 | |||
| Full name | Maidenhead United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Magpies | ||
| Founded | October 1870 | ||
| Ground | York Road,Maidenhead | ||
| Capacity | 4,000 (550 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Peter Griffin | ||
| Manager | Alan Devonshire | ||
| League | National League South | ||
| 2024–25 | National League, 22nd of 24 (relegated) | ||
| Website | maidenheadunitedfc.org | ||
Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professionalfootball club based inMaidenhead,Berkshire, England. Affiliated to theBerks & Bucks FA, they are currently members of theNational League South.
The club were established in October 1870 and have played atYork Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously used by the same club'.[2] In 1871–72 they were one of the fifteen clubs to play in theinauguralFA Cup. The club went on to reach the FA Cup quarter finals three times in the 1870s, before becoming founder members of theSouthern League in 1894. They subsequently played in theGreat Western Suburban League (1904–1922),Spartan League (1922–1939),Corinthian League (1945–1963),Athenian League (1963–1973),Isthmian League (1973–2004), andNational League South before returning to the Southern League for a season in 2006–07. They played in theNational League from 2017 to 2025, returning to theNational League South for the current season.
Maidenhead Football Club was established in October 1870, with the club's first match played on 17 December 1870 againstWindsor Home Park at Bond's Meadow.[3] They were one of the fifteen clubs to play in the inauguralFA Cup competition in1871–72, beatingMarlow 2–0 in the first round before losing 3–0 atCrystal Palace.[4] The club reached the quarter finals thefollowing season, eventually losing 4–0 toOxford University.[4] The club were quarter-finalists again in1873–74 – losing 7–0 atRoyal Engineers – and1874–75, when they were beaten 1–0 atOld Etonians.[4] Maidenhead Temperance and Boyne Hill both merged into the club in 1891.[3]
Maidenhead were founder members of theSouthern League in 1894, joining Division Two. They finished bottom of the division in itsinaugural season and again in1898–99 and1899–1900, before leaving the league in 1902.[4] The club subsequently dropped into the West Berkshire League and the Berks and Bucks League.[3] They won the West Berkshire League at the first attempt and were runners-up in 1903–04,[5] before joining the newGreat Western Suburban League alongsideMaidenhead Norfolkians in 1904.[6]
Following a meeting in April 1919 Maidenhead Norfolkians merged into the club. The newly-united won the Great Western Suburban League in 1919–20,[6] after which the club was renamed Maidenhead United.[6] The club were runners-up in the Great Western Suburban League in 1920–21,[6] before joining Division One of theSpartan League in 1922.[7] They won the Division One title in 1926–27, before being placed in Division One West in 1928 amidst league reorganisation. The club were Division One West runners-up in 1928–29 before being placed in the Premier Division the following season.[7]
Maidenhead were Premier Division runners-up in 1930–31 and went on to win the league the following season.[7] Although the club finished in the bottom half of the table in 1932–33, they won the Premier Division title for a second time in 1933–34.[6] In 1935–36 they reached the semi-finals of theFA Amateur Cup, losing 4–1 toIlford atUpton Park.[8] After the outbreak ofWorld War II in 1939, the club joined theGreat Western Combination, finishing as runners-up in 1944–45.[9] They then joined the newly formedCorinthian League.[10] The club won the league's Memorial Shield in 1956–57 and were league champions the following season.[5] In1960–61 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since the formation of theFootball League, losing 5–0 atColchester United; the club went on to win the Corinthian League for a second time at the end of the season.[8] After winning the league again in 1960–61, they won the league and Memorial Shield double in 1961–62.[5]
Another FA Cup first round appearance followed in1962–63, ending with a 3–0 defeat at home toWycombe Wanderers. In 1963 the Corinthian League merged into theAthenian League, with Maidenhead becoming members of the Premier Division. In their first season in the new league the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–0 at home toBath City.[8] A fourth FA Cup first round appearance in1971–72 saw them lose 2–0 atEnfield.[8] In 1973 the club joined Division Two of theIsthmian League, which was renamed Division One in 1977.[8] They were relegated to Division Two South at the end of the1986–87 season, where they remained until finishing as runners-up in1990–91, earning promotion back to Division One.[8] In1996–97 the club won the league's Full Members Cup.[5]
A third-place finish in Division One in1999–2000 saw Maidenhead promoted to the Premier Division. In2003–04 they finished twelfth in the Premier Division, earning a place in the newConference South. However, after finishing bottom of the division in2005–06, the club were relegated to the Premier Division of the Southern League. Thefollowing season saw them reach the FA Cup first round for the first time since the 1970s, losing 2–0 atStafford Rangers in a replay;[8] they alsofinished fourth in the Premier Division qualifying for the promotion play-offs; the club went on to defeatKing's Lynn 1–0 in the semi-finals before beatingTeam Bath by the same scoreline in the final to secure promotion back to the Conference South. Another FA Cup first round appearance in2007–08 ended with a 4–1 defeat atHorsham. They reached the first round again in2011–12 (losing 2–0 toAldershot Town in a replay) and2015–16 (losing 3–1 at home toPort Vale in another replay).[8]
In2016–17 Maidenhead won the renamed National League South, earning promotion to theNational League.[8][11] In theirfirst season in the division, another FA Cup first round appearance saw them lose 2–0 atCoventry City.[12] They reached the first round again in2019–20, losing 3–1 at home toRotherham United.[13] The2019–20 National League season was officially curtailed on 31 March 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, requiring the outcome of the final table to be decided on apoints per game basis.[14][15] Maidenhead were narrowly spared from relegation to the National League South after Ebbsfleet United were relegated by 0.002 of a point.[16]
After finishing third-from-bottom of the National League in2024–25 Maidenhead were relegated to the National League South.
The club's original colours were red and black hooped jerseys.[17][18] In 1919, after the merger with Norfolkians, the club colours were changed to black and white.[3]
The club played their first home match at Bond's Meadow, before moving toYork Road in 1871, with the first match at the new ground played on 16 February 1871 againstMarlow.[3] York Road had been a cricket ground from the late eighteenth century, and is acknowledged as the 'oldest senior football ground continuously used by the same club'.[2] The freehold of the ground was bought in 1920.[3] The club's record attendance of 7,920 was set for anFA Amateur Cup quarter-final againstSouthall on 7 March 1936,[19] with Maidenhead winning 1–0.[8]
Maidenhead United Women were formed in 2008. Following two promotions, the club have operated at Tier 4 of women's football in England since 2015, competing in FA Women'sNational League Division 1 South West.
Maidenhead United Juniors was founded in 2019 and currently runs more than 60 teams providing football football for youngsters between the ages of 6 and 18 across various local leagues inBerkshire andBuckinghamshire.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Name | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Barley | 1946 | 1947 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 20 |
| Selection Committee | 1947 | 1950 | |||||
| Charles Barley | 1950 | 1951 | 54 | 25 | 8 | 21 | 46.3 |
| Kenneth Andrew Millar Inglis | 1951 | 1952 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 21.05 |
| Edgar Woodford | 1952 | 1954 | 76 | 28 | 11 | 37 | 36.84 |
| Len Townsend | 1954 | 1959 | 214 | 125 | 32 | 57 | 58.41 |
| Jimmy Price | 1959 | 1964 | 233 | 140 | 33 | 60 | 60.09 |
| Len Townsend | 1964 | 1969 | 257 | 103 | 59 | 95 | 40.08 |
| Ken Holmes | 1969 | 1969 | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 32.26 |
| Stan Payne | 1969 | 1970 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 24 |
| Maurice Williams | 1970 | 1972 | 150 | 73 | 31 | 46 | 48.67 |
| Mike Hall | 1973 | 1975 | 129 | 52 | 29 | 48 | 40.31 |
| George Harris | 1975 | 1977 | 129 | 28 | 34 | 67 | 21.71 |
| Geoff Anthony | 1977 | 1980 | 138 | 75 | 24 | 39 | 54.35 |
| Ian Bath & Mick Chatterton | 1980 | 1981 | 52 | 19 | 9 | 24 | 36.54 |
| John Dempsey | 1981 | 1982 | 75 | 20 | 15 | 40 | 26.67 |
| Brian Caterer & Colin Lippiatt | 1982 | 1986 | 169 | 67 | 33 | 69 | 39.64 |
| Tim Smith | 1986 | 1987 | 62 | 20 | 8 | 34 | 32.26 |
| Jimmy Kelman | 1987 | 1988 | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 40.63 |
| Derek Jones | 1988 | 1988 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50 |
| Martyn Spong & Cliff Jones | 1988 | 1988 | 29 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 27.59 |
| Martyn Spong | 1988 | 1991 | 127 | 61 | 31 | 35 | 48.03 |
| Brian Caterer | 1991 | 1991 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Gary Goodwin | 1991 | 1992 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 32.35 |
| John Clements | 1992 | 1992 | 41 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 31.71 |
| John Watt | 1992 | 1996 | 179 | 54 | 53 | 72 | 30.17 |
| Alan Devonshire &Martyn Busby | 1996 | 1997 | 41 | 15 | 7 | 19 | 36.59 |
| Alan Devonshire | 1997 | 2003 | 348 | 153 | 74 | 121 | 43.97 |
| John Dreyer | 2003 | 2004 | 79 | 29 | 15 | 35 | 36.71 |
| Richie Goddard &Brian Connor | 2004 | 2004 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33.33 |
| Dennis Greene | 2004 | 2005 | 29 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 24.14 |
| Carl Taylor | 2005 | 2006 | 50 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 22 |
| Richie Goddard | 2006 | 2006 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Johnson Hippolyte | 2006 | 2015 | 445 | 160 | 94 | 191 | 35.96 |
| Alan Devonshire | 2015 | Present | 497 | 188 | 111 | 198 | 38.71 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
