Walsall Wood F.C.

Walsall Wood Football Club are an amateur association football club based in Walsall Wood, near Walsall in the West Midlands, England. For the 2019–20 season, they are members of the Midland League Premier Division, which sits at level 9 of the English football league system, following their promotion from the Midland League Division One.

Walsall Wood
Full nameWalsall Wood Community Football Club
Nickname(s)The Wood, The Planks
Founded1915 (as Walsall Wood Ebenezer
Primitive Methodists)
GroundOak Park (currently Boston Bailey Group Stadium)
Capacity89,000 (57 seated)
ChairmanJustin Hodgin
ManagerDarren Byfield
LeagueMidland League Premier Division
2019–20Midland League Premier Division (season abandoned)

The team play their home games at Oak Park (currently named after some sponsor or other) and are nicknamed "The Planks".

History

The club was formed in the early part of the 20th century, although the exact date is unknown, the earliest surviving records being from 1915. The club's original name was Walsall Wood Ebenezer Primitive Methodists, stemming from its affiliation with a local Methodist chapel. It is from this that the team's former nickname derives.[1]

In the inter-war years they were considered amongst the strongest non-league clubs in the region, and won the Walsall Senior Cup in 1923 and the Walsall Senior League in 1946 and 1947. The club joined the Worcestershire Combination in 1951, winning the championship at the very first attempt and finishing as runners-up five times in the next decade. In 1982 they merged with Walsall Sportsco. and the new club became known as Walsall Borough F.C. and continued to play in what was now known as the Midland Combination. In 1986 the Walsall Wood name was re-adopted.

In 1992 the club switched to the Staffordshire Senior League for one season before relocating once again to the West Midlands (Regional) League, starting in Division One but gaining promotion to the Premier Division at the first attempt. In 2000 they finished in 21st place and were relegated, but an appeal to the FA saw them reinstated in the top flight.

In 2006, due to a redrafting of the league boundaries, the Wood returned to the Midland Combination after 14 years of absence.

The Wood won the Midland Combination Premier Division in the 2012–13 season and secured promotion to the Midland Football Alliance, the highest level the club has competed at to date. During this season The Wood also progressed to the quarter finals of the FA Vase before being knocked out in a replay away at Guernsey.

At the end of the 2016–17 season, after four seasons at step 5, Walsall Wood suffered relegation to the Midland League Division One (formally the Midland Combination) after management changes and a sharp decline in performances led to the club finding itself involved in a relegation scrap. For the 2017–18 season Wood are managed by former Walsall player Gary Birch.

The 2017-18 season was one of the most successful seasons in the club's history. Walsall Wood won the MFL Division One title and the MFL League Cup, as well as losing on penalties in the Walsall Senior Cup final.

Crest

The club's badge incorporates the winding gear of a coal mine, symbolising the area's coal mining tradition, a cross, representing the club's original affiliation with a Methodist chapel, a castle, representing a castle which once stood in the area, and an oak tree, symbolising the "Shire Oak", a former local landmark after which Oak Park is named. The club's motto is "Pro Bono Silvae" which is Latin for "for the good of the wood".[1]

Ground
Walsall Wood's home ground, Oak Park. Visible at the extreme left is a memorial to the area's mining heritage, which stands behind the stadium.

The Oak Park ground boasts a stand which dates from the 1930s, which the club claim is the only surviving stand of its type in England. Wolverhampton Wanderers visited the ground for its official opening. Over the last few years the ground has undergone a lot of renovations to bring it up to standard for step 5 football. Behind the far goal there is a memorial to the area's mining heritage, which lends the ground a very traditional feel. Oak Park is currently known as the Boston Bailey Group Stadium due to sponsorship reasons.

Club honours
  • Worcestershire Combination/Midland Combination
    • Winners 1951–52, 2012–13
    • Runners-up 1953–54, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61
  • Midland Combination League Cup
    • Runners-up 2012–13
  • Walsall Senior Cup
    • Winners 1922–23 (joint), 1934–35 (joint), 1951–52, 1957–58, 1960–61
    • Runners-up 1925–26, 1946–47, 1950–51, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1981–82
  • Staffordshire FA Challenge Cup
    • Winners 1953–54
    • Runners-up 1922–23, 1934–35
  • JW Hunt Cup
    • Runners-up 1932–33, 1948–49
  • Wednesbury Charity Cup
    • Winners 2001–02, 2005–06
  • Midland Football League Cup

Club records
  • Best league performance: The Tunnock Wafer Thursday Evening 5-a-side league, Division 2 runners up 2013-2014
  • Best FA Cup performance: 2nd qualifying round, 1988–89
  • Best FA Vase performance: 6th round (quarter-finals), 2012–13
  • Best Midland Football League Cup performance: Winners 2017-18
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See also
  • Walsall Wood F.C. players
  • Walsall Wood F.C. managers

References
  1. Official website

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