 | ||||
| Full name | Mansfield Town Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Stags | |||
| Founded | 1897; 128 years ago (1897) (as Mansfield Wesleyans) | |||
| Ground | One Call Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 9,186[1] | |||
| Owner | John Radford | |||
| Chief Executive | Carolyn Radford | |||
| Manager | Nigel Clough | |||
| League | EFL League One | |||
| 2023–24 | EFL League Two, 3rd of 24 (promoted) | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professionalassociation football club based in the town ofMansfield,Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes inEFL League One, the third level of theEnglish football league system.
The club was formed in 1897 asMansfield Wesleyans and entered the Mansfield & District Amateur League in 1902, before changing its name toMansfield Wesley and joining the Notts & District League in 1906. They then finally became Mansfield Town in 1910, and moved from the Notts & Derbyshire League to theCentral Alliance the following year. Crowned Alliance champions in 1919–20, they joined theMidland League in 1921 and won this league on three occasions – 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1928–29 – before they were admitted into theFootball League in 1931. They were relegated out of theThird Division in 1960, but won promotion out of theFourth Division in 1962–63, remaining in the third tier for nine seasons until their relegation in 1972. They reached theSecond Division for the first time after winning the Fourth Division title in 1974–75 and the Third Division title in 1976–77, only to suffer two relegations in three seasons.
Promoted out of the Fourth Division under the stewardship ofIan Greaves in 1985–86, they went on to win theAssociate Members' Cup in1986–87. Mansfield were however relegated in 1991 and promoted again in 1991–92, only to suffer an immediate relegation the following season. They won promotion once again in 2001–02, but were relegated toLeague Two in 2003 and lost their Football League status with a further relegation in 2008. They spent five seasons in theConference until they were promoted back into the Football League after winning the Conference in 2012–13 following investment from new club ownerJohn Radford. They were promoted from League Two in the2023–24 season.
Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and yellow kit. Since 1919, Mansfield have played atOne Call Stadium, which is now anall-seater stadium with a capacity of 9,186. Their main rivals areChesterfield. The club also competes in local derby games against fellow Nottinghamshire clubNotts County. Recently, a rivalry has grown between Mansfield and Lincoln City
Mansfield Town was formed under the name of Mansfield Wesleyans in 1897, the name of the club coming from the localWesleyan church.[2] The club playedfriendlies up until the1902–03 season, when it joined the Mansfield and District Amateur League. When the league dropped its amateur tag in 1906, the church abandoned the club, which changed its name to Mansfield Wesley and moved into the Notts and District League.
In the summer of 1910, despite having lost the previous season to Mansfield Mechanics in the second qualifying round of theFA Cup, the team changed its name to Mansfield Town (much to the disgust of the Mechanics). In the following years, Mansfield Town swapped between the Notts and District League,Central Alliance League and Notts and Derbyshire League, beforeWorld War I brought a halt to proceedings.
After the war, Mansfield became occupants of theField Mill ground, after Mansfield Mechanics failed to pay their rent. In 1921, the club was admitted into theMidland Counties League, and celebrated by reaching the sixth qualifying round of the FA Cup twice in a row. The club won the league in1923–24 and was the runner-up the following season, but on both occasions failed to winelection to theFootball League.
In1928–29, Mansfield won the Midland League again, but more famously reached the fourth round proper of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 toFirst Division clubArsenal, after a cup run which saw them beatSecond Division sideWolverhampton Wanderers.[2] However,York City beat the Stags in elections for a League place.[2]
In 1931, Mansfield were finally elected to theSouthern Section of theThird Division.[2] However, the club struggled to adapt to League surroundings and were frequently in the lower reaches of the table. One of very few highlights in the years before theSecond World War wasTed Harston, who scored 55 goals in one season before transferring toLiverpool.[2]
After the war, Mansfield started to see some progress. Lucky to escape the need for re-election when it was decided that no club would berelegated after the1946–47 season, the Stags started to move up the table. In1950–51, Mansfield reached the fifth round of the FA Cup and became the first Football League team to complete a 23–game home schedule unbeaten, although missed out on the only Third Division promotion spot.
On 23 August 1958 Mansfield fielded a Black player, the Jamaican-bornLindy Delapenha, for the first time.[3] He joined from Middlesbrough F.C. where he had spent nine successful seasons. He went on to make 115 League appearances for Mansfield, scoring 27 goals. In1959–60 the club was relegated to the recently createdFourth Division, before gaining promotion back to the Third Division in1962–63. This promotion was later tainted by life-time suspensions handed out to playersBrian Phillips andSammy Chapman for bribing opponents, including players ofHartlepools United in a vital match which Mansfield won 4–3. Two seasons later, the club again narrowly missed out on promotion to the Second Division. The season after avoiding relegation due to a points deduction forPeterborough United, Mansfield made another headline-grabbing cup run. Mansfield beat First DivisionWest Ham United 3–0 in the fifth round of the1968–69 FA Cup, before narrowly losing toLeicester City in the quarter-finals. In1971–72 Mansfield were relegated, again, to the Fourth Division.
By1976–77, the club was back in the Third Division, and despite the distraction of a 5–2 FA Cup defeat toMatlock Town, beatWrexham to theThird Division title. The club went straight back down, and only a good run of form at the end of the1978–79 season saved Mansfield from a double relegation.
Mansfield won theFootball League Trophy in front of 58,000 fans in May 1987, beatingBristol City onpenalties after a 1–1 draw. However, the years that followed were inconsistent, with Mansfield becoming a "yo-yo" team between the Third and Fourth Divisions. Also at that time, the controversialKeith Haslam bought the club.
In2001–02, Mansfield were again promoted to the third tier of English football, beatingCarlisle United to take third place fromCheltenham Town, who lost atPlymouth Argyle.[4] A poor season in Division Two did not pick up even with the arrival ofKeith Curle as manager, as the club was relegated straight back to the fourth tier of English football. In2003–04, Mansfield beatNorthampton Town in a penalty shoot-out in the Division Three play-off semi-finals,[5] but lost toHuddersfield Town on penalties in thefinal.[6]
In2007–08, Mansfield's 77-year stay in the Football League came to an end as the club was relegated to theConference.[7] A fluke goal in a 1–0 loss to rivalsRotherham United in the last home game of the season all but guaranteed relegation.[8] Ugly scenes erupted at the final whistle, with controversial owner Keith Haslam being attacked by fans.[9]
Haslam left the club, with the trio of Perry, Middleton and Saunders purchasing the club (but not the ground) for £1 and installedBilly McEwan as manager.[10][11] He was replaced after Christmas byDavid Holdsworth.[12] Holdsworth's less than two-year reign bought little improvement to the club and he was dismissed as manager in November 2010.[13]Duncan Russell led Mansfield to anFA Trophy final appearance in2010–11,Louis Briscoe scoring a lateextra-time winner againstLuton Town in the semi-final second leg.[14][15] However, the Stags lost 1–0 toDarlington atWembley Stadium in the final after a 120th-minute extra-time goal by Chris Senior.[16] A league position of 12th was not good enough for Russell to keep his job. His replacement,Paul Cox, led Mansfield to their highest Conference finish in his first season. A good run of form after Christmas saw the Stags finish in third in the league, although they lost 2–1 on aggregate toYork City after extra time in the promotion play-off semi-final.[17]
An indifferent start to the2012–13 season left Mansfield lingering around mid-table, with some fans calling for the manager's head. One good point to the first half of the season was the club's FA Cup run. In the third round, the Stags faced Premier League sideLiverpool. A controversialLuis Suárez goal helped the Reds to a 2–1 victory,[18] but a brave display from the Mansfield team gave the team momentum in the weeks to follow. Following the cup game the Stags won 20 of their last 24 games, including a club record run of 12 consecutive wins, to clinch theConference Premier title, and promotion back to the Football League. The title was sealed with a 1–0 victory overWrexham on 20 April 2013.[19]
Mansfield finished their first season back in the Football League in 11th place.[17] In2018–19, the Stags narrowly missed out on promotion on the final day of the season after a defeat to promotion rivalsMK Dons.[20] They lost in theplay-off semi-finals toNewport County on penalties.[21] In2021–22, Mansfield reached the play-offs again but lost 3–0 toPort Vale in thefinal.[22] In the2023–24 season, Mansfield were promoted to League One, finishing in 3rd place.[23][24]
The2006–07 season saw the creation of the "SFFC (Stags Fans for Change)" an organisation aiming for the removal of then owner Keith Haslam from the club. The organisation undertook many projects over the year to get their message over in a different and non-aggressive way. This included hiring a plane to fly over the local derby match with Notts County towing a banner declaring that the club was for sale and calling for Haslam to leave. On 29 November 2007 Haslam rejected a bid from James Derry's consortium and the Mansfield fans pledged to have a TV protest against him on 2 December 2007 againstHarrogate Railway Athletic live on the BBC'sMatch of the Day programme.
In March 2008, it was reported thatJohn Batchelor, a bidder for Mansfield Town, planned to rename the club toHarchester United after the fictional squad from the TV seriesDream Team to make the club "more promotable"[25] if his bid were a success. Fans and executives within the club both stated that they would oppose the name change.[26][27]
Following the club's relegation in 2008, Colin Hancock, then the chairman ofGlapwell, emerged as the leading bidder as he agreed to purchase a controlling share of the Stags, Field Mill, and some land surrounding the stadium from Haslam.
However, three businessmen who are also Mansfield Town fans, Andrew Perry, Andrew Saunders and Steve Middleton, bought the club from Keith Haslam for an undisclosed fee, but they were still renting the stadium from him. At the start of the 2010–11 season Mansfield were bought by John Radford.
On 2 December 2010 the club was locked out of Field Mill in a dispute over unpaid rent.[28] Since returning to Field Mill after securing a lease on the ground for a further year and a half, John Radford began to seek a way by which the club would once again own Field Mill. It was reported that Keith Haslam rejected an offer from Radford for Field Mill; the offer was alleged to have been worth in between £2 million and £4 million.
On 1 March 2012, Chairman John Radford purchased the ground from Keith Haslam. Since then, 1 March is considered "Amber Day" at the club to commemorate the retrieval of Mansfield's stadium. In April 2012, Radford changed the stadium's name from "Field Mill" to the "One Call Stadium" for sponsorship reasons.
You go into the bar after a game last Saturday and they were talking aboutChesterfield, even though we hadPort Vale to play before that. These are the games when the fixtures come out - our supporters are looking for theNotts Countys and Chesterfields and when we're going to play them.
The 2003 Football Fans Census indicates that Mansfield's biggest rivalries are withChesterfield andNotts County, withDoncaster Rovers tertiary rivals.[30] Bad blood between Chesterfield and Mansfield has links to theminers' strike.[29] Fixtures between Town and County are referred to asNottinghamshire derbies.[31] More recently, a lesser rivalry has grown withGrimsby Town as well as Lincoln City.[32]
During the Wesleyans era, Mansfield played in chocolate and sky blue shirts, firstly striped until 1902, and then halved. Upon assuming the Mansfield Town moniker, the club switched to red shirts, white shorts, and black socks, though this identity only lasted the1910–11 season. A five-year stint in black and white quartered shirts with black shorts and socks followed before the club closed down.[33]
Upon their return in 1919, Town introduced their now-familiar blue and amber club colour scheme, initially in halves. Becoming a league side in 1931 coincided with a change to pale blue shirts with white shorts, which the club wore until October 1934, when the blue and amber returned (albeit in quarters for the remainder of the1934–35 season). They continued to wear this colour combination in various arrangements (including a blue shirt with amber sleeves from January 1948) for two decades. From 1954 to 1961 Town played in white shirts and black shorts, before amber shirts with blue shorts returned for seven years. All-blue with amber trim was selected in 1968, before a new look of white shirts with blue shorts was introduced in 1970.[33]
1974 saw the classic colour scheme return, and though the composition might vary, amber and blue has reigned ever since. The only exception to this was the centenary kit worn in the1997–98 season, which was aretro kit design styled after Mansfield Wesleyans' first, albeit with sky blue shorts and socks.[33]
| Selection of Mansfield Town home kits through history[33] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
        Wesleyans' original kit 1897–c. 1900. Worn with sky blue shorts1997–98 |  The first kit of the "Mansfield Town" era. Worn in the1910–11 season |    Black and white quartered kit worn from 1911 until closedown in 1916 |  Kit adopted uponelection to the Football League. Worn 1931–1934 |    The Stags wore white shirts and black shorts from 1954 to 1961 |  The traditional club colours of Mansfield Town, as worn from 1974 to 1979 | |
The following tables detail the shirt sponsors and kit suppliers of Mansfield by year:[33]
| Kit suppliers[33] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Period | Supplier | |
| 1975–1976 | Umbro | |
| 1976–1977 | Bukta | |
| 1977–1983 | Umbro | |
| 1983–1986 | Lowfields | |
| 1986–1988 | 5D Togs | |
| 1988–1990 | Scoreline | |
| 1990–1992 | Ribero | |
| 1992–1993 | Hero | |
| 1993–1994 | Pelada | |
| 1994–1995 | Activity | |
| 1995–1996 | In-house production | |
| 1996–1998 | Beaver | |
| 1998–2000 | Russell Athletic | |
| 2000–2004 | In-house production | |
| 2004–2006 | Garman | |
| 2006–2008 | Carlotti | |
| 2008–2010 | Canterbury of New Zealand | |
| 2010–2013 | Erreà | |
| 2013–2023 | Surridge Sports | |
| 2023–present | Castore | |
| Front of shirt sponsors[33] | |
|---|---|
| Period | Sponsor |
| 1983–1987 | Evinson's Ford |
| 1987–1991 | Mansfield Brewery (1987–1989: Marksman Lager;1989–1990: Mansfield Beers;1990–1991: Mansfield Bitter) |
| 1991–1992 | Gunthorpe Textiles |
| 1992–1993 | GTC |
| 1993–1995 | Abacus Lighting |
| 1995–1998 | Mansfield Brewery (Mansfield Bitter) |
| 1999 | AD-MAG |
| 2000–2001 | Thorworld |
| 2001–2003 | Vodka Kick |
| 2003–2007 | Perry Electrical |
| 2007–2009 | ASPL |
| 2009–2011 | Hymas Homes |
| 2011–2013 | Greene King IPA |
| 2013–present | One Call Insurance |
| Sleeve sponsors[33] | |
|---|---|
| Period | Sponsor |
| 2023–2024 | Food Hub |
| 2024–present | Source Travel |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For details of former players, seeList of Mansfield Town F.C. players
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Name[37] | Nationality | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Teddy Davison |  | 1926 | 1928 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 050.00 |
| Jack Hickling | | 1928 | 1933 | 110 | 30 | 25 | 55 | 027.27 |
| Charlie Bell |  | 1935 | 1935 | 31 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 025.81 |
| Harold Wightman | | 1936 | 1936 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 036.84 |
| Harry Parkes | | May 1936 | January 1938 | 68 | 29 | 14 | 25 | 042.65 |
| Roy Goodall | | 1945 | 1949 | 139 | 47 | 36 | 56 | 033.81 |
| Freddie Steele | | 1949 | 1951 | 123 | 61 | 31 | 31 | 049.59 |
| George Jobey | | 1952 | 1953 | 70 | 28 | 17 | 25 | 040.00 |
| Stan Mercer | | 1953 | 1955 | 77 | 32 | 16 | 29 | 041.56 |
| Charlie Mitten | | February 1956 | June 1958 | 115 | 49 | 22 | 44 | 042.61 |
| Sam Weaver | | June 1958 | January 1960 | 73 | 22 | 17 | 34 | 030.14 |
| Raich Carter | | January 1960 | March 1963 | 151 | 63 | 23 | 65 | 041.72 |
| Tommy Cummings | | March 1963 | 1964 | 201 | 87 | 40 | 74 | 043.28 |
| Tommy Eggleston | | 1967 | 1970 | 157 | 59 | 38 | 60 | 037.58 |
| Jock Basford | | 1970 | 1971 | 66 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 031.82 |
| Danny Williams | | 1971 | 1974 | 123 | 41 | 42 | 40 | 033.33 |
| Dave Smith | | 1974 | 1976 | 113 | 54 | 32 | 27 | 047.79 |
| Peter Morris | | 1976 | 1978 | 83 | 36 | 18 | 29 | 043.37 |
| Billy Bingham |  | February 1978 | 1979 | 64 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 026.56 |
| Mick Jones | | 1979 | 1981 | 107 | 37 | 27 | 43 | 034.58 |
| Stuart Boam | | July 1981 | January 1983 | 77 | 25 | 15 | 37 | 032.47 |
| Ian Greaves | | January 1983 | 6 February 1989 | 311 | 101 | 99 | 111 | 032.48 |
| George Foster | | February 1989 | August 1993 | 217 | 68 | 50 | 99 | 031.34 |
| Andy King | | August 1993 | July 1996 | 149 | 51 | 45 | 53 | 034.23 |
| Steve Parkin | | July 1996 | 1999 | 143 | 54 | 41 | 48 | 037.76 |
| Bill Dearden | | 18 June 1999 | 6 January 2002 | 134 | 49 | 28 | 57 | 036.57 |
| Stuart Watkiss | | January 2002 | December 2002 | 45 | 16 | 5 | 24 | 035.56 |
| Keith Curle | | 3 December 2002 | 11 November 2004 | 104 | 39 | 23 | 42 | 037.50 |
| Carlton Palmer | | November 2004 | September 2005 | 41 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 024.39 |
| Peter Shirtliff | | September 2005 | December 2006 | 72 | 24 | 19 | 29 | 033.33 |
| Paul Holland | | 19 December 2006 | 28 December 2006 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 066.67 |
| Bill Dearden | | 28 December 2006 | 8 March 2008 | 63 | 18 | 13 | 32 | 028.57 |
| Paul Holland | | 8 March 2008 | 4 July 2008 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 025.00 |
| Billy McEwan | | 4 July 2008[38] | 10 December 2008[39] | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 030.77 |
| David Holdsworth | | 29 December 2008 | 18 November 2010 | 91 | 37 | 20 | 34 | 040.66 |
| Duncan Russell | | 19 November 2010 | 12 May 2011 | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 038.89 |
| Paul Cox | | 19 May 2011 | 21 November 2014 | 175 | 78 | 46 | 51 | 044.57 |
| Adam Murray | | 21 November 2014 | 14 November 2016 | 103 | 32 | 27 | 44 | 031.07 |
| Steve Evans | | 16 November 2016 | 27 February 2018 | 76 | 35 | 22 | 19 | 046.05 |
| David Flitcroft | | 1 March 2018 | 14 May 2019 | 68 | 26 | 25 | 17 | 038.24 |
| John Dempster | | 14 May 2019 | 14 December 2019 | 28 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 025.00 |
| Graham Coughlan |  | 17 December 2019 | 27 October 2020 | 27 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 014.81 |
| Richard Cooper (Interim) | | 29 October 2020 | 5 November 2020 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 000.00 |
| Nigel Clough | | 6 November 2020 | Current Manager | 202 | 92 | 52 | 58 | 045.54 |
Team records
Season records[40]
Player records
Records for all recognised league and cup competitions[40]
Cup records
League
Cup
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
