Stretford Paddock Football Club are an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England. The club's first team plays in the

Cheshire Association Football League The Cheshire Association Football League is a football competition based in Cheshire, England, which until 2007 was known as the Mid-Cheshire Association Football League. From season 2017–18, the league operates four divisions: the Premier D ...

, League Two.

Background

Stretford Paddock Football Club was set up by journalist and podcaster Stephen Howson, who current CEO and first team manager, out of a desire to practice the content of his journalism in real life. Howson runs a

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...

fan channel, as well as being a co-presenter for "Full Time Devils" (now Stretford Paddock, in which the club gets its name). He has done journalism work in regards to Manchester United F.C. and other aspect of football for

Soccer AM ''Soccer AM'' was a British football-based comedy talk show, produced by Sky Sports. It aired from 20 August 1994 to 27 May 2023 on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football. From 2010, the programme was put on a short b ...

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

BT Sport TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, Warner Bros. Discovery and BT Group, they first launched as B ...

, and

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

, and co-presents "Vibe with Five" with

Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for TNT Sports. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and ...

History

Stretford Paddock was founded in 2020. As of 1 June 2022 the club has been fan owned. First Silverware On Saturday 8 July 2023, Stretford Paddock faced Droylsden FC in a significant match that marked Droylsden's return to football after three years of inactivity. The game, filled with anticipation, witnessed a delayed kickoff due to unexpected crowd congestion. In a dramatic turn of events, Stretford Paddock secured victory in a penalty shootout, lifting the Tony Downes Memorial Cup. This win, against a team that once held a notable position in the Northern Premier League, added the first silverware to Stretford Paddock's story. Biggest League Win Stretford Paddock FC recorded their largest league victory on 9 September 2023, when they defeated Wigan Town with a score of 10–0. This result stands out as the club's most significant win in league competition to date.

Club Colours

The clubs colours are red and white with black socks. This is an homage to Manchester United, as the club is created by supporters of Manchester United. In 2021 the club announced a four-year partnership with Puma to supply kits.

Home ground

The Paddock have been nomadic in terms of a home ground, having played home games at Droylsden FC's Butcher's Arms Ground for a part of the 2020–21 season. Flixton's Valley Road Stadium, Wright Robinson College and more recently Manchester Enterprise Academy have hosted Stretford Paddock home fixtures. Their current 2024-5 home ground is at Hyde United.

References

{{reflist 2020 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 2020 Football clubs in England Cheshire Association Football League