Page 21 - Cribbs FC v Bideford AFC 211123

The History of Bideford A.F.C. Cont…

Under the chairmanship of Jim McElwee and his successor Paul Mitchell, the
club won four more Western League titles and also reached the FA Vase semi-
finals where they lost to Winchester City. Despite winning the Western League
four times under manager Sean Joyce between 2000 and 2006, the club
elected not to apply for promotion to the Southern League due to the amount
of travelling and expense.

However after winning the Western League again for the 10th time in the
2009/10 season and winning the Devon St Luke’s Bowl where they beat Exeter
City 2–1 in the final, Bideford accepted promotion to the Southern League in
May 2010 joining Division One South & West. In only their second season in
Division One (S&W) Bideford were crowned champions by an impressive eleven
point margin and gained promotion for the first time in the club's history to the
Southern League Premier Division. 2013/14 saw Bideford finish in their highest
ever league position of 8th in the Premier Division but after four years at that
level they were relegated for the first time in their history back to Division One
South in 2015/16. Bideford won the Devon St Luke’s Bowl for a sixth time in
2022 by once again beating Exeter City.

Several players from the club have progressed to Football League status, the
most recent of them being Tony Dennis and Shaun Taylor. Three former
internationals have played for the club at the end of their career, Welshman
Leighton Phillips, Dermot Curtis and Will Haynes from the Republic of Ireland.

Bideford have won the Western League ten times, as well as lifting silverware
in the Devon St Luke's Bowl (6 times), Devon Professional Cup (8 times) and
Western League Cup (4 times). They have also won the Western League Alan
Young Cup (twice), Western League Subsidiary Cup and the Westward Ho! cup.
In FA competitions, Bideford have reached the First Round proper of the FA Cup
on four occasions and reached the semi final of the FA Vase in 2003/04.

Manager Sean Joyce is an ex-professional footballer, who spent his career
playing for Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City and Torquay Utd. Joyce took over the
role of manager in 1998 with the club really struggling in the Western League
and has gone on to guide Bideford to five Western League titles, the Southern
League Division One South title, the Western League cup and two Devon St
Luke’s Bowls.