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| Full name | Fleet Town Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1890 (as Fleet) | ||
| Ground | Calthorpe Park, Fleet (Capacity: 2000 (250 seated)) |
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| Chairman | Graham Smith | ||
| Manager | Andy Sinton | ||
| League | Isthmian League Division One South | ||
| 2008–09 | Isthmian League Division One South, 3rd |
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Fleet Town Football Club are a semi-professional 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, were moved into the Southern League Division One South & West in 2007, then moved back to the Isthmian League in 2008. They play their home games at Calthorpe Park which has a 250 seater stand. Fleet's manager is ex-England international Andy Sinton. The club's best performance in the FA Cup came in 2007-08 and 2008-09 when they reached the third qualifying round.
They also have a youth team who currently compete in the Southern Youth League.
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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 for the non-commercial recreational use of the residents of Fleet and Church Crookham. 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 Three champions with a victory in the very last game of the season. Promoted to Division Two, Fleet more than held its own and it was no surprise when the league was won in 1966 and promotion to Division One was secured. Up until 1977 the Club was always in contention for honours without ever clinching the Division One championship.
In 1977 the Club entered the Athenian League but did not achieve great success and when the league was extended in 1984-85, as the new ground requirements could not be met, Fleet moved into the Combined Counties League for a time, followed by spells in the both the Surrey County Senior League Surrey County 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 1991-92 season failed to dampen the enthusiasm which now prevailed and for 1992-93 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 1994-95 when, as Champions of the Wessex League, they were promoted to the Southern League.
The following four seasons saw the Club finish 19th, 20th, 13th and 18th. During the 1997-98 season the Russell-Cotes Cup was won for the first time.
Unfortunately a fifth season in the Southern League saw the club finish bottom. In the same season however, they lifted the Aldershot Senior Cup.
The turn of the millennium saw the club develop on the field and in 2001-02 they gained promotion from the Wessex League 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 finish bottom of the Southern League Division One East, 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.
A rollercoaster season ended with the club’s Division One status only assured on the very last day of the season as Fleet 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 the club at the start of the 2005-06 season with a new management team of Andy Sinton and 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 when form suddenly dipped. That said the first team had their highest ever finish in non-league football (14th), crowds were up by 20% and the season was concluded with a 2-0 success over Andover to win the Basingstoke Senior Cup for the first time. The strength in depth of the club was also demonstrated with the Reserves finishing 4th in their league and the Youth team reaching the Hampshire Youth Cup final against Eastleigh and finishing 3rd in their league.
Season 2006-07 brought a lot of optimism to the club as Sinton and Mellor moved into their second year as a management team. The squad was strengthened and the younger players were one year older and wiser and all of this showed on the pitch. The Blues were top of the table at Christmas and finally finished in 5th place to take a place in the play-offs against Tooting & Mitcham where they cruelly lost 2-1 to two injury time goals. The team also reached the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup for the first time, losing 2-1 to Aldershot Town at The Fitness First Stadium, Bournemouth. However cup success did arrive as Fleet won the Russell Cotes Cup (1-0 v Gosport Borough) although in the final game of the season they failed to retain the Basingstoke Cup losing 3-0 to Thatcham Town. So, for the second year in succession, history was made with not only the highest league placing but also three cup finals. Add this to the Reserves gaining promotion to the Suburban Premier League, crowds up 30% and organisational improvements off the pitch and non-league football in North East Hampshire was buzzing as the Blues challenged Farnborough and Aldershot Town for the first time in over twenty years.
For season 2007-08 the FA moved the club to the Southern League Division One South & West. 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 Isthmian League Division One South.
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 third successive year. This time it was Metropolitan Police who spoiled the teams dream, winning 1-0 at Calthorpe Park.
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
League & Cup Honours
Isthmian League Div1 (S) Play Offs
2007 2009 Wessex League Champions 1995 Wessex League Runners Up 2002 Wessex League Cup Runners Up 1994 & 2002 Hampshire League Div 1 Runners Up 1973 Hampshire League Div 2 Champions 1966 Hampshire League Div 3 Champions 1962 Suburban League (N) Runners Up 2007 F.A Cup 3rd Qualifying Round 2007, 2008, 2009 F.A Trophy 2nd Qualifying Round 1995 F.A Vase 2nd Round 1974,1977 & 1979
Hampshire Senior Cup Winners
2009
Hampshire Senior Cup Runners Up
2007 Basingstoke Senior Cup Winners 2006 & 2008 Basingstoke Senior Cup Runners Up 2007 Aldershot Senior Cup Winners 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2009 Aldershot Senior Cup Runners Up 1997, 1999 2001, & 2003 Russell Cotes Cup Winners 1998, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 Southern Counties Midweek Floodlit Cup 1995 & 2002 Simpsonair Challenge Shield 1993 & 1994
External links
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Ashford Town (Kent) | Burgess Hill Town | Chatham Town | Chipstead | Corinthian-Casuals | Croydon Athletic | Dulwich Hamlet | Eastbourne Town | Fleet Town | Folkestone Invicta | Godalming Town | Horsham YMCA | Leatherhead | Merstham | Metropolitan Police | Ramsgate | Sittingbourne | Walton & Hersham | Walton Casuals | Whitstable Town | Whyteleafe | Worthing |
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