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Exeter City Football Club

Exeter City Football Club, nicknamed the Grecians, was founded in 1904 when Exeter United and St Sidwell's United merged. The club took up residence at their St James Park home, which was previously a pig-rearing patch.

In their first competitive match Exeter City, then wearing green and white, defeated the 110^th Battery of the Royal Artillery 2-1 before a crowd of 600. The Grecians soon switched to their familiar red and white stripes, and went professional in 1908 when they joined the Southern League.

In 1914 Exeter City were the first opponents of the newly formed Brazil national side, travelling to South America for a 2-0 defeat. During Exeter City's centenary year in 2004 Brazil returned the favour by visiting South West England for a return leg to raise money for the struggling Grecians. Brazil were again the winners, this time by a single goal.

Exeter City joined the Football League in 1920, and in the same year purchased their St James Park ground using money raised by the £5,000 sale of goalkeeper Dick Pym to Bolton Wanderers. Another big name who forged his career at Exeter was Cliff Bastin, Arsenal and England superstar of the 1920s, '30s and '40s.

20,984 fans watched Exeter lose 4-2 in an FA Cup sixth round replay against Sunderland in 1931 and that figure remains a St James Park record. The ground was filled to its current 10,000 capacity to watch another FA Cup replay in January 2005 when Exeter lost 2-0 to Manchester United after holding the Premiership side to a goalless draw at Old Trafford.

City keeper Paul Jones denies Man Utd's Paul Scholes at Old Traford

The Grecians played their football in Division Three South until the creation of Division Four in 1958. They were promoted to Division Three in 1963-4 but remained there for only two years. Bobby Saxton led Exeter City back to Division Three in 1977, part of a golden era for the club in which City legend Tony Kellow scored 129 goals for the Grecians. This time City remained in the 3^rd Division for seven seasons.

Exeter again reached Division Three in 1989-90 after running away with the Division Four championship under former England defender Terry Cooper, and a brief run of mixed successes in Division Three ensued. During this time another City legend Ronnie Jepson notched 25 goals in a year at St James Park before his £80,000 transfer to Huddersfield. However, the team's fortunes were to change following their relegation out of the 3^rd Division four years later.

Financial difficulties hit Exeter City and the club were forced to sell their St James Park stadium to Beezer Homes (Exeter City Council are the current owner). The club was placed into administration at this time, and worse was to come. The high profile arrival of Uri Geller on the Exeter City board did little to improve the club's fortunes, and relegation out of the football league in May 2003 was an all-time low for the Grecians.

The situation has more recently improved, largely through the efforts of the fans. The Exeter City Supporters' Trust is now the majority shareholder in the club, and fundraising events organised with the help of major sponsor Flybe.com have played a role in restoring stability. The fans' patience and efforts were rewarded with the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford in January 2005, which has helped Exeter City overcome crippling debts and begin to rebuild.

Promising young managers Alex Inglethorpe (now with the Spurs Youth Academy) and Paul Tisdale have built a side capable of winning promotion and a return to the football league. The purchase of influential players such as Lee Phillips, Jon Challinor, Matt Gill and Danny Woodards, have seen The Grecians continue their solid recovery from near extinction.

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