Club History

The club was established in 1883 as a youth football team attached to the local church and soon progressed from playing friendlies against other church sides to playing competitive league football. As the boys outgrew youth football, they organised an open-age team, which played in various local leagues. In the 1947-48 season, they reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, losing 2-0 to Barnet in front of 27,000 at Highbury. In 1949, the club joined the Birmingham & District League.

During the 1950s, the club’s fortunes declined somewhat, as they resolved to remain staunchly amateur at a time when their rivals were becoming semi-professional. In 1963, the club moved leagues to the Worcestershire Combination, later re-named the Midland Football Combination, where they were to remain for thirty years.

The most successful period was during the 1980/90s, when they claimed the championship on three occasions (1985/86 under John Morris) and 1988/89 and 1989/90 plus two league cup triumphs in 1989/90 (the double) and 1990/91 (under Alan Parsons).

This level of success saw the Mikes become founder members of the Midland Alliance in 1994, where they played until 2013-14, generally finishing in the top half of the table.

The club has won the Walsall Senior Cup on five occasions 1986/87 (under John Morris), 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08 (under Mick Bayley) and 2018/19 (under Stuart Grosvenor).

In the final season of the Midland Football Alliance, 2013-14 the club achieved its best position of runners up (under Stuart Grosvenor). The Mikes were the only club to play in all twenty seasons in the Midland Alliance, reaching the league cup final twice in that time losing on both occasions to Market Drayton Town and Stratford Town.

In 2014-15, they became founding members of Midland Football League Premier Division, scoring the first goal in the new competition in a 9-1 opening day win at Rocester.

The most exciting chapter in the club’s history took place in 2016 with a total stadium refurbishment and the installation of the latest artificial turf pitches, including two new floodlit courts for training and small-sided matches. Vice-Chairman Ralph Simmons was the driving force in this major change. The project was funded primarily by private investment with the intention of securing the clubs future by investing in junior teams from age seven upwards.

The Junior section was awarded the FA Charter Standard and made its first movement into Saturday Development football with two teams in the Midland Junior Premier League for 2017-18. The club has also been awarded Wildcats status as an FA affiliated centre for girls’ football.

2017-18 also saw the launch of two new senior teams. Our new academy, which is run in partnership with BMet (Sutton College), saw our BTEC students entered into the National League Under 19 Youth Alliance, with the club also introducing an Under 21 team to bridge the gap to first team football, playing in the MFL Under 21 West Division.

For the 2018-19 season, the club introduced another senior team as a means of a more gradual transition to the senior section, which would operate in the Birmingham Football League. This team were entered into Division 2 of the League and won the division at the first time of asking.

The Junior section now has over 50 teams competing on both Saturdays and Sundays, and tow Under 18 sides playing in the Midland Floodlit Youth League.

The floodlights installed in 1990 have recently been upgraded thanks to the generosity of Sutton Coldfield Town Council. A new dressing room block with additional facilities, such as a Club Shop and Player’s Lounge has also been completed and had its first full season in action for the 2021-2022 season.

The clubhouse was completely refurbished during the 2019 season and there are further plans to renovate this area in the near future.

Managerial changes aren’t common at the club. Current President, Alan Parsons, who was signed by John Morris in 1987, has held the hot seat for 16 years following Morris’ departure to Halesowen Town. Rob Mallaband, the current Chairman, has had two spells split by Mick Bayley’s three-year reign, whilst Stuart Grosvenor’s tenancy lasted six seasons. In early September, the club Board decided a change of manager was required and following great interest were delighted to appoint former player Neil Kitching along with his assistants Nick Amos and Ian Cooper. The new management team have had a very impressive tenure so far, most recently earning promotion in the 2021-2022 season to the Pitching In Northern Premier League for the 2022-2023 season (Step 4).

Boldmere St Michaels also introduced a women’s team in the 2019-2020 season, with the name change going through for the 2020-2021 season, from Birmingham & West Midlands Ladies to Boldmere St Michaels Women. The women’s side also found success in the 2021-2022 season, winning the FAWNL Division 1 Midlands and earning promotion to the FAWNL Northern Premier League (Tier 3 of the women’s game).