| Full name | Aylesbury United Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Ducks | ||
| Founded | 1897 | ||
| Ground | Bell Close, Leighton Buzzard (Capacity: 4,500 (400 seated)) |
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| Owner | Aylesbury United Supporters Trust (2009-present) | ||
| Chairman | Graham Read | ||
| Manager | Tony Joyce | ||
| League | Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division |
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| 2010–11 | Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, 6th |
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Aylesbury United are a football club based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, currently playing in the Spartan South Midlands League, nicknamed the Ducks.
The club are currently without a permanent home following eviction from their old Buckingham Road stadium in 2006, and from Season 2009/2010 are again ground sharing at Leighton Town after a couple of years playing at Chesham United's "The Meadow". Aylesbury are currently managed by Tony Joyce.
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Aylesbury United were formed in 1897 with the merging of Night School FC, the Printing Works and Aylesbury Town. Wearing the traditional green and white colours still worn today, they remained an amateur club, spending the post-war years playing in the Delphian League until it disbanded in the 1960s, at which point the club joined the Athenian League until they turned semi-professional and took a place in the Southern League in 1976.
During the period between 1985 and 1993, under the management of Trevor Gould, Aylesbury boasted the best FA Cup record of any side outside the Football League, reaching at least the First Round Proper every season. The highlights of this period were a victory over then Division Four leaders Southend United, a narrow extra time replay defeat against Northampton Town, and Aylesbury's tie with Walsall at Buckingham Road being shown live across Europe on Sky television.
It was also during this period that the club reached its peak in terms of league competition, as a Southern League championship win led to the club spending an unsuccessful season in the Football Conference in 1988-89 after which they were relegated into the Isthmian League, where they would remain for fifteen years. Famously Aylesbury became the only non-league side to face the full England team, as they hosted the national side in a warm up match in 1988 in preparation for the European Championships.
Aylesbury enjoyed their longest FA Cup run in 1994-95, as they reached the Third Round Proper before going out to then Premiership side Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. During this run, Aylesbury again made themselves well-known, largely due to their invention of the "duck walk" goal celebration, and were notably featured performing this celebration on an edition of the popular BBC television programme They Think It's All Over.
Along with manager Gould, another figure central to this glory period was striker Cliff Hercules, who currently holds the club records for most appearances (669) and most goals (301), following a career spanning 18 years (1984–2002). Hercules "retired" from playing as Aylesbury were relegated in 2000, still one goal shy of his landmark 300th, however he returned a few months later as manager and was able to add two more goals to his tally during fleeting substitute appearances as his team earned promotion in his first and only full season at the helm, 2001-02.
Since their FA Cup success in 1994-95, Aylesbury have only reached the First Round Proper on one further occasion, as they travelled to Port Vale in 2001. The club did however have their most successful FA Trophy campaign in 2002-03, as the team reached the semi-finals before finally losing to eventual winners Burscough by way of an injury time penalty.
The closest that the club have come to returning to the Conference was in the 1998-99 season, when they led the Isthmian Premier Division for long periods, but fell away, eventually finishing second following the sacking of manager Bob Dowie midway through the season. The club went into administration later that year (having experienced similar problems three years earlier) and, largely as a result of this, were relegated in 2000.
Having regained their place in the Premier Division under the aforementioned Hercules, Steve Cordery took over at the helm, but resigned after just a year in the job to become manager at Staines Town. Following this, the club appointed three permanent managers and two joint-caretaker managers during a dismal 2003-04 season, which saw the club finish 24th and bottom of the Ryman Premier Division, ten points behind their nearest competition.
Following the extensive restructuring of the non-league pyramid in 2004, Aylesbury were placed in the Southern League for the 2004-05 season, finishing 10th. The following season they finished 23rd and were relegated to the Southern League Division One Midlands.
The club currently play at Bell Close in Leighton Buzzard, the home of neighbours Leighton Town. There is an ongoing "Bring the Ducks Home" campaign to return the club to a ground in Aylesbury,[1] with one possibility being a new 10,000 seater stadium which will be built if a new sports village is approved.[2]
In July 2009, The Aylesbury United Supporters Trust was able to gain control of the club, thus becoming a fan-owned football team.[1]
| Season | Division | Position | Significant Events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founding member of Delphian League | |||
| 1951-1952 | Delphian League | 6 | – |
| 1952-1953 | Delphian League | 2 | Runner-Up |
| 1953-1954 | Delphian League | 1 | Champions |
| 1954-1955 | Delphian League | 3 | – |
| 1955-1956 | Delphian League | 5 | – |
| 1956-1957 | Delphian League | 4 | – |
| 1957-1958 | Delphian League | 5 | – |
| 1958-1959 | Delphian League | 7 | – |
| 1959-1960 | Delphian League | 5 | – |
| 1960-1961 | Delphian League | 9 | – |
| 1961-1962 | Delphian League | 5 | – |
| 1962-1963 | Delphian League | Abandoned | – |
| Delphian League disbanded. Moved to Athenian League Division Two | |||
| 1963-1964 | Athenian League Division Two | 13 | – |
| 1964-1965 | Athenian League Division Two | 13 | – |
| 1965-1966 | Athenian League Division Two | 15 | – |
| 1966-1967 | Athenian League Division Two | 10 | – |
| 1967-1968 | Athenian League Division Two | 2 | Runner-Up |
| Promoted to Athenian League Division One | |||
| 1968-1969 | Athenian League Division One | 11 | – |
| 1969-1970 | Athenian League Division One | 11 | – |
| 1970-1971 | Athenian League Division One | 10 | – |
| 1971-1972 | Athenian League Division One | 15 | – |
| 1972-1973 | Athenian League Division One | 15 | Relegated |
| Relegated to Athenian League Division Two | |||
| 1973-1974 | Athenian League Division Two | 10 | – |
| 1974-1975 | Athenian League Division Two | 11 | – |
| 1975-1976 | Athenian League Division Two | 9 | – |
| Joined Southern League Division One South | |||
| 1976-1977 | Southern League Division One South | 18 | – |
| 1977-1978 | Southern League Division One South | 6 | – |
| 1978-1979 | Southern League Division One South | 10 | – |
| League re-organised, placed in Southern League Southern Division | |||
| 1979-1980 | Southern League Southern Division | 2 | Runner-Up |
| 1980-1981 | Southern League Southern Division | 11 | – |
| 1981-1982 | Southern League Southern Division | 11 | – |
| Moved to Southern League Midland Division | |||
| 1982-1983 | Southern League Midland Division | 13 | – |
| 1983-1984 | Southern League Midland Division | 5 | – |
| 1984-1985 | Southern League Midland Division | 2 | Runner-Up |
| Promoted to Southern League Premier Division | |||
| 1985-1986 | Southern League Premier Division | 8 | – |
| 1986-1987 | Southern League Premier Division | 3 | – |
| 1987-1988 | Southern League Premier Division | 1 | Champions |
| Promoted to Football Conference | |||
| 1988-1989 | Football Conference | 20 | Relegated |
| Relegated to Isthmian League Premier Division | |||
| 1989-1990 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 3 | – |
| 1990-1991 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 3 | – |
| 1991-1992 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 7 | – |
| 1992-1993 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 10 | – |
| 1993-1994 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 12 | – |
| 1994-1995 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 4 | – |
| 1995-1996 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 11 | – |
| 1996-1997 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 7 | |
| 1997-1998 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 18 | – |
| 1998-1999 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 2 | Runner-Up |
| 1999-2000 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 20 | Relegated |
| Relegated to Isthmian League Division One | |||
| 2000-2001 | Isthmian League Division One | 14 | – |
| 2001-2002 | Isthmian League Division One | 3 | Promoted |
| Promoted to Isthmian League Premier Division | |||
| 2002-2003 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 17 | – |
| 2003-2004 | Isthmian League Premier Division | 24 | – |
| Rejoined Southern League Premier Division | |||
| 2004-2005 | Southern League Premier Division | 10 | – |
| 2005-2006 | Southern League Premier Division | 21 | Relegated |
| Relegated to Southern League Division One Midlands | |||
| 2006-2007 | Southern League Division One Midlands | 6 | – |
| 2007-2008 | Southern League Division One Midlands | 8 | – |
| 2008-2009 | Southern League Division One Midlands | 10 | – |
| 2009-2010 | Southern League Division One Midlands | 22 | – |
| Relegated to Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division | |||
| 2010-2011 | Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division | 6 | – |
Aylesbury United at the Football Club History Database
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