Bedworth United, or `Budduth` to the locals, have been members of the Southern League since 1972 when they joined from the West Midlands (Regional) League.
They have had spells in the Premier Division and in recent years, also had three seasons in the Northern Premier League after being geographically switched.
Although it`s perhaps fair to say that success in terms of trophies have been rare, the Greenbacks have had some good players plying their trade at the Oval over the years.
Richard Landon wasn`t a Greenback for very long, but in less than a season he finished as top scorer, won the club`s player of the year award and became their record transfer.
That all came in 1993/94 in the Southern Midland Division – the season that saw Rushden & Diamonds win the title.
Landon had already played in the Southern League briefly with Atherstone United and in the Midland Combination for Stratford Town before signing for Bedworth in 1993.
And he almost never made it as a professional because he initially thought a phone call to his work reckoning to be from legendary former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton was a wide-up!
The former Nottingham Forest European Cup winner was managing Plymouth Argyle and had been alerted to Landon's goalscoring form for the Greenbacks and was keen to take a closer look at the then-23-year-old's abilities.
And, after a short trial period, he signed for the Pilgrims, albeit still as a semi-professional to begin with, in exchange for a £30,000 fee which is still Bedworth`s record fee received to this day.
He had a great start with his new club, netting 5 goals in his first 8 matches, including a hat-trick at Hartlepool United.
He turned pro later in 1994 and went on to play 30 times for Argyle, scoring 12 goals, before new boss Neil Warnock sold him to Stockport County for £50,000 in 1995.
Whilst with County he had loan spells with Macclesfield Town and Rotherham United before signing for the Silkmen on a more permanent basis in 1997, making 32 appearances with 9 goals.
After leaving the Moss Rose in 1999, Landon returned to non-League football with Altrincham, Radcliffe Borough and Cheadle Town before returning to Stockport as kit man after hanging up his boots.
Whilst £30,000 is the record fee received, the Greenbacks only had to shell out £1,750 to sign defender Colin Taylor in 1991 from Southern Midland Division rivals Hinckley Town.
Taylor went on to have spells with Gresley Rovers and Anstey Nomads.
Owen Wright was an extremely pacey winger who had several spells with Bedworth, having started out in the club`s youth team.
He had spells with Shepshed Charterhouse, Aylesbury United, Worcester City, Leicester United and the newly named Shepshed Albion before being handed the chance to play at Conference level with Kettering Town in 1992 under Graham Carr.
After a couple of seasons with the Poppies, Wright went on to have spells with Nuneaton Borough, Bedworth again, Worcester again and Corby Town before enjoying a third spell with the Greenbacks towards the end of his career.
He is currently coaching at United Counties League side Harborough Town.
A former international to have played – and managed – Bedworth was Jimmy Holmes.
He started off his career at nearby Coventry City, where he made 128 appearances in defence and also won the first of 30 full caps for the Republic of Ireland.
He then signed for Tottenham Hotspur from Coventry City in March 1977 for £100,000.
It`s fair to say this wasn`t Spurs` finest spell and they suffered relegation from the old First Division.
However, Holmes played in 38 games during the 1977/78 season to help Spurs regain their First Division status at the first attempt.
With the signing of Argentina's Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, and the emergence of the wonderfully gifted Glenn Hoddle, it was now exciting times at White Hart Lane.
Holmes went on to make 81 appearances for Spurs before moving to Vancouver Whitecaps for a fee of £100,000 in February 1981.
He returned to English football with Leicester City in October of that same year but only made a handful of first-team appearances before going on to have brief stints at Brentford, Torquay United and then Peterborough United, where he spent almost three seasons, playing over 50 times.
In November 1985, Holmes took over as player-manager of Bedworth`s Conference neighbours Nuneaton Borough following the sacking of Peter Morris.
Holmes helped stave off relegation in his first season in charge but the club were demoted back to the Southern League anyway, due to ground grading issues.
Ironically, one of the options Nuneaton looked at to groundshare in order to remain at the top level of non-League football was at Bedworth, who turned the deal down.
Holmes resigned in September 1987 after a Boardroom disagreement over money.
After a short spell as a player with Leicester United in the Southern League, Holmes joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Hitchin Town as player-manager along with Doug Parkin, but he was back home in the Coventry area with Bedworth as player-boss in 1989.
Holmes later became a police officer in the Midlands and in August 2007 he was formally commended for his bravery.
Malcolm Randle was a good strong central defender who played for Midland Combination side Hurley Daw Mill at the start of his career before signing for Bedworth at the start of the 1984/85 season.
He went on to remain at the Oval until 1989 when he moved the short distance to neighbours Atherstone United, then in the Southern Premier Division.
Tony Donnelly was a very quick player who could play on either flank.
He joined Bedworth in the summer of 1989 for a small fee having been with Burton Albion, Moor Green, Alvechurch, Sutton Coldfield Town and Nuneaton Borough.
He spent a couple of seasons with the Greenbacks but made quite an impression on supporters before leaving for Redditch United.
Luke Rowe is still currently on Bedworth`s books and is one of the few former international footballers in the Southern Division One Central.
Rowe started his career with Birmingham City and he spent three years as a professional before being released in 2011 without making the breakthrough into the senior side at St Andrews.
He decided to try his luck in New Zealand with Miramar Rangers and Team Wellington.
He represented New Zealand at the 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Colombia and in mid-2012 was named as one of four players on standby for the New Zealand Olympic team competing at the London Olympics.
He played once for the full New Zealand side in 2013.
He had a couple of games for Wellington Phoenix, who play in the Australian A League, before returning to Team Wellington until 2013 when he moved back to England.
His first club back was Southern Premier Division side Hinckley United. However, after he had played just three months for the club, they folded, and he signed for Eastwood Town in October 2013 in the Northern Premier League Division One South.
His spell with the Badgers was also brief as he signed for Bedworth in January 2014 and he has gone on to make well over 200 appearances for the Greenbacks.
In the summer of 2011, Bedworth pulled off a significant coup by signing former Walsall central defender Ian Roper.
The then-34-year-old dropped down three levels after leaving Conference Premier side Kettering Town.
He had initially signed for Tamworth after leaving Kettering but decided he didn`t want to play at that level any longer, so moved to the Oval where manager at the time, Steve Farmer, was building a decent squad.
Nuneaton resident Roper was part of the Walsall side which played in the Championship until relegation in 2004.
He went on to make over 350 appearances for the Saddlers before being released at the end of the 2007/08 season along with seven other players.
He moved to Luton Town and made 19 appearances in 2008/09 before leaving and joining Kettering.
He was player of the year and captain of the Poppies and made 70 appearances in two years, scoring 2 goals, one of which came in an FA Cup tie against Leeds United.
Roper spent a couple of years with the Greenbacks, helping them to promotion to the Southern Premier Division for the first time since 1988 after winning the Division One Central play-offs against Beaconsfield SYCOB, having finished in third spot in the regular season.
He retired in the summer of 2013.
Paul Lamb started his playing career as a defensive midfielder at Northampton Town, making his Football League debut at the age of 17 in the 1991/92 season.
He played a couple more times for the Cobblers` first team before being released in 1992.
He had brief spells with Dunstable Town and Buckingham Town before joining Bedworth for the first time in 1996.
He was snapped up by then-Isthmian League side Wealdstone.
He went on to make over 200 appearances for the Stones in six seasons there.
He moved to another Isthmian Premier side in 2001 in Boreham Wood and subsequently played for Hemel Hempstead Town, Aylesbury United, Brackley Town, Banbury United and Bedworth again in 2008.
A year later he took up the position of player-coach at Daventry Town who had newly appointed his former Banbury team-mate Ady Fuller.
This progression into coaching was no surprise to many as Lamb had gained his first FA coaching badge at the age of 18 whilst still being a player at the Cobblers.
In his first season in the UCL he went on to help Daventry clinch the title.
The following season Lamb was promoted to player/assistant manager and another successful campaign saw the pair guide Daventry to the play-off final where they were narrowly beaten by Hitchin Town, stopping them from gaining back-to-back promotions.
Lamb, however, paid a heavy price for the play-off run as it was in the semi-final where he suffered a re-occurring back injury meaning that this was to be his last playing appearance.
The following season in 2011 Fuller and Lamb moved to the Southern Premier League to take up the reins at Banbury and here they reached the Southern League Cup final for the first time in the club’s history.
At the start of the 2013/14 campaign Lamb teamed up with Cogenhoe United manager Andy Marks and he helped guide the Cooks to their best league position in the United Counties League since 2006/07, also reaching the Hillier Cup final.
In the summer of 2014, he was appointed as assistant manager to Andy Peaks at AFC Rushden & Diamonds – a role he held until stepping down in July 2019.
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