Loughborough Dynamo F.C.

Beginnings (1959–1989)

Loughborough Dynamo was formed in 1955 by a group of pupils from Loughborough Grammar School who no longer wished to play rugby. The name "Dynamo" taken from Dynamo Moscow, who played against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 9 November 1955 and had earlier toured the UK in 1945. The club's gold shirts were also taken from the Wolves colours of the same game. Club meetings were reportedly held in secrecy in the school library as the school did not approve of pupils playing association football.

After a couple of seasons playing friendlies, Dynamo joined the Loughborough Alliance League Division 3 in 1957 and quickly climbed through the divisions to become league champions, although they were denied entry to the Leicestershire Senior League due to a lack of facilities. In 1966 the club switched to the Leicester and District League, where they remained until 1971 when they were accepted into the East Midlands League, but inability to adjust to the higher standard of football caused an exodus of players and a string of disastrous results, leading to relegation to the Central Alliance League, followed almost immediately by further relegation back to the Leicester and District League.

1989–2014

In 1989 Dynamo finally stepped up to the Leicestershire Senior League Division One. After finishing bottom in the 2000–01 season, changes were needed and James Ellis was subsequently appointed as first team manager, along with forging ties with Loughborough University. Success was immediate – Dynamo gained promotion to the Premier Division in 2002, followed by winning the championship in 2004 and with it promotion to the Midland Football Alliance. In between, the Jelson Holmes Senior Cup was won in 2003.

In their debut season in the Midland Football Alliance, Loughborough finished a respectable 14th, and the following season went one better in 13th. In the 2006–07 season Loughborough again improved, finishing ninth.

The 2007–08 season was memorable, and with it came a new management team. Adam Beazeley took over the managerial reins, assisted by John Folwell and Simon Tebbutt. In the league, Loughborough pushed eventual champions Atherstone Town all the way before finishing second. Despite this, promotion was achieved to the Northern Premier League Division One South.

The first season in the new league was generally positive with an encouraging final league place of 14th. However, Adam Beazeley resigned due to work commitments and was replaced by previous assistant John Folwell, who appointed Mike McLarnon as his assistant.

2009–10 began well but results began to stutter; nevertheless it was still a huge shock when John Folwell announced his resignation on 19 November 2009. Dynamo duly appointed Ian Blyth and Scott Clamp as joint-managers. League results gradually improved and by the end of the season, consolidation had been comfortably achieved with another 14th-placed finish – with the added bonus finishing above both of their local rivals in Shepshed Dynamo and Quorn. The highlight of the season was lifting the Westerby Cup at Leicester City's ground after a 2–1 win against Barwell, which followed a 2–1 semi-final victory over Coalvile Town at Holmes Park.

On 29 January 2011 the club announced that joint manager Ian Blyth was standing down for personal reasons, and Scott Clamp took sole charge of the team.

In 2012 the team won the Westerby Cup at the King Power Stadium, home of Leicester City.

New era (2014–present)

In July 2014, long-standing chairman Frank Fall left the club. He had been involved with for over 40 years, and would be replaced by Vaughan Williams, formerly of Belper Town and Carlton Town. Williams' reign at the helm of Dynamo was a time of turmoil for the club, with reports of players not being paid for eight weeks and the resignation of manager Tommy Brookbanks amidst a plea for the club to return to Frank Fall's hands. On 22 October 2014 the Loughborough Echo announced that Fall had regained control of Loughborough Dynamo. On 30 October 2014, ex-Premier League striker Lee Morris and Jason Maguire were appointed joint-managers, Morris dubbing this a "new era" for the club. In September 2015, following being given an upgraded position at Derby County, joint-manager Lee Morris stepped down from his position at Loughborough Dynamo, feeling he would be unable to give enough time and commitment to the club. By the end of the month, former Kettering Town joint-manager Scott Machin was appointed as the new manager, having previously been with the club in a coaching capacity. In December 2015 Ian Robinson and Gary Sucharewycz were appointed joint managers after Machin resigned.

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Honours

List of Loughborough Dynamo's honours:

Seasons

Loughborough Dynamo seasons since 2003-04.

Club records