Chichester City F.C.
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| Full name | Chichester City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Lillywhites | ||
| Founded | 1873 (as Chichester FC) | ||
| Ground | Oaklands Park, Chichester | ||
| Capacity | 2000 | ||
| Chairman | Mike Madden | ||
| Manager | Sean Forry | ||
| League | Sussex County League Division One | ||
| 2012–13 | Sussex County League Division One, 19th | ||
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 Current season | |||
Chichester City F.C. are a football club based in Chichester, England. The club is a FA Chartered Standard Community Club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association.[1] They are members of the Sussex County League Division One.
History
The old Chichester City team were Sussex Senior Cup winners in 1927 and reached the first round proper of the FA Cup in 1960–61, but were thumped 11–0 away to Bristol City, this being the Ashton Gate club's record victory to date.
Chichester City United F.C. was established in 2000, following a merger between the old Chichester City and Portfield United. The merger venture had been discussed for many years but it was only at the start of the new millennium that the brave step was undertaken. The City had always struggled to support two senior clubs so the merger was seen as the only option for Chichester to become a force in non-league footballing circles.
In the club’s first season as Chichester City United FC, 2000–01, the new club finished seventh in Division One of the Sussex County League and were also the highest scorers, as well as having the best away record. The following season, Chi improved further, finishing third, albeit 23 points behind runaway winners Burgess Hill Town; and in 2002–03 the Club finished fourth in the County League, consolidating its position as one of the leading sides in the Division. That promise was fulfilled in 2003–04 as Chi lifted the County League title under the guidance of Adrian Girdler, after one of the most keenly contested seasons. Despite an appearance in the Final of the RUR Charity Cup (where they lost 0–1 to Ringmer), 2004–05 proved something of a disaster, with the reigning County League champions flirting with relegation and only really securing their Division One status with a win at Redhill in their penultimate game; and a home draw against Three Bridges on the final day of the season.
Season 2005–06 produced a more comfortable 8th place finish although attendances continued to fall for a second successive season. The 2006–07 season saw a modest League placing, but had another RUR Cup Final Success vs Whitehawk The club's name reverted to Chichester City in 2009. Mark Poulton took over as manager for season 2010–11 replacing Adrian Girdler who previously held this role at the club.
Season 2011-12 saw a major restructuring at the club with many changes at board level plus a new highly qualified management team of Neil Sherlock and Alex Twitchen brought in to look after the first team, Sean Forry stepping up from the highly successful U18 Youth Team to manage the Development Squad (formerly known as Reserves).
Season 2012-Present saw a minor change in the team management structure with Sean Forry stepping up to be joint first team manager with Neil Sherlock and Alex Twitchen taking over the running of the Development Squad. Keith Tallent stepped up from the Youth section of the club to manage the U18 County Youth side. 2012-13 saw the U18 Youth side win the Sussex County West Division League title for a 3rd year in succession and they also went on to win the overall Sussex County Youth League Champions for the first time in the clubs history beating the East Division winners Eastbourne Borough in the Champions of Champions final.
Ground
Their Oaklands Park ground is adjacent to the city's famous Chichester Festival Theatre and was upgraded in 2010 to meet new FA requirements, improvements include hard standing on all four sides of the ground, new 2.5 metre high perimeter fencing, turnstiles, car park resurfaced, maintenance shed, a 150 seat stand and a new two storey club house.
Honours
As Chichester City United:[2]
- Sussex County League Division One
- Champions 2003–04
As the old Chichester City:[3]
- Sussex County League Division One
- Champions 1959–60, 1960–61, 1967–68, 1972–73, 1979–80
- Runners-up 1950–51, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1969–70
- Sussex County League Division Two
- Runners-up 1984–85, 1990–91, 1996–97
- West Sussex Football League Division One:[4]
- Champions (3): 1945–46, 1946–47†, 1948–49†
- Sussex County League Youth Section[5]
- West Division Champions 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13
- Overall League Champions 2012-13
Cup honours
- The Sussex Royal Ulster Rifles Charity Cup[6]
- Winners (3): 1960–61, 1963–64, 2006–07
- Runners Up (5): 1952–53, 1962–63, 1971–72, 1984–85†, 2004–05
† Portfield United Honour
Records
All as Chichester City:[3]
- FA Vase
- Fourth Round 1995–96
References
- ↑ "FA Charter Standard Clubs Roll of Honour". Sussex County Football Association. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
- ↑ Chichester City United at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chichester City at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ "West Sussex Football League – Cup Details". Yourgolfclub.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
- ↑ "Sussex Youth Football League West Division". FA Full Time. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
- ↑ "R.U.R. Cup Final Results – Sussex County Football Association". Sussexcountyleague.com. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
External links
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