Gloucester City

Formation and the early years

Although born in March 1883, Gloucester AFC did not take their first steps until February 1884 almost one year after birth. An advert for that very first game played by Gloucester AFC appeared in The Citizen on Friday 8 February 1884 -

Football – Gloucester Association v Warmley (Bristol) Association. – This match (the first in the city under Association Rules) will be played on the ground of the Hornets F.C., Union-lane, tomorrow. Kick off 3.15 p.m. – (Advt.)

However, that first Gloucester team folded in 1886. The club re-formed in September 1889. Gloucester's first competitive game in October 1889 was a Gloucestershire FA Junior Challenge Cup 1st Round tie beating Clifton Association Reserves 10–0 at Budding's Field.

The club became members of the Bristol and District League which subsequently became the Western League. During this era the club was noted as 'The Gloucestrians' and 'The Citizens' in local media. The club were renamed 'Gloucester City' in 1902 and later merged with St. Michael's at the beginning of the 1906–07 campaign. This club then folded in September 1910. A different team, Gloucester YMCA, formed at the same time and most of the players who had been with City joined Gloucester YMCA.

By 1925 this latest club had assumed the name of Gloucester City once more and had become founder members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League. In 1934–35, after winning both the Cup and League, City turned semi-professional, and joined the Birmingham Combination, as well as moving to a new stadium in Longlevens where the club stayed for the next 26 years.

They won the Tillotson Cup for being the best club in the Birmingham Combination, and then had former Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Reg Weaver blow away all records with his stunning tally of 67 goals in the 1937–38 season.

Southern League entry and cup success

In 1939 the club played in the Southern Football League for the very first time, albeit in a restricted wartime competition, as they took part in the west section.

After the war City rejoined the Southern League and went on to become the league's longest serving members. For three consecutive seasons, 1948–51, the club reached the First Round of the FA Cup, each time losing to Football League opponents: Mansfield Town (1–4 away), Norwich City (2–3 home) and Bristol City (0–4 away). The club's all-time attendance record was set at Longlevens in 1952 when Stan Myers and Peter Price scored to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in front of 10,500 spectators, a side which included the superstars of the day such as future World Cup winner Alf Ramsey, Ted Ditchburn, Charlie Withers and Les Medley.

It took until the 1955–56 season for Gloucester to taste their first success in the Southern League. A famous Southern League Cup final win against Yeovil Town in which City had lost the first leg 4–1, only to beat Yeovil 5–1 in the second leg, won the club their first major honour.

Horton Road era

In 1964 the club moved grounds again, from Longlevens to the massive Horton Road Stadium, closer to the centre of Gloucester, which could possibly hold over 30,000 people if full. Although Gloucester City were promoted to the Southern Football League Premier Division in the 1968–69 season, it was generally a barren spell.

In the 1981–82 season a sixth-place finish was enough to clinch a place in the reformed Premier Division. They were also runners-up in the League Cup, going down 1–2 to Wealdstone, who included future England captain Stuart Pearce in their ranks.

Despite Kim Casey scoring 40 goals, the club were relegated to the Midland Division in 1984–85, after three seasons in the Premier Division.

Meadow Park and a famous FA Cup run

In 1986 the club moved once more, this time to Meadow Park. The Horton Road ground became a housing estate which now boasts the names of City legends: (Stan) Myers Road, (Dicky) Etheridge Place and (Ron) Coltman Close amongst others.

Former Aston Villa and Wales player Brian Godfrey was appointed manager in 1988 and thus heralded an era of success.

Players such as Lance Morrison, Steve Talboys, Wayne Noble, Chris Townsend and Brian Hughes took to the Southern League Midland Division title in 1989, clinching the crown at home against Grantham Town. The League trophy was presented to the club at King's Lynn's The Walks Stadium on the last day of a tough campaign.

The next big achievement of the Godfrey years was the famous FA Cup run in 1989–90 which has still not been matched. Mangotsfield United (4–0), Barry Town (2–2,2–0), Folkestone (1–0) and Dorchester Town (1–0) all came and went before City suffered heartbreak in the replay against Cardiff City after being 2–0 up at Ninian Park with just five minutes to go. The club were beaten 1–0 in the replay at Meadow Park, missing out on an encounter with First Division side Queens Park Rangers.

In the winter of 1990, Gloucester saw its worst snow in a century and when the thaw came the River Severn overwhelmed all local flood plains. The knock-on effect of the flood saw incredible scenes at Meadow Park as the pitch was submerged under 4 feet (1.2 m) of water, and the whole ground was out of commission for over a month. The first game back at Meadow Park, however, saw City defeat Gosport Borough 9–0.

Last minute promotion heartbreak and debt

The 1990–91 season was one of the most exciting ever seen at the club. Godfrey added several quality players to his squad as City challenged for the league title. As the season climaxed, the Tuesday before the end of the season Gloucester City had needed to beat VS Rugby at home to go top of the table, but could only manage a 2–2 draw, so it was all on the last day of the season at the Victoria Ground, the home of Bromsgrove Rovers.

Farnborough headed up to Atherstone needing to win, and went 0–1 down to the delight of the thousand travelling City fans. In the final minutes, substitute John Freegard got his head to a long free kick had put The Tigers ahead. In the meantime Farnborough had scored, as City fans were on the pitch celebrating the Championship and promotion to the Conference National, but all they had heard were premature radio reports from Atherstone; Farnborough had actually scored a winner three minutes before the end of the game and they were promoted instead.

In July 1991, the club became the first British football club to venture to the newly independent country of Georgia for a summer tour, playing second division side Napareuli, Mesxti and Umaglesi Liga outfit Shevardeni. The club hosted European sides at Meadow Park during this period, such as Dinamo Minsk from Belarus and Gornik Zabrze from Poland.

Into the 1991–92 season, the bombshell hit City that Chairman Les Alderman had left the club. The squad was ripped apart: major players were released for derisory sums, some went unpaid and took the club to the FA, and forced a transfer embargo. Brian Godfrey was sacked and replaced by his assistant Steve Millard. Millard only lasted three months in what was a disastrous spell. In February Godfrey was re-appointed to the hot seat and started to turn things around again. The club survived the next few seasons under the guidance of Chairman George Irvine. The club had crippling debts and were about to fold when Keith Gardner stepped in.

The glory years and FA Trophy run

Gardner brought razzmatazz to the club and appointed former Cheltenham Town boss John Murphy as the club entered the most exciting period in their history. Gardner wanted to make the whole 'Meadow Park' area into a footballing centre, with all-seater stadium, a leisure centre, ice rink and an all-weather pitch. His ambitions were matched on the field too, after seeing the club get by with local players, talent was brought in from further afield and the Tigers became a force to be reckoned with. A memorable game during the period was when Dave Porter scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over rivals Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road in 1994.

It soon became apparent that Murphy did not have what it took to turn a good side into Champions and was sacked in March 1996. Former West Ham United striker Leroy Rosenior took over and had to virtually rebuild the team from scratch after most of the players walked out in the wake of Murphy's dismissal.

Dale Watkins, Adie Mings and record signing David Holmes formed one of the most potent front lines in non-league football and it was no surprise to see the Tigers battling on all fronts. Despite having to play manager Leroy Rosenior in goal against Kingstonian in their first game in the FA Trophy, City managed to reach the semi-final before being beaten by Dagenham & Redbridge after a dramatic replay.

The cup run proved to be a thorn in the side for City as they had to play three games a week to claw back games in hand and eventually lost out to Cheltenham Town in the race for second spot (after Champions Gresley Rovers ground was deemed ineligible for promotion).

Relegation and almost bankrupt

The failure to secure promotion crippled the club as City struggled to keep their heads above water. A managerial merry-go-round ensued. Brian Hughes tried his luck, but a diminishing playing budget and poor performances meant the club was relegated.

To exacerbate the situation, just before Christmas 2000, Meadow Park was struck another blow when the River Severn burst its banks for the second time in a decade. The flood water did more damage than on the previous occasion, reaching just under 7 feet (2.1 m) high and flooding the changing rooms, causing widespread damage. The club was unable to hold matches at the ground for more than six weeks. The resulting lack of revenue for the club almost saw it go under, and several players left the club after not being paid.

Tommy Callinan took over in a player-manager role, and left at the end of the 2000–01 season. He was followed by Chris Burns, who was tempted back from Forest Green Rovers and brought with him a number of inexperienced young players to accommodate the club's limited wage structure.

In November 2001, ex-director Colin Gardner returned to the club to take over the chairmanship. Working together with the Supporters' Club, they stabilised the financial situation. The situation on the pitch also improved, with new manager Chris Burns moulding his former City youth team into a force to be reckoned with.

Bouncing back

The 2002–03 season saw the club bounce back. Off the field, a deal was struck between the club and local entrepreneur Eamonn McGurk, who bought the ground and took on the majority of the club's debts. Financially, the club made a trading profit for the first time and were within reach of wiping out all of the historical debts. To add to the upturn, on the field Burns' young team upset a lot of the more fancied challengers and reached the quarter finals of the FA Trophy. The run included memorable victories away at league leaders Merthyr Tydfil, then two wins at Conference sides Woking and Southport. Aylesbury United of the Isthmian League proved to be too big of a challenge, however, and City bowed out. In the league, a fifth-placed finish was a remarkable achievement.

The 2003–04 season saw further progress with the Tigers finishing second in the Western Division and gaining promotion to the Premier Division. At the end of the season, Colin Gardner stepped down as the highly respected chairman. Chris Burns resigned as manager in January 2006, Neil Mustoe took over as caretaker-manager until the permanent appointment of Tim Harris from Merthyr Tydfil was made.

Flooding, promotion and exile

In July 2007, Gloucester City's home, Meadow Park, was affected by the Gloucestershire flooding that engulfed the county. The club was hit with almost 8 miles (13 km) of water, almost submerging the crossbar. An astonishing picture, featured in The Sun, on Sky News and on the BBC, shot the club to national attention both in the media and among football supporters across the country. It caused many of the club's supporters to start a donation fund to help the club.

The club's first season in exile was at Forest Green Rovers New Lawn Stadium, despite the loss of a stadium and revenue stream the club finished a creditable 6th in the league, just outside the Playoffs.

The club's second season in exile at Cirencester Town proved to be one of the greatest in its history. The club finished 3rd in the Southern Premier League thus qualifying for the Playoffs. In the Southern League Playoff semi-final Cambridge City were beaten 3–1 at the Corinium Stadium. They went on to play Farnborough in the final at Cherrywood Road and won 1–0 with Matt Rose scoring the crucial goal, ending a 70-year continuous association with the Southern Football League, and gaining promotion to Conference Football for the first time. A quite remarkable achievement considering the club's predicament.

In a controversial decision, the F.A. placed Gloucester City in the Conference North for the 2009–10 season. The reason given was that Worcester City, despite being considerably further north than both Gloucester and Cirencester, was given a guarantee after being moved to the Conference South the previous year against its will that it would not be moved back to the North for three seasons without its consent. Worcester City refused to consent to an early move back to the North, thus forcing Gloucester to take their place. The club finished 18th in its maiden Conference North season.

Near the end of the club's maiden Conference North season, new F.A. ground regulations meant that Cirencester Town's Corinium Stadium would not be suitable for use in the following season meaning if the club failed to find a suitable new home, it would be forcibly relegated. It was announced in March 2010 that the club would be groundsharing with major rivals Cheltenham Town for the forthcoming two seasons. Gloucester City Council provided £20,000 towards helping this agreement, heralding a new era in co-operation between the club and the council, and with Cheltenham Town.

On 21 November 2010, against Chelmsford City, midfielder Tom Webb became the club's all-time appearance holder, beating Stan Myers who had broken the record 50 years previously.

In 2012–13, the club reached the FA Cup 1st Round proper for the first time in 23 years, drawing Football League One outfit Leyton Orient at home. They eventually lost 2–0 to two late goals. The club repeated this success the following season, drawing Football League Two side Fleetwood Town at home, they also lost that one 2–0.

For the 2017–18 season, the club was moved back to the National League South. Manager Tim Harris and Chairman Mike Dunstan both expressed their disappointment at the decision. Furthermore, the club was forced to play home games outside Gloucestershire for the first time in their history. After the conclusion of the groundshare deal with Cheltenham Town, the club's only viable option was to groundshare with Southern League side Evesham United, in Worcestershire, whilst construction on the new stadium continued at the old Meadow Park site.

On 30 November 2017, manager Tim Harris resigned from his position citing that the club "needs some investment, some structure and business acumen if it is to maintain any hope of returning home at this level." Harris was soon followed by Chairman Mike Dunstan, first team assistant manager Marc Richards, the kit man, the media officer and the club accountant who all cited the same reasons for leaving as Harris. Player/coach Will Morford became acting manager until 15 December 2017 when former player and assistant manager Marc Richards returned and was appointed manager, with Morford becoming player/assistant manager. Under Richards, City pushed away from the relegation zone and the club went on to mount a small playoff push earning Richards the February Manager of the Month award before finishing a respectable 14th.

On 2 October 2018, it was announced that Marc Richards was to leave the club by mutual consent. He would later join former City manager Tim Harris at Hereford F.C along with assistant manager Will Morford and the club's performance analyst. Tom Webb and Mike Green took the joint role of caretaker manager.

As the search began for a new manager, on 5 October 2018, club legend and record appearance holder Tom Webb announced his retirement from his playing career. Webb made 719 appearances for the club in a career spanning 18 years.

On 10 October 2018, the search was over and Chris Todd was announced as the new first team manager following a 3 nil FA Cup win away at Dorking Wanderers. On 3 January 2019 however, Todd left the club by mutual consent after a spell of 15 games without a win.

On 8 January 2019, City appointed former player Mike Cook as manager. He was joined by other ex-Tigers Karl Bayliss and Andy Hoskins, whilst Tom Webb and Mike Green were retained to complete the coaching staff. Results picked up and a dramatic 3–2 win against Chippenham Town confirmed Gloucester's National League status again.

On 18 April 2019, the club announced a change to the badge moving away from the Tiger logo and instead to a new logo encompassing the Gloucestershire coat of arms, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester Docks and the City skyline. The kit colour will also change from yellow and black back to a predominantly red kit from the 2019/2020 season onward.

On 16 November 2019, manager Mike Cook was sacked as Gloucester City manager with the club lying mid-table in the National League North. A replacement was swiftly appointed in the form of ex-West Ham United coach James Rowe, who became the first full-time appointed manager of the club.

Work began on the new stadium on 5 January 2020 with an expected completion date being the start of the 2020–21 season.

The 2019–20 season would end up becoming one of the most historic in the history of the game of football as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world and football ground to a halt. The season was cut short in March 2020 and, at the time of the decision, City were lying in 19th position but would eventually jump up to 17th as the season was decided on points per game. City's final game in exile was a 2–1 home win at Evesham against Farsley Celtic. Meanwhile, work continued in the off season on the new stadium and it was ready in time for the 2020–21 season.

Return to Gloucester

After 13 years in exile, City returned to Gloucester in time for the 2020–21 season. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restart of the season was thrown into doubt. Due to the National League obtaining 'Elite' status in order to complete the play-offs for the season previous, there was now an issue, as was the case with all 'Elite' sport, that spectators were not allowed to attend matches and clubs needed this revenue stream in order to survive. After a financial package was agreed with the government, the season was able to start.

The first competitive game at New Meadow Park was on 6 October 2020 as City hosted Kettering Town in a behind closed doors league game with City running away 3–1 winners and the honour of first competitive goal at the new stadium going to Alex Whittle. City flew out of the blocks at the start of the 2020–21 season recording 7 wins and 2 draws in their opening 9 league matches, which was the best start to a league campaign since the Second World War. On 24 November 2020, following interest from ex-Football League club Chesterfield, James Rowe left for the Spireites. Jake Cole took temporary charge of first team duties until Paul Groves was appointed on 8 December 2020. The National League campaign ground to a halt in February 2021 with City sitting top of the league. Following a vote amongst clubs, it was announced that step two of non-League football will cease with immediate effect after a vote of 24–19 in favour of ending the current campaign as the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic continue to take their toll at the levels of the football pyramid below the EFL.

After a disastrous start to the 2021–22 season, including a humiliating 9–0 defeat at Chorley, Paul Groves was sacked and replaced by Gloucester-born Lee Mansell who steadied the ship and earned City a 17th-place finish. The following season, however, started badly for Mansell and he was replaced by Steven King. City finished the season in the play-off places, following a dramatic 4–3 victory over Chorley at New Meadow Park on the final day of the 2022–23 season, whereby City scored 2 goals in injury time.. This set up a play-off quarter-final at Brackley Town. The match went to penalties after the two sides were unable to be separated during normal and extra time, and the Northamptonshire side went on to win the shootout 5–3.

The closed season brought much change at New Meadow Park. Following the conclusion of the season it was announced that Steven King would leave the club citing the clubs move back to a part-time model, and ex-Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper and Premier League winner Tim Flowers was named as his replacement. Flowers lost his job in September and was replaced by a returning Mike Cook, but he was unable to turn the season around as City succumbed to relegation after 15 years in the National League.