| Full name | Slough Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Rebels | ||
| Founded | 1893 (as Slough) | ||
| Ground | Holloways Park, Beaconsfield (Capacity: 3,500 (200 seated)) |
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| Chairman | Steve Easterbrook | ||
| Manager | Steve Bateman | ||
| League | Southern League Division One Central | ||
| 2010–11 | Southern League Division One Central, 5th | ||
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Slough Town F.C. is an English semi-professional football club. The club was officially founded in 1890 after the amalgamation of three local clubs, Swifts, Slough Albion and Young Men's Friendly Society, who between them forged a new club, Slough F.C.. The club is a senior non-League football club representing Slough, England.
Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team currently plays in the Southern Football League Division One Central.
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Slough F.C. was originally formed in 1890 and initially played in the Southern Alliance alongside the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Windsor & Eton before later moving on to the Great Western Suburban League. In 1921 it attempted to join the Isthmian League but lost out to Wycombe Wanderers in the voting. Instead Slough chose to join the Spartan League.
In 1936 the owners of the club's ground, The Dolphin Stadium, sold up to a greyhound racing consortium, which ordered the football club to vacate the stadium three years later. After being forced to groundshare with Maidenhead United for several years, the club agreed to a merge with Slough Centre F.C. to return to a ground in their home town. The new club took the name Slough United F.C.
After The Second World War Slough Utd was reluctant to rejoin the Spartan League and led a breakaway movement to form a new league, which became the Corinthian League. It was from this that the club derived its nickname of "The Rebels". Shortly after this the two clubs which had merged to form Slough United separated once again, with the former Slough F.C. continuing under the new name of Slough Town F.C.
Slough Town won the Corinthian League in 1950-51 but in 1964 the league folded and Slough, along with many other former Corinthian clubs, joined an expanded Athenian League. The Rebels were champions of this league on three occasions, with the third win earning promotion to the Isthmian League in 1973. During the 1980s they were league champions on two occasions, the second of which brought promotion to the Football Conference. Slough lasted four seasons at this level, were relegated back to the Isthmian League, bounced back at the first attempt, and then played three more seasons of Conference football. In 1998 the consortium which had bought the club out of receivership seven years earlier decided that they were not prepared to pay for ground improvements required to remain in the Conference, and so the club was demoted back to the Isthmian League despite having finished in 8th place.
Further relegation to the Isthmian League Division One followed in 2000–01 but the club regained its Premier Division status in 2003–04 and remained there until the end of the 2006–07 season, when they finished bottom and conceded over 120 goals. In the 2004–05 season, Slough knocked Walsall of Football League One out of the FA Cup. Slough transferred over to the Southern Football League Division One South & West for the 2007–08 season, where they finished 21st out of 22 teams. Although initially relegated (for the second year running), they were one of the teams given a provisional reprieve after Halifax Town went into administration.[1]
Over the next two seasons, and now playing in the Southern Football League Division One Midlands,[2] Slough's performance continued to improve. In the 2009–10 season, Slough Town finish 5th in the table, qualifying the team for the promotion play-off matches. Having beaten second-placed Hitchin Town 2–1 in the play-off semi-final, Slough lost 4–0 to Chesham United in the final, meaning they had to remain in the same division for the 2010–11 season. Once again they finished 5th in the 2010–11 season, but lost to Hitchin Town in the play-off Semi Final 4-1
The club has never had a long-term home.
From 1973 Slough Town played at the Wexham Park Stadium. At the end of the 2002-03 season, financial disagreements with the stadium's owners led to the club's eviction. The Stadium is still in existence, but has since fallen into a state of serious disrepair.
During the next four seasons (2003-04 to 2006-07) the club was based in Windsor, ground-sharing with Windsor & Eton at their Stag Meadow ground.
In the summer of 2007, the club agreed a three-year ground-share with Beaconsfield SYCOB. This has been extended to cover the 2010–11 season.[3]
Since June 2009, Slough Town have been progressing a proposal submitted to Slough Borough Council for permission to build a new stadium within the Borough of Slough. The proposed location for the development is the Arbour Vale school site on Stoke Road, to the north of the town. In addition to a state-of-the-art stadium, the plans include affordable housing and sports fields.[4][5]
Slough are hoping to move into their new stadium in the next few years. The club and council are coming to the end of the planning process.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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In the 2007-08 season, Slough's first team included several 'International' players – something which is probably rather rare for the level at which STFC are currently playing. Three players, Jermaine Gumbs, Romell Gumbs and Brian Connor, won their second caps for Anguilla in a World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador in March 2008.[6] For the 2009–10 season, the squad includes another Anguillan international player, Roy Gumbs.
In April 2009, Scottish international Paul Telfer joined the club.
Players who have previously appeared for Slough Town and then moved on to other major clubs (or came from major clubs before playing for Slough):