Kidderminster

Kidderminster Harriers were formed in 1886 from a highly successful athletics and rugby union club that had existed since 1877. In July 1880 the Athletics club amalgamated with the local Clarence rugby club to become 'Kidderminster Harriers and Football Club'. Matches were played at White Wickets on the Franche Road in Kidderminster. 1885-6 was the last season played as a rugby club and the Harriers switched to Association rules for the next season.

Playing games at Chester Road (the current cricket ground) Harriers' first game was 18 September 1886, away to Wilden, winning 2–1. The town saw a rival team start up as Kidderminster Olympic in 1887, rapidly becoming one of the best sides in the area. In 1887–88 the club started playing its matches at Aggborough.

Both Olympic and Harriers were founder members of the Birmingham and District League in 1889, Olympic won the league in 1890, with Harriers runners-up. Both sides regularly attracted crowds of 2–4,000, with the local derbies seeing over 7,000 attending. Owing to their success soon after both Olympic and Harriers were subject to allegations of 'professionalism' and illegal payments to players, although the League Committee let off both clubs with a warning about future conduct.

In 1890 the two clubs amalgamated as Kidderminster F.C. on a full professional basis, the new club being admitted to the Midland League which had been formed in 1889. The club became the first from the town to enter the FA Cup and after winning 4 qualifying-round games, reached the first round proper (last 32). They lost 3–1 away to Darwen but protested the result because of the poor state of the pitch. Their protest was upheld and the tie was replayed a week later, again at Darwen, where Darwen won 13–0. However the club found things difficult financially as a fully professional club, and, with debts of £369, resigned from the league and was wound up in March 1891.

The club reverted to amateur status in the Birmingham and District League the following season as Kidderminster Harriers. The club again reached the 1st Round of the FA Cup in 1906–07, losing to Oldham Athletic away 5–0. In 1910 the then current England international full-back Jesse Pennington signed for Harriers after a dispute with his then club West Bromwich Albion. He played one game before the dispute was resolved and he returned to Albion.

The twenties were hard going for the club as poor form on the pitch and financial problems off it took their toll. Harriers did manage a League runners-up place in 1924–25. In this season Harriers made national headlines by signing Stanley Fazackerley, who had been the first £5,000 transfer in English football and scorer of the FA Cup Final winning goal for Sheffield United in 1915. After a pay dispute, he had been given 14 days notice by his then club Wolverhampton Wanderers and had returned to the public house he managed in the city, where a Harriers fan drinking there overheard the news and quickly contacted the Harriers Secretary. The then Wolves captain George Getgood, also in contractual dispute at the time, also signed for Harriers in a double swoop.

The 1927–28 season saw another accusation of bribery, this time against secretary Pat Davis by Cradley Heath. During an investigation Davis admitted he had offered Burton Town players a ten shillings bonus if they managed to beat Worcester City in the last match of the season. The match was drawn so the bonus was never paid. The case made the national newspapers and Pat Davis was temporarily suspended from all duties.

Harriers proved a rich source of young quality players picked up by professional football clubs at this time, those moving to bigger clubs including full back Billy Blake (Crystal Palace), winger Fred Leedham (transferred to West Bromwich Albion for £300), Dennis Jennings (to Huddersfield Town for £600) and forward Norman Brookes (to Walsall for £70). In 1935–36 a new scoring record for the club was set, with Billy Boswell scoring 64 goals in a single season.

Harriers did not win the West Midlands League until 1938, finishing the season undefeated. They moved to the Southern League the following year, but played just two games because of the onset of World War II.

They rejoined the Southern League in 1948. Their first game was a 1–1 draw with Chingford Town in front of 3,889. Future Football Association General Secretary Ted Croker was a Harriers player during the early 1950s, as was future England international striker Gerry Hitchens(1953–55). Harriers became the first team to host a floodlit FA Cup match, when on 14 September 1955 they played Brierley Hill Alliance in a preliminary round replay, which Harriers won 4–2. By 1956–57 the club was again in financial difficulties and after several seasons of struggle in 1960 the club voluntarily dropped back down to the Birmingham League.

During the 1964–72 era Harriers won the West Midland League four times (including three years running 1968–70), and the various County Senior Cups eight times. Brendan Wassall arrived at Aggborough and debuted on 17 October 1962 against Banbury Spencer. He went on to make 686 appearances up until 1975, and scored 269 goals. His son, Darren, played for Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City and Derby County.

In 1963 Peter Wassall joined the Harriers on the advice of his brother Brendan after spells with Wolves, Aston Villa and Atherstone Utd. After a season in midfield he switched to play up front and went on to score a total of 448 goals in 621 games for the Harriers. He joined Hereford Utd briefly in 1971 but returned to Aggborough a year later.

They were back to the Southern League by 1972–73 as part of Division One North, one level under the Southern League Premier.

Under player-manager Jon Chambers (ex Aston Villa) in 1983, Harriers were promoted to the Alliance Premier League (now the Conference) after finishing second to AP Leamington, who were refused entry on ground facility issues.

After a poor start to the first season in the Alliance, AP Leamington manager Graham Allner was appointed manager, marking the start of a 16-year association with the club. Despite not playing in Wales, they were invited to play in the Welsh Cup through the 1970s and 1980s, reaching the final in 1986 and again in 1989.

In July 1985, Allner signed striker Kim Casey from Gloucester City for £2,500. He previously played for Sutton Coldfield and AP Leamington. In his first season for the Harriers, Casey scored 73 goals in 69 games, a club record, and netted 47 the following season. He was transferred to Cheltenham Town in August 1990 for £25,000 before re-joining Harriers briefly in July 1995. For much of the eighties and nineties Casey partnered Paul Davies up front, Davies eventually logging 307 career goals in 656 games over 13 years for the club, while Casey hit nearly 200 goals in six seasons.

In 1989, Kidderminster Harriers launched their first Youth training scheme (YTS) – a first, because the club was still playing non-league football in the Vauxhall Conference. The first crop of players were Ian Clarke (Midfield/Defender), Ryan Rankin (Defender), Willie Bache (Midfield), Alan Knott (Forward), Richard Congrave (Forward), Russel Dodds (Midfield/Defender), Craig Gillett (Midfield) and Justin Taylor (Forward). The intake was coached by Graeme McKenzie and gained instance success finishing runners-up in their first season in the Midlands Floodlit league behind Hereford United.

In 1994, Harriers were Conference champions but were controversially refused promotion due to the Football League's tightened fire safety regulations for stadiums after the Bradford City stadium fire. Aggborough's main stand was of wooden construction and, despite assurances a new cantilever stand would be ready for the new season (which was completed on time), and considerable West Midlands media support, the Football League rejected Harriers' promotion. Ironically, the ground hosted an 8,000 crowd without any problems for the visit of West Ham United in that year's 5th round FA Cup.

Harriers finished second to Macclesfield Town in 1997, but then finished in the bottom half in each of the next two seasons.

Harriers received the biggest sell-on fee for a former non-league club, picking up £700,000 when Lee Hughes joined Coventry City in August 2001. Kidderminster had sold Hughes to West Bromwich Albion in 1998 and under the sell-on clause negotiated by manager Allner at the time received 15% of any further transfer fee. This was activated when Hughes moved to Coventry City for a reported £5 million.

Backed by retired retail millionaire Chairman Lionel Newton, former Liverpool star Jan Mølby was appointed as manager for the 1999–2000 season. He signed Mike Marsh in November 1999 as a midfield general. He then led the club to the Conference title at the first attempt, beating Rushden & Diamonds by nine points. Thereafter, low attendances (the town is close to several large Championship and Premier League sides) and lack of revenue following the ITV Digital collapse meant the club struggled to make a mark in the Football League, and after five seasons they were relegated back to the Conference National division.

A close-season boardroom takeover battle disrupted preparations for their first season back in the Conference; consequently the club struggled to maintain efforts towards a quick return to the Football League, ending up with a 15th-place finish in the Conference National. Ex-Harriers captain and former Doncaster Rovers, Cheltenham Town player and Burnley assistant coach Mark Yates took over as Manager from the sacked Stuart Watkiss during the season. He steered the club away from minor danger of relegation in the 2005–06 season and during his first full campaign, took the side to the FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium for the first time in 12 years. They however lost 3–2 to Stevenage Borough in front of 53,262. Their league form however was less impressive, resulting in mid-table finishes for three consecutive seasons.

In December 2009 Mark Yates and his number two coach Neil Howarth left the club to take over as coaches at Cheltenham Town.

After a month of speculation and a number of names such as Jim Harvey and Jeff Kenna being mentioned as possible replacements for Mark Yates, Stalybridge Celtic Manager Steve Burr took over on an initial two-and-a-half-year contract, which was extended to 2014 in March 2011. The club finished sixth in Burr's first season in charge. Burr's second season in charge was largely similar to his first. Harriers again finished sixth, just one place outside the play off places. Harriers were given a 5-point deduction for submitting misleading financial information.

The 2012–13 season started badly for Harriers as they lost the first five games, drew the next five games. However, Harriers went on a run that saw them win 22 out of their last 23 games, including a run of 12 wins, putting them in contention for the title and promotion. In January, Harriers received a club record fee of £300,000 from Fleetwood Town for striker Jamille Matt. Following the departure of Matt, Harriers signed eventual top scorer Michael Gash from Cambridge United on loan till the end of the season with a clause that Harriers could make the deal permanent at the end of the season. The title race with Mansfield Town went down to the last day with Mansfield 2 points ahead. Harriers in front of a sold out 6,453 Aggborough beat Stockport County 4–0 which confirmed their relegation. Mansfield beat a weakened Wrexham side who were already guaranteed the play-offs 1–0. Harriers finished 2nd and played 5th place Wrexham in the play off semi-final. Harriers lost the first leg at the Racecourse Ground 2–1, Michael Gash scoring Harriers goal from the penalty spot. Harriers also lost the second leg, again in front of a sell out crowd 3–1, confirming a 5–2 aggregate loss and Conference football for another season. After such a fantastic season, Harriers had 3 players in the Conference Team of the Year for the 2012–13 season, they were Anthony Malbon, Josh Gowling and Lee Vaughan.

Strong early form in the 2013–14 season found them in 2nd place which could not be sustained. In November 2013, Steve Burr walked out on Harriers to speak to Forest Green Rovers. The talks broke down and Burr returned to Harriers where the league form dipped rapidly. Harriers enjoyed a fine cup run beating League Two side Newport County in the second round and holding League One side Peterborough United 0–0 at Aggborough in the third round. However, Burr did not get chance to see the replay as a heavy 6–0 defeat away to Luton Town saw him sacked as Harriers manager on 7 January 2014. On 8 January, Andy Thorn was appointed manager, winning his first game in charge 3–0 at home to Salisbury, Joe Lolley's first hat trick for the club and last league game as a move to Huddersfield Town was looming. Having agreed to let Lolley stay for the FA Cup replay, Lolley then netted the winning goal in a famous 3–2 win away to Peterborough United. The next day, Lolley moved to Huddersfield Town for a fee in the region of £250,000 having only been at the club for 6 months. Harriers league form dipped after the departure of Lolley and strain of the FA Cup run as Thorn was sacked after 54 days in charge following a run of only 3 wins in 10 games which also included the 1–0 FA Cup Fourth-round loss to Premier League Sunderland. On 5 March, Burr's former number two Gary Whild was appointed Harriers manager for the final 13 games until the end of the season. Under Whild, Harriers lost only 1 of the last 13 games, but 6 draws meant that Harriers fell just short of the play-offs finishing the season in 7th.

In April 2014, it was announced Gary Whild would stay on as Harriers manager after signing a one-year rolling contract. The 2014/15 season started strongly for the Harriers, as they remained unbeaten in their first 7 games which propelled them into the play-offs. From September till December, Harriers went on a 15 games run where no result was the same back to back. Harriers inconsistent form left them outside the play-offs approaching the Christmas period. In November it was announced that Harriers were having money troubles and that the wage budget would have to be decreased. This led to key players Chey Dunkley and Nathan Blissett being loaned to Oxford United and Bristol Rovers respectively, both moves being made permanent in January. One other key influence on Harriers' declining league form was the state of the deteriorating pitch. The signs of two teams playing on the pitch was showing and grass was turning to mud. This showed through December and January, Harriers winning all 4 away matches but losing all 4 at home. Reducing the budget further in January, several players were released including key striker Michael Gash and instrumental midfielder Kyle Storer after just reaching 150 appearances for the club. However, this created the chance for former West Brom goal machine Lee Hughes to rejoin Kidderminster Harriers some 18 years after leaving the club, now 38, Hughes' contract at Forest Green Rovers was cancelled by mutual consent, allowing him to sign again at Aggborough. He began his career at Aggborough in 1994 and scored 70 goals in 139 games for Harriers before moving to West Brom in 1997. Hughes went on to score on his second debut for the Harriers in a 1–1 home draw against Woking. Harriers were sitting 6th after boxing day, with a game in hand to go into the playoffs. However, Harriers only won three of the last twenty games, losing twelve of those as they finished 16th in a tale of two halves season. At the end of the season, it was announced that Harriers only had five players contracted for next season and that the wage budget would be significantly reduced.

The Harriers began the 2014–15 in the same poor form they had finished on the last. Harriers were winless after 11 games, and in September 2015 it was announced Head Coach Gary Whild would be leaving the club. First team coaches Mark Creighton and Tim Flowers also left the club. The club was relegated from the National League at the end of the season.

On 21 April 2016, former Watford and Derby County midfielder John Eustace was announced as the club's new manager. Eustace guided Harriers to a second-place finished in their first season in the National League North, before they were beaten by Chorley in the play-off semi-finals. After the culmination of the 2017–18 season, where Harriers again lost in the first round of the play-offs, this time to Bradford Park Avenue, manager John Eustace left the club to join Queen's Park Rangers, and was replaced by Neil MacFarlane. MacFarlane was replaced by former manager Mark Yates in January 2019, as Harriers struggled to a mid-table finish. John Pemberton was installed as manager ahead of the 2019–20 season, although he too was replaced part-way through the season. After an early curtailing of the season, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Russ Penn and Jimmy O'Connor were appointed manager and joint-manager, respectively. In the 2021–22 season, the pair led Harriers to a fourth placed league finish, as well as the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they lost to Premier League side West Ham United. In the play-offs, Harriers exited at the first round, as they suffered a 2–1 defeat to Boston United.

In the 2022–23 season, Harriers won their last six consecutive league matches and a further three wins in the play-offs beating Alfreton Town in the play off eliminator 1–0, beating second placed Kings Lynn Town 4–1 in the play-off semi-final before winning the play-off final 2–0 against Brackley Town thanks to two goals from Ashley Hemmings to earn promotion to the National League after seven years' absence. On 7 January 2024, Penn was sacked by Kidderminster with the club bottom of the National League. Although form initially picked up following the appointment of Phil Brown, the club were relegated in the penultimate match of the season.