Weston-super-Mare

Formation, reformation, and early history

Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. was formed in 1887. The team's first record of a competitive match being against near-neighbours Clevedon Town in a "Medal Competition" organised by the Somerset FA. In 1900, they joined Division two of the Western Football League but left after two years. In 1910, they rejoined this league and played there until World War I.

Between the wars, the club played in the local Bristol and District Football League and then the Somerset County League but the club disbanded upon the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. The club reformed in 1948 and immediately rejoined the Western League, initially in Division Two. At this time the team played at the Great Ground in Locking Road, where initially there was no cover for spectators and the players had to change in a marquee. A season after the club joined rejoined the Western League they made their debut in the FA Cup in the 1949–50 season losing to Gloucester City in the preliminary qualifying round. The team remained in the Second Division until the league consolidated to a single division in 1960. During this time they moved to the Langford Road Ground. In 1976, they were placed into the Western League Premier Division upon the creation of a second tier, meaning that by their centenary in 1987 they had never been promoted or relegated in their history.

Paul Bliss era

In early 1986, Paul Bliss was approached by Weston-super-Mare and he was named as the club's chairman roughly six months later. In 1989, John Ellener was appointed manager and led the club to the Western League championship in 1991–92 and with it promotion to the Southern League Midland Division. They remained at this level, playing successively in the Midland, Southern, Midland (again) and Western Divisions due to the Southern League's regular reorganisations, until 2002–03 when they finished in second place and were promoted to the Premier Division, clinching promotion with a win away to rivals Clevedon Town. In their first Premier Division season they finished in 10th place, enough to clinch a place in the newly formed Conference South.

The club's most successful FA Cup run came in the 2003–04 season, when the Seagulls reached the second round. After defeating Dorchester Town, Chesham United (via a replay) and Welling United in the qualifying rounds, Weston secured a 1–0 away win against Farnborough Town to progress from the first round. They were awarded an away tie against Third Division side, Northampton Town where they were eventually beaten 4–1. In the same season, Weston would equal their best performance in the FA Trophy, reaching the Fourth Round of the competition.

In the 2006–07 season of the Conference South, the club finished in 20th position and was set to be relegated. However, Farnborough Town were relegated due to going into liquidation and Hayes and Yeading merged to form Hayes & Yeading United, leaving the Conference South one team short, earning a reprieve for Weston. The 2007–08 season ended similarly for Weston. A 20th-place finish meant the club was eligible for relegation, only to be spared by the enforced demotion of Cambridge City, who failed a ground inspection. The 2009–10 campaign again saw the club finish in the relegation zone again when they finished 21st, however as before the club was saved by the FA, this time when Salisbury City were demoted twice to the Southern League.

The 2010–11 season saw the club win the Somerset Premier Cup for the first time when they defeated Yeovil Town in the final. The club retained the cup the following season (2011–12) when they beat local rivals Clevedon Town 2–1.

In 2012–13, the club finished the season with their highest-ever placing at the time in the Conference South in 7th place with 67 points and narrowly missing out on a place in the playoffs. The 2014–15 season brought a relatively successful cup campaign as the Seagulls won three qualifying matches in the FA Cup and reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup, where they lost 4–1 at home to Doncaster Rovers in front of a record attendance of 2,949.

After a string of poor results, Micky Bell was replaced by Director of Football, Ryan Northmore at the end of November 2014 with the Seagulls at the bottom of the table. Northmore took the team on a string of unbeaten games, taking them to promotion-challenging form. Unfortunately, this didn't continue, and after defeating Bath City at home 4–1 in a rearranged fixture the rejuvenated Seagulls didn't win another league game which saw them finish 17th.

The 2015–16 season saw the side struggle to gain a win throughout August in the League, winning just 1 point from 18, with that point coming at home in the Somerset Derby against Bath City. Through September and October, the side couldn't maintain a consistent run of form and continued to lay low in the dreaded depths of the relegation zone. However, toward the end of November, Ryan Northmore's troops pulled themselves up to 2nd in the league's form table by going 10 games unbeaten in the Nation League South from 21 November until 16 February. It ended when Weston couldn't maintain the run, losing 2–0 to Hayes & Yeading at the Woodspring.

The side momentarily lost form with losses coming against St. Albans and Wealdstone however, over the Easter weekend, the side bagged an important 3 points over Ebbsfleet thanks to Captain Dayle Grubb's impressive strikes. This was followed by a tough defeat to relegation rivals Bath City, with Scott Wilson firing in during the 91st minute, but Bath hit back with a penalty in the 92nd minute and the winner from halfway in the 94th minute.