Burnham F.C.

Burnham

Full name

Burnham Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Blues

Founded

1878

Ground

The Gore, Burnham

Capacity

2,500

Chairman

Gary Reeves

Manager

Danny Gordon & Gareth Risbridger (joint)

League

Southern League
Premier Division

2014–15

Southern League
Premier Division, 23rd (relegated)

Home colours

Away colours

Burnham F.C. is a non-League football club from Burnham in Buckinghamshire, near Slough. They currently compete in the Southern Football League Premier Division. The team play in blue and white quartered shirts and blue shorts. The club's chairman is Gary Reeves.^[1] Home matches are played at The Gore. The Gore has been recently redeveloped, with a new stand and facilities.

History

The club was founded in 1878, and so Burnham FC is the second oldest club in Buckinghamshire. The club spent its first years in various local leagues, and then joined the Great Western Combination league in 1948. 16 years later they moved to the Wycombe Combination in 1964 and then spent one year in the Reading Combination for the 1970–71 season.^[2]

The team first joined a senior league in 1971 when they entered the Hellenic Football League Division One A, finishing as runners-up in their first season, followed by a runners-up position in Division One which saw them promoted to the Premier Division. In 1975–76 they were Premier Division champions. In 1977 they switched to the Athenian League, where they achieved two runners-up finishes, and also reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase.

In 1984 Burnham switched leagues to the London Spartan League, where they were champions at the first attempt. The following year the club merged with Hillingdon Borough to form Burnham & Hillingdon F.C., taking over Hillingdon's place in the Southern League.^[3]^[4] In 1987 the club's name reverted simply to Burnham F.C. but performances on the pitch declined and the 1994–95 season saw the club relegated back to the Hellenic League. In four seasons back at this level the club never finished out of the top 5, resulting in promotion back to the Southern League in 1999, where they remain to this day, although due to the renaming and restructuring of divisions they have technically played in three different divisions without ever being relegated or promoted.

Burnham have had modest success in cup competitions. Their best run in the FA Vase came in the 1982–83 season where they lost to Halesowen Town in a two legged semi-final (the home match being the clubs highest recorded attendance). In 1999–2000 they reached the 4th round of the FA Trophy where they drew Scarborough, then residing in the Conference (they had also recently been relegated from the Football League). Burnham managed a 1–1 draw at home before losing 6–0 in the replay. In the 2005–06 season Dave Mudge's Burnham side achieved their best run in the FA Cup, losing 3–1 at home to Aldershot Town in the 1st round proper. The game was watched by one of the biggest crowds at Burnham in recent years and even saw Burnham appear briefly on Match of the Day.

Burnham completed one of their best seasons in recent memory when they finished 3rd in the Southern League Division One South & West in 2006–07. Due to this league position they entered the promotion playoffs but lost at home in the semi-final 1–2 to eventual playoff winners Swindon Supermarine. This outcome was mirrored three seasons later, when, under the managerial guidance of Jamie Jarvis, the Blues again lost out in the semi-final of the play-offs, this time to Chesham United.

The 2012–13 season saw the club gain promotion to the Southern League Premier Division when they finished as champions of the Division One Central.^[5] This was to be the first time Burnham had ever played at this level of football, but they had to reckon without top scorer Ryan Bird, who signed for Portsmouth.

After just surviving relegation from the Southern League Premier Division having finished in 20th position in the 2013-14 season, the club appointed former Hillingdon Borough, Northwood and Wingate & Finchley manager Gary Meakin who joined the club from Beaconsfield SYCOB.^[6] Byron Walton, who most recently served as SYCOB manager before leaving in 2012, joined as General Manager.

Meakin resigned from his position as manager after the 0-0 draw with Chippenham Town on 29 November 2014, a result that left Burnham in 21st position.^[7] Burnham then appointed a joint managerial team of Danny Gordon and Gareth Risbridger, who both assumed the role as joint-managers, in December 2014 as Meakin's replacements.^[8]

Seasons

Main article: List of Burnham F.C. seasons

Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Leading league scorer		FA Cup		FA Trophy		Average home attendance
Year	League	Lvl	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Position	Name	Goals	Res	Rec	Res	Rec	Average home attendance
2009–10	Southern Football League Division One Midlands	8	42	26	9	7	67	43	24	87	3rd of 22 Lost in playoff semifinal			QR2	2-1-1	QR3	3-1-1
2010–11	Southern Football League Division One Central	8	42	14	7	21	61	87	-26	49	14th of 22			QR2	2-0-1	QR1	1-1-1
2011–12	Southern Football League Division One Central	8	42	13	13	16	64	67	-3	52	15th of 22			QR3	3-1-1	PR	0-1-1
2012–13	Southern Football League Division One Central	8	42	31	6	5	108	39	69	99	1st of 22 Promoted	Ryan Bird	42	PR	0-0-1	QR2	1-0-1
2013–14	Southern Football League Premier Division	7	44	12	8	24	60	91	-31	44	20th of 23	Ryan Blake	12	QR2	1-0-1	QR2	1-0-1	134

Ground

Burnham play their games at The Gore, Wymers Wood Road, Burnham SL1 8JG.

In December 2010 Burnham applied to the Southern Football League to lay a new third generation (3G) playing surface at The Gore, which was eventually sanctioned in January 2011.^[9]^[10]

Club honours

Southern Football League Division One Central :^[11]
- Winners (1): 2012–13
Hellenic Football League Premier Division :^[3]
- Winners (2): 1975–76, 1998–99
Hellenic Football League Division One:^[3]
- Runners-up (2): 1971–72, 1972–73
Athenian League :^[3]
- Runners-up (2): 1978–79, 1979–80
London Spartan League :^[3]
- Winners (1): 1984–85
Great Western Combination League Premier Division :^[12]
- Runners-up (1): 1954–55
Great Western Combination League Division one :^[12]
- Runners-up (1): 1952–53
Wycombe Combination League :^[12]
- Runners-up (4): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1969–70
Hellenic League Challenge Cup :^[12]
- Winners (1): 1998–99
Hellenic League Premier Division Cup:^[12]
- Winners (1): 1975–76
Hellenic League Division One Cup :^[12]
- Winners (1): 1972–73
- Runners-up (1): 1971–72
London Spartan League Cup :^[12]
- Winners (1): 1984–85
Reading Combination League Cup :^[12]
- Winners (1): 1970–71
Slough Cup :^[12]
- Winners (8): 1935–36, 1936–37, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1969–70
Wycombe Senior Cup :^[12]
- Winners (9): 1897–98, 1908–09, 1925–26, 1934–35, 1951–52, 1966–67, 1969–70, 2008–09, 2011–12

Club records

Best league performance:^[3] 20th in Southern League Premier Division, 2013–14
Best FA Cup performance:^[3] 1st round proper, 2005–06, lost 3–1 to Aldershot Town at The Gore
Best FA Trophy performance:^[3] 4th round, 1999–2000, lost 6–0 to Scarborough at the McCain Stadium (Replay following 1–1 draw at The Gore)
Best FA Vase performance:^[3] Semi-final, 1982–83

Former players

1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.

References

↑ Breen looking to build at Burnham 19/08/10 Time 106.6fm
↑ A brief history of Burnham FC Burnham Football Club and Conference Centre
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 BURNHAM at the Football Club History Database
↑ BURNHAM & HILLINGDON at the Football Club History Database
↑ "Gary Reeves set to replace Bob Breen as chairman of Burnham FC / Local Berkshire / Sport / Football". Localberkshire.co.uk. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
↑ "Gary Meakin Takes Over At Burnham". NonLeagueBet.co.uk. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
↑ http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/burnhamfc/news/first-team-manager-parts-company-with-the-blues-1338636.html
↑ http://www.southern-football-league.co.uk/league-news/burnham-appoint-gordon-and-risbridger-as-joint-managers
↑ "Tonight FC Entertain Burnham – Aylesbury FC". Pitchero.com. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
↑ Robinson, Matt (6 December 2010). "Burnham seeking permission for 3G pitch – Hungerford Town Football Club". Pitchero.com. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
↑ "Football round-up: Burnham FC are champions | Burnham FC | News on the club and match reports for Burnham FC". Maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 Honours Burnham Football Club and Conference Centre

Sources

Burnham at the Football Club History Database

External links

Official club website

Southern League

Premier Division	Arlesey Town Banbury United Bideford Biggleswade Town Burnham Cambridge City Chesham United Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Corby Town Dorchester Town Dunstable Town Frome Town Histon Hitchin Town Hungerford Town Paulton Rovers Poole Town Redditch United Slough Town St Neots Town Truro City Weymouth

Division One Central	AFC Hayes Aylesbury Aylesbury United Barton Rovers Beaconsfield SYCOB Bedford Town Bedworth United Chalfont St. Peter Daventry Town Egham Town Godalming Town Hanwell Town Kettering Town Leighton Town Marlow North Greenford United Northwood Potters Bar Town Royston Town Rugby Town St Ives Town Uxbridge

Division One South & West	AFC Totton Bashley Bishop's Cleeve Bridgwater Town Cinderford Town Clevedon Town Didcot Town Evesham United Fleet Town Larkhall Athletic Mangotsfield United Merthyr Town North Leigh Sholing Shortwood United Stratford Town Swindon Supermarine Taunton Town Tiverton Town Wantage Town Wimborne Town Yate Town

Seasons	1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Hellenic League

Premier Division	Abingdon United Ardley United Ascot United Binfield Bracknell Town Brimscombe & Thrupp Cheltenham Saracens Flackwell Heath Highmoor Ibis Highworth Town Holyport Kidlington Milton United Newbury Oxford City Nomads Reading Town Shrivenham Thame United Thatcham Town Wootton Bassett Town

Division One East	Brackley Town Reserves Burnham Reserves Chalfont Wasps Chinnor Didcot Town Reserves Easington Sports Finchampstead Headington Amateurs Henley Town Old Woodstock Town Penn & Tylers Green Rayners Lane Wokingham & Emmbrook Woodley Town

Division One West	Carterton Cirencester Town Reserves Clanfield Fairford Town Hook Norton Letcombe Longlevens Lydney Town New College Swindon North Leigh Reserves Purton Shortwood United Reserves Tuffley Rovers Tytherington Rocks Wantage Town Reserves

Seasons	2012–13 2013–14 2014–15