Guisborough Town

Guisborough Town go into the season in Northern League Division One off the back of a title just won. The club spent most of its history working its way up and down that same ladder, joining the Northern League in 1985 and reaching the Premier Division within two seasons, only to slip back down and spend years rebuilding before returning to Division One in 2010–11.

The high point remains 1980, when a run to the FA Vase final ended in a 2–0 defeat to Stamford; the club, founded in 1973 and known as the Priorymen after the town's ruined priory, had already taken the Northern Alliance title that same season. Eight years later came a first taste of the FA Cup proper, a tie settled 1–0 by Bury.

Mark Davis carries the club's history in his own numbers: 587 appearances and 341 goals. Brian Close has given the more recent years their spine, a defender and midfielder with Football League time at Chesterfield and Darlington who has stayed at the King George V Ground since 2017.

Marske United used to be the fixture that mattered most, but with Marske now playing in a higher division, it is Redcar Athletic who supply the needle. Their meetings, billed as the East Cleveland derby, have become the closest thing Guisborough have to a local grudge match.