Mangotsfield United Football Club play in the Southern League Premier Division and are based around the city of Bristol. The club play their home matches at Cossham Street Stadium. The Southern League Premier Division is a football league covering central and south western England. ... Bristol is a unitary authority with city and ceremonial county status in South West England. ... Cossham Street Stadium is home to Bristol based football club, Mangotsfield United F.C. of the Southern Premier League. ...

Player Profiles

Danny Greaves (Goalkeeper) : Danny started his career at Mangotsfield United where he made his debut as a sixteen year old in October 2000 before joining Bristol Rovers where he spent the next five years. In the summer of 2004 he left Bristol Rovers and signed a one year contract with Conference side Forest Green Rovers. However due to Danny being unable to combine daily training with his full time job his contract was cancelled by mutual consent with the highly thought of goalkeeper agreeing to join Mangotsfield United in November 2004 as he signed a two year deal. He made a strong contribution to the title winning side last season.

Tom White (Defender) : Tom made over fifty appearances in the football league with Bristol Rovers before signing for Yeovil Town in 2000 where his spell was cut short in 2004 by an operation to re-align his knee cap. After regaining his fitness and despite much interest from rival clubs he chose to relaunch his career at Mangotsfield United by signing for the club in May 2005.

Tom Warren (Defender) : Younger brother of Gary who also plays for Mangotsfield United. Tom signed for the club in March 2005 after being released by Cheltenham Town. A promising youngster who looks to have a bright future in the game

Alex Ball (Defender) : Alex signed for Mangotsfield United in June 2005 after enjoying four seasons with Southern League Premier Division rivals Team Bath where he was a regular member of the side which climbed rapidly through the non league pyramid. He started his career with Bristol City where he progressed through the youth team ranks to the reserve side. In 2000/01 he left Bristol City and signed for Southern League Premier Division side Clevedon Town where he made 27 appearances before opting for a move to Team Bath in 2001/02. Alex is a versatile player who can operate in defence or midfield.

Mark Summers (Defender) : Signed in July 2001 from local Western League side Brislington for a four figure fee despite much competetion from local rivals. He has the ability to play anywhere in defence and has grown into one of the most consistent players at the club leading to interest from conference clubs during the 2004/05 season. Mark has a fine scoring record from defence having scored 28 goals in four seasons at the club.

Ollie Price (Defender) : Ollie signed for Mangotsfield United in May 2004 from local rivals Clevedon Town where he made 139 appearances after signing for them from Exeter City in July 2001. Ollie was at Exeter City as a YTS player before being surprisingly released. His preferred role is as a centre back but he can also play in a wing back role.

Rob Cousins (Defender) : Signed in July 2005 after being released by Tiverton Town despite scooping virtually all thier end of season awards. Rob began his career with Bristol City before signing for Bath City F.C. in 1989 after his release from Ashton Gate. He spent seven years with The Romans missing only a handful of games. In July 1996 Rob moved to Yeovil Town where he spent four successful seasons, winning three caps for the England semi professional team as well as being an important member of the Yeovil Town team which won the Isthmian League. June 2000 saw Rob sign for Forest Green Rovers where he remained until 2002 when he moved to Tiverton Town. Bath City is a football club currently playing in the Southern League. ...

Gary Warren (Defender) : Gary is a product of the clubs successful youth team and has made rapid progress through the ranks to establish himself as an integral part of the first team over the last couple of seasons. Originally a tough tackling midfielder Gary has been converted to a central defensive role where his impressive performances have brought him to the attention of clubs from higher up the non league pyramid. Gary is highly regarded at Mangotsfield United and was voted supporters player of the season in 2004/05.

Drew Shore (Defender) : Drew signed for Mangotsfield United from Bath City in July 2004 after turning down a new contract with The Romans which resulted in his release. He started his career at Bristol Rovers where he worked his way up through the ranks to earn a professional contract in the summer of 2001, where he went onto make 10 first team appearances in an 18 month period before being somewhat surprisingly released towards the end of 2002. After being approcahed by several local non league sides Drew opted to join Bath City in December 2002 and after impressing in his first season at the club he was rewarded with a contract for the 2003/4 season. In his 18 month spell at Bath Drew made a total of 40 starts with 21 appearances off the bench. Last season saw him make the left full back birth his own in a fine first season at the club.

Chris Lane (Midfielder) : Chris signed for the club in June 2004 from Screwfix Premier Division Brislington having previously been with Bishop Sutton. A versatile player who is proving to be an astute signing, he has tremendous speed and can operate midfield or defence.

Ross Casey (Midfielder) : Signed for Mangotsfield United in December 2004 from Hellenic Premier Division Slimbridge. A hard working midfielder with an eye for goal Ross had a spell as a professional footballer with Cheltenham Town F.C. He has also played for Newport County, Inter Cardiff, Gloucester City A.F.C. and Yate Town. Founded in 1892, Cheltenham Town Football Club are an English professional football team currently playing in Football League Two (the fourth tier league in England). ... Gloucester City AFC are a semi-professional football club currently playing in the Southern League. ...

Ellis Wilmott (Midfielder) : Ellis returned to Mangotsfield United for a second spell after signing from Southern League Premier Division rivals Chippenham Town in June 2005. He previously played for Mangotsfield Utd during the 2002/03 season where he spent two months on loan from Bath City before making a permanent move in January 2003. In the summer of 2003 Ellis departed Cossham Street and signed for Chippenham Town where he became an integral part of their side. Ellis started his footballing career at Bristol City where he was a youth trainee, but after two years at Ashton Gate, moved onto Yeovil Town. When he began studying at Bath University, he left The Glovers and was soon skippering Team Bath to a league and cup double in the Screwfix League. The talented midfielder had spent two seasons with the Bath University based side and was highly regarded there, with his performances capturing the attention of Bath City for whom he signed for in 2002. Ellis has also represented British Universities at the Student games in China.

James Zabek (Midfielder) : James signed for the club in May 2004 from local rivals Clevedon Town. He started his career at Bristol Rovers before joining Clevedon Town in October 2000. The summer of 2001 saw James leave for a short spell at Bath City before returning to Clevedon Town in February 2002. He has made a name for himself as an aggressive, ball winning midfielder and captained Mangotsfield United to the SLD1W league title in his first season at the club.

Luke Prince (Midfielder) : Luke signed for the club in June 2005 from Southern League Premier Division outfit Team Bath. He started his career at Aston Villa before moving onto Forest Green Rovers and Gloucester City A.F.C. A move to Team Bath saw the tricky wide player score ten goal's in Team Bath's Western League-winning campaign of 2002/03, when he was also named players' player of the year. In June 2004 he signed for Nationwide North side Redditch United but returned to Team Bath in December of that year. Gloucester City AFC are a semi-professional football club currently playing in the Southern League. ...

David Seal (Forward) : Much travelled Australian who first arrived in Bristol several seasons ago, when Bristol City signed him from Belgian football. He later moved on to Northampton Town for a fee of £90,000, and returned to the UK in the summer of 2000. Dave has scored 149 goals over the last five seasons including 26 in 30 games last season and 35 in 43 games in 2003/04 whilst in 2002/03 he managed 38 in 44 appearances which earned him the DML Golden Boot award. He is one of the most feared marksmen in the Southern League. Dave is also on the coaching staff after accepting an offer of a coaching role last season.

Robbie Claridge (Forward) : Robbie returned to Mangotsfield United for a second spell in May 2004 after enjoying two successful seasons at Brislington. He first signed for Mangotsfield United from Weston-super-Mare in the summer of 2000 scoring 26 goals in two seasons. He quickly established himself as one of the fans favourites with his tireless workrate and 100% committment. Robbie left the club in 2002 when he agreed to sign for Brislington where he continued to find the net on a regular basis. Last season saw Robbie score 18 goals taking his overall tally to 44 goals in 121 starts for the club.

Dave Anyinsah (Forward) : Signed in March 2005 from Toolstation Premier League side Bristol Manor Farm F.C. for whom he scored 15 goals in 35 matches during the 2004/05 season. Dave can play as a striker or as a winger where his pace and trickery proved decisive during the title run in last season. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Western Football League. ... Bristol Manor Farm F.C. is an English football (soccer) team who play in the Toolstation Premier Division. ...

Martin Paul (Forward) : Martin signed for Mangotsfield United in December 2005 from Southern Premier Division Bath City for a fee of £500. A proven goalscorer at this level he scored 100 goals for Bath in 193 starts. Martin started his career at Bristol Rovers where he made 30 appearances before having a brief spell at Doncaster Rovers. In 1996 he signed for Bath City where after a slow start he became a firm favourite as he topped the DML scoring charts during the 1998/99 season with 30 goals, a feat he achieved again the following season. In the summer of 2001 he moved to Newport County where he continued to find the back of the net scoring 17 goals in 50 games before moving onto Chippenham Town F.C. in 2003. Despite a fine record at Chippenham he was made available for transfer the following season and was quickly snapped up by Bath City. Chippenham Town is a football club currently playing in the Southern League. ...

Club History

When Mangotsfield United took the Southern League Division One West title in 2004/05, it heralded a new era in the history of the club. Chairman Roger Pullin stood down and a new Board of Directors was formed, with Mike Richardson at its helm. The club have never played at this level before - Step three in the Non-League Pyramid - and it was felt that a complete change of direction was required for the challenge of Southern League Premier Division football. The Southern League Division One West is a football league covering western England. ... The Southern League Premier Division is a football league covering central and south western England. ...

There has been football in the village since 1888 and four years later, Mangotsfield FC became a founder member of the Bristol & District League (later to become the Western Football League in 1895) but the club folded after 10 years after finishing bottom of the Amateur Section, Division 1 in 1898. From 1898 until the 1950s, Mangotsfield FC was disbanded and subsequently reformed on several occasions. In January 1951, the parent club dispensed with the Reserve X1 for financial reasons leaving many local players without a team to play for. These players decided to form a new club in the village and at the start of the 1951-52 season, the newly-established Mangotsfield United FC was entered into the Bristol & District League, Division Vll. They achieved five successive promotions and gained entry to the Bristol & District Premier Combination in 1957. The club remained there until 1972-73, when it was accepted in to the Western League. 1888 is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... The Western League is a football league in the south west of England. ...

The Club soon became established in the Western League during the 1970's but were unfortunately relegated to the Western League First Division in 1981-82. However 'The Field' as they were affectionately known, bounced straight back the following season under the guidance of the charasmatic Ralph Miller, who as Chairman undertook the task of improving the ground and its facilities. The club then went on to re-establish themselves in the Premier Division over the next few seasons mainly featuring in the leading positions.

Having finished third in 1989-90, the following season 1990-91 saw the club, managed by Harold Jarman and assisted by Terry Rowles, achieve regional glory by taking the (then) Great Mills League Premier Division title, ahead of runners-up Torrington F.C.. Disappointingly, they were denied promotion to the Southern League as the ground failed to meet the grading requirements and there followed several lean seasons as the team broke up. However under newly-elected Chairman Richard Davis, off the pitch, things were improving. Torrington F.C. is a football club based in Great Torrington in Devon, England. ... See: Southern League (baseball) for minor league baseball in the United States Southern League (football) for the semi-professional and amateur football league in England often known as the Dr Martens League The South Island of New Zealand has various tournaments called Southern League, for association football, cricket, field hockey...

Terry Rowles returned to manage the club himself in 1995 and kept them in the spotlight by consistently finishing in the top three/four in the Great Mills/Screwfix League and an appearance in the FA Vase semi-final (losing to Clitheroe), but their ambitions of promotion and Southern League football were always thwarted by the continual success of Taunton and Tiverton Town. It was considered very important to establish a sound working base, improve ground facilities and secure a long-term tenure on their Cossham Street Stadium. The Football Association Challenge Vase is an annual football competition for teams playing in the lower regional leagues of England. ... Cossham Street Stadium is home to Bristol based football club, Mangotsfield United F.C. of the Southern Premier League. ...

In recent years, the Roger Pullin/Richard Davis partnership has seen many improvements take place, with the installation of Conference-style floodlights and at the end of the 2003/04 season, the Cossham Street end of the ground was covered, together with new toilet blocks and social club improvements. Ex player Andy Black returned to the club as Manager in 1999 and guided the club to promotion to the Dr. Martens Southern League and three successful campaigns along with twice reaching the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, making the fourth round of the FA Trophy as well as winning the GFA Senior Trophy for the first time in the clubs history. The 2003/04 campaign did not go too well and just before Christmas, Black and his assistant Shaun Penny where replaced by Martin Grimshaw. Towards the end of the campaign, Nigel Webb came in as his Assistant, but the club could only finish in 13th place, which was not high enough for the planned re-structuring of the Pyramid.

The Management duo made promotion their priority last season and the club headed the table for most of the campaign, eventually taking the Division One West title with a 21 match unbeaten run. After 28 seasons at Western League level, the club have spent just five campaigns at Southern League level and new Chairman Mike Richardson is planning to reach The Conference South within three years. The club have found financial stability in recent years & more ground improvements are planned together with the need to reach out to the community and attract a broader fan-base and local sponsorship.

Sometimes now referred to as 'The Mangos' the club had an historic season in 2004-05. The First X1, Reserves and Youth team all finished as Champions of their respective leagues, a memorable feat.