history
St Francis Rangers FC was formed in 2002, following the amalgamation of St. Francis (St Francis Hospital until 1999), and Ansty Rangers (Lindfield Rangers until 1996).
St Francis (The 'Mental Hospital' as they were first known), won the Mid Sussex League Division 2 title in 1928, then Division 1 in 1929 and completed league and Montgomery Cup doubles in 1930 and 1931. After the second World War, the team became known as St Francis Hospital and won Mid Sussex League Division 1 in 1987, the Montgomery Cup in 1986 and 1990 and the Mid Sussex Senior Charity Cup in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1992, 1994 and 1999.
St. Francis Hospital joined Division 3 of the Sussex County League in 1983/84, where they remained for two seasons before being relegated back to the Mid-Sussex League. In 1992/93 the club returned to Division 3 and achieved its best ever placing when finishing 3rd in 1998/99. In 1999/2000 although still playing at the same Hospital site, they dropped the 'Hospital' to become St Francis.
Lindfield Rangers joined Division 3 in 1991/92 after 8 very successful seasons climbing the Mid Sussex League Divisions. Their last ever match before merging with Ansty to form Ansty Rangers was the Mid Sussex Senior Cup Final where they ran out 2-1 winners over County 3 rivals Hurstpierpoint. Lindfield Rangers had their best season in County 3 in 1994/95 finishing 4th. The merger with Ansty took place at the start of the 1996/97 and the highest ever position attained by Ansty Rangers was 3rd in 1999/00 under the guidance of Kevin Keehan. David Richardson and Peter Fisk who set Lindfield Rangers up back in the early 80’s are still active in the newly formed St Francis Rangers.
After just 2 seasons in Sussex County League Division 3, St Francis Rangers won promotion to senior football, finishing as runners-up to champions Crowborough Athletic (2003/4). The following season saw us narrowly miss out on promotion to County 1 by 4 points. A creditable 4th place finish was accomplished in our first season in Senior football. The 2nd XI also had a good season and finished 5th in Reserve East. This season also saw the introduction of a youth section for the club with 3 teams in the Mid Sussex Youth League. Half way through the season, Mick Jewell resigned as 1st team manager and the St Francis playing legend Danny Bryan took full responsibility after stepping up from Assistant Manager. We are fortunate to have one of the best young managers in County Football and his success in the position has been outstanding.
The 2005/6 season saw the 1st XI finish 3rd in County 2 and gain promotion to County 1. However, the club failed to deliver the required ground improvements by the deadline date and remained in Division 2. Our Reserves also had a great season in Reserve West finishing 3rd and just missing out on promotion to the Reserve Premier League.
In 2006/7 we went one better again and secured the Runners Up spot behind Champions Pagham. All the necessary work has been carried out and the ground grading was achieved on 14th May 2007 to grant Rangers promotion to Sussex County League Divsion 1 for the first time in our history. No-one could have written the script better. Our last league match was away at Champions Pagham and we needed a win to guarantee promotion. With the scoreline at 0-0 in the 95 minute, Rangers were destined to finsih 4th and miss out. Up steps Sam Jeremiah to rifle home into the top corner and seal victory and more importantly, promotion to County 1 for the first time in our clubs history.
The 2007/8 season was certainly one to remember. For the first time in the clubs short history we were playing in Sussex County League Division 1. The opening day saw Sam Jeremiah continue where he left off scoring a hat-trick in a 3-1 win away at Selsey. After a long hard season and some very memorable matches, which included a Sussex Senior Cup tie at soon to be promoted Lewes, we finished a creditable 14th.
The Reserves went on to win the Reserve Section East title and therefore gained promotion to the Sussex County League Reserve section Premier Division. The 2007/8 season was also notable for seeing the introduction of Sussex County under 18’s side headed up by Laurie Cannon. They too enjoyed a fantastic first season and it was hugely rewarding to see some of the boys breaking through into Senior football.