Coton Green F.C.
 | |
| Full name | Coton Green Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Green, The Reds |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Ground | New Mill Lane |
| Capacity | 2000 |
| Chairman | Paul Barnes |
| Manager | Rob Masefield (First Team) |
| League | Midland League Division Two |
| 2015–16 | Midland League Division Two, 7th |
Coton Green F.C. is a football club based in England. The club plays in the Midland League Division Two.
History
The club entered the Midland Combination in 2004 and was promoted to Division Two in its first season after finishing league winners.[1] In this successful first season, they also finished runners up in the Challenge Urn, losing out in a penalty shoot out to Greenhill at Atherstone Town's Sheepy Road. They were promoted to Division One in 2007 and a second successive runners-up finish in 2008 saw them clinch promotion to the Premier Division.[1] Their meteoric rise came to a halt soon after when they were relegated back to Division One in 2009. After such a quick rise to the top of the Midland Combination, the next few seasons were spent lingering around the bottom half of Division 1 which also saw several changes of manager.
When the Combination merged with the Midland Alliance to form the Midland League in 2014, Coton Green were placed in Division Two of the new competition.[1] Unfortunately this change of divisional structure did not alter the on-field fortunes of Coton as they suffered a second successive bottom of the table finish only to be reprieved by FC Glades withdrawing from the competition for the following season.
Since their transformation from Sunday morning to Saturday afternoon football, Coton have had 7 full time managers at the club with varying lengths of tenure. Coton's initial and most successful manager to date was Steve Pike who was helped out by 4 different assistant managers during his time. These included ex-Tamworth Youth team coach Alan Ross and former Birmingham City player Barry Barnes. Pike's reign at the Coton helm came to an end in 2009 when the club were relegated back to Division 1 after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in their first season at that level.
The club were helped out in the short term by reserve team manager Jamie Dix before short spells in charge for Paul Casey, Steve Scattergood and Steve Nichols. Following this unsettling period of change, reserve team manager Jamie Dix stepped up as full time manager for 2 seasons where Coton achieved lower half finishes but did manage to win the Fazeley Charity Cup, defeating local rivals Lichfield City 1-0 in the final. The club were again faced with change in the 2012 / 13 season when Dix left the club after struggling with results. It was this time the turn of another reserve team manager to step up to the plate to take the first team reigns as John Downing took over for the final 5 games in charge before becoming full time ahead of the following season. Downing helped to settle the first team down and also had a major part to play in helping the club develop a strong youth infrastructure for its junior players to have a direct outlet into first team football along with Chairman Paul Barnes.
After 10 games in charge during the 2015 / 16 season, Downing felt it was the right time to step down as Coton manager and focus on his role as Vice Chairman and Assistant Football Development Officer. After a highly successful interview, Bolehall Swifts legend Rob Masefield was offered the Coton first team managers position where he is able to bring his wealth of experience from the Midland Combination to an upcoming Coton team. Masefield is assisted by Carl Nolan who is also a coach in the Coventry City youth set-up.
They made their FA Vase début in 2015.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Coton Green at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ "Coton Green FC set for FA Vase debut".