Paulton Rovers

The club first entered competitive football in the Western Football League at the start of the 20th century, with several spells in and out of the competition up until 1929. After the Second World War they were placed in the top division of the restructured Western League, though relegation followed in the early 1950s. With Division Two later disbanded, the team spent over a decade in the Somerset County League before rejoining the Western League in the mid-1970s. Promotion and relegation followed across the two divisions before steady progress in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to a place in the Southern League. A promotion in 2014 to the Premier Division came through a play-off victory at Tiverton Town and a win away at Merthyr Town in front of a large crowd.

The side twice reached the Division One South and West play-off semi-finals before that, losing to Taunton Town in 2007 and to Hungerford Town in 2013. A notable cup run came in the 2009–10 FA Cup when a victory over Chippenham Town secured a home tie against Norwich City. Broadcast live on national television, it was the club’s first appearance on a major channel, with more than two thousand in attendance, though Norwich ran out clear winners.

In terms of management, Andy Jones was the most successful incumbent to that point before resigning in early 2011. He was succeeded by a joint team of Paul Milsom and Mark Harrington, before Harrington took over as manager with Milsom as his assistant. Following Milsom’s departure at the end of that year, former defender Nick Bunyard was appointed and later assumed full charge at the beginning of the 2012–13 season, with Milsom returning in an assistant capacity.