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Witney Town F.C.

Coordinates: 51°47′14.13″N 1°31′36.23″W / 51.7872583°N 1.5267306°W / 51.7872583; -1.5267306
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Witney Town
Club badge from 2011
Full nameWitney Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Blanketmen
Founded1885
GroundWitney Community Stadium, Witney Up to 2013 Witney Artificial Pitch 2024 onwards
ChairmanPaul Foster
ManagerBen Reardon
LeagueOxford Senior League

Witney Town F.C. (known at various times as Witney F.C., Witney United F.C. and Witney Town A.F.C.) is a football club in Witney, Oxfordshire. The club was founded in 1885 (as Witney Football Club) and adopted the name Witney Town in 1922. The club's most successful period was in the 1970s and 80s when they competed in the Southern League Premier Division, finishing 5th in 1983–84. The club folded in 2001, but a phoenix club arose under the name Witney United in 2002 and obtained the lease of the former club's ground. The club readopted the Witney Town name in 2011, but was dissolved during the 2012–13 season while playing in the Hellenic League Premier Division.

Witney Town re-formed for the 2024–25 season and appointed Ben Reardon as manager. They will compete in the Oxfordshire Senior League.[1]

History

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1885–1922: Early years as Witney F.C.

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The club was founded in 1885 as Witney Football Club and within 15 years of their formation had won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup three times.[2] Herbert Smith, a successful full-back who moved to Oxford City, later played for Derby County and Stoke City, appeared four times for the England national football team in 1905 and 1906, and helped win a goal medal for his country as a left-back at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

1922–1973: Witney Town F.C. in the Oxfordshire Senior and Hellenic Leagues

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The club re-formed as Witney Town in 1922, playing in the Oxfordshire Senior League and finishing as champions five times. Frank Clack, a goalkeeper from this era, went on to play for Birmingham City and Bristol City in the 1930s and 40s.

In 1953 they were founder members of the Hellenic League, winning the league in the 1954–55 season, its second year.[2] They topped the Premier Division for three successive seasons in the 1960s (1965–67) and repeated the feat the following decade (1971–73).[3]

1973–1987: Southern League success

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Witney Town in action in 1980

After twenty years of success at Hellenic League level, they applied for membership of the Southern League and were admitted at the first attempt to Division One North. Their first season at this level was in 1973–74, and they won the league in 1977–78 and were promoted to the Premier Division.[3] At the end of their first season (in which they finished 10th),[4] the league was reorganised and Witney were placed in the Midland Section of the Southern League for 1979–80.[3] Another reorganisation placed them in the Premier Division for season 1982–83, where they remained for six seasons[3] (with reprieves from relegation in 1984–85 when Hastings United folded, and in 1985–86 when the league was expanded[4]). Their highest finish was 5th place in 1983–84.[3]

In 1979, Trevor Francis, Britain's first £1m player, made his first appearance for his new club Nottingham Forest in a testimonial held at Witney Town's ground, a match arranged by Ron Atkinson,[5] the then-manager of West Bromwich Albion, who had coached at Witney during the 1970s.[6]

1988–2001: Relegation and closure

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They suffered the first relegation in their history, to the Southern League South Division,[3] at the end of the 1987–88 season. In 1992, the club moved from Marriotts Close to a purpose-built stadium near Curbridge, initially named Oakey Park after a former chairman, Aubrey Oakey, and later renamed the Marriotts Stadium after the family who sold the old ground to the club.[6]

Witney Town were to remain in the second tier of the Southern League until their demise 13 seasons later (although the Northern and Southern divisions were renamed Eastern and Western in 1999–2000). During this period they survived a winding-up petition and were converted to a limited company in 1993,[4] and local businessman Brian Constable was appointed as chief executive.[7] They finished no higher than 3rd,[3] through they narrowly missed out on promotion in 1993–94 (losing the final match of the season 2–1 to Sudbury Town, who thereby pipped them to second place and promotion to the Premier Division[4]) and won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup three times in the 1990s (in 1994,[8] 1995[8] and 1998[4]). Brendan Rodgers, later manager of Liverpool, spent two months on loan at Witney as a player in 1994–95.[9] Witney finished 14th in the Southern League Eastern Division in 2000–01.[4] In the close season, chairman/owner Brian Constable folded the club, amid protests from a supporters' group known as 1885 who claimed that credible bids to buy the club were dismissed.[7]

2001–2012: Rebirth as Witney United

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The club was reformed as Witney United F.C. by a group of Witney Town supporters. The Witney United name was registered with the Oxfordshire Football Association in 2001, with the aim of returning to Southern League football within five seasons. In 2002 the club obtained a lease on the original Witney Town stadium and were accepted into Division One (West) of the Hellenic League for the 2002–03 season. In its first year the club finished 15th of 20 in the division, but in 2003–04 they finished 5th and, with Ardley United (4th), were promoted to the Premier Division, ahead of the teams in the top three.[10]

The club finished 11th in the Premier Division in 2004–05 and finished in the top 10 for the next five seasons.[10] The 2010–11 season saw a decline in their fortunes, and they finished 18th, one place above the relegation places. In 2011–12 the club, now under its former name of Witney Town, finished in 19th place; only the forced demotion of Henley Town (whose ground did not meet league requirements) kept them in the division.

2013: Liquidation

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The club was evicted from their stadium in February 2013 because they were unable to pay the rent.[11] A plan to groundshare with Carterton F.C. fell through, and following lengthy discussions between the Hellenic League and the club's trustees, no persons came forward to offer their services to take over responsibility as officers and the club's resignation was tendered. The club then liquidated and folded.[12]

2024–

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In March 2024 Witney Town confirmed that they would be playing again from the 2024–25 season. The idea to resurrect the club was fronted by new chairman Paul Foster, who installed Ben Reardon as the new manager, alongside Steve Potts and Ashley Edwards as the coaching team for the new side. Witney will compete in the Oxford Senior League for the 2024–25 season.[13]

Witney Town played their first game, a preseason friendly with Didcot Town, on Saturday 3 August 2024. They lost 6–1, but Harry Furlong scored the team's first goal of their new era in the second half.[citation needed]

Ground

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The main stand at Marriott's Close, 2008

Witney Town played their home games at Marriotts Close in Witney, and later at Downs Road, Curbridge (known successively as Oakey Park, the Marriotts Stadium, and Witney Community Stadium).

As of the 2024–25 season, Witney Town will be playing their home games at the Witney Artificial Pitch on Gordon Way in Witney.

Honours

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Cup honours

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  • Hellenic League Premier Division Challenge Cup:[14]
    • Runners-up (1): 1965–66

References

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  1. ^ "Non league club who dissolved in 2013 are reborn ready for the 2024/25 season". Fan Banter. 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Witney Town Info and History". 2000. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Witney Town". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Whitney, Steve (20 February 2021). "The Sad Demise of Witney Town". Pitching In. The Southern League. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ Lepkowski, Chris (6 April 2020). "£1 Million Man Makes Debut Under Strange Circumstances". Old Baggies. West Bromwich Albion Former Players Association. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Atkinson leads tributes to Oakey". Oxford Mail. 3 November 2001. Retrieved 7 February 2022. The former Manchester United, Aston Villa, West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday boss...first cut his coaching teeth at Marriotts Close.
  7. ^ a b "The Witney Town FC saga". Oxford Mail. 28 June 2001. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Oxfordshire Senior Cup". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Rodgers was a Blanketman". Oxford Mail. 2 June 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Witney United". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Witney Town fold". Oxford Mail. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Witney Town Fold". Nonleague.pitchero.com. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Episode One: What next for Witney Town?". Oxford Mail. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  14. ^ "The History of Didcot Town Football Club". Didcot Town FC. 18 May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
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51°47′14.13″N 1°31′36.23″W / 51.7872583°N 1.5267306°W / 51.7872583; -1.5267306

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