Welcome to the latest chapter of the Gloucester Groundhopper blog.
For this chapter, we headed to Warwickshire for some Southern League Premier Division action as Leamington FC took on Bromsgrove Sporting at the New Windmill Ground.
It's All In The Name
The club was founded in 1933 as the Lockheed Borg & Beck works team, earning the moniker "the Brakes" because of the company's goods.
Some Notable People From Leamington Spa:
Nicholas Ball- Actor
Terry Frost- Artist
Ben Foster- Footballer
Dick Turpin- Boxer
Christian Horner-Racecar Driver
Some Notable Former Players
Harry Redknapp
Mark Buckland
Courtney Baker-Richardson
Jack Storer
A History Lesson From The Gloucester Groundhopper
The club was founded in 1933 as the Lockheed Borg & Beck works team, earning the moniker "the Brakes" because to the company's goods. They began their career in the Warwick & District League before transferring to the Coventry Works League for the 1934-35 season. The club joined the Leamington & District League in 1940, but returned to the Coventry Works League two years later.
They switched leagues again in 1944, joining the Coventry & District League. When the club entered the Central Amateur League in 1947, it was renamed Lockheed Leamington. In 1949, the club joined the Birmingham Combination after two third-place finishes. The league was discontinued in 1954, and Leamington, like most other clubs, joined the Birmingham & District League. They were placed in the Southern Division for a transitional season and finished runners-up, earning a spot in Division One the following season. The league was reduced to a single level in 1960, and the club won the championship in 1961-62.
In 1962, the Birmingham & District League was renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League, and Leamington won the league title in 1962-63 before joining the Midland League. They won the Midland League title in 1964-65 after finishing third in their first season. The club remained in the league until 1971, when they were promoted to the Southern League's Division One North. The football team was renamed AP Leamington after Lockheed was rebranded Automotive Products in 1973. The club won the Southern League League Cup in their first season under the new name. For the first time, they reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1974-75, losing 2-1 at home to Southend United. The next season, another first-round campaign ended in a 3-2 defeat at home to Stafford Rangers in front of a record attendance of 3,200. They finished the season as Division One North runners-up, gaining promotion to the Premier League.
AP Leamington reached the second round of the 1977-78 FA Cup after defeating Enderby Town 6-1 in the first round. They were drawn against Southend in the second round. The first game at the Windmill Ground ended in a 0-0 tie, and the club was defeated 4-0 in the rematch at Roots Hall. The next season, they advanced to the second round again, eventually losing 1-0 at home to Torquay United. A seventh-place finish in the league, however, was sufficient to win entry in the new Alliance Premier League, the national non-League division.
The club struggled in the new league, finishing in the bottom five in both of their first two seasons before relegation to the Southern League Premier Division in 1981-82. Despite winning the Premier Division the following season, the club was denied promotion because the Windmill Ground did not match the ground grading criteria.
Leamington reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1983-84, losing 1-0 to Gillingham, and also won the League Cup and the Champions Cup. However, after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1984-85, the team was relegated to the Midland Division, and the "AP" component of the name was dropped. They finished in the bottom two of the Midland Division in both of the following two seasons, and at the end of the second, the team was relegated to the Midland Combination Premier Division.They ceased operations at the end of the 1987-88 season after losing their Windmill Ground.
The club relaunched in 2000, joining Division Two of the Midland Combination. They won Division Two on their first attempt and finished second in Division One the following season, earning promotion to the Premier Division. Following a third-place finish in 2002-03, the team finished second in the Premier Division in 2003-04 before winning the league title the following season, clinching promotion to the Midland Alliance. In 2005-06, they competed in the FA Cup for the first time since their reformation, reaching the first round before losing 9-1 to Colchester United. The team won the Midland Alliance title the following season, as well as the League Cup, and was promoted to the Southern League's Division One Midlands. They finished runners-up in their debut season in the Southern League, qualifying for the promotion play-offs; after defeating Rushall Olympic 1-0 in the semi-final, the club lost 2-1 to Stourbridge in the final. However, in 2008-09, they won the Division One Midlands and were promoted to the Premier Division.
Leamington finished sixth in the Premier Division in 2010-11, but were defeated 3-1 in the play-off semi-finals by Hednesford Town. They won the Southern League championship two years later and were promoted to the Conference North. After finishing thirteenth in their first season in the division, the team finished in the relegation zone in the 2014-15 season and was demoted back to the Southern League. They finished fifth in 2015-16 and advanced to the play-off final after defeating Redditch United 3-1 on penalties; however, they were defeated 2-1 by Hungerford Town in the final. The following season, they finished second in the Premier Division, and after defeating Slough Town 1-0 in the play-off semi-finals, they defeated Hitchin Town 2-1 in the final to reclaim their place in the renamed National League North. In 2022-23, the club finished third-from-bottom in the National League North and was relegated to the Southern League's Premier Division Central.
Honours
🏆 Southern League Premier Division (Champions: 1982–83, 2012–13)
🏆 Southern League Division One Midlands (Champions: 2008–09)
🏆 Southern League Champions Cup (Winners: 1973–74, 1983–84)
🏆 Southern League Cup (Winners: 1973–74, 1983–84)
🏆 Midland League (Champions: 1964–65)
🏆 West Midlands League (Champions: 1961–62, 1962–63)
🏆 Midland Alliance League (Champions: 2006–07)
🏆 Midland Alliance League Cup (Winners: 2006–07)
🏆 Joe McGorian Cup (Winners: 2007–08)
🏆 Midland Combination Premier Division (Champions: 2004–05)
🏆 Midland Combination Division Two (Champions: 2001–02)
🏆 Birmingham Senior Cup (Winners: 1951–52, 1955–56, 1960–61, 1969–70, 1971–72, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2021–22)
An Interview With Leamington supporter Jack Godbert-Brown
GG: How long have you been a Leamington supporter, and how has your relationship with the club been for you and your family?
JGB: I've been a season ticket holder for the last 7 years and visit the majority of away games. I got into it primarily because I wanted to go to games every weekend but became disconnected from Premier League football since it was too expensive to attend games on a regular basis. I am the only one of my family who believes in Leamington.
GG: Could you tell us about the Leamington Matchday experience and what we may expect?
JGB: I don't believe it's that different from most non-league clubs; we have a reasonable bar and you can bring your beverages onto the terraces, which is always a plus. The atmosphere is finest in the stand near the clubhouse end of the stadium.
GG: Who is the standout performer for Leamington this season?
JGB: It's probably too early to tell, but based on our preseason games, Callum Stewart and Tyrone Barnett appear to be very strong additions, and it appears that we'll be playing a more attacking style this year after relegation last season. Adam Walker was our greatest player last season, in my opinion, and it's great news that he'll be back this season.
GG: Who is your all-time favourite player?
JGB: If I had to pick a Leamington player, it would be Tony Breeden. I think he's really different from other goalkeepers; he even took penalties for us on occasion and was more than talented enough to play at a higher level in my opinion.
GG: What is the best football match you've ever seen as a Leamington supporter? Could you please provide us with an outline of that match?
JGB: I'd suggest Salford City away in the 2017-18 season. A very entertaining game, and given their investment in their team, we thought we'd do well to come away with anything. We scored a late winner to win 3-2 after leading 1-0 and 2-1.
GG: Which managers have left the most of an impression on Leamington fans?
JGB: I've only ever known Paul Holleran as Leamington's manager; he's undoubtedly one of the longest serving managers at any level of the game, and we're really fortunate to have him.
GG: Who, in your opinion, was the largest team to play in Leamington's stadium, and why?
JGB: Probably Stockport County, although there are a few teams that have slid down the leagues after formerly being far higher up. I believe they are the most well-known club to have competed in the National League North in recent seasons.
GG: Can you tell us how Leamington likes to play in general? What is their formation? What are your strategies?
JGB: In prior seasons, we have appeared to play a more defensive style, but if preseason this year is any indication, we will be playing more offensive football this year, with promotion rather than survival as the goal.
Matchday: Leamington FC 2-0 Bromsgrove Sporting
We travelled to Leamington in the autumn sunshine as we searched for another entertaining game. We arrived in Leamington and had a look round the town. We endeavoured to have some lunch in the local pub The Old Library where I indulged in a lovely Katsu Chicken Burger and Chips. After a good wonder round Leamington, and putting the world to rights, we headed over to the stadium.
Arriving at the stadium, there was free parking available which was a bonus. We were greeted by a lovely steward who informed us that the turnstiles would not open until 1 pm (yes, we were that early) so we had a look around the outside of the stadium, which had a small football pitch that Finners enjoyed. After a while, the steward informed us the turnstiles were open.
The ticketing system was pretty simple. The club has the capacity to sell tickets online, so we bought our tickets in advance. The club also offered a student rate (£7) which was refreshing.
As we walked in the stadium, we took our customary circuit of the ground. The ground is pretty reasonable for the level it is used. Some notable mentions need to go out to the programme shop that sells, yes you guessed it, a multitude of programmes and pin badges, as well as some football related books. There is also a club shop, that does have good variety of merchandise and for once, a club had their pin badge ready to sell (FOUR POUND TWENTY FIVE).
The club have a couple of food stalls scattered around the ground. One, which was a food stall you'd often see at your local mop fair, sold a range of items which included burgers, hotdogs, cheesy chips (to please the AFC Finners community) and a variety of drinks. More notably, there is another stand that sells items you would expect to see in a seaside shop: blow up footballs, bubbles, tennis balls. The main thing I would like to point out is that the stall also sells pot noodles in a multitude of flavours- nice of them to cater for us students. (Finners, if you're reading this, I don't know how to incorporate the joke about the ice, sorry).
The atmosphere was pretty dull to be honest. Apart from the constant moaning at the referee, the ground was pretty quiet. I have later been informed that the low atmosphere was due to a Leamington supporter losing his life to Leukaemia earlier in the week. All of our best wishes go to the supporters' family and friends.
I have awarded the atmosphere an extra point for manager Paul Holleran's entertaining antics throughout the afternoon, which included telling the physio to take his time, then telling him to hurry up in the same sentence, and telling Josh Quaynor to 'f**k off' cause he was constantly standing out of position.
Teamsheet
Leamington FC
Manager: Paul Holleran
Callum Hawkins
Dan Meredith
Josh Quaynor
Jack Edwards
Junior English
Jack Lane
Devon Kelly-Evans
Adam Walker (c)
Henry Landers ⚽️
Tyrone Barnett ⚽️
Ewan Williams
Substitutes
Joe Clarke
Callum Smith
Callum Stewart
Jiah Medrano
Connor Taylor
Bromsgrove Sporting
Manager: Michael McGrath
Ollie Taylor
Aksum White
Billy Shaw
Jack Newell
Aaron Roberts
Michael McGrath 🔴
Callum King-Harmes
Keanu Cooper
Tristan Dunkley 🔴
Conor Tee
Luke Rowe
Substitutes
Vladimiro Granjal Martins Pais
Kane Auld
Ayomide Lekuti
Tui MacEdo Sanches
David Solademi
Goodluck Eke
The initial chance fell to Bromsgrove Sporting as they burst away in the first minute, Tristan Dunkley finding Conor Tee, whose shot was deflected back for a corner, which Leamington ultimately cleared. Bromsgrove came within a whisker of scoring again when Tee and Billy Shaw combined, the latter advancing into the area and hitting the ball low across goal, barely beyond the far post.
Despite Bromsgrove having the best of the play, it was Leamington who opened the scoring on 13 minutes. A flick on from Tyrone Barnett sent Landers sprinting towards goal, and despite the close attentions of a defender, he curved a wonderful strike between goalie Oliver Taylor and his near post.
The action resumed with the visitors picking up where they left off, but they were stunned ten minutes in when Dunkley received two yellow cards in quick succession, the first for apparent obstruction as Hawkins went to take a goal kick, and the second as he debated the decision with the Referee.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the visitors held their own until ten minutes from time when player-manager Michael McGrath was sent off for taking down Brakes substitute Cally Stewart as he turned him on the edge of the box. From the subsequent free kick, Josh Quaynor pushed Taylor into a nice save.
Tee then hit a free kick into the side netting, but Bromsgrove's resistance was broken for the second time in the final minute when Leamington broke down their right again, this time through the outstanding Meredith, who fed Landers to drive the ball low across goal for Barnett to slide in and prod home his first goal for Leamington to seal the points.
Scores on the Doors
Atmosphere: 3.5/10
Food and Drink: 6/10
Stadium: 6.5/10
Welcome: 8/10
Overall Experience: 7/10
GG
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