Taunton Town

 

Taunton Town FC

Ground: Wordsworth Drive

Capacity: 3,000

Club Founded: 1947

League: Southern League Premier Division South - Step 3/7th Tier (current level)

Recent years have seen Taunton Town FC grow into one of the foremost non-league clubs in the southwest of England, with promotions and increased crowds attending games at Wordsworth Drive.

Club History

The Early Years

Taunton Town FC, from Somerset, began life as Taunton FC. They were formed by a group of local businessmen, initially playing in the Somerset County League to replace previous clubs who represented the town. The new incarnation progressed to the second tier of the Western League for the 1954-55 season.

By this time, the club had played home matches at Mountfields, French Weir, Victoria Park and Huish Old Boys. They then moved to Denman's Park, Haines Hill, where they remained until 1953, when they moved into a new ground at Wordsworth Drive.

Western League Champions

1968 saw the club take up their present title after being promoted, with the change immediately paying dividends as ‘The Peacocks’ were crowned as Western League champions. The early part of the 1970’s saw Town finish as Western League runners-up in four consecutive seasons, leading to promotion to the Southern League Division One South. 

A fine run in the FA Cup in 1981-82 saw the team reach the First Round for the first time, losing to Swindon Town at The County Ground. Owing to financial reasons, the club dropped back down to the Western League at the end of the 1982-83 season. Town went on to lift the league crown before the end of the decade under manager Keith Bowker

FA Vase Years

Town, managed by Terry Rowles, also reached the 1993-94 FA Vase final at Wembley. Taunton were defeated 2-1 by Diss Town after extra time. Consolation came with a third league title in 1995-96 before another second-place finish a couple of years later, in a season that also saw an FA Vase semi-final defeat to Tow Law Town.

Russell Musker took the team to three consecutive Western League titles. The FA Vase was finally captured in 2000-01 when Berkhamsted Town were defeated 2-1 at Villa Park, with the new Wembley Stadium being under construction.

Southern League Football

The 2001-02 campaign ended with Town as league runners-up before they decided to have another bash at Southern League football, with the club being placed in the Western Division under manager Peter Beadle. Managers came and went before the appointment of former Vase winner Paul West in April 2009, building a side including plenty of local talent. 

Another former player, Kevin Turmey, became club chairman as the Peacocks began a period of growth as local interest began to grow. Facilities were improved, and investment was made in the squad. The team reached round one of the FA Cup for the second time in 2016-17, going out to Barrow after a draw in front of 2,300 fans at Wordsworth Drive. 

Recent Years

The team were beaten three times in the playoffs, but were not to be denied under manager Leigh Robinson, winning promotion as champions of the Southern League West Division in 2017-18. The following season ended in playoff defeat before the Premier Division South title was lifted in 2021-22.

In their second season in National League South, serious financial issues were unveiled at the club. Players were released as the Peacocks were relegated in May 2024, with Richard Luffman becoming manager, who in turn was replaced by Gary Johnson.

My visits

Wednesday 15th August 2012

I’d been to the League Cup tie between Exeter City and Crystal Palace the previous evening and was gradually making my way back towards London. It had rained heavily, but I was undaunted in trying to visit some new venues. I’d visited the homes of Elmore and then Tiverton Town before catching a bus to Taunton, 

By this point, the heavy rain had abated. I was saturated but partly resolved the situation by heading to Sports Direct to purchase a t-shirt, hoodie and an Olympics baseball cap. Taunton was a larger size than I thought, but I still took the walk to an open Wordsworth Drive.

The ground was decent, without any outstanding features. I didn't compile a page for this blog at the time and have consequently lost the photos when I had an issue with my PC storage.

Following a look at the ground, I headed to do more of the same at Somerset County Cricket Ground, which was most impressive. I really needed to head down for a game. After a couple of pints in the excellent Plough Inn, I took the train to Swindon.

Taunton Town 3 Hendon 3

Southern League Premier Division South - Saturday 25th August 2018

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 523 🎟️ £10

I had absolutely no idea I’d return a few years later for a match as a supporter of Hendon FC. However, Hendon had offered me a home where I had got involved with a lovely football club, and I was thoroughly enjoying the ride. The Dons had been switched to the Southern League at the beginning of the season, with plenty of long trips. 

It provided great opportunities for groundhoppers along the way. I wasn’t going to miss out. There hadn’t been enough fans wanting to travel to justify a dedicated coach, as with Frome a fortnight previously. Once again, we were permitted to travel with the team. This time the fare was a very reasonable £25.

It was never going to be the quickest of journeys, and we weren’t helped by the game being scheduled on a Bank Holiday. It necessitated an 8am departure from Silver Jubilee Park on a pleasant, if cooler day. Thankfully, I curtailed my Friday evening activities shortly after watching the London Skolars v Keighley Cougars Rugby League clash at Wood Green.

The journey actually went better than we’d anticipated. It even allowed time for our driver to get into a right muddle trying to access the coach area at the M5 Gordano Services, around the only section where we encountered any heavy traffic.

We pulled into the car park at the sponsored title Viridor Stadium before 1pm, with the fans heading off down the road to The Master Thatcher five minutes away on Lisieux Way, trusting my judgement. The pub was a cracker, but it was primarily a food establishment. The Palmers range of beers looked promising, but was a bit of a let-down if truth be told. 

We headed back to the ground at 2pm, where admission was £10 and the programme an extra couple of quid. The ground certainly seemed better than on my previous brief visit. There was terracing behind both goals with the centre section covered. The players' entrance was in the near corner, with a long, low seated stand filling the touchline.

The far side had a club shop, refreshments, a clubhouse, club offices and a small seated stand before giving way to some open terracing. The two dugouts were on that side, and I was certain that I’d never seen a set positioned so far apart. The best option at the club bar was Quantock Pale Ale on keg. An excellent pastie was a fine accompaniment. 

It was apparent that Hendon would have a decent following at the game of around 40 by kick-off. I was most impressed with the playing surface. A decent-sized crowd had assembled. Hopefully, they weren’t too confused by the team list on the back of the programme, quoting Staines Town as the visitors.

We anticipated a tough game, so we were most enthused when Ricky German tapped into an empty net after great work from Marvin Morgan, who used all his years of experience after seven minutes. Dan Boness in goal at the other end was being kept busy along with his defence before German finished neatly to double the lead on thirty-four minutes. 

Town halved the deficit when the impressive Matt Wright powered a header home at the back post as the interval approached. Both sides could easily have been reduced to ten men after a bout of handbags got a little heated. Morgan did Laste Dombaxe a real favour by dragging him away, which upset the midfielder at the time. 

The home bench was particularly vocal, trying to influence the officials. The second period carried on as before, with the Peacocks going for the more direct approach. I celebrated a German hat trick for the first time as the powerful forward powered his way past a couple of challenges to smash home from the edge of the box to make it 3-1 on fifty-six minutes.

Host custodian Lloyd Irish pulled off a top stop from Dombaxe as Hendon continued to cause problems while Taunton ramped up the pressure in attack. Dan Sullivan dragged a goal back in the sixty-sixth minute with a powerful angled shot. Chances were coming thick and fast. Predicting the full-time score was hazardous at that stage.

Again, referee Lee Roberts did well to keep discipline to a pair of yellow cards after an altercation by the home bench, where some of the conduct and continued complaining were over the top. Hendon could well have been awarded a penalty as sub Dylan Kearney appeared to be dragged back.

Six minutes of additional time was added, which was about right. In the final sixty seconds, the man in black pointed to the spot to award Taunton a penalty. Boness got to Wright’s kick, but the power took the ball in. A draw was a fair result on reflection of a tough encounter, not lacking incident, even if we were disappointed with the late award. 

One or two missed opportunities to take three points at what would undoubtedly prove to be a home fortress might be rued later. Referee Roberts proved most amiable when we chatted in the bar after the game, explaining his decision-making to our table when asked politely. The game could do with more officials like that. Purely in my opinion, of course!

We were back in the car park at SJP at 9.45pm after a ride back of Skid Solo qualities, for readers of a certain age. I thought I was going to have to administer a heart massage to Dean, the kit man! We were ‘entertained’ by some extreme black rap music on the return ride. I don’t think they knew what they were asking for when I requested a bit of Deacon Blue or Simply Red! 

The boys appeared to be bonding and were in good form, so we were all happy. It was a top day out, and although it felt like a defeat at the time, I feel we’d have settled for it before we set off. Jimmy Gray and his brand-new, ever-improving squad were continuing to make quite an impression.