Pelsall Villa F.C.

Pelsall Villa
Full name Pelsall Villa Football Club
Nickname(s) The Villains
Founded 1897
Ground The Bush Ground
Pelsall
West Midlands
Chairman David Bentley
Manager Scott Cooksey and Barry Dedman
League Midland League Division One
2014–15 Midland League Division One , 19th

Pelsall Villa F.C. are a football club based in the village of Pelsall, near Walsall, West Midlands, England, currently playing in the Midland League Division One . They are nicknamed The Villains and play at The Bush Ground. The team kit consists of black and red striped shirts, black shorts and black socks.

History

Pelsall Villa in action against Barnt Green Spartak in 2013

Records from the Walsall Observer show that football was played in Pelsall as long ago as 1898. The two World Wars caused a temporary halt to proceedings, but in 1961 the club reformed and this heralded the beginning of Pelsall Villa as it is known today. Using changing facilities in the nearby Red Cow public house was never a satisfactory situation and in 1978 a liaison was formed by then Chairman, Vic Dolphin with Pelsall Cricket & Sports Club. As a result of the link-up, Villa not only gained improved dressing rooms, but also real headquarters.

In 1982 the club left the Staffordshire County League having been accepted into the West Midlands (Regional) League Division Two. Promotion was secured after two seasons at that level, but it was obvious that a number of improvements were needed at The Bush ground to bring it up to the required standard for an assault on the Premier Division.

During the summer of 1991 floodlights were installed and Aston Villa provided the opposition as they were officially switched on in front of a crowd of 2,000 in November 1991. Manager Reg Priest set about the task of strengthening the playing squad and success soon followed in both the FA Cup and FA Vase competitions. In fact, Villa were within three games of making it to Wembley Stadium in the FA Vase in 1992–93 before narrowly losing out to an extra-time own goal at the hands of Buckingham Town. The next stage of the club’s ongoing development saw hard-standing laid all around the perimeter and a 500-seater stand erected at The Bush end of the ground.

The aim was to secure a place in the newly formed Midland Alliance, but, having taken the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division title in 1994–95, the eagerly-awaited promotion was not granted. It did arrive at the end of the following season, however, following a second-placed berth during a campaign that also saw the League Cup and Midland Invitation Cup secured. The first season at the higher level ended with a mid-table finish as captain Adrian Horne won the Alliance Player of the Year. A position in the middle of the table was the norm for the next few years as the club consolidated.

1998–99 saw chairman Vic Dolphin and club stalwart Tony Gough resign after more than two decades of service. Ron New took over the chair in 1999–2000 before relegation followed in 2003–04 as the club returned to the West Midlands (Regional) League. In January 2004, former Wolverhampton Wanderers player Dean Edwards was appointed as player-manager, but was unable to prevent the club's relegation and left at the end of the season.

There was another change of personnel at the helm when former player Shaun Mason returned to the club, initially as first-team manager then chairman as Mark Bentley took over the reigns. For the 2009–10 season, the club was transferred into the Midland Combination, a new start which heralded in a new era at The Bush. In November 2014, former professional goalkeeper Scott Cooksey was appointed joint manager alongside Barry Dedman. Cooksey has since taken over the reigns with Adam Pearce becoming number 2 and Dedman dropping down to First Team Coach due to family commitments.

Players

Current squad

As of 26 December 2014

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

No. Position Player
England GK Tom Burns
England DF James Aiton
England DF Mitchell Clarke
England DF Luke Holmes
England DF Jordan Spragg
England DF Alister Holding
England DF James Walker
England MF Callum Phillips
England DF Harry Rodgers
England FW Ryan Wood
England FW Dean Williams
No. Position Player
England FW Spencer Blackham
England MF Sean Wallis
England DF Gavin Allers
England MF Michael Murray
England MF Jonathan Letford
England MF Adam Johnson
Indonesia MF Harri Basra
England FW Daniel Battisson
England FW Ben Lund
England MF Mitchell Clarke
England MF Jake Gough

Former players

For former Pelsall Villa players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Pelsall Villa F.C. players

Ladies' team

The club also has an open age ladies' team which was recently promoted to the West Midlands Regional Women's League, they also play their home matches at the Bush Ground.

  • England Stacey Arnold
  • England Charlotte Bate
  • England Carena Davena Dixon
  • England Gemma Brooker
  • England Rebekah Bunce
  • England Kirsty Cross
  • England Lucy Jayne Egan

  • England Nicola Finlay
  • England Leoni Fletcher
  • England Rachael Graham
  • England Shenaz Hardy
  • England Jenny Kendrick
  • England Emily King
  • England Hannah McDonald

  • England Demi Pretty
  • England Jodie May Richards
  • England Samantha Jayne Richards
  • England Melissa Samuel
  • England Natalie Skelding
  • England Charlotte Tolliday
  • England Katie Warmer

Management and coaching staff

Position Name
Manager England Scott Cooksey
Assistant Manager England Adam Pearce
First Team Coach England Barry Dedman
Goalkeeper Coach England
Sports & Conditioning Coach England
Kit Manager England
Backroom Staff Manager England
Assistant Sports Therapist England
Performance Analyst England
Academy Management England
Ladies Team Manager England

Managers

  • England Scott Cooksey 2014–
  • England Barry Dedman 2014–
  • England Dave Dowling 2014
  • England Mark Bentley 2004–2014
  • England Shaun Mason 2004–2005

  • England Steve Hicks 2002–2004
  • England Kevin Gough 1999–2002
  • England Reg Priest 1991–1999
  • England S.Hart 1987–1991
  • England B.Hill 1984–1987

Honours

Youth honours

Club records

Ground

The Bush Ground, home of Pelsall Villa

The Bush Ground takes its name from the Old Bush pub which is next to it. It has a stand behind one goal which came from the ground of the defunct Telford-based club GKN Sankey, and seats which came from Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers.[2] Its unusually-shaped concrete dugouts were featured in David Bauckham's book Dugouts.[3]

References

  1. Pelsall Villa at the Football Club History Database
  2. Pyramid Passion feature on their ground
  3. Bauckham, David (2006). Dugouts. New Holland. ISBN 1-84537-478-9.

External links

Coordinates: 52°37′16.64″N 1°57′58.27″W / 52.6212889°N 1.9661861°W / 52.6212889; -1.9661861

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, December 23, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.