Worksop Town

My garden shed is bigger than this

Worksop, Gateway to the Dukeries. Famous for Heavy metal legend Bruce Dickinson, the home & garden chain Wilkinson's, Golfer Lee Westwood, Oxo cubes, ex-England football manager Graham Taylor and Tigers. No, you did not read incorrectly. I refer not to the feline variety, but to the footballing variety. The tigers of Worksop Town Football Club.

Founded in 1861, Worksop are not only the oldest Club in Nottinghamshire, but can also claim to be the fourth oldest football club in the world, behind Cambridge University A.F.C. (1856), Sheffield F.C. (1857) and Hallam F.C. (1860). We know the foundation year to be correct as records show that the Club celebrated it's 50th anniversary in 1911. The first records referring to their existence were dated 1873 at a time when home fixtures were played at Netherton Road, an area now occupied by the Holy Family RC School.

Playing in green and white striped shirts the team was a mixture of professional and amateurs. With the formation of the Sheffield Association League it became clear that a new ground of a more central situation was a priority. This was resolved in 1891 with the helpful assistance of the Duke of Newcastle, who had decided to sell his Worksop Manor Estate. The Club intervened on a deal with the future proprietor of Nottingham's Home Brewery, and were successfully granted a lease on a portion of the land in the centre of the town bounded by Hardy Street, Allen Street, King Street and the River Ryton. Known as Bridge Meadow, the ground was enclosed by a wooden fence with the River Ryton as its northern boundary. Football matches were played on the eastern side, the western portion was reserved for cricket and there was also a quarter mile cycle track. The creation of this sporting oasis led to Whit Monday becoming Worksop’s annual sport day. In granting a lease, the Duke of Newcastle also donated £50.00 to assist in developing the ground. As a result, the pavilions which had been on Netherton Road were transferred onto the new site. So proud were the Club's committee of their new home that they considered that the only ground to better it in Nottinghamshire was the Trent Bridge cricket ground. Fittingly during this period, given the Duke of Newcastle's generosity, Worksop changed their playing strip to Black and White stripes.

Soon after, with the lease on Bridge Meadow neared its end and the proximity of the River Ryton prompted fears of flooding, the freehold rights to new land between the River Ryton and the Chesterfield Canal were acquired by the Club's President, in exchange for the Bridge Meadow land. As part of the exchange a guarantee was made to build a wooden bridge that would give access to Central Avenue. Mortgage payments on Central Avenue were taken over, and as a result the Worksop FC finally had a permanent home, albeit as a tenant of the Worksop Cricket and Sports Club. The first job for the Club was to build changing rooms, which they did in the north-east corner, where the Riverside pub now stands. The changing facilities were basic and included a very large communal bath.

In the years prior to and after the Great War, Sheffield Association and Midland League football was attracting massive interest. The 1907/08 season saw the Club, then affectionately know as the Donvans after the Duke of Portland’s racehorse, drawn away against Chelsea in the F.A. Cup 1st Round. Worksop lost 9-1, with the gates were closed with 70,184 fans inside the ground, the largest crowd ever to watch Worksop play.

The Club gained their first success in 1922 winning the Midland League for the first time, remaining unbeaten all season at Central Avenue. They also reached the 1st round of the F.A.Cup again, this time going down to Southend United by the more respectable margin of 2-1.

The 1922/23 season can be viewed as a missed opportunity. Worksop gained national recognition by holding Tottenham Hotspur to a 0-0 draw in the F.A. Cup 1st Round at the Division One side’s White Hart Lane ground in front of 23,929. Records show that they almost scored a shock winner in the last minute. In goal for Worksop was Hodthorpe born Jack Brown, who went on to play for England. Worksop's supporters sensed a major scalp at Central Avenue. However, a decision was taken by the Club's directors to play the replay two days later, again at White Hart Lane. The official reason given for this was that other local sides were playing F.A. Cup matches back in Nottinghamshire. However, suspicion exists that the real reason was that the Directors were conscious that another big pay day could help relieve the remaining unpaid mortgage on the ground and other hefty debts, Worksop lost 9-0 in front of 23,122 and took home £1,050.00. It was a decision which would prove unwise, as the Worksop supporters showed their disappointment by staying away from matches. As a result that the Club’s debts mounted and their Central Avenue ground fell into a state of disrepair. A stand had been built on the Netherholme side of the ground, but the roof blew off several times in storms. Additionally, the changing rooms became unusable and teams had to prepare for matches at several town centre inns, including The King Edward VII, King’s Head and Marquis of Granby. Despite the decline, the club bucked the trend somewhat in the F.A.Cup in 1925, beating Coventry City 1-0 in the 1st Round, before going down 2-1 to Chesterfield in front of a club record 8171 at Central Avenue.

The Club had to wait until the 1955/56 season for an upturn in their fortunes. This was the season that the Club disposed of league club Bradford City 2-1 in the F.A. Cup 2nd Round, only to lose to Swindon Town in the next round. In the 1965/66 season, they again won the Midland League, scoring an incredible 155 goals in 42 games. They also added the Sheffield Senior Cup, beating Frickley Town 2-1 in front of 2041 at Central Avenue.

The highlight of the seventies came when Worksop, now nicknamed the Tigers, again reached the FA Cup First Round, this time going down to Barnsley 5-1. The decade also saw the need for extensive ground improvements. With the changing rooms in a poor condition, and with three-quarters of the popular stand once again missing, it was arranged for these facilities to be rebuilt on the halfway line. The derelict changing rooms made way for the Tigers Club (now the Riverside pub), floodlights were acquired for the playing area, and a license to sell drink was obtained.

The 1980’s was to see the end of an era when the Tigers lost their Central Avenue ground. Now owned by the Local Authority, it was sold on to extend a shopping car park. The Supporters Club took over the ailing club and guided it through three difficult seasons, ground-sharing 20 miles away at Gainsborough Trinity.

The club moved to Sandy Lane in 1992 which was a former sand quarry landfill site and Council recreation ground. Because of the site’s history, nearly two years of ground work were necessary before the grandstand and Clubhouse could be erected and the new pitch laid. An ideal pitch for a superstar winger to grace. In the 2000/01 season the club signed such a man, former England legend Chris Waddle. His impact both on and off the pitch saw another upturn in the club's fortunes. For the first time since 1955/56, they reached the First Round of the FA Cup away at Bournemouth, going down 3-0. Additionally, the Tigers were roared on to victory in the Sheffield Senior Cup beating Doncaster Rovers at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium. they also managed a ground record attendance at Sandy Lane of 2263 for a friendly against Sheffield United in July 2005.

Sadly, financial difficulties led to the club's eviction from Sandy Lane in 2008. As a result, the club took up residency some 25 miles away at Watnall Road, home to Hucknall Town Football Club, then on to the New Manor Ground in the Derbyshire town of Ilkeston, before settling nearer home as tenants of Retford United at Cannon Park.

Once within the large gravelled car park you will find Cannon Park has a very welcoming feel about it, with a number of signs mounted welcoming you to the location. The main pitch is fully enclosed by an attractive decorative wall, a refreshing change from the usual breezeblock perimeter enclosures found elsewhere. The entrance to the main pitch is via an apple green portercabin turnstile built with the perimeter wall itself.

By far the most dominant feature at Cannon Park is the 2001 constructed Clubhouse. Spanning the majority of the east side of the ground, this attractive red bricked building also presently offers the only cover the ground can offer. Attached is a level roof to the main building, held aloft by a series of black painted steel posts. Such is the length of the clubhouse, that an estimated 300 spectators can seek shelter beneath on hard standing ground. On one side of the clubhouse, within which one can consume a variety of snacks and drinks, are the changing rooms. Another interesting feature are the darker bricks that have been used on the north side of the Clubhouse, which spell out the club's initials 'R.U.F.C.'. Next to the Clubhouse are a couple portercabins, the main one of which houses the Club's committee room.

On the opposite side of the Ground are two wide dug outs. Both are wide roofed affairs, with the bricks painted white, and both house identical red interior seating. Up until the spring of 2006, these looked rather lonely, given all of the hustle and bustle on the other side of the pitch. However, all that has changed with the addition of a new West Stand to keep them company. Retford Unitedc originally sort £150,000 of assistance from local residents and businesses for the project. However, they were able to secure some of the financial help necessary from the F.A. to complete the project . The impressive cantilevered structure covers about half of the length of the pitch. It is very similar to one erected at Carlton Town, though the 200+ plastic seats housed within are black, white and red to reflect the colours of the Club.

The pitchside also features a sturdy white painted perimeter barrier. Behind this barrier, on either side of the pitch are six floodlights. Erected in the summer of 2003, three slender metal posts stand on each side. The middle two hold three clusters in a 'T' formation, with the four outer pylons holding two clusters in the same manner. Both ends of the Ground offer hard standing, with no other features of note. However, it is worth noting the pitches beyond the exterior of the South End.

Future Plans

Following their eviction from Sandy Lane in 2008, the future remains unclear. There have been several proposals tabled in recent years to relocate and set up a new, all purpose stadium. However, since Tigers went into administration with a £300,000+ debt in 2005, survival has been the priority. Things had been looking a little more rosy. In the summer of 2006, in order to meet Conference requirements, Worksop moved the two prefabricated stands previously awkwardly placed behind the dugouts. This was the first of a number of development plans that the Tigers have in mind. In 2007, they intended to add a swimming pool, disabled facilities and a sports injury clinic to their Sandy Lane Ground. However, with the Tigers now homeless, all of these plans are in the balance.

Websites	http://www.worksoptownfc.co.uk (Official site)
	http://worksoptownsupportersclub.bravehost.com (Supporters Club)
	www.1861tigerstrust.org.uk (Supporters Trust)
	http://www.angelfire.com/stars/worksop