Lydney Town

Although Lydney is one of the main towns of the Forest area the Severnsiders have       always led a very nomadic existence. With the town very much a Rugby stronghold the football club has always found it difficult to exist and although the club can trace its roots back to 1911 it never has had a sound base. The club competed in the local leagues until 1952 when they were elected to the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League. Unfortunately in1969 the club folded due to lack of committee. 1971 saw the soccer lovers of the town pulled together and the club re-formed and in 1974 the appointment of Harold Elliott as player/coach saw many players from Lydney Juniors introduced with the resulting effect of promotion to Senior League Division One in 1976. During this period the club switched from Bathurst Park onto the Recreation Ground using the changing facilities at the neighbouring Cricket Club.

In 1979-80 after twice finishing Runners-Up they finally lifted the Senior League Division One Championship. Applications to the County League were unfruitful so the club turned to the Hellenic League, where the club held its own, but after 4 seasons the huge financial burden of the League forced the club to return to the Senior League. A dispute with the Cricket Club saw the club move back onto Bathurst Park and following this Secretary Roger Sansom, who had been elected in 1975 and who is still secretary to this day, investigated the possibility of building a clubhouse on the Recreation Ground. Unfortunately on the pitch the downward spiral continued and the club found itself back in the NGL. The players thankfully stayed together and they bounced back into the Senior League the following season. The ambitious plans to have our own clubhouse were still in the pipeline and a clubhouse was opened on Lydney Recreation Trust in 1990. In 1995 the club did the double by winning Division Two and the Forest Green Supporters Trophy, a feat they repeated in 1996-97.

In 2003-04 Manager Peter Elliott, who along with Roger Sansom are the longest serving members of the club with 50 plus years service, guided the club to the Final of the League Cup and the Senior Amateur Cup but in 2004 due to work commitments Peter decided to step down. The club turned to Stuart Liddington to take the helm and with Peter being persuaded to assist him they forged a very successful partnership. The addition of Pete Macklin from Cinderford Town, Danny Clarke ex-Oxford United, Matthew Timmins from Whitecroft and the return of Mark Saunders from Australia gave the club a real boost. Pete, Danny and ‘Matty’ provided the missing link in the goal scoring department scoring over 70 goals between them, Danny leading the way with 32 goals. The Senior League title was secured with 4 games to go and they did the double by lifting the Senior Amateur Cup. The season was complete with the news of acceptance into the County League a prize denied to them some 25 years ago. The clubs County League campaign started in unconvincing fashion with only 4 points from 3 home games but a 20 game unbeaten run saw the club take over as league leaders at the start of 2006, a position they held for the remainder of the season. Scoring goals was very much the key to winning as 87 goals proved, ‘Matty’ Timmins finishing the leagues leading goal scorer with 28 goals. This success was beyond the clubs wildest dreams and gave the club the opportunity of a return to the Hellenic League after 22 years. A steady start saw the club 12 points behind the leaders in October but a 6 game winning streak at the end of the year saw the club take over as leaders at the start of January. The critical game came in mid-April with fellow title contenders Trowbridge Town visiting ‘The Rec’. In front of a crowd of 305 goals from Danny Clarke and Mark Crabbe secured victory and a 5 point cushion . With 3 games to go the Title was won at Malmesbury when Danny Bishop came off the subs bench to score 2 late goals and give the club an unprecedented 3rd title in as many seasons. The squad had certainly exceeded all expectations and can quite easily be classed as the best in the clubs history. Ambitious plans for the required improvements to gain promotion were put forward and accepted by the League allowing the club to play at the highest level in its history.

A steady start was overshadowed by events off the pitch when despite gaining planning permission for erection of floodlights the club became embroiled in a sea of red tape with their landlords. To continue playing in the Premier Division an agreement was reached to use Cinderford Town and Harrow Hill for home games. Despite these off the pitch issues an unbeaten league run of 11 games placed them in the top half of the table. Despite finishing in 10th position the club were unable to satisfy the April deadline imposed by the league and were forced to be relegated back into Division One (West).

With relegation came the inevitable loss of players who wished to play at a higher level of football and the club decided to pin its future hopes on the youth of the town. Mark Lee, who had joined the club from County League side Ellwood, took on the role of Player/Manager. In 2014-15 they finished runners up to Tytherington Rocks but despite finishing in a promotion position ground development had not been completed by the March 31st deadline and a further season in Division One followed. Determined that such a situation would not happen again further development work followed to ensure the necessary G grading but disappointingly after all the clubs efforts the club finished in third spot which would not necessarily ensure promotion. As luck would have it circumstances led to the club being offered a place in the Premier Division which they readily accepted but this again meant further development was needed to obtain an F Grading and this was attained in 2016 with the installation of a 2nd stand. In 2016-17 silverware came the clubs way via the Floodlit Trophy beating Flackwell Heath on penalties after the game finished 3-3. In 2019 Manager Mark Lee decided to step down after 8 years in charge and the clubs search for a new manager started. The club turned to ex-Town forward Richard Kear. Lydney born Richard had been at Cheltenham Town as a youth player but on his release he played on the Non League circuit before rejoining the club from Westfields in 2013. Family commitments saw Richard step down at the end of season 2020-21.

To replace Richard the club regained the services of previous manager Stuart Liddington but a set of indifferent results saw the club turn to Reserve Team Manager James Morse who instilled a new found confidence in the players and staved off any relegation fears. Despite languishing near the bottom of the table last season relegation was avoided with the club finishing 16th. Despite league struggles the club enjoyed 2 tremendous cup runs reaching the GFA Challenge Trophy Final losing out to 2 late goals against Roman Glass St. George. The club also reached the Bluefin Hellenic League Final but again missed out after coming up against a strong Pershore Town who had also lifted the Division One title. With the club unable to compete financially with the top teams in the league the club has turned to the Youth in the town with several promising youngsters coming through the club. 2023-24 saw an indifferent season finishing in 19th place but were saved from relegation by the knowledge that the FA were restructuring the NLS and that only 1 club was to be relegated. After 3 seasons of struggles James Morse stepped down and the search began for a new Manager.

Several candidates came to the fore but the club decided to go, for the first time for 40 plus years, outside the local area by appointing Danny Elliott as Manager for the 2024-25 season who joined the club with excellent credentials being a UEFA A Licence qualified coach with Newport County Academy. Sadly after a string of poor results Danny decided to step down and the club were once again in search of a new manager. Long serving goalkeeper Richard Thomas and Captain Jordi Sheen stepped in as Interim Joint Managers while interviews were conducted and the club were indebted to them for their efforts. At the end of October the club announced the appointment of, ex-Gloucester City stalwart, Lee Smith & Adam Dix as the new Management team with Warren Evans as coach. Their introduction to the club saw many changes and an influx of new faces. Although there were hiccups along the way Lee and his team ensured the club maintained their Premier Division status and look forward to a 11th season at Step 5. Manager Lee Smith added the experienced Sean McKeon, who had joined the club as a player, to the management team and with further new faces being added to the playing squad the club looked forward to the 2025/26 season.

Unfortunately despite attracting many excellent players, mainly from Hartpury University, results were somewhat variable especially after Christmas and the club dropped into the relegation zone in March. This led to an exodus of players and with the club now facing relegation Manager Lee Smith stepped down. With life in Division One confirmed the club started a search for a new manager and are pleased to announce the appointment of former Forest Green Rovers, Newport County & Hereford United stalwart Darren Jones who has had managerial experience at Chepstow Town, Cwmbran Town & Westfields and who will hopefully lead the club back into the Premier Division.