Welcome to the fan page of
Redditch
United F.C
The Reds
Results & Upcoming fixtures
Berkhamsted
Southern League – Premier Central
Mickleover
Southern League – Premier Central
Royston Town
Southern League – Premier Central
St Ives Town
2-0 L
Long Eaton United
2-0 W
Stourport Swifts
1-1 (4-1 Penalties) W
Hello and welcome to this page
dedicated to our favourite football team – Redditch United.
You don’t have to be a fan of Redditch United to visit this page, though we hope you become one after reading it. Enjoy exploring the history and traditions of this phenomenal team here!
Redditch: First Years
The mention of Redditch United might not immediately ring a bell, but the team is actually one of the oldest surviving English football teams (meaning it’s still active under the same model); the team was founded in 1891 and it was originally called Redditch Town.
Redditch Town immediately joined the Birmingham & District Junior League which was an English football league created for teams in Birmingham and the region, active between 1892 and 1954. It was considered a feeding league to the Birmingham & District League.
The inaugural season for the Reds was more than successful. Redditch Town first played in the 1893/1894 season, winning their first ever game at home against Singers FC (later changing its name to Coventry City) with a score of 4-1.
That, however, was nothing in comparison to their performance in the Worcestershire Senior Cup; this football competition was established the same year as the Reds’ debut and it’s still played today. In 1894, Redditch Town became the first champions of the Worcestershire Senior Cup, making their debut one of the strongest in football history.
Still, weirdly enough, the same season also saw the withdrawal of Redditch Town from a qualifying game in their league; they withdrew from the game against Hednesford (Town). While this might seem strange today, it wasn’t uncommon for football teams back then to withdraw due to lack of funds, inability to find players, or to concentrate on more important competitions.
In 1897, Redditch Town changed its name to Redditch. The same year, the team also dropped down in order to compete in their local league, meaning that they chose not to advance to a more prestigious football league.
In 1908, the Birmingham & District Junior League had grown significantly and it changed its name to the Birmingham Combination League with Redditch joining the new league.
Only two years later, in 1910, the Reds played their first FA Cup game against league rivals Willenhall Pickwick which they unfortunately lost 6-0.
In 1913/1914, Redditch had one of its best seasons and won the Birmingham & District Junior League for the first time.
The next season (1914/1915), Redditch had the chance to redeem itself in the FA Cup championship. The Reds won 1-0 against Willenhall Swifts (different team than Willenhall Pickwick, although the two teams merged later), but they then suffered their worst FA Cup loss, being defeated 8-0 by Cradley Heath St Luke’s.
The First World War broke out in 1914 and put football to a halt. There were no football competitions until the very end of the war in 1919.
There is not much that happened in the decade following the end of the war, but Redditch had a few very successful seasons in the 1930’s. Redditch won the Worcestershire Senior Cup for the second time in 1931. The next season, the Reds also became the champions of their league for the second time.
There were again no football competitions in England during the Second World War or between 1939 and 1945.
In 1953, Redditch became the champions of their league for the third and final time.
New League, New Successes
In the years following its founding, Redditch’s league, or the Birmingham Combination League, had seen much improvement. Although it was originally meant to be a feeder league to the more senior Birmingham & District League, the Birmingham Combination started to be considered a rival to its senior counterpart and many regarded it as the top league in the region around the 1930’s-1940’s period.
This prompted a proposal by the Birmingham & District League for a merger in 1952. The Birmingham Combination swiftly rejected the proposal. However, the league saw some of its teams defecting to its rival which made the board reconsider the merger, but that time the Birmingham & District League rejected the proposal.
Having just one team left in 1954, the Birmingham Combination effectively ceased to exist, having been successfully absorbed by the Birmingham & District League. The league then had many new members, 40 to be exact, which prompted it to split the competition in two divisions – Northern and Southern.
Redditch became part of the Southern division in their new league and immediately made a name for itself. The football team had an almost immaculate season and decisively won the cup of the Southern division in 1954. The club would, unfortunately, not win the league again.
For the next season, the Birmingham & District League changed the rules of the competition yet again by introducing two divisions, though this time the teams were divided by performance and not location. Division One was meant for the top-performing team with promotion and relegation existing between Division One and Division Two.
The league would go on to revert back to its original one division-only model and then back to two and then three division models.
Redditch United: New Name and Wins
In 1971, Redditch was renamed to Redditch United FC, the name it still bears today. This name change must have been a good luck charm as the team reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time. They played their first game home in front of a full stadium of supporters when they scored a draw (1-1) against Peterborough United, but the Reds sadly lost the replay 6-0 and dropped out of FA Cup.
The following season 1972/1973, Redditch United joined the Southern League (Division One North). Much like in the past when Redditch joined a different league, the team immediately went on to impress its fans by winning accolades. In 1975, the Reds won the Worcestershire Senior Cup for the third time and they successfully defended their title the next year when they won the cup for the fourth time in their history.
In 1976 Redditch United won Division One North after scoring more than 100 goals during the season, so they were promoted to the higher division of the Southern League for the next season, namely the Premier Division.
At the time when Redditch United joined the Southern League, the league was considered a sort of feeder league for the Football League (the most prestigious English football league until the creation of the Premier League; now known as the English Football League) whereas the Football League would sometimes accept Southern League teams and vice-versa.
That process of “feeding”, however, was not firmly established and teams sought more regular league advancements as the two leagues didn’t abide to strict promotion and relegation rules.
The then-Secretary of the Football League, Alan Hardaker, suggested an amalgamation of the two strongest lower-division leagues or the Southern League and the Northern Premier League. His proposal meant to reduce the number of candidates who applied to join the Football League under the re-election system it used then.
The Southern League and the Northern Premier League thereby decided to restrict the number of teams who could apply to join the Football League, allowing only one from each league to apply. The two leagues also considered the proposal for a merger, but ultimately decided to set up a different league, while retaining their respective leagues, which would comprise of 13 Southern League teams 7 Northern Premier League teams.
The new league was named the Alliance Premier League and it was founded in 1979. Redditch United was one of its founding members, along with another 19 teams from both leagues. The Alliance Premier League is now called the National League and it represents levels 5 and 6 of the English football league system.
Despite being a founding member, Redditch United did not stay in the league for long, not managing to compete with teams like Barnet and Yeovil Town. Redditch United was thus relegated back to the Southern League after the 1979/1980 season, playing in the Midland Division.
At the end of the 1985/1986 season, Redditch United finished second in the Midland Division and was thus promoted back to the Premier Division of the Southern League. They remained in the Premier Division until they were relegated again in 1989.
The same year, the Reds tried their luck in FA Cup yet again but they unfortunately dropped out after a 3-1 loss against Merthyr Tydfil.
While Redditch United didn’t manage to win any football competitions the following decade, the team made history for a different reason. In 1997, the Reds became famous for playing 9 games in 9 days which is something unheard of for English football. These fixtures weren’t planned but were the result of poor weather and the conditions at Valley Stadium Pitch.
Redditch United in the New Millennium
The Southern League created new divisions and Redditch thus went from the Midland Division to Division One West for the 1999/2000. While initially struggling to prove themselves in their new division, the Reds had a historic 2003/2004 season.
Redditch United won Division One West in 2004 which meant promotion to the Premier Division. However, rather than moving on to play in the Premier League, the Reds were given the chance to advance to the newly-created Conference North (now known as National League North or level 6 of English association football). After winning two play-off matches, Redditch United successfully won its place in Conference North. The team was at its peak under the helm of manager Rod Brown and they achieved the highest league placement for their history.
Despite not doing that well in their league during the 2007/2008, the Reds managed to win the Worcestershire Senior Cup for the fifth time. The following three seasons, however, proved to be less successful for the Reds and they were ultimately relegated back to the Southern League in 2011, playing in the Premier Division.
In 2014, Redditch United won the Worcestershire Senior Cup yet again and it could then boast of having won 6 cups in the competition.
During the 2015/2016 season, the Reds secured the second place in the Premier Division which could see them be promoted back to Conference North, but unfortunately, the team lost the play-off games against Leamington with Leamington winning on penalty kicks.
The Southern League changed the structure of the competition for the 2018/2019 season and Redditch United was thus moved to Premier Division Central where it still plays today.
The Club Now
You now know everything about the history of the fantastic Redditch United club, so it’s time to introduce you to the current squad and staff.
Staff:
• Manager – Matt Clarke
• Assistant Manager – Gary Whild
• First Team Coach – Dave Boddy
• Goalkeeper Coach – Dan Price
Squad:
• GK ENG Adam Harrison
• GK ENG Kieran Boucher
• DF ENG Lewis Hudson
• DF ENG Calum Flanagan
• DF UKR Yan Osadchyi
• DF ENG Ryan Wollacott
• MF ENG Robbie Bunn
• MF ENG Jack Byrne (captain)
• MF ENG Kieran Day
• MF ENG Kieren Donnelly
• MF ENG Reece Flanagan
• MF ENG Cam Moore
• MF ENG Aram Soleman
• FW ENG Ryan Boothe
• FW ENG Dylan Hart
• FW ENG Daniel Gyasi
• FW ENG Bernard Mensah
• FW ENG Ryan Nesbitt
Full List of Awards Won
Here’s the full list of accolades won by Redditch United:
• Birmingham Combination Champions: 1913–14, 1932–33, 1952–53
• Birmingham & District League Southern Division Champions: 1954–55
• Southern League Division: One North champions: 1975–76; Western Division champions: 2003–04
• Birmingham Senior Cup Winners: 1925, 1932, 1939, 1977, 2005
• Worcestershire Senior Cup Winners: 1894, 1930, 1975, 1976, 2008, 2014
• Staffordshire Senior Cup Winners: 1991
• Worcester Royal Infirmary Cup Winners: 1999
The Valley Stadium
The Reds play on the Valley Stadium (previously known as the Trico Stadium). The stadium holds up to 5000 people and has seen some of the most iconic games in semi-professional English football. In 2016, the football club worked closely with the Redditch Borough Council, the FA and the Football Foundation in the revamp of the stadium.
An investment program saw £900,000 allocated to the club which it used to renovate the beloved Valley Stadium. The club upgraded the changing facilities and it installed a modern 3G playing surface (the newest generation of artificial turf) which allows the Reds to play on the same surface used by Premier League teams.
Redditch Serving the Community
In 2016, the Redditch Academy was opened which allows players to enrol in college and university level programmes alongside playing football, an initiative which created even more interest in the club.
Redditch continues to invest in educational programmes, having recently created a disability sports programme and sponsoring new classroom facilities. The club also supports local initiatives that boost community participation in sports, particularly football.
In 2022, Redditch United became the home of England Walking Football, hosting the team’s training sessions and providing grounds to their international match days. Walking football is a type of football that allows players to “take it easy” or walk instead of run and it also reduces tackling.
- There are currently 8 teams that are part of England Walking Football and they serve football enthusiasts who are above the age of 40: Women Over 40, Men Over 50, Women Over 50, Men Over 60, Women Over 60, Men Over 65, Men Over 70 and Men Over 75.
We highly recommend attending one or multiple of their games because they show everyone quite clearly that there is no age limit when it comes to the love of the game.