 | |||
| Full name | Cradley Town Football & Social Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Hammers | ||
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Ground | Beeches View,Cradley | ||
| Chairman | Trevor Thomas | ||
| Managers | Jamie Oliver and Matt Clark | ||
| League | Midland League Division One | ||
| 2024–25 | Midland League Division One, 4th of 22 | ||
Cradley Town Football Club is afootball club based inCradley, nearHalesowen in theWest Midlands. They are currently members of theMidland League Division One and play at Beeches View.
The club was established in 1970 by a merger of Albion Rovers and Haden Rangers.[1] The new club played in the Premier Division of the West Midlands Metropolitan League, which they won at the first attempt.[1] Under the name Albion Haden United, they joined Division Two of theMidland Combination in 1971.[2] The club went on to win the division in1972–73,[3] although they were not promoted to Division One due to a narrow pitch.[1] In 1975 the club was renamed Cradley Town.[3] They were Division Two runners-up in1975–76 and again in1977–78. After finishing fourth in1978–79 and having widened the pitch, the club were promoted to Division One.[4][1]
In 1983, Cradley transferred to the Premier Division of theWest Midlands (Regional) League.[4] They finished bottom of the Premier Division in theirfirst season in the league and were relegated to Division One. In1989–90, the club finished bottom of Division One, but were not relegated and went on to win the division thefollowing season, earning promotion back to the Premier Division;[4] the season also saw them win theWednesbury Charity Cup. In1998–99, they were Premier Division runners-up and were promoted to theMidland Alliance.[4]
Cradley finished bottom of the Midland Alliance in2001–02, but were not relegated. They finished bottom again in2006–07 and2007–08, but remained in the division until being relegated at the end of the2009–10 season, which had seen them finish bottom of the league for a fourth time and fail to win a league match;[4] the club then dropped back into the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League.[4] At the end of the2020–21 season, they were transferred to Division One of theMidland League when the Premier Division of the West Midlands (Regional) League lost its status as a step six division.
In2024–25, Cradley finished fourth in Division One, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 3–2 toLeicester St Andrews in the semi-finals.
The club play at Beeches View, which had been the home ground of Albion Rovers prior to the 1970 merger.[1] A small stand was built in the late 1970s and floodlights were erected during the 1990–91 season.[1]
52°27′04″N2°05′22″W / 52.451191°N 2.0895119°W /52.451191; -2.0895119
