 | ||||
| Full name | Weymouth Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Terras | |||
| Founded | 1890; 135 years ago (1890) | |||
| Ground | Bob Lucas Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 6,600 (900 seated) | |||
| Chairman | Paul Maitland | |||
| Manager | Steve Claridge | |||
| League | Southern League Premier Division South | |||
| 2024–25 | National League South, 23rd of 24 (relegated) | |||
| Website | uptheterras | |||
 Current season | ||||
Weymouth Football Club is a semi professionalassociation football club based in the town ofWeymouth, Dorset, England. They currently compete in theSouthern League Premier Division South, the seventh level of theEnglish football league system.
Nicknamed theTerras due to their terracotta strip, they play their home matches at theBob Lucas Stadium. The club is affiliated to theDorset County Football Association and is anFA chartered Standard club.
Weymouth Football Club was founded on the 26th of August 1890 and played their first fixture on the 24th of September v a Mr Popes XI at Lodmoor, winning 2–0.[1] In 1896 they were one of the founding members of theDorset League, finishing 3rd in its inaugural season. In the following 1897–98 season, they took a lease at the Recreation Ground, which would be their home for 89 years, and enjoyed success with their first Dorset League title. They continued as a continued member of the Dorset League over the next 20 years, winning a further league title in the 1913–14 season, shortly before the league was suspended due to the outbreak of theFirst World War.
Following the resumption of football, Weymouth were elected to join the Western League from the 1921–22 season, where they competed as well as continuing in the Dorset League. Following a Dorset League win that season, they followed it up in the 1922–23 season with a Western League, Dorset League and Dorset Senior Cup Treble. The following year the club turned professional, and were elected to the Southern League for the first time.
Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September. After winning the Dorset Junior Cup three times, they helped found theDorset League. They first reached the national stages of theFA Cup in 1905–06 when they lost 12–1 toGainsborough Trinity. Weymouth joined theWestern League in 1907–08, embracingfull-time professionalism following their1923 win and joining theSouthern League. However, by 1928–29, debts had mounted and the club withdrew, resuming as an amateur club. They climbed back up the table and reached the Premier League and then folded for five years and reformed.
The Weymouth Recreation Ground was requisitioned in 1939 due to theSecond World War—football only resumed in 1947 when the club reformed semi-professionally. In 1949 they lost 4–0 at Maine Road (as Old Trafford was being rebuilt) toManchester United in the FA Cup third round, then in 1962 they reached the fourth round where they lost 2–0 atDeepdale toPreston North End. Soon achieving promotion back into the Southern League, they were champions in the 1964–65 and 1965–66 seasons. They share the distinction of playing all twenty seasons in the Premier Division prior to league re-organisation withTelford United andYeovil Town. On 28 February 1967, Weymouth playerDick Keith, who had played in the1958 World Cup forNorthern Ireland, was killed in a building site accident.[2] In theFA Trophy, Weymouth have reached the quarter-finals twice, doing so in 1973–74 and 1976–77.[3]
On 21 October 1987, the club moved to the new Wessex Stadium with the opening match against Manchester United ending with Weymouth winning 1–0 following an unveiling byRon Greenwood. After initial success, the club slumped following relegation from theConference, and continued to see-saw between the Premier and Southern divisions of the Southern League.[1] Ian Ridley took control of the club in 2003, bringing new optimism when he appointed former Weymouth and Leicester City player,Steve Claridge, manager.
Within a season, the club had gone from near-relegation to near-promotion andgate receipts had increased from 500 to 1,200. With Martyn Harrison's arrival on the board, he decided to place the club under his company Hollybush Hotels and began to interfere in playing matters. This prompted Ridley to leave in September 2004, followed by Harrison sacking Claridge weeks later. Harrison had planned to appoint Steve Johnson—the brother ofGary Johnson—as manager in November, prompting a huge turnover in players. As the team dropped down the league, Harrison sacked Johnson in March 2005, withGarry Hill taking over. An automatic promotion to the Conference came with large loans from Harrison to meet increasing wage bills of around £20,000 a week and a full-time regime. In 2005, the team heldNottingham Forest to a 1–1 draw at theCity Ground in the FA Cup, before losing 2–0 in the replay.
In the 2006–07FA Cup, Weymouth heldBury to a 2–2 draw at home, in front ofBBC cameras, and that season the team finished 11th in the Conference. On 20 June 2007, Mel Bush was confirmed as the club's new owner.John Hollins was confirmed as the club's new manager after Tindall's sacking, though the club finished 18th under him in the 2007–08 season. In 2008, the club started a rebranding programme, with the a new badge, and a club motto being introduced,"Forward Together". The following month Hollins sacked and Alan Lewer was appointed as his replacement. Former chairman Ian Ridley, made a return to the chair on 18 March 2009. This was followed days later by the sacking of Alan Lewer. He was replaced byBobby Gould, the former manager ofWales.[5] Despite his experience, Gould was unable to turn the situation around and the club were relegated to the Conference South. On 20 May 2009, the club hired former Terras player, Matty Hale, as their new manager, though after a string of bad results he Hale in his resignation.
On 26 October 2009, Paul Cocks, a director at the club, announced that the club was in a critically poor financial situation. In November 2009, George Rolls became the new owner. Hutchinson was sacked on 7 January 2010. On 27 January 2010,Jerry Gill was named as the new manager, though he resigned after just 44 days in the job. A CVA proposed by George Rolls was accepted on 26 March, preventing the club from liquidating. A month later however, the club were relegated. On 14 April 2010, it was announced thatIan Hutchinson had returned as manager at the start of the 2010–11 season. In July 2010, chairman George Rolls elected to change the stadium name in honour of 85-year-old club president and formergoalkeeperBob Lucas, who was suffering from cancer. He died on 12 August.[6] On 12 January 2011, with Weymouth bottom of the Southern League Premier Division, Rolls sacked Hutchinson.[7] In January 2011Martyn Rogers was hired to help the club avoid a third straight relegation, which was eventually successful.
In February 2012, club director and lifelong fan Nigel Biddelcombe completed a takeover of the club from George Rolls, whose controversial reign at the Bob Lucas Stadium ended with his move to another club in deep financial turmoil, inKettering Town. Biddlecombe and his board set up a trust which would mean no one person would ever be able to have total control of the club again. The shares Nigel, members of the board and most other shares bought over the years were officially transferred into the Trust before the Terras home game with Frome Town on Easter Monday.
Weymouth finished 17th in the Southern League Premier Division in 2011–12. They had looked safe for much of the season but a downturn in form saw the Terras only secure safety on the penultimate day of the season with a 2–1 victory at home toHitchin Town. That season the Terras also made it to theFA Trophy second round proper. After beatingChippenham Town 2–1 in round one, the Terras slumped to a 6–0 home defeat againstConference National sideAlfreton Town. Following reorganization of the Southern League for the 2018–19 season, Weymouth finished the season in first place of the Southern League Premier Division South,[8] to secure promotion to the National League South. The subsequent champions' play-off with Kettering Town ended in a 1–1 draw. Weymouth won the penalty shoot out 5–3, to be crowned overall Southern League Premier champions.[9]
Weymouth finished the 2019–20 season in 3rd place and on 1 August 2020,[10] they were promoted to theNational League after a play-off final win againstDartford.[11] The club were relegated back to the National League South in the2021–22 season, relegation confirmed with four matches left after a 6–1 home thrashing byWrexham.[12] In the2022–23 FA Cup, Weymouth drew 1–1 againstLeague Two sideAFC Wimbledon in the first round of theFA Cup at home, before losing 3–1 in the replay atPlough Lane.[13]
After a 4–1 loss againstEastbourne Borough on 5 April 2025, Weymouth was relegated to theSouthern League Premier Division South after finishing 23rd in theNational League South during the2024–25 season.[14]
Historically, Weymouth had their strongest rivalry withYeovil Town, Often when the two clubs meet, a large police presence is required to separate the two sets of fans.[15][16] In October 2021, fans reportedly clashed before and after the game in Huish, with mounted police and dog units being called into action.[17] The2020–21 National League season marked the first league encounters between the club and Weymouth since the1988–89 Football Conference season. However, overall the rivalry has dwindled slightly over the past decade due to the lack of competitive meetings between the club andYeovil Town. That was somewhat replaced by a growing rivalry with near neighboursDorchester Town with the two teams facing each other regularly since the mid-1980's.[18] However Yeovil's subsequent decline since 2014 has re-sparked the historic feud between the two clubs. Many Terras still fans considerYeovil Town to be the clubs biggest rival.[19]
Below is Weymouth's performance over the last 5 seasons, for a full history see:List of Weymouth F.C. seasons
| Year | League | Lvl | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Position | Leading league scorer | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Average home attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Goals | Res | Rec | Res | Rec | |||||||||||||
| 2019–20 | National League South | 6 | 35 | 17 | 12 | 6 | 60 | 35 | 25 | 63 | 3rd of 22 Promoted via Playoffs[20] | Abdulai Bell-Baggie | 34 | QR4 | 2-0-1 | QR4 | 1-0-1 | 1,108[21] |
| 2020–21 | National League | 5 | 42[a] | 11 | 6 | 25 | 45 | 71 | -26 | 39 | 18th of 23[22] | Andrew Dallas | 12 | QR4 | 0-0-1 | R4 | 1-0-1 | 537[23] |
| 2021–22 | National League | 5 | 44 | 6 | 10 | 28 | 40 | 88 | -48 | 28 | 22nd of 23[22] Relegated | Josh McQuoid | 7 | QR4 | 0-1-1 | R4 | 1-0-1 | 1,176 |
| 2022–23 | National League South | 6 | 46 | 14 | 6 | 26 | 59 | 78 | -19 | 48 | 19th of 24[24] | Bradley Ash | 18 | R1 | 3-0-1 | R2 | 0-0-1 | 835 |
| 2023–24 | National League South | 6 | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 57 | 64 | -7 | 56 | 15th of 24 | Brandon Goodship | 12 | QR3 | 1-0-0 | R3 | 0-1-1 | 963 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Job Title | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Steve Claridge |
| Assistant manager | Lee Spalding |
| First team coach | Jamie Wells |
| First team coach | Charlie Griffin |
| Goalkeeper coach | Vacant |
| Physiotherapist | Lindsay Davis |
| Kit Manager | Joe Clifford |
Tommy Morris (1907–1914 and 1919–1922)
Billy Walker (1924–1926)Billy Kingdon (1947–1948)
Paddy Gallagher (July 1948 – 1950) Jack Taylor (June 1950 – 1952)Willie Fagan (July 1952 – 1955) Arthur Coles (1955–1961)Frank O'Farrell (June 1961 – May 1965)Stan Charlton (July 1965 – May 1972)
Graham Williams (1972–1974)
Dietmar Bruck (1974 – Jan 1977)Graham Carr (1977–1978)Stuart Morgan (Nov 1978 – Nov 1983)Brian Godfrey (1978–1987)Stuart Morgan (1987 – Jan 1989)Gerry Gow (1989 – April 1990)Paul Compton (1990 – Dec 1990) Len Drake (1991 – Oct 1992)Len Ashurst (Dec 1992 – April 1993)Bill Coldwell (April 1993 – Sept 1994)Trevor Senior (Jan 1995 – April 1995)Graham Carr (May 1995 – Sept 1995) Matt McGowan (Sept 1995 – July 1997)Neil Webb (July 1997 – Sept 1997)John Crabbe (Sept 1997 – Dec 1997)Fred Davies (Dec 1997 – Oct 1999) Andy Mason (Oct 1999 – May 2002)Geoff Butler (May 2002 – May 2003)Steve Claridge (June 2003 – Oct 2004) Steve Johnson (Nov 2004 – March 2005)Garry Hill (March 2005 – Jan 2007)Jason Tindall (Jan 2007 – Jan 2008)John Hollins (Jan 2008 – Dec 2008) Alan Lewer (Dec 2008 – April 2009)Bobby Gould (April 2009 – April 2009) Matty Hale (May 2009 – October 2009)Ian Hutchinson (October 2009 – January 2010)Jerry Gill (January 2010 – March 2010)
Andy Harris (March 2010 – April 2010)Ian Hutchinson (May 2010 – January 2011)Martyn Rogers (January 2011 – May 2011) Brendon King (June 2011 – December 2013)Jason Matthews (January 2014 – April 2017)Mark Molesley (April 2017 – August 2020)Brian Stock (September 2020 – January 2022)David Oldfield (January 2022 –September 2022) Bobby Wilkinson (September 2022 – March 2024)Jason Matthews (March 2024 – April 2024)Mark Molesley (April 2024 – November 2024)Jason Matthews (November 2024 – December 2024)
Warren Feeney (December 2024 – August 2025)Steve Claridge (August 2025 – present)League
Cup
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
