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Raunds Town F.C. is a football club based at Raunds,
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. The play in the . They were
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
semi-finalists in 1994–95.


History

Raunds Town was founded in 1946. There had been other teams with "Raunds" in the title as long ago as 1896–97, but at a meeting in the town's Temperance Hall in May 1946 a new amalgamated club was formed. The club is nicknamed "The Shopmates" in reference to the local boot and
shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the Foot, human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from cult ...
industry, which was largely
workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...
-based. In 1950 the Shopmates joined the United Counties League (formerly the Northamptonshire League), playing in the Second Division. They did not set the league on fire, and after switching between the divisions settled in Division One after the former first division was redesignated the Premier Division. A season in Division Two in 1979–80 seemed to wake them up: after the division was disbanded at the end of that season, the Shopmates returned to Division One and were promoted as champions in 1982–83. Raunds Town embarked upon an ambitious programme. Having played at Greenhouse Field for two years at the start, they moved to The Berristers for thirty-three seasons and in 1991 they moved to Kiln Park. The stadium adjacent to the A45 was designed to host football at a higher level. The Shopmates' on-field performance matched this munificence. In 1992–93 they won at Northwich Victoria 2–0 to eliminate their hosts from the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
in the Second Qualifying Round, thus far the only time a UCL club has eliminated
Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...
opposition from the competition. In 1994–95 the Shopmates lost the
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
semi-final against Arlesey Town having led 3–0 after the first (home) leg. The following season they were eliminated in the quarter-final by
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
club
Mangotsfield United Mangotsfield United Football Club is a football club based in Mangotsfield, Bristol, England. They are currently members of the and play at Cossham Street. History The club was formed in 1951 after Mangotsfield Football Club closed down its r ...
. In 2006–07 the Shopmates eliminated
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
side Enfield from the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
by way of a 2–1 away win, gaining revenge for a reverse in the same competition at their hands eight seasons before. Meanwhile, in the United Counties League, the leadership of manager Keith Burt led an assault on the top of the table. Having lost out on the championship on goal difference in 1994–95, Raunds seized the title the following season. They were duly promoted to the Southern League, where they took their place in the
Midland Division The Rugby Football Union Midland Division is a rugby union governing body for the English Midlands and is part of the Rugby Football Union. Constituent Bodies * East Midlands * Leicestershire * North Midlands * Notts, Lincs & Derbyshire * Staffor ...
. However, they suffered from their geographical location close to the boundary between the divisions and in 1998–99, the Shopmates were shifted to the Southern Division, which was renamed the Eastern Division the following season. This had financial implications, not least the cost of travelling, and for two seasons Raunds Town struggled. Manager Keith Burt resigned, and the club had little option but to apply for re-admission to the United Counties League at the end of 1999–2000. In the 2012–13 season, Raunds Town were managed by Stuart Brown. 2013-14 saw the arrival of co-managers James Le Masurier and Scott Manning. At the end of the 2020–21 season the club were transferred to Division One of the
Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...
.


Staff Positions

* Joint Managers: Luke Aridegbe/Dean McBride * Head Coach: * First Team Coach: * Reserve Team Manager: Matt O`Connor * U18 Manager: Steve Whitney/Eddie Mcgoldrick/Wayne Bellamy


Honours

* United Counties League Premier DivisionRaunds Town at the Football Club History Database
/ref> **Runners-up 1991–92, 1994–95 *United Counties League Division One **Champions 1982–83


Records

*
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
**Fourth Qualifying Round 1998–99 *
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
**Third Round 1998–99 *
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
**Semi-finals 1994–95


References


External links

* {{Coord, 52, 21, 08.14, N, 0, 32, 43.67, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Northamptonshire Association football clubs established in 1946 United Counties League Southern Football League clubs 1946 establishments in England Raunds Spartan South Midlands Football League