Lewes Football Club is an English football team based in Lewes, East Sussex currently playing in the Conference National. Nicknamed The Rooks, the team has seen a number of promotions in recent years.
History
Early history
Lewes Football Club was formed at a meeting at a local pub in 1885 and initially wore green shirts designed to evoke the surrounding South Downs. The present red and black kit was adopted in 1893. The club have always played their home matches at the Dripping Pan (often just called The Pan). The ground itself is known to have been used for football matches prior to the formation of the current club, and has been used by the local people for recreation since time immemorial. The unusual name, "The Dripping Pan", is because the site was where monks from the local priory used to dry water from the nearby river to make salt. This also accounts for the pitch being sunk below ground level and being surrounded by grass banks on all sides.
Later history
Having won the championship of the Mid Sussex League twice before World War I, Lewes became founder members of the Sussex County League in 1920. They were runners-up on four occasions but it was not until 1964-65 that they were finally able to win the championship, after which they stepped up to the Athenian League.
After winning the Division 2 title in 1968, promotion to the Premier Division followed just two years later when the club won the Division 1 title.
Redevelopment work under way at The Dripping Pan
In 1977 Lewes joined the newly expanded Isthmian League, initially in Division 2. Promotion to Division 1 came in 1980 but in 1991 the Rooks were relegated. They bounced back at the first attempt but could only manage one season at this level before two successive relegations saw them in Division 3, where they actually finished second from bottom of the entire league on two occasions.
During the 1998-99 season Jimmy Quinn joined the club as manager and the club soon claimed two consecutive promotions, taking them to the Isthmian League Division One South.
After Steve King took over as manager, in the 2003-04 season they were champions of this division and stepped up to the unprecedented heights of the Conference South after a busy schedule of playoffs at the end of the season, in effect jumping two divisions.
In the 2007-08 season they won promotion to the Conference National for the first time after a 2-0 win over Dorchester Town.[1]
Controversially on the last day of the season, then manager Steve King's contract was not renewed by the board, this subsequently meant that all but one (Anthony Barness) players in the winning squad left the club.[2]
On the 29th April, the board released a statement stating that a new manager, Kevin Keehan, had been appointed to run the first team.[3]
Honours
Champions 1910/11, 1913/14
Champions 1964/65
Runners up 1924/25, 1933/34, 1958/59, 1963/64
League Cup Winners 1939/40
Winners 1976/77
Winners 1961/62, 1962/63, 1964/65
Winners 1964/65, 1970/71, 1984/85, 2000/01, 2005/06
Finalists 1910/11, 1912/13, 1930/31, 1931/32, 1979/80, 1982/83, 1987/88, 2001/02
Division 1 Champions 1969/70
Division 2 Champions 1967/68
Conference South Play-off Winners 2003/04
Division 1 South Champions 2003/04
Division 2 Champions 2001/02
Division 2 Runners up 1979/80, 1991/92
Division 3 Runners up 2000/01
Champions 2007/08
FA Cup history
Lewes have reached the 1st round proper of the FA Cup three times in their history. In the 2001-02 season they played Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium, losing 2-0,[4] in the 2006-07 season they were beaten 4-1 at home by Darlington,[5] and in the 2007-08 season they lost 3-0 to Mansfield Town at Field Mill.[6]
Players
- As of September 26, 2008.
Current squad
Notable former players
- For a complete list of former Lewes players with Wikipedia articles, see Category:Lewes F.C. players.
Sources
References
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Non League | Lewes are promoted as champions
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Lewes | Barness signs new Lewes contract
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Non League | Lewes appoint Keehan as manager
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | FA Cup | Lewes 0-2 Stoke
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | FA Cup | Lewes 1-4 Darlington
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | FA Cup | Mansfield 3-0 Lewes
External links
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| League competitions |
The FA |
Cup competitions |
| Premier League |
England (B) (C) |
FA Cup |
| The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) |
(U-21) (U-20) (U-19) |
Football League Cup |
| Football Conference (Nat, N, S) |
(U-18) (U-17) (U-16) |
FA Community Shield |
| Northern Premier (Prem, 1N, 1S) |
List of clubs |
Football League Trophy |
| Southern League (Prem, 1Mid, 1S&W) |
List of venues |
FA Trophy |
| Isthmian League (Prem, 1N, 1S) |
(by capacity) |
Conference League Cup |
| English football league system |
List of leagues |
FA Vase |
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Records |
FA NLS Cup |
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Foreign players |
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