Witney Town A.F.C.
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| Full name | Witney Town Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blanketmen |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Dissolved | February 2013 |
| Ground | The Polythene UK Stadium, Witney |
Witney Town A.F.C. was a football club based in Witney, Oxfordshire. The club dissolved while playing in the Hellenic League Premier Division, 2012–13 season.
The club was formed by a group of Witney Town supporters. Intent on bring senior football back to the town the group registered Witney United FC with the Oxfordshire Football Association in 2001. For almost a year they had little else other than the name. There was no ground, team or manager. That year was all about raising funds and the profile of the club. The club set itself a challenging business plan that targeted a return to Southern League football within five seasons. Finally after much hard work it all came together. In 2002 WUFC gained a lease on the original Witney Town stadium and were accepted into Division One (West) of the Hellenic League. In its first year the Club struggled to attract local players and finally finished 15th in the Division. The second season saw the club move forward finally finishing the season in 4th place and gaining a surprise, last minute, offer of promotion to the Premier Division.
The challenge of promotion was compounded by the fact that the Club would start its third ever season with its third ever manager. But under the management team of Alan Clark, Steve Paish and Spencer Keyes the team proved it could hold its own – finally finishing a creditable 11th out of 22. The Club also competed, for the first time, in the FA Vase winning through the first three rounds – eventually losing to Deal Town away. Further success was achieved in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup where Witney finally fell to Oxford City in the semi-finals. The 2005–06 season saw United enter the FA Cup for the first time and were very unlucky to bow out after a replay against Southern League high-fliers Clevedon Town. The FA Vase brought similar disappointment as they went out to Truro City at the second hurdle. In October 2005 Alan Clark resigned as 1st Team Manager and Spencer Keyes stepped up from Assistant Manager to replace him. Spencer’s first management move was to recruit Pete Lamont as his No. 2.
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