MATCHDAY
PROGRAMME
AVRO v CHASETOWN
SATURDAY, 26TH APRIL, KICK OFF 3PM
Pitching In NPL Division One West
HISTORY
CONTACT US/ GENERAL INFORMATION
CLUB PERSONNEL (under development)
MEDIA (under development)
INTRODUCTION
Can you believe it? It’s here. The final game of the season, and what a rollercoaster it has been!
Good afternoon and one final welcome to the Vestacare Stadium for season 24/25. Today marks the final game of the Northern Premier League West with the playoffs now firmly out of reach, the RO play for their pride and hope to give themselves some momentum before our European semi-final in May, ending this season on a high.
After two consecutive 1-1 draws Avro have confirmed their league status for next season. We welcome Chasetown and their travelling fans this afternoon who have successfully earned their way into a chance for promotion. A few games ago it looked like the RO may have been able to push the Scholars for this final spot and this could have been a big six point match as they say. But, things weren’t meant to be and today will mark more of a celebration to end a relatively successful but very entertaining season.
But do not forget, we still have a European Cup semi-final to play in Italy in May. Fancy a holiday as well as the opportunity to watch The RO play, led out by Shents? who wouldn’t?! Sounds like the perfect trip away! Find more details here on how you can get tickets and follow Avro’s final two games of the season in Italy.
It’s been a such a privilege covering Avro FC this season. A huge thank you to everyone involved, especially the supporters and volunteers who make this club so brilliant.
A to the V, to the R, to the O. AVRO! AVRO!
Stan Ashcroft (Club Programme Editor)
NOTE: Feel free to indulge in plenty of food and beverages available before, during and after the game. The Lancashire Suite will also be available to the public after the final whistle.
As always, please be respectful of the stadium rules and staff. They are there for your safety, this includes no smoking or vaping in the ground. Avro FC maintain a zero-tolerance approach to discriminatory or dangerous behaviour and remain fully committed to ensuring all supporters can enjoy matches at The Vestacare Stadium in a safe and respectful environment.
The side played their first competitive games in the Cannock Youth League, remaining there until 1958-59 when they were accepted into the Lichfield and District League. During their three-year stay in the League, the Old Scholars were runners-up in the League and Challenge Cup competition.
1961-62 saw them enter the Staffs County League, while a reserve team stayed on in the former League. First-team success followed with the Lichfield and Rugeley Charity Cups, before the club were admitted to the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One and changed to their current title of Chasetown FC in 1972-73.
In 11 seasons they won the title in 1977-78, finished second five times, third twice and fourth twice to earn a much-respected record.
However, despite the club’s on the field success, Chasetown were prevented from promotion because they were playing on a park pitch at Burntwood Recreation Centre.
A breakthrough came in 1983 when they re-homed with a move to the current ground, The Scholars Ground, which coincided with a move up into the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division.
The Scholards had mid-table finishes in the late 1980s followed by a trophy in 1989-90 when Chasetown lifted the League Cup with a 5-2 win over Halesowen Harriers in the Final.
This catapulted Chasetown into a successful period during the early 1990s. The Scholars scooped a West Midlands League cup and Walsall Senior Cup double in 1990-91, with a second Walsall Senior Cup win in 1992-93 at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium.
An excellent end to the 2002-03 season saw the club finish 9th, after languishing near to the relegation zone for most of the campaign. 2004-05, Chasetown lifted the Walsall Senior Cup for the third time beating Tividale 2-1 at Walsall FC and finished second to Rushall Olympic in the Midland Football Alliance.
That disappointment of missing out on promotion spurred Chasetown into an incredible season in 2005-06. The club was thrust into the national spotlight in November 2005 upsetting all the odds by reaching the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, overcoming famous non-league side Blyth Spartans in front of a then-record Chasetown attendance of 2,134.
The BBC were quick to bring this feat to a Sunday lunch-time audience of 3.2 million on “Match of the Day Live” as they broadcast the first round proper tie against Oldham Athletic. During that record-breaking season, the Scholars notched a record eight consecutive victories in the league, went 22 games unbeaten in league and cup, and regularly smashed their record league attendance, ending the season with 839 for the visit of Romulus in the game which clinched Chasetown the league title.
At the time of the FA Cup run, Chasetown lay in 14th place and 20 points adrift of league leaders Malvern Town, before beginning an astonishing run of victories. By April 2006 Chasetown topped the league table for the first time in the season. The final day saw Chasetown in pole position Chasetown lifted the Midland Alliance trophy and gain promotion to the Southern League Division 1 Midlands. The BBC cameras were at the Scholars Ground again, featuring both goals in their FA Cup Final programme.
Season 2006-07 saw the club finish third in the Southern Midland Division One but suffered the heartbreak of losing 1-0 to local rivals Willenhall Town in the play-off semi-finals.
2007-08 saw Chasetown become even more firmly embedded in FA Cup folklore when they defeated Football League Division One side Port Vale in a Second Round Replay to become the lowest ranked side to ever make the Third Round of the World’s most famous domestic cup competition.
Their reward was a home tie against Championship side Cardiff City who boasted multi-millionaire players like Robbie Fowler, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Trevor Sinclair amongst their highly rated squad.
In front of a record breaking home attendance of 2,420 the Scholars dared to take the dream one step further as they took the lead in the game. The class of a team six leagues and some 136 places higher than Chasetown did tell and a first half injury time equaliser from former Aston Villa man Peter Whittingham enabled Cardiff to regroup at the interval and further goals from 17 year old debutant Aaron Ramsey (his stepping stone to a great career at Arsenal) and Paul Parry finally ended Chasetown’s marathon ten game cup run.
Season 2008-09 saw Chasetown amongst the front runners and a fourth place finish ensured that they would contest the play offs. The club again made history on Friday July 10th 2009 when they became the first team to play a match in front of a paying crowd at the Bluebirds’ new multi million pound home – the Cardiff City Stadium – in front of 5,270 spectators.
Relocated to the Northern Premier League Division One South for 2009-10, Chasetown’s remarkable story finished on a high note as the club went on to become runners up.
For much of the 2010-11 season, Chasetown were in or around the play off positions, eventually finishing 10th in their inaugural season. Chasetown’s league campaign was distracted though by another incredible cup run. Despite being from the third tier of non-league football, Chasetown upset the odds time and time again in the FA Trophy.
2011-12 was the 40th season the club has been known as Chasetown FC, but unfortunately, was a historic season for all the wrong reasons, as they were relegated for the first time in their existence.
The following season the side played in the Northern Premier League South. They remained there for the next five seasons, failing to get past the playoffs in 2012/13 and 2017/18. In 2018/19 Chasetown moved from Division One South to Division One West and then in the next year they switched from Division One West to Division One South East. Not through promotion or relegation, just reformatting.
After the abandoned COVID-19 seasons in 2021/22 the Scholars reached the play-off final again but again, they failed to gain promotion with their third attempt. Chasetown finished 6th in the following season and then moved to the Northern Premier League West last year, where they finished mid-table (11th).
