SHENSTONE PATHFINDER

Club History
Pathfinder Football Club were originally formed in 1968 following a donation of ?75.00 from a certain Mr Doug Ellis, now of Aston Villa fame, which enabled the club to purchase a kit and ball. This allowed a group of youngsters to form a football club in the local Lichfield Sunday League which played in the Lichfield + District Sunday League for 33 years.
The Club has been based in Shenstone since 1974 and has played a considerable part in the development of the facilities on the Playing Fields, which now include a Clubhouse, tennis court, cricket square and a flood lit seven a side pitch.
It was only in 1994 that the Club formed their first Saturday team playing in the Burton and District League. In 1997 the decision was taken to move the team to play in the Birmingham AFA. After being accepted into Division Two, a couple of years of consolidation followed after which the decision was taken to strengthen the football side of the club and start a reserve side. This team now play in the Birmingham AFA and act as a feeder to the first team, who were accepted into the Express + Star West Midlands League in 2002.
The first season saw us finish a creditable ninth, although at the end of March third or fourth place was a distinct possibility. The following season also saw the club lift The Bloxwich Charity Cup, defeating New Fulbrook 3-0 at Blakenhall Town?s ground in the final on Easter Tuesday.
The following season was a poor one, we finished in the bottom half of the league and were inconsistent for most of the season, Allen Russell resigned in March and Dean Gilbert was appointed the new 1st Team Manager for the following season. Nick Christodolou, a UEFA qualified coach was also appointed Reserve Team manager and things look positive for the future.the club has since added andy mcrobbie as joint manager to help nick
In both their first season?s Dean and Nick almost achieved promotion missing out by only a few points. Dean also took the first team to the Staffordshire FA Presidents Cup final at Chasetown FC where they lost narrowly to a last minute goal by Cresswell.the following season dean and gary took shenstone to the final once again against biddulph town where shenstone lifted the cup 2nd time around after 2 extra time goals from andy mcrobbie a very proud moment for all associated with the club,the club almost managed the double after missing out on promotion on goal difference and also reaching the semi-finals of the league cup so all in all an excellent base to build on again for the 2006-2007 season,
The only remaining person from the original set up in 1968 is Alan Williams who has been Chairman of the club for a number of years and remains heavily involved in the development of the club, he is currently working on a joint project with Shenstone Parish Council to make the seven a side pitch an all weather court, this involved the club applying for Charter Standard Status which it achieved in January 2004.