Cheltenham

Early Years: 1887–1940

Cheltenham has a history of football prior to The Robins. In 1849, the first use of three official referees in a match, two in field and one in tribune, was recorded in the town. However, the modern club was founded in 1887 by Albert Close White, a local teacher.

The club spent its first three decades in local football. Notable players from those days included former England international Philip Bach, cricketers Gilbert Jessop and brothers Charles Barnett and Edgar Barnett.^[].

In December 1931 the club moved to Whaddon Road and turned semi-professional in 1932–33, joining the Birmingham Combination whilst adopting new colours of red and white hooped shirts, black shorts, and red and white stockings. Former England international George Blackburn was appointed player coach, and led the team to third place in their debut season. The following year the club entered the FA Cup, featuring a ten-game journey to the third round before losing to Blackpool in front of a record attendance at the Athletic Ground in Cheltenham. Following a disappointing season in 1934–35, brightened only by winning the Leamington Hospital Cup and the discovery and sale of centre froward James Currier to Bolton Wanderers, the club applied for membership and were accepted to join the Southern League for the 1935–36 season.

Town kicked-off their debut Southern League campaign with two firsts. The club appointed its first manager with "complete power" of team selection in George Carr, and fielded an all professional eleven in the first game of the season against Barry. Despite a flying start in the season opener, Town could only finish sixth in the Western and ninth in the Central sections of the league. However, the season did feature an FA Cup run to the first round where Brighton and Hove Albion were taken to a replay. A notable result during the run was the club's record victory, beating Chippenham Rovers 12–0 in the Third Round Qualifying.

The 1936–37 season was Carr's last, resigning in April 1937. Town finished eleventh as the Southern League switched to a single division, with the side featuring appearances from future England international Tim Ward before his move to Derby County. Off the field, the club moved to establish itself as a limited company.

Carr's replacement was former Arsenal forward James Brain. After losing two stalwart performers for the club - Cliff Lang to illness and Ernie Williams to injury - Brain couldn't improve on eleventh place in the league. But he took the team to the FA Cup first round, losing 3–0 to Watford, while Newport County knocked Town out the Welsh Cup at the quarter-final stage. Two of the side's consistent performers, winger Cliff Thorley and goalkeeper Jack Wheeler earned moves to Bristol City and Birmingham respectively. Crisis was averted when players, shareholders and supporters contributed to keep the club in business following a financial crunch.

Cheltenham rebranded as "The Robins" for the 1938–39 campaign, wearing white shirts with a robin emblem and red sleeves. Another FA Cup run ended against league opposition in the first round as Cardiff City won a replay following a 1–1 draw at Whaddon Road. In the league, Town had another bottom half finish. All 16 league wins came at home, and only on six occasions did Cheltenham avoid a league defeat away from Whaddon Road. Once again, the threat of closure hung over the club.

A promising start to the 1939–40 season was curtailed by the outbreak of World War II. Following a pause, the Southern League established a limited regional programme, often featuring guest players, and Cheltenham finished next to bottom of the league's Western division. At the season's end the club announced it would "not arrange any more fixtures until further notice".

1985–1999

They won promotion to the Alliance Premier League (now the Conference National) in 1985, but were relegated seven years later.^[]

The appointment of Steve Cotterill as manager during the 1996–97 was the start of a period of success at the club which resulted in Cotterill being their most successful manager.^[] Four months after taking charge he guided the club to runners-up spot in the Southern Football League Premier Division, but they won promotion to the Football Conference as champions Gresley Rovers were unable to meet the required ground capacity for Conference membership.^[] In 1997–98, Cheltenham finished runners-up in the Conference and were close to champions Halifax Town until the end of April 1998.^[] They secured a place at Wembley in the 1998 FA Trophy Final, beating Southport 1–0 in front of a crowd of 26,837 at Wembley Stadium. In 1998–99, Cheltenham secured the Conference title and entry to the Football League.

Football League (1999–2015)

After two mid-table finishes in Division Three, Cheltenham finally won promotion to Division Two (via the Division Three playoffs) at the end of the 2001–02 season. Shortly after winning promotion, Cotterill left Cheltenham to join Stoke City as their manager.

Cheltenham replaced Cotterill with first-team coach Graham Allner who had won the Conference championship with Kidderminster Harriers in 1994. Allner and assistant manager Mike Davis, who was originally assistant to Cotterill, were sacked in January 2003, after six months in the job, with Cheltenham near the foot of Division Two. Cheltenham turned to Bobby Gould, one of the most experienced managers in English football whose exploits include an FA Cup victory with Wimbledon in 1988. Cheltenham continued to struggle, and defeat in their final game of the season condemned the club to relegation back to Division Three after just one season. Gould resigned as Cheltenham Town manager in November 2003 and was replaced by John Ward.

During the 2005–06 season, a new stand for visiting fans was added (The Carlsberg Stand). They finished the season in 5th, earning a place in the play-offs. In the semi-final Cheltenham beat Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 away and drew 0–0 in the second leg at Whaddon Road. In the play-off final, Cheltenham beat Grimsby Town 1–0, securing a place in League One for 2006–07. The match at the Millennium Stadium on 28 May 2006 was attended by 29,196 people.

Cheltenham started life in League One with a 1–0 win against Gillingham. Following Cheltenham's 3–0 defeat to Port Vale, manager John Ward announced he had agreed a four-year contract with League One side Carlisle United. A highlight of the season was winning twice against Leeds United. Cheltenham's survival was secured on the final day of the season as they beat Doncaster Rovers 2–1 at Whaddon Road, denying their opposition automatic promotion.

Early in the 2008–09 season, Keith Downing left Cheltenham Town and was replaced by Martin Allen. Allen's team started poorly with a club-record seven defeats in a row, part of a 15-game run without a victory. The club narrowly avoided administration, and the 10-point penalty that would go with it, before Allen revealed that all the players at the club were up for sale. The season finished with Cheltenham's relegation back to League Two on the penultimate day of the season after three seasons in League One as they had conceded over 100 goals in all competitions.

Cheltenham won their first match of the 2009–10 season against Grimsby Town 2–1, but fell dramatically down the table soon after. On 20 October, Martin Allen was "put on gardening leave" amid allegations he racially abused a nightclub bouncer, and assistant manager John Schofield took temporary charge. Allen was formally cleared of misconduct but still left the club by mutual consent in early December. Former Cheltenham captain and Kidderminster boss Mark Yates was appointed manager on 22 December 2009. Cheltenham continued to struggle through the rest of the season, only managing to avoid relegation on the final day of the season, although they finished four points ahead of the relegated sides.

Yates, ahead of his first full season with Cheltenham, revamped the squad, releasing eight players, including defender Shane Duff, who had just completed his tenth year with the club. The season proved to be successful to begin with, with the Robins remaining close to the play-off positions, but they collapsed in the second half of the season and finished 17th, with only five wins in 26 games in 2011.

Despite losing in the first round of the League Cup, they reached the Football League Trophy south quarter-finals and were handed a lucrative tie at Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup third round. The Robins ended the season in 6th and defeated Torquay United 2–0 at home and then 1–2 away in the play-off semi-finals. The play-off final was contested at Wembley Stadium on 27 May 2012. Crewe Alexandra defeated Cheltenham Town 2–0 with goals from Nick Powell and Byron Moore in front of a crowd of 24,029.

The Robins also enjoyed a good run in the FA Cup, eventually losing out 5–1 to Premier League side Everton. On 6 November 2012, manager Mark Yates oversaw his 150th game in charge of the team in a 1–0 win against league leaders Gillingham. Cheltenham finished 5th, once again qualifying for the end of season play-offs after being pipped to the third promotion spot on the last day of the season by Rotherham United. The season included a run of 21 home league games without defeat. The play-offs saw Cheltenham face Northampton Town with Cheltenham losing both home and away games by 1–0.

After finishing in the play-offs for two consecutive seasons, Cheltenham Town's 2013–14 season proved to be difficult. Any hopes of a third consecutive play-off place were ended by March. The highlight of the season was a trip to Premier League side West Ham United, with the club eventually losing 2–1 at Upton Park. Cheltenham finished the season in 17th place.

On 25 November 2014, Mark Yates was sacked by Cheltenham Town after almost five years in charge. Cheltenham subsequently appointed Paul Buckle as team manager, but he was dismissed after just 79 days. In March 2015 Gary Johnson was appointed manager. In April 2015, after Bryan Jacob, a lifelong supporter, gave the club's supporters trust £222,000 in his will, members voted to use the money to accept a long-standing offer from the club for a permanent seat on its board of directors. Football fan Clive Gowing was subsequently elected. The club said it would also name a stand and supporters' player-of-the-season award in Jacob's memory. On 25 April 2015, Cheltenham Town lost at Whaddon Road to Shrewsbury Town, which meant that Cheltenham were relegated from the Football League after sixteen seasons.

Return to the Football League (2016–)

After only one season outside of the Football League, Cheltenham secured an immediate return on 16 April 2016 with a 2–0 home win against FC Halifax Town. The team amassed 101 points, scoring the most and conceding the fewest goals, on their way to becoming champions, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed local rivals Forest Green Rovers. January signing Dan Holman was joint winner of the National League's Golden Boot award, with 30 goals, having netted 16 times in just 18 games for the Robins. Danny Wright, a summer signing, finished the season with 22 league goals and 11 assists, winning the Supporters Player of the Year award.

For the club's return to the Football League, manager Gary Johnson largely kept faith with the players that had won the previous year's National League. The 2016–17 season proved to be a struggle with a number of players finding the step up to League Two more difficult than had been hoped. The Whaddon Road pitch also came in for criticism, from both supporters and visiting managers, as it struggled to cope with its high levels of use (Gloucester City were in the final season of a ground-share at Cheltenham during 2016–17). Results improved somewhat during the spring, although Johnson was absent on sick leave from March onwards while recovering from heart bypass surgery, leaving his assistant Russell Milton in charge. The Robins secured their league status with a 1–0 win over Hartlepool United in the penultimate game of the season. They finished the season in 21st place.

During the close season a recovered Gary Johnson returned to work and signed a new two-year contract. He oversaw a major clearout of the squad with eleven players released. In the 2017–18 season the club ultimately only gained one point more than in the previous year (51 compared to 50), and finished in 17th place in League Two. By far the biggest success of an otherwise low-key year was Sudanese striker Mohamed Eisa. Signed as a free transfer from non-league football, Eisa scored 23 league goals for Cheltenham during the season and ultimately moved to Bristol City, for a transfer fee reportedly in excess of £1m (a club record sale), in July 2018. At the end of the season, long-serving club chairman Paul Baker stood down from the role after 20 years, handing over the chairmanship to Andy Wilcox.

On 10 September 2018, ex-Cheltenham player Michael Duff was appointed after the departure of Gary Johnson. Duff guided the Robins to 16th. The following 2019–20 season was very successful, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in 4th place. Final league standings were decided on a points-per-game basis following disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cheltenham missed out in the play-offs to Northampton Town, losing 3–2 on aggregate.

In 2020–21, Cheltenham returned to League One as champions after five seasons in League Two. Due to the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19, the vast majority of fixtures in 2020–21 took place behind closed doors. The Robins reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2006 before narrowly losing out to eventual 2020–21 Premier League champions Manchester City. Cheltenham were leading the match with ten minutes to play before eventually losing 3–1. Cheltenham guaranteed their return to League One with a 1–1 draw at home to Carlisle United. On 8 May 2021, Cheltenham won their first ever Football League title, beating Harrogate Town 4–1 on the final day to secure the League Two championship.

In the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons, Cheltenham finished 15th and 16th respectively in League One. As one of the smallest clubs operating at that level, they were greatly helped by the form of striker Alfie May who scored a total of 43 league goals over the two seasons. At the end of the 2021–22 season, head coach Michael Duff left for Barnsley and was replaced by Wade Elliott who was promoted internally from the role of first-team coach.

Elliott was sacked on 20 September 2023 after overseeing a goalless run of seven defeats in eight games. On 29 September 2023, Darrell Clarke was named as the new manager. Before taking charge on 2 October, Clarke watched his new side lose 2–0 at Lincoln City on 30 September. Cheltenham lost their first game under Clarke, defeated 2–0 at Whaddon Road by Fleetwood Town on 3 October 2023, extending their goalless run to a record eleven league games. Cheltenham scored in their next league game, a 1–1 draw with Derby County on 7 October 2023, extending their opening winless streak to 13 matches (12 league, one EFL Trophy).