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Oldland Club History

Oldland Club History

Media Team3 Aug 2019 - 10:35
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https://www.oldlandfootball.co

Updated for the 2019/20 season

2010 was Oldland's centenary Year after Bristol and District League handbooks of the 1920's revealed that the team was founded as St. Anne’s (Oldland) at California Road in 1910. St. Anne’s (Oldland) won the GFA Minor Cup at the end of the 1921/22 season when league programmes resumed after World War One, then lifted the 1925 GFA Junior Cup but had to wait until the 1950's for further success. Little is known about the club's fortunes between the wars but they became founder members of the Bristol Premier Combination in 1962 and were promoted to the Gloucester County League in 1973, remaining there for twelve seasons until being re-elected as Oldland Decora in 1986.

The seventies was a successful period for the club; the reserves were District League division 5 and 4 champions in two successive seasons (1975 and 1976) and the first team won the GFA Senior Amateur Cup in 1977. Secretary of the Reserve and A sides, Reg Hamblin, first played for the club in 1952 and has been secretary since 1962, he is a life member of the Bristol and District League and highly regarded for his efficiency and manner throughout local football.

The A side won the Bristol and District division 5 title again in 1991, then former player Herbie Johnson led a B team of mainly 16 year olds to the GFA Primary Cup in 1994 and the Bristol and Avon League's Jack Jenkins and Sportsman's Trophies in the following year. In 1996 they also won the league's Division 1 title. In 1995 the first team were relegated from the Gloucester County League but bounced straight back as Bristol Premier Combination champions the following year.

ABBOTONIANS
Pupils at Hanham Abbots school launched Abbotonians football club as juniors in 1947 and they enjoyed many league and cup successes in the early years, including Kennedy Cup wins in 1961, 1966 and 1972. The club also won the GFA Intermediate Cup in 1962 and 1969, the 1968 GFA Minor Cup. It also became the Bristol Churches League Under 16 league winners in 1959 and 1961 and Under 18 league winners in 1960.

Whilst playing at Longwell Green, Abbots were guided by long serving and now sadly passed away secretary George Threader, manager Jeff Evans and chairman Bill Holloway, whose son Ian has enjoyed tremendous professional success as a player with Bristol Rovers, Wimbledon and QPR and is now a successful football league manager.

OLDLAND ABBOTONIANS

The two clubs merged in 1998, playing in the Somerset Senior League. The late Alan Bush was appointed chairman of the newly merged club based at Oldland's Castle Road ground. Oldland Abbotonians won the Somerset Senior League Division One in 2004/05, were Premier Division runners up in 2005/06 and eventually promoted to the Toolstation League in 2006/07. Derek Jones has remained with the club ever since and is now Chairman.

Lee Gibbs had led the club into the League before passing over to ex-Arsenal, Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth player David Hillier at the start of the 2008/09 season; Hillier helped them become the first ever Division 1 side to win the Les Phillips (league) cup, securing 7th place in the league as well. Replacement manager Spencer Thomas and his squad managed to debut in the FA Cup and gain runners-up spot during the 2010/11 season but promotion was snatched away as the ground was not up to the League's strict regulations so he and most of the squad left for Longwell Green.

A new management team of Paul Britton and Gary Brown arrived, planning permission was granted for floodlights and these were unveiled in November 2011. The pair stayed at Castle Road for two seasons and led the side to a 5th place finish in 2012/13, ending with a 19-game unbeaten run but they too left and took most of the squad, this time to local rivals Bitton.

They were replaced by former Keynsham Town and Paulton Rovers player Nigel Lee but shortly before Christmas, Nigel left the club being replaced by former Yate United Reserves boss Dale Dempsey. Having finished 4th and been assured that promotion was imminent at the end of 2015/16 Oldland were disappointingly not promoted and had to start again. 2016/17 was a pivotal year as although the football side disappointed, through fundraising and grants the club spent in excess of £70,000 on ground improvements including safety fencing, pitch maintenance equipment,a new stand and CCTV system and it is hoped that the dream of Premier Division status can now be achieved.

In 2017/18 the team were led by former Southampton trainee and Bristol Rovers professional Scott Armstrong but he stood down for personal reasons in September 2018 as did later that season former player Jon Toy. The 2018/19 season saw Clayton Woodman arrive along with assistant Steve Cains plus coaches Darren Sealey and Paul Weeks.

The Reserves are managed by Tom Hutton and Steve Bristow and from 2018/19 a newly formed adult third team, The Colts, plays in the Bristol & District League, managed by Sam Jones.

The Under 18s are managed by Tony Podluzny.

In total, the club now runs three adult sides, a ladies team and Under-18s plus following a merger in the summer of 2013 at youth level with Deerswood Youth FC, 13 junior sides from under-6’s to under-16’s training.

PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS
Oldland has often been described as a nursery for Bristol Rovers with Vic Lambden, Peter Sampson, Brian Bush and Mike Tippets all playing for the club before turning professional at Eastville. Former Rovers favourite Bobby Jones was one of many successful Oldland managers, a list which includes David Hillier.

Abbots rose to heady heights under the leadership of Alan Bush in the 1980's with the help of former Rovers players Jeff Meacham, the late Steve Talboys (Wimbledon) plus Rovers favourites Graham Day, Peter Aitken and Phil Bater. Among other youngsters who left Abbots to play for Rovers were Stuart Taylor, Phil Kite and Kevin Westaway.

Further reading