Bilston Town

just missed out on a First Round match at home to Port Vale after
Ellesmere Rangers beat the young Steelmen in the Third Qualifying
round. The youth team at his time was managed by Shaun Pritchard,
who following his resignation saw Scott Hamilton arrive at the club as
his successor.
In the summer of 2015, the club appointed Jon Purdie as the new
manager with Josh Skidmore and Mark Davies making up the backroom
team. Scott Hamilton continued as the Youth team manager for
their MFYL campaign, however, Jon and Josh both resigned their
positions in March 2016, leaving Scott Hamilton to step in as caretaker
manager for the second time once again managing both the first and
youth team duties until the end of the season.
The club just escaped relegation after a torrid end of season run part of
which was caused by a number of first team players refusing to play. It
was left to the youth team to step in and ensure the fixtures were
completed.
Scott was appointed first-team manager immediately after the final
game of the 2015-2016 season and, along with assistant manager Karl
Frankham, they assembled a young squad with a desire to play for the
club and finished the 16/17 season in 15th place, a marked improvement
on the previous season with the highlight being a 3-1 win over Port
Vale’s Academy side in the Staffordshire Senior Cup.
During the summer the club received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary
Service, the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary organisations, and are
rightly proud of all those who work behind the scenes to keep the club
and its community work at the forefront.
The 2017/2018 season was a tough one for the football club with the
sudden passing of both Chairman Graham Hodson and Secretary Paul
Lloyd which overshadowed the efforts on the field for a large part of the
season.
Despite this the club finished in its highest league position since
returning to the Premier Division in 2013/14, ending the season in 11th
place while also going on to win the Smedley Crooke Memorial
Challenge Cup with a 3-2 win over Barnt Green Spartak in the final at
Bewdley Town.
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