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Droylsden were originally formed in 1892
when landlord of the Butchers Arms pub, Joseph Cropper,
invited the team to play behind his pub. After 20 years
of friendlies, local leagues, disbandment, reformations
and strip changes, the club emerged from the First World
War as the sole survivors amongst the local village teams
and members of the Manchester League.
The
1930's was the era of Droylsden's record goalscorer, Ernest
'Gilly'Gillibrand, scorer of 275 goals in just four seasons.
Gillibrand's goals saw Droylsden to the Manchester League
Championship in 1931 and again in 1933. In the latter
season he aided Droylsden to the Third Qualifying Round
of the FA Cup in their first season in the competition.
In 1936 the club successfully applied to join the Lancashire
Combination League and, a season later, became a nursery
club to Manchester City. City's A Team played at the Butchers
Arms and their surplus players were available to Droylsden,
although the Bloods were disqualified from the FA Cup
as a result.
Following
the Second World War, Droylsden entered the Cheshire League,
reaching their highest ever league position as runners-up
in their first season. However, the club failed to build
on that start and, four seasons later, they failed in
their second successive bid for re-election. Worse was
to come for the club. The Butchers Arms lease was sold
to Belle Vue FC, who renamed themselves Droylsden United,
and the club were forced out to the nearby Moorside Trotting
Stadium.
The
town was not big enough for two clubs, especially with
bad feeling between them and, after the local council
bought the ground, a merger was negotiated. The Bloods
came home in 1952 to a renovated ground whose pitch had
been rotated which eradicated a long standing drainage
problem.
Two
decades in the Combination ended in 1968 with a return
to the Cheshire League, after the formation of the Northern
Premier League. The club won the Manchester Senior Cup
in 1973, 1976 and 1979, and enjoyed considerable FA Cup
success, reaching the Fourth Qualifying Round four times
in five seasons and the Cup proper twice. In 1976 Droylsden
lost 5-3 in a First Round replay at Grimsby and, in 1978,
the club went one better before they lost in the Second
Round proper against Altrincham.
When
the side of the late 1970s split up Droylsden's fortunes
slumped. The club finished a distant bottom of the First
Division in 1982 and were placed in Division Two of the
new North Western Counties League. The unstable period
ended with the appointment of Mark Fallon as Player Manager.
In his second season, Fallon guided his team to the Second
Division championship, Droylsden's first senior honour.
Uniquely,
the club never played in the NWC Division One as they
went straight into the newly formed Northern Premier League
First Division. The club won the inaugural First Division
Cup and, under Phil Staley, achieved promotion to the
Premier Division in 1990.
A
first season placing of 13th was Droylsden's best in the
following six seasons before they were relegated in 1995/96
after they lost their first eight matches of the season
(including conceding the fastest ever FA Cup hat-trick
at Nantwich). Droylsden have since won promotion back
to the Premier Division under Chairman/Manager Dave Pace
and finished eleventh in the 2001/02 season and ninth
in 2002/03. However, the 2003/04 season was different.
The Bloods were in the title race for most of the season,
locked in a battle for top spot with Hucknall Town. Town
eventually proved too strong as they eventually lifted
the Premier Division title by nine points, but the Bloods
still booked their place in the new Conference North.
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