PETERSFIELD TOWN HISTORY

League record

The Rams were formerly known as Petersfield United and the club enjoyed a spell in the Isthmian League from the mid-1980's until the early 1990's, before they had to reform as Town in 1993 to be able to take their position in the Wessex League.

Peter De Sisto was the new chairman and hopes were high of immediate success when he brought in former Tottenham and England defender Gary Stevens as manager. However the club failed to prosper and within months Stevens had left and matters came to a head in 1995 when Petersfield Town Council refused to grant a lease on the Love Lane ground.

Local businessman Geoff Goad together with existing club officials including Ken Longland, Dave Ayre and Mark Nicoll took over the club so that it could remain playing at the Love Lane stadium and appointed Tony Adams as Manager and although he managed to keep the club up in his first season, relegation to the Hampshire League came at the end of the 1996/97 campaign.

Ernie Turrell became manager and built up a squad centered on local players but after he resigned midway through the season, Mick Catlin and Bruce Kendall took over but could not prevent another relegation.

In 1999/00 Paulsgrove pipped the Rams to the Division Two title but Petersfield were placed in the newly created Premier Division for the following season. A run of mid-table finishes then followed, with Bruce Kendall taking sole charge of the team for the 2001/02 campaign and he was replaced by Mark Burton in 2003/04.

In 2004/05, Petersfield joined the newly formed Wessex League Division Two and finished in fifth place. Mick Cripps then took over as manager for two seasons but the club found itself towards the lower end of Division Two, which was then renamed Division One.

Paul Ryan became manager at the beginning of the 2007/08 season and this prompted a spell of improved performances, which brought a fourth placed finish in Wessex League Division One in 2008-09 and two appearances in the final of the Portsmouth Senior Cup.

In the summer of 2010 first team coach Matt Short took over as manager and he was replaced by Ian Saunders in the summer of 2012.

Seasons 2013/14 and 2014/15 are certainly the stand out period in the history of Petersfield Town for their supporters. After years of false dawns and struggle those two campaigns brought silverware and new club records galore.

The 2013/14 campaign brought promotion from the Sydenhams Wessex League Division One and ‘The Rams’ won the league title – only taking over at the top of the table for the first time all season from Andover Town on the penultimate round of matches.

It was Petersfield’s first promotion won on the pitch since 1982 and striker Robbie Tambling was the golden boot winner for the Division with 40 goals. The club also reached the final of the Wessex League Cup and the quarter finals of the Hampshire Senior Cup – both record runs for the Rams in those competitions.

Manager Ian Saunders’ side won the team of the month prize on three occasions and they broke the club’s record score several times – eventually setting a new best on January 25, 2014, when they beat Andover New Street 14-0 at Love Lane.

The 2014/15 season brought more title-winning glory when the Rams secured the Sydenhams Wessex League Premier Division to take them up to Step 4 football – the highest level the club has played at in its history in non-league football.

Again a number of team of the month awards were won by Saunders’ side and midfielder Ed Dryden was signed by Premier League side Stoke City during the second half of the season. Strikers Warren Hunt (33) and Andy Todd (31) both passed the 30 goal mark for the season.

The club were runners-up for the second year running in the Wessex League Cup and they were also runners-up in the Portsmouth Senior Cup.

Over this two year period the reserve team added to the silverware haul for the club. In 2013/14 they won the Wyvern League Shield and in 2014/15 they won the Wyvern League Challenge Cup.

Season 2015/16 was another year of firsts for Petersfield – it was the first time they had played in the Southern League and they went on to finish in 13th place in Division One Central.

They played in the FA Trophy for the first time too and had their best ever run in the FA Cup to date – reaching the third qualifying round before losing to National League South side St Albans City.

Saunders left the Rams a little over a week before the start of the 2016/17 campaign and Andy Neal and Gary Lines had short spells in charge of first team matters before John Robson was appointed manager in October 2016.

However, he could not reverse what had become a disastrous season and the Rams finished bottom of Division One Central, gaining only nine points all season.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though – the first team reached the final of the Portsmouth Senior Cup at Fratton Park, home of Portsmouth FC, and the reserve team won the Wyvern League’s Division One East title and the Wyvern League Challenge Cup.

In the summer of 2017, Jim Macey was appointed first team manager and the Rams were placed back in the Wessex Premier Division following their relegation from step four football.

After a poor start to the campaign Macey resigned and Mark Summerhill took the helm. He worked tirelessly but could not turn around the season, and the club finished bottom of the Premier Division for a second successive relegation.

Back in Wessex Division One the goal in 2018/19 was to stabilise the club both on and off the field, and this was achieved with Mark Summerhill taking the team to a 15th place finish on 40 points, well clear of a relegation position, plus a quarter-final appearance in the Russell-Cotes Cup.

Further progress was made in 2019/20 with the team on course for a top half of the table finish when the season was terminated due to Covid-19.

There was also cup success, the highlights being the club’s best ever run in the FA Vase reaching the second round proper, and the third round of the Hampshire Senior Cup.

The pandemic once again brought season 2020/21 to a premature end, however the club was once again enjoying a solid campaign.

After the two curtailed seasons it was great to complete 2022/23. Most of the season was spent hovering just above the danger zone but in the end the team finished in twelfth place.

A partnership with Gosport Borough saw Pat Suraci and Joe Lea join as Joint Managers, with Mark Summerhill becoming Head of Football.

They brought instant success to the Club with promotion back to the Wessex Premier Division via the Division One play-offs, defeating New Milton Town, while also reaching the Wessex League Cup final for a third time in the club's history.

Their tenure was unfortunately short-lived with the trio departing for Privett Park in the summer of 2023, however it gave opportunity for captain, Connor Hoare to step into the Manager's role for 2023/24, assisted by Callum Glen.

Their appointment coincided with an exciting new era at Love Lane, following a summer merger with the highly successful Petersfield Town Juniors.

Together, they formed one unified club to secure a bright and sustainable future for football in Petersfield, enabling player pathway at all age groups; the emergence of a Ladies side, and an increased volunteer workforce to take the club forward off the pitch.