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Romulus |
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The Roms |
| Address: |
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Central Grounds, Coles Lane,
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. B72 1NL |
| Telephone: |
| 07956 187016 |
| Fax: |
| 0121 354 2997 |
| Website: |
| www.pitchero.com/clubs/romulus/ |
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| Map of area |
Directions |
Five Day Weather |
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| Club Notes |
From website:
THE EARLY YEARS
The story of Romulus Football Club began in 1979 when Roger Evans, Peter Fleet and Ken Powell, along with a small band of parents decided to form a club with the ethos that the best players young players from the North Birmingham area were always able to play for their side, irrelevant of their ability to pay weekly subs.
The club started with two age groups, the Under 12s managed by George Griffin and the Under 13s managed by Roger Evans, and once five feet grass had been cut down to size, the new teams were able to christen their first home, Penns Lane in Sutton Coldfield.
Success came instantly - during their earlier years Romulus won the Lichfield League and Birmingham Boys League on regular occasions as well as the Staffordshire FA Youth Cup, a competition where the Romulus overcame teams from higher age catergories throughout. As well as winning trophies the Roms developed a reputation for producing top class youth team players - Dean Sturridge (Derby County, Leicester City), Stuart Bowen (West Bromwich Albion), Luke Rogers (Shrewsbury Town) Darius Vassell (Aston Villa, Manchester City, Leicester City & England) and Zat Knight (Fulham, Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers & England) are all Romulus old boys, not to mention numerous non-league legends who have pulled on the Romulus jersey over the years.
While the youth sides continued to flourish, Romulus also entered adult football in the Sutton and District Sunday League. Initially placed in Division Two, they won three successive championships, including the Premier Division crown, heralding a move to the stronger Birmingham Sunday Festival League.
Starting off in Division Four, consecutive promotions saw the Roms rocket straight to the Premier Division before, at the tender age of 28, current boss Richard Evans took the Player/Managers role having played in every season since Romulus began, alongside his succesful Saturday career in the Southern League with Moor Green and Stourbridge. For the next two years Romulus continued to succeed at the top of local Sunday football before the decision was taken to progress into the Saturday game.
To this day the Youth set up is the lifeblood of Romulus Football Club. Running a further five teams under the senior squad, they have all continued to be succesful - the Under 18s secured the Midland Floodlit League Western Division title in 2009-10, alongside the Southern League Youth Cup with a 3-0 win over AFC Totton. As well as providing the first team with stars, there have been players move onto academies at Coventry City and Walsall, while others have been offered professional scholarships both at home and abroad.
SATURDAY FOOTBALL
Evans was joined by close friend and former Stourbridge team mate Keith Brown at the helm for their first season in the Midland Combination Division One, and again success was imminent with promotion to the Midland Combination Premier Division sealed at the first attempt.
2000-1 was another tremendous season, but the Roms just missed out on promotion by finishing third, followed by a fourth place finish the year after and a further place back in 2002-3, despite scoring 107 league goals.
2003-4 was an historic and record breaking season for the club - an enthralling pursuit for the league title was battled out with Rugby Town and Feckenham, who later faded away, leaving Romulus and Leamington to battle it out for top spot and the single promotion place.
Over 60 hours of competitive football came down to the last 15 minutes of the season with Romulus holding their nerve, beating Dudley Sports 3-1 to be crowned champions by a solitary point. This was the jewel in the crown as Roms secured a unique treble that season, lifting the Birmingham Midweek Floodlit Challenge Cup with a 2-1 victory over Nuneaton Griff at Damson Park, and the Midland Combination Endsleigh Challenge Cup by beating Coventry Marconi 2-0 at The Beehive, Studley.
2004-5 saw Romulus make their bow in the Midland Football Alliance and a creditable 12th place was achieved with more cup success - arch rivals Leamington were beaten 1-0 in the Terry Allden Memorial Cup final. Romulus progressed again in 2005-6 by finishing fourth, just 5 points off away from promotion to the Southern League.
One year on, and the champagne corks were popping again as promotion to the Southern Football League was sealed after gaining the runners-up slot behind runaway champions Leamington with Romulus firing in 102 league goals along the way. This coincided with an impressive FA Cup run to the Second Qualifying Round, coming within seconds of beating Worcester City of the Conference North at St Georges Lane, but a late equaliser and subsequent defeat in the replay ended the Roms dream - the run did put the club on the map though, and sent the Roms on their way to the next level with plenty of belief and impetus.
THE SOUTHERN/NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE YEARS
Romulus joined the Southern League Midland Division for the 2007-8 season. After a bright start they stuttered in the middle of the campaign before a rousing finish which saw them finish in 10th place - the debut season was a learning curve for everyone and hopes were high for the following season.
There was another succesful start to 2008-9 in both league and cup competitions - the Second Qualifying Round was reached again in the FA Cup, as well as a best ever run in the FA Trophy, but this left Romulus behind in their league schedule and the fixture backlog hindered their push for the top five.
2009-10 saw more progress both on and off the pitch - recovering from a shaky start, the Roms had another groundbreaking season, especially in the county cups where they reached two semi-finals. Beating League Two side Burton Albion 2-1 in the Birmingham Senior quarter final was a notable achievement - the Brewers had no less than six first team regulars in their side, including a Jamaican international with 21 caps as well as their top scorer.
There were hopes of reaching the play-offs, but with an 11 match unbeaten run cruelly interrupted by winter postponements another backlog saw the top five out of reach again, but a strong end to the season secured a highest ever finish - 8th place.
The summer of 2010 saw Romulus transferred to the Evostik Northern Premier League, a transition that proved tough on the pitch during the first few weeks. However, after a steady change in personnel, there was a strong recovery from October onwards which saw the team climb to the edge of the play-off places. The fine form also saw joint bosses Richard Evans and Keith Brown win the Manager of the Month award for December and January.
Again, playing catch up with fixtures took its toll, and Romulus faded away from the play-off picture in March before finishing the season strongly in 10th place on 67 points, our highest ever points tally in a Step 4 league.
Due to work commitments, Keith Brown sadly resigned in the summer of 2011 after 11 years of success and loyal service, leaving Richard Evans as the sole manager alongside coach Dave Barnett.
2011-12 proved to be the most difficult in the Roms history, finishing in the bottom half of a league table for the first time ever. There were some bright spots - beating Leamington in the FA Trophy 1-0 at Coles Lane and the sale of Marvin Johnson to Kidderminster Harriers for an undisclosed fee in January as the club saw another player make it into full time football. Johnson was also called up to the England C (non-league) international squad four short months after leaving the Roms.
Despite tough times on the pitch last season, boss Richard Evans is looking forward to 2012-13 with a host of new faces coming through the door as Romulus look to push on once more in a league filled with teams of a high calibre. |
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Venue
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Matches
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W
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D
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L
|
Goals
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+ / -
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|
Home |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 - 4 |
-1 |
|
Away |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 - 0 |
+3 |
|
Neutral |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 - 0 |
+0 |
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Total
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3
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2
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0
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1
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6 - 4
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+2
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Date
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Comp.
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Venue
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Score
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Stadium
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Crowd
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24.10.2017
|
Birmingham Senior Cup / 1st. Round |
Home
|
3 - 2 |
Victoria Ground
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415
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08.07.2017
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Friendly |
Away
|
3 - 0 |
Coles Lane
|
170
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14.08.2010
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Friendly |
Home
|
0 - 2 |
The Beehive
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51
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