Royston Town F.C.

Infobox Football club
clubname = Royston Town


fullname = Royston Town Football Club
nickname = The Crows, The Town
founded = 1872
ground = Garden Walk
Royston
capacity = 4,000 (250 Seated)
chairman = TBA
manager = flagicon|England Paul Attfield
league = Spartan South Midlands League
Division One
season = 2007–08
position = Spartan South Midlands League
Division One, 5th
shirtsupplier = Stanno
shirtsponsors = [abaconsultants]
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leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=000000|socks2=FFFFFF
pattern_la1=|pattern_b2=_redshoulders|pattern_ra1=
leftarm2=FF0000|body2=FF0000|rightarm2=FF0000|shorts2=FF0000|socks2=FF0000

Royston Town Football Club (also Known as The Crows) are an English football club based in Royston, Hertfordshire, England,and have played there home games at Garden Walk since 1932.

Founded in 1872, they are the second oldest club in Hertfordshire behind Hitchin Town F.C.. They have reached the Fourth Round of the FA Vase twice in their history, the Third Qualifying Round in FA Cup in 1998-99, and are currently members of the Spaetan South Midlands League Division One.

The current first team manager is Paul Attfield who is aided by his assistant and former first team manager Tony Galvin, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Republic of Ireland international. The club captain is midfielder Alan Ried.

Club History

Royston Town, known as 'The Crows' were formed in 1872 and are the second oldest club in Hertfordshire. Since that time 'The Crows' have competed in the following leagues:
*Buntingford & District League (1919-1929)
*Cambridgeshire League (1929-1948)
*Herts County League (1948-1960,1963-1977)
*South Midlands League (1960-1963,1977-1984)
*Isthmian League (1984-1994)
*Spartan South Midlands Football League (1994-Present)During this time 'The Crows' have played on four grounds, Newmarket Road, Baldock Road, Mackerall Hall before moving to their current home, Garden Walk in 1923.

One of the first traces of the club was in October 1875 when Royston visited Saffron Walden. The game was played at Saffron Walden common. This game was re-lived in October 1975 to celebrate the Essex Club's centenary year.

After this there was a period up to the early 1900s when little was known about the Club's history but just before the 1914-18 war it is known that there were two clubs in existence, the other club being known as the 'Non Cons', short for Non Conformist.

After the first world war the club entered the Buntingford & District League and in 1921, when the Club was affiliated to the Cambs F.A. they won the Creake Shield. The clubs first major honour came in guise of the Herts County Premier League title in 1969-70 and they repeated the feat in 1972-73 and 1976-77. In 1978 they rejoined the South Midlands League and won the Division One title at the first time of asking. Success continued with a Cup Final appearance in the Herts Charity Shield for the first time in 1979 and runners up spot in the South Midlands League Premier Division in 1980. The Herts Charity Shield was won in 1981-82 and two years later the club joined the Isthmian League Division Two North were they remained for six years. One of the legacies of their spell in the Isthmian League is the stand at Garden Walk, positioned mid-way along the far touchline on the cemetery side of the ground. Erected in 1984, it replaced an earlier timber structure and is constructed largely from brick with a sloping metal roof supported by ten posts. The official seated capacity is 300, although this is largely on benches, with only a modest number of seats provided in the central portion.

In 1990 the club lifted the Herts Charity Shield again with a 1-0 defeat of Pirton. However, after a bright start to the following season, the club dropped from 6th place to 16th. As a result were relegated to Division Three where they remained until resigning from the Isthmian League at the end of the 1993-94 season despite finishing 8th spot. The club had never been particularly well supported and were instructed to construct a new stand behind the dugouts opposite the existing stand at an estimated £20,000. Rather than comply with the ruling, Royston resigned from the Isthmian League after ten seasons. It was during this season that the club achieved its highest official attendance of 876 with the visit of Aldershot Town.

The resignation meant a return to the South Midlands for 1994-95 Season and with Tony Galvin in charge not only did the club finish in a creditable 4th place, they also captured the South Midlands League Floodlight Cup with a 2-1 defeat of Sawbridgeworth Town F.C.. The following season saw a 6th place finish and the departure of Tony Galvin. Paddy Butcher took over as player/manager having returned to the club from Ware F.C.. Prior to going to Ware F.C., Paddy had played for the Crows for over seven seasons and was the leading goalscorer in all of them.

In 1996-97 the club finished 6th in the league again and won the Herts Charity Shield for the third time. 1997-98 saw the club finish 4th in the Premier Division, but concluded with the departure of Paddy Butcher.

They kicked off the 1998-99 with a new manager and coach partnership, Kevin Pugh and Sam Salamone who had steered Standon & Puckeridge F.C. to a massive 17 point winning margin in the 1997-98 Herts County League Division One. However, after a disappointing Season in 2000-01 the Crows saw the departure of Kevin and Sam.

With first team coach, Gavin Head taking over the mantle of manager for the 2001-02 Season, aided by backroom staff of Tony Faulkner (first team coach)and Paul Attfield (reserve and youth Team Manager), the first team finished a creditable eighth in the Premier Division. However, following the resignation of Gavin Head in October 2002, the first team managers position was taken up by Peter Theo.

In March 2003, Peter Baker, ex-youth and reserve team manager and former Herts. County U.18 manager became first team manager. Baker continued the following season with completely new management team of Mark Saggers (assistant manager), Brian Cannon (coach), Tyronne Parry (reserve team manager) and Billy Jones (youth team manager).

Having built a firm base of local talent, Peter Baker stood down as Manager during the close season, and the position of first team manager for the 2005-06 Season was taken up jointly by Mark Saggers and Brain Cannon. Tyronne Parry continued to run the reserve team in a bid to restore their Division 1 status, with the youth team being run by new managers Kevin Wilson and John Bloss.

After a poor 2005/2006 Season, with the Crows narrowly avoiding relegation to Division 1, the Crows saw the departure of Mark Saggers and Brain Cannon.

So the Crows started the 2006?2007 Season with yet another new Manager, Phil Snowden. Phil had been First Team Coach undere Paddy Butcher up until the end of the 1997-98 season, followed by a period of coaching at Enfield Town F.C..This will probably go down as Royston Towns worst period in its history. The reserves continued to be run by Tyronne Parry, and Kevin Wilson and John Bloss stepped up to restart a Royston Town 'A' side playing out of Barkway in the K.B. Tyres and Mercury League. The youth team was managed by Stewart McDonald and Coached by former Club Keeper Simon Dobson. However, after another inconsistent season the Crows were relegated to Spartan South Midlands League Division One.

Despite this setback the Committee decided to keep faith with the Management Team, and we started the 2007/2008 Season under the continued management of Phil Snowden.

However, after a poor run of league results, Phil resigned in November 2007 and was replaced by Paul Attfield from Buntingford Town F.C with Tony Galvin returning to Garden Walk as first team coach. Also in November reserve team manager Tyronne Parry resigned leaving Royston Town 'A' managers Kevin Wilson and John Bloss to step up a level. Also their Chairman Graham Phillips stood down as he felt the time was right after nearly ten years at the helm. A stroke of good fortune hit the club in the form of Robert Stewart owner of Stevenage Packaging Ltd, when he became Chairman in November and stated his intention to take the club forward. Within a fortnight of arriving, Royston Town had Signed their first player for a fee in their history. He came in the form of former youth and first team player Craig Hammond from Mildenhall Town for an undisclosed fee.

At the end of January 2008 Rob Stewart had to resign due to work commitments but will still support the club for the near future and work behind the scenes.

For the 08-09 season former Town favourite Duncan Easley was appointed Paul Attfield's assistant manager with the Crows in the hunt for promotion. Steve Jackson was unveiled as the clubs new Chaiman at the end of August making the future look even brighter for Royston Town FC.

Garden Walk

Garden Walk has been the home of Royston Town F.C. since 1923. The clubhouse and dressing rooms are behind the near goal and were constructed in 1974, while the floodlights were switched on in 1981. One of the legacies of their spell in the Isthmian League is the stand at Garden Walk, positioned mid-way along the far touchline on the cemetery side of the ground. Erected in 1984, it replaced an earlier timber structure and is constructed largely from brick with a sloping metal roof supported by ten posts. The official seated capacity is 300, although this is largely on benches, with only a modest number of seats provided in the central portion. Although rather hemmed in by housing, Garden Walk is certainly a better County League ground. Opportunites for development however are limited and the club have been seeking an alternative home for sometime. However, in the spring of 2004 the club were rocked by the news that although they had won support at local council level, planning permission for a new ground at Ivy Farm had been turned down by the Government Office for the East of England.

upporters

Royston Town F.C. can say that there local support is like no other in the region. On matchdays the stand is almost full with younsters that create a volume of noise that can be herd all around the town. Recently they have set up the Royston Town F.C. "Supporters Club" which has over 50 members that are regulars down Garden Walk. The fans regularly turn up to games with their flags, scarves, drums and even the odd airhorn. The attendances have been steadily rising since Paul Attfield became manager from crowds of 20 to crowds of 120 and above.

Current squad

Club Officials

*President: Alan Barlow
*Chairman: Steve Jackson
*Secretary: Dave Chappell
*Treasurer: Eric Joyce
*Football Secretary: TBA
*Programme Editor: Kelly Taylor
*Website Editor: Michael Pinner
*Executive Committee: Sean Burrows, Trevor Burrows, Gina Chappell, Geoff Pinner
*Youth Football Reps: Michael Dyke, Phil Richards
*Ladies Football Rep: Victoria Foulger
*Vets Football Rep: Terry Gore
*Groundsman: Sean Burrows

Football Management Team

Managerial History

Honours

Winners:
*1929-30 - Cambridgeshire League Division 2
*1969-70 - Herts County League (Div 1)
*1972-73 - Herts County League (Div 1)
*1976-77 - Herts County League (Premier Div)
*1977-78 - South Midlands League (Div 1)
*1978-79 - South Midlands Reserve League (Div 2) and North Herts (Div IV) League Cup
*1979-80 - South Midlands Reserve League (Div 1) and North Herts (Div IV) League Cup
*1981-82- Herts Charity Shield
*1988-89 - Herts Intermediate Cup and Televised Sports League
*1989-90 - Chiltern Youth League (Div 1) and Herts Charity Shield
*1992-93 - South Combinations Reserve Floodlight Cup and Chiltern Youth League Cup
*1994-95 - South Midlands Floodlit Cup
*1995-96 - South Midlands Challenge Trophy
*1996-97 - Herts Charity Shield
*1998-99 - Eastern Region Women's League (Div 2)
*2001-02 - Eastern Counties Youth League Cup
*2006-07 - K.B. Tyres Division 3 ChampionsRunners-Up:
*1978-79 - South Midlands Challenge Cup and Herts Charity Shield
*1979-80 - South Midlands League (Prem Div) and North Herts (Div IV)
*1981-82 - North Herts (Div III)
*1982-83 - North Herts (Div II) and South Midlands Reserve Section Trophy
*1986-87 - Chiltern Youth League Cup
*1992-93 - Herts County Youth Cup
*1993-94 - North Herts (Div 1)
*1995-96 - South Midlands Floodlit Cup
*1998-99 - Herts Charity Shield and Herts F.A. Women's Cup
*1999-00 - Eastern Regions Women's League (Div 1)
*2001-02 - Eastern Junior Plate and Herts F.A. Women's Cup
*2004-05 - Herts Charity Shield

Members of

* The Hertfordshire Football Association
* Molten Footballs Spatan South Midlands Football League
* Ridgeons Eastern Counties Youth League
* K.B. Tyres and Mercury League
* Eastern Region Women's Football League

External links

* [http://www.roystontownfc.co.uk Official Club Website]
* [http://www.hertfordshirefa.com/splash.aspx Herts F.A Website]
* [http://www.ssmfl.org Official SSMFL website]
* [http://www.ridgeonsleague.co.uk/ Official Ridgeons Football League Website]
* [http://www.hadfl.com/index.php/ Official K.B. Tyres and Mercury League Website]
* [http://www.erwfl.co.uk/index.html/ Official Eastern Region Women's Football League]