Eastbourne United Association F.C.
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| Eastbourne United Association |
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| Full name | Eastbourne United Association Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | United | ||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ground | The Oval Eastbourne |
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| Manager | Brian Dennis | ||||||||||||||||
| League | Sussex County League Division One |
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| 2006–07 | Sussex County League Division One, 7th |
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Eastbourne United Association F.C. is a football club based in Eastbourne, England. They were formed in 2003 after a merger between Eastbourne United F.C. and Shinewater Association F.C. They are currently members of the Sussex County League Division One.
The first incarnation of Eastbourne United FC was as the 1st Sussex Royal Engineers FC in 1894. In those early days the club played nearby to where the Saffrons (home of Eastbourne Town FC) now stands, and at the South Lynn ground in Tutts Barn Road. After the 1914-18 Great War the club name was changed to Eastbourne Royal Engineers Old Comrades. The site of their ground at this time is now covered by the St.Thomas A’Beckett RC Primary School.
Dropping the “Royal Engineers” part of the name, Eastbourne Comrades FC joined the Sussex County League in 1935, and rejoined a year after the end of WW2 for the 1946-47 season, when they moved to The Oval. The club’s achievements at that time were very mediocre and in 1951 the name was changed to Eastbourne United.
The club’s fortunes changed with the new name and a new coach, George Smith, and between 1953 and 1956 they were twice County League champions, and runners-up once. That success saw them move into the Metropolitan & District League in 1956 (subsequently the Metropolitan League), and in 1964 United joined Division Two of the Athenian League, winning the championship in 1966-67.
Two seasons later, another promotion followed (as runners-up) and United were promoted to the Premier Division. After just one season though, they were relegated back to Division One. However, in 1973/74 the League was re-organised and the Premier Division scrapped.
In 1975 United were relegated to Division Two, and when the Athenian League was disbanded in 1977, joined Division Two of the Isthmian League, and subsequently Division Two (South) following reorganisation in 1984. When further changes to the Isthmian structure were made in 1991, United found themselves in the new Division Three and after one season, opted to rejoin the County League.
Placed in Division Two of the County League they struggled initially and in 1996 came perilously close to dropping down into intermediate football after finishing bottom. They recovered however, and within two years had won promotion to Division One as runners-up to East Preston. In 2001-02 however, United were relegated once more.
The decision was made to amalgamate with fellow Division Two club Shinewater Association FC at the end of the 2002-03 season. A terrible playing surface at Shine’s ground in Shinewater Lane, and failure to gain permission to erect the floodlights necessary to advance any further, made it difficult to attract players of sufficient quality in a town where they were already at a premium. In addition, the ground was subject to constant vandalism.
Under the leadership of former Shinewater manager Dave Shearing, the new club won promotion back to Division One at the first attempt after finishing third behind champions Littlehampton Town, and runners-up Worthing United. That progression was maintained in 2004-05 with another excellent campaign and 5th place in the top flight of the County League. With constant rumours of disquiet off the pitch in the local media, Shearing resigned at the end of the 2005-06 season to take a break from football (he subsequently joined Bexhill United), with the Club in 14th position. He was succeeded by former Hailsham Town boss Brian Dennis.
[edit] Notable Former Players
[edit] Notable Former Coaches
[edit] Season-by-season record since 2003
| Season | Division | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | Sussex County League Division Two | 3 | Promoted |
| 2004-05 | Sussex County League Division One | 5 | |
| 2005-06 | Sussex County League Division One | 14 |
