign in seventh position, and once again the F.A. Vase provided plenty of excitement. Three wins preceded a defeat in the last sixteen trip at Ramsgate, and for the second year running Woodbridge had the honour of being the last remaining Jewson League club left in the competition. In 2000/01, Town finished in seventh position for the second consecutive season, and reached the Third Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup for the second time. The following season, after a slow start, the team recovered well to finish in eighth place, at one stage putting together a sequence of just two defeats in twenty matches, but 2002/03 was much more traumatic. Relegation back to the First Division was a constant threat, and in February Dave Hubbick’s six-year tenure as Manager was terminated. Carl David, Marty Thorpe and Craig Oldfield took charge for the remaining matches, and a tremendous run of six wins and a draw in the last seven games not only secured survival on the last day of the season, but also enabled the team to lift the Harwich Charity Cup. Success was also brought to the Club by Daniel Frost’s Under 15s, who regained the Suffolk County Minor Cup after a gap of 78 years. Immediately after the last league match, a new management team of Colwyn Rowe and Gary Barker was appointed, but once more the club battled against the threat of relegation, until another sensational run of seven consecutive wins ensured survival in the penultimate match of the season. 2002-03 - Suffolk Minor Cup Following Colwyn Rowe’s move to Heybridge Swifts, in May 2004, the Club appointed former Ipswich Town legend Mick Stockwell as manager; Mick is aiming to embark on a rebuilding programme which, in conjunction with a thriving and developing youth structure, is intended to bring long-term success and stability to Notcutts Park. In Mick’s first season in charge, despite strug­gling in the lower reaches of the table for most of the campaign, a significant number of young players broke through into the First Team squad, and acquitted themselves very well. With the introduction of Peter Trevivian’s Youth Training Scheme, the Club now has the foundations in place to create a centre of excellence, which has the po­tential to provide the First Team squad with a steady supply of talented, well-coached young players for many years to come. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties Football League Premier Division.