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| Full name | Aylesbury United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Ducks | ||
| Founded | 1897 | ||
| Ground | The Meadow,Chesham | ||
| Capacity | 5,000 (284 seated)[1] | ||
| Owner | Aylesbury United Supporters Trust | ||
| Chairman | Graham Read | ||
| Manager | Paul Batchelor | ||
| League | Southern League Division One Central | ||
| 2024–25 | Southern League Division One Central, 15th of 21 | ||
Aylesbury United Football Club is afootball club based inChesham,Buckinghamshire, England. They are currently members ofSouthern League Division One Central and play atChesham United's Meadow ground. They were based inAylesbury until being evicted from their Buckingham Road ground in 2006. They are nicknamed the Ducks due to theAylesbury duck.[2]
Aylesbury United were formed in 1897 as a merger of Night School, Printing Works and Aylesbury Town.[2] After playing in local leagues, the club joined the Western Division of theSpartan League in 1908, which they won in their first season.[3] This was followed by a play-off with the winners of the Eastern Division,Luton Clarence, which Aylesbury won 4–1.[3] The following season they were placed in the league's A Division, in which they finished as runners-up. With the league becoming a single division in 1910, the club remained in it untilWorld War I, finishing as runners-up again in 1913–14.[3]
After the war the league expanded to two divisions, with Aylesbury placed in Division One. They remained in the division until 1928 when league re-organisation saw Division One split into East and West divisions, with Aylesbury winning Division One West in 1928–29.[4] Further league reorganisation at the end of the season saw the creation of a Premier Division, in which Aylesbury were placed. However, after finishing bottom of the table in 1932–33 they were relegated to Division One. Two seasons later, a second-placed finish saw them promoted back to the Premier Division. The 1937–38 season saw the club relegated again, although they won Division One the following season.[5] However, the league was then suspended due toWorld War II.
The league resumed in 1945 and was split into three geographic divisions, with Aylesbury in the Western Division, finishing as runners-up in 1945–46. Several clubs left the league at the end of the season, resulting in it being reduced to a single division.[5] In 1951 Aylesbury were founder members of theDelphian League, and the1951–52 season saw them reach the first round of theFA Cup for the first time. Drawn at home toWatford, they lost 1–0,[3] but the attendance of 7,440 remains a club record.[6] After finishing second in1952–53, they were league champions thefollowing season. The club remained in the league until it merged into theAthenian League in 1963, with Aylesbury placed in Division Two.[3] A second-place finish in 1967–68 saw them promoted to Division One, where they remained until being relegated at the end of the 1972–73 season.[3]
In 1976 the club joined Division One South of theSouthern League, which became the Southern Division in 1979. In 1981 they were transferred to the Midland Division, and were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing as runners-up in1984–85.[3] Thefollowing season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup again, this time losing 5–2 toSlough Town in a replay after a 2–2 draw.[3] They reached the first round again in1986–87, losing 3–2 toBath City. In1987–88 they won the Premier Division, earning promotion to theFootball Conference; they also reached the first round of the FA Cup for the third consecutive season, this time losing 1–0 atBristol City. At the end of the season the club were the unlikely opponents for theEngland national team as a warm-up match prior toEuro 88; the match attracted a record crowd of 6,031 to Buckingham Road to see England win 7–0.[7][8]
Although Aylesbury were relegated at the end of thefirst season in the division, dropping into theIsthmian League Premier Division, a 1–0 defeat ofWaterlooville saw them reach the second round of the FA Cup for the first time, where they lost 1–0 toSutton United.[3] They remained in the Isthmian League's Premier Division for eleven seasons, finishing as runners-up in1998–99, and advancing to the first round of the FA Cup in every season between 1989 and 1995; the1989–90 season saw them beatFootball League opposition for the first time when they defeatedSouthend United 1–0, before losing by the same scoreline toNorthampton Town in a second round replay.[3] After being beaten byWalsall in the first round in1990–91, they reached the second round again in1991–92, eventually losing 3–2 toHereford United. Another first round defeat took place in1992–93 when they were beaten 8–0 atWest Bromwich Albion, but the1994–95 season saw their best performance to date, reaching the third round after defeating fellow non-League clubsNewport (IOW) andKingstonian before losing 4–0 atQPR. The run included the "duck walk" celebration by Cliff Hercules, the club's record appearance holder and goalscorer,[9] which was featured on theBBC'sThey Think It's All Over programme. In the same season they won the Isthmian League Cup.[6]
Aylesbury were relegated to Division One in1999–2000, but a third-place finish in2000–01 saw them promoted back to the Premier Division; they also reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1994, this time losing 3–0 atPort Vale.[3] In 2002–03 they reached the semi-finals of theFA Trophy, but lost 2–1 toBurscough over the two legs.[3] In 2004 Aylesbury were transferred to the Premier Division of the Southern League, but were relegated to Division One Midlands in2005–06. In July 2009, the Aylesbury United Supporters Trust was able to gain control of the club.[10] However, in2009–10 they finished bottom of the division and were relegated to the Premier Division of theSpartan South Midlands League. After finishing as runners-up in2012–13, they were promoted to Division One Central of the Southern League.
Aylesbury played at Turnfurlong Lane until moving toBuckingham Road in the mid-1980s.[2] In July 2006 the lease on the ground expired and they were forced to play matches outside the town.[2] They played at the Meadow inChesham (groundsharing withChesham United), before moving to Bell Close inLeighton Buzzard in 2009, where they shared withLeighton Town. In 2015 they began a groundshare atThame United's Meadow View Park.[11] The club moved back to Chesham United's Meadow ground in 2017.[12]
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51°41′56″N0°36′50″W / 51.69889°N 0.61389°W /51.69889; -0.61389
