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| From Club website:
THE EARLY DAYS 1879 TO 1914
It is a far cry from that eventful Thursday January 2nd 1879 to today when a meeting at the Town Hall passed the following resolution:- That it is desirable that an Association Football Club be formed for Sutton Coldfield and District and that the gentlemen present at this meeting accordingly constitute themselves a club, to be called "The Sutton Coldfield Football Club"
The Clubs first game was against Birmingham on February 1st 1879 at "Meadow Plat" in Sutton Park. Dressing rooms were at the Station Hotel and horse drawn carriages took the players from there to the ground.
For the record, Sutton lost the match 6-2 and it is recorded that "After the hard and exciting work of the afternoon, the two teams and their friends sat down to a substantial repast at the Station Hotel and afterwards passed a very enjoyable evening"
Later that year, Aston Villas 2nd team visited Sutton on November 8th and lost 4-3 but in the next season playing at Perry Barr in the Birmingham Association Challenge Cup, Villas 1st team won 10-1 and according to one report "The Villa goalkeeper Copley used a chair to rest his wearied limbs".
Throughout the rest of the 1880s Sutton made steady progress with their 1st team playing in the Central Birmingham League and the Reserves playing in the Aston and District League.
In 1900,Sutton became affiliated to the Birmingham F.A. and moved to a ground in Coles Lane, where the Ambulance depot was later situated.
During the early 1900s the Club held committee meetings at the Duke Inn and they obviously had their fair share of problems because the minute book of November 8th reported ..."the match was abandoned owing to the visitors fighting and the riotous behaviour of their spectators 15 minutes from time, when Sutton were leading by 3 goals to one".
In the Boxing Day game of 1909, Sutton beat Boldmere 6-1, gate receipts were £3-7s-3d, players expenses were 9s-9d and the referees fee was three shillings.
BETWEEN THE WARS
The club switched to the Birmingham Alliance League between 1915 and 1919 but the major move forward came in 1920 when they took over the present Coles Lane Central Ground and joined the Sutton and District A.F.L. In the 1921-22 season the admission price to the ground was Adults 4d and Boys 2d.
During this period, although finals of various cups were reached, the trophy cupboard remained bare and at the start of the 1930s the Club was struggling financially.
Gradually the playing fortunes improved but all throughout the 1930s Football League clubs kept on signing Suttons best players.
In 1935 Holder went to Coventry City,Bassett signed for West Bromwich Albion,Leyton went to Reading and in 1936 goalkeeper Harry Baldwin went to West Bromwich Albion. Perhaps Suttons greatest player at that time Alf Wood went to Coventry City.
In 1937 it was reported in the papers that " It is a fact that Sutton Town have supplied more professional players during the last few seasons than any other amateur club in the country".
The Club had progressed however and joined the Birmingham Combination - in those days the strongest semi professional league in the Midlands.
It looked as though things were on the up but in 1939 the 2nd World War started and for 7 long years there was no football played at Coles Lane.
AFTER THE 2ND WORLD WAR
The old committee got together after the 2nd World War in 1945 in an attempt to revive the Club following the war years. The Coles Lane ground was in ruins. The pitch had big holes in it dug by children and the grass was over 2 feet high. The stand ( capable of holding 300 spectators ) was damaged and the pitch perimeter fencing smashed. Pigs were being kept in the stand and a man had kept horses and ponies at the ground and gave children rides on Saturday afternoons.
Despite this seemingly impossible situation, the Committee over many months with the help of friends and supporters gradually returned the ground to a state fit for football again.
Competitive football however was not played again until the 1947-8 season when Sutton finished 4th in the Walsall Senior League. During this period, the Club enjoyed good support with the local derby against Sutton Athletic attracting 1200 fans.
During the 1948-9 season the car park was completed and a crowd barrier erected around the pitch.
Yet again in the 1950s financial troubles bedevilled the Club as they went back into the Birmingham Combination and results were poor for the next few seasons.
On October 15th 1955 came a new crisis when the Clubs 80 foot long wooden stand burned down and the Club immediately launched a £4000 appeal for a new brick and concrete building ( the one which is in existence today ).
Work on the new stand purchased from Manchester City began in October 1956 but as ever finances were a problem and at one point in 1959 the Club nearly decided to close.
1964 TO 2011
The 1960s saw a slow consolidation after the difficult years after the war and in 1972 Norman Cox who was President at the time master minded the construction of the Clubhouse.
On the field fortunes improved with long runs in the FA Amateur Cup and winning the Midland Combination Cup beating Moor Green 2-0 in 1969-70.
No history of The Royals would be complete however without a mention of the 2 occasions when they made the 1st round proper of the FA Cup and met Football League opposition.
In the 1980-1 season the Royals were drawn at home to Doncaster Rovers of the then 4th division managed by Billy Bremner. A crowd of over 2000 (easily a record at Coles Lane), saw an even game but superior fitness from the full time professionals finally told with 2 goals in the 2nd half for Doncaster Rovers to run out 2-0 winners.
The strong team Sutton Coldfield, in the early 1980s, had taken them to the highest level of football they had then achieved when they were promoted to the Southern League Premier Division ( at that time only 1 division outside the Football League ). However relegation came in the first season and for many years the Club played at this level neither achieving promotion nor being relegated.
In the 1992-3 season the Royals again reached the 1st round proper of the FA Cup and were drawn away to Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park. Again the team put in a fighting display and going into the final 6 minutes 2-0 down Andy Dale scored a fine 25 yard goal and 1 minute later the Royals looked to have scored another only for it to be ruled offside. It looked desperately close but it was not to be. Bolton Wanderers went on that year to beat Liverpool at Anfield and gain promotion so it was probably the finest performance yet by the Royals.
Chris Keogh, who has been our longest serving manager to date, started his career in 2000 before stepping down at the start of the 2012-13 season. During his reign the Club was usually at the top of the Southern ( and latterly ) Northern League at what had become step 4 making the play offs or just missing out on goal difference on numerous occasions.
2011 TO THE PRESENT DAY ( 2017 )
Things have changed a lot since 1879 and even since 2011. At the end of 2010 the then Assistant Manager Neil Tooth asked if the Club could use its Rotary connections to find somewhere they could train throughout the season. The Board undertook a survey and it was agreed with funding from within the Club to spend £400,000 on a 3G artificial pitch as the main stadium pitch. At that time ( and it still is ) this was a massive project for a Club at that level. The ground was levelled and a very efficient drainage system installed before the 3G carpet was placed on top. All of this was done in record time from early May when the season ended and work commenced, to mid July when it was completed, in time for pre season friendlies.
The 3G pitch has completely changed the fortunes of the Club. On the playing side, no matches are ever postponed due to bad weather ( 2 were postponed in the first season due to heavy snow ) and the level pitch ensures good passing football can be played ( by both sides ).
On the commercial side, the pitch is hired out to other teams for matches and many teams and other organisations use it for training, 6 a side matches and tournaments. The income generated is used to maintain the pitch ( including money put aside for a fund to replace the pitch after 10 years approximately ), staff the operation and put money into the Club to financially support the 1st team budget. In the 2014-5 season the 1000th 11 a side match was played on it.
Chris Keogh stood down as manager at the start of the 2012-3 season and Assistant Manager Neil Tooth took over as 1st team manager.
In that season the Club again famously missed out on a play off place on goal difference in injury time of the last game of the season when leading against Leek a penalty was conceded and the match drawn.
However, the Club finally achieved, what many thought they never would, and after leading the Evostick Northern Premier Division 1 South for most of the season, fell away just after Christmas 2014 but rallied and finally made the play offs in 4th place. Two superb performances, away at Newcastle Town in the semi finals and away at Leek in the final ( in front of a crowd of 1200 ), when the Royals won 2-0, meant that the Club took their place in the NPL Premier division for the 2015-6 season.
Again many doubters said they should not have been promoted and would certainly immediately be relegated, but they ended their first season at step 3 in a comfortable 12th position.
In addition, the Cup hoodoo over the last 20 years was finally broken in this season when several good victories eventually led to an appearance in the 1st round proper of the FA Trophy at home to Conference Premier side Barrow. With a late breakaway goal from Barrow, after a good penalty shout for the Royals, they lost 1-0.
Also during this landmark period the Club has acquired their own brass band, choir and avid supporters group called the Ultras. They are the envy of most teams the Royals play and certainly add to the match atmosphere. In the bad floods of 2015/6 some of them made the long trip to Ramsbottom United in Lancashire who play in the NPL Premier alongside the Royals, to help clean up their football ground after extensive flooding. This caused quite a stir in the non league football world and led to more justified publicity for them and the Club.
Season 2016-17 proved to be a relegation fight all season and in November 2016 manager Neil Tooth was replaced by former Dutch player and WBA stalwart Richard Sneekes and his assistant Steve Hinks. Relegation was averted on the very last day of the season with a fighting 0-0 draw at Workington.
During early 2017 there was heavy investment at the ground with new toilets in the Clubhouse, new 100 seater stand adjacent to the Clubhouse and a new triple turnstile block. During the close season prior to the 2017-18 season the 3G pitch was lifted, a new base of tarmac installed and then relaid to ensure a perfect playing surface for many years to come.
The 2017 – 2018 season mirrored that of the previous year; again, Sutton struggled to pick up league points and were knocked out of the FA Cup and Trophy in the early rounds by lower league teams. At the beginning of 2018 with the team having only 5 wins and 5 draws from 29 games and a goal difference of minus 48 the decision was once again taken to change the management. Neil Tooth (Toothy) was reappointed with a new management team and reinvigorated the team doubling the number of wins and being competitive in almost all the remaining games. However, the deficit inherited was too great and relegation became something of a formality.
All in all a lot has happened since 1879! |
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|
Venue
|
Matches
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
Goals
|
+ / -
|
|
Home |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
5 - 3 |
+2 |
|
Away |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 - 1 |
+2 |
|
Neutral |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 - 0 |
+0 |
|
Total
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
8 - 4
|
+4
|
|
Date
|
Comp.
|
Venue
|
Score
|
Stadium
|
Crowd
|
|
31.08.2020
|
Friendly |
Away
|
2 - 0 |
Coles Lane
|
215
|
|
01.05.2019
|
Southern League / Division 1 Central Play-Off Semi-Final |
Home
|
3 - 2 |
Victoria Ground
|
1849
|
|
26.12.2018
|
Southern League / Division 1 Central |
Home
|
2 - 1 |
Victoria Ground
|
1335
|
|
27.08.2018
|
Southern League / Division 1 Central |
Away
|
1 - 1 |
Coles Lane
|
416
|
|
21.01.2014
|
Friendly |
Home
|
0 - 0 |
Victoria Ground
|
59
|
|
|