Paget Rangers F.C.

Paget Rangers
Full name Paget Rangers (2011) Football Club
Nickname(s) The Bears, The Wee Gers
Short name Paget
Founded 1938 (1938)
Ground Trevor Brown Memorial Ground, Church Road, Boldmere, Sutton Coldfield, England
52°32′30″N 1°50′32″W / 52.54167°N 1.84222°W / 52.54167; -1.84222Coordinates: 52°32′30″N 1°50′32″W / 52.54167°N 1.84222°W / 52.54167; -1.84222
Ground Capacity 2,500
Chairman Matthew Dainty
Manager Jason Lanns
League Midland League Division Two
2015–16 Midland League Division Two, 4th

Paget Rangers F.C. is an English football club based in Erdington, Birmingham, currently playing in the Midland League Division Two.

History

The club was established in 1938 by pupils of Paget Road School in Erdington, Birmingham and was accepted into the Intermediate Division of the Birmingham Juvenile Organisation Committee. In their first two seasons Paget enjoyed instant success, winning the league title on both occasions, however the outbreak of the 2nd World War brought a halt to progress. Following the outbreak of peace, Paget joined the Birmingham Youth and Old Boys AFA, before moving to the Central Amateur League in 1949 and then the Worcestershire Combination (now Midland Combination) in 1950.

In 1951 Paget Rangers purchased a site on Springfield Road in Walmley for a cost of £550. Springfield Road was to be Paget’s home for the next 42 years. The 1950s was a decade of consolidation for The Bears, before experiencing their first major success in 1960 when a unique quadruple was achieved. Paget won the Midland Combination League Title, The Midland Combination League Cup, The Birmingham Junior Cup and the Sutton Coldfield Charity Cup. Paget went on to retain the league title again in 1961. Further success followed in 1967 when Paget Rangers defeated Alvechurch to win the Midland Combination League cup (Alvechurch had beaten Paget in the previous year’s final). In 1970 Paget won the Midland Combination Premier Division for the third time, following that success with a second-place finish in 1971.

In 1971 the club erected floodlights at Springfield Road, becoming the first Midland Combination club to have floodlight in the process. The switching on of the lights was marked by a visit of Aston Villa to Springfield Road.

Paget Rangers won their 4th Midland Combination League Cup in 1983 and a 5th success soon followed in 1986, earning Paget Rangers a place in the Southern League for the first time. Unfortunately a mass exodus of players following the departure of manager Eddie Caulfield to local rivals Sutton Coldfield Town undermined the club’s progress and after one season in the Southern League the club was relegated to the West Midlands (Regional) League.

Paget adapted to live in the West Midlands (Regional) League and achieved a top half finish in all but one season between 1988 and 1994. The highest place achieved during this period was a second-place finish in 1992, when Gresley Rovers won the title. Success was achieved in the League Cup however in 1992, when Paget Rangers defeated Gresley Rovers in a thrilling final. The club also reached the final of the League Cup in both 1993 and 1994, but finished as runners-up on both occasions.

In 1993 Paget Rangers sold their Springfield Road ground for housing development for a fee believed to be in excess of £1.4million. Whilst a site for a new home was sought Paget Rangers began a groundshare agreement with local rivals Sutton Coldfield Town.[1]

In 1994, following league restructuring, Paget were elected as founder members of the new Midland Football Alliance. Paget won the inaugural championship in 1994/95 by a twelve-point margin from Hinckley Athletic to once again achieve promotion to the Southern League Midland Division.

The 1994-95 season was an outstanding season for Paget as in addition to claiming the Midland Football Alliance Championship, they won the Lord Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup when beating Moor Green in the final, and finished as runners-up in the Staffordshire Senior Cup to Stoke City. The same season saw them reach the semi-final of the Birmingham Senior Cup, thus enjoying their best ever run in the competition which included a 2–1 victory over Coventry City in the quarter final. However, they were beaten by Aston Villa but not before putting on a spirited performance at Villa Park.

In all, throughout the 1994/95 season, a total of five Southern League Clubs were beaten in various cup competitions. The first season in the Southern League was an instant success, with a 5th-place finish, including memorable victories over both Tamworth and run-away leaders Nuneaton Borough. In fact Paget Rangers were top at Christmas, but the sale of star striker Ian Bennett and midfielder David Campbell to Leicester United undermined any hopes of a second successive promotion.

The stadium in Castle Vale where the original club played in its latter days

After 5 seasons ground sharing with Sutton Coldfield Town, Paget moved to their new home at Vale Stadium, Castle Vale, for the start of the 1998/99 season. This moved proved to be a disaster. The expected increase in attendances didn’t materialise, the new pitch was prone to flooding and boardroom disagreements due to the inheritance of £1.4m caused the team to struggle both on and off the pitch.

The Club continued to battle on valiantly in the Southern League Western Division for two more seasons before the seemingly inevitable relegation occurred at the end of the 2000–01 season. As the season was drawing to a close, a mass exodus of players due to the withdrawal of any financial support saw several youth team players see action. Their spirit and effort was not enough to help Paget avoid relegation to the Midland Alliance, but four wins from their final six games meant Paget avoided bottom spot.

Paget's first season back in the Midland Football Alliance saw further off field tribulations affect the composition of the team. Once again youth featured prominently as the Bears attempted to stabilise in new surroundings. Paget achieved a solid mid-table position in their first season back in the Midland Alliance, however the club resigned at the end of the season and subsequently folded. The club’s final game was at home to Barwell on 23 April 2002. Paget won the game 3–1.[2]

In 2011 lifelong Paget Rangers supporter Matthew Dainty set about reforming the club with the ambition of returning Paget to the Midland Alliance as quickly as possible. After 18 months of planning Paget’s application to the Midland Combination for the 2012/13 season was rejected, thus meaning the Bears had to join the Birmingham AFA where they were placed in Division 2. Again, much like the original club Paget enjoyed instant success winning the Birmingham & District AFA Senior Cup at the first attempt, Paget defeating Athletic Sparkhill in a thrilling final 6–5.[3] In total three Premier Division clubs were defeated in the competition. Paget also came top of their league, pipping second-place Aston Reserves by a few points, to secure the AFA Division 2 title, and a double haul in their first season back.

For the 2013/14 season Paget's application to the Midland Combination was successful and the club was placed in Division 3. Despite establishing a twelve-point lead by Christmas, the Bears were eventually caught and overtaken by eventual champions Kenilworth Town and runners-up Coventry United. 3rd place however, was sufficient to see the club promoted to the Midland Football League 2nd Division for the 2014/15 season. Paget also reached the final of the Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup in 2013/14, going down by 4 goals 1 against Bromsgrove Sporting at their Victoria Road ground in front of a crowd of 408.

Ground

For the 2012–13 season Paget played home games at "The Gas Ground", Hollyfields Sports and Social, just off Paget Road in Erdington where the original club was formed. For the 2013–14 season Paget Rangers have agreed a ground share with Boldmere St Michaels. Originally named Church Road, the ground was renamed in 2004 after former Boldmere St Michaels chairman Trevor Brown. The ground's facilities have been upgraded since the mid-nineties to Southern League standard.[4]

The Trevor Brown Memorial Ground

Honours

The club has the following honours:[5]

Cups

Club records

Managerial statistics

NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%Honours
Anthony Edmead England 21 April 2012 15 July 2014 72 49 8 15 249 106 68.06
Martin Asante England 15 July 2014 14 October 2014 14 3 4 7 25 22 21.43
Martin Asante & Jason Lanns England 15 October 2014 26 November 2014 7 4 1 2 15 10 57.14
Jason Lanns England 27 November 2014 "Present" 59 32 6 21 128 83 54.24

First-team squad

[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
England GK Peter Maguire
England DF Reuben Wilson
Poland DF Craig Gasiewski
England MF Dean Morris
England DF David Arrowsmith
England DF Joshua McPherson
England MF Craig Evans
England FW Danny Carter
England FW Mark Bellingham
England MF Matt Seeley
England FW David Franklin
England MF James Taylor
No. Position Player
DF Rioual Kousseba-Bakala
England GK Josh Benton
England DF Dean Crowley
England MF Billy Fagg
England FW Kurt White
England DF Mark Bennett
England MF Matty Coates
England MF Luke Bradley
England FW Ross Dempster
England MF Mark Williams
England DF Darren Michael
England FW Myles Phipps
England DF Matthew O'Beirne

Club officials

Kit

Date Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
2012–14 Macron Newlands Shopping Centre
2014–15 Adidas HydraForce
2015–16 Umbro Maxwell & Sons

Rivalries

Paget's main rivals are Sutton Coldfield Town, Boldmere St. Michaels and Sutton United with whom the club has risen through the divisions in recent seasons.

Season history

Season
 League Contested Level
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
 League Position
 Avg. Home
Attendance
 FA Cup
 FA Trophy
 FA Vase
 League Cup
 County Cup
1994–95 Midland Alliance 8 38 24 9 5 65 32 +32 81 1st of 20 (P)
105 3rd Q n/a 1st Round 3rd Round SF
1995–96 Southern League Division 1 Midlands 7 42 21 9 12 70 45 +25 72 5th of 22 176 2nd Q 1st Q n/a 2nd Round SF
1996–97 Southern League Division 1 Midlands 7 40 13 9 18 42 55 -13 48 14th of 21 138 Prelim 1st Q n/a 2nd Round 1st Round
1997–98 Southern League Division 1 Midlands 7 40 9 12 19 40 75 -35 39 18th of 21 140 Prelim 1st Q n/a 1st Round 4th Round
1998–99 Southern League Division 1 Midlands 7 42 11 12 19 49 58 -9 45 19th of 22 162 1st Q 2nd Round n/a 1st Round QF
1999–00 Southern League Division 1 West 7 42 11 4 27 44 82 -38 37 19th of 22 172 Prelim 1st Round n/a 1st Round 1st Round
2000–01 Southern League Division 1 West 7 42 9 4 29 38 93 -55 31 21st of 22 (R) 136 1st Q 1st Round n/a 1st Round 1st Round
2001–02 Midland Alliance 8 42 10 19 13 58 55 +3 49 15th of 22 85 Prelim n/a 1st Round 1st Round 2nd Round
2012–13 Birmingham AFA 2nd Division 15 22 18 2 2 80 22 +58 56 1st of 12 (P)
29 n/a n/a n/a Won 2nd Round
2013–14 Midland Football Combination 2nd Division 12 30 20 6 4 98 33 +65 66 3rd of 16 (P) 39 n/a n/a n/a 1st Round 2nd Round
2014–15 Midland Football League 2nd Division 11 30 12 6 12 52 38 +14 42 11th of 16 66 n/a n/a n/a 4th Round 3rd Round
2015–16 Midland Football League 2nd Division 11 26 16 4 6 64 33 +31 52 4th of 14 53 n/a n/a 1st Q SF 2nd Round

References

  1. ↑ "Gone But Not Forgotten series". Soccer-books.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  2. ↑ "Paget Rangers History - Paget Rangers (2011) F.C". Pitchero.com. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  3. ↑ Master, Web (2013-04-25). "Paget win Senior Cup in dramatic style - Paget Rangers (2011) F.C". Pitchero.com. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  4. ↑ "Home Ground Location - Paget Rangers (2011) F.C". Pitchero.com. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  5. ↑ "Paget Rangers F.C Honours - Paget Rangers (2011) F.C". Pitchero.com. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  6. ↑ "Football Club History Database - Paget Rangers". Fchd.info. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  7. ↑ "1st Team - Players & Coaches - Paget Rangers (2011) F.C". Pitchero.com. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
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