Maidenhead United F.C.
Maidenhead United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. Affiliated to the Berks & Bucks FA, they are currently members of the.
The club were established in October 1870 and have played at York Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously used by the same club'. In 1871β72 they were one of the fifteen clubs to play in the inaugural FA Cup. The club went on to reach the FA Cup quarter finals three times in the 1870s, before becoming founder members of the Southern League in 1894. They subsequently played in the Great Western Suburban League, Spartan League, Corinthian League, Athenian League, Isthmian League, and National League South before returning to the Southern League for a season in 2006β07. They played in the National League from 2017 to 2025, returning to the National League South for the current season.
History
Maidenhead Football Club was established in October 1870, with the club's first match played on 17 December 1870 against Windsor Home Park at Bond's Meadow. They were one of the fifteen clubs to play in the inaugural FA Cup competition in 1871β72, beating Marlow 2β0 in the first round before losing 3β0 at Crystal Palace. The club reached the quarter finals the following season, eventually losing 4β0 to Oxford University. The club were quarter-finalists again in 1873β74 β losing 7β0 at Royal Engineers β and 1874β75, when they were beaten 1β0 at Old Etonians. Maidenhead Temperance and Boyne Hill both merged into the club in 1891.Maidenhead were founder members of the Southern League in 1894, joining Division Two. They finished bottom of the division in its inaugural season and again in 1898β99 and 1899β1900, before leaving the league in 1902. The club subsequently dropped into the West Berkshire League and the Berks and Bucks League. They won the West Berkshire League at the first attempt and were runners-up in 1903β04, before joining the new Great Western Suburban League alongside Maidenhead Norfolkians in 1904.
Following a meeting in April 1919 Maidenhead Norfolkians merged into the club. The newly-united won the Great Western Suburban League in 1919β20, after which the club was renamed Maidenhead United. The club were runners-up in the Great Western Suburban League in 1920β21, before joining Division One of the Spartan League in 1922. They won the Division One title in 1926β27, before being placed in Division One West in 1928 amidst league reorganisation. The club were Division One West runners-up in 1928β29 before being placed in the Premier Division the following season.
Maidenhead were Premier Division runners-up in 1930β31 and went on to win the league the following season. Although the club finished in the bottom half of the table in 1932β33, they won the Premier Division title for a second time in 1933β34. In 1935β36 they reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup, losing 4β1 to Ilford at Upton Park. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the club joined the Great Western Combination, finishing as runners-up in 1944β45. They then joined the newly formed Corinthian League. The club won the league's Memorial Shield in 1956β57 and were league champions the following season. In 1960β61 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since the formation of the Football League, losing 5β0 at Colchester United; the club went on to win the Corinthian League for a second time at the end of the season. After winning the league again in 1960β61, they won the league and Memorial Shield double in 1961β62.
Another FA Cup first round appearance followed in 1962β63, ending with a 3β0 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers. In 1963 the Corinthian League merged into the Athenian 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 2β0 at home to Bath City. A fourth FA Cup first round appearance in 1971β72 saw them lose 2β0 at Enfield. In 1973 the club joined Division Two of the Isthmian League, which was renamed Division One in 1977. They were relegated to Division Two South at the end of the 1986β87 season, where they remained until finishing as runners-up in 1990β91, earning promotion back to Division One. In 1996β97 the club won the league's Full Members Cup.
A third-place finish in Division One in 1999β2000 saw Maidenhead promoted to the Premier Division. In 2003β04 they finished twelfth in the Premier Division, earning a place in the new Conference South. However, after finishing bottom of the division in 2005β06, the club were relegated to the Premier Division of the Southern League. The following season saw them reach the FA Cup first round for the first time since the 1970s, losing 2β0 at Stafford Rangers in a replay; they also finished fourth in the Premier Division qualifying for the promotion play-offs; the club went on to defeat King's Lynn 1β0 in the semi-finals before beating Team Bath by the same scoreline in the final to secure promotion back to the Conference South. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 2007β08 ended with a 4β1 defeat at Horsham. They reached the first round again in 2011β12 and 2015β16.
In 2016β17 Maidenhead won the renamed National League South, earning promotion to the National League. In their first season in the division, another FA Cup first round appearance saw them lose 2β0 at Coventry City. They reached the first round again in 2019β20, losing 3β1 at home to Rotherham United. The 2019β20 National League season was officially curtailed on 31 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring the outcome of the final table to be decided on a points per game basis. Maidenhead were narrowly spared from relegation to the National League South after Ebbsfleet United were relegated by 0.002 of a point.
After finishing third-from-bottom of the National League in 2024β25 Maidenhead were relegated to the National League South.
Colours
The club's original colours were red and black hooped jerseys. In 1919, after the merger with Norfolkians, the club colours were changed to black and white.Ground
The club played their first home match at Bond's Meadow, before moving to York Road in 1871, with the first match at the new ground played on 16 February 1871 against Marlow. 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'. The freehold of the ground was bought in 1920. The club's record attendance of 7,920 was set for an FA Amateur Cup quarter-final against Southall on 7 March 1936, with Maidenhead winning 1β0.Women
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's National League Division 1 South West.Juniors
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 in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.Staff
- Chairman: Peter Griffin
- Interim manager: Ryan Peters
- Assistant manager: Aaron O'Brien
- First team coach: Ryan Watts
- Strength and conditioning coach: Harry Pritchard
- First-team physio: Max Bangura
- Goalkeeping and set-piece coach: Liam Vaughan
- First-team scout: Lee Devonshire
Honours
- National League
- *National League South champions 2016β17
- Isthmian League
- *Full Members Cup winners 1996β97
- Corinthian League
- *Champions 1957β58, 1960β61, 1961β62
- *Memorial Shield winners 1956β57, 1961β62
- Spartan League
- *Champions 1926β27, 1931β32, 1933β34
- Great Western Suburban League
- *Champions 1919β20
- West Berkshire League
- *Champions 1902β03
- Berks & Bucks Senior Cup
- *Winners 1894β95, 1895β96, 1911β12, 1927β28, 1929β30, 1930β31, 1931β32, 1938β39, 1945β46, 1955β56, 1956β57, 1960β61, 1962β63, 1965β66, 1969β70, 1997β98, 1998β99, 2001β02, 2002β03, 2009β10, 2014β15, 2016β17
Records
- Best FA Cup performance: Quarter-finals, 1872β73, 1873β74, 1874β75
- Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Semi-finals, 1935β36
- Best FA Trophy performance: Quarter-finals, 2003β04
- Best FA Vase performance: Second round, 1989β90
- Record attendance: 7,920 vs Southall, FA Amateur Cup quarter-final, 7 March 1936
- Biggest win: 14β1 vs Buckingham Town, FA Amateur Cup, 6 September 1952
- Heaviest defeat: 14β0 vs Chesham United, Spartan League, 31 March 1923
- Most appearances: Bert Randall, 532
- Most goals: George Copas, 270
- Most goals in a season: Jack Palethorpe, 65
- Most goals in a game: Jack Palethorpe, 7 vs Wood Green Town, 1929β30
Managerial history
.| Name | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win % |
| Charles Barley | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | |||
| Selection Committee | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| Charles Barley | 54 | 25 | 8 | 21 | |||
| Kenneth Andrew Millar Inglis | 19 | 4 | 0 | 15 | |||
| Edgar Woodford | 76 | 28 | 11 | 37 | |||
| Len Townsend | 214 | 125 | 32 | 57 | |||
| Jimmy Price | 233 | 140 | 33 | 60 | |||
| Len Townsend | 257 | 103 | 59 | 95 | |||
| Ken Holmes | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | |||
| Stan Payne | 25 | 6 | 6 | 13 | |||
| Maurice Williams | 150 | 73 | 31 | 46 | |||
| Mike Hall | 129 | 52 | 29 | 48 | |||
| George Harris | 129 | 28 | 34 | 67 | |||
| Geoff Anthony | 138 | 75 | 24 | 39 | |||
| Ian Bath & Mick Chatterton | 52 | 19 | 9 | 24 | |||
| John Dempsey | 75 | 20 | 15 | 40 | |||
| Brian Caterer & Colin Lippiatt | 169 | 67 | 33 | 69 | |||
| Tim Smith | 62 | 20 | 8 | 34 | |||
| Jimmy Kelman | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | |||
| Derek Jones | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Martyn Spong & Cliff Jones | 29 | 8 | 8 | 13 | |||
| Martyn Spong | 127 | 61 | 31 | 35 | |||
| Brian Caterer | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |||
| Gary Goodwin | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | |||
| John Clements | 41 | 13 | 13 | 15 | |||
| John Watt | 179 | 54 | 53 | 72 | |||
| Alan Devonshire & Martyn Busby | 41 | 15 | 7 | 19 | |||
| Alan Devonshire | 348 | 153 | 74 | 121 | |||
| John Dreyer | 79 | 29 | 15 | 35 | |||
| Richie Goddard & Brian Connor | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Dennis Greene | 29 | 7 | 8 | 14 | |||
| Carl Taylor | 50 | 11 | 15 | 24 | |||
| Richie Goddard | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Johnson Hippolyte | 445 | 160 | 94 | 191 | |||
| Alan Devonshire | 539 | 219 | 115 | 205 | |||
| Ryan Peters | Present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |