Early Years: 1887–1940 Cheltenham has a history of football prior to The Robins. In 1849, the first use of three official
referees in a match, two in field and one in tribune, was recorded in the town. However, the modern club was founded in 1887 by Albert Close White, a local teacher. The club spent its first three decades in local football. Notable players from those days included former England international
Philip Bach, cricketers
Gilbert Jessop and brothers
Charles Barnett and
Edgar Barnett.. In December 1931 the club moved to Whaddon Road and turned semi-professional in 1932–33, joining the
Birmingham Combination whilst adopting new colours of red and white hooped shirts, black shorts, and red and white stockings. Former England international
George Blackburn was appointed player coach, and led the team to third place in their debut season. The following year the club entered the
FA Cup, featuring a ten-game journey to the
third round before losing to
Blackpool in front of a record attendance at the Athletic Ground in Cheltenham. Following a disappointing season in 1934–35, brightened only by winning the Leamington Hospital Cup and the discovery and sale of centre froward
James Currier to
Bolton Wanderers, the club applied for membership and were accepted to join the
Southern League for the 1935–36 season. Town kicked-off their debut Southern League campaign with two firsts. The club appointed its first manager with "complete power" of team selection in
George Carr, and fielded an all professional eleven in the first game of the season against
Barry. Despite a flying start in the season opener, Town could only finish sixth in the Western and ninth in the Central sections of the
league. However, the season did feature an
FA Cup run to the first round where
Brighton and Hove Albion were taken to a replay. A notable result during the run was the club's record victory, beating
Chippenham Rovers 12–0 in the Third Round Qualifying. The
1936–37 season was Carr's last, resigning in April 1937. Town finished eleventh as the Southern League switched to a single division, with the side featuring appearances from future England international
Tim Ward before his move to
Derby County. Off the field, the club moved to establish itself as a
limited company. Carr's replacement was former Arsenal forward
James Brain. After losing two stalwart performers for the club - Cliff Lang to illness and Ernie Williams to injury - Brain couldn't improve on eleventh place in the
league. But he took the team to the
FA Cup first round, losing 3–0 to
Watford, while
Newport County knocked Town out the
Welsh Cup at the quarter-final stage. Two of the side's consistent performers, winger
Cliff Thorley and goalkeeper
Jack Wheeler earned moves to
Bristol City and
Birmingham respectively. Crisis was averted when players, shareholders and supporters contributed to keep the club in business following a financial crunch. Cheltenham rebranded as "The Robins" for the
1938–39 campaign, wearing white shirts with a robin emblem and red sleeves. Another
FA Cup run ended against league opposition in the first round as
Cardiff City won a replay following a 1–1 draw at Whaddon Road. In the league, Town had another bottom half finish. All 16 league wins came at home, and only on six occasions did Cheltenham avoid a league defeat away from Whaddon Road. Once again, the threat of closure hung over the club. A promising start to the
1939–40 season was curtailed by the outbreak of
World War II. Following a pause, the Southern League established a limited regional programme, often featuring guest players, and Cheltenham finished next to bottom of the league's Western division. At the season's end the club announced it would "not arrange any more fixtures until further notice".
1985–1999 They won promotion to the Alliance Premier League (now the
Conference National) in 1985, but were relegated seven years later. The appointment of
Steve Cotterill as manager during the
1996–97 was the start of a period of success at the club which resulted in Cotterill being their most successful manager. Four months after taking charge he guided the club to runners-up spot in the
Southern Football League Premier Division, but they won promotion to the
Football Conference as champions
Gresley Rovers were unable to meet the required ground capacity for Conference membership. In 1997–98, Cheltenham finished runners-up in the Conference and were close to champions
Halifax Town until the end of April 1998. They secured a place at Wembley in the
1998 FA Trophy Final, beating
Southport 1–0 in front of a crowd of 26,837 at
Wembley Stadium. In
1998–99, Cheltenham secured the Conference title and entry to the Football League.
Football League (1999–2015) After two mid-table finishes in Division Three, Cheltenham finally won promotion to
Division Two (via the Division Three playoffs) at the end of the 2001–02 season. Shortly after winning promotion, Cotterill left Cheltenham to join
Stoke City as their manager. Cheltenham replaced Cotterill with first-team coach
Graham Allner who had won the Conference championship with
Kidderminster Harriers in 1994. Allner and assistant manager Mike Davis, who was originally assistant to Cotterill, were sacked in January 2003, after six months in the job, with Cheltenham near the foot of Division Two. Cheltenham turned to
Bobby Gould, one of the most experienced managers in
English football whose exploits include an
FA Cup victory with
Wimbledon in 1988. Cheltenham continued to struggle, and defeat in their final game of the season condemned the club to relegation back to Division Three after just one season. Gould resigned as Cheltenham Town manager in November 2003 and was replaced by
John Ward. During the
2005–06 season, a new stand for visiting fans was added (The Carlsberg Stand). They finished the season in 5th, earning a place in the play-offs. In the semi-final Cheltenham beat
Wycombe Wanderers 2–1 away and drew 0–0 in the second leg at Whaddon Road. In the play-off final, Cheltenham beat
Grimsby Town 1–0, securing a place in
League One for 2006–07. The match at the
Millennium Stadium on 28 May 2006 was attended by 29,196 people. Cheltenham started life in
League One with a 1–0 win against
Gillingham. Following Cheltenham's 3–0 defeat to
Port Vale, manager
John Ward announced he had agreed a four-year contract with
League One side
Carlisle United. A highlight of the season was winning twice against
Leeds United. Cheltenham's survival was secured on the final day of the season as they beat
Doncaster Rovers 2–1 at Whaddon Road, denying their opposition automatic promotion. Early in the
2008–09 season,
Keith Downing left Cheltenham Town and was replaced by
Martin Allen. Allen's team started poorly with a club-record seven consecutive defeats, part of a 15-game run without a victory. The club narrowly avoided
administration, and the 10-point penalty that would go with it, before Allen revealed that all the players at the club were up for sale. The season finished with Cheltenham's relegation back to
League Two on the penultimate day of the season after three seasons in League One as they had conceded over 100 goals in all competitions. Cheltenham won their first match of the
2009–10 season against
Grimsby Town 2–1, but fell dramatically down the table soon after. On 20 October,
Martin Allen was "put on gardening leave" amid allegations he racially abused a nightclub bouncer, and assistant manager
John Schofield took temporary charge. Allen was formally cleared of misconduct but still left the club by mutual consent in early December. Former Cheltenham captain and Kidderminster boss
Mark Yates was appointed manager on 22 December 2009. Cheltenham continued to struggle through the rest of the season, only managing to avoid relegation on the final day of the season, although they finished four points ahead of the relegated sides. Yates, ahead of his first full season with Cheltenham, revamped the squad, releasing eight players, including defender
Shane Duff, who had just completed his tenth year with the club. The
season proved to be successful to begin with, with the Robins remaining close to the play-off positions, but they collapsed in the second half of the season and finished 17th, with only five wins in 26 games in 2011. The Robins ended the season in 6th and defeated Torquay United 2–0 at home and then 1–2 away in the play-off semi-finals. The play-off final was contested at
Wembley Stadium on 27 May 2012. Crewe Alexandra defeated Cheltenham Town 2–0 with goals from
Nick Powell and
Byron Moore in front of a crowd of 24,029. The Robins also enjoyed a good run in the
FA Cup, eventually losing out 5–1 to
Premier League side
Everton. On 6 November 2012, manager Mark Yates oversaw his 150th game in charge of the team in a 1–0 win against league leaders Gillingham. Cheltenham finished 5th, once again qualifying for the end of season play-offs after being pipped to the third promotion spot on the last day of the season by
Rotherham United. The
season included a run of 21 home league games without defeat. The play-offs saw Cheltenham face Northampton Town with Cheltenham losing both home and away games by 1–0. After finishing in the play-offs for two consecutive seasons, Cheltenham Town's
2013–14 season proved to be difficult. Any hopes of a third consecutive play-off place were ended by March. The highlight of the season was a trip to
Premier League side
West Ham United, with the club eventually losing 2–1 at
Upton Park. Cheltenham finished the
season in 17th place. On 25 November 2014,
Mark Yates was sacked by Cheltenham Town after almost five years in charge. Cheltenham subsequently appointed
Paul Buckle as team manager, but he was dismissed after just 79 days. In March 2015
Gary Johnson was appointed manager. In April 2015, after Bryan Jacob, a lifelong supporter, gave the club's supporters trust £222,000 in his will, members voted to use the money to accept a long-standing offer from the club for a permanent seat on its board of directors. Football fan Clive Gowing was subsequently elected. The club said it would also name a stand and supporters' player-of-the-season award in Jacob's memory. On 25 April 2015, Cheltenham Town lost at Whaddon Road to
Shrewsbury Town, which meant that Cheltenham were relegated from the
Football League after sixteen seasons.
Return to the Football League (2016–) After only one season outside of the Football League, Cheltenham secured an immediate return on 16 April 2016 with a 2–0 home win against
FC Halifax Town. The team amassed 101 points, scoring the most and conceding the fewest goals, on their way to becoming champions, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed local rivals
Forest Green Rovers. January signing
Dan Holman was joint winner of the
National League's Golden Boot award, with 30 goals, having netted 16 times in just 18 games for the Robins.
Danny Wright, a summer signing, finished the season with 22 league goals and 11 assists, winning the Supporters Player of the Year award. For the club's return to the
Football League, manager
Gary Johnson largely kept faith with the players that had won the previous year's
National League. The
2016–17 season proved to be a struggle with a number of players finding the step up to League Two more difficult than had been hoped. The
Whaddon Road pitch also came in for criticism, from both supporters and visiting managers, as it struggled to cope with its high levels of use (
Gloucester City were in the final season of a ground-share at Cheltenham during 2016–17). Results improved somewhat during the spring, although Johnson was absent on sick leave from March onwards while recovering from heart bypass surgery, leaving his assistant
Russell Milton in charge. The Robins secured their league status with a 1–0 win over
Hartlepool United in the penultimate game of the season. They finished the season in 21st place. During the close season a recovered
Gary Johnson returned to work and signed a new two-year contract. He oversaw a major clearout of the squad with eleven players released. In the
2017–18 season the club ultimately only gained one point more than in the previous year (51 compared to 50), and finished in 17th place in League Two. By far the biggest success of an otherwise low-key year was Sudanese striker
Mohamed Eisa. Signed as a free transfer from non-league football, Eisa scored 23 league goals for Cheltenham during the season and ultimately moved to
Bristol City, for a transfer fee reportedly in excess of £1m (a club record sale), in July 2018. At the end of the season, long-serving club chairman Paul Baker stood down from the role after 20 years, handing over the chairmanship to Andy Wilcox. On 10 September 2018, ex-Cheltenham player
Michael Duff was appointed after the departure of Gary Johnson. Duff guided the Robins to 16th. The following
2019–20 season was very successful, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in 4th place. Final league standings were decided on a
points-per-game basis following disruption caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Cheltenham missed out in the play-offs to
Northampton Town, losing 3–2 on aggregate. In
2020–21, Cheltenham returned to
League One as champions after five seasons in League Two. Due to the ongoing disruption caused by
COVID-19, the vast majority of fixtures in 2020–21 took place
behind closed doors. The Robins reached the fourth round of the
FA Cup for the first time since 2006 before narrowly losing out to eventual
2020–21 Premier League champions
Manchester City. Cheltenham were leading the match with ten minutes to play before eventually losing 3–1. Cheltenham guaranteed their return to
League One with a 1–1 draw at home to
Carlisle United. On 8 May 2021, Cheltenham won their first ever
Football League title, beating
Harrogate Town 4–1 on the final day to secure the League Two championship. In the
2021–22 and
2022–23 seasons, Cheltenham finished 15th and 16th respectively in
League One. At the end of the 2021–22 season, head coach
Michael Duff left for
Barnsley and was replaced by
Wade Elliott who was promoted internally from the role of first-team coach. At the start of the
2023–24 season, Cheltenham failed to score a goal in their opening eleven matches which equalled a Football League record. This start to the season cost Elliott his job. He was replaced by
Darrell Clarke, but despite form improving significantly, Cheltenham were still relegated to League Two on the final day of the season. On 31 May 2024,
Michael Flynn was appointed as Cheltenham Town manager. ==Kit sponsors and manufacturers==