Hednesford Town: Midlands non-league club under threat after takeover fails

Hednesford Town were founded in 1880

The future of 1990s FA Cup giantkillers Hednesford Town is under threat after a failed takeover.

The Staffordshire club released a statement on Thursday to say a deal for a new owner to take over the Pitmen has fallen through.

They will not now take up their place in the eighth tier Northern Premier League West for the 2023-24 season.

The club said: "All options will now be explored to try and ensure Hednesford can restart for the following season."

"It is with huge sadness that we write to confirm that the prospective new owner and chairman has withdrawn from the takeover late this afternoon.

"Due to recent meetings with the league and the FA, the timing of this means that unfortunately, Hednesford Town FC will be unable to play in the 2023-24 season."

The peak days of the Pitmen

Hednesford were the top non-league club in the Midlands when they finished 10th in the Conference in 1988-99, having finished seventh in their first campaign at fifth-tier level the year before.

They spent four seasons at fifth-tier level before being relegated in 2001.

They also made national headlines when they reached the FA Cup fourth round in 1997, beating fellow non-league side Southport and winning 1-0 at Blackpool thanks to a late Joe O'Connor strike before victory over York City at Keys Park.

They then lost 3-2 at Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough, the eventual finalists, only going down to two late goals at the Riverside from Jan-Aage Fjortoft and Fabrizio Ravanelli.

They then won the FA Trophy in 2004 with a 3-2 victory in the final over Canvey Island at Villa Park.

Hednesford were top of Conference North when they last reached the FA Cup first round in November 2013, narrowly losing 2-1 at home to Crawley Town.

But they dropped away to finish fourth, behind champions Telford, and were then relegated to the Northern Premier League just two seasons later in 2016.

And, after being switched to the Southern League for geographic reasons in 2019-20, they have been in the Northern Premier League West since it restructured in 2021 following the two abandoned seasons because of the Covid pandemic.

Looking bleak for the Pitmen

Analysis by BBC Radio WM's Mike Taylor

Barring a late rescue, this news appears to be a sad final act in the decline of a club that had genuine aspirations of reaching the Football League around 20 years ago - and came close.

The FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough in 1997 gave them a national profile, but they had been a lively non-league competitor for decades before that.

The FA Trophy victory in 2004 - an astonishing story in itself - came in the same season that they were relegated to the third tier of non-league, and they have never come close to league status since.

The tale is all the more sorry in view of the genuine hope expressed in March for a takeover by Staffordshire businessman Gary Hartland.

His intention was to reunify the ownership of the club and the ground, which remains well appointed for a high level of non-league football

Now the deal is off, the future appears bleak for a club that proudly represented the town for generations.