Where are we now?

For many of you reading this will be your first visit to the Winchester City website. Everyone at the Club hopes that you enjoy the experience, and that as a result you will be enticed by what Winchester City has to offer and that you will be tempted to attend future games, and help us in our aim to become a community-focused club that helps cater for the sporting needs of all the City’s residents. Welcome to you all!

I though that it might be useful to provide a very brief guide to Winchester City in order to set the context of the of how the Club fits into the national structure. This season (2008/9) Winchester City will be playing in the British Gas Business South West Division One for the third successive year. This is one of six divisions which collectively make up “national division 8.

Below our current division are a number of local “step 5 leagues. City were promoted from one such league (the Wessex Premier League) three seasons ago after spending practically all of the preceding decades in these lower leagues. In our first season in the Southern League SW One we ended up in 13th spot, and last season finished 17th in a 22-team division. Geographically our league covers the whole of southwest England, with the furthest away trips for City supporters being westwards to Truro (Cornwall), northwards to Bishops Cleeve (near Cheltenham), and eastwards to AFC Hayes (west London).

Last season the Club’s aim was to consolidate its position in the Southern League. During the summer of last year the Club had to drastically reduce (amongst other things) its player wage bill due to financial constraints—and consequently most of the previous season’s playing squad and management team chose to leave.

The club was saved thanks to two crucial appointments in the summer of 2007. Firstly Derek Caws was elected as the Club Chairman by the Club Committee—an important event as it brought a new openness and honesty to the way that the Club was to be run. Secondly, larger-than-life manager Andy Leader took control of the playing side of the Club. Andy managed to gather together an impressive combination of young and experienced talent at the Club and, with assistance from compadres Steve Melledew and Jimmy Ball, is laying the foundations for a side that, we hope, will be able to progress up the football pyramid over the next few seasons. 

For 2008/09 the aim is to improve our standing in the league, push for a top ten finish, and possibly even gain a place in the end of season promotion play offs.

The Club has tasted success in the recent past. In 2004 City won the FA Vase (the FA competition exclusively for teams playing in step 5 leagues and below) on a warm afternoon at Birmingham City’s St Andrew’s ground—the only side from Hampshire ever to achieve that feat.

Last season City made early exits from the FA Cup, the FA Trophy and the Southern League Cup, but did enjoy a series of exciting games in the Hampshire Senior Cup (competed for by teams affiliated to Hampshire FA) and the Southampton Senior Cup (for those also affiliated to the Southampton FA). Winchester will be appearing in all five of these competitions again this season.

To find out more about Winchester City and non-league football in general visit some of the following websites:

The bible of non-league football in England, has just about everything you need.

www.southern-football-league.co.uk/

The official Southern League website—good for news, tables, results and fixtures

And if you prefer more traditional sources of information then buy the Non League Paper (weekly every Sunday) and, the excellent Winchester City Programme that is available at every first team home game.

Document last updated: 01/07/2009