Continental Star 1^st Team

Continental Star reserves

History

Continental Star was formed in 1973 under the name of VILLA STAR by Orville Broomfield & Walter Smithen.  In 1975 the name was changed to its present name, Continental Star FC.  Star played for many seasons in the Birmingham Works League, starting off in Division 4B, and by the 1990/91 season they had progressed into the Premier Division, finishing runners-up.  The 1992/93 season was to prove even more fruitful as Star went on to capture the Premier Division title; the Aston Villa Cup (played at Villa Park 😉 the Birmingham City Shield; the WBA Shield, and finish runners up in the Birmingham County Junior Cup.  The following season ‘93/’94 saw Star move to pastures new when they joined the more competitive Midland Combination league, Division Three.  Star hit the ground running, building on the momentum from the previous season and ended up finishing runners up in both the League and the Challenge Urn.  Star were promoted to Division Two for the following ‘94/’95 season, where after a hard fought match they once again ended the season as runners up, this time in the Challenge Vase.  In the ‘95/’96 season Star were back on the success trail, as they won the Division Two title.  The following season ‘96/’97 Star picked up yet more silverware as they won both The Jack Mould Trophy and the Sandwell Charity Cup whilst finishing runners-up in Division One.

However, Star’s most memorable triumph came in The Birmingham County Vase, where they beat overwhelming favourites Studley BKL in the Final.  This led to them being promoted to the Premiership for the ‘97/’98 season where they finished in a respectable 10th position, and won The Invitation Cup, beating GPT Coventry in the final held at Alvechurch.  The start of the 1998/99 season saw some changes in the backroom staff at the club along with other key roles being redefined to ensure that the excellent work on the pitch was being mirrored off it.

The 99/2000 season saw Star move from Coleshill Town’s ground to the Vale Stadium, the home of Paget Rangers.  The change of ground motivated Star towards another trophy as they became the proud winners of the prestigious JW Hunt Cup; the final being played at the Molinuex, home of Wolverhampton Wonderers.  Continental’s migratory existence continued as the ‘01/’02 season saw them move to Newbury Lane, the former home of Sandwell Borough FC, only for them to move again in ‘02/’03, this time to Blakenhall where they remained for two seasons before returning back to Newbury lane.

After a successful period at the helm of the 1^st team the ‘03/’04 season saw manager Lincoln Moses move up stairs to take up his current position as General Manager, overseeing the organisation.  In the interim there have been several managers with former Assistant Manager Gary Christie twice taking up the helm in order to lead the club through a period of transition, and in ‘07/’08 taking them to the final of the Smedley Cup.

2009 was a special year for the club as General Manager Lincoln Moses was awarded the MBE by the Queen in recognition of his services to Grassroots football.

Finding the person with the right credentials to take charge of the 1^st team has in recent years proven to be somewhat of a challenge; in spite of this former youth team coach Curtis Nisbett put off retirement and stepped up to the plate in ‘09/10, guiding Star to the top of the table in the early part of the season and reaching yet another semi-final; only to see his investment in the youth fail to sustain the arduous course of the season.

New First Team Manager Delton Francis and his assistant Darren Wright made a positive start and much was expected from them; as with any football manager, the aim for the new season has to be, building upon the progress made thus far.  Striking the right balance between playing entertaining football and obtaining a positive result is an unenviable conundrum for any manager.  However, little did we realise what lay ahead.  2011/12 proved to be a triumphant season for Continental Star: winning the league, losing only four games along the way and picking up the Charity Cup; having gone the whole of 2012 unbeaten.  This was a great reward for the hard work put in by the management and players; promotion also meant that Star would be playing Step 5 football, the highest league in the club’s history.

Continental Star’s inaugural season in the Midland Football Alliance proved to be an indifferent season; following a very good start, with a slump in the middle, Star finished on a high by winning four out of their last five games to avoid relegation, beating the league champions in the final game of the season.

Star entered yet another transitional period when first team coach Delton and his assistant Darren Wright departed a few weeks into the season to take up coaching roles at professional clubs.  Anthony Robinson an experienced itinerant striker, who had only just joined the club, was thrust into the role of player manager.  Aided by his Assistant manager, Gary Smith the new, inexperienced management team managed to steady the ship after teetering with relegation for a large proportion of the season.

Following last season, Gary Smith has been promoted to manager with Jason Sylvester his able assistant.  Both men are football savvy and have the coaching qualifications to be a success.