Club History
The Early Years
Town began life at a ground in Netherton Road before moving to Central Avenue in 1891, sharing the venue with Worksop Cricket Club. The following year, the club became a founder member of the Sheffield League before entering the Midland League in 1896.
In the 1907-08 season, Worksop lost 9-1 away to Chelsea in the FA Cup in front of an incredible crowd of 70,184. In the 1920-21 season, they performed a major shock by drawing 0-0 in the Cup away against the might of Tottenham Hotspur, controversially playing the replay at White Hart Lane and losing 9-0, leading to a fans' boycott.
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| The former Central Way home of Worksop Town |
That setback didn't prevent Town from lifting the Midland League title the following season, before the club became members of the Yorkshire League in 1935. They rejoined the Midland League once again in 1949, where they went on to lift the title for a second time in 1965-66.
In 1968, Worksop became a founder member of the Northern Premier League (NPL), departing after their inaugural season.
A third Midland League crown was collected in 1972-73. A return to the NPL followed in 1974, remaining in the competition and being relegated to its First Division in 1988-89 after leaving their Central Ground home.
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The club became a tenant of Gainsborough Trinity, twenty miles away, for three seasons. During the period, the side finished in third place twice under manager Tommy Spencer. The club returned to a new ground on Sandy Lane. The quarterfinals of the FA Trophy were reached in 1998-99, with the side going out to Forest Green Rovers.
The team was boosted by the inclusion of former England international Chris Waddle for three seasons. In 2001, property developer Howard Raymond, the son of London nightclub owner and publisher Paul Raymond, bought the club, unveiling grand plans for their Sandy Lane home.
Ronnie Glavin was appointed as manager in May 2004 when the club became a founder member of Conference North. However, large debts were accrued, including £60,000 to the local council. September 2006 saw Ian Bowling appointed as manager while Raymond formed a new company called 1861 Leisure Ltd to take over the club and its assets.
This resulted in a ten-point deduction. Relegation to the NPL followed before Raymond separated the football club from the holding company, making them tenants at Sandy Lane. Peter Rinkcavage took over as manager shortly after, but in April 2008, without any reason, the club officials were locked out of the ground.
Town became tenants of Hucknall Town for the 2008-09 season and then at Ilkeston Town for the following campaign. In the summer of 2010, Jason Clark, the Managing Director of B2Net, took over the club and spoke with Raymond over a return to Sandy Lane. However, a deal was signed to play at Canon Park, Retford United's home, for two seasons.
Martin McIntosh was appointed as manager midway through the 2010-11 season. Peter Whitehead of Parramore Sports bought Sandy Lane from Raymond and moved in his own club, Worksop Parramore, while Town were invited back as tenants for the 2011-12 campaign.
In the meantime, Clark was working with Bassetlaw Council to provide a new home stadium. Mark Shaw was in charge of the team that reached the playoffs in 2012-13 before owner Clark revealed that he could no longer fund the club. Voluntary relegation to the Northern Counties East League (NCEL) was taken.
Managers came and went before Craig Denton led the Tigers to the NCEL title in 2018-19. Kyle Jordan replaced him after the side was placed in Division One South East of the NPL. Stadium owner Pete Whitehead bought the club in February 2020, soon appointing Craig Parry as manager.
Town won Division One East in 2022-23, returning to the Premier Division of the competition. Dreams of promotion were ended in the playoff semifinals a season later. However, Worksop went up via the same route after defeating Guiseley in the 2024-25 final, before consolidating in the National League North.
My visitsWorksop Town 0 Scarborough 0
The old Scarborough club started what was to be their final season with a ten-point deduction owing to financial irregularities as well as relegation. I travelled up on the train to Nottingham, and then on the Robin Hood Line to Worksop.
On arrival, I met with Carl Ellis and a Sheffield United supporting mate, before heading to the uninspiring Grafton Hotel for a couple of pints, before heading to the ground. There was a good following of over two hundred Seadogs hoping that fortunes would improve on and off the pitch. Carl spotted the owners who had offered hope. He wasn't convinced!
Sandy Lane was a tidy enough venue. The turnstile end had a tiny cover behind the goal as well as a two-storey clubhouse. The Main Stand with changing rooms at the rear stood down one side, with open standing opposite. The far goal had a seated stand behind the central section. The rest of the ground consisted of open standing.
The game was played in hot conditions, with not too much happening. Off the pitch, it was different. It was apparent that a group of local youths was looking for trouble. Unfortunately, a few young Seadogs decided to get involved in nothing more than handbags, which soured the atmosphere. We had plenty of problems of our own to deal with without other distractions.
The locals were thrown out, then walked around the back of the open terrace, where many Boro fans were standing, and threw stones over. A few minutes from the end, Tony Hackworth missed a gilt-edged chance to win the game.
We had no problems getting back to the station, having a beer in the Mallard, but were told off for using our mobile phones! I made the long and weary journey home with the idea of heading midweek to Stalybridge a couple of games later. Football makes you do the strangest things.
