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| Full name | Spalding United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Tulips | ||
| Founded | 1921 | ||
| Ground | Sir Halley Stewart Field Winfrey Avenue Spalding (Capacity: 3,500 (1,000 seated)) |
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| Chairman | Chris Toynton | ||
| Manager | Mark Hone | ||
| League | Northern Premier League Division One South |
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| 2008–09 | Northern Premier League First Division South, 17th |
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Spalding United Football club are a football club based in Spalding, England. They were established in 1921 and are currently members of the Northern Premier League First Division South.
They were founding members of the Northern Counties East League in 1982. They have reached the FA Cup First round proper at least twice in their history.
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History
Spalding United were formed in 1921 and are nicknamed "The Tulips" because of the town's association with the bulb growing industry. They have always spent their entire existence playing at the same Sir Halley Stewart Field venue.
Originally the club played in the Spalding and District League but progressed to the Peterborough League before joining the United Counties League in 1931. Having been runners-up in 1951, 1952 and 1953, Spalding were United Counties League champions in 1955 and joined the Eastern Counties League but after five seasons moved on to the Central Alliance League. They stayed in this league for just one season before transferring to the Midland League in 1961. In 1968 they rejoined the United Counties League where they won the title for a second time in 1975.
In 1978 the club returned to the Midland League for a second spell before becoming founder members of the Northern Counties East League in 1982. They were champions in 1984 but dropped back to the United Counties League in 1986. After winning the title in 1988 they stepped up to the Southern League but were relegated after three seasons. The club went into decline but gradually rebuilt and in 1998/99 won the United Counties League championship as well as the Lincolnshire 'A' Cup and the Hinchingbrooke Cup. Spalding returned to the Southern League and competed in the Eastern Division for season 1999/2000. They spent four unsuccessful seasons at this level, not helped by a succession of changes of both chairman and manager, and were relegated once again in 2003.
The 2003-04 season saw the Tulips win the United Counties League once again, which this time earned them a place in the Northern Premier League. After two seasons spent flirting with relegation, a further re-organisation of the English football league system saw them moved back to the Southern League in 2006.
Towards the end of the 2007-08 season, Alan Biley took charge of the club for a second time. Spalding survived the relegation battle, and started to re-build for the 2008-09 season. The majority of the squad left after the end of the season, leaving only a handful of players. The club added to the squad, with the addition of Jason De Silva, Shaun Carey, Luke McShane, Steve Julian (on loan from Corby Town), Nikki Hurst and a range of other young and experienced players.
In June 2009, Biley stood down as manager. He was followed out the door by 4 key players. His successor was named shortly after as Alex Irvine, a once Spalding United player, caretaker manager and even acting chairman at one stage. But this later turned out to be false and Mark Hone took over instead.
Club records
- Best league performance: 6th in Southern League Midlands Division, 1989-90
- Best FA Cup performance: 1st round proper, 1957-58, 1964-65
- Best FA Trophy performance: 3rd round, 1999-2000
- Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 1989-90, 1996-97
Current squad
GK Christopher Laming
GK Richard Roberts
DF David Hone
DF Kahmeel Spence
DF Luke Walker
DF Danny George
DF Lee Welburn
DF Stuart King
DF Richard Scott
MF Luke Forbes
MF Andrew Toyne
MF Lewis Cook
MF Davy Shepherd
FW Ben Goode
FW Craig Gordon
FW David Almeida De Oliveira
Sources
- Spalding United at the Football Club History Database
- Club profile on the official Southern League website
External links
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