Arnold Town F.C. - History

History

Arnold Town was formed in 1989 following a merger between the old established Arnold F.C. and Arnold Kingswell. The new club adopted the yellow of Arnold F.C. and the blue of Kingswell and established themselves at the King George V Ground – usually referred to as Gedling Road.

From the Central Midlands League, the Eagles moved into the NCE Division 1 and then after a single season into the NCEL Premier Division. In 2002 the Eagles had their best run in the FA Cup in recent years when they reached the 4th Qualifying Round before going out to Conference club Scarborough in front of a Gedling Road crowd of over 900.

The club won its first piece of silverware since 1999 back in May 2005 as they lifted the Notts Senior Cup. A goal from Scott Huckerby was enough to give the Eagles a 1–0 victory over Eastwood Town in front of a crowd of more than 650.

The club had been seeking a new home for many years and have at last secured planning permission for the Eagle Valley complex.

The campaign to safeguard the future of the club received magnificent support from across the footballing spectrum – not only from friends in Northern Counties East but also from the wider footballing world. Hundreds of letters of support poured in from non-league clubs throughout the country and the professional game at its highest levels – Football Leagueand Premier League added their voice: Bobby Charlton, Sir Alex Ferguson, Gary Lineker, Roy Keane, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Kevin Keegan, Nigel Clough and many hundreds of other individuals and clubs throughout the football world.

The club finally got the go ahead for the new ground on 17 March 2005 as they learned the result of a Public Inquiry. The new home will provide the base for the senior side, reserves, academy and the numerous youth sides. This enabled the Arnold Youth and the senior sides to become one club at one venue for the first time.

This season Andrew Muldoon has taken charge of the first team replacing Phil Starbuck. He previously managed the league winning reserve side and took the club's academy in to the 3rd round of the FA Youth Cup paving the way for youngster Ben Hutchinson to move on to Premier League team Middlesbrough, Andrew Muldoon along with Bryn Gunn left the club midway through the 2009/10 season when the reigns were passed to Martin Carruthers and Chris Freestone.

Arnold Town played their last home game at Gedling Road in the 2007/08 season. They had hoped to move to the Eagle Valley Complex at the start of the 2008/09 season, but due to delays in the completion of the ground, they played their home matches at various grounds including Gedling Miners Welfare, Gedling Town, Carlton Town and Dunkirk.

Arnold's Eagle Valley complex finally opened in 2009, with 238 people attending the opening game on 24 January. It was opened with Arnold winning the first game there. The first goal of the Eagle Valley era was scored by Craig Mitchell who scored twice as the first game at the new ground finish with a 3–2 win for the home team.

Arnold Town FC is also the home to 38 sides ranging from youth, girls, seniors and veterans side. The 1st team are currently joint managed by two ex pros in the guise of Martin Carruthers ex Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest along with Chris Freestone ex-Middlesbrough, the pairing took over midway through the 2009/10 season after the resignation of ex Nottingham Forest player Brynn Gunn. The Arnold Town Veterans sides are both Over 35s and Over 40s, with both sides featuring in the Umbro National Cups, and over the past few years have featured ex pros' Nigel Jemson, Mike Whitlow, Martin Carruthers and Richard Preston in their sides.