Kidsgrove Athletic

Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. is an English football club based in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, England currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team, nicknamed "The Grove", play their home games at Hollinwood Road, Clough Hall.

History

Football was played in the town of Kidsgrove before the outbreak of World War II saw the team disband. Football was resurrected in when Kidsgrove United was formed which brought a number of players from further afield. Local young men unhappy with this structure formed their own club in 1952 under the name Kidsgrove Athletic. The club joined the amateur Burslem and Tunstall League. They played on the Vickers and Goodwin pitch next to the A50 before deciding not to play football in 1961 to develop a ground on Hollinwood Road, Clough Hall. The club won the Burslem and Tunstall League in 1962 and joined the Staffordshire County League in 1963.

They won the Division Two title in 1963–64 before winning the Division One title in 1965–66. Kidsgrove moved to the Mid-Cheshire League in 1966 a move which caused some controversy. The team thrived in the new league and were crowned champions in 1970–71, 1977–78, 1986–87 and 1987–88 and also won the Mid-Cheshire League Cup in 1968, 1970 and 1986. The club joined the North West Counties Football League in 1990 and were promoted to the Premier Division in 1991–92 due to ground grading. After several seasons of struggle at this level they won the title in 1997–98 and 2001–02 which earned them promotion to the Northern Premier League. Kidsgrove struggled with the step up to the eighth tier narrowly avoiding relegation in 2002–03 and 2003–04. Under the management of Ant Buckle and Darren Twigg they finished in mid-table in 2004–05 and 2005–06. Peter Ward re-joined the club in the summer of 2006 which saw Kidsgrove begin to mount a promotion challenge and they reached the play-offs in 2009–10 but lost out to Glapwell. In 2010–11 Grove missed out on a play-off spot by four points finishing in 7th position.