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Bognor Regis Town
Bognorregistownfc.png
Nickname(s) The Rocks
Founded 1883; 141 years ago (1883) (as Bognor F.C.)
Ground MKM Arena, Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis
Ground Capacity 4,500 (367 seated)
Chairman Dominic Reynolds
Manager Robbie Blake
League Isthmian League Premier Division
2018–19 Isthmian League Premier Division, 14th of 22

Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks’, the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division, where they finished 14th in the 2022/23 season.

History

Bognor Regis Town F.C. was founded in 1883 and the club became founding members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, joining the Senior Division. They won the championship of this league for five successive years in the early 1920s, after which they joined the Brighton, Hove & District Football League in 1926. Just one year later, however, they joined the Sussex County League where they were to remain until 1972. The club became Bognor Regis F.C. in 1929 after King George V added the suffix 'Regis' to the seaside resort.

The club won the Sussex County Division One championship in the 1948–49 season. At the end of that season, they added "Town" to their name so as not to be confused with the local rugby club.

At the end of the 1969–70 season they were relegated, but won Division Two at the first attempt. The club won the Division One championship title the following season and were promoted to Division One South of the Southern League. In 1972–73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 6–0 at Colchester United. In 1976 Jack Pearce became manager at the age of just 26, and went on to hold the position until 2007.

In 1981 the club were transferred to Division One of the Isthmian League, and were promoted at the end of the 1981–82 season after finishing second. In 1984–85 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, beating Swansea City 3–1 in a replay after a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field. In the second round they lost 6–2 at Reading. They reached the second round again the following season, beating Enfield in the first round, before losing 6–1 at Gillingham. They went on to reach the first round again in 1986–87 (losing 1–0 in a replay to Slough Town) and 1987–88 (losing 3–0 at home to Torquay United). In 1988–89 they beat Football League opposition again, defeating Exeter City 2–1, before losing to Cambridge United.

In 1991–92 Bognor finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved after Dagenham and Redbridge Forest merged. However, the following season they finished bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. In 1995–96 they reached the second round of the FA Cup for a fourth time, before losing 4–0 at Peterborough United.

In 2002–03 they finished second in Division One South, and were promoted back to the Premier Division. After finishing tenth the following year, the club were placed in the newly established Conference South. They were relegated back to the Isthmian League Premier Division at the end of the 2008–09 season, and were relegated again the following season.

Season 2010–11 saw the club compete in the Isthmian League Division One South and they missed out on promotion back to the Premier Division by the tightest of margins. Having finished with a club record total of 96 points, they lost out in the title race to Metropolitan Police on goal difference by just one goal, having led the table by two points, going in to the last fixture. As a result, they found themselves having to participate in the end-of-season play-offs, where they lost at home to Dulwich Hamlet who had finished 31 points behind.

In 2011–12 they again finished second in Division One South. They won the end-of-season play-offs, defeating Godalming Town in a thrilling semi-final, before beating Dulwich Hamlet 1–0 in the final, and thus gaining promotion to the Premier Division. The 2013–14 season started slowly, with just one point from the opening four matches. However they soon rose up the table, eventually finishing in third place and qualified for the end of season play-offs, although this ended in defeat in the semi-final at home to Lowestoft Town.

The 2015–16 season saw The Rocks miss out on the Premier Division title by one point and then lose in the play-offs to Dulwich Hamlet. They did, however, also enjoy their best ever run in the FA Trophy by reaching the semi-finals. They beat a number of teams from higher divisions along the way, including Bath City, Maidstone United, Altrincham, Sutton United and Torquay United. But hopes of an appearance at Wembley Stadium were dashed when they were defeated in the semi-final by Grimsby Town, losing 1-0 in the first leg at Nyewood Lane, before also losing the second leg 2-1 at Blundell Park (3-1 on aggregate), despite putting up spirited displays in both legs.

Season 2016–17 saw them finish in second place for the second season running, but this time they triumphed in the play-offs, beating Wingate & Finchley F.C. in the semi-final, before victory over old foes Dulwich Hamlet in the final, to win promotion to the National League South for season 2017-18. However, despite a promising start to life in the Vanarama National League South in 2017–18, they eventually finished bottom of the table and, as a result, returned to the Isthmian Premier for the 2018–19 season.

The club spent much of the 2018–19 season in play-off contention but a dip in form in the last couple of months saw them eventually finish in 14th place. However, there was something to celebrate at the end of the season as they won the Sussex Senior Cup for the first time in 32 years, defeating Burgess Hill Town 2-1 after extra time in the final played at Falmer Stadium, Brighton. They reached the final again in 2023 losing 8-7 on penalties after a 0–0 draw at full time to local rivals Worthing FC.

Stadium

The club play at the MKM Arena, Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis, PO21 2TY. The ground has a capacity of 4,500, most of which has covered accommodation. The clubhouse end of the ground saw the addition of an unusual 'beach brolly' style terrace cover in 2018, although this was severely damaged and as a result, pulled down due to Storm Ciara in 2020. The summer of 2020 saw the construction of a new 367 seated stand, with the roof at the clubhouse end replaced in October 2020. The ground's first set of floodlights was bought from Wembley Stadium and fitted onto telegraph poles. In the 1970s the current floodlight pylons were added, with four along each touchline, before two of these were removed on each side in the early 1990s.

On 15 August 2008 a fire destroyed the clubhouse, and was suspected to be arson. Work on a new social club, named 'Seasons', commenced during the summer of 2009 and opened in November the same year.

The playing surface won an award for the best in all three divisions of the Conference in 2008. Season 2010/11 also saw the pitch win an award, this time voted the best in all three divisions of the Isthmian League, in a poll of referees. The club also won an award two seasons running – 2007/08 and 2008/09, for the best canteen, as voted by supporters of rival Conference South clubs.

Current squad

No. Position Player
England GK Ryan Hall
England DF Eric-Georges Dellaud
England DF Joe Rabbetts
England DF Kieran Douglas
England DF Craig Robson
England DF Calvin Davies
England DF Tobi Ogundega (on loan from Sutton United)
England MF Harvey Whyte
England MF Joe Briffa
England MF Matt Burgess
No. Position Player
England MF Ben Anderson
England MF Danny Howick
England FW Jasper Mather
England FW Tommy Lee Higgs
England FW Isaac Olaniyan
England FW Dan Smith
England FW Tom Holland
England FW Lucas Pattenden
England FW Dan Gifford
England FW Brad Lethbridge

Club officials

General Management

Position Name
Chariman Dominic Reynolds
Vice Chairman Jack Pearce
General Manager Simon Cook
Commercial Director Russ Chandler
Club Secretary Michael Ryan
Match Secretary Peter Helsby
Women Secutary Lucy Jane Martin
Head Groundsman James Askew
'Seasons' Manager Mia Chapman

Men's First Team

Position Name
Manager Robbie Blake
Coach Jamie Howell
Strength & Conditioning Coach David Birmingham
Goalkeeping Coach Wes Hallett
Physiotherapist Leah Ilsley

Women's First Team

Position Name
Manager Matt Trinidad
Assistant Manager Billy Bromley

All positions are published on the club website.

Managers

As of 30 March 22. Statistics below are League matches only (Sussex County/Southern/Isthmian/Conference South).

Name Nationality Period G W D L Win %
Robbie Blake England March 2022 – Present 5 3 0 2 60%
Jack Pearce England May 2017–March 2022
Jamie Howell England June 2009–May 2017 124 64 33 27 51.61%
Mick Jenkins England June 2008 – January 2009 23 2 7 14 8.70%
Michael Birmingham England October 2007 – May 2008 30 9 10 11 30%
Jack Pearce England June 1994 – October 2007 566 227 144 195 40.10%
Mick Pullen England June 1992 – May 1994 84 20 24 40 23.81%
Jack Pearce England March 1976 – May 1992 672 254 163 255 37.78%
Derek Edwards England June 1970 – March 1976 208 86 50 72 41.35%

Honours

League Honours

  • West Sussex League Winners – 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25.
  • West Sussex League Runners-Up – 1897-98.
  • Sussex County League Div. 1 Winners – 1948–49, 1971–72.
  • Sussex County League Div. 2 Winners – 1970/71.
  • Southern League Southern Division Runners-Up – 1980–81.
  • Isthmian Premier Division Runners-Up – 2015–16 (not promoted), 2016–17 (promoted).
  • Isthmian Division One Runners-Up – 1981–82.
  • Isthmian Division One South Runners-Up – 2002–03 (promoted), 2010–11 (not promoted), 2011–12 (promoted)

Cup Honours

  • FA Trophy semi-finalists – 2015–16
  • FA Cup second round proper – 4 times
  • FA Cup first round proper – 3 times
  • Sussex Senior Cup winners – 1954–55, 1955–56, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 2018–19.
  • The Sussex Royal Ulster Rifles Charity Cup
    • Winners (1): 1971–72
    • Runners-up (1): 1958–59,
  • Isthmian League Cup winners – 1986–87

Club records

  • Record victory 24–0 v Littlehampton, West Sussex Senior League, 1913–14
  • Record defeat 0–19 v Shoreham, West Sussex Senior League, 1906–07
  • Record attendance 3,642 v Swansea City, FA Cup first round replay, 1984–85
  • Appearances: Mick Pullen, 967, 1976–96
  • Goalscorer: Kevin Clements, 216, 1978–89
  • Best league performance: (Pre-2004) Second in Southern League Southern Division 1980-81

(Post-2004) Ninth in the Conference South, 2004–05

  • Best FA Cup performances: Second round, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1995–96. First round, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1987–88.
  • Best FA Trophy performance: Semi Final, 2015–16
  • Most points in a season: 96 points in season 2010–2011, in the Isthmian Division One South

Team colours

The club's home strip consists of green and white, of which in the past, combinations have varied including green and white striped shirts, green and white halved shirts, green and white quartered shirts and plain green shirts with white shorts. Following King George V's decision to add the suffix 'Regis' to the town's name in 1929, the club wore a blue and gold strip for a period in the 1930s, before reverting to green and white some time later that decade. Since the mid-1970s, the strip has mostly consisted of white shirts, green shorts and white socks, as is the case today. Like many clubs, away colours have varied over the years, although blue shirts (various shades) were worn from 1998 to 2016. From 2016 to 2023, the club wore a maroon and white strip on their travels. Season 2023-24 sees the introduction of a new orange and black away strip.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Season Kit Manufacturer Main Shirt Sponsor
1979–1980 Adidas Hago Plastics
1980–1981 Umbro
1981–1983 No Shirt Sponsor
1983–1985 Hamilton Lines
1985–1987 New Olympic West Sussex Contractors
1987–1989 Puma Butlins (FA Cup ties only)
1989–1991 New Olympic Adcocks Suzuki
1991–1992 Hall Signs
1992–1993 Bukta Spindlers Lamps & Lights
1993–1994 Diadora Reynolds Furniture Store
1994–1995
1995–1996 ICIS
1996–1997 Esprit Accountants
1997–1998 Butlins Bognor Regis
1998–1999 Vandanel Competitive Cleaning
1999–2000 Reynolds Furniture Store
2000–2001 Spall Finest Windows
2001–2002 Express Printing
2002–2003 Wayne Windows
2003–2005 GX Aldersmead
2005–2006 homes2buy.co.uk
2006–2007 KFC
2007–2008 VRV Autos
2008–2009 Apogee Corporation
2009–2010 Erreà
2010–2011 Keith Jay Carpets
2011–2012 Chestnut Tree House
2012–2013 Havant Motor Factors
2013–2014 Viessmann
2014–2015 FRH Machinery
2015–2016 Gilbert & Cleveland
2016–2017 Concise Surfacing Ltd
2017–2018 Buildbase
2018-2019 Woods Travel
2019-2020 Reynolds Furniture Store
2020-2022 Apuldram Centre
2022-2023 Specsavers
2023-2024 Barfoots

See also

Category:Bognor Regis Town F.C. players

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