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A Look At The Other Clubs in Division 1 Central

A Look At The Other Clubs in Division 1 Central

Matthew Lovegrove10 Jun 2012 - 13:17
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This time we look at Fleet Town.

Fleet Town:

Manager: Craig Davies

History:
Although it is believed that a gentleman by the name of Edwin Edwards formed a football team in Fleet well before, Fleet Town FC was officially formed in 1890 when the club was simply known as Fleet FC, making it the oldest sports club in the town. The centenary was celebrated in 1990 with a Centenary Scroll being presented by the Football Association to the club, together with a commemorative plaque from the Hampshire FA.

In the early days Fleet FC played at the bottom of the Views where Campbells Close is today. Later they moved to Watsons Meadow in Fleet Road, roughly opposite where Travis & Perkins now stands, at the station end of Fleet Road. It was during this time that a young, future Prime Minister, Clement Atlee played for the club, his aunt living in a house that backed onto this original ground.

In 1923 Lord Calthorpe of Elvetham Hall made available the site of the present ground in Crookham Road, and the club moved to its new home in March of that year, playing their first match on 3rd March 1923. The ground was subsequently bequeathed to the District Council with the proviso that it would continue to be for the use of Fleet FC. So Calthorpe Park was born, the same name now used for the large park/recreation ground behind the club.

From 1923 up until World War II Fleet FC 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. Fleet FC started to play matches in light and dark blue strip in the mid 1920s and this has remained the club colours ever since.

After the war the club made steady progress, a Supporters Club was formed in 1953 and this was instrumental in laying a new pitch, building of the Pavilion and finally getting floodlights installed.

On the pitch the club entered the Hampshire League in 1961. In 1963 Fleet FC changed its name and became Fleet Town FC. This move obviously inspired all concerned and the team went on to win Division 3 of the Hampshire League with 50 points from 30 games (2 for a win), scoring more goals than any other team in the three Divisions (113). From then on Fleet Town FC gradually moved through the Divisions, finally winning promotion to the Athenian League in 1977.

The next few years were a very poor spell in the clubs history as it struggled to meet Athenian ground regulations and drifted into other minor leagues. At this time Fleet Town FC almost disappeared without trace until it was accepted in the Wessex League for the 1989/90 season. After six years of steady progress the club gained promotion to the Southern League as Wessex League Champions, in the 1994/95 season but four seasons where the club struggled at the wrong end of the table followed. Unfortunately in 1999/00, its fifth season in the Dr Martens Southern League the club finished bottom and returned to the Wessex League.

The turn of the millennium however saw the club develop on the field and in 2001-02 they gained promotion from the Wessex back into the Southern League.

The next two seasons were again familiar as the club sought to stabilise itself at this level. Form and managers came and went and in 2003-04 a disappointing season saw Fleet Town FC finish bottom of the Southern League (Eastern Division) however by a stroke of good fortune the Non-League pyramid restructuring for 2004/05 season meant that the club retained their status at Step 4 to play in the Isthmian League (sponsored by Ryman)

A rollercoaster season ended with the club’s Division 1 status only assured on the very last day of the season as Fleet Town FC finished in 19th position. Off the pitch saw an extensive refurbishment of the Clubhouse and the links between the senior teams and the colts and girls teams becoming stronger than before.

A new era dawned at Fleet Town FC with the start of the 2005/06 season with a new management team of ex-England International Andy Sinton assisted by the experienced Steve Mellor in charge at the club. They certainly were an inspiration and ‘The Blues’ were in the running for a play-off place right up until the end of March where form suddenly dipped. That said the first team had their highest ever finish in non-league football (14th) and went the furthest ever in the FA Cup (2nd Qualifying Round) before winning the Basingstoke Senior Cup for the first time.

Season 2006/07 brought a lot of optimism to the club as Andy and Steve moved into their second year as a management team. A stronger squad saw the Blues were top of the table at Christmas before thy finally finished in 5th place. In a pulsating play-off semi-final they lost 2-1 to Tooting & Mitcham. The team also reached the final of the Hampshire Cup (losing 2-1 to Aldershot but did gain some cup success to win the Russell Cotes Cup (1-0 v Gosport Borough). So for the second year in succession history was made with not only the highest league placing ever but three cup finals.

For season 2007-08 the FA moved the club to the BGB Southern League, South West Division. It didn’t take the Blues long to adjust and they again had a record breaking season. Right up until the last few games they were in with a chance of automatic promotion but eventually had to accept 2nd spot behind Farnborough. This however was their highest ever non-league placement and again played in front of record crowds (averaging just under 200). It was heartbreak in the play-offs though as the team again lost in the semi-final, this time an injury time penalty that gave Uxbridge a 2-1 victory. Fleet did however reach four cup finals winning three, Russell Cotes, Aldershot Senior and Basingstoke Senior cups. They also went the furthest so far in the FA Cup before losing 2-1 at Havant & Waterlooville in the 3rd Qualifying Round – and of course it was H & W who lost to Liverpool at Anfield later in the competition!

Season 08-09 had the club on the move yet again with promotions/relegations elsewhere meaning that it returned to the Ryman League, South Division.

Having retained most of his squad from the previous season Andy Sinton broke more records again as the team won four cups. The most prestigious was the Hampshire Senior Cup when over 1200 witnessed victory over VTFC at St Marys Stadium to send the cup to Fleet for the first time ever. In addition the team also won the Russell Cotes, Aldershot Senior and North Hants cups. The FA Cup run again went to the 3rd Qualifying Round before ending 2-5 in a bruising encounter at AFC Totton.

Promotion however was the main target and but for a high number of draws the Blues would have gone up automatically. They did finish 3rd and had to settle for a play-off semi-final for the 3rd succesive year. This time it was Metropolitan Police who spoiled the teams dream, winning 1-0 at Calthorpe Park

The '09-'10 season started slowly as the team took only 8 points from the first 7 games. This set the tone for a surprisingly hit & miss season which saw the Blues finish two points off a play-off position. An early exit in the FA Cup on penalties to Walton & Hersham in the preliminary round took the gloss off best ever progress in the FA Trophy (2nd qualifying round) and Isthmian League Cups (Quarter Final) however the season didn't end without trophies as the team won three local trophies - Aldershot Senior, Basingstoke Senior and North Hants Senior Cups.

May 2010 saw major changes at the club with the Chairman Graham Smith stepping down and this was shortly followed by manager Andy Sinton resigning to join AFC Telford United.

Season 2010-11 saw Steve Mellor step up from his role as Sinton’s trusted assistant to take the Managers role and his first task was to rebuild a squad that lost 15 players in the close season and was expected to struggle in the league. The new Blues side surprised their detractors and finished a credible 13th as Mellor’s free scoring team played great football with plenty of goals at both ends! His willingness to give youngsters a chance in the 2nd half of the season also bodes well for the new season. No cups were won but the team did make the 2nd Q Round of the FA Cup before unluckily losing to Bashley in a replay, and made it to the Q-F of the Isthmian League cup beating two Premier League sides in the process. A defeat to Badshot Lea in the final of the Aldershot Senior Cup on penalties was harsh on a side that had defied the sceptics and brought a smile back on the faces of the fans at Calthorpe Park, a ground that had also seen great improvements as the club sought to build an infrastructure for the future.

2011-12 saw Fleet Town move leagues again as they were switched to the Southern League Central Division after a three year absence. The team looked to replicate what they achieved in 07-08 as Mellor installed a new back-up team that included Andy Leader as Assistant Manager. However results were poor and after a run of defeats and exiting the major cup competitions the Mellor/Leader management team left in November to be replaced by Craig Davis as player manager assisted by Vic Harry, formerly the Blues reserve/youth team manager.Their task was to steady the ship and steer the side to safety, howvever despite some improved displays the teams inability to score meant that come season end the Blues faced relelagtion after ending the season in 21st.

Further reading