Ryde Sports F.C.

Full name	Ryde Sports Football Club
Founded	1888
Dissolved	1997
Ground	Smallbrook Stadium,Ryde
Capacity	2,000
Home colours Away colours

Ryde Sports F.C. were an Englishfootball club based inRyde,Isle of Wight.

Before their untimely demise, Ryde Sports was for many years a successful and significant club on theIsle of Wight and inHampshire, and an important part of the town.

Ryde Sports F.C. was founded in1888 and became one of the eight founder members of theHampshire League in1896. Although finishing at the foot of the table in the inaugural season, the club soon improved by twice finishing runners-up, they also spent the1898–99 season in theSouthern League where they finished as runner-up in the short lived Division 2 South & West Section.^[1] The1899-1900 season was a highly successful one in which they won the Hampshire League and Hampshire Senior Cup double. After the Great War, Ryde joined theIsle of Wight League,^[2] twice being champions before returning the county fold in 1923 when they promptly won the East Division title at the first attempt. Further success soon arrived, in1925-26 they were league champions andHampshire Senior Cup winners the following year.^[3]

The thirties continued to be very successful for the club, twice more winning County Senior Cup1935–36 and1938–39. The league title eluded Ryde during this period, although a top five final position was achieved each season. It was also during this period that Ryde recorded some fine runs in theFA Cup, most notably when they twice reached the 1st Round proper; in1932–33 they lost 0–5 away v Margate, then in1936–37, when they lost 1–5 at home toGillingham in front of a record 5,000 crowd.^[4] They nearly made it again in1947–48, when after navigating their way past some tough opponents they lost 0–1 at home against Trowbridge Town in the final qualifying round.^[5]

It was not until the1952–53 season that the club suffered its first setback when, for the first time, they were relegated. After several years of consolidation Ryde returned as Division 2 runners-up in1957–58, only to be relegated straight back again. Worse was to follow in1963–64 when Ryde were relegated again to Division 3 but made a good recovery by immediately returning as champions; and in1967–68 they finished as runners-up in Division 2, which was enough to clinch promotion back to the top flight.^[6]

The seventies continued to up and down for Ryde. After two seasons in Division 1 the club was again relegated in1969–70 and in1976–77 again dropped down into Division 3. The early Eighties saw troubled times for Ryde, twice finishing bottom of the league and having to apply for re-election.^[7] Ryde's reserve side, however, faired better in the IOW league beating Newport IOW 1-0 in the IOW Challenge Cup Final in 1983 with a last minute winner from striker Tony Adams. Many of the reserve players moved to the first team the following season under manager Arnie Olive.

Ryde regained its place and slowly rebuilt, and in 1986 were placed in restructured Division 2 following the formation of theWessex League.^[8]

Finally, Ryde's fortunes changed and with a powerful side the club won the Division 2 and Division 1 titles in successive seasons1988–89 and1989–90. For a number of years, developers had been eyeing up the club's much loved Partlands home, and in 1990 the club vacated the premises to play at a new multi-purpose Sports Complex atSmallbrook Stadium, on the outskirts of the town. The team was elected to theWessex League that year.^[9]

Ryde initially did well and were frequently in the top half of the table, with their highest positions being 3rd in1995–96 and 4th a year later.^[10]Sadly, this did not last and a combination of poor attendances and high overhead costs put them in financial difficulty, resulting in a player exodus.

For the1997–98 campaign, Ryde appointed Larry Clay, who brought with him a youthful group of players from the mainland, who all ended up playing in the first team far sooner than intended. After an unsuccessful appeal for local support and enduring some heavy defeats, Ryde, rock bottom of the table, withdrew from the competition in December 1997 with their playing record (just 2 points gained from 17 games) being expunged.^[11]

A phoenix club,Ryde '98 was immediately formed to play in the localIsle of Wight League but the new team never climbed out of the basement division and folded in2004.

• Southern League
  • Division 2 South & West Section Runners-up 1898/99
• Hampshire League
  • Division 1 Champions 1899/1900, 1925/26 and 1989/90, Runners-up 1897/98, 1898/99 and 1932/33
  • Division 2 Champions 1988/89, Runners-up 1957/58 and 1967/68
  • Division 3 Champions 1964/65
  • East Division Champions 1923/24
• Isle of Wight League
  • Division 1 Champions 1919/20 and 1920/21
• Hampshire FA^[12]
  • Senior Cup Winners 1899/1900, 1903/04, 1926/27, 1936/37 and 1938/39, Finalists 1925/26 and 1935/36
• Isle of Wight FA
  • Gold Cup Winners 1926/27, 1946/47, 1948/49, 1955/56, 1961/62, 1962/63 and 1990/91, Finalists 1927/28, 1928/29, 1929/30, 1930/31, 1932/33, 1933/34, 1947/48, 1950/51, 1956/57, 1960/61 and 1963/64^[13]
  • Challenge Cup Winners 1888/89,1962/63, 1963/64, 1982/83, 1992/93 and 1993/94^[14]
• Portsmouth FA
  • Senior Cup Winners 1899/1900, 1900/01, 1905/06, 1919/20, 1953/54, 1966/67 and 1989/90

Ryde Sports played at the Smallbrook Stadium, Ashley Road, Ryde, PO33 4BH. After it's openining in 1990, they hosted a series of prestigious friendly fixtures against Football League opponents with the visit of Southampton attracting a record 1,000 crowd in 1991.

The venue is now used byRyde Saints^[15] and Wessex League football returned for the2022-23 season, when Newport^[16] took up temporary residence.^[17]

The stadium is also home toIsle of Wight Warriors speedway.^[18]

• SeeRyde Sports players.

Ryde Sports had a long running rivalry with Cowes Sports, East Cowes Vics,Sandown, Newport and Brading Town.^[19] Meetings in the Hampshire League and Wessex League always generated much interest and attracted large crowds.^[20]

The town is now represented byRyde Saints^[21] who play at the Smallbrook Stadium.

Founded in 1995, they are a Charter Standard Club affiliated to theHampshire Football Association and have two adult teams playing in the Isle of Wight League along with a youth set-up. Their greatest achievement came in 2017 when they won the Hampshire Junior 'A' Cup.^[22]

• Ryde for Pride - 100 Years of Ryde Sports by Mike Bull^[23]

• Football Club History Database 1
• Football Club History Database 2
• Hampshire League Final Tables
• Wessex League Final Tables
• Hampshire Soccer Archive
• Ryde Saints FC - present day club
• Isle of Wight Football Association

• Defunct football clubs in England
• Defunct football clubs on the Isle of Wight
• Football clubs on the Isle of Wight
• Association football clubs established in 1888
• Association football clubs disestablished in 1997
• Defunct football clubs in Hampshire
• Wessex Football League
• Hampshire League
• 1888 establishments in England
• Southern Football League clubs
• Ryde

• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata