Fleet Town F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fleet Town F.C. are a football club based in Fleet in England. They were established in 1890 and joined the Athenian League in 1979. In 2004, they joined the Isthmian League First Division. They have yet to reach the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. They play their home games at Calthorpe Park. They own a 200 seater stand. Fleet's manager is ex-England international Andy Sinton.
[edit] History
Although it is believed that a gentleman by the name of Edwin Edwards formed a football team in Fleet well before, Fleet Town F.C. was officially formed in 1890 when the club was simply called Fleet F.C. The centenary was celebrated in 1990 with a Centenary Scroll being presented by the Football Association and a commemorative plaque by the Hampshire F.A.
The club’s first ground was in Watson’s Meadow, which was roughly opposite where Travis Perkins now stands at the station end of the "High Street" – i.e. Fleet Road. In 1923 Lord Calthorpe of Elvetham Hall made available the site of the present ground and the club moved to its new home in March of that year. The ground was subsequently bequeathed to the council with the proviso that it would continue to be for the use of Fleet Football club. The ground was given the name Calthorpe Park and in 1963 the club became Fleet Town F.C.
From 1923 up until World War II, Fleet ran two Saturday teams and a Wednesday XI in the Aldershot and Basingstoke Leagues.
During the war the club competed in the War Emergency League before returning to the Aldershot and Basingstoke Leagues when hostilities ceased.
At this time Army teams in the Aldershot Senior League were very strong, fielding many professionals, because of the war and then National Service.
In 1953 the supporters club was formed, which was instrumental in the lying of the new pitch, the building of the Pavilion and the subsequent installation of floodlights – all this being carried out prior to 1990. The club entered the Hampshire League in 1961 and in 1963 were Division III champions with a victory in the very last game of the season. Promoted to Division I, Fleet more than held its own and it was no surprise when the league was won in 1966 and promotion to Division I was secured. Up until 1977 the Club was always in contention for honours without ever clinching the Division I championship.
In 1977 the Club entered the Athenian League but did not achieve great success and when the league was extended in 1984-1985, as the new ground requirements could not be met, Fleet moved into the Combined Counties for a time, followed by spells in the both the Surrey Premier and Chiltonian Leagues. This heralded a very poor spell in the Club’s history and had it not been for the arrival of a new Chairman who revitalised the Club and Committee there might not have been a Fleet Town F.C. today. Basic improvements to the ground and facilities followed and a tremendous step forward was made when the Club gained acceptance to the Wessex League.
During the summer of 1991 further considerable improvements were carried out with the clubhouse being completely refurbished, the pitch totally re-seeded, the floodlights upgraded and the perimeter of the ground fenced. The fire which totally destroyed the stand in the 1991-1992 season failed to dampen the enthusiasm which now prevailed and for 1992-1993 a new complex was built to include a 200 seat capacity stand, a toilet block with facilities for the disabled, turnstiles, in-ground refreshment facilities and an ambulance bay.
The Club’s most successful season was achieved in 1994-1995 when as Champions of the Jewson League they were promoted to the Beazer Homes League, now the Dr. Martens League.
The following four seasons have seen the Club finish 19th, 20th, 13th and 18th, but considering the lack of support from the residents of Fleet and the surrounding area and the consequent small budget compared with certain other club's, then this has been no mean achievements. During the season 1997-1998 the Russell-Cotes Cup was won for the first time.
Unfortunately a fifth season in the Dr Martens League saw club finish bottom. In the same season however, they lifted the Aldershot Senior Cup
The first season back in The Wessex league saw a steady performance with the club finishing in 4th place. After a poor start to the 2001/2 season, Steve Beeks was appointed as manager in October. This heralded a change in fortunes for the first team who only lost a further 2 games through to the end of the season. This saw the club finish runners up in the League and Cup and achieving its ambition of promotion back to the Southern League.
The 02/03, our first back in the Southern League, saw Steve Beeks resign before the end of September, due to a poor start in the league and elimination from the 3 major cup competitions. This saw, former Birmingham and Southampton full back, Mark Dennis and professional cricketer, Adi Aymes, take over as joint managers. Using their enthusiasm and contacts this saw an improvement in performances and from being bottom of the table at Christmas, we eventually finished 14 points clear of a relegation place, and win the Russell Coates Cup, and runners up in the Aldershot Senior Cup
The 03/04 closed season again saw a change in management, with Mick Catlin taking the helm. A disappointing season saw Fleet finish at the bottom of the Southern League.
The restructuring of The Non League Pyramid for 2004/5 season meant that Fleet Town rather fortuitously retained their status and played in The Isthmian (Ryman League) Division One. Mick Catlin was replaced as manager during the season by Paul Holden. Despite considerable progress off the pitch, the team only narrowly avoided relegation.
Fleet Town starts the 2005/06 season with both a new Chairman in Graham Smith, and new Management team of Ex-England International Andy Sinton, and his assistant Steve Mellor.
Martin Griffiths resigned the Chairmans position during the close season, following a very successful 5 year reign, leaving the club in a very sound position, on which to build on, to progress to the next level.
[edit] Records
- Record Victory: 15-0 v Petersfield United, 26 December 1994
- Record Defeat: 0-7 v Bashley, 12 April 2004
- Record Attendance: 1336 AFC Wimbledon 8 January 2005 (Afc Wimbledon won 3-1)
[edit] External links
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