Raunds Town F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Raunds Town
fullname = Raunds Town Football Club
nickname = The Shopmates
founded = 1946
ground = Kiln Park
London Road
Raunds
Northamptonshire
NN9 6EQ
capacity = 3,000 (250 seats)
chairman = David Tyrrell | manager = Colin Ridgway
league = United Counties Football League Premier Division
season = 2007-08
position = United Counties Football League Premier Division
17th
pattern_la1=_shouldersonblack|pattern_b1=_blackstripes|pattern_ra1=_shouldersonblack
leftarm1=D62D42|body1=D62D42|rightarm1=D62D42|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=| leftarm2=FFFF00|body2=FFFF00|rightarm2=FFFF00|shorts2=FFFF00|socks2=FFFF00

Raunds Town F.C. is a football club based at Raunds in Northamptonshire, England.

History

Raunds Town was founded in 1946. There had been other teams with "Raunds" in the title as long ago as 1896/97, but at a meeting in the town's Temperance Hall in May 1946 a new amalgamated club was formed. The club is nicknamed "The Shopmates" in reference to the local boot and shoe industry, which was largely workshop-based.

In 1950 the Shopmates joined the United Counties League (formerly the Northamptonshire League), playing in the Second Division. They did not set the league on fire, and after switching between the divisions settled in Division One after the former first division was redesignated the Premier Division. A season in Division Two in 1979/80 seemed to wake them up: after the division was disbanded at the end of that season, the Shopmates returned to Division One and were promoted as champions in 1982/83.

Raunds Town embarked upon an ambitious programme. Having played at Greenhouse Field for two years at the start, they moved to The Berristers for thirty-three seasons and in 1991 they moved to Kiln Park. This fine stadium adjacent to the A45 was designed to host football at a higher level. The Shopmates’ on-field performance matched this munificence. In 1992/93 they won at Northwich 2 – 0 to eliminate their hosts from the FA Cup in the Second Qualifying Round, thus far the only time a UCL club has eliminated Conference opposition from the competition. In 1994/95 the Shopmates lost the FA Vase final against Arlesey Town having led 3 – 0 after the first (home) leg. The following season they were eliminated in the quarter-final by Bristol club Mangotsfield United. In 2006/07 the Shopmates eliminated Isthmian League veterans Enfield from the FA Cup by way of a memorable 2 – 1 away win, gaining revenge for a reverse in the same competition at their hands eight seasons before.

Meanwhile, in the United Counties League, the leadership of manager Keith Burt led an assault on the top of the table. Having lost out on the championship on goal difference in 1994/95, the Shopmates seized the title the following season. They were duly promoted to the Southern League, where they took their place in the Midland Division. However, they suffered from their geographical location close to the boundary between the divisions and in 1998/99, the Shopmates were shifted to the Southern Division, which was renamed the Eastern Division the following season. This had financial implications, not least the cost of travelling, and for two seasons Raunds Town struggled. Manager Keith Burt resigned, and the club had little option but to apply for re-admission to the United Counties League at the end of 1999/2000.

In the 2008/09 season, Raunds Town F.C. are playing in the Eagle Bitter United Counties Football League Premier Division, led by manager Colin Ridgway, and will be looking to put some indifferent recent seasons behind them and strive for the top places in the table.

Club statistics

{| class="wikitable"{| border="1" cellpadding="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
- style="background:black; color:white; color:white;" color=white align="center"
width="80px" | Season
width="250px" | Division
width="50px" | Points
width="50px" | Position
width="50px" | League Cup
width="50px" | F.A. Cup
width="50px" | F.A. Vase
width="300px" | Notes
-
bgcolor="#D62D42"| 1990 – 1991
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
71
6/22


R 3

-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1991 – 1992
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
95
2/24

1 QR
R 3

-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1992 – 1993
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
90
3/22

3 QR
R 1

-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1993 – 1994
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
80
5/22

3 QR
R 4

-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1994 – 1995
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
80
2/19 †

2 QR
S-F
† = Placed second on goal difference
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1995 – 1996
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
87
bgcolor="#FFD700"| 1/20

2 QR
Q-F
‡ = Three points deducted – ineligible player
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1996 – 1997
bgcolor="#BA55D3"|Southern League Midland Division
59
10/21

1 QR

Ex Pre = Extra Preliminary round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1997 – 1998
bgcolor="#BA55D3"|Southern League Midland Division
68
4/21

1 QR

Pre = Preliminary round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1998 – 1999
bgcolor="#FF00FF"|Southern League Southern Division
70
6/22

4 QR

1 QR = First Qualifying round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 1999 – 2000
bgcolor="#FF00FF"|Southern League Eastern Division
42 ‡
21/22

1 QR

2 QR = Second Qualifying round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2000 – 2001
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
79
3/21

Ex Pre
R 3
3 QR = Third Qualifying round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2001 – 2002
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
74
4/21

Pre
R 3
4 QR = Fourth Qualifying round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2002 – 2003
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
51
15/21

1 QR
2 R
R 1 = First Round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2003 – 2004
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
33
20/22
R 1
1 QR
1 QR
R 2 = Second round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2004 – 2005
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
38
20/22
Pre
Pre
2 QR
R 3 = Third Round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2005 – 2006
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
65
8/22
R 1
Pre
R 1
R 4 = Fourth Round
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2006 – 2007
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
45
13/21
R 1
2 QR
2 QR
Q-F = Quarter-final
-
bgcolor="#D63D42"| 2007 – 2008
bgcolor="#DA70D6"|UCL Premier Division
37
17/21
R 1
Pre
2 QR
S-F = Semi-final
-
-}

Source: Football Club History Database (www.fchd.info)

taff and players (Season 2007/08)

(All personnel correct of 19 February 2008)

taff

{| class="wikitable"
width="170px" |
width="170px" |
-
Manager
Colin Ridgway
-
Reserve Team Manager
William Barrett
-
Assistant Manager
Lee Howard
-
Physio
Richard Moss
-
-}

First Team Squad

{| class="wikitable"
width="170px" |Player
width="170px" |Position
-
Phil Turner|
-
Scott Manning|
-
David Coales|
-
Joe Rich|
-
Ben Allington (legend)|
-
Dane Ridgeway|
-
James Willmott|
-
Joshua Davis|
-
Danny Fridd|
-
Jamie Russell|
-
Marcus Wharton|
-
Matt Pinnock|
-
Ricky Chambers|
-
John Tite|
-
Matt Woods|
-}

External links

* [http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/raundstownfc Raunds Town official website]
* [http://www.fchd.info/RAUNDST.HTM Raunds Town at Football Club History Database]
* [http://www.ebucl.com The Eagle Bitter United Counties League official website]
* [http://full-time.thefa.com/Index.do?leagueid=1625657 United Counties League at FA Full Time online]
* [http://www.football.mitoo.co.uk/News.cfm?LeagueCode=UCL2008 United Counties League at football.mitoo]