Stockton Town F.C.

Stockton Town Football Club is an English football club based in Stockton-on-Tees, England. They are currently members of the Northern League Division One, (having been robbed of promotion as champions by the FA in 2019-20 )having been promoted from Division Two in the 2016–17 season. The club currently play at Bishopton Road West, which has an overall capacity of 1,800, including 200 available seats. They are managed by former player Michael Dunwell, who retired from playing in 2014.

Stockton Town
Full nameStockton Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Anchors
Short name
  • Town
  • STFC
  • Stockton
Founded1979 (1979)
GroundBishopton Road West
Capacity1,800 (200 seated)
ChairmanMartin Hillerby
ManagerMichael Dunwell
LeagueNorthern League Division One
2019–20Northern League Division One (season abandoned)
WebsiteClub website

The club are notable for reaching the final of the FA Vase in the 2017–18 season, where they finished as runners-up, after being defeated 1–0 by champions Thatcham Town.[1] Their previous success includes four consecutive Wearside Football League titles between 2012 and 2016, two consecutive Wearside League Cup titles between 2014 and 2016, two consecutive Monkwearmouth Charity Cup titles between 2014 and 2016, as well as winning the Shipowners Charity Cup in the 2014–15 season.

Their club badge, which includes their motto, "Fortitudo et Spes" (Italian for "Strength and Hope"), is navy and yellow, which is to present their traditional colours. The historic club nickname, "the Anchors", is taken from the Stockton coat of arms, which presents the town's shipbuilding history during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

History

The club was initially formed in 1979 as Hartburn Juniors, entering a 5-a-side league in Middlesbrough to give youngsters an opportunity to play organised football. The club changed to their name to Stockton Town in 2003.

For the 2009–10 season, a senior team was entered into the Teesside League Division Two and finished in fourth place in their first season. In the summer of 2010, the club applied for membership to the Wearside League and were accepted for the 2010–11 season where they finished in tenth place. In the 2011–12 season, the club finished third in the league and lost in the final of the League Cup.

The club won their first league title in the 2012–13 season, and repeated the feat in their following league campaign, finishing the season with a league record of 104 points.

At the end of the 2014–15 season, the club applied for qualification to the Northern League Division Two. However, despite winning the league title for a third time, their application was withdrawn due to legal issues.[2]

In the 2015–16 season, the club won their fourth consecutive league title to gain promotion to Northern League.[3] The following season, the club played their first ever FA Vase tie, beating Eccleshill United 2–0,[4] before gaining their most famous victory to date, beating four time winners, Whitley Bay, 2–0 in the next round.[5] On 14 April, the club won 2–1 at Team Northumbria, to clinch the Division Two title and gain promotion to the Northern Football League Division One.[6]

In only their second ever Northern League campaign, Stockton reached the final of the 2018 FA Vase competition. They played Thatcham of the Hellenic League, Berkshire. The final was played at Wembley Stadium on 20 May; the score was 1–0 to Thatcham. That year's semi-final against Marske United at Bishopton Road West, a 2–0 victory in Stockton's favour, saw a ground record 3,300 fans (1,800 of Stockton) watch the game.

Ground
Main article: Bishopton Road West

In 2015, the club moved to Bishopton Road West, for a cost of £800,000. The new stadium had a 100-seat stand, floodlighting, artificial (3G) turf pitch, pay booth, changing facilities, toilets and refreshment areas.[7]

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  ENG Callum Roberts
— GK  ENG Michael Arthur
— DF  ENG Adam Nicholson
— DF  ENG Tom Coulthard
— DF  ENG Alan Cossavella
— DF  ENG Lewis King
— DF  ENG Dan McWilliams
— MF  ENG Tom Portas
— MF  ENG James Ward
— MF  ENG Max Craggs
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG Jordan Robinson
— MF  ENG Peter Bulmer
— MF  ENG Nathan Mulligan
— FW  ENG Michael Roberts
— FW  ENG Fred Woodhouse
— FW  ENG Kevin Hayes
— FW  ENG Cieran Jackson
— FW  ENG Jamie Owens
— FW  ENG Cameron Wilson
— FW  ENG Jonathan Franks

Youth teams

The club has a variety of youth teams: under-7s, under-8s, under-9s, under-10s, under-11s, under-12s, under-13s, under-14s, under-15s, under-16s, and the official reserve team.[8]

Management team
Role Name
Manager Michael Dunwell
Assistant manager J.D. Briggs
First team coach John Fielding
Goalkeeping coach Jason Hamilton
Physiotherapist Sam Higgins

Honours
  • FA Vase
  • Northern Football League Division 2
  • Northern League Ernest Armstrong Trophy
    • Runners-up: 2016–17
  • Wearside Football League[9]
    • Champions: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Wearside League Cup
    • Champions: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Monkwearmouth Charity Cup
    • Champions: 2014–15, 2015–16
  • Shipowners Charity Cup
    • Champions: 2014–15
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References
  1. "FA Vase: Thatcham Town beat Stockton Town 1–0 to win title for first time". BBC Sport. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  2. "Cup finalists Stockton Town will have to put Northern League promotion disappointment behind them". The Gazette. 2 April 2015.
  3. "Only Champions of the Wearside League again and promoted to Northern League". Twitter. 4 May 2016.
  4. "Stockton Town FC 2 Eccleshill United 0 – Stockton Town Football Club". Stockton Town Football Club. 10 September 2016.
  5. "FT Whitley Bay 0 Stockton Town 2". Twitter. 24 September 2016.
  6. "Football Matters on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  7. "Stockton Town FC narrowly win approval for controversial £800,000 expansion plans".
  8. "Stockton Town Football Club – Teams". STFC Official Website. Retrieved 24 November 2017.


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