Worcester City

Worcester City FC

Ground: Sixways Stadium

Capacity: 12,067

Club Founded: 1902

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

Worcester City FC has a proud history, including some famous FA Cup victories, until they sold their home ground and dropped through the divisions, before gradually working their way back up the non-league ladder.

Sixways Stadium - BBC Online Image

Worcester City FC Club History

The club was formed in 1902 after taking over the fixtures of local side Berwick Rangers in the Birmingham League, moving into their St George's Lane ground three years later. Four league titles were collected before World War II.

Three further runners-up saw the club being admitted into the Southern League for the 1938-39 season, playing the following campaign in the Western Division.  In 1957, the Welshman Roy Paul, who formerly starred for Manchester City, took over as player-manager.

He had captained them when they lifted the FA Cup on two occasions a few years earlier, and he immediately brought success to Worcester. In his first season, the club reached the FA Cup first round, where they took Aldershot to a second replay. 

The game saw a record crowd for a City game of 22,926 at St Andrews, Birmingham. The following season, City reached the third round of the FA Cup and then defeated Liverpool 2-1 at St George's Lane before going out at home to Sheffield United in the next round.

However, success did not continue, and the club nearly went out of business in the early 60s before the supporters rallied round. The team was relegated to Division One of the Southern League in 1966-67 before regaining their previous status with a title win twelve months later.

Some former big names of the game turned out for the team, but it took until 1974 and the appointment of Nobby Clark as manager for the glory days to return after the side had once again been relegated, this time to Division One North. They returned to the top-flight as champions in 1976-77, and then won the Southern League a couple of seasons later.

It led to the club becoming a founder member of the Alliance Premier League, the forerunner to the Conference and National League. Clark was dismissed in 1984 before the club was relegated back to the Southern League two years later. They would go on to spend the following twenty years at the same level. 

Many managers came and went throughout the period, including Bobby Shinton, George Armstrong, George Rooney, Ally Robertson, Martyn Bennett, and Graham Allner. Former City and Everton star John Barton took over the reins after a few seasons of consolidation in 1999, as City joined the new second-tier Conference North at the start of the 2004-05 season.

Much time was spent on a proposed move to a new ground at Nunnery Way, as well as financial problems, with new board members doing their best to steady the ship. Richard Dryden and then Carl Heeley managed the side before time ran out for City at St George's Lane at the end of the 2012-13 season. 

City became the tenants at Aggborough, the home of Kidderminster Harriers. Heeley's side continued to perform creditably despite the upheaval. In 2015-16, City defeated Coventry City 2-1 at the Ricoh Arena in the first round of the FA Cup before going out on penalties in a second round replay to Scunthorpe United at Aggborough.

The following campaign saw Worcester losing 3-0 away to Sheffield United. Plans for Nunnery Way were turned down by Worcester Council, leading to plans to build at Parsonage Way. The club announced that they would be taking a voluntary drop in status towards the end of the 2016-17 campaign in the retitled National League North. 

They opted to drop down to the Step 5 Midland Football League, moving from Aggborough to the Victoria Ground, home of Bromsgrove Sporting FC. The team finished the first season in new surroundings in fourth position after Heeley had departed after twenty-two years with the club.

Ashley Vincent was appointed team manager, while progress had been made in the quest to return home, as the City Council supported playing at Claines Lane, the HQ of the Worcestershire FA, from the start of the 2020-21 season. In November 2022, Chris Cornes became the new City manager. 

The club was transferred to the Premier Division of the Hellenic League in 2023-24, where City were crowned champions at the first attempt. Plans were also unveiled for the club to move to a new stadium as part of a new Worcestershire Community Sports Park at Fernhill Heath.

My drawing of St George's Lane and some former City team kits.
Click on the image to enlarge it.

The team came close to rounding off a perfect season, as they were denied a place at Wembley in the FA Vase final when they were defeated on penalties by Great Wakering Rovers in the semi-final. However, promotion was achieved to Division One Midlands of the Northern Premier League.

The club signed a deal to move into Sixways Stadium for the start of the 2025-25 season. That would be as members of the Premier Division Central of the Southern League after the team had won their league title the previous season.

My visits

At St George's Lane

Worcester City 2 Scarborough 0 

Alliance Premier League - Saturday 30th August 1980

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It was the second season of the Alliance Premier League, and I was getting to an age where I was old enough to travel to matches on the Supporters Club coach. There was always a nice, sensible crowd on board, so my Dad let me travel southwest.

It was interesting for me to go such a distance as the coach went past the old grounds of Coventry City and Walsall. The older folk were disappointed that they couldn't gain entry into the clubhouse at the ground, but City were updating facilities for their newfound status.

City at the time wore sky blue and white stripes, a bit like Argentina, and looked very smart. I sat in the Main Stand with the kind folk off the coach as Boro were gradually beaten by the better side. St George's Lane was a fine traditional old ground with huge corner floodlights. The Main Stand ran the full length of the pitch with a terraced paddock at the front. 

The Brookside opposite had a large covered area for standing, with a seated stand at the back of an open terrace filling the other half. Both ends, the Canal End and Flats End, were open standing areas. In the corner between the Flats End and Main Stand stood a pavilion which contained the changing rooms and club offices.

The Brookside also had a fine programme shop and secondary snack bar, which I bought from. I remember the burgers being particularly good with a bowl of complimentary raw onions on offer, adding to the taste!

Worcester City 2 Scarborough 4  

Alliance Premier League - Saturday 21st November 1981

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Again, I travelled with the Supporters Club with a few schoolmates also traveling. The ground hadn't changed, so I once again took advantage of the good view from the Main Stand seats.
It really was an excellent game of football as Boro raced into a two-nil lead through Colin Williams and Pat Olney, before City dragged it back to equalise in the second half. 

This upset one of my travelling companions because they announced the names of the home scorers, but not Boro's. However, we were to have the last laugh as Mitch Cook and Terry Eccles scored to take the points home to North Yorkshire, much to the disgust of a few home fans who were best avoided on the way back to the bus!

Worcester City 3 Scarborough 2 

Conference North - Saturday 18th November 2006

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I was now living in London and had the day off work on the tube, so this was an obvious game for me to travel to. The pleasant train journey took me through Oxford and Evesham before dropping me off at the city's Foregate Street station.

I was keen to try a few real ales in the fine traditional pubs on the way to the ground. One pub served fine local beer and advertised a conker championship, which was a first for me. My mate Butch texted me to say a few Seadogs were in the pub next to the ground, so I set off to meet them. The Cavalier Inn had two or three good beers and a very friendly landlord. 

I needed to get back to Shrub Hill station after the game, which was a bit of a trek. He gave me a walking route alongside the canal, or he offered to order me a taxi while I had a pint. Great service. We went into the ground and then the clubhouse, as I wanted to catch up on the latest news, as Boro were in real trouble off the pitch. 

Chairman Ian Scobbie told me how the local Evening News was being most uncooperative after I asked him why fans weren't being updated, as many wanted to help. Many of the things he told me that day just didn't add up, and sure enough, didn't happen. 

I'm not sure whether the information I was given was meant to lead me along, but it was the day I stopped believing in him, after giving him many months of the benefit of the doubt. I was asked to take part in a half-time competition to hit the crossbar from the penalty spot against a local fan, but I'd had a good drink, so I passed up the opportunity. 

Boro were really up against it. They couldn't fill the subs bench because they weren't allowed to sign players because of their financial situation. They had been deducted ten points because of the state of the books before the season started, but boss Mark Patterson had put together a really attractive football team. It's just that there was no backup. 

The game ebbed and flowed up until half-time, with goals going in rapidly in a period in the middle of the half. Boro's goals came from Jamie Vermiglio and Lee Whittington. My mate Simon in Gillingham asked if the goalies had gone home, as I sent him news of yet another goal going in. 

St George's Lane had been tidied up since my last visit, with all the standing areas now terraced. Sadly, the Brookside seated stand had been a victim of the severe measures introduced after the Bradford Fire Disaster and had now gone. It was still one of my favourite venues. 

Boro pressed but couldn't get a valuable equaliser in the second half. I remember posting on the Surfing Seadog at full time that I couldn't believe that we hadn't grabbed at least a draw.

I went back with plenty of others to the pub, and sure enough, the landlord ordered me a taxi so I could enjoy a fine pint and take in the scores while shaking my head in disappointment at what I'd witnessed next door.